Lots of Pictures!

I finally got around to uploading pictures from the camera. There is a LOT of ones that made me giggle, so I thought I would share them. Here you go!
 

 After we put the hardware on the cabinets, it took Ollie a total of 2 minutes to discover he could get into the cabinets. We then went out and bought safety locks.

 Saturday morning bran muffin. Always a treat to walk to the bakery with daddy!

 Playing with the buttons while waiting for the ophthalmologist.

 Give me the camera, mom!

 Walking on his own!

 Love his overalls :)

 Halloween Costumes!

 He loves being just like daddy! This is him putting on Matthew's socks.

 He likes to lounge into the couch and drink his milk.

Eating tomatoes with Grandma! He loves going outside to eat, throw, and squish them.

Bipedal Locomotion

Happy Spina Bifida Awareness month! Our little boy decided he was finally ready to walk without a finger to stabilize himself. He took right off! And even stood up in the middle of the floor one time. We think he had been practicing when we weren't looking. He still prefers to walk with an audience to cheer him on, so let me know if you want to see him in action!

don't mind my squealing...I was a bit excited.

Last Week's Surgery

 At our routine pediatrician visit our doctor noticed Ollie's head was growing faster than normal. We saw a series of doctors in the upcoming week, and decided his shunt was blocked. We scheduled surgery for the following week. His symptoms increased and we had to move the surgery earlier. We tried a different procedure with hopes of not needing a shunt in the future, but unexpected circumstances made it impossible. They instead replaced the catheter of his shunt. We have been surprised how quickly his personality has changed back to his curious, active self.

 This was our first time in the big-kids unit instead of the infant unit.

We spent a couple of days at the hospital.

 It took 5 hours longer than expected to be discharged, so we were working hard to stay entertained. We went on lots of walks. We appreciated that they allowed us to go wireless often.

 We have missed these cuddles since Ollie was a newborn, so we enjoyed the times he wanted to sleep in our arms instead of his bed.

Oliver loved all of the gadgets throughout the room. Here he is with the ear thermometer.

Summer time!

Oliver is learning and growing so much right now. Matthew and I always talk about how you can see the wheels turning in his head. He is increasing his sign language vocabulary and actually beginning to say words other than "da-da" and "ma-ma." He has been saying "yeah" for awhile now, but I was never really sure if he understood the context...until now. Whenever I ask him a question he responds with a "yeah." He is also saying "up" as he climbs the stairs or gets to the top of the slide. He signs to communicate his needs and wants, and has learned that "please" really is a magic word that melts our hearts every time.

Our little boy is a real copy-cat. He loves learning by watching our every move. This has forced us to be very aware of how we do things. He refuses to eat with baby utensils, so he just uses what we use. He loves to blow his nose (or breath heavily into tissues).

He is now very mobile. He has a walker that helps him go independently and loves cruising in it.

One of his favorite activities is to go climb up and down stairs. We have to do this all the time. I took him to one of the local museums and all he wanted to do was climb the stairs of the building.

Now that the weather is hot our favorite activity is to go to the water park. Ollie loves cruising through the pool in his walker or watching all the kids fly out of the slide.

We are having lots of fun and really enjoying ourselves together!

Easter Photos

Thanks to Shaunie and Brett for the beautiful photos!

One

This kid is such a ham! He turned one just two weeks ago.

He is super independent and refuses to let me feed him anymore. Unfortunately, with him feeding himself it ends like this every time.

Whenever daddy is home Oliver likes to help him work. And if we keep the screen at the same place for too long, he likes to hit the keys and make it more interesting for us. He has only renamed some of my folders and bookmarks to date.

Here he is trying to convince me to hand him the camera. When he really wants my attention he will now say "Ma ma." My heart melts. It works every time...for now.

He is such a charmer!

First Cake

From Auntie Maddy and Uncle Tim

Some more pictures

This is how Oliver likes to eat his food: the kind of meal that requires a bath. He had it in between his toes, through his hair, and everywhere in between.

Nice haircut, right? I think it makes him look too much older.

I found him sleeping like this and couldn't stop laughing.

long overdue...

Oliver's first real swing at the park.

Learning to bang pots and pans.

All dressed up for Matthew's work Christmas party.


Fun in the light of the sunshine.



Notice how if I had permitted it the camera would have gone straight into his mouth several times. He loves biting things!

likes and dislikes

So it turns out that our little boy's personality is really starting to shine through. He is 10 months old now. Wow, he is growing up. Some of his preferences we have noticed so far...

dislikes:

• startling noises...especially when sleepy. Sneezes and coughs fall into this category.
  
• the poops
• napping
• being sleepy (notice how this one and the previous one creates problems)
• playing on his own
• physical therapy
• being in the house too long
  

loves:

• eating
• going out into crowds
• people
• cuddling
• drinking from a glass
• bath time
• hospital soothies
• his slinky
• pulling his socks off
  
• riding in the car (usually, or at least for the first 30 mins)
• cell phones, computers, and tablets
• quiet clapping
• the pee-pee song
• his mama and dada