Friday, March 28, 2014

All About Oliver

Age: 6 months 3 weeks

Oliver has been army crawling for three weeks now and can get around easily this way. He sees something he wants and goes for it. I have to keep an eye on him like I would Max because he is as mobile. He will get up on his hands and knees and kinda rock forward and back getting used to being in that position. It won't be long...

He can sit up unassisted for long periods of time, until something startles him and makes him jolt back and out of balance or until he decides he's done...

His favorite song is You Are My Sunshine. He lights up without fail every time I sing it. Other songs don't illicit the same response. 

He likes to play "Horsey Horsey On My Way" with Nate.

He LOVES baths and will kick and splash excitedly the whole time.

He loves chewing on his thumbs and will twist his wrist over and over while he does it. And he often will chew on his other fingers all at once. 

When he sees Max's binky, he makes a bee-line towards it and will chew and chew on it. It's his favorite chew toy.

He likes paper and will crinkle it, move it back and forth across the floor, chew on it, and fist it. I sometimes find a tiny piece in his hand when I uncurl his fist... It's like opening a clam and not knowing if you will find a pearl, only it's a slimy, half-disintegrated, masticated pulp wad.

His hands and feet are always moving in little circles.

He likes to pat/swat at things just to hear his hand hit the object... floor, toy, wall, etc. 

He loves chewing on cords, and so I have to make sure they are all out of sight. He even tries to reach them underneath the TV stand and will sit and stare at them as if willing them towards himself. 

He isn't interested in rice cereal yet, only his milk. He drinks 6 ounces at a time.

He whines a lot when he wants attention... a little half-cry. He'll whine for a long time before it develops into a cry, and the cry is only because it's been long enough that he's either tired or hungry.

Oliver's favorite person used to be me, but I'm old news now. He gets most excited about Max. 

He likes when Max plays with him, and his favorite thing to do with Max is either being pulled around the hard floors in his high chair or wrestling. 

He gets a stuffy nose really easily at night, so he is always propped up a bit and right beneath the fall of mist from a humidifier. This doesn't always work, and so Oliver still wakes up several times a night. Nate is awesome enough to take Oliver on the weekends so I can get more than a 3 hours stretch of sleep, and more then 6 hours a night. That's a backwards way of saying that I don't get more than 3 hours of sleep at a time, and rarely more than 6 hours a night. So I'm tired. But enough about me...

He has a long torso and shorter legs, which is a Dunford body ala Kevin. His little ears stick out like mine and Liz's. We think he looks more like a Martin than a Dunford. My mom thinks he resembles Glenn and Robin. 

He smiles as much as Max ever did, but his laugh comes more easily. He doesn't stifle it as much.

He's ticklish on his back and sides.

He likes to scratch his crib walls when he's half awake. 

We put him to sleep on his back, tilted slightly to his side, but he sometimes rolls onto his stomach. I don't recall Max doing that so early. He pretty much stayed on his sides.

He wears clothing pretty true to size. If he has sleeves that are a bit long, they inevitably end up stretched out and wet because he'll pull and chew on them.

He had a bad diaper rash for two months before his 6 month check-up where he was given a prescription for a yeast infection and thrush. I had been alternating between bum paste, lavender oil, and an over-the-counter yeast infection cream to no avail. It's pretty much cleared up now, but he still gets a little rash every time we bathe him... despite using a very mild, all-natural soap. I just ordered some wash cloths that are made to be used with water only, so we'll see if that cures it.

He won't sit still for a nail trimming unless momentarily distracted by Max. Max is the only solution. Or sleep.

Nothing scares him, really... He's fascinated by the vacuum. He'll watch it as I do my rounds.

He's a cute son-of-a-gun. We're happy that he's ours, and excited for he and Max to be best buddies.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Us-ies

At the park...
 photo IMG_20140319_1614242_zpsefaf57ab.jpg

Playing at home...
 photo IMG_20140320_164406_937_zps80ce9a4e.jpg

 photo IMG_20140320_164530_856_zps5f96a386.jpg

Waiting to Skype with Sandra as she opens her mission call! She was called to Cincinnati, Ohio!
 photo IMG_20140320_174805_529_zpsfb70f3c0.jpg

 photo IMG_20140320_174622_4821_zpseb8d18df.jpg

 photo IMG_20140320_174747_967_zps914433de.jpg

 photo IMG_20140320_174744_241_zps80ce9a4e.jpg

Monday, March 17, 2014

Oliver's First Food

Oliver was this excited about rice cereal...
 photo 20140317_085928_zps4a12f0ef.jpg
But he did give us his first double-thumb suck!
 photo 20140317_085955_zpsdb7c3f01.jpg
That creepy face on the TV? That's just Mary Poppins. Max has been wanting to watch anything with music. Actually, he just wants to watch Frozen, but Nate and I are about to shove pencils in our ears. Mary Poppins to the rescue! He's seen Tangled and How to Train Your Dragon, but that's about it for movies. We don't want him turning into a TV head at the age of two. Back to Oliver... he shows little interest in food whereas Nate, Max, and I get the utmost pleasure from eating. I'm guessing he just needs time.

Thrift Shopping

 photo IMG_20140316_094410_8232_zps737596fe.jpg

 photo IMG_20140316_094421_9812_zpsd9075d91.jpg

 photo IMG_20140316_094443_3612_zpseec010a8.jpg

 photo IMG_20140316_094506_932_zps85cd491b.jpg

 photo IMG_20140316_094542_1582_zpsaf3bdab4.jpg

 photo IMG_20140316_094616_1472_zps02256fea.jpg

 photo IMG_20140316_094648_5512_zps1cbef6ea.jpg

 photo IMG_20140316_094656_3692_zpsc3b20975.jpg

 photo IMG_20140321_111411_632_zps30ce93e3.jpg

 photo IMG_20140321_125925_959_zps5ae0dd07.jpg

Warmer Weather

 photo IMG_20140221_162623_zps3f7087c2.jpg

 photo IMG_20140315_175323_6312_zps98b7bb37.jpg

 photo IMG_20140315_180109_624_zpsdcb43542.jpg

M-A-X

 photo IMG_20140311_124412_6912_zps67bfb684.jpg

Max loves to tell his brother "No baby."
He does puppy dog hands and bounces when he is really into food.
He sticks out his tongue and smiles super big when he gets embarrassed.
He sits on his knees with his ankles crossed under his bum when playing at the edge of the couch.
He likes to play "freeze" and "ready go" when dancing.
He likes to watch Disney channel on the Roku (specifically Cars, Planes, and Frozen).
He LOVES Blues Clues and will sing along to the songs and call out clues when he sees them by saying "Coos coos!"
He sings alone to the Frozen soundtrack, even doing the tick tock of the clock.
He likes to steal toys from the baby.
He likes to play in the tub long after he's done and won't get out until he has said good bye to all the water down the drain.
He will put his dishes in the sink.
He will put trash in the can and says icky about anything gross or smelly.
He will get a tissue to wipe his own boogers.
At 8:30, we read scriptures, brush teeth, say a prayer, and give kisses before Mom or Dad takes Max to bed. He is tucked in with his owl and left with his Cars light or his moon light on.
He will pray by repeating what Mom or Dad has him say, and he kneels and closes his eyes without being told.
He likes to have us "watch" when he jumps off of curbs or does something he thinks is cool.
He likes to get on Mom's phone to watch Cars clips and ends up on obscure videos where people who speak poor English give reviews of Disney toys. It's strange. He sometimes ends up watching clips in foreign languages.
He still loves milk more than any drink.
He loves mac and cheese, toast with honey, hard boiled eggs, cheese, yogurt with honey and vanilla, chicken, chimichurri turkey w/ zucchini, homemade yogurt popsicles, grapes, blueberries, tortilla chips, crackers, orange juice, bananas, and cereal.
He loves gum and will steal it from Mom's purse whenever she leaves her purse out.
He loves chapstick as well.
He calls all meat "chicken" unless corrected.
He will pull out the bench before he sits down at the table so that he has more room to eat.
He has fallen off the bench a few times because he plays instead of eating.
He sometimes lays on Oliver and thinks it's funny.
It upsets him when something is out of place... like if one of Oliver's socks comes off, he makes me put it back on.
He recognizes church and the doctor's office.
When Deborah comes over, he expects to go on a walk or to play on her Ipad.
He loves to throw rocks and go on walks.
He's ticklish, especially on his thighs, diaper line (front and back), knee caps, and back.
He can count to five on his hand by holding certain fingers down with his other hand.
He recognizes the letters in his name and that they spell Max.
He puts stickers on his cars and all over the couch.
He pulls the baby around by his feet. When Oliver is in his high chair, Max will pull it around the hard flooring.
He likes to play catch and bat balls.
He insists on saying goodbye to whomever is leaving the house by waving in the doorway until the car is out of sight.
He also insists that we put on "bum bum" every time we change his diaper.
He likes to have his ears cleaned.
He still holds ears when tired.
He still uses a binky, although if we tell him to "get that binky out of your mouth," he'll smile and spit it out. He knows it's for sleeping only.
When playing at another kid's house, he finds the toys, gathers all the cars, and tries to take them home with him.
His toothbrush lights up, so he won't let us brush his teeth before turning it on.
He likes to zip up his own zippers, especially his hoodies.
He likes to have his hood up if he's cold.
He likes to put on lotion.
He always dries his hands on the towel after I wash them at the kitchen sink.
He sometimes make me carry his toys up and down the stairs if there are too many for him to carry.
When I tell Max I need to vacuum, he'll pick up his toys and hop up on the couch. When I'm done, he says "all done" and hops down and unplugs the cord for me.
He opens the fridge and freezer himself and looks around for something he wants to eat.
He likes to help me cook by mixing things in bowls.
He likes to watch things cook in the microwave.
He likes to push the button to turn on the blender for his shakes.
He randomly sings the Star Trek theme song using "bum bum bum" for the notes.
He talks a lot and repeats anything you say, but he doesn't have the best pronunciation still.
Some examples of his own words: grandpa - bugga
grandma - mugga
chocolate - chocette
orange - o'nge
banana - bun
vacuum - bacuum
Mater - ma'er
McQueen - MaKeen
Maddy - Ma'ee
Big - beeg
He likes to watch the garbage truck.
If the doorbell rings during the day, he knows to be quiet because I don't like to answer to someone I don't know. He says "Shh!" and then whispers "Package!" 
When Nate took him on his first bike ride, he yelled "Weeeee!"
He says "owie" a lot. 
He hides behind the living room curtains when he's pooped and doesn't want me to find him to change his diaper.
When he wore underwear for the first time, he ran laps upstairs because he liked how they felt.
When he is shy, he does a sideways look with his eyes and then falls down.
He sniffs loudly when he smells something strong.
Aside from me, Nate, and Oliver, Logan is his favorite person. Then Sandra. Then Keith.
He rolls his cars through anything that has spilled... milk, food, baby spit-up, etc.
He's friendly and loves playing with other kids no matter their age.
He loves to read books. His favorite right now is his John Deer tractor book "Johnny's New Friend" about an apple festival. It has tons of flaps.
He knows triangles and circles and points them out wherever he sees them.
He knows all the colors of the rainbow and black and brown.
He immediately starts crying at the doctor's office because he knows being there means he is getting a shot.
He loves "treats," especially his fruit leather.
He likes to eat things in twos.
He points out trucks, planes, buses, etc. when outside.
He categorizes things as big vs small by calling the big things "big." He still doesn't say little, but he knows the difference. "Big truck!"
He basically understands everything we say to him.

Nate's Birthday and Idaho

 photo IMG_20140304_151007_4401_zps4597ff0f.jpg

 photo IMG_1404_zps34c803c2.jpg

 photo IMG_1411_zps0b9fc6af.jpg

 photo IMG_1415_zpse27e6729.jpg

 photo IMG_1427_zps12a3634b.jpg

 photo IMG_1445_zps19891920.jpg

 photo IMG_1459_zpsf9bf73e5.jpg

 photo IMG_1467_zps44fd8406.jpg

 photo IMG_1475_zps843c0dcc.jpg

 photo IMG_1511_zps3638b1f3.jpg

 photo IMG_1520_zpsf398be5b.jpg

 photo IMG_1524_zps8d160a80.jpg

 photo IMG_1546_zps130042bf.jpg

 photo IMG_1547_zps5248952f.jpg

February

 photo IMG_0930_zps3f84a57d.jpg

 photo IMG_0937_zps9d3abac3.jpg

 photo IMG_0958_zps82091654.jpg

 photo IMG_1014_zps8fee7e34.jpg

 photo IMG_1024_zps6b8357ac.jpg

 photo IMG_1028_zpsa31e0cb0.jpg

 photo IMG_1058_zps02cbdc2b.jpg

 photo IMG_1067_zps996117db.jpg

 photo IMG_1086_zps79b0c972.jpg

 photo IMG_1091_zpse475305a.jpg

 photo IMG_1092_zps84a808f2.jpg

 photo IMG_1116_zps6c607dbb.jpg

 photo IMG_20140214_203444_703_zps1c66f3cc.jpg

 photo IMG_1118_zpsbfa2bf54.jpg

 photo IMG_20140215_180029_233_zpsff4ade68.jpg

 photo IMG_1120_zps84eb52be.jpg

 photo IMG_1121_zpsfc7c1ccd.jpg

 photo IMG_1123_zpsbb440cc6.jpg

 photo IMG_1169_zpse118981b.jpg

 photo IMG_20140220_173115_188_zps10534eca.jpg

 photo IMG_20140221_125957_794_zps90e50bb8.jpg

 photo IMG_1384_zps6f69eb56.jpg

 photo IMG_20140214_193740_zps25d7d226.jpg

 photo IMG_20140214_195122_zps98c09461.jpg