For the first 9 months of Ollie's life, he had gastric reflux. A lot of movement and he would projectile vomit his milk all over the room. Unfortunately, this meant no swing for Ollie. This past weekend when we went to the parks (as in 4 or 5 parks), we were a bit surprised when Ollie wanted to do swing the entire time. On one trip he even spent 30 minutes in the swing straight and loved every minute of it.
We would occasionally take him out of the swing to try the slides or bouncy animals, but he would always go back to the swings and reach for them. All the other play things were for larger kids, so he wasn't to adept at playing on them. He tried to go down head first on one slide and that was the end of that fun. He just kept going back to the swings. The higher Ollie went the happier he was. He even enjoyed us pushing him from the side. If we are lucky, he won't try swinging from the trees.
July 08, 2004
July 06, 2004
The 4th
Long weekends make you want to come back home. This last long weekend made Ollie want to come home early. He had his typical trip meltdown on Sunday night. Ollie was well behaved for the entire weekend. He was just tired and out of sorts. So after screaming at the top of his lungs for 1/2 an hour and not settling down for the night I got him up. He cried and cried until he got his mama. Since it was the fourth he went outside to watch the fireworks. He liked the sparks and light from them, but hated the noise. Granted he was tired, upset and crabby at this time, so he was sensitive to things. After a little while he was able to settle down and go to bed.
At about 4 am he awoke and wouldn't go back to sleep, so his mom got up with him while his grumpy dad tried to go back to sleep. About 6 I got up and Ollie took a nap on the couch while we packed and got ready to leave. He woke up when we finished loading the car and was fairly good the entire way home.
He was just as good on the way down. He had a few fits from being tied up in his car seat for almost 5 straight hours. For the most part though he just played with his toys and occasionally stared off into space during the car rides.
He had fun the rest of the time and was nice to everyone. He took to the pool without a problem. He let you know when he wanted in and when he wanted out by pointing. He even went swimming a couple of times on Saturday. He tried to blow bubbles (swallowed water), splashed, kicked and played with the pool toys while the adults jumped off the board and made fools of themselves. The only thing he didn't really like was getting splashed in the face, but who really likes that?
Ollie also got to meet a 18 month old boy named Keaton. They played around, shared crackers and raced down the driveway. They both ended up with scraped toes, but neither seemed to mind. Ollie also had to investigate the cars in the driveway. He opened and closed the gas tanks several times, played with the license plates and pounded the sides. At one point he went to the front of the car, then Ollie head butted the Plymouth! Right in the middle of the Plymouth symbol. Luckily it was round and flat or Ollie might have an imprint of a boat on his forehead.
All in all, Ollie had a good time and was well behaved. Other than his 1 bad night, he hardly fussed. Unfortunately, any other trips we may take will have a bad night as well, but at least we know it is coming. Guess we'll see on our next trip.
At about 4 am he awoke and wouldn't go back to sleep, so his mom got up with him while his grumpy dad tried to go back to sleep. About 6 I got up and Ollie took a nap on the couch while we packed and got ready to leave. He woke up when we finished loading the car and was fairly good the entire way home.
He was just as good on the way down. He had a few fits from being tied up in his car seat for almost 5 straight hours. For the most part though he just played with his toys and occasionally stared off into space during the car rides.
He had fun the rest of the time and was nice to everyone. He took to the pool without a problem. He let you know when he wanted in and when he wanted out by pointing. He even went swimming a couple of times on Saturday. He tried to blow bubbles (swallowed water), splashed, kicked and played with the pool toys while the adults jumped off the board and made fools of themselves. The only thing he didn't really like was getting splashed in the face, but who really likes that?
Ollie also got to meet a 18 month old boy named Keaton. They played around, shared crackers and raced down the driveway. They both ended up with scraped toes, but neither seemed to mind. Ollie also had to investigate the cars in the driveway. He opened and closed the gas tanks several times, played with the license plates and pounded the sides. At one point he went to the front of the car, then Ollie head butted the Plymouth! Right in the middle of the Plymouth symbol. Luckily it was round and flat or Ollie might have an imprint of a boat on his forehead.
All in all, Ollie had a good time and was well behaved. Other than his 1 bad night, he hardly fussed. Unfortunately, any other trips we may take will have a bad night as well, but at least we know it is coming. Guess we'll see on our next trip.
July 01, 2004
The Emperor Has No Clothes
Emperor Ollie's clothes are not packed for his 4th of July weekend get away. His highness will be staying in a posh residence with a swimming pool. He will get to sip a sippee poolside while looking down on the peasants below. The emperor will be fed foods designed only for him (and millions of other babies). He will have a special bed and a special chair for eating. Fortunately the jewel encrusted (more like food encrusted) high chair will be staying home. He will leave his current world behind chauffeured in the emperor's graham cracker encrusted vehicle. The emperor will be gone for a week, so no posts until Tuesday.
June 30, 2004
Park II
The park was visited last night by Ollie, his parents and his aunt. There were other people there, so he didn't get the run of the place. Ollie kept staring at the older kids running around and wanted to see what they were doing. He played with everything. He loves the slides. He is able to go down the enclosed slides by himself and always comes out with a smile on his face. He loses his balance on occasion and ends up in and awkward position, but no crying. He also loves the swings. He was on the swings for 20 minutes and went quite high for a little boy. He loves going back and forth and the wind being blown in his face. Of course he also played in the sand and got nice and dirty. On the way home we stopped and got ice cream. Running around, playing in the sand, flying down slides, swinging through the air and ice cream to top it off. It was a great evening.
June 29, 2004
Shrek
One of the most popular movies of the summer has been Shrek. So we decided to get our own green little monster. Like Shrek, he pulls at his ears, eats gross and disgusting things, plays in disgusting things like his own spit up and isn't much for grooming. He doesn't have a donkey for a sidekick, but 5 different cats. Though they don't comply with his requests very often. They run from our green little ogre when he comes tromping into the room. So far no torches have been lit for an ogre burning at the stake. Now here is the star of the movie...Shrek!
June 28, 2004
It is Good to be...C.O.E.
The inspiration for this entry came from the show "It's Good To Be" on E!.
It is good to be Christian Oliver Erickson because
1. You get to drag around small appliances by the cord and occasionally get a cat to chase you. The appliances may include, but aren't limited to, Baby monitor cords, Dart board cords, electric knives, electric mixers, hair dryers and occasionally the toaster.
2. Parents order piles of dirt and rocks for you to play on during the weekends. So while you are enjoying your juice box, you also get to taste the salt of the earth...literally.
3. You get carted around in all things large and small. Some of the things that people shouldn't be pulled around in, like laundry baskets, trash buckets, boxes and toys that aren't meant to be a ride.
4. There are plenty of shelves of books, CD's and DVD's available for his entertainment pleasure. Unfortunately, the only touching of these is when the shelves are in just too neat of an order, so Ollie rearranges them for us on the floor.
5. You have a case of PATES (Parents About To Eat Something), so you get a bite of whatever your closest parent has to eat.
6. Whatever is in your grasp is fair game for playing. Including toothpaste tubes, hair clips, q-tips and dental floss. Once you have said items, you get to play the swap game. You drop an item off in one room that it doesn't belong and pick up another to take to a different room with your parents providing color commentary to amuse themselves.
All in all it is good to be C.O.E.
It is good to be Christian Oliver Erickson because
1. You get to drag around small appliances by the cord and occasionally get a cat to chase you. The appliances may include, but aren't limited to, Baby monitor cords, Dart board cords, electric knives, electric mixers, hair dryers and occasionally the toaster.
2. Parents order piles of dirt and rocks for you to play on during the weekends. So while you are enjoying your juice box, you also get to taste the salt of the earth...literally.
3. You get carted around in all things large and small. Some of the things that people shouldn't be pulled around in, like laundry baskets, trash buckets, boxes and toys that aren't meant to be a ride.
4. There are plenty of shelves of books, CD's and DVD's available for his entertainment pleasure. Unfortunately, the only touching of these is when the shelves are in just too neat of an order, so Ollie rearranges them for us on the floor.
5. You have a case of PATES (Parents About To Eat Something), so you get a bite of whatever your closest parent has to eat.
6. Whatever is in your grasp is fair game for playing. Including toothpaste tubes, hair clips, q-tips and dental floss. Once you have said items, you get to play the swap game. You drop an item off in one room that it doesn't belong and pick up another to take to a different room with your parents providing color commentary to amuse themselves.
All in all it is good to be C.O.E.
June 25, 2004
Animated
Some times you take a picture and it turns out a bit better than you expect. I particularly like the ones of Ollie in action.
He is usually running around and playing like this more than he is standing still. It is rare for him to sit still, he's got too much to do and so little time before his parents put him to bed!
He is usually running around and playing like this more than he is standing still. It is rare for him to sit still, he's got too much to do and so little time before his parents put him to bed!
June 24, 2004
Slip Sliding Away
It was such a nice day after work yesterday that we decided to take Ollie to the park after dinner. The park was empty so he had the run of the place. Run he did. At least as best as he could in the sand without falling. He's not big enough to climb to the different levels on the playground yet, so Tresa and I took him to the various play things. He liked the slides best. They had a few different ones. Straight silver slides, straight enclosed plastic slides and curved enclosed plastic slides.
Ollie didn't like going down the straight open silver slides by himself, but he laughed all the way down when his mom and I took him down it. He was a bit scared of the enclosed slides at first, but really seemed to enjoy them. They were slower and shorter, but he could go down them by himself.
Of course he had to play in the sand and give himself a sand bath. He kept picking it up and dropping it on himself. Of course I had to help, but taking the little scoop play toy and dumping some on his pants! I know...mean daddy. He didn't seem to mind though. No bouncy and no swings, maybe another park another day.
Ollie didn't like going down the straight open silver slides by himself, but he laughed all the way down when his mom and I took him down it. He was a bit scared of the enclosed slides at first, but really seemed to enjoy them. They were slower and shorter, but he could go down them by himself.
Of course he had to play in the sand and give himself a sand bath. He kept picking it up and dropping it on himself. Of course I had to help, but taking the little scoop play toy and dumping some on his pants! I know...mean daddy. He didn't seem to mind though. No bouncy and no swings, maybe another park another day.
June 22, 2004
Little Things
This weekend Ollie tried to make a mulch angel. He fell backwards onto the mulch and ended up with his hands stretched out like he was going to make a snow angel.
A fire truck was driving along side us this morning on the way to the sitters. Ollie stared, pointed and told me all about it. He was thoroughly impressed.
This weekend Ollie gets to go on a Tot Walk for Relay for life. He'll get to walk around with a bunch of other kids. Hopefully, he doesn't show them up too bad.
This weekend we are also shoveling 6 tons of rocks. Guess we'll have a taste test and another game of king of the mountain.
All bottles going bye-bye is not in the too distant future. Some nights he fights having a bottle before bed. Unfortunately, he wants to play instead. Usually he gets put in bed. Now if we could only stop him from crying so his face wasn't so red.
A fire truck was driving along side us this morning on the way to the sitters. Ollie stared, pointed and told me all about it. He was thoroughly impressed.
This weekend Ollie gets to go on a Tot Walk for Relay for life. He'll get to walk around with a bunch of other kids. Hopefully, he doesn't show them up too bad.
This weekend we are also shoveling 6 tons of rocks. Guess we'll have a taste test and another game of king of the mountain.
All bottles going bye-bye is not in the too distant future. Some nights he fights having a bottle before bed. Unfortunately, he wants to play instead. Usually he gets put in bed. Now if we could only stop him from crying so his face wasn't so red.
June 21, 2004
5 Ton
How much dirt did Ollie eat this weekend...5 TONS! In truth he was the king of the hill on top of the dirt, even though his mouth was rather brown after a few minutes. Once he got the dirt clods in his mouth, he realized it doesn't taste good! He wore his shoes for the entire time he was outside and rarely messed with them. He clomped around happily in them. He lost his balance occasionally due to the unlevel ground, but was back up and running around in no time. He got a little bit up by the bugs, but didn't seem to mind. Kids are oblivious to those sorts of things. Bug bit...Ok, dirt in mouth...Ok, fall down stairs...Ok, crack head open on concrete...cry, then ok. Just give them a little time and they are back to their normal selves as normal as babies can be.
Tooth Update: Seems like his eye teeth are coming in. Last night he went on a 2 hr. crying jag from 10-12 and was trying to grind his teeth/gums. The good news is his parents got to stay up 2 hrs. past their bed time! The bad news is that it is no longer fun to stay up 2 hrs. past your bedtime. To be a carefree kid again!
Tooth Update: Seems like his eye teeth are coming in. Last night he went on a 2 hr. crying jag from 10-12 and was trying to grind his teeth/gums. The good news is his parents got to stay up 2 hrs. past their bed time! The bad news is that it is no longer fun to stay up 2 hrs. past your bedtime. To be a carefree kid again!
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