I'm a cool dude!

Oliver got his first swimming shorts today! We saw these at Target and couldn't resist getting them. Now he's ready for the pool, the lake, the beach...and of course you can't go those places without some protection from the sun. Below you see his matching hat and sunglasses. Doesn't he look coooool?

if you were a superhero

what would you want your superpower to be? I've heard this question on a few talk shows lately and I really can't decide what I'd want my power to be.

Bob sent me a picture message on my phone yesterday of his profusely bleeding hand. He was scraping some sticker off a mirror at a customer's house and cut himself. He didn't notice until he got back out to his van! It was a pretty bad cut, and in the picture the blood was RUNNING DOWN HIS HAND. how did he not notice that?!?!?! Anyway he showed it to me later and it's not as bad as it looked in the picture. He did remember to put a bandaid on it, which he usually doesn't remember. Pooooooor Bob.

I have been looking for a pair of earrings to go with the dress I bought to wear to the wedding I'm going to on Sunday. I can not find anything anywhere! I went to 2 wal marts, target, kmart, belk, dillards, claire's, and jcpenny. I found a pair I sort of liked at Claire's but it was the wrong color and it was in a set of 6 pairs...all I need is one pair. One stinking pair of cute green earrings! I only have one day left to find them.

first picnic

Bob and I had the day off together yesterday (which hardly ever happens) and it was really nice outside so we decided to take Oliver to the bog garden. We stopped for some sandwiches and made it Oliver's first picnic. Of course, he just ate pears (for the first time) and cereal, but it was his first experience eating outside. It was warm and all the flowers were so pretty. He wanted to look at and touch them all. We brought along some bubbles to play with and Oliver didn't really know what to think of them. He liked watching them float by but he didn't want to touch them at all! Thanks to the timer on the camera we got a family photo with pretty flowers in the background. What a lovely day!

through the night...

Oliver has been sleeping very well all night lately. The last few nights he slept in his bed! The first night he woke up around 4:30 and came back to bed with me, but then the next night he slept from 10:30 all the way to 6:45!! He didn't do as well last night, but he's really getting good at entertaining himself and not being so reliant on us every moment of every day. Hooray Oliver!!!

In other Oliver news, he has two bottom teeth now. Both are VERY sharp! He bit my finger and left a mark. Anyway, they are both easy to see now and are sticking up a little bit out of his gums. They are so cute!

He gets really grouchy around naptime, but he still hates going to sleep. I have found a secret weapon though. He loves "the itsy bitsy spider". Anytime he hears it he stops crying and starts smiling. I think I sung it about 50 times yesterday.

Last night for Oliver's bath I decided it was time for a new bath toy. I got out some little duckies that had been decorations at my baby shower (the one here) and he was playing with it. Once he was all clean I took it back and filled it full of water and squirted it onto his belly. He didn't seem very amused until all the water was gone and I squeezed it a few more times to get the last drops out. When the air and droplets hit him he just laughed and laughed and laughed...so of course I kept doing it. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. We did it for a loooong time before we finally got him out of the bath. It's so wonderful to hear him laugh!

cool grass on the tootsies

This is Oliver's first experience with grass. He didn't seem to like it very much even though it was hot outside and the grass was nice and cool. He only stayed there for a minute before he started fussing so we put him back in the stroller and wheeled him around until he fell asleep. While he was snoozing I dug up some plants that were next to the front porch. They weren't very pretty and I didn't like them. I'm not sure what I want to plant there now, but at least the others are gone.

handsome buppy!

We played in the yard today a little bit before we did some yard work. Jasper played with a tennis ball and then when he got worn out he went and rested on the tarp. He was looking rather handsome so I took a few pictures.

can we say "mess"?

Oliver likes to get food everywhere when he eats. I usually scrape it off and stick it back in his mouth but this time he was so cute that I waited a bit. Daddy took this picture when I was about halfway through his lunch. He did end up eating all that stuff on his face. Incidentally, his bib is still clean.

what's that noise?

It was a woodpecker! I was putting some stuff into the bucket for the compost pile when I heard an odd noise. I looked out and in the tree just a few feet from the back door this woodpecker was tapping away. He wasn't bothered by me going in and out of the door several times. Hopefully the cats won't get him like they did with the last one.

remember my fun money?

Well here's how I spent most of it. I got a new pair of New Balance, which are the same as my old ones except they are blue instead of pink...


and this dress and pair of shoes to wear to a wedding. It can also be worn to church/dates/fun/picnics...whatever!!

hanging out before bedtime...

Oliver wouldn't let me put his jammies on last night. He wanted to play and discover his feet. He loves his feet! He actually got one into his mouth last night. I don't know how the little guy can be so flexible!

cute?

I think so!!

Adorable photos

We got Oliver's pictures taken at JC Penny today. Overall I suppose they did a good job and the pictures turned out absolutely adorable. A few of them weren't great, just ok, but some of the turned out SO well. We ended up ordering 2 8X10, 6 5X7, 45 wallets, and 18 minis. I can't wait to show them to people. Unfortunately I won't be able to put them up here because of copyright issues and all that, but take my word for it. They are ADORABLE!!

In other news, Bob has been working on the back yard and it's really starting to shape up. He dug up a few trees and ugly bushes and moved all the big rocks. He wants to build a deck out there at some point but I think right now it's low on the priority list. I on the other hand have been working on the trim in the bedroom...STILL. I did finish two doorframes and part of the baseboard, and I have a first coat on the 3rd doorframe. It's hard to find time to do it because we are always so busy. I can't do it while he naps anymore because he naps in his bed and it's in the bedroom. I can only do it while Bob is watching Oliver and not too close to bedtime because of the lingering smell. Hopefully it will be finished soon.

We gave Jasper his first bath in the hose. He didn't like it! It was warm out but the water was pretty cold so he didn't want to stand still to get rinsed off. We finished it as quickly as we could and then rubbed him down with a nice warm towel to try and dry him off a little before letting him back into the house. Maybe when it gets really warm he'll like it better.

many things...

First of all congratulations to Faith who just found our she's pregnant with baby #2!! Hooray for Faith! (she's Bob's dispatcher at work)

Secondly I didn't post yesterday because it was a very hard day. Oliver was very cranky because his first tooth actually broke through! We were very excited, but it apparently caused quite a bit of pain since he didn't want to do anything except eat and snuggle and sleep. Even when he was asleep I couldn't put him down. Every time I tried he would wake up and start screaming. Poor baby. :-(

We are going to get his pictures taken at JC Penny tomorrow. This will be his first set of professional pictures and we are very excited. I'm not sure what he's going to wear yet. They said we could bring 2 outfits so I'll pick something out tonight and make sure it's clean for tomorrow.

Mother - I tried 3 different dentists before I could get an appointment that early. All of them are booked until mid june! I don't know what's going on around here. Maybe spring is the time to get your teeth cleaned. Luckily the pain isn't as bad anymore. I can move my head like a normal person now.

nostalgic

He got this same outfit, the smaller one is the one that fit him (barely - it was big on him) when he was born. The bigger one is the one that fits him now. What a difference! Odd, too, that he got the same outfit in two different sizes...and I think he got them from different people. I cleaned out his dresser today and packed up all the stuff that doesn't fit him anymore so we can put it in the attic. It was a LOT of stuff! Luckily we got a good bit of clothes in larger sizes at my many showers so we still have plenty of things that fit him. We did go out and buy him some new jammies today. I'll post pictures tomorrow if I can find the time.

In other news, I have been having SERIOUS issues with my neck and shoulders. They have been sore and painful. Enough so that I actually took some Advil. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't take medication very often. I actually ended up taking some on two different days. The second time was at about 2am when I woke up with such pain in my shoulder that I couldn't go back to sleep. Poor Bob had to run to the store to get the Advil because we didn't have any. So anyway, I've realized that the pain is being caused by my wisdom teeth. They've been coming in for a few years and I've put off getting them extracted because it's never been a big issue, and it's very expensive even with insurance. It's to the point now that I have to get them out so I can function. Parts of my face go numb and I can't turn my head all the way to either side. I called the dentist today and they can't give me an appointment (for a cleaning...so I can get a referral to a surgeon) until mid April! That's CRAZY!! They could only get me in then because they had a cancellation. The next available appointment was in mid June! Are all dentists like that!? Oh well, I took the appointment and hopefully it will be ok until then.

look how strong!

He's super strong. He loves to pull that star down and chew on it. It's hard to pull it down like that and keep it down. He can do it for a good while though. For some reason I have the smiley facing out instead of toward him. I just noticed it so I'll have to fix that.

now THAT'S a happy baby!

wow...

I went back and was looking at some pictures from the day Oliver was born. What a huge difference there is between what he looked like then and what he looks like now. He was such a teeny tiny little guy...and now he's big and strong. In that first picture his clothes don't even fit, they are all loose and baggy. In the second picture he's filling out the clothes quite nicely. His feet and legs and arms were nothing but bones, and now he's got ROLLS! Look at his adorable fatness!

shadow boy

Bob took this picture of Oliver's shadow. Look at those eyelashes!

notice anything?

Well, other than his fat little legs. Remember this?
Well he's gotten so tall that we took the pillow away. He can reach the
bottom of the saucer now! He's getting so tall. I can't wait to see what he
measures at his dr's appointment. It's not until the 2nd of April though.

Serious about reading...

I love these pictures! He looks like he's really into the story. He looked at this book
for a good while yesterday...and then he chewed on it for a while, too.

big boy!

Oliver can drink from a cup!
It's not a sippy cup either - it's a cup with a straw. It's easy for him to hold
with those big handles on the sides. He really likes it! So far all we've
given him in it is white grape juice mixed with water.

he thinks it's funny...

Bob has decided that it's hilarious to leave his glasses around the house in odd places.
Here is our turtle lamp wearing them. In response to my question about WHY is
the turtle wearing your glasses, he responded...because he can't see very well!!!

am I going to do this EVERY time?

Oliver tried carrots! I had to post this picture because it was just so darn cute.
He liked the carrots pretty well. Not as well as the squash though. So now he's had
4 veggies and 2 different kinds of cereal. I think next we'll try a fruit.

standing...

Oliver was standing up in his crib yesterday! He was really hanging on to the side, but he was holding himself up. Yes, that is my arm behind him, but it was just there in case he started to fall. He got tired really quickly though, and so we only did this for a minute.

He could be FAMOUS!!

I entered Oliver's picture in a photo contest a while back just to see what would happen. Well, they haven't picked a winner yet, but he did get into the semi-finals. The picture was also selected to be in a coffee table book. It is called Endless Journeys and it's scheduled to come out this summer! Don't worry, I don't have to buy anything or release my copyright of the photo. I didn't know I had a copyright, but apparently if it's your original work then you have it. Well anyway, I'm very excited!

new things...

Well we went to Wally world today. We needed to pick up a few things and ended up with more than we meant to get. We did get some nail clippers for the dog, which we needed since we won't be taking him to the groomer once a month anymore. We also got a new toy for Oliver - one of those towers with all the different colored rings that stack up. He seems to like chewing on the rings, but doesn't get the concept of the tower yet. We also got him a cup! It's a non-leaking cup with a straw. I read in several different places to skip the sippy and go to a cup or straw. The reason is that a sippy does basically the same thing as a bottle, it just looks different. With a straw the drink doesn't pool in his mouth therefore reducing the amount of time it is in contact with his teeth. "Why is this important?" you might ask. Well, it's because we don't want sugar and stuff getting on his teeth all the time so they don't rot. So we're starting that with meals tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, we'll be going to Raleigh tomorrow so we can drop Oliver off at Nanny and Pappy's house and go on a DATE! yep, a date!! I'm so excited!!!