He's on the move

So over the last few weeks Oliver has been hit or miss whether he wants to crawl or not. Well today he's decided that he can move around and that is what he prefers now. Yesterday he even pulled himself up onto his book shelf and then went head first into the shelf leaving a bruise in the middle of his forehead. He didn't seem to mind much after a few tears were shed because then he could play with the books he toppled over himself while falling. Here's Oliver trying to escape!



Look how cute he crawls. One leg curled under him. YUMMY BUBBLES!


And because I'm a proud momma, here's another video of him crawling today to get his bubbles.

SPAGHETTI!!

So anyone who has watched my son eat knows that he is a very talkative eater, always eating with his mouth open. Usually after each bite it will go something like this, "YUM." Now we tried spaghetti with Oliver and at first he would cringe and not like it. So, I went on to the fresh peaches that I cut up for him to eat instead. Then he started throwing a fit and sticking his hand in the spaghetti. So, I went back to the spaghetti and heard "YUM, YUM" after each bite again. He loved it so much he even started feeding himself it. His pincer grasp isn't perfect enough yet to just use his index and thumb to pick it up so he would take handfuls (hence he's stripped down to his diaper) and shove it in his mouth. Now since his mommy is a clean/germ freak mommy encouraged the use of the spoon instead which Oliver loved more so as a toy to move the food around on his plate. He then proceeded to throw pieces of it in the air off the spoon from waving it around. He got a good bath after that meal.

First haircut

I think he likes it!

Well we had to do something with Oliver's hair, it was so long in the front that it was down to his eyes. The comb-over wouldn't do anymore. So, I attempted to cut his hair. Much harder than I first thought because he's a squirmer. Shawn tried to hold his arms down so he couldn't push my hands out of the way but then he's so smart that he would shake his head side to side as if saying "NO". Well let's just say, it's no professional haircut but it will do for now. He's definitely got a army crew cut looking hair now since he still doesn't have much hair on the sides and in the back.
Look at those gorgeous blue eyes!!

Before the haircut Oliver helped me tip the green beans from my parents garden. I would tip them and put them on the plate then he would reach for them each time and pick them up. I don't think he liked the feel of them though because he would pick it up and throw it down right away. This went on over and over again. So CUTE! He's eating a lot of things out of Grandpa Dave and Grandma Sandy's garden now. He's had beets, beans and zucchini.


Oliver is also starting to pull himself up. He likes our hands mostly to assist him but he did use these rubbermaid boxes filled with his Dr. Seuss books that were Shawn's when he was little this time. He flipped through all the books and then would start hitting them for me to take one out. So we ended up reading a lot of books that day which is good because he loves books and there isn't much else to do when it is so hot outside.

Vacation

We started our vacation, well if you could call it that, (it was more so a vacation from work for me) on this past Saturday.

Don't forget me mom!

We went down to Davenport for my cousin's wedding. It was a hot day for a wedding but it turned out to be a beautiful day and ceremony. Oliver didn't even mind sitting outside. He had fun playing with the program and ripping it apart. Good thing I remembered his hat!

The reception was inside and so elegant. We had a wonderful dinner and then the dancing started. Oliver wasn't much for the dancing/music part, he was just plain tired by that time so he was fussy.

Here's Oliver and his cousins Ian and Annaliese with Grandpa Dave.

Here's Great Billie's 10 Great Grandkids!

After the wedding we spent the night and Grandpa and Grandma Doerscher's and had a tasty breakfast in the morning before heading for Omaha. Dad and Shawn went back to St. Olaf and Mom, Oliver and I followed my sister and her family back to Omaha to watch her kids for a few days. Since Colleen has the summers off of work, she needed someone to watch Ian and Annaliese for a few days so she could go to a conference.

It was great to see Oliver interact with his cousins. He had a chance to play with new and interesting toys and learn new things. He started scooting backwards on his tummy while out there and took more risks with getting from a seated position to leaning forward to get on all 4's to reach for things. Tummy time also went better, I think because he had better distractions in his cousins than at home with me jumping around and doing crazy things so he won't fuss.

They had fun playing with the ball popper toy. Oliver would cry each time it would turn off so Annaliese would keep hitting it to turn it back on. Oliver caught on soon and then tried taking it away from Annaliese so he could turn it on.



They also had fun playing out in the pool.




Oliver liked playing with the doctors kit but more so enjoyed playing with the Caterpillar tool set we had given Ian a couple years earlier. I think the pictures say it all as to which were his favorite toys. I wonder if this will be an indication of what he will be when he grows up?

4th of July

I surprisedly had the 4th of July off thanks to a co-worker willing to switch so Oliver and I were able to spend time with my family and some good friends. My Godparents and their families have a cabin near Froelich and we had a good time getting together eating, talking, enjoying the fire and smores that come with having a fire, and going on Kobota/Gator rides. Oliver even went creek stomping in the creek!
Oliver had his first Kobota ride and liked it for the most part except for his hat always falling in his face.

He also was able to play with Walter, my sister's friends son from Omaha who were also able to spend the 4th with us. They're a little over a month apart in age.

Thanks to Arlyn and Karen for letting us come and spend the 4th with you all. We had a great time!

He's standing!

So we always said that Oliver would probably walk before he'd crawl and I think it's definitely looking that way now. Oliver hates his stomach still but does tolerate short periods of us putting him on all fours. But, he likes to be a frog with his legs out to the side rather than up on his knees so we're continuing to work on that.

Now, he can stand (if you put him in that position) on his own. He stands and holds on to the couch or the coffee table or your fingers or his crib rails. He's not pulling himself up to standing yet but he looks great vertical I should say!

Leave me alone mom, I'm trying to get the remote!

I finally got the remote!

He is also teething like crazy. He's got 3 that are fully through on the bottom, 1 on the top that had broken through awhile ago but not as big as the ones on the bottom and it looks like 3 more are coming on the top. He's been a little cranky with them lately but who wouldn't be if the were coming in all at once. We're also trying more solids foods. He's liking Ritz crackers but if it were up to him he'd put the whole cracker in his mouth so we're assisting him and it is a work in progress.

We had his blood work done on Tuesday and his hemaglobin came back at 10.5 so we're thrilled with that!

Warm weather fun

Now that it is nice out, Oliver wants to be outside. When you open a door he automatically thinks you're going outside and most generally he's right. He starts kicking and screaming with excitement. Here's some of what we've done the last week.

We had a neighborhood Memorial Day party last weekend and Oliver was able to play with his friends Rebecca and Kimberly as well as Haley. He loved being read to and all the attention.

Since this week was so warm, Oliver tried out a couple pools. First we went in to Chuck and Shirley's camper and he played in the water with his toys. This was his first time in a pool and he loved splashing just as he does when he is in the bathtub.

He also went for a bike ride with Grandpa Chuck at the campground.



Then we came home and he went swimming again in a little ducky tub with more toys. He loved the little cups that have holes in it that drain water. He splashes for a while then sucks his fingers to lick all the water off over and over again.

Then we tried out the swing we hung and Grandpa and Grandma Doerschers from our neighbors.

And since everyone in the NICU said that Oliver would be a pianist because of his long fingers and so far he loves it!

He was so tired out after that big day he took a 2 and a half hour nap! That's the longest he's ever taken a nap.

Yesterday was Uff da Daze in St. Olaf and we went out early for the 5K Walk/Run. Of course we walked, joined by some of my coworkers and their family members and had a great time. You can tell that Oliver is a momma's boy and is attached to me because everytime he would see me walking he'd yell out because he wanted me to pick him up so I most generally walked behind him. It's not only in the stroller but anytime I walk away from him he's screaming for me to come back even if Shawn is in the room. Oliver got to ride our Oliver tractor during the parade and looked like he enjoyed himself. In fact, the only time he wasn't fussy because he was tired and it was hot, was when he was on the tractor or watching Daddy get 2nd place in the slow pull tractor race. He took over a 2 hour nap yesterday after all that excitement too.