Chompers

Ollie now has 6 teeth all the way out. The 7th has poked through on the bottom. We can see the rest of them waiting their turn. At 6 months his first 2 teeth came in, he had to wait another 4 month for the next top 2 and those were nasty coming through. These last 2 have been relatively easier, but once those top 2 came in the flood gate of new teeth opened and they haven't stopped since. We pay a bit more attention to what he gets his hands on now, so we don't have to go fishing for something he shouldn't have in his mouth and get bit. The good thing is it makes it a lot easier for him to eat harder things. The cheeseballs have been warned.

Last night was Ollie's last swimming class. He did really well, just didn't want to put his face in the water to blow bubbles. He got a passing report card and some treats for his efforts. He especially enjoyed going up and down in the water. Maybe the loud splash he makes when he re-enters is what he likes. He also figured out that the shiny side of the pool is where he does humpty dumpty. After doing it several times, he wanted to go back over to the side, so I took him over and he was trying to get up on the side to do it again. Ok, so it just appeared that way, but he liked playing with the side for some reason. He got to have some celebratory french fries and a bottled water. Yes, I said bottled water, not bottle full of water. Tresa popped the top and he sucked it down. He's also drinking from regular cups with help. I guess we'll keep him.



This is one of those pictures he'll complain about when he gets older. He'll wonder why his parents put him in the trash. I said we'd keep him, but he'll need proof we thought about getting rid of him. No, not really.

And they All Fall Down

Ollie had another fall last night. He was sat on the table, turned our back for a second and he tried to sit up on the edge of the table. He fell back into the chair and tipped it over. He hit the back of his head on the chair and not the tile floor luckily. He got a good goose egg out of it, but was just scared. He was fine after a few minutes. He became excited about the blinds and stopped crying.

After all was well Ollie went to swimming. The other people in the class showed up this time, so he had other people to entertain him. He also fell in the pool several times. You set the child on the edge and do Humpty Dumpty. When Humpty 'has a great fall', the kid is supposed to lean in and fall into the parents hands. Ollie did pretty well. He leaned in 4 out of 6 times without coaxing. Usually before I could get the first sentence out. The other 2 times he had to be coaxed. Unfortunately, the pool was the coldest its been since we've gone swimming and his teeth were chattering from the moment we got in. Humpty Dumpty made him colder. Luckily it was near the end of class so he could warm up. He almost fell asleep on the way home. He got his bath when we got home and that woke him up. He was up until almost 8 pm. He's been staying up later, more time with Ollie, less time alone.

Meet-Up

Ollie met the next door neighbor baby last night. He is almost 4 months younger than Ollie, but about as big as he was at that age. He was on his best behavior. He kept reaching out for Matthew to try and figure him out. He was nice to him. I guess we'll have to let them get together to play in the future. I hate the words play date. You used to just go over to someone's house and see if they wanted to play. I'm not scheduling time for Ollie to play with someone. It makes playing too structured. Ok, time is up no more playing together. Not quite what should happen. I'll get off my soapbox now to present a styling Ollie.



Tooth Update: Sixth tooth on its way out. It has been easier than the other top teeth. The rest of is teeth all look like they are ready to come out any time. I hope they will be easier than the first six.

I Scream!

Lone Swimmer

Ollie was the only one in his swimming class last night. He was a bit crabby and hungry, so he wasn't his usual happy self for the entire time. He did fairly well though. During swimming they usual teach them to kick, float, splash and blow bubbles. Ollie occasionally kicks, floats without a problem and tries to drink the water instead of blowing bubbles. At least he is getting his face in the water. Not all of them do. They also play several games/songs during the class. Ollie's new favorite has to be Humpty-Dumpty. You sit the child on the edge of the pool out of the water and start the Humpty-Dumpty nursery rhyme. When you get to 'had a great fall', the child is supposed to jump/lean in and fall into the parents arms in the water. Ollie enjoys the falling part so much that he never gets past 'Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall'. He's in the water grinning from ear to ear and ready to go again.

Splashing is what Ollie did the most of last night. He would splash with the boat, splash with one hand, splash with both hands. He got all of us soaked and seemed to enjoy it. He only stopped to wipe the water off his face when he splashed himself. He didn't seem ready to get out of the pool. We fed him on the way home, got him a bath and he played until about 7:30 when he crashed for the night. He got up this morning, ready to go again.

Peek-a-Boo

Ever since Ollie has been able to pull himself up on things, he has been playing a unique game of peek-a-boo. He has been crawling under our pool table and pulling himself up on the middle of the legs. There is enough space for him to stand under the table while hitting his head. He doesn't seem to mind. The game goes like this, we say "Where's Ollie?".

He pulls himself up on the legs and we yell, "Peek-a-boo, I see you".



He then sits himself back down and we repeat until he gets tired of it and crawls off. He is good at initiating the game and has caught on quick. He seems to catch on quicker when it is something fun for him. Maybe that's why he doesn't stop doing the things he shouldn't when we say 'No'.

Walking Update: Last night Ollie started walking longer distances. He walked from the wall with his window to the door. A distance of 12 feet without falling. He also walked from the couch to the sliding glass door, about 8 feet, while moving around the chair without touching it. He is still kind of in a saddle stance when he walks to help keep his balance. He is slowing himself down and is going farther. He doesn't get as excited, charge ahead and lose his balance as he has been. It won't be long before he walks full time.

Up We Go

Ollie has gotten better at going up the stairs (rapidly). He has yet to learn going down the stairs without our help. He has started to learn how to turn around and get off of furniture. He doesn't always get it right as he is a bit excitable. He is also a still a bit uncoordinated. This leads to a bit of falling.



Luckily he hasn't injured himself greatly. Just bumps and bruises. His walking has improved as he is able to go greater distances without losing his balance, sometimes. He keeps trying though. A little less than a month and he'll be 1-year-old. Maybe for his birthday, he'll give us the present (torture) of him walking.

Decorating

Tresa and I like to do home improvement stuff. We seem to always have some plans for the house. The list I have is a mile long. We'll usually try something and if we don't like it, we'll redo it. Apparently Ollie has the decorating bug as well. Unfortunately he only has the destruction phase of redecorating down. On Sunday Ollie was late for a nap, so I put him in bed hoping he would cry himself to sleep. He cried for a while, then he decided to play in his bed. 45 minutes later, it was obvious that he wasn't going to sleep, so Tresa went in to get him up. She discovered he had done a bit of redecorating on his wall border. There was a 6 inch chunk ripped out of the border. Apparently he didn't like the cutesy bears looking at him anymore, so he tore the chunk down. Now if only we could get him to repair his handy work, we'd be happy parents. I'm sure this isn't the last redecorating he will do, hopefully it will be easier to repair the next time around.


Checking out the Table for Demolition

Yuck!

This weekend was nice and warm. Ollie and the cats got to spend a lot more time outside. He crawled, walked and explored a great majority of the front yard. The good thing is that he is not like his father was on grass. No tip-toeing through the 'tulips' for him. He is willing to try everything a couple of times. Unfortunately that also relates to dirt.

Ollie was playing on our front walk next to the plant beds and was playing with the wood chips, twigs and leaves. He had to taste test everything, including the dirt. His first taste got the usual disgusting look from him. So we thought he had learned his lesson. Next thing we know he picked up a dirt clod and had a snack. It was disgusting, sloppy mud coming out of his mouth and then we had to wash his mouth out. He doesn't like being washed with a cloth, it wasn't fun for anyone. I'm just hoping he doesn't enjoy making mud pies!

Sitter

Ollie may have to get a new babysitter. His current sitter's mom died last night. She was staying home to take care of her mom and wanted to babysit so she wasn't so bored. Now that her mom is gone, we aren't sure what she will do. We are beginning to look around. He has been a good distraction today for her family. We'll just take it as it goes.