Overdue update

We are long overdue for an Oliver update. We have had such a busy fun summer that I have so much to blog about-I think I will post more info later but I knew if I didn't post soon I would never catch up. Here are the highlights since my last post.

• Oliver has 2 front teeth! I will post a picture as soon as I get a good one. I am having trouble getting a good shot with the teeth showing. Oliver cut 2 teeth in a week's time but managed to get through it with a little Tylenol, teething rings and extra snuggles.
• Moving and scooting along...and scooting and scooting! Oliver has figured out how to pull himself forward (not really a crawl yet) and we are now chasing him around the house and having a blast. He is into everything! We have video but I haven't been able to upload it to my hard drive to post yet but I will as soon as I can. I need to film new footage anyway because he has gained speed in just a few weeks
• oomba oomba oomba...This is his new matra-lots of oomba, ga, and blowing raspberries. We have the best conversations.
• We are enjoying solid food...carrots are one of our favorites!

I have lots more to write but will post more later. One new "thing" is that Oliver is waking more at night so I had better sign off so I can get some sleep before he wakes. More soon!

video

I can't resist...here is some recent footage of my baby boy!

This is what he loves to do on the carpet. I can't decide if he is swimming or flying. He is getting so strong!


Ignore me in the video-I look terrible! This is Oliver dancing to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. He is so much fun.

Hope you enjoyed the videos!

6 months

I can't believe lil baby Oliver is 6 months old. I am so thankful that we have a happy, healthy, wonderful 6 month baby boy. Lately, I have been doing a lot of "It was just a year ago and we were..." Here are a few...

• I was just getting over my noon and evening sickness and was enjoying eating food again.
• Heartburn had replaced the ickiness.
• I was wondering if I was ever going to "look pregnant" (boy, did I ever!)
• We called him "Bean"
• Every doctor's appointment was an opportunity to hear his heartbeat and know (as best we could) everything was "ok".
  
• We were eagerly awaiting our 20 week ultrasound in July to make sure Bean was healthy and developing-and if Bean was a girl or a boy!
  
• Wondering what kind of child our little bean would be...

Which brings me to my next list...what we know about Oliver so far...

• He is a "people" person. Oliver smiles at strangers and loves to interact with people.
• Oliver is so physical! He loves to roll and pivot and MOVE!
• He is definitely going to be one of those kids who is into everything-pulling books off bookcases, etc.
• For the most part, he is a happy easy going kid.

My last list (I promise!)
Little things I don't want to forget:

• Right now he has discovered the volume on his voice and loves to get really loud and then laugh.
• I love how he smiles at you when he sees you when you come to get him out of his crib.
• I love how he places his hand on my arm when I sit him up to burp.
• He used to grab the burp cloth and hold it in his hands and it made him look like a little waiter. (You had to see this one)

Finally, I had to show these pictures of Oliver. (Yes, that's my hand keeping him from falling out of the chair.) The top picture I took today and the bottom one Doug took of Oliver in February.


Growing boy!

First bites

Oliver had his first bites of rice cereal last week-despite many delays including inservice days and making sure the memory card in the camera had been backed up. As you can tell from the picture it was a great success. Giving Oliver his first taste of solid food was bittersweet. I am so happy that we have a healthy 5 (almost 6) month old baby but a little sad to know that we are now entering a new phase. First rice cereal, next baby food and high chairs (if he will ever learn to sit up) and by this time next year it will be table food. Time flies.

Back to the rice cereal-Oliver was very interested from the beginning. None of this "If your baby isn't interested in food, try again on another day."As soon as he saw the cereal on the spoon, there was no looking back for Oliver. He was grabbing the spoon and trying to put it in his mouth all by himself-albeit with limited success. Oliver loves to grab the end of the spoon with his hand and really experience the food. We have tons of first food pictures and will spare you all most of them.

He still loves the rice cereal but is a little distracted by sitting in the Bumbo and trying to figure out what is around him. Hopefully, we can move onto the high chair soon. Oliver continues to require a complete wipe down after breakfast but we are getting better at getting the food in the mouth rather than hands, arms, and legs.

Here are a few more pictures to document the milestone:

What's he doing now?

I get asked this question often regarding Oliver so I thought I would jot down a few things so that I could remember what he was doing and what Oliver was into at this stage.

• Rolling.This is probably his favorite activity right now. He rolls and rolls and rolls. He can pivot too. We are convinced that crawling is soon to come. No getting up on the knees yet but he is "swimming" a lot. Video coming soon. He is definitely very physical.
  
• Chewing everything. This is a close second to rolling. Everything goes in the mouth. No teeth yet but Oliver loves to chew and gnaw on whatever he can find.
• Laughing. As I posted before, things can get pretty wacky around here. This morning, it was all about the ball. He has a stuffed multi-colored ball that he just loves. All you have to do is hold it over him and shake it or move it up and down in front of him as he lies on his back and he will just crack up.
• Lots of sounds: "aaaaahhhhh aaaaaaahhhh"(at various pitches and lengths), "mmmmmmmm, mumumumumumu", occasionally "gu". It is so much fun to listen to him. Sometimes we really have quite a conversation with him.

The picture at the top of the post is from our first trip to the park. Oliver wasn't as into as I was-I think he was too sleepy-but it was a beautiful day and I had to get him out. Our stay was short. I got in the swing with him in my lap and swung for a few minutes. We hung out on the blanket with some toys from home and then we took a walk around to look around at the new surroundings. Hopefully, we can return soon when Oliver is a little more awake and aware!

It's wacky!

That's what we say when Oliver is having a laughing fit. It can be over the smallest thing but he will get so tickled that he just keeps laughing and laughing! So, of course, we keep doing it so he will continue. We never know what will start it-he might be on the changing table or on the floor playing with his toys but he is absolutely hilarious when he gets going.

We keep trying to capture on video one of his laughing fits but we keep missing it. Here is the best we could do. He never laughs on this video but I can't stand it any longer not to post a video!
(Yes, we shot this video the same day I took the picture in the last post...I promise I actually change Oliver's clothes)


Our other big news is that summer is finally here! I am so excited! I keep telling Oliver that we have lots and lots "Oliver and Mommy" days now. We had a great first day. Nothing too exciting..just lots of playing on the floor and lots of kisses. As a bonus, he even took two good naps today which kept him in a great mood all day. I plan on posting often this summer, so stayed tuned!

Joy

Warning: Really sappy mom post ahead. Read at your own risk.

Today I was so happy, I almost cried. I was literally fighting back tears. I was playing with Oliver this evening and he was starting to get a little fussy. He hadn't taken his late afternoon nap which means an early bedtime for him. I just didn't want to start getting ready for bed yet-just 10 more minutes please! So I found on you tube the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video we have danced to before and started playing it. We danced all around the living room and he just laughed and smiled the entire time. He was so happy it made me just euphoric. We danced and I sang the song and we just had the best time. I couldn't resist one more and we listened to The Lion Sleeps Tonight and danced some more. I realized that we were creating a special memory and I stopped to just soak in the moment, realizing that this was just about as good as it gets. I had to fight back tears of joy to keep singing to Oliver.

Being a mom to Oliver is amazing and not a day has gone by that I haven't been thankful.