myles oliver : monthbymonth 7

This kid.  Let me tell ya.  He is such a joy!  And SO funny.  This was the hardest month to get the monthly photo taken.  I HAD to wait for Kyle to help because as soon as I stepped away to snap the picture, he was on his belly crawling away.

Thats right Myles.  You started crawling this month.  You aren't lifting off the ground or anything, but you are definitely moving forward.  First, you were spinning yourself in circles because you hadn't figured out the leg motions yet.  Then, you started tossing your paci just out of arms reach to set a goal for yourself to reach for.  And then all of a sudden, we started noticing those legs moving you inch by inch, and now you work really hard to go all over the place!  It is so funny!  

You are somewhere over 16 pounds now and still wearing the same size of clothes as last month.  But you just look bigger.  Maybe it isn't bigger as much as older now that your hair is back.  You still sleep really well and have moved your bedtime more towards 7pm.  I refuse to let it go any earlier... if it did there would be days you didn't see your dad at all.  As long as we are at home, you have been taking 2 naps in your crib every day.  Usually around 10am and 1pm... sometimes you take a short nap around 4 or 5pm on me (I'm not quite ready to give that up yet).  

One "bad" thing this month is that you have started being really afraid of certain noises.  Whereas you used to sleep through the vacuum cleaner, you now scream if someone isn't holding you when I run it.  The same goes for pulling Press-n-seal or aluminum foil out of their boxes.  I have to be careful about using the blender as well.  You are utterly terrified of those things.  

Your hair is even longer than that now.  Not a bald spot in sight.

We are still spending a lot of time outside.  You got to experience the pool for the first time (and second, and third) this month.  YOU LOVE IT.  The float that you sit in seems to remind you of your jumperoo... you are immediately jumping around in the water and launching yourself after the toys in the kiddie pool.  You don't even mind being splashed in the face... as long as it is you that did the splashing.  Unfortunately for me, this now makes bath time a little more challenging.  You think the tub is a pool so I now only ever have one hand to wash you with since the other has a tight grip on your arm to keep you from falling while you try to explore.  

Eliza came with us this last time, you loved running your float into hers and grabbing on.

We have been very thankful for our pool time with our friends.  Lane is getting older and so a little more interactive so you had fun getting to meet him a little closer than before.

Your dad has had a really tough schedule for the past several weeks so we have been spending extra time out of the house with friends.  This means lots of running errands, play dates, and coffee dates with Eliza and Lyndsey.  I think you all really appreciate it when we let you play together instead of just pushing you around in the strollers.

Crawling isn't the only thing that you started doing this month.  You now hold your bottle really well by yourself.  You can suck food straight out of the little food pouches if I forget to bring a spoon (its actually sort of cleaner to let you do that than for me to try to feed you).  You can also sit up pretty well for a little while on your own.  Sometimes you fall over because you can't balance any longer, but mostly you just launch yourself forward to get back to crawling.  You also stopped saying "momma" or any variation of that for a few days while you honed your new skill of sticking out your tongue.  You do it all the time... except when I try to get a picture of it. Stinker.

This month I was extremely thankful for your dad being a doctor.  After dinner at a Japanese restaurant, we had some sherbet... The rainbow kind.  We let you have some because you really enjoyed the homemade sorbet the week before... well you broke out in hives all over your face and neck within minutes.  I was driving, so I couldn't see you, but by your dad's silence, I knew it wasn't just your normal rash you get when your face is wet for too long.  Your dad immediately sent me after some children's benadryl and I immediately called our Pediatrician friend to be sure of what to do.  Your face swelled up some but thankfully not your lips (sign your airway could shut off).  By the time I made it back from CVS you looked normal.  We gave you the benadryl anyways just to be safe and I made an appointment with your normal pediatrician the next morning.  I really have no idea how I would have reacted if I had been alone with you.  Now we are scheduled to see an allergist next month and have Epi pens in your diaper bag just in case.  I'm a bit more paranoid cautious about letting you try new foods now.  I have no idea what the three flavors were in the sherbet or if it was the artificial flavorings/dyes in it that caused the problem.

daddy checked your breathing every 30 minutes just in case.  You were fine.

Otherwise, you are still loving all of the food I give you.  You will even eat broccoli as long as I mix it with other foods like pumpkin and apples.  I still buy a lot of food but have been making some for you as well.  Nothing fancy; I get a frozen steamer bag of a vegetable, microwave it per the directions, then throw it in my blender with some water.  Then freeze it in ice cube trays for later.  Lots of food for only like $1-3.  I have also thawed out some frozen fruit and blended that.  You REALLY like mango like that.. and it is so much easier than trying to get a ripe mango and peeling/slicing it myself.

We go outside all the time.  You immediately pull yourself to the edge of the blanket so you can pick grass.  You haven't really tried to eat it.  You mostly just grab a chunk, put it up to your mouth and then drop it on the blanket, then repeat.  Over and over again.  

Your dad hasn't had a day off in several weeks so we have been visiting him on Sundays after church.  We usually meet him in the cafeteria and I eat my lunch while he gets to see you.  Sometimes we even get to see some of his coworkers.  They love getting to see you too :).  And you light up so much when you see your daddy! He is just the coolest guy around.

You are just such a happy baby and smile at everyone that looks at you.  Even if you are getting upset with me, as soon as someone new walks by, you lock onto them and grin.  I have been very appreciative of strangers while we are out and about.  They grin and talk to you while I am out of your line of sight trying to pay for groceries.  I even had an older woman play with you and walk you around so I could get my haircut this week.  She asked for permission of course.  

You have also had an after bedtime babysitter twice this month.  My friend Aly from the first church we visited here kept you for our 6th anniversary so that we could go to the movies, and again last night so that we could go to an awards dinner for your dad's job.  She played with you for about an hour before your bedtime each time and you had no trouble going to sleep for her (even though I am the only person up until now that has ever put you to bed).  Very very thankful for her ability and willingness to do that for us.

You can't imagine the joy you add to our lives.  You make us laugh every day (you are SO ticklish!).  Now, since tomorrow is father's day, can you PLEASE finally say "dada"???  We love you Mr. Man!

myles oliver : monthbymonth 6

I know it is a little different from his past photos but he posed himself like this and I just loved it!

We hit the big 6 months mark yesterday.  Crazy.  It has been a fantastic month, we spent a lot of it outside and with new friends.  I can finally get you to take your morning nap in your crib (about 10am).  That is how I am able to write this... Afternoon naps either have to be in your car seat while we run around, or on me.  You refuse to nap in your crib more than once a day.

At your 6 month appointment today, you weighed 15 lbs 15 oz and were 27 inches long.  You had to have 3 shots, which of course were no fun, but you were mostly fine once the nurse gave you a little toy frog to take home.  

We started feeding you baby food this past month.  So far you really like everything in front of you.  Even the really weird spinach and rutabaga puree we tried.  Fruits, vegetables, meats, you don't seem to be very picky.  I even add spices to a few things (cumin and garlic to zucchini, cinnamon to squash or fruits) and you love that too.  At the moment, I feed you food twice a day and still nurse all the time.  Usually oatmeal and fruit in the morning before your nap and a vegetable and fruit or whatever for dinner time.  So far I am mostly giving you jarred food, but I hope to start making some baby food for the freezer on occasion now that I have a steamer and a new blender.

your first easter with us

Your bedtime seems to be creeping earlier and earlier per your own request.  You like to be down around 7:45 or 8pm now.  It bothers me for the ability to be out on the weekends for dinner...but your dad is grateful for us to have time before he has to go to bed during the work week.  This means you are usually waking up around 7 now but are still just as patient waiting for me to be ready to get you... letting  me shower and get my breakfast ready before I grab you.

my super cool dude running to Home Depot with me.. sometimes I wear you around so you can get out of the car seat if we are out of the house for a long time.  you seem to appreciate it.

Milestones this month (or I am calling them milestones...) are that you are saying Mamama, Ma, Mama a lot.  Contrary to what you are supposed to be saying first... (dada)... You don't really seem to know that it means anything yet though but it is still super cute.  Although you did say "Maaa!" and slap the phone out of my hand this morning.  You can now roll belly to back and back to belly.  You are also working on sitting up on your own really well.  Although you don't do it very long because it is SO MUCH FUN to fall over.  I also noticed you had located your paci on your own the other morning and put it in by yourself while you were in the crib.  

Outside is still your favorite place to be whether we are going for a walk, laying in the grass, or just sitting on the deck.  We took Lyndsey and Eliza to the zoo a few weeks ago.  You still weren't too impressed with the animals but we had fun anyway.  You were much more impressed by Eliza.

Speaking of which; we had you dedicated at church this past weekend.  You were a ham!  You obviously know your name, because when Pastor Matt called your name, you leaned forward and gave a huge grin!  The whole church was laughing!  And then the rest of the time we were standing on stage, you were doing this:

Because you know who your friend is and you really thought you should be holding hands.  This still amazes me that you all know each other so well, so young!

Gamma and Gwampa stopped in for a visit after the Clemson graduation.

Your favorite thing to do is still jumping.  It makes you so happy!  You jump on me, on your dad, in your jumperoo, in your doorway jumper.  You try to jump while we are standing and holding you.  When you can't jump, you have to stay busy, grabbing and shaking everything you can reach.  When you aren't saying Mama, you still vibrate your lips a lot and have started looking around you going "huh".  Not sure why you make that noise, best I can figure is you just don't like it to be quiet.  You also LOVE to be told how big you are.  It makes you smile a lot.  Everywhere we go, everyone comments on your big blue eyes.  You love flirting with the store clerks, giving them that big coy grin of yours.  You also started laughing this month and are quite ticklish!

you are still my little shopping companion.  You can sit pretty well in these small carts for a little while, but not the bigger grocery store carts.

You are pretty exclusively in 6 month size clothes, though we can put you in some 9 month tshirts or shorts.  We are still cloth diapering most of the time but when we are going to be out of the house for a while, size 2 disposables are what fit now.  You still aren't crawling, just swimming on your belly, but you want to so bad.  Lyndsey said she saw you get mad in the nursery when you saw another baby crawl.   A few nursery workers have given you the nickname Smyles.  That's pretty ok with me :).

my new favorite picture of us

Your hair has almost completely grown back in and it is super light blonde which is why you still look bald in pictures.  We love it!  You are such a handsome, happy kid.  You do cuddle with me a little again.  Not with your dad... as soon as he holds you, you want to play.  But I can still get in some sweet snuggles.  Love you so very much my Mister Big Man.

currently

Once again, it has been quite a while since I last posted... Just not sure what to write about anymore... but then one of my favorite bloggers, Anne, mentioned that she would be doing a "currently" blog link up.  And I thought that would be an easy one to jump on board with.  Except that writing takes time and I used all of mine on the actual day of the link up writing and visiting with out of town guests.

cooking: I may be a bit obsessed with this vinaigrette.  I made my monthly stop at Trader Joe's a couple weeks ago and this was what they were sampling on some shredded cabbage. So I keep buying bags of cabbage and throwing some grilled chicken on there.  Noms.

reading:  The Quarter Acre Farm by Spring Warren.  I borrowed this book from the library last summer... it is hilarious and very helpful with my own gardening trials.  This mom was genius to write a book about turning her small yard into a garden to feed her family for a year.  Even if it meant eating zucchini every meal for weeks.  I didn't finish reading it so picked it up again last week.  

wearing:  Flip-flops.  After being banned from wearing open-toed shoes for the past 4 years because of my lab job, I have having a hard time remembering that it is ok for me to do this now.  Oh how my toes have missed the sun!

loving:  These two ladies.  Meet Lyndsey and Eliza.  It took almost a year, but thanks to the church nursery, I have found a pretty awesome friend that lives really close to us. She has a pretty adorable little girl whom Myles is loving to get to play with each week.  And I finally have someone to enjoy my Dunkin Donuts coffee obsession with.  And she proved herself to be a bit of a yard-saling lucky charm last week.  Pretty stoked about these two!

anticipating:  home-grown tomatoes.  Summer is about the only time that I eat tomatoes... not just because they are expensive at the grocery, but because the ones at the store have  no flavor.  Can't wait for some fresh veggies!