That family that yogas together...

Happy Thanksgiving

Oliver had a great day, even though it started a bit early (4:00 AM Wisconsin time).  We watched his first sunrise together.  If you ask him what color the sky was when the sun came out this morning, he will tell you, “pink!”  Oliver has been loving all the attention from family.  We had a fun day up North for our Thanksgiving celebration at the cabin.  All the new places and people does have his “mama neediness” at maximum level.  But, he has been very happy and inquisitive, just so long as mama is within reach.  Oliver especially enjoyed playing in the leaves and digging holes in the dirt.  Grandpa gave him his first taste of pumpkin pie (with whip cream).  We were even there after dark, so he got to take the moon for a walk.

We have so much to be thankful for.  

Good Morning!

I love my hat, it is so soft.

Walking!

Leaves.

Dirt.

Pumpkin Pie.

Vote for Love

Oliver braved the cold to participate in the democratic process tonight.  He liked the free sticker and the sound of saying the word “vote” (with an emphasis on the “t”).

Yesterday, Oliver started saying a word that melts my heart just as much as hearing him say “Oliver’s”.  Now when I say, “I love you.”  Oliver responds with “love.”  And if he is feeling particularly fond of me at the moment, I get “love” along with a cheek-to-cheek hug.  I adore my little boy more than I can express.  Love.  Love.  Love.

"Oliver's"

Happy Halloween (Part II)

As expected, our second Halloween celebration was less successful than our first this year.  I was hopeful that I could at least get done with my billable hours for the year in time to take Oliver out for his first trick-or-treat experience (just a couple houses).  But, I was not able to pull it off.  So it was good that I had the foresight to dress him in his costume for the day and take a few pictures in the morning (hence, the sleepy eyes). 

Joe’s mom made the lab/doctor coat, and I recently got him the doctor kit to get him in the spirit of his costume.  Due to all the teething, he is familiar with “medicine” from a syringe, so he likes to give his bear (or other animals) medicine and check his ears (but, sometimes gets these devices mixed up).  He is still not into the stethoscope being in his ears, so I don’t think he even knows that he can hear a thump, thump sound if he pushes the button.  But, he does say thump, thump when it is on his heart since we tell him that is what happens.  Also to get him in the spirit, he got a couple of kids doctor books.  The B. Bears what not much of a hit.  But, the Biscuit goes to the veterinarian book has become a huge hit.  So much so that I had to get a couple more Biscuit the puppy books.  Reading them is fun because of Oliver's contribution, when you say, "where is Biscuit?",  he points to the puppy and then says "oofff, oofff."

I hope to do a blog post soon to catch up on many of the new things that Oliver is doing.  But, I can’t help mentioning a few things here, e.g., how his vocabulary has taken off.  He is such a little communicator.  He repeats and LOVES new words.  But, he now remembers so much on his own.  I am shocked at how many words he hears just once and then incorporates them instantly into his vocabulary.  One such phrase, he picked up from me a few weeks ago while we were talking about Wisconsin.  I said “Oh, Geeze” a couple of times.  It is now a frequent and hilariously timed phrase used in his vocabulary.   

He is not “counting” yet, but knows when he has “two” of something and will tell you, “two”.  He can identify the letters, “O”, “S”, “X”, “R”, and sometimes, “I”, “V”, “B”, and “Z”.  We are still working on colors.  He seems to get them some days, but mostly he is not into color sorting or identifying yet. 

His sleep has been a bit off and more challenging for the last week.  He also just starting wanting to fall asleep with his bus.  Which, as you can imagine, is not like a blanket or stuffed animal, which can be left in the crib after he falls asleep.  So when he wakes up in the morning, after a couple calls for mama and daddy, he starts requesting his bus.  He plays with it occasionally during the day, but does not need it with him all the time.  But, at night and in the morning he now gets pretty needy for the bus.

A few weeks ago, we were in the bathroom one morning while I got ready for work when I said something to Oliver and referred to him as “you”.  I watched his little mind make the connection as he stopped what he was doing, looked at me, and pointed at himself and said “you?”

But, one of my favorite things is that in the last week he started using his own name.  The first time was with his cup.  He will point to Joe’s or my cup and we say “daddy’s cup” or “mama’s cup” and he will repeat, then we ask “whose cup is this?”  It used to be no response.  But, one night he just looked at us and said “Oliver’s” and then went on with his business.  The next morning he saw “daddy’s “ hat so I got his hat and asked whose it was, “Oliver’s.”  OMG, he says it in the absolute cutest possible way.  My heart just melts to hear him say his name!