Getting Right Back Up

Ollie's stroller just hangs out in whatever corner of the house we can fit it in and anytime it catches Ollie's eye he begs us to put him in it and stroll him around, even if it's only through the house which Daddee already did once for him today. Tonight after dinner Matt had to go meet with a client and Ollie was restless which usually means he begs for swim but the stroller caught his eye again and since it is slightly cooler/bearable to be outside I decided I could use a little leg stretching myself and took him up on it. He is always happy to be outside and it was fun to hear him saying "Oh!" and excitedly pointing and saying things like "Dog!" and "Car!" As we made our way to the park there was an awkward, lonely looking teenager walking around that was trying to avoid us and any eye contact. Ollie yelled out to him "Hi!" and started happily waving at him from his stroller. I don't know why my heart swelled up over it, I guess I was reminded once again how sweet his little spirit is. Here I was trying to avoid the kid and Ollie was reaching out trying to make him happy, it made me look up and offer a smile as well. It wasn't returned but maybe he still heard Ollie and maybe he was just to shy to respond.

At the park I was reminded of another thing I love about this little guy. He is so independent now that he can climb up on the playset and march himself across the bridge to the slide all by himself. And while I thought he might wait for me to go and help him down the slide, I was wrong. He sat himself down and proudly looked over the edge at me and said "Mommee!" I suppose to make sure I was watching, and then he flew down the slide making it safely to the bottom as happy as can be!

 

He then went back and repeated the process, but this time he made a crash landing at the bottom and the side of his face seemed to be the thing that stopped him. He immediately cried and I rushed over to make sure he was ok. He had a mild skid mark on the side of his face and a tiny tiny bit of blood but otherwise was fine. To my surprise he only cried really till I got there and gave him a hug and then he was off again, making his way back to the slide to do it again! That is what I love about Ollie, he just gets back up and tries again. I have seen him do it a hundred times. The other one that shocks me is every time he is in the pool and goes under longer than he wants to and sucks in some water, most of us would be done but he just keeps on playing like it never happened. Here is his happy little face back to conquer the slide right after his fall:

 

And his successful dismount:

 

Picking yourself up and trying again takes a lot of courage, I hope you are always so brave little man!

 

 

"the book of Aleiy"

Today Michelle and the kids came over to accompany Ollie for a swim. It's always so much more fun for him having the cousins around! Charity brought along a little surprise for us- a book she made just for us! It still had fresh glue on it so I had to be careful opening it, she had it safely put away in a gift box that she had also decorated with a fish on top- so cute! I wish I had a picture of her with the book, but didn't ever want to forget this sweet little gift:

 

What I love about this sweet little gift is the reminder of how loved Ollie is by all the family. Every one of them were a part of praying him into our family and I feel so blessed that they were all a part of the miracle!

Just another Sunday!

One thing I hate is discovering clothes that I have for Ollie that he has grown out of before I remember to pull them out. My friend Maggie gave me the cutest little Quiksilver shirt when Ollie was born, and for some reason I thought it was a 24 month shirt, but luckily I pulled it out today in time to realize it is an 18 month shirt and fits him perfectly. I thought he looked like the cutest little man in it, all grown up. One of our friends at church even commented on how big he is getting telling us tomorrow he will be in college- I hope it doesn't go that fast! Still lovin' every minute and every new experience with him. I always do his hair before church too, but so many kids are in love with this little guy that it is too hard for them to resist patting his head- oh well! He has now survived 4 whole weeks of nursery. Here he is making a run for it in the gym where we always go to find Daddee putting away chairs after church.

 

Last ones out, Little man looking all grown up as he helps Daddee do a final walk through...

 

One of our favorite Sunday traditions is to go on walks and visit neighbors and friends. Usually we have to take a break from our walks in the summer, it's just too hot. But with all the rain the last few days the weather was actually nice enough to escape the house. And as a fun surprise the sprinklers were all turned on. We saw some kids running through them having a great time. Matt and I both recalled how that was all we ever needed in the summer time growing up- good memories! Matt caught a pic of me trying to run through them without getting wet. Didn't quite make it, but it felt good!

 

 

We were enjoying our leisurely walk when Matt could contain himself no longer. He ditched the sidewalk and made a mad run with Ollie in the stroller through the grass, getting sprayed by sprinklers all along the way. I don't know why I thought it was so funny- just one of those simple little moments that made me smile!

 

Bubble Bath

When Ollie and I went to California to visit Nicole and gang Luke was kind enough to make sure that when it was Ollie's turn to take a bath he got treated right with plenty of bubbles. That was his first official taste at a bubble bath! I guess I have been depriving him. He just seemed to like just the water alone that I've always shied away from giving him bubbles- imaging in my mind how many bottles of soap I would start going through once he figured out how they were made. But today I gave in. Matt was gone at meetings and it was just the two of us enjoying breakfast. Ollie is actually doing outstanding with a spoon these days and loves to feed himself. I had made him a bowl full of yogurt with granola sprinkled in and while he did get a lot of it into his mouth, by the end of breakfast he had yogurt and granola dripping all down his tummy. Which translated into Bath Time! Feeling like having a little fun I decided to let him have bubbles, and he of course loved it!

 

Crawling out of his crib for the first time

Today I put Ollie down for a nap, went in the office and shut the door and after a short amount of crying I heard little feet running down the hall. I was shocked to go out and find Ollie out of his crib! I marched him back to the room and put him back in his crib and sat there and watched as he cried and then decided to take things into his own hands again when I wouldn't respond. He started by throwing his blankets out- he wouldn't be able to stand being separated from them. (Yes, I did say blankets, he is a hoarder and if he sees any of his blankets he has to have it, even if he is already holding two or three!)

 

I then watched him move to the end of the bed where he held on and pulled himself up.

 

It was terrifying to watch, he was all laid out on the edge of the rail in the superman position teetering, and it had to hurt! I ran over to spot him and just as I did he dropped himself down...

 

 

First to where his feet were on the bottom of the rails, and then he made his way to the floor.

 

Amazing. All I could think was oh great, how am I ever going to get him to take a nap now! And then I realized I can lower the bed one more time, I just need Matt's help to do it! So today he didn't have to take any naps in his own bed, I couldn't stand the thought of him trying to get out again and breaking a leg this time. Instead he stayed up later than he should have and snuck out to get into mischief when I wasn't looking. He loves to take a part my purse and I guess I left it low enough for him to get to because when I went in to find out why he was so quiet he looked up at me with a big grin and reached his arms out wide open for me to give him a hug, that is when I saw the gum in his mouth and the other piece he was still trying to open in his hand- little bugar!

 

Here are a few videos for the record books- his first time getting out of the crib (as much as I could stand to watch before running over to him), and his first time chewing gum! Trouble is here!

  

Begging for the "Pool!"

Ollie has become quite the little water baby and loves his pool time. He swims nearly every day, and a lot of days he will actually swim more than once during the day. He's great at holding his breath, he likes to "dive" to you, and Matt and I can throw him to each other across the pool and he thinks it's all great fun. Since we have been getting ready for Lake Powell we've also been working with him on actually kicking and trying to swim. He makes progress every day. The one thing he HATES though is when we try to float him on his back. I'm the one that gives into his crying and makes Matt stop because it feels like he is being tortured. But all in all, he never seems to get scared and keeps coming back for more, always ready to jump in!

Which makes it hard for him on Sunday's. Today he took it especially hard when I found him at the back door begging for the "Pool!"

 

Trying to explain to a one and a half year old why he can't go in the pool because it's Sunday is a lot of fun! And I have to admit his little temper tantrum made me laugh, poor guy!

 

4th of July

I have to admit that Matt and I woke up a little depressed about the fact that we were spending the 4th of July in Arizona. It is one of my favorite holidays. Growing up I always loved summer nights and watching the fireworks, always getting a little choked up as I heard "I'm proud to be an American" playing while the sky lit up. And on top of that the 4th of July also marks the first time Matt ever kissed me. It was in Nashville, TN after watching fireworks we headed back to the house to hang out and decided to stop and pick up some cookie dough on the way. We had our own little fireworks when he kissed me in the cookie dough aisle in the grocery store. We had hoped to be in Utah this year but plans just didn't work out, something about being a responsible adult! It felt like everyone else we knew was posting pics in Utah, Colorado, or California and we were a wee bit jealous!

Instead of moping around we decided to make the most of it. We pulled ourselves out of bed and headed over to Kneaders for some breakfast- thank goodness they opened that place! The line was super long but it was worth the wait and lets face it, we had nothing else to do!

 

All their cute stuff made it feel a bit more like the 4th...

 

We had to wait a while for our food, that is when we turn to Ollie for entertainment, making him do silly things like show us his "Tumbie"

 

And his belly button, I don't know why that is so cute!

 

As soon as he sees me taking pictures he always wants to see them now...

 

Feeding Daddee is always fun too!

 

And his latest favorite thing to do is show us the food in his mouth!

 

French toast was worth the wait!

 

I remember walking out of Kneaders and seeing some beach cruisers lined up outside, I looked at Matt and said "We should be surfing and riding bikes on the boardwalk right now." We were both missing California and the beach! The rest of the afternoon wasn't super eventful. Matt always loves driving around looking at houses, since we had the time I went along for the ride. That night we headed to Dale and Jodee's, even though they didn't have the kids they invited any family that was in town and a few of their friends over for a swim party. Jodee went all out and must have worked on all the decorating and fun fourth of July foods all day! 

 

We had good times swimming, eating, and playing games. And no, we never did make it to any fireworks, it was just too hot! But it was still a pleasant day. There is always next year!