Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Oliver seems to lose handfuls of hair every time he's around other babies. There's something about his curly locks that lure tiny fingers.

My good, funny friend Sundee saw something that made her laugh, so she stopped and took a picture of it:
Yep. It's Oliver's Hair Replacements.

This made us ponder what Oliver is going to look like after he is balded by hair-pulling babies and we have to replace his hair...

Oh, Oliver! You're too pretty to be a boy!

What?? That hurt your feelings?
You're sick of people saying that??

I want it off! Get it OFF!

I think I might like this one. It's funky.
Does it make me look younger?

Chrys

The Highs and The Lows

I took these pics this morning before O's nap. And, boy, did he need a nap. Check out this drama:

Oh Mama, I love you! You're so funny!

You can make me laugh like no one else. Tell that joke again!

Eeeeeee! You crack me up!

What?? I have crusty boogies on my face and you're going to wipe them off?

You are not funny anymore.

Not funny at all.

Waaaahhhhhhhhh! Somebody call somebody! I am so mistreated!

Chrys

Purrfectly Fine

Oliver has been growling lately so I guess we shouldn't have been surprised at dinner last night when he started purring.

Let me explain. Our poor little O has been in a pretty bad mood these past few days. He hasn't had a fever but has a very runny nose and his eyes are watery. We didn't put him in the church nursery on Sunday just in case, even though we were pretty sure these symptoms are just b/c he's teething. I've been forced to suction out his nose and he told me he'd like to nominate me for the Meanest Mom in the Universe award. (He used to be very cooperative when I pulled out the big, blue bulb, but apparently those days are looooong gone!)

Last night there were a few times that his breathing sounded just like a cat purring. That worried us. So, I called the advice nurse and ended up taking him in to the doctor's office today. We saw the nurse practioner for the first time and she was really nice. She said his lungs sounds great and his ears look fine, too. She said he has probably had a little virus and that it has just about run its course. She told me to put saline in his nose and keep suctioning (that will be so much fun) so that it doesn't settle in his ears. She also said he's not contagious. This is only the second time he's ever been sick, and apparently the worst of it is over. So, that's good news.

Oh yes--he weighed 18 lbs, 2.5 oz today. He's nine and a half months old and he still hasn't doubled his birthweight! :)

Chrys

Bubble Bath for The Boy

O is so messy at mealtime these days that he usually has to go straight to the bathtub after supper. He was a fussbucket yesterday and we decided that a fun bubble bath might cheer him up. It did...
Chrys

Not #24!

So I had a dentist appointment today and was excited to show off Oliver's new tooth--#24! Our dentist said, "Well, that's not #24 because it's a baby tooth. Adult teeth are numbered, and baby teeth have letters."

And guess which of Oliver's teeth came in first??

"O", of course!

Chrys

Very Verbal.

Oliver is a talker! At nine months, he's saying:

• Dada
• Mama
• more
• ball
• hi
• bye bye
• num num / nummy

He also growls, which is hilarious. We're not sure where he got it, but it certainly gets lots of laughs.

Oliver says, "Dada" when he sees Mike. He also says, "Dada!" when he sees the telephone. He doesn't do this with the cell phones, just the cordless phones at our house. We realized it's because I put Mike on speaker phone whenever he calls from work, and I say, "Ooooh! Daddy's on the phone!" over and over. So, O is associating the phone with talking to Dada!

In physical development news, O has recently started pulling up to his feet! He has pulled up in his crib and on the couch. As soon as he does it, he will look at us with that, "Aren't you proud??" look. It's adorable. (And yes, we're very proud.)

He can also crawl normally when he wants to, but often reverts to the G.I. O crawl b/c it works well for him. Last week we watched him army crawl across the carpet, but crawl normally when he got onto the tile floor. Then he army crawled as soon as he crossed the tile floor and got back to the carpet. Why? Because the tile floor was cold on his tummy! Whatever works for ya, O!

And did I mention that The Boy can talk??? I love it! I'll work on getting it on video--that's a challenge b/c he quits talking and tries to get the video camera as soon as he sees it!

Chrys

Just a Swingin...And a Growin...

Our little boy is turning into just that -- a boy. Not a baby boy anymore. A little boy. A little boy who likes to go to the park, who giggles and laughs and tries to make us giggle and laugh, who loves for his parents to push him in the swing. It makes me a little teary to think about, but I'm smiling with tears in my eyes. This job just gets better and better. I am so in love.

This mom thing is like falling in love all over again. I can't wait to see him. I wonder what he's thinking. I love to hear him talk. His smile melts me. I am in love.

Oliver bit me this morning while I was nursing him. He has done it before but this new tooth made it much more unpleasant than previous instances. It really hurt and I definitely reacted: I yelped, said, "No, Sir!", and gently thumped his mouth. He immediately made the saddest face I have ever seen and then started to cry. His mouth was contorted into an "O" shape and it was obvious that I truly hurt his feelings! Tears welled up in my eyes instantly and I felt such compassion for him b/c I knew he wasn't trying to hurt me. This new tooth is new to him, too! It was just another reminder that he's growing up so fast and has to be taught what's right and wrong, and disciplined with love and kindness.

We are so richly blessed. Thank you, Lord, for the joys you bring us daily through this precious child of yours. He's such a gift. Please give us wisdom and teach us to be loving, godly parents.

Chrys

#24!

It's a toofie toof!

We've thought for a LONG time that Oliver was getting a tooth. (See here, here, here, here, here, and here!)

Well, finally his dream has come true!

Oliver woke up this morning with a tooth!! It's the lower central incisor on the left. (That's tooth #24 for our dentist friends.)

We celebrated the new tooth by going to a church picnic in the park. O gnawed on a hamburger patty with his new tooth.

Then he got a little choked on said hamburger patty. While razor sharp, that teeny little tooth may not be as immediately useful as he had hoped.

He's being strangely guarded about letting us get close to his new tooth--including pictures. This is our best effort, and it's still very hard to see that tiny tooth. I'll work on getting a better pic of it.

Chrys

UPDATE: I'm obviously not a dentist! See my correction here!

Mad Birds

This is several months old, but is one of my favorite pictures of Oliver. It cracks me up.

Mike's mom had been telling us for awhile now that it reminded her of a picture of a mad bluebird.So I googled "mad bird" today and found what she was talking about...
You can read about The Mad Bluebird, and see the original "Cute Mad Boy" post.

Chrys

La Preciosa

Oliver and I were eating lunch at a mexican restaurant with my mom and sister earlier this week when Oliver started dancing to the Tejano music that was playing! It was soooo cute.

I am admittedly a recovering packrat. I am working on this problem (awareness is key) and have made great improvements. Really, I have. Yes, I still have a ThighMaster, but I am fairly consistent about putting stuff on eBay and having garage sales.

I have a jambox that I won at a costume party my freshman year of high school. Yeah, so that was nearly 20 years ago. (It doesn't even have a CD player--just tape decks and a radio. Oh, I spent many an hour dubbing songs off the radio and making mix tapes!)But I'm glad we still have this old dinosaur b/c O loves it! Here's little Deejay O, spinning tunes...okay, just adjusting the station on the vintage jambox. It appears that Oliver really likes Tejano music.

Or that every other station on the radio plays Tejano music.

Chrys

P.S. I used to be somewhat apologetic that O rarely wears anything but a diaper around the house, but I don't care anymore. We've got triple-digit temperatures around here, people! I'm about ready to take my clothes off, too!

Miserably HOT

We were out running errands this afternoon and this was the temperature on the car thermometer as we drove up Central Expressway. We've reached triple-digit temperatures every day for a week now, and it's getting really old.

Welcome to Texas in the summertime, Oliver!

Chrys

Babyproofing: A Photo Essay

That's okay. I will know how to get those off as soon as I finish reading these instructions on the back of the outlet cover package.

Oliver

How Much Longer???

Last Christmas, Santa Claus brought me a Britax Marathon car seat. I am itching to use it, but my parents have it in the house for some reason...

I love this carseat!

No more pretending in the living room.
Let's put it in the car RIGHT NOW!

What?? I'm not big enough to face forward yet??

You've got to be kidding me!
This is dreadful news!

I guess I'm going to have to call my legislators again.
Being a baby is sooooo hard.

Oliver

Bounce On!

The bouncer is still a hit. O doesn't like to sit in it anymore, but he likes to crawl up to it, pull up on it, and look really, really cute next to it...
Chrys

Nine Month Pics

Just A Few Squeezes Away...

...from the thighs I've always wanted.

Well, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I have a ThighMaster. Take one quick look at my thighs and you can accurately deduce that I don't use the ThighMaster. But I have one. I got it in high school or college and it has somehow survived lots of garage sales.

But, oh, am I glad it did! Because? Look who LOVES himself a ThighMaster! Suzanne Somers would be so proud!
O is so advanced that he uses the ThighMaster on his arms while holding a ball between his feet. (He consistently uses his feet like another pair of hands. Very talented.)
I'd better get to squeezin' or Oliver will have better thighs than me!

Chrys

Oliver the Carnivore

BBQ + O = Love 4 Ever!

My goodness, we have never seen The Boy snarf down as much table food as he did today when we met Mike for lunch at Spring Creek BBQ. He love, love, LOVED it! He ate and ate and ate turkey, green beans, baked beans, and rolls, but his favorite by far was chopped beef with barbecue sauce!He would make fast, broad sweeps across the tray with his hand, grabbing anything he touched and then stuff it all into his mouth at once. He was so enthusiastic about it! It was so cute.

What's funny is that I've never been a big meat eater and have said many times that I could easily become a vegetarian. But when I was pregnant?? All of the sudden I wanted MEAT. And lots of it! I craved meat during my entire pregnancy, which supposedly indicated it was a boy (according to the old wives' tales).

And it was a boy...a boy who LOVES him some BBQ!

High five, Daddy! BBQ rocks!

Chrys

Nine Months Old!

Oh, Oliver!

Sweet boy, you are nine months old! That means that you have been growing and developing outside of my body as long as you grew and developed inside of it! You are such a miracle.You are more fun than ever! You're a nut! You love to make us laugh and get so tickled when you succeed.

You loooove to eat. I'm nursing you five or six times per day and feeding you two meals of solids, and yet you've lost a little weight in the past week or so. You weighed in today at 17 lbs, 9.5 oz (10th percentile). You were 28 inches long (45th percentile). I talked to your pediatrician about it and she said that four jars of baby food mixed with cereal is a whole lot for you to be eating for supper. She said you must not be getting enough calories from me, so you're chowing down at supper time. We're going to try to get more calories in you by adding another meal of solids and a variety of new foods you can eat now that you're three-quarters of a year old!

One of those fabulous new foods is...YoBaby yogurt! Ooooh, how you loved your first taste of this delightful treat! You cried when it was all gone so I let you lick the container and the spoon until you gave up. You talked to the YoBaby baby's picture, and were certainly saying, "I love you! Where have you been??"You have become a very messy eater. You like to squeeze the food in between your fingers and then wipe it in your hair! Last night we had to get to Bible study and I knew I didn't have enough time to wash your hair before we left, so I made you eat your supper with a hat on. Ha! I won!!You're still a little orange but your doctor says not to worry about it. She told me she could see it a little in your nose, but that I should see some of the orange babies that come into her office. (I'll bet they really look like your Oompa-Loompa picture.)

You're still a fabulous sleeper. In fact, you sleep so much that sometimes I worry about you. I talked to the doctor about it today and she checked your hemoglobin levels to make sure you're not anemic. (You didn't even notice when they pricked your toe for some blood! What a big boy!) Thankfully your hemoglobin levels are perfect. You're just fine! The only time you've ever been sick was when you were seven weeks old, so the doctor said you're clearly a healthy baby boy who just likes his naps.

You still have no teeth! It appears you'll get some soon, but we've thought that for awhile now. I love your gummy, little baby smile and think it's going to be hard to get used to seeing you with teeth when they finally arrive! You've started imitating us and it's hysterical. You will sometimes repeat what we say and have said things like, "Hi Da Da!" and "Num Num Nummy". Your dad insists that you repeated "zebra" and "kitty" for him one night, but I wasn't there to witness it. You wave hello and goodbye, and generously give us kisses. It's so sweet. Tonight you tried to put the spoon into the YoBaby cup the same way that I do when I feed you.

You are very verbal. You babble and talk all the time. You imitate the rising and falling sound patterns of adult speech and that makes us laugh b/c you really sound like you're talking. Sometimes you say "Mama" and "Dada" but it's usually, "Mamamamamamamama" and "Dadadadadadadadada".

You crinkle your nose all the time and get so much attention for it. People always laugh at you.You are really getting around these days. You can army crawl fast to get to whatever you need. You are particularly drawn to cords and electronics. (You are your father's son!) Your Daddy and I have been doing some baby-proofing but there's lots that still needs to be done.

You can pull yourself up to your knees but not to your feet just yet. It won't be long! You go from lying to sitting to crawling, and you move one foot in front of the other if we hold you upright.

You have recently started crying when I walk out of the room. Even if I'm out of your sight for a second, you will often protest loudly.

Now that you are mobile, you dislike being confined to one place--like your crib, carseat, highchair, exersaucer, pack & play, stroller, etc! That's a problem sometimes!

I have had to tell you "no" and squeeze your hand a few times. You have bitten me a couple of times while you're nursing and gotten a very stern warning. (Ouch! And you don't even have teeth yet!)You love to read books! Yay books! You are increasingly interested in the pictures on the pages and will sit still while we read you several books in a row.

Your personality is coming through more than ever and it's so fun to get to know you. I love spending my days playing with you, and consider it such a privilege to stay at home to raise you. We have more fun every day.

I love you, O.

Mamamamamamama

Dust Buddy

Oliver is doing his part around here.

He was army-crawling all over the floors yesterday in his cute white outfit. Evidently our floors are not as clean as I thought b/c his belly got really dirty.

So I got out a Swiffer to clean the entryway floor.

And Oliver wanted to help me.

So we had an idea!

We taped a Swiffer to his belly!

Swiff, Oliver, Swiff!

Good job, O!

This can be your new chore! You're so good at it!
Maybe you'll be the great cleaner that your mother never was!

The end result

I've heard of a Saturday Night Live sketch called "Swiffer Sleepers", where the Swiffers are in the shape of pajamas. The mom pushes the kids around the floor on the end of a stick. Not a bad idea, but as long as Oliver is belly surfing all over our house, this is probably the most effective way for us to Swiffer.

Swiffer People, feel free to contact us if you'd like for Oliver to do your commercials. He needs to earn some money for college.

Chrys

Because Two Are Better Than One

Hey to all my baby friends!

It's me, O. I made my parents laugh really hard today. They think I'm hilarious! (I am pretty funny, all right.)

See, my mom was a real pacifier snob when I was born. "Nooooo pacifiers for Oliver," she said to the nurses. "They're bad, bad, bad!" (She didn't tell them that last part, but she thought it.)

But I got a pacifier stuffed in my mouth not long after we came home from the hospital and my parents discovered that I slept better with one. They are pretty stingy with them now, though. I think pacifiers are great chew toys, but now I only get the luxury of the pacifier when I'm in my crib, or if it's an emergency (like we're out in public and I get really fussy).

Yes, I love me some pacifiers. I got a whole basket full of them for Easter! Each night I fall asleep with one pacifier in my mouth and one in each hand. If I drop one while I am sleeping, I make wide sweeps with my hands until I find it--all in my sleep. Mom says they're my "securifiers".

So today I made my parents laugh really hard, and you can too. All you have to do is put two pacifiers in your mouth at one time! Your parents will think you are super cute. And funny. Mine did!
I love making them laugh!

Oliver

Little Pete & The Other Piggies

(We took this picture of O's feet last fall for his birth announcement, but it is an appropriate picture for this post.)

Everybody knows the classic "This Little Piggy" nursery rhyme.

Well, Mike's mom (Oliver's Jammie) grew up with a different variation of it. Oliver's great, great grandmother always said it to Jammie and now Jammie has passed it down to O. I finally wrote it down so that I can remember it correctly.

You start with the little pinkie toe, and then continue identifying each one:

Little Pete
Pete-a-Loot
Loot-a-Whistle
Whistle-Ossel
And a Great Big Ol' Hobby Tossel!

Jammie said it had probably never been written down before. Now it's published on the internet and will surely become a cultural phenomenon. ;)

Chrys

A Grand Time in Granbury

I first titled this post "A 'Bury' Grand Time in Grandbury", but that just didn't seem right. We had a VERY grand time, though...

We spent the past few days at Mike's Uncle Charles & Aunt Charlene's lake house. His parents and sister met us there, and we all had a wonderful --I mean, grand--time. We ate a ton (at least I did), relaxed, and visited. It was great to slow down and enjoy life at a leisurely pace. It was such a fun getaway.

O and Jammie

A "great uncle" is one who will let you teethe on his fingers!
Thanks, (great) Uncle Charles!

See the duck, Oliver??
We also saw a turtle, a snake, and lots of birds, fish, and squirrels.

O's Poppy also taught him a little about fishing, but they didn't catch anything.

Our little family

Oliver enjoyed lots of attention and made everybody laugh.
What joy he brings to our lives!

Oliver loves his Daddy.

Sweet boy with Mommy

Chrys

A Slice of Americana

Happy Birthday, America!

We thoroughly enjoyed the slice of small town America that we tasted at Granbury's 32nd Annual Old-Fashioned 4th of July Festival. Like a few thousand other folks, we started out celebrating the day at the parade. What fun! It was so patriotic that I got a little teary. After that, we strolled around historic downtown where there were arts, crafts, and food vendors. The celebration ended after dark with fireworks over Lake Granbury.

We're ready for the parade to begin!

Wave your flag, Oliver!

Now wave at the cowboys!

Our perfect perch for the fireworks display

We kept O up very late, but it was worth it. He was mesmerized by the fireworks!
What a fabulous Fourth of July!

Chrys

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Here's me and Mommy as we celebrated Independence Day last year:

My parents were on their babymoon in Maui. We hiked, snorkled with fishies, and Mommy ate tons of yummy food. Daddy even took us flying over several islands on the 4th of July and that was the highlight of the trip. (Okay, I couldn't see anything but I heard it and kicked the whole time!) They had a blast with their friends Wes & Mitzi, and they knew how much they had to look forward to once they returned home...I would arrive in a few months!

A lot changed in a year: Here's me and Mommy this 4th of July!
Yep, I'm a Yankee Doodle...and I'm a dandy!

Oliver

Outgrower

Most babies have doubled their birthweight by this point, but O was such a tank when he was born that it has taken him awhile. He's not quite there yet, but he sure is growing. He weighed exactly 18 lbs last week when I stopped by his pediatrician's office.

I took some pics of Oliver in some of his outgrown baby clothes so we could see how much he's grown. (And b/c I'm so stinking sentimental!)

Two days old

At nearly nine months old, O still doesn't look very excited about this outfit.

Nearly four weeks old

Now

He never liked that hat.

And still doesn't!

Five weeks old

Our sweet boy. It just gets better every day!

Chrys

G.I. O

Watch out! It's G.I. O! This little action figure is complete with a hat he hates and shorts that are too long (Daddy calls them the camo capris). They really get in the way of trying to fight for freedom over land and air.

Our hero may never learn to crawl the regular way b/c this army crawl seems to be working just fine for him.

Chrys