cute things Oliver does...

If I say "Oliver, it's HOT!" he blows...not on anything, just blows.

He has started making a big CHEESE face...he grins really big and squints his eyes closed

He crawls around with a block in each hand - the blocks make a big stomping noise.

more from GSOCM

In the firetruck

While we were waiting for it to open we were sitting on this bench. Oliver liked playing the chimes.

The perps, getting carted off to jail in the back of the police car.

Me and Oliver racing...weeee!

our trip to the GSO children's museum

We sat in a HUGE chair

This was in the 2 years and younger area. They had these big foamy blocks in different shapes for the babies to climb on. Oliver even went up the stairs by himself to get to the one he's sitting in.

He actually spent quite a bit of time in there. It was so much fun!

This was in a little castle area. Oliver really liked playing with that "other" baby.

We also got to get in a firetruck, a police car, a reacecar and an airplane. The siren on the police car really worked! I think we scared some people!

my big boy!!

Oliver has been taking a few steps here and there lately. Nothing terribly impressive, just one step to get to the next hand hold...but today! Today he walked 7 steps. Then he did it again...and again. I tempted him with some milk in a cup to get him on video (because nothing else was tempting enough) so hopefully I'll be able to post it soon. Ignore the screaming cries while he's doing it...he's NOT in pain - just tired and wanted that milk BAD. I'm so proud of my baby boy!

trying out some new recipes...

I got the new Parents magazine a few weeks ago and they had some really yummy looking soup recipes that I wanted to try. The next time I went out I got all the ingredients and cooked them up and they were really super!
The first one I made was Mac & Cheese soup - it's chicken broth with shredded cheese, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and macaroni (recipe calls for shells). I used fresh veggies instead of frozen (as called for in the recipe) and I used more cheese than it said, too. The only thing I would do differently is add chicken to it next time.
The other day I made Taco Soup. It was fantastic! It's made with beef broth, corn, ground beef (although I used ground turkey), black beans, taco seasoning, and tomato. I modified it a little bit, with the turkey and added black beans and pinto beans to make it thicker. I also used salsa instead of tomato. It was just the right spicy the way I made it. Of course, we dipped tortilla chips in it. The only thing I would do differently next time is to use half as much broth. The broth makes it harder to use as a dip. It was really good by itself too, though. I also shredded some cheese on top of Bob's when I served it. I think maybe you could mix a little sour cream in, too, and that wouldn't be too bad.
I would have posted the actual recipes but I can't find the magazine right now...maybe later.

if you have 12 children then this could happen to you...

she's the one on the left!

if you are researching vaccinations...

check out this book. I haven't actually read it yet (soon, though!) but I heard it has a breakdown of each vaccine with possible side effects AND what it could prevent. From what I could read on Amazon it looked pretty good. It even states that they present both sides of view - provaccination and antivaccination, although most of their information is against it. It also says that if you do decide to go ahead with the vaccinations to do it spread out over more time so your child isn't getting multiple shots at one visit. I'm going to get a copy of this book as soon as I can. I'll post more about it once I've read it. Here are some excerpts from the book from the writer's website.

what a mess!

It started out as just putting in a new back door. The only door between the laundry room and the back yard was a busted up old screen door. So Bob took it down and attempted to put in a regular door. Well once he took it down he found out the studs were rotten. He had to tear down all the siding on this side, rebuild the wall, and then install the door. Here's the progress:

This was about 8:45 that night. Bob worked all day and finally got the wall built back up and the insulation put in. Since then he has also put in the new door and started putting up the new siding. Whew! What a job!

what IS this?

Oliver and I were going around looking at all the trees in our yard when we saw this. It's gross! It wasn't moving or anything, just sitting there, so I took this picture. The next day I went out again and it was still there in the same place. It looked like it hadn't moved at all!!

new project

I started a new crochet project. Remember the blankie I made for Oliver? Well I started another one just with different colors. I figure since it took me 3 years to finish the first one I better get started on the next one now.

vaccinations...

We've decided to further research all vaccinations before deciding whether to give them to Oliver. My preference right now is to forgo any that he hasn't already had. Did you know that the vast majority of vaccine safety studies are conducted by government health officials and drug companies selling vaccines? That means the people who are saying it's safe are the same people who make money from their continued use. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me! Here is a petition for the release of all vaccine safety information to the public. The information needs to be released for study by independent researchers.

1 year appointment!

Oliver had his 1 year appointment yesterday. He weighs 20 pounds (no ounces) and is 30 inches tall. His head is 18 3/4 inches. Which means he's still in the 10% for weight, 90% for height and somewhere around 75% for head. Soooo...tall skinny boy with big head....hehehe!

He's developing right on schedule. Pincher grasp, feeding himself, using a cup, saying a few words, crawling, cruising, sooo close to walking, etc etc.

Also, he's getting a molar! There is one peeking through on the top left and another swollen one ready to pop on the bottom right. No wonder he's been so cranky!!!

In other news, Bob is still working on getting the back door finished. He had to tear down the wall and rebuild it, then install the door. All that's left now is finishing up the siding and calking the sides of the door. Hopefully he'll be able to finish that tomorrow when we are both home. It's so hard to get anything done when one of us is gone.

what? I like my Tonka!

what's up with Noah's sandals?

This is the toy that Bob made for Oliver...

Bob worked very hard for a few nights building this toy for Oliver. The little circles and squares spin around on that peg and also move back and forth.

Oliver spends a lot of time just spinning those little blocks and having a grand time!

check out this cool toy!

Oliver got this from my grandparents for his birthday. They are stacking cups, which I couldn't find a decent set of anywhere. The little head has a bell in it so it jingles. Not only do they stack like this...

but they also click together (with the next size up or down) to make balls.

You can even put them all together into one ball if you put the smallest two together and then keep putting the next biggest one on the opposite side. Sewe the colors layered there?

They stack this way...

and you can stack a smaller one on any larger one because they have little grooves in them to fit together.
This is a very cool toy. Oliver likes to use them as bowls (even though they have holes in the bottom) and slurp out pretend soup. He laughs and laughs!

nothing of substance...

I went to the eye dr today and they said my contact prescription was too strong. I now have the correct prescription and some new fancy contacts that are ok to sleep in! The guy kind of yelled at me a little about sleeping in my contacts because my eyes can't breathe. I'm hoping to get a pair of glasses this time so I can take my contacts out at night without having to worry about what I'll do if I have to get up in the middle of the night. I can't see a darn thing, especially in the dark, without my contacts.

Bob went, too. He still has perfect vision but still needs prism glasses. This is good I guess since hopefully Oliver will inherit his eyesight and my eye muscles. hehe!

they came two by two

and they were so cute!

I should post more often...

but who has time?! Between cooking, cleaning, taking care of Oliver, and working I have practically no free time. When I do get free time I just want to sit like a lump and do nothing. Although for the past few days when I get home from work Bob and I will sit and talk or play a game. AAAAh, quality time! It's a good way to wind down the day. We've been going to bed earlier too. Oliver sleeps through the night with NO wakings most of the time now. It's so nice...and he does it without having used the CIO method. Now that he's sleeping better we'll be moving his bed into his room as soon as we get the blinds up in there. I'm not thrilled about it, but it's the next step. It will be nice to have our own room back.

since he's a year old now...

He's got some new material...

He says tickle tickle tickle
He helps put on his clothes (been doing this for a while)
He walks if you hold his hand
He likes stacking things (cups, bowls, blocks)
He speaks gibberish fluently
He sits in his car seat facing the front
He dances to music
He orders food from the kids menu when we go out
He doesn't put everything in his mouth (right away)
He plays peek-a-boo (he ducks behind something and then pops out..it's too cute!)
He makes vroom noises when he plays with cars


I'm sure this isn't all but it's all I can think of for now. He's a big boy and so smart and cute and funny! What a flirt, too.