9 Month Doctor Check-up

Oliver had his 9 month doctor visit yesterday, so I thought I would post his "stats". He is long (29.5 inches tall; 87th percentile) and lean (20 lbs 5.5 ounces; 48th percentile) and a big old head (47.5 cm; 96th percentile!). So despite his recent bottle strike, he is still growing! He also got his first of 4 flu shots (two for the regular flu and two for swine flu) and his blood tested for anemia. He didn't even cry when he got the shot or the toe stick, and gave the nurse a big grin after! Unfortunately his iron was low, so we need to pump him full of iron rich food for a month and have him re-tested. Lots of meat for this baby! He was so sweet to the doctor - he was completely still while the doctor checked his heart and lungs and looked in his ears. He even let him look in his mouth without biting him! Such a good little patient.

9 months old

Oliver is 9 months old today. He is so much fun to be around. He is full of smiles and jokes, but also sweet and snuggly. He has 6 teeth already and can pull himself up on the furniture. He hasn't really crawled yet, but we think he might skip that alltogether, as he really likes to stand and walk with us holding his hands. If you hadn't noticed from all the pictures of him with big grins, he loves to smile for the camera! Makes it fun to do photo shoots with him, as he gets so excited when he sees the camera...

One of his favorite things to do is to ride like this on daddy's head - he just goes wild!

He loves giving big juicy kisses!

Grandparents, Friends, Mariners game, Dave Matthews concert and more...

We have had a very busy couple of weeks. Grandma and grandpa came to visit us on their way back from a vacation. Oliver is starting to remember them, which is really fun.

Josh also came from San Francisco for the weekend. Oliver was very excited to see uncle turdy again.

We met up with Derek, Dawn and their kids and spent the afternoon at a playground in Madison Park. Oliver loved this thing...

His daddy liked the playground too!

Then on Sunday, the boys (Derek, Josh, Mike and Trent) took Oliver to his first baseball game, while Dawn, Grace and I went shopping downtown and had gelato.

I sure missed that little boy and couldn't wait to hold him on the water taxi home to West Seattle.

Mike and Oliver both got Mariners hats so they can be cool like Josh. It is always really great seeing Josh and hopefully he will bring Shanna back next time. Who knows maybe they will even move here?

After such a busy weekend, it was nice to have a quiet week. It is a lot easier leaving for work in the morning when Oliver is having such a great time with grandma. Here they are doing some morning reading...

On my day at home, Oliver helps me with the laundry : )

Last weekend we packed up Oliver and all his gear to go over to Quincy for a Dave Matthews concert at the Gorge with Derek and Dawn and to see Mike's family. Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the concert it started to rain. And rain. And rain. Did I mention that it was an outdoor concert? Luckily we came prepared with rain ponchos, umbrellas, blankets and chairs. But is was still pretty wet even for Seattleites.

Luckily the sun came out along with an awesome rainbow right before the show started.

The mood sure lifted when the sun came out, or was it those $14 margaritas?

We had a really great time with Derek and Dawn. We have gotten to see so much of them this summer and hopefully we will get to see a lot more of them soon!

The concert was great, but I have to admit that I was a little worried about Oliver. Our cell phones didn't have good coverage and I got a message from Mike's mom but couldn't check it...when we finally got through, we found out Oliver hadn't had any milk since we left at 3:00. Poor baby was on a hunger strike and wouldn't go to sleep. When we got home at 11:30, he was starving and quickly fell asleep after I fed him. Poor little guy didn't know what was going on.

The nice thing about this baby is he doesn't hold a grudge. He was happy as a clam the next day and had a great time playing with grandma.

Healthy Self-Esteem

As psychologists, we believe it's important that Oliver has good self-esteem. We want him to genuinely like himself. Judging from this video, I think we are doing a pretty good job....Maybe TOO good of a job!