Determination!

I know I can reach it! Just a little more...

After the above position, he flipped himself over, forward, into this position.
"Look! I can fly!"

I am Mozart in the making!
Thanks Grammy and P-paw

Playing with Daddy is fun!

He's a growin' boy!

On Wednesday when I put Oliver's winter beanie on his head it did not fit any more. He got it as a gift from a friend I work with in the hospital when he was born. I was sad to see him grow out of it   since he's been wearing it all winter. He wears it pretty much every day because it's been frigid this winter! I bought him a new one, pictured  below, on Wednesday from Walmart. I really like it, but it still made me a little sad that his "original" no longer fits. He's a growing boy! 

Waking up from a nap, O was not happy about his hat not fitting any more either.

But he quickly got over it! 

Those beautiful eyes are hard not to stare into!
We're still not sure about the color.
Sometimes they are green and sometimes blue.... just like mine! 

Isn't his new hat adorable? I love the little flaps on it.
Plus it was only $3 at Walmart! What a deal! 

When Oliver and I went on a walk this afternoon
he got another great use out of his hat. The sun was shining, and even
though it was cold, Oliver, Wilson, and I enjoyed our short walk!

A Rough Morning

This morning Oliver had quite a rough morning... but none of it was his fault! I had an hour delay, which is beautiful since I don't have to go in until an hour late like the kids. I still got up pretty much at the same time as normal so I would get some Oliver time before going to school. Well, there were three things that happened to make Oliver's morning rough.

First, I accidentally missed his fingernail and cut his finger when clipping his nails. Because I was trying to get them kinda short so I would not have to go back for a few days it was a pretty deep cut. Also it bled and bled and bled. I had to get Brent to help me get the bandaid on it because it kept slipping off between the wet wipe I was using to wipe the blood off and the ointment I was putting on it. The entire situation was quite hilarious to us... especially since it didn't really seem to bother Oliver too much.

Second, Brent and I were laughing about something while Brent was holding the little guy. All of a sudden Oliver leaned back really far, so much it looked like a move from the Matrix. Brent quickly caught him so there was no catastrophe, but it did scare Oliver a little, causing him to cry for a bit.

Lastly, when I suctioned Oliver's nose, which does not seem to bother him too much usually, nothing was coming out. So I used saline drops to loosen it up, which gagged him. When he stopped gagging he coughed really big, causing huge amounts of snot to spray out of his nose. This he did not like, causing more tears.

In the end Brent made up another cute song about kissing toes and knees and cheeks, making Oliver laugh. We decided that after this kind of crazy morning it was time for Oliver to take a nap and start over. Poor little guy! The rest of the  day was pretty good after all!

Oliver enjoyed sitting up in his chair and playing with the pillow.

A new trick is putting his feet in his mouth! 

Naked baby hanging out with Mr. Giraffe

Here is what a typical night after bath time is like for Oliver.

Sleep, Snot, a Party, and a Date

Sleep: Oliver is a good sleeper. We're going on almost two months of 11 hour nights. However, much to my dismay, Oliver has never been a consistent napper. He'll do one thing at home then another at the babysitter. Part of this is because sometimes we let him nap in his car seat so we're not stuck in the house all the time. Some of it is because not every day looks the same for him since sometimes he's at home and sometimes he's at the sitter. 

Well, his newest "trick" is that he's trying to completely eliminate his late afternoon nap. This is a problem since it is the nap he's supposed to keep the longest; even through preschool and up until he starts Kindergarten. In order to combat this problem I decided that starting today I'm going to keep him up from the time between his morning nap until time for the late afternoon nap. Then he'll be tired and sleep at the right time, right?

Wrong! He was up today from 10:30 until 5:00 with only two short cat naps of maybe 15 minutes each in between. We'll try again tomorrow..

Snot: This morning Oliver woke up with another cold. Like before the only way to treat it is with a humidifier and nasal spray. This is cold #3. I can't wait until things warm up so we can have less heat air and more fresh air! 

A Party: Today Oliver attended his first birthday party. Eli turned 5 and begged for Oliver to be at his Sonic the Hedgehog celebration. Though Oliver was supposed to sleep through the first part he did not. However he never got fussy and had everyone there laughing at his grin, talking, and squealing.

A Date: I will now take a moment to brag on my amazing husband. Brent has a huge test at his work that he took this past week. It is three parts: a written test, being quizzed by a panel of people, and meeting with the president of the company. Well, he passed on the FIRST TRY!  So tomorrow night we're going out on a date. We have a babysitter and everything! We are both quite excited about some time together to celebrate Brent's great accomplishment. I'm so proud of him! 

Grammy and P-paw got Oliver this toy for Christmas.
He loves sitting in his bumbo chair and hitting the keys! 

Who can resist an up-close picture of a baby face? 

Oliver likes sitting in his high chair and playing
with this toy.

One of his favorite things lately seems to be nakedness. Of course it's adorable! Plus when his clothes are just so wet from drool, it's a great alternative! 

Myra came over to visit with Oliver on Thursday night.
She's also the date night babysitter. We are thankful! 

Oliver loves playing with the ball he got from Aunt Holly for Christmas too!
It's especially fun when he's practicing tummy time! 

Overprotective?

Today I sent Oliver to the doctor for no reason. It was bound to happen eventually, right? He'd been fussy for a few days, especially when laying on his back, and was not napping like normal. The obvious options (to me) for our well-mannered baby to be so upset were either 1) ear infection or 2) teething. So I talked Brent into taking him to the doctor to find out which one this morning while I was at work. We don't want an ear infection getting worse do we?

Well, there was absolutely nothing wrong. The fussiness may be teething and the sleeping was probably just being lonely when he woke up during a nap rather than putting himself back to sleep like normal. On the plus side, we now know that he weighs a little over 17 pounds. So although yesterday and the day before were a little rough, Oliver has been perfectly happy all day and well on his way to "recovery".

5 Months Old!

I cannot believe the last 5 months have passed so quickly! Oliver is getting so big already! Some of his tricks include:

• Holding his head up when on his belly
• Pushing his head up when laying on his back
• Rolling over every once in a while
• Eating from a spoon- He likes rice cereal, applesauce, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots
• Pulling up from laying down with help
• Putting pressure on his legs when you're holding him
• Grabbing for things... including his girlfriend Maci's hand (at the babysitter) and my hair
• Turning his head when you call his name
• Laughing back when you make a funny face or laugh at him
• Copying you when you say the word, "Hi!" (Not sure if that qualifies as a first word or not...)

Good morning! I'm 5 months old today! 

Sitting up in Mom's spot where she feeds me is funny! 

Oliver holds his head up best when there is something to look at.
He loves his ball from Aunt Holly!

But sometimes holding his head up is just too much work.
After being worn out he looks at the ball from the side.

Isn't he a beautiful sleeping baby? 

First Road Trip

Oliver experienced his first road trip this weekend. Because of the weather at Christmas, Brent's parents were never able to make it up to see us as planned. So since Brent was off on Saturday due to some schedule changes, we decided that I would take off Tuesday and we'd venture down to Woodstock for some Carney Family Fun! 

It started on Saturday morning. I had signed up way before Christmas to take the SLLA Principal's Test. Yes, the nerd/overachiever in me thinks it would be fun to be a principal one day. Notice I said one day... not right now. Anyway, it is one of the final steps to finishing my masters (which is required in KY to keep teacher certification). Now that the test is finished I have two classes left this semester and I'll graduate in May. Woohoo! 

Anyway, back to the story. We left for Atlanta around noon, after my test, on Saturday. It took 8 hours to get there with two long stops. Oliver slept most of the day in the car, only getting fussy around 7:00, normal bath,  bottle, and bed time. Wilson also did pretty well in our overstuffed car. We've decided that if we are to take too many more of these trips a larger car will be necessary somewhat soon. We'll see how it goes as I'm quite attached to my Betty Lou and our 10 1/2 years together. 

On Sunday we went to church and Sunday School with John and Mary Ann who were overjoyed to show off their only grandchild. Oliver and I spent church in the cry room because he would not calm down and nap, even though it was well past his normal napping schedule. Finally, after an amazing performance for the ladies in Mary Ann's Sunday School class, he fell asleep. We spent the remainder of Sunday just hanging out. After Oliver went to bed we had Brent and Blake playing Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii together, which was hysterical! I have not laughed that hard in a LONG time! There are no pictures since they would only shake their hips if we promised not to take any.

On Monday I went to Zumba with Mary Ann and the boys brought Oliver by at the end to meet the Zumba ladies. Again, he did a great job showing off his amazing smile to everyone there. On Monday night Larry, a family friend, came over. We did not know his middle name was Oliver until right before he arrived. We were excited that he got to meet his "name sake" as Larry called it. 

This weekend I learned a lot about trusting God and my husband. I was really nervous about such a long time in the car and how Oliver would sleep since he's only used to his bed. He did great! He slept for his normal 11 hours every night we were there, ate all his food, and only got fussy for a short period on Sunday night when we're pretty sure his teeth were hurting. We are so fortunate to have such a good boy! This morning we left for home after Oliver's 10:15 bottle, arriving around 5:30. Again, he slept the majority of the way home. It was a great weekend!

Oliver has learned how to lick his bib.
The result is rice cereal ALL over his face! 

P-paw fed Oliver on Sunday morning.
Look at him holding that tongue out for more! 

Grammy had Oliver cackling out loud! It was hilarious to watch! 

Wilson stayed out of the way most of the weekend,
enjoying a bone and playing with Sadie.

I got a little Oliver cuddling in too! 

UB (Uncle Blake) and OB (Oliver Blake)
Blake loves it just a little that they share the same name...

The 4 "kids" 

P-paw and Oliver were having some good talks about
where they would go when Oliver gets old enough.
All I know is icecream is on the list of outings...

Oliver loves playing with his P-paw

I just LOVE this picture!
Grandfather and grandson 

Oliver enjoyed the weekend with a smile! 

Staying at Home

Yesterday and today I got to stay at home with my little buddy because of snow. I am learning to love snow days more now than ever! It is fabulous getting to spend my days loving on my little boy. Yes, I still love teaching, but the love is different. I can't really put it into words.

Monday night Brent and I decided, after 2 years of debating on it, to get a Wii for our 30th birthdays. Now, mine is not until February and Brent's is in June, but we decided that if we were going to do it we'd better go ahead before we talked ourselves out of it. We spent "adult time" (after Oliver went to bed) Monday and Tuesday nights playing. Brent got James Bond 007 and I got the Michael Jackson Experience. We are enjoying them a lot!

Back to Oliver... he's got another cold. We know that the other one ended for sure, but the congestion, coughing and snot are back. Most of the time he just wants to be held for the last few days. I'm trying to have an equal amount of "alone time" and "Mom time" for him, but it's so hard when he is not feeling good. Last night he did the sweetest thing (which I don't have a picture of)! He kept laying his head on my shoulder when I was carrying him. Every time he'd do it he would look up at me like, "Mommy, I don't feel good. Please take care of me." It was precious. So we're back to the saline drops and humidifier. I figure between the heat running, him going to the sitter, and me working at school there are plenty of reasons he's getting colds so much already. We just hope that as he gets older he won't get them as much if he gets them now. We also think his teeth are hurting again because his hands, and everything else, are constantly in his mouth. Who really knows?

As for food, he's still doing pretty good with the solids. He just loves applesauce. This is a problem, which I was unaware of beforehand, because he wants his other foods to be just as sweet. I knew from a friend not to give bananas first, but applesauce never crossed my mind. O well! He definitely likes his food thicker and a little warm. We're giving him squash, rice cereal, and sweet potatoes... not at the same time of course. Though I say he "likes" stuff, the truth is that he constantly spits everything out. He's even figured out how to make it shoot quite a ways out of his mouth. Though it is funny to watch, I try not to laugh, knowing that encourages him to do it more.

Enjoying some squash. Yum! 

 Also, Oliver recognizes his name now. However there is a slight problem. We call him "Oliver" and "Bobo." Why Bobo? Well, Brent started calling him that when he was only a few weeks old and could not figure out why. Then he asked his dad if he was called that as a child. The answer was, "Yes," so it stuck. Oliver recognizes both names, but turns his head more to Bobo than to Oliver.

Bobo playing with his feet after a nice, warm bath.
Lately he just loves being naked! It's funny to hear him laugh.

I guess tomorrow is back to work. Routine is good, but spending time with Bobo is nice too!

Oliver's New Toy

My parents gave Oliver this toy for Christmas to help him learn his letters and animals that go with each one. At only four and a half months old he's already figured out how it works! He's such a smart boy!

Back to "Normal"

On Monday we went back to our "normal" schedule. On Monday and Tuesday Oliver stays home with Brent, which are his regular days off. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Oliver goes to "Noni" (our babysitter) during school hours. Then Saturday and Sunday he's at home again, when I get to spend all day with him. I must say it was hard leaving him this week after having 2 weeks straight of being a full-time Mom. He's just a great kid and is just amazing to be around. He is a constant reason to smile and remember the good things in life.

He is working on his new tricks constantly. Some of them are grabbing at things, rolling over from his belly to his back (which he's done about 10 times now), talking, laughing, and eating some solid foods. He's also growing like a weed! Though he still fits into most of his 3-6 month clothes, he's grown out of some and can fit into 6-9 month ones now. I am grateful daily for a friend, Jamie, who let us borrow stuff for him to wear. It has saved us tons of money and he looks cute, like a little man. Between her and Grammy, Oliver is stylin' and profilin'.

I stuck Oliver in the bed with Brent. Clones indeed! 

In his roll-over position, drooling with excitement and
contemplating whether he can do it again...

In his play gym squealing with joy! 

We didn't realize when we first put
these pants on him today that they
were too short. Guess they'll
have to go into the "retired clothing" stack, huh?

A happy baby indeed!