We have already had such a busy week with a whole bunch of "firsts" for Ollie, that I just had to post some of them.
This past weekend, we celebrated Ollie's first Canada Day! How exciting! Chris and I hold Canada Day in a special place in our hearts, as it is our dating anniversary and the weekend we got engaged, so it was really neat being able to share such a magical day with our little guy. We usually go to Niagara-on-the-Lake to celebrate, but we decided that might be too long of a drive for Ollie, so we headed to Stratford instead, which turned out to be a great idea.
We walked around downtown Stratford with Ollie in the stroller, to shop and to see the local celebrations. Not to mention, dine on some yummy food the vendors were selling. As we walked around, we listened to live fiddling music and even saw a couple of male teenagers tap dancing (YAY!). It was very nice, but the sun started to beat down on us, so we headed for some shade alongside the river.
We set up our blanket on the banks of the river, brought out Ollie's bassinet, some toys for Ollie and laid back to enjoy nature and each other's company. I love listening to the water, the wind rustling the leaves in the trees and even the ducks squawking back and forth. Ollie enjoyed the outdoors too, but maybe a little too much, as he wouldn't go down for his nap. By the time we finally got him to sleep, a man on a very loud motorcycle zoomed by and woke us all up (yes, I had just started to nod off myself). Oh well! It was a very lovely Canada Day, and we ended it by having my parent's watch Ollie while Chris and I went out for dinner at The Keg, which is another anniversary tradition of ours. Happy birthday Canada!
The next neat thing Ollie did for the first time was go "swimming" in his pool! We got him all decked out in his swimsuit, topped up the pool with some water I warmed up, and then Daddy introduced him to his baby pool. At first he seemed a little confused, but interested. He sat in the water, reached for his bath toys, and was quite calm. Then he fell in face first. That ended his calm disposition. He started to wail, poor little man. After some time, he let us put him back in the pool, but you could tell he was a little more wary this time around. Hopefully he forgets his "traumatic" experience and doesn't hold it against us. I can't wait to try it again soon, as I really want to take him to the beach this summer and I want him to get used to water.
Lastly, Ollie had another huge first experience. Our little Oliver tried solid food for the first time! Yay Ollie! His first solid food was rice cereal made with breastmilk. Yum! ;) To our surprise, our little picky and sometimes fussy baby didn't even blink an eye when he swallowed his first spoonful. He didn't even seem puzzled or confused at all! He just opened his mouth whenever the spoon approached him. What a big boy! He must have been watching us eat pretty closely, as he acted like a seasoned expert. :) We are so proud of our Ollie. He has been quite the champion taking on all these new experience and challenges. It is so exciting to be a part of his life as he takes all these new steps and grows into an adorable little man.
Here is a little video of Ollie eating his cereal. Enjoy! (Ollie sure did!)
Ollie has now turned 6 months old. That's half of a year! It seems impossible that he can already be that old. In some ways, it feels like he just got here and that he couldn't have grown so big already, yet on the other hand, it almost feels like we've had him with us forever, as he truly does complete us and we cannot imagine not having him filling up our lives. He is such an amazing little boy who gives us so much joy and happiness, and though we sometimes have some situations and hiccups along our journey, all we have to do is look into those big blue eyes, or feel him grab onto your finger, and all those problems seem to melt away.
Ollie is really starting to reach some milestones lately. He is obviously maturing with age. ;) He seems to recognize his name, and looks at us when we call him, but only when he wants to. Sometimes I think he purposely ignores me. It seems we may have a diva on our hands.
Ollie is a big fan of squirming. He started off by really arching his back when he was laying on the floor, almost making a "c" with his body. It was very Cirque Du Soleil. (Oh man, I wonder if he'll have the Ysebert bendy arm ability. *shudder*) Then while having tummy time, he started kicking his legs and almost trying to pull himself forward. Sometimes he even puts his butt up into the air and wriggles like a worm. It seems like he wants to go, go, go! Sometimes in his crib, he turns himself sideways in the crib, so he can kick the button on his Fisher Price aquarium and watch the bubbles while he is supposed to be napping.
Here is a clip of him trying to "swim" to Sawyer. :)
Ollie's first roll!
Another milestone Ollie has reached, is the ability to roll over. I was sitting with him on the floor with my camera in hand (of course), when he went from laying on his back to slowly arching back until he rolled right over! It was so amazing! I teared up right away as I felt so proud. :) Way to go Ollie! He has now rolled from his tummy to his back as well. He only rolls when he realllly wants to, but it is becoming much more common to see (though we still congratulate him each time).
Here is a clip of him doing an "oopsie" roll.
Ollie is also starting to slowly master the art of sitting. Daddy practices this with him all the time, and their hard work seems to be paying off. Ollie can sit for a good couple seconds before slowly tipping over, though sometimes his arm keeps him propped up. He seems to have some strength in those arms, as he was standing on Daddy's lap the other day, and held himself up using his arms and the table top for support. He goes into "plank" mode, or as Chris says, "He's planking!".
Ollie has now reached the parroting stage, where he tries to mimic sounds that Chris and I make. His favourite things to mimic are yawns, laughs and coughs. It's pretty darn adorable, especially because he sounds so fake. When he does his mimic laugh, sometimes he doesn't even smile. He's all serious business about it. He seems to focus really hard while he watches us, and then repeats the sound. I'm pretty sure our little Ollie is a serious thinker. :) He is often very quiet when he's not busy mimicking, and appears to be deep in thought. He doesn't babble that much yet, unless he's angry or tired, and when he does, he almost growls because he's so upset.
Here is a clip of Ollie fake" laughing".
Ollie loves books! He really seems to enjoy grabbing and feeling his books, and just lights up when I show him one. He gets his whole body moving in excitement, and his eyes grow huge and focus right in on the book. Sometimes he gets so into the book, that he tenses up and shakes while turning red. It's too funny! His favourite books right now are his Sandra Boynton bath books, as he loves the sound they make when he scrunches the pages.
We are pretty sure Oliver is teething, though we don't see anything coming through yet. He constantly rubs his gums with his fingers or blankets, and chomps hard on your fingers if they get too close. ;) Once we noticed a white spot on his gums, but it went down and we haven't noticed it since, so who knows if it was a tooth popping by to say hello, or what. Sometimes, while he sucks on his thumb (he can do it properly now), he holds onto his ear, like Prince John from Disney's Robin Hood.
A big event in Ollie and Chris' life was celebrating their first Father's Day together. We started off going to a huge town-wide garage sale and then breakfast with Chris' family, including Ollie's cousin Edie, which was a lot of fun. Chris and Ollie really lucked out and brought home many treasures. Ollie's favourite find was his Eric Carle penguin.
The next day we celebrated Father's Day with my family by going out for brunch. Ollie was not in the mood, as he had missed his first nap, so he rubbed the heck out of his face, turning him all red, making him look like he had some sort of flesh eating disease. He seems to do that when he's overtired and wants to fight sleep. Why he wants to avoid sleeping, I'll never understand. :) After we got Ollie home, we put him down for a nap, and 3 hours later we packed up to go for a little family trip. First, we went to the pet store with Sawyer, where Ollie was able to check out the birds and the fish. He really seemed to like the birds (just like his mom). Then we headed to the park.
Happy Father's Day!
The park was busy with lots of families enjoying the end of their weekend, but we were able to find a secluded spot, just so we could keep Sawyer from jumping up on people and so I could nurse Ollie privately. We laid our blanket under a tree and sat down to relax. The weather was wonderful! We did met a nice, passionate man who gave us a few pointers on how to keep Sawyer from pulling on his leash, which is awesome, so now I can walk Sawyer and push Ollie in the stroller at the same time (which we were convinced was impossible). That really made our day. :)
Ollie really liked watching the trees sway in the breeze and breathing in the fresh air. I also think he liked the feeling of the gentle wind on his bare bottom (diaper change). ;) When we got home, Chris and I dined on some takeout Chinese food and put the little man down for bed, while we ended the night with a movie, cuddled on the couch. It was an excellent day!
Ollie had his first "man-date" with his new pal Sylvan. Sylvan's mom Annie and I connected through our blogs while we were both going through the ups and downs of our first pregnancies. In fact, Sylvan is only 10 days older than Ollie! She is a wonderful writer, who always seems to keep her sense of humour, no matter what difficulties are thrown her way and I felt so excited (and kind of nervous) to meet her and her cute little guy in person. We had big plans on eating healthy food and drinking smoothies, but it seems when I make plans lately, well, things change and you have to just go with the flow. Chris' aunt and uncle popped by to fix our A/C (yay!), they dug out a tree that was growing under it and then when things settled, Ollie decided he was done with his play date, and went for a nap...a nap that lasted the rest of the visit. Maybe next time he'll stay awake a little longer. ;) Annie and I were able to talk though, which was great, because we could share things with each other that we could both relate to and understand. It's neat how different Sylvan and Ollie are too though! Sylvan was just moving his little body around, and talking up a storm, while Ollie just sat there and studied him. Already their personalities are starting to show. I hope we'll be able to get them together soon and see how much each of them has grown... and maybe have a couple smoothies.
The other day we decided a date night was in order. Since it was such short notice, we knew we'd have to bring Ollie along, so Chris came up with the idea of going to the Drive-In, one of our favourite things to do. I was a little nervous, as Ollie hadn't napped properly that day, but we packed up the car with his moses basket, toys, blankets and his sleep sheep. It was a nice night, where the weather wasn't too hot that you had to keep your windows open, which was a good thing, because we had to keep ours rolled up for a while. During the first movie (and Ollie's bedtime), Ollie decided to be fussy. He didn't want to stand, he didn't want to sit, and he didn't want to lay down. He did, however, want to scream and yell. To quiet him down, I nursed him, but that only can go on for so long. Luckily, after a while, Daddy was able to get him to sleep. We put him in his moses basket, tucked him in, and then we settled in for the second movie (which we didn't even want to see, but hey, he was asleep!). It was a nice change of pace, and we considered it a success, so we'll be visiting again soon.
Ollie is growing so quickly, right before our eyes. I'm so glad that I am able to blog about it, otherwise I feel like I would be missing so many of the little details of his life. I am constantly taking notes, and documenting everything, just in case he asks me one day, "Mom, what was I like when I was a baby?".
Ollie really does light up our lives. You can easily tell what he likes, and what he doesn't like. So far, he doesn't enjoying putting his feet in water at the beach, or in a pool. Hopefully when the water gets a little warmer, we'll be able to change that opinion. His favourite shows are Guess with Jess (he loves the cat and smiles when he's on the screen), Roll Play, and 4 Square. They capture his attention instantly and it's near impossible to take his focus off of the screen. His favourite toys right now are his bath books, his musical lion, his blankets and his fingers and toes. He adores his play pen, which is awesome! It looks like a tent, and you can hang his toys or a mobile inside it. I love how how outdoor friendly it is. It's perfect for camping or the beach, as he'll be protected from the sun and wind. Ollie also adores Selena Gomez, an actress/singer on the Family channel. I think he may be crushing. ;) His best friends are Sawyer, Neko and Nobi, and he seems to be fascinated with them. I'm thinking they will be the reason he decides to start crawling. He loves the movie Paul, for reasons unknown to us, except maybe the fact that it has a Sci-Fi element to it. Whenever the alien Paul was on the screen, Ollie would laugh. At first it seemed to be nervous laughter, and we thought, maybe a coincidence, but it continued throughout the whole film, and it was only when Paul was on the TV. Looks like he might become an astronaut after all! Oh, and he suddenly is willing to suck on his soother "Suzie". Very strange!
To those who persevered and read this very long blog entry, I leave you a treat. Here is an adorable clip of Daddy making Ollie laugh. It is the cutest sound in the world. Seriously, I read that fact somewhere on the internet. ;)
What, you want more? Alright, here is a clip of Ollie the Computer Whiz Kid.
*No computers were harmed in the making of this film.*
Whose cute little foot is in the sand for the first time?
Ollie!
Yesterday was such a beautiful day, so Chris suggested we pack up and go for a car ride with Ollie to Port Stanley. I was so excited, as it would be Ollie's first time at the beach, and I am such a sucker for every one of Ollie's 'firsts'. I will admit, that as soon as we got onto the sandy beach, and I saw Ollie looking around at everything around him, I teared up and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! It's your first time at the beach! Chris, it's his first time!" I am such an emotional person these days. :)
Ollie was quite intrigued by the texture of he sand, but he was a little scared, and preferred us holding him on our laps while he soaked in surroundings. He even put his toes in the water (well, Daddy put his toes in the water), but he was not impressed with that. Too cold! He did like watching the waves and seeing the boats zip by. I also think the sound of the water had a bit of a soothing effect on him, as it sounded a lot like his white noise machine that he falls asleep to.
Ollie was so well behaved and didn't cry or play strange the whole time we were there. When we went to get some fresh cut fries (yummy!), he sat calmly on my lap while strangers came up to say hello. He even smiled at an elderly man who thought he was so cute in his bucket hat. :)
We took a lot of photos and a short little clip of him putting his feet into the sand for the first time, so I thought I'd share them with you!
Well, it seems our little guy is suddenly 5 months old. Crazy, right? How is it that it seemed like it took forever to get pregnant, and now that the baby is here, time has slipped through our fingers? It doesn't seem fair! I'm so thankful that I am able to stay home with him, so I can be there for every little moment and enjoy each stage of his life. They grow so fast.
So far Ollie has had a few episodes of night terrors and some wild separation anxiety. With his night terrors (which thankfully haven't happened in a while now), Ollie would "wake" up screaming in terror and confusion, with no way for us to calm him down. Since he was still in a sleep state, he'd be howling with his eyes wide open, just staring right through us as we tried to reassure him that he was safe. His body would be limp, and he just seemed so afraid that it was painful to watch. I guess the good thing is that he eventually fell asleep, and most likely since he was never really awake, he didn't have any recollection of the incident. He's had night terrors a few times, which I think came from him not getting enough sleep. After his worst episode he's been good, and has actually been napping and sleeping through the night better. So I hope it's behind us.
Ollie's separation anxiety has also been a difficult experience for us, as we never know when he'll blow. Sometimes he's fine being with other people, and then there are other times where he goes into a hysterical fit (very similar to his night terror fits) and nothing can calm him down. He can get so upset, that he ends up gagging and struggling for air, and usually the only way he calms down is to be in our arms. I find he does okay if he's able to spend time with everyone together before Chris and I leave, so I guess we have to make sure we have some good overlap time. I'm hoping this is something he will grow out of soon, as it makes it very hard for us to go out without him, even just for a quick visit to the grocery store.
One of Ollie's most recent outings, was going to an A.R.F. Ontario charity chili cook-off. The theme of the event was western, so we dressed Ollie up in some jeans and a cowboy shirt. Sadly, we did not have any boots, so I ended up making him a handkerchief and one for his horse Victoria. Victoria was given to Ollie when he was born at Victoria Hospital by the nurses, and he just loves her.
The food, decor and turnout was great, but unfortunately, Ollie was not in the mood. I think he was tired from not napping, and feeling a little overwhelmed by all the noise and people around him. He ended up having a bit of a melt down, and then when my mom went to hold him so I could relax, he just went wild, howling away as if he were in intense pain. It was a long night, and it became even longer, as he had the worst case of night terrors that night too. Maybe he didn't like wearing a pink bandana? (I thought it looked more cherry than pink...)
At the beginning of the month, Ollie was having a tough time sleeping, and I thought I was going to go crazy from the lack of sleep I was getting. He wasn't napping, he wasn't sleeping at night unless we were holding him, and we couldn't do anything about it. It was like we were going back in time instead of forward. I was so confused and frustrated by the situation, as I had hoped he would get better as time went on, not worse. We figured that a few things could have been the cause, either his second set of vaccinations, or maybe he was going through another growth spurt. Heck, maybe he was even teething! There were a few times that daddy really came to the rescue by taking Ollie downstairs so I could get a couple of sleep here and there. It was much appreciated. Once I heard him humming 'Children of the Light' to Ollie to try to get him to sleep. Even in my sleep deprived state, I found that humorous. :)
Now for a complete flip! The last few weeks, Ollie has been sleeping like a champ! *knock on wood* He has been napping pretty well, for a couple hours per nap, and sleeping through the night. When I say sleeping through the night, I don't mean 5-6 hours, I'm talking 9-10 hours! What a turn-around! It's been a mixed blessing I would say. On one hand, we are getting sleep, which is AMAZING! But, on the other hand, my boobs are crazy sore! That is too many hours for them to go unused. I'm hoping my milk production will slow down through the evening, since Ollie isn't feeding at night anymore. I guess if he decides he wants to eat at night again, my milk production will come back, so it might as well go for now. No one likes spoiled milk! ;)
We are thinking he is sleeping so well because....Ollie is now sleeping in his own room, in his own crib! He's such a big boy! We moved his crib under the window, and now that he can see out into the hallway, he goes down in his crib without much of a fuss at all! He seems to be comfy with all the room, and even when he wakes up, he just lays there quietly, sucking his fingers or talking to himself and his bumble bee mobile.
The first night he slept in his crib was a bit of an ordeal for me. The evening started off on the wrong foot because I was going out to a movie (first time since Ollie was born) with some lady friends and leaving him home with daddy. He hadn't napped that well during the day, and when he finally fell asleep, I realized it was time for him to eat before I left to go out. I was so torn! Do I wake him, feed him, and hope he falls back asleep, or leave him and hope he doesn't wake up until I'm home? Chris tried to reassure me that if Ollie woke up, he would feed him formula, but of course, I was worried as he hadn't had formula since his first weeks home from the hospital, before my milk came in. I didn't know what to do, and so I started crying and feeling like I couldn't go to the movies. Chris kept trying to calm me down, and after he promised he'd call if anything happened, I bravely went for my girl's night out. It was a great night! We watched Bridesmaids (hilarious!!) and I had my own bag of yummy popcorn. It had been so long, too long! Through the evening, I had only checked my phone a few times, and I resisted every urge to call Chris. Okay, I lied. I called him once. When I got home, I expected to see a wailing Oliver squirming on daddy's lap, but to my surprise, Chris was relaxing while Ollie slept! Apparently, he hadn't even woken up once! I gently nudged him awake to feed him, and then struggled with another issue. Do I put him back in the crib for the whole night, or in his cradle beside our bed? This was a very difficult decision for me, as we had been told that babies should sleep in their parent's room until they were 6 months, but at the same time, I saw how comfy Ollie was in his big-boy crib, instead of being crammed in his cradle. After much debate, I put him in his crib...and then I settled down on the floor beside it. :) Hey, he's still my baby! Since that night, Ollie has slept in his crib every night, and me? I've moved back to my bed. I do miss hearing all his little sounds, but I am amazed at how much I still hear even from down the hall. I swear I can almost hear him opening up his eyes sometimes! It's like my spidey-sense tingles or something!
We celebrated my first Mother's Day, and it was a wonderful day. We went out for breakfast with Chris' family and Ollie slept through most of the meal in his car seat. Then when we got home, he went down for a nap, giving mommy and daddy some much needed alone time. We watched a few of my favourite podcasts (nerdy, I know), and then headed into Strathroy to visit my family for dinner. We went out, and again, Ollie was quite well behaved! I'm thinking that must have been his gift to me. :) It was a fantastic day, and we felt so blessed to be able to spend it with the special mom's in our lives.
The other day, for the long weekend, we decided to go to the dog park with Ollie and Sawyer. Those two really are best buddies! :) The sun was shining, and the outdoors was calling, so we hopped in the car, and off we went! I carried Ollie around in our baby carrier for the first time. Since Ollie is still too young for sunblock, we shielded him from the sun with a light blanket and his cousin Alex's old sun hat. He looked both cute and serious, taking in everything as we walked around the park. He loves observing everything. You can actually see his mind ticking as he watches the world around him. He is one smart cookie.
After the dog park, we walked to the boardwalk by the river to see the ducks and geese. Sawyer's favourite! Ollie missed out though, as he had fallen fast asleep. It was a perfect afternoon! :D
Ollie is growing stronger everyday, and I find myself amazed and delighted by all the little things he does. He loves to screech at the top of his lungs when he plays, is upset, or is tired. I think he just loves to hear himself, and watch us jump in surprise. He laughs so heartily when we "eat" his belly, neck, thighs and feet. Often he laughs right into a high pitched squeal. It is my favourite sound ever!
Here is a clip of him and Sawyer hanging out!
He is putting everything in his mouth, especially his blanket and his linking rings. I'm so happy to see him finally figure out what to do with toys. It is neat to see him make all the little connections as he learns, things that we just do automatically, without thinking. He likes playing in his exersaucer, and can touch the ground now, without the pillow! He wears 6-9 month clothing mostly now, and size 3 diapers! What a big boy!
He loves making bubbles and raspberries. Once he starts, it's hard to stop him. He also enjoys sticking out his tongue and panting like a dog. Maybe he's been hanging around Sawyer a little too much! ;) He loves animals a bunch, and lights up and laughs whenever the cats or Sawyer walk by. Neko often rolls and lays with him on his play-mat, which he enjoys. We have figured out that he is allergic to dog saliva though, so we have to keep Saywer from licking Ollie's scrumptious fingers and toes. ;)
He is almost rolling over, his arms just gets in the way. He screeches away as he tries though, and often plants his face right into the ground, which muffles his screeches. He spends most of his day playing on his play-mat with his toys in the center of the room so he can see everything.
He is our favourite thing in the whole world. I love him so completely, which is both terrifying and amazing at the same time. He is our heartsong. <3
Ollie had his first "man-date" with his new pal Sylvan. Sylvan's mom Annie and I connected through our blogs while we were both going through the ups and downs of our first pregnancies. In fact, Sylvan is only 10 days older than Ollie! She is a wonderful writer, who always seems to keep her sense of humour, no matter what difficulties are thrown her way and I felt so excited (and kind of nervous) to meet her and her cute little guy in person. We had big plans on eating healthy food and drinking smoothies, but it seems when I make plans lately, well, things change and you have to just go with the flow. Chris' aunt and uncle popped by to fix our A/C (yay!), they dug out a tree that was growing under it and then when things settled, Ollie decided he was done with his play date, and went for a nap...a nap that lasted the rest of the visit. Maybe next time he'll stay awake a little longer. ;) Annie and I were able to talk though, which was great, because we could share things with each other that we could both relate to and understand. It's neat how different Sylvan and Ollie are too though! Sylvan was just moving his little body around, and talking up a storm, while Ollie just sat there and studied him. Already their personalities are starting to show. I hope we'll be able to get them together soon and see how much each of them has grown... and maybe have a couple smoothies. 
The other day we decided a date night was in order. Since it was such short notice, we knew we'd have to bring Ollie along, so Chris came up with the idea of going to the Drive-In, one of our favourite things to do. I was a little nervous, as Ollie hadn't napped properly that day, but we packed up the car with his moses basket, toys, blankets and his sleep sheep. It was a nice night, where the weather wasn't too hot that you had to keep your windows open, which was a good thing, because we had to keep ours rolled up for a while. During the first movie (and Ollie's bedtime), Ollie decided to be fussy. He didn't want to stand, he didn't want to sit, and he didn't want to lay down. He did, however, want to scream and yell. To quiet him down, I nursed him, but that only can go on for so long. Luckily, after a while, Daddy was able to get him to sleep. We put him in his moses basket, tucked him in, and then we settled in for the second movie (which we didn't even want to see, but hey, he was asleep!). It was a nice change of pace, and we considered it a success, so we'll be visiting again soon.
Ollie really does light up our lives. You can easily tell what he likes, and what he doesn't like. So far, he doesn't enjoying putting his feet in water at the beach, or in a pool. Hopefully when the water gets a little warmer, we'll be able to change that opinion. His favourite shows are Guess with Jess (he loves the cat and smiles when he's on the screen), Roll Play, and 4 Square. They capture his attention instantly and it's near impossible to take his focus off of the screen. His favourite toys right now are his bath books, his musical lion, his blankets and his fingers and toes. He adores his play pen, which is awesome! It looks like a tent, and you can hang his toys or a mobile inside it. I love how how outdoor friendly it is. It's perfect for camping or the beach, as he'll be protected from the sun and wind. Ollie also adores Selena Gomez, an actress/singer on the Family channel. I think he may be crushing. ;) His best friends are Sawyer, Neko and Nobi, and he seems to be fascinated with them. I'm thinking they will be the reason he decides to start crawling. He loves the movie Paul, for reasons unknown to us, except maybe the fact that it has a Sci-Fi element to it. Whenever the alien Paul was on the screen, Ollie would laugh. At first it seemed to be nervous laughter, and we thought, maybe a coincidence, but it continued throughout the whole film, and it was only when Paul was on the TV. Looks like he might become an astronaut after all! Oh, and he suddenly is willing to suck on his soother "Suzie". Very strange!
