All about me, my hubby, my babies, and my puppy.
We finally made the last payment on the Saturn! It's COMPLETELY MINE NOW!! HOOOORAY! I drove it to Asheville and it did fine, even up the mountain. I drove it home and it did fine. That was this past weekend. Then on Wednesday we made the final payment and sent it in. That evening we were doing some shopping for Oliver's party and Bob dropped me off at work. On his way home it started making a loud CLUNK every time it changed gears. We took it to the shop and they said the transmission is going out!! Are you kidding me with this? I thought this was stuff that only happened in movies and bad commercials. Luckily we have the warranty so it's (mostly) covered but I just can't get over the fact that it happened right after we made the last payment!
We went to Asheville to visit this weekend for my dad's 50th birthday party. While we were there Oliver picked up the word "kitty"! Of course, it's really funny when he says it because when he says the 't' part he sticks his tongue out. He's so cute! Since then I've been trying with other words...saying them clearly and showing him what they are (duck, dog, spoon, cup, etc) but he's stuck on kitty. He even called some bears "kitty". What a silly boy!
For anyone wanting to get Oliver a birthday present, here's what he wants:
Diapers!!!
Clothes in size 12M or 18M (preferably warm/winter)
Peek a Blocks or Roll Arounds
stackable cups/bowls
shape sorter
Little People (doesn't have to be a set)
Books: Harold and the Purple Crayon, Dr. Seuss beginning beginner books, Spot, Mr. Men - board books with bright pictures or cloth books (email me to see which ones he already has)
Toy cars/trucks
smock like bibs (not Sesame Street, but this is the style)
a drum/bongo (or other musical instrument like tamborine, xylophone, maracas)
What he doesn't want:
Stuffed animals - he doesn't care for them and he has tons!
anything musical/loud - he gets bored with it too quickly
I'll be adding to the list as I think of more stuff so check back for more ideas.
This is Oliver's new car seat. It's for big boys! It can be rear facing or front facing. I adjusted the straps and he's already at the second highest one! I'll take pictures of him in it one of these days. First I have to get Bob to install it
Oliver holds everything in his mouth these days. Sometimes he shakes it like a dog does. Strange little boy!
We went out yesterday and came home with a new car seat for Oliver. It's bigger, and can face back or forward. He's getting so big that the straps on the other one are getting really snug. Once we turn it forward we can hook the cup holder and little "secret compartment" onto it. It's pretty fancy, and looks really cozy. I took it out of the box last night and put it all together. BOb put him in it today and he seemed to like it pretty well.
Oliver is crazy about waving. He waves at everyone unless, of course, I ask him to. He waves at people in stores, parking lots, he'll even wave at himself in the mirror! I think he gets the concept that the baby in the mirror is him but who knows. He does realize that it's my reflection there because when I do something he will look from the reflection to me and back again.
He still hates getting his face washed. I've got a new tactic now for washing though. I take him to the sink in (my) bathroom and let him look in the mirror while I run his hands under the faucet, then I lower him down and sploosh water on his face and rub it around to clean him off. It makes for a very wet baby, but it's better than screaming baby.
He's slept for 6 hours in a row, without waking up, in his own bed for the past two nights. Bob puts him to bed at around 8:30 or 9 and then he might wake up around 10 or so (when I get home from work) to eat then goes back down until 5 or 6. I feel so rested! I hope this trend continues. He's doing better with naps, too. He gets a snack and then some juice before firstnap, then just some juice before secondnap, but he goes down so easy. I think he's realized that naps are a good thing and since we've established a routine (not a schedule) he knows what to expect.
Oliver is a "good sharer". In the last few days he has started to hold out whatever he's eating/playing with so that I can have some. I usually just go "yumyumyumyum!" and pretend to eat it (even if it's a toy, weird huh?) and after I do that he chuckles and goes about his business. He did this with just about EVERY bite at breakfast. What a long meal that was!
He stands on his own for seconds at a time now (I counted six earlier, I haven't counted before or since). He usually does it when he's not really paying attention. He'll be holding a particularly interesting toy (or remote or phone) and just let go of whatever large stable object he's on to use both hands to explore it.
Speaking of phones - don't try to call my cell phone! It may or may not work, I'm not sure. Oliver chewed on my phone for a while earlier and now it doesn't ring and some of the buttons don't work. This is NOT an ideal situation since we don't get our "new every 2" credit until January.
Oliver's new favorite game is Chase. I clear off the whole playroom floor and then he sits in one corner and I sit in the other. When he starts crawling toward me I crawl toward him really fast and he starts laughing like crazy, turns the other way and takes off. Sometimes I let him get away, but when I catch him I either roll him over and lift him up into the air or I tickle him like crazy. Either way we both have a good time!
The car seat is getting to be way to small for Oliver. We're going to have to get a big boy car seat soon. I'm going to try to wait until the end of the month so I don't have to worry about turning it around after his birthday, I can just install it the right way to begin with.
that's only 1 month away from a year!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!?!
What he's doing now:
Cruise (he was doing this before)
Use gestures to get needs met (like pointing, arms up to get picked up)
Clap hands
Wave
drink from a (sippy) cup by himself (this took LOTS of practice)
Pincher grasp
Stand alone (for a few seconds at a time)
say Mim and Dada and know what it means/who it is
Uses gibberish (more than just babbling)
responds to commands (like "leave it alone" or "give it to me" or "come to me")
The only things he isn't doing that the book says he might be able to are walking and saying more words. Both of which are listed as being something that doesn't usually happen this early.
He's still got a little bit of stranger anxiety and separation anxiety, but not too badly. He'll wave at just about anyone (unless you ask him to) and he's all smiles and talking to people when we go shopping (especially the ladies!)
He's very playful and laughs all the time. He's started to take an interest in stuffed animals, something he never cared much for. He's even got a favorite (it's the stuffed giraffe that Delilah gave him). He's more interested in how things work than just throwing them or banging them - he's almost figured out that tower of rings...he's always taken them off but now he's trying to put them back on, too.
He's a sweet sweet boy! I'm excited (and sad) that he'll be a year old soon.
I tried a Krispy Kreme doughnut sundae today. YUM! You can choose any donut, and topping, and they have chocolate, vanilla or swirl ice cream. I got a chocolate cake donut with chocolate ice cream with fudge drizzle and oreo crumbles. it was gooooooooooooooooooooood!
I've been working on more baby food. I made carrots, Broccoli and cauliflower with cheddar, and a mixed veggie (lima beans, carrots, corn, spinach, green beans) So far all he's tried is the mixed veggies but he seemed to like it. I also made black beans and rice. Yum!
He was cranky cranky cranky all day long. I bounced him on the exersize ball, i rocked him in the chair, i rocked him in my arms...he would NOT fall asleep. Since he was crying anyway, and so tired, this seemed to have worked pretty well for Katherine and Claire so I decided to try it. Every time he got up I laid him back down. He did NOT like it...AT ALL! He cried and cried and cried, but I just kept talking to him and rubbing his back and patting his tummy until finally (seemed like so long, but was actually only about 7 minutes) he fell asleep. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to do this because I hated every minute of it. Maybe now he will be able to sooth himself back to sleep in the middle of the night, though...and that means more sleep for him and for me.
over at Adventures in Babywearing! You can enter to win a $75 gift certificate to Chittypulga. They have some super cute clothes and very unique toys.
I like this and this and look at these cute little pants! Check them out, they are having sale right now, too!
Mangoes are antiviral. Mango juice poured into a test tube with live viruses actually deactivates them!
Do you cry when you cut an onion? It's because of a gas released when you break the cell walls. To avoid it refridgerate them before cutting. The cold air slows the gas.
Does baby have trouble picking up sliced banana or other slippery foods? Grind up some granola, oatmeal, or even cheerios in your food processor or blender. Coat the slippery food in the powder to make it easier to grab. This will also help prevent choking since slippery foods can slip down baby's throat before he can chew it up well enough.
We all know fish is a source of omega-3 fatty acids, but did you know the BEST source is flaxseed? About 1/4 tablespoon has 2372 mg of omega-3. The only fish that comes close to that amount are sardines (5000mg per 3.5 oz serving, but who wants to eat sardines? ew!) and sockeye salmon or atlantic mackerel (2500-3000mg per 3.5 oz serving). The only problem with eating fish is that it can be tainted by heavy metals, lead and mercury from water pollution.
There are no FDA limits on levels of pesticides and organic chemicals in bottled water. There are no federal standards on bottled water if they are bottled and sold in the same state. Some bottled waters are just processed local tap water. Avoid water with labels that say "spring fresh", "Spring type" or "spring pure" Some bottled waters contain added sodium and may have more bacteria then the water from your tap!It's actually better to drink filtered water (Brita or Pur) than bottled waters.
Thank you Super Baby Food for all this valuable information!!
We were walking around K Mart yesterday looking for something that was totally NOT baby clothes, but I had to stop and look when I saw signs for 40% off clearance prices! We ended up getting 2 pairs of shorts and two outfits (like this one) for about $5. There were about 6 or 7 racks FULL of clothes that were marked down (some more than once) and then had another 40% off. We didn't have much time to browse but they had some really cute stuff. Great deal!
