jenn & perry are having ANOTHER baby

Hi there. Some folks have been asking about the blog and I just hate the thought of you checking for news and finding nothing new since Oliver started to walk and we stopped posting. If you're one of the people asking about the blog, then you already know the news -- we're having another baby. Baby Boy 2 will arrive in late February or mid-March depending on whether a pesky placenta previa problem resolves in time. No, we don't have a named picked out, and no, I'm not just saying that because I want to keep it a secret. Oliver is aware of this development, but I would not say he feels strongly one way or another. We just moved him to his new room, which he loves. So if he associates that with a new baby coming along and moving into his old room, we should be in good shape. But since new baby isn't coming for a while and will probably crash in our room for a few months, I doubt he'll make the connection. I'm posting pictures of the new room and one of Ollie getting awfully excited about a saw.

almost two ...

Hello! Oliver is 21 months old and is quite a wonderful little person. He has a huge vocabulary and speaks in complete sentences, like "Don't step on it!" (a worm) and "I like warm milk" and "That's Daddy's potty." He's even saying please and thank you, albeit not always in exactly the right contexts. He loves playing outside and is not at all deterred by foul weather. Which is good, because that's all we've been having. Snow in March, indeed!

so long 2008

Hi! It's been some time since we posted anything on the blog. Anyone still look here? Anyway, Oliver has been doing lots of new and exciting things. He has a big vocabulary -- almost certainly over 200 words and adding new ones all the time -- and says three word sentences. He knows all his colors, recognizes almost all letters, can count (but routinely omits #5 ), can jump and gallop, and can "fly like a bird," which is hilarious. He's had his first haircut and his first snowy walk. He enjoys going to the zoo and aquarium as often as possible. He also loves reading books and coloring with crayons or markers. He likes the childcare center he goes to. His teachers think he's talented and he loves them. He's got tons of energy (much more than we do!) and he's a very good eater. It's been a great year!

To see a fun video of Oliver's first gingerbread house, click here. (I couldn't figure out how to post the video here for some reason, and when I just clicked on that, there was no sound. Too bad. At the end he says "circles!" about the lifesaver wreaths.)

in case you haven't heard ...

Oliver is walking! And talking! As of today, he has close to 30 words, and more every day. He still prefers berries over any other food, but is a fairly adventurous eater who refuses only eggs. He has started in the young toddler room at childcare and really enjoys all the new activities and time outside. He loves climbing and going down slides, reading books, and playing chase. He's so much fun I can't believe it!

Standing by himself!

Hello! Yesterday Oliver started standing up on his own, and now he can't stop! This video was taken after he'd already spent about 10 minutes standing up, giggling, plopping down, and then standing again. He's so excited!

FINALLY!!!

One day shy of 13 months, Oliver finally decided to crawl!

Oliver Stands Up!

Hello there. Here's a video of Oliver pulling up to stand at his crib for the first time! He was very pleased. I grabbed the video camera about 3 minutes into the event, but he was still laughing about it -- even when he bonked his head and almost fell down. He hasn't shown much interest in crawling, so perhaps he'll go straight to walking. He can scoot backwards across the hardwood floor on his belly, so he does get around, but he seems rather confused and irritated about it.

finally, a new post

Hello,
It's been a long time since our last posting. The biggest news is that we bought and moved into our first house! We're quite pleased with the place, though we're not totally unpacked yet and can barely think about decorating. Oliver is still more or less immobile (not crawling or walking yet), but he's working on it. He has three teeth on the bottom and one (almost two) on the top. We've survived our first bout with projectile vomit. Oliver is beginning to get the hang of stacking, and still mostly enjoys eating things that are orange and/or sweet.

Here's a clip of Bibi and Oliver playing back in February (Bibi is about 17 months here, and Oliver is about 9 months).

Remembering Opa

Oliver's Opa, my dad, passed away on February 28 after a short and sudden battle with cancer. This video is from Opa's visit in August. I'm still shocked and stunned by the loss, but immensely grateful to have captured a moment on video. I would say Dad was not really a baby person, but here he is giving Oliver a pacifier and gently rocking him. If you have the sound on, you can hear where Oliver gets his low voice and tendency to growl ...

Mr. Giggles

Watching the jellyfish - 7 months

Be nice to kitty - 7 months

Giggling before bedtime - 7 months

First Food

Hello there. As promised, here is Oliver's first food!

almost 6 months old

Hello! Oliver will be 6 months old on December 3. He's developing his expertise in rolling over (tummy to back only for now) and sitting. He's finally really noticing and reaching for other babies, and had his first "play date" with his friend Cooper from PEPS. Here's our attempts at a mom & baby self portrait. You can see Oliver lost interest before we perfected the framing. Next: first food!

Five Month Baby Feat!

Hello! Oliver is steadily progressing into a delightful little guy! He's now able to withstand several minutes without bouncing, rocking, etc. And he just learned to roll over! Check out the video of the third time he did it!

We also just started a GET (Guaranteed Education Tuition) account for him. It allows us to buy a "unit" of college education at today's prices that will be worth a unit of education when he's ready to go. Its value is tied to Washington's more expensive universities (UW & WSU), but he'll be able to use it wherever he wants to go. We started with a modest account, but hope to be able to provide him the first couple years of college so he can avoid some of his mom's crushing student loan debt. And yes, other people can also contribute.

Perry went back to work this month, and we're trying to settle into a routine. If Oliver gets up at 6, he can have his first nap at home from 7 until about 8:30, eat, and get on the road with me by a little after 9. I drop him off at Green Tree and then usually go over to feed him once or twice a day. Then I pick him up at 5, get him loaded up in the car, and we go pick up Perry and head home to immediately start the bedtime routine. It works well except when I have to be at work early or traffic is bad or god forbid both of those things are true.

Four Months

Hi there,

Oliver's about 4.5 months old now and the fussiness is easing quite a bit. Perry's been staying home with him since September, and has him on a schedule/routine that really helps. Oliver will start at Green Tree in a couple weeks, and has been there a couple times so far to check it out. I fear they're not going to be able to get him to sleep as much as he should, but maybe it will just take some time for Oliver to get used to sleeping in that environment.

Anyway, Oliver is enjoying himself a lot more lately. If it ever finishes loading, you can see a video of him laughing about getting kissed! It will probably take forever to load on your computer, too. Sorry about that.

Three Months Old!

Hi there! Oliver is now just over three months (15 weeks) old. He's still hugging the upper percentiles for weight at 15 lbs, 6 oz. last weekend. He's still a fussy gus, but he sleeps very well at night. He just doesn't like to sleep during the day much. I started work in mid-August at the Court of Appeals, and Perry is staying home with Oliver until November. As expected, Perry is out-housewifing me. When I came home from my first day at work, he'd picked blackberries, baked them into a pie, cleaned the house, and did three loads of laundry (those of you who have babies or have met Oliver will know this is a feat of superhuman proportions). Other days have been more challenging, he assures me. Anyway, when Perry goes back to work in November, Ollie will start going to Green Tree Early Childhood Center three days a week. Green Tree is in the building across the street from my building, so I'm looking forward to seeing him a couple times a day and spending less time with the breast pump (ugh).

Last weekend, we took Oliver on his first flight! We traveled to Spokane, so he could meet more of Perry's family. Ollie did quite well on this trip. He was only a little bit fussy on the way there, but slept on the descent and until we got him installed in the car. He proved quite adaptable (which, if you know him, might surprise you), and slept well at night in a "travel bed" (box) on the floor. He was not more fussy than usual during the day, either. And after crying non-stop from Perry's mom's house to the airport, he slept the whole way home!

Let's see ... other news ... he talks and hollers and can get so loud it messes with your inner ear. He grabs things. He's gnawing on fingers and pretty much anything else and drooling so much we fear he might be an early teether. And oh! I discovered that what I'd assumed was the "Joseph dimple" on his right cheek is actually Perry's dimple!

That's all. You can see lots more pictures, if you like, here.

Phew! 8 Weeks Old!

Oliver slept all night last night!! Look how proud he is!

7 weeks

hello there,

oliver is now 7 weeks old ... and still pretty fussy. the pediatrician recommended putting him on medication for reflux to alleviate problems with frequent, copious spit-up and extreme fussiness during feedings. i'm not sure yet whether it's working or not -- he's not spitting up as much as often, certainly, but the fussiness on feeding persists. since it's mainly in the afternoon and evening, it may just be his time to fuss. evidently, babies all over the world get fussy at that time of day. anyway, though evenings are hard to get through, oliver has recently rewarded our patience by smiling at us and cooing. it's pretty wonderful and operates to almost erase our memory of the previous night's hollering. oliver also just met his uncle branden and aunt felicity -- i have no documentary proof of this meeting, as b and f aren't baby people and successfully warded off oliver's attempts to get into their arms, but it was a nice visit anyway. we hope to see them again when oliver's too big to scare them away. oliver spent a lot of last week in his uncle larry's and aunt gail's arms. larry and gail lured us over with food and rest and we're very grateful for both! i even left oliver with them to go to lunch!