Oliver's Blessing Day

Oliver's blessing day was a very special day. We took our time in the morning getting ready; Grandpa McLaughlin gave Oliver a bath and we had fun video taping them playing together at the sink. We put Oliver down for a nap so I could take my time getting ready, then we made lots and lots of chili and woke up our baby to eat and get dressed. Right after we got him dressed, most of the family showed up to head over to the church. We snagged the front benches in the chapel. I was feeling super nervous and when I told Tommy that he was like, "I don't know why, you're not really doing anything..." haha but I was very anxious to hear Oliver's blessing. I kept asking Tommy if he knew how to start the blessing and he reassured me with, "I'm sure I'll figure it out when I get there."
During the meeting, the first counselor announced the blessing of a different baby and after that baby's blessing, he moved on to the next part of the meeting. Our three rows of guests were waving our hands to try to get his attention and when he saw us, he said "Oh man...this is what I did last time we had two baby blessings..." it was pretty funny. But our whole group got up and moved to the front. I felt very blessed to see a group of 12 loved ones and priesthood holders holding my baby boy. I felt the way I did when Oliver received his priesthood blessings in the NICU; we are so blessed to have such a wonderful support system for our family. The blessing was very sweet and I was very emotional the whole meeting...I mean, who wouldn't be looking at this sweet baby??

Update on Oliver

Today a lady from Kids on the Move came to do a home study of Oliver. They are an organization that helps underdeveloped babies and toddlers and they were coming to evaluate Oliver's development and see if he qualifies for their services. The lady observed his motor skills and he gave her some good smiles and showed her his head holding skills. She said that he was right on track developmentally and he's actually advanced in tracking objects and holding up his head (he's a STRONG baby!!). We are so happy to hear he is doing so well!! He doesn't qualify for their services, which is a super great thing, and the lady said he seemed like a perfectly normal, healthy baby :)

...and I would add super super cute as well :)

This week we've moved out of Newborn sizes and moved into 0-3 month clothes (though some of them still have quite a bit of room for growing). Oliver's blessing is this Sunday and he has a pediatrician visit in 2 weeks, so keep posted for more updates!!

Trip to GREECE

Among the chaos of figuring out our new schedule with Oliver, handling the new set of chores that seem to have come along with a new baby, and spending our first 2 weeks without any visitors since Oliver's been born, we still found time for our monthly trip out of the country...this month, we went to Greece.
For our trip we had Saucy Chicken Gyros! I was very happy to find this recipe because I knew Tommy wasn't the biggest fan of Greek food, but this was just Americanized enough that he enjoyed it while we still got to feel pretty authentic.

Saucy Chicken Gyros

For the Chicken:

4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tsp. red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried dill
salt & pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts cut into thick strips

For the Tzatziki:

16 oz. plain Greek yogurt
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. dried oregano
half a lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Other ingredients:

pepperoncini, diced
cherry tomatoes, halved
feta cheese
6-8 pitas

Directions:

1. Prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, greek yogurt, oregano, dill, salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour or overnight.
2. To prepare the tzatziki sauce, mix together the greek yogurt, garlic, white wine vinegar, dill, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
3. To cook the chicken preheat your broiler. Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Place the chicken on a baking pan and broil the chicken for 5-7 minutes until cooked through. Pour the remaining marinade in a medium size skillet and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes and then toss the cooked chicken with the sauce.
4. Heat pitas. Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, sliced tomatoes, pepperoncinis, and feta cheese. Serve immediately.

After dinner we watched Hercules, which was very enjoyable. Tommy and I picked up some funny jokes that we hadn't picked up before when we were younger ("Somebody call IXII!")

Oliver & James

Pictures from Ashley's visit!! When Tommy saw these, he said "I hope they're best friends" :)