Baa-ram-ewe

At the petting zoo at the Pumpkin Festival in Franklin. He liked the boar's wiry hair.

My first pony ride!

Oliver went on his first pony ride at the Pumpking Festival in Franklin today. He was certainly the smallest guy up there, but it was fun to do. He had the same look on his face he had the first few times he went on the swings. He wasn't upset, but he wasn't loving it either.

A walker

While at Laura's, I finally caved and bought Oliver a walking toy. I'd been hesitant to do so. In part because Wes and I hate buying toys. The kid plays with anything, so we'd rather not spend money on something he doesn't really care about having. Plus, I kept hoping he'd just get going on his own and spare me the indignity of buying something he was only going to really use for two or three weeks. And a lot of these walking toys are fifty dollars are more.

But on a trip to Wal-Mart, Laura and I spotted this one that collapses into a little riding scooter and stands up into a walking toy. It was on sale and was absent the bells and whistles (and noisemakers) that normally go along with these things. We got it home, Laura got it assembled, and he was off in no time. He walked all over Laura's house for about an hour before we had to leave to head home. He even tried to push it up the stairs (where he'd spent almost all his energy prior to the walking toy -- I think I owe Laura new carpet on her stairs). He walked around for another hour or more at my parents' house when we got there. And he's been non-stop with the thing in our house. He uses the walking toy to get around the house, then crawls when he needs to inspect something more closely.

It's obvious he's making strides (pun intended) towards standing independently and walking. He can practically pick up the toy to move in the direction he wants to go. He's just not brave enough quite yet to let go and suffer the consequences of landing on his butt. It's funny to see him decide to go someone in the house, then look for his walker to get him there.

My hope is that this will give him the courage to eventually let go and try it out on his own. I try pretty often to get him steady on his feet and then let go so he'll stand on his own, but he usually gets nervous and sits down. I noticed yesterday that they have the exact same toy at daycare, and his teachers commented that they've seen his improvement, too.

It will, ultimately, be another toy he outgrows, but I have to say that for miles it's getting, it was worth the $20.

Meet me at the fair

On Friday night, the whole gang headed out to the Effingham County Fair. We went early since Oliver has such an early bedtime, and it proved to be ideal time to hit a few rides before the crowds got heavy. We checked out the animals being shown in competition, included some enormous pigs and cows that kicks. Oliver and I rode Jalopy Junction, seemingly the only ride I would ride with him, and he tried out the climbing wall in the baby play area. Laura and Reid did a slightly more daring ride, the name of which escapes me. It's like a Ferris wheel, but the car itself rocks back and forth as the main spindle turns. Reid was skeptical but manned up to escort his wife.

I like living in a more urban area, but fairs like this are fun to visit. It'll be fun to take Ollie back when he's a bit older and "this tall to ride."

Oatland Island

On Friday, Laura, Reid, Oliver, and I all went to Oatland Island, a natural preserve area with exhibits of a variety of animals (bison, wolves, alligators), including the Georgia Farm. The highlight of the visit was most definitely Reid showcasing his turkey calling skills. The turkey went crazy, puffing up and warbling back.

The most dangerous game

Last weekend, Oliver and I traveled to Savannah to visit my sister and brother-in-law over fall break. I hadn't yet visited Laura in her new home, though I'd gotten to see it mid-build when I was in Savannah over 18 months ago, and I was in need of a few days away from school work. I had a four-day weekend, but it was a long trip there. We left Wednesday after my afternoon class, drove to my parents' house near Atlanta, then drove the rest of the way Thursday. We did the trip in reverse Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning so that we could spend Sunday with Wes, who had to stay and work a shift.

We had a really nice time there, but certainly one major aspect of the trip was being immersed in the hunting culture that is part of Reid's (and hence my sister's) life. Oliver wasn't sure what to make of the deer mounted over the fireplace or the several stuffed animals on display at Bass Pro Shop. It's like he was afraid that if we stayed long enough, he'd end up in the hands of a taxidermist. He did seem to enjoy the camouflage recliner but wasn't a fan of the faux coonskin cap.

The hardest part of the trip, in fact, came just before we got to Bass Pro Shop. We were on our way to lunch, but Oliver didn't think he could make it. Despite Laura's best efforts to entertain him, he was having a meltdown in his car seat, and we were still miles from the restaurant. We ended up making an emergency french-fry stop at McDonald's (he plowed through the goldfish in the diaper bag), just so he would calm down until we could get food on the table at the restaurant.

The only bad part of the trip was the fact that Ollie spent so long, again, in a car seat with no one back there to play with him. As a result, he now gets upset when we try to put him in his car seat, even just to go to daycare five minutes away.

Dear Husband, Part 37

Wes dropped off Oliver at daycare on his way to work this morning while I took Lucy to the vet. Wes has a night shift, though, so I picked Oliver up after class. When I went to pick him up, his teachers told me that Oliver arrived at daycare this morning with his shoes on the wrong feet...

My wish

I wish I could freeze time. Not this exact moment, mind you. Oliver has been in bed for two hours and is now crying, and I fear I may have to intervene to get him back to sleep. So I don't want to freeze this moment in time, just this general stage of his life. I know the fussy, cranky, temper-tantrum terrible twos or threes is coming. But today, watching Oliver stick his head in a box or crab across the hearth of the fireplace, I wished he could always be like this. When Wes left for work, he kissed us both, and right after he left, Oliver turned and tried to kiss me, too. I love watching him play on the floor, stacking blocks or rolling his truck or mimicking something we've done. He looks up at me and smiles with all his dimples showing. I'm afraid it's all going too fast, that I'll look up and he'll be a teenager.

I don't really want to keep him small, of course. Watching him grow and learn and develop new skills is most of what makes it so much fun. Still, if I were going to pick one age to leave him at, this seems like a pretty good one.

From the video vault (June 09): Smiling at Him Self

At thirteen months

Oliver is becoming a new little man. He is definitely no longer a baby, even though he isn't yet toddling. I see glimmers of my little boy when he nods off having his milk before bed, but other than that, he's becoming very grown up very quickly.

New developments, some good, some bad:
1. Ollie is learning to use a spoon. He knows how to hold it properly, can do a basic scooping motion, and can sometimes get the spoon to his mouth, contents still in tact. More often, though, he dips it in his food and waves it around. Or he puts food on the spoon by scooping, but then picks the food off the spoon with his free hand to eat it. Regardless of what he is eating though, he needs a spoon. He often refuses to eat unless he gets to hold a spoon, too. Since we want to encourage him to to learn to use the utensils, I have no problem complying with the request. Unfortunately, he isn't keen on giving up the spoon when dinner is over and often wails when it's taken away. He is completely off bottles but still won't hold his sippy cup for me at home. I often end up holding it, or holding him tilted back while he props it up, to make sure he gets enough to drink. Because we're pushing fluids so much at home, though, he's waking up in the morning soaking wet, which means lots of extra laundry. We've just gotten off bottles in the last week, though, so I'll be patient waiting for him to learn to hold it.
2. Ollie has added a wide range of vocalizations to his repertoire, but he still hasn't said a truly recognizable word. We're doing lots of pointing and naming these days and trying again with some basic signs (with the words repeated at the same time). One essential one is, "More, please." He tends, at mealtime, to lunge for food and grunt, getting more and more frustrated when his efforts are futile. So I keep repeating, "More, please," and doing the sign for more. No success yet, but again, patience. He is definitely jabbering a LOT more, though.
3. He LOVES the playground at school. Every day I find him out there with one of the shovels having lots of fun in the dirt. I'm no longer vacuuming up just dog hair. Now it's dog hair and sand.
4. He hugs me! It seems kind of accidental sometimes, but it's still super special :)
5. Last night, Oliver peed on the rug in his bathroom. This would be funny regardless, but it's extra funny because normally it's the dog who does this. Lucy is notorious for gaining access to one of the bathrooms or our closet (the ONLY places in our house with rugs or carpets) and peeing, even if she's been outside recently. It's an issue we've never resolved with her, so we just try and cut off her access. Last night, I put Oliver in the bathtub and then sat down and noticed the rug was wet. I knew the dog hadn't had access, but it was definitely urine. We often stand Oliver up by the bathtub while we run the water, so I can only assume he was the offender. Unbelievable.
6. Last Friday Ollie had his first temper tantrum. He is often pretty tired by Friday night, as he's still adjusting to one nap a day at daycare (but fortunately is now taking longer naps there, which helps). Friday, he was cranky and seemed hungry, but when I sat him down to eat he cried and cried and threw his food on the floor. When I took him out of the high chair, he got even more upset. Wes took over, so I could finish preparing dinner for some friends who were coming over, and when I looked in the living room (as the wailing was getting louder), Ollie was laying on the floor screaming and Wes was sitting next to him watching baseball. Neither of us knew what to do except wait for him to calm down. I still don't know what triggered it, and I'm not super-excited about dealing with this for the next however many years, but at least it's one first we've lived to tell about!

Reading nutrition labels is very important

Cannonball!

Or at least that's what Wes calls it. Oliver can swing sitting back, but if he gets tipped forward he can't right himself. He does enjoy the swing now, though. He giggles when he starts swinging, in fact. We've started taking him to the park occassionally on the way home from work/school/daycare. This is at a park near campus. It has a huge ceramic tile dragon that's phenominal, but it doesn't really interest him yet. He likes the teeter-totter (which is such that we can all three go on it), the swings, and the tunnels. He'll go down the slide with me, but it doesn't seem to excite him much yet.

Learning to use the spoon

Baby needs a new pair of shoes

Right after Oliver's first day at his new daycare, we had to go shopping for a jacket (it's cooled off here) and a pair of shoes. Both were for the playground. The kids play outside a lot at this daycare (even today, when it rained all afternoon and they were essentially playing in mud), and so they require all kids, even those not walking, to have rubber-bottomed shoes. The only shoes we've owned up to this point are the soft-bottom Robeez-type shoes (except the cheap ones from Target). So off we went to the mall, where I knew things would be more expensive but the one place I knew I could find both things and someone to help figure out the size for his feet. Twenty minutes and a chunk of change later, Oliver got his first pair of shoes. I've tried to tell myself that he only needs good shoes for while he's learning to walk and then we can go cheap once he's up and around really well. But honestly, it's helpful to have someone help with the sizing. I've got no idea -- I've even bought shoes too small for myself! She did tell me that kids tend to grow out of a pair of shoes in about 3 months, which isn't comforting. If he ends up with Wes-size feet, he's got a lot of shoe sizes still to go.