Now Blogging Here

I've kept this blog strictly for Oliver's journey home. Now that he is home, I'm solely blogging at A Family United. Hope to see you there.

8 Months Old Today

The many faces of Oliver...

Inquisitive

Upset

Silly

and that was all in a 2 minute span! Oliver has been home a little over a month and is settling in nicely to a routine. He sleeps well at night--has since the third night home. Naps during the day are a different story. He's a cat napper--taking 30 minute naps twice a day. He could probably use a third one in the late afternoon too.

Oliver can sit on his own now and babbles constantly. We are trying to encourage him to crawl and he is not far off from it. His upper body strength was weak when he came home and we have been working on that as well. We are still working out the feeding schedule but it's starting to come together as Oliver gets on a routine schedule.

Making a Blog Book

Only because you asked. I've tried before using other sites, but it seems that it just took your blog and slapped it in book form with little creative control. So, here's what I am going to do to make this blog into a keepsake book for Oliver. I "borrowed" most of these instructions from other bloggers who have forged before me into this realm.

I am going to make this blog into a 8x10 full color, hardbound book. Once I get it all done I will post photos of the final result.
Here's what you need to do:

1. Go to http://www.blurb.com/. Prices vary depending on the size of your book and the number of pages.

2. Create a free membership with a username and password then download Blurb's "booksmart" software. It's in the orange rectangle on their site. This is the software you'll use to make the book.

3. Open the Booksmart program, and click Create a new book. It'll ask you to choose the size you want. You'll then choose a background theme.
4. It will ask what layout you want and you'll choose "Blog to Book." It asks for your blog username and password. It will list all your blog posts, and you check all the ones you want included. I am going to put Oliver's blog all in one book, but when I get ready, I will divide our Family United blog into years.
It uses a default layout with a text box and a spot for 6 pictures. You can choose a custom layout if you have more pictures

Oliver Without His Hands in His Mouth

...and it wasn't easy to take photos without them in his mouth. My mother commented that Oliver has his fingers in his mouth on most of his photos so I decided to take some photos of Oliver sans fingers.

Oh, and that's applesauce and oatmeal on his face.

On a side note...since our journey to Oliver has come to an end and our journey as a family of 4 is beginning, I will be sending this blog to the publisher to be printed in book form and blogging only at A Family United. This change should take place within the next month.

This Boy Likes to Eat!

Church

We attended church today--all 4 of us. We were surprised to find out that our church was honoring the adoption of Oliver. They placed a special rose on the center altar and made a special announcement at the church service. Oliver got a round of applause.  Everyone was so nice and they also made a big deal out of Chloe becoming a big sister. It was great.

We've been asked to give a testimony on our adoptions at church service. I am not sure if we will, we will have to see.

Picture Day

Since my sister is still here to help me out, I decided to take both Chloe and Oliver to have their pictures taken today. Here's what we got for Oliver...