Our Little Man is Half a Year Old Already!

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.*

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Ollie's First Visit to the Beach!

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!

Enjoy seeing the beach with Ollie! 

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Belly Laughs with Ollie!

Ollie has just started having real belly laughs and it's possibly the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life! He currently finds it hilarious when we stand above him and shake around. :)

Enjoy this little video! I know it will put a smile on your face too!

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Our Little Ollie is 3 Months!

After a few cold months, the sun is starting to come out, bringing the promise of spring. Time is passing so quickly it seems, and that directly applies to our little Oliver. He has changed so much in such a short period of time, and he's now already 3 months old!

Oliver has more than doubled his original birth weight and is starting to resemble a little man more than a little baby to me now, and that makes me a little sad. I can no longer hold him in one arm and he usually isn't as willing to just be held and cuddled unless he's really sleepy. He is growing stronger and stronger each day, and I can see a streak of independence in him already. Watching him kick his arms and legs, wriggle on his tummy and throw his weight around when you hold him, shows how much he just wants to go off and explore the world around him.

He does have a bit of a temper, which is usually seen when he's bored or isn't getting what he wants fast enough. The other day he got so frustrated, that he grabbed the collar of my shirt in one hand and almost growled as he shook with impatience. If he had teeth, they would have been clenched. Thankfully, he's small enough that it's kind of adorable. He flies into rages out of nowhere, with little to no warning. It can be because you turned off his favourite show...and you might not think he knows what TV is, but if you could see him, you'd know that he becomes very focused on the television when it's on, even to the point that he strains his neck to be able to see it if it's behind him.

Ollie had his first set of vaccinations last month which was a very difficult thing to have to watch. It's hard to take your little baby that you protect with your whole soul, to get a needle, which you know isn't a fun experience at all. He didn't cry after the first one, but the second needle brought out the tears. He then spent the rest of the day upset with a fever. It was really hard to see him in pain and not being able to do much about it. He did get his first dose of infant Tylenol, and I think it did help a little. We are not looking forward to his next shot. :(


Oliver has been all over the map with his sleeping and eating routine. One week he eats 20 minutes per feed and doesn't nap at all, the next week he's eating for only 8-10 minutes per feed and napping through the day! He keeps switching almost week to week, and I have to wonder if he's going through a growth spurt or something. It's interesting watching him eat now, because he can act so strangely. Sometimes, he rhythmically punches my boob while eating, and other times he tries pulling off with my breast in tow! Ouch! It's like he decides he doesn't want to eat, but he can't let go! I don't know if he's bored, if he's distracted, if he's full, or if he's getting enough food! I would think he's eating enough, as he's growing so well, but who knows! He can sure act crazy! :) I've also been getting practice feeding him in public, which has been interesting. I've fed him twice at the mall so far, fed him in the car, at a party and in-front of family. I use a cover, so it's not like I'm showing myself off to the world, but society still makes you feel insecure about doing it. Once you take the plunge and just do it, it makes it easier for the next time. I think it's sad how nervous I feel doing it when it's so natural to feed your child this way, but I know the more I put myself in different situations, the more I grow. I plan on sticking to this path as long as I can, and if a side effect of feeding my child leads me to feel more confident about myself, then so be it! ;)

He has become quite a vocal baby, often talking to himself loudly in the middle of the night, keeping poor Mommy up. He yells when he's angry instead of resorting to crying, he laughs so adorably when he's being tickled or having his toes "eaten" and he coos softly when is talking to pictures on the wall or to himself in the dark. He often chatters away while Mommy and Daddy are lying with him in bed or watching him on the change table. It is the cutest sound in the world, which is why I'm crazy and follow him around and record him all day. :) When I play back the recording, he just perks up as soon as he hears his voice. He's going to be like his mother. ;) He has also discovered the sound of gurgling and loves making little raspberries, which is too cute! He thinks it is hilarious when we do them, which makes him laugh, and even giggle.

Here is a little video of him talking and playing with his linking rings.

Ollie has really discovered his hands lately and is grabbing and touching everything. When we were reading a 'Touch and Feel" book, he kept grabbing the furry parts of the page. I fear for my pets. ;) He really notices his hands and concentrates and stares at them while they grab things. He is also finally sucking his thumb, not just his whole fist! He is starting to want to sit up rather then lean back, and will pull himself up using his tummy and neck muscles. He obviously wants to see and be involved in everything! He even gets to sit in his Bumbo chair and does really well holding his head up.

We took Oliver out for dinner in a restaurant for the first time and it went better then expected. He wasn't a happy camper when we got there, but after sneaking back out to the car for a quick feed, he calmed down and even fell asleep. It will be awhile until I feel confident bringing him to nice restaurants, but as long as it's a family eatery, I think we're okay! :)

Ollie had his first photoshoot with Yvonne, and it went so well! We've seen the previews of his photos, and are just waiting for the call to go and pick them up. My mom and I went shopping to get him some cute outfits, and he didn't even end up wearing them, though he did wear the cute hats we bought him! He was just too cute in the buff! ;) He started off being a little confused and grouchy as he didn't know what was going on, but he really warmed up throughout the session and ended up talking Yvonne's ear off. He loved being naked lying by the window and during his tummy time photos, he held his head up so well that even Yvonne commented on his strength! He was such a well behaved baby, and didn't pee on anything! ;) Here are some samples of his photo session!

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Oliver- One Month Old Today!

I cannot believe how quickly times flies by (when you have no sleep). Oliver is one month old today! He's already a big boy! We have really been through so much in such a short time with him already, learning more about him everyday, and about ourselves as well. I have learned that somehow, without sleep, without makeup, without a shower...someone still can love me. I personally would stay away (I don't enjoy being a stinky grump), but I guess I'm needed! ;)

This picture was taken right before we left the hospital with him. I can't believe how small he looks in his car seat!

Our little man doesn't enjoy sleeping...or being quiet, unless he's around our families and is trying to prove us wrong. When it's just the three of us, he tends to be a bit cranky, especially during feeding times. When he's hungry, he goes insane, whipping his head back and forth, chomping at me with his piranah gums, making an adorable, "uh-huh, uh-huh" sound. We've had to put little mitts on him, because he also tries tearing me apart. We are still working on breastfeeding, as it hasn't gone so smoothly. He's a lazy latcher and I'm partly broken, so it's going to be an ongoing learning experience for the both of us.

Since day one he's held his head up, showing how strong he is, and was so alert and focused. He really seems to study everything and has already started smiling and sticking out his tongue in response to our encouragement. I can't tell you how rewarding it all is to see him smile for real at me. It makes my heart melt. :) I am so tired and have no time to sleep between feedings (every 2-3 hours), diaper changes, cleaning, showering (ha, ya right) and such. But I figure that even if I did have time to nap, I'd hate to because I might miss something important or precious. He has totally become our world, and we seem so much more complete with him here with us.

He loves rocking back and forth, bouncing up and down and just vibrating. He snores like Neko when he sleeps, loves listening to me sing (badly) and loves sleeping on daddy. I often have a hard time coming up with songs to sing on the spot, so I seem to resort to singing songs from Disney Afternoon, like the theme song to Tale Spin, Ducktales or Rescue Rangers. Oliver has just started sleeping in his cradle, though it seems to be a hit and miss thing. Sometimes he sleeps, sometimes he cries bloody murder. 

He loves staring at our artwork on the walls, the bumble bees on his crib bedding and watching the pets walk back and forth. He gets lots of licks from Neko who thinks she is his mother, gets licked from Sawyer who thinks that Oliver can take him out for walks to pee, and gets head rubs from Nobi who is slowly coming around to his new little brother. He also seems to enjoy bath time, which is great!

He enjoys his new Surfboard playmat, as he loves tummy time. When he sleeps with us in our bed (most nights), he sleeps on our chests on his tummy, so he's very good at strengthening his neck. He also has strong little legs and tries holding himself up on them when he hold him under his little arms to make him dance. He watches a lot of the Food network with me and enjoys going for walks around the house with daddy.

Our poor little goose has a rash right now that started off looking like acne, but now looks more like eczema or something. We are going to the doctor this week, so I'll let you all know what we find out.

Heck, enjoy some more random photos! :D

Love you Champion! (I call him that, for some reason...)

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