6 Month Doctor Visit

While it is fun to go to the doctor to see how much Oliver weighs and how tall he is, it is so hard to see him get all those shots! I know it is to protect him from much worse pain, but it is still hard...He gets 3 shots in the leg and he is always so surprised. After all, he is just sitting there laughing at the nurse and then she stabs him in the leg! Poor thing. Well, we went today and the fun part is that he weighs 18lbs exactly (60th percentile) and he is 27 inches long (71st percentile) and his head is 44.4 cm around (68th percentile). So he is right on track and in fact quite enourmous if we go by his gestational age...

But then he got the shots and he screamed bloody murder for about a minute until I could nurse him. Then after a few minutes, he was smiling at the very nurse who gave him the shots! And he stayed cute and smiley all afternoon. He really is a very happy and sweet boy, nothing seems to rattle him too much. It is so hard to be stressed or worried about anything when you are around this kid. Just look at him!

Bedtime routine

I have been doing the same bedtime routine with Oliver since he was about 2 months old. First we turn on his African bedtime songs CD, turn on the fan, change his diaper and dress him for bed. Then I feed him and I read him the same story - On the Night You Were Born - a book that Mike bought us for St. Nicholas day before Oliver was born. Then I put him in his crib and swaddle him up. While he has had a few nights where he had difficulty falling asleep, that is really rare - waking up in the middle of the night, well that's a different story...but he has always gone to bed really easily. I would like to think that our routine has something to do with that. Oliver knows what's coming next and seems to really enjoy that now. Especially the story, which I have memorized. As soon as I start saying it, he smiles and laughs. It is the sweetest thing.

Videos

Some recent videos of my sweet baby...

Emotions

So you may have noticed that Oliver is a pretty happy baby - lots of huge smiles in the pictures I post. But he isn't always like that, so I wanted to capture his whole range of emotion. He usually gets pretty worked up when he is doing tummy time. He seems to get pretty frustrated that he is stuck and he is working so hard. He rolled over a few days ago and I was trying to capture it on film, but many of the shots captured the frustration more than the accomplishment...here are a few of those moments.

I can't hold it much longer!

I am working SOOO hard mom! Do something!

Oh a giraffe!!

Am I happy or sad?

Sad I guess...

Still a bit concerned...

I'm okay now.

No wait...I'm still mad!

Just kidding!!!

Mike's first Father's day

Sunday was Mike's first father's day. Oliver and I made crepes and delivered them to him in bed (after letting him sleep in). We also got him a special "daddy" mug with Oliver's picture on it. But Oliver's big present to daddy on father's day was his first tooth! He sprouted a bottom tooth! He is working on the other bottom tooth as well. Very exciting! Rolling over and a new tooth in just a few days - our little baby is growing up so fast...

This baby sure loves his daddy.

rolling over!

Oliver decided to role over for the first time while Mike was watching him on Friday. Once he figured it out, he has been rolling over every time we put him on his tummy!

Here he is in action:

May in Seattle

May has been a wonderful month for our little family. Oliver is getting more and more fun every day. We have had some great weather too. May also marked the beginning of my mom's 3-day a week nanny duty and Mike's return to work. Oliver is 5 months old now and 16 and a half pounds of happy baby. His personality is really starting to come out and I have to say he is pretty funny! These pictures are just a snapshot of the good times we are having with him...One day Oliver decided that it was going to be a day full of making fart noises with his lips....
Not sure where he came up with that one...




Another new development has been Oliver's love of being tossed around. Daddy discovered this of course, but he genuinely loves it. He laughs and laughs until Daddy's arms are sore!






Isn't he the happiest baby you ever saw?



And handsome too!

Our first meal of the season outside. That bouncy chair sure was great while it lasted...sadly, he's not that interested in it anymore. Now he just wants to sit on someone's lap.


Oliver's first meal: Bacon, biscuits and eggs! I think his eyes were too big for his tummy!
Mike's first run with Oliver in the jogging stroller (thanks Derek and Dawn!). These days it is one of the only ways Oliver will have a nap...good exercise so I guess I can't complain too much.

Grandma's first day on the job. Oliver sure loves spending so much time with grandma. She spoils that baby rotten!

This is how I found Oliver one day when grandma was watching him...

One of the many new outfits grandma has bought Oliver at the outlet malls on the way down here...those outlet malls will be the ruin of grandma!

The sunny weather has been great but the heat can be a bit much for this baby...he's been topless quite a bit!