Saturday, April 25, 2009

Portraits





Today we went to Sears portrait studio to have some real photos of Oliver taken. Miraculously he was relatively calm and happy, with very little scuttling about. We got a lot of great ones! Links to the photos below, but we should have a lot of prints to give out in May.

To see photos, click here.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Heat Wave

This weekend Matthew is visiting his sister and her family in Seattle. This is my first solo time with Oliver and we are doing just great. Updates for him are that he's now eating all types of food other than dairy. Eggs, Chicken, Beef, veggies, fruits, etc. So he's all set. It's nice to go to a restaurant and mash something up for him like a banana or some yogurt.

Oliver is working hard on his pincer grasp but doesn't have it yet. He is able to grab one thing with his left hand and another thing with his right hand and bang them together which is a big win for him. A week or two ago if I handed him a second thing he would need to drop the first to take it.

Oliver is getting BOSSY. I'm having to remind myself that I am the adult and he's not really upset. He will stand in his crib and scream in the hope that I'll get him out, or start crying if I close a baby gate as he's approaching.

We went to the Santa Cruz beach yesterday and to SF today. Oliver will eat fistfuls of sand repeatedly if allowed. We did not sit in the sand long. It's been very very hot here, which is new for Oliver. Today I let him run around in diaper only for a few hours to air out a bit. He's not thrilled with the heat, and hates the 70 sunblock I'm spritzing him with all the time. With his love for baths I'm just biding my time until the pool opens. Boy is he going to love that!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Egg Hunt




We celebrated Easter in Berkeley today with Mimosas and Quiche. Oliver had a great time with the grandparents, and especially Ella and Lucas. To view more photos click here. Thanks Nina for all the cooking and eggs for the egg hunt! We had a great time.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Denver Trip


Just uploaded photos from our trip to Denver recently. We got there just before the big snow storm. This photo is my favorite. Oliver sure looks like grandpa! more photos

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Growth Photo Project


I have to say that I'm going to be happy when Oliver turns one, if only because it's becoming increasingly more difficult to take his monthly onesie black and white photo. This latest one is heavily photoshoped, making it look like it was done in a studio. In reality he's standing at the end of a bed with a black blanket on it. The whole background is dubbed in. He moves so quickly that I'm having trouble getting the shots I want, which show how he's growing. I have one or two from each month and will stop this insanity after month 12. Here's what I have so far, and below is the latest. For the rest of the photos click here.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

This past Saturday, Oliver turned 7 months old. We were in Denver with Matthew's parents. Oliver celebrated the day with the arrival of his first tooth. He's been a bit cranky with the teething but nothing too major.

Oliver is also becoming more communicative. Rather than babbling just for the noise of it, he makes small specific sounds while looking straight at you. If he is being held by dad and wants mom to see it he'll make a pointed grunt while looking at her. It's sort of an "Uh!" meaning "Hey! Pay attention." The other thing he communicates is sort of "again" or "let's go" by wiggling his chest forward and back a couple of times. It's sort of a giddyup mom type of thing.
We have been trying to do sign language but so far he's not using the signs back at us at all.

He's beginning to focus on the use of his index finger rather than all the fingers in a raking grasp. Not quite coordinating the pointer and the thumb into a pincer yet.
There are new foods in his menu, including Zweibach toasts which grandma introduced him too. They are an instant favorite, and something will concentrate on until finished.

Two weeks ago I was a nervous wreck dealing with Oliver's new mobility. He was so excited about being able to crawl that he would just do anything without any real ability at physical control or awareness of consequences. It's just so amazingly exhausting trying to keep a moving robot boy from hurting himself every single second. Just two weeks later he has MUCH more control and is able to get himself out of the tight spots he gets into.

These days dad is good at getting Oliver to laugh by blowing raspberries on his belly and face. Oliver is not a snuggler, which is a bit of a bummer sometimes, but it might just be his age. Book reading time is a special time for me because it's the one time he will sit on my lap for ten minutes and be still. Well, and also when he is getting a bottle.