Gymnastics Class

Last week I went to gymnastics with Oliver.  It was too hard to keep an eye on him AND take photos, which bummed me out.  Adam took off from work today (because we are going to a wedding this afternoon), so he got to experience class too.  I dropped the boys off at class (yeah, working from home!) and stuck around long enough to take a few pics.  From the sounds of it, class was a bit disorganized today, as the more experienced teacher was missing, but hey - we won a free class, so how much can we really complain. 

perfecting his Pilates moves

"catching" Mommy take a final photo on the way out

My Heart Melted

After two days away on a business trip, I was happy to have some 1-on-1 time tonight with Oliver, since Adam was out for drinks.  After his bath, as I was bundling him in the towel and giving him a snuggle, I told him that I love him and he said "I love you!" back... AWWWWW!!!!!!

When I told Katharina (Dita, as Oliver calls her) she told me that they had been reading "Peek-a-boo, I love you!" today.  Awesome that I got to reap the benefits!

Counting!

Stacking blocks tonight Oliver was counting as he added them!!!  His favorite part is still knocking them over. 
                     1... 2.... 3... 4.... 6...  -- no interest in the number 5 yet!

Verbal Skillz

Every day, Oliver amazes us with how much he understands and how much he can say. There was just too much to share on this topic to be included in the "Milestones" posting, so I'm doing it seperately. Thursday, for example, he was saying Heike perfectly (although he's a bit confused that I can be both Heike AND Mommy).

• He can identify lots of body parts including eyese, nose, mouth, ears, head, toes, elbow (thanks to Tante Nicole), arm, and his fave, penis. I used to joke that it was his peschnik, but he has gotten better at saying it. Eyes, nose, mouth, ears he can do in german too.
• Thanks to our stay-cation friends, Oliver now consistently says "Thank you!" everytime you give him food. Lately, he says "thank you welcome" which is just adorable. Katharina is trying really hard to get him to say "Bitte" instead of "Please" but that is still a work in progress.
• When he wants more of something and we don't act fast enough, he asks for "Mehr?" -- cute that he switches languages in an attempt to communicate his needs better.
• He just started using a word for his Schnulli (pacifier), but he calls it a Schulli.
• He uses "Up" when he means "Help" which at times is a bit confusing.
• The "all done" sign is the only piece of sign language that has stuck and he uses it to tell us when he doesn't like the song we are playing, the video we are watching, the game we are playing, the food we are offering him, or even when he doesn't like the animal we are standing in front of at the zoo -- its pretty funny.
• As the recent video showed, Olivers the sounds that dogs, cats, monkeys, and lions make. He is also always informing us when he hears a bus outside (we are a stone's throw from a bus stop) and he loves to go "beep beep" when he hears a car or taxi.
• Although Sesame Street is being phased out for Thomas, Oliver can identify Elmo, Groover, Cookie Monster and Ernie (no love for Bert).
• He knows words/pieces of all kinds of music. On Thursday, he surprised me by knowing pieces of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and he can sing part of the ABCs - he sings HIJ, QRS, and "Now I know" - its pretty funny to hear him only chime in then. (Maybe I will post a video, but it includes a lot of tone-deaf Heike). For some time now, Oliver can say the first line of a German nursery rhyme "Backe Backe Kuchen" and likes to sing E-I-E-O (from Old McDonald). He can also follow the movements to some of the songs from music class.

17Month Milestones

I figure I better do this quick before another month is behind us.  Boy is time really flying by.  Adam and I were looking at the videos we have made over the past year and it is almost hard to remember what life was like when Oliver was just learning to walk (February) let along crawl (last September).  Luckily, I have scribbled down notes from past months to help job my memory for my (supposed) baby book. 

Lots of crib notes for the babybook after the break.

Choo-Choo!!!

I was on a business trip to NYC today and had 30min to kill between meetings.  When the salesperson I was with couldn't find us a coffeeshop to hang out in, I suggested a visit to FAO Schwartz, which was just a block away.  I have been feeling like Oliver is toy-deprived because of his mean-Mommy that is trying to minmize the amount of "plastic crap" in our house, at the expense of the poor boy's amusement/entertainment....  So, since he has been on a "choo-choo" kick lately (not sad that Elmo has fallen out of favor), I bought Oliver his first Thomas.  I had no idea these little trains are so expensive!!!  It was a big hit when I got home!  And even BETTER after Daddy put in the battery.

Nibble tray

I fell in love with this Nibble Tray when I found it on amazon and immediately bought 5, knowing it would be a big hit.  I gave one to my sister and cousin and have two on hand I can give out as presents. Although we have had them for a few weeks, I didn't get around to using it until yesterday. 

I love that I can give Oliver multiple food options at once (without feeling like a short-order cook) and can prep the meal ahead of time. Oliver most enjoyed licking hummus off of bagel chips - he takes double-dipping to a whole new level!!!

POTD: Baby Jaguar

Not the best photo... today Oliver & Katharina went to the Philadelphia Zoo and visited with the recently born baby Jaguar cub.  Stupid work!  Wish I could have gone too!!!!

Video: Talking, talking, talking

At some point, I will share all of the things that Oliver can do now (I am long overdue for a "Monthly Milestones" email).  He is constantly amazing us with how much he is learning so quickly!  In the meantime, I cheated and used the Flipvideo so Oliver could give a demonstration of all the sounds he can make.  For those of you getting this via email, you will have to click on the link and go on the actual website to view, but it is totally worth it!

I. Love. This. Age.

Oliver & I had another great morning.  He really wanted to go outside (because of all the fun we had yesterday), but I wasn't up for another trip to the playground.  So I put shoes & a jacket on over his Pjs, and out we went to sit on the patio.   

After some bubble fun and an apple snack, he was content sitting on my lap, looking for airplanes in the sky.  I got to enjoy the crisp autumn air with a cup of tea and toddler-conversation.  Oliver announced everytime a bus would go by (there's a busstop right on our corner) and everytime he heard a truck and once told me to "da-da" (dance) when he heard a car stereo.  Oliver also got a big kick out of the remote-camera function.  It is just so amazing how much he can really communicate with us now!   

Kinderfest!

Here are some belated photos from our final weekend at the SSC - Labor Day weekend.  The Bromfield clan descended upon us on Sunday, along with the usual suspects (my mom, sister & cousin Robin).  The kids (that could) partook in the competition and then we had a lovely final dinner at the bungalow.  The day was a bit bittersweet, as it was the last time we got to see my dad before he left for Germany. 

Plenty more photos after the break....

Saturday Morning Fun

We had such a great morning!  When I came downstairs, Adam announced that Oliver was in good spirits - fabulous way to start the day!  I took over Bubba duty, and Adam went back to bed (that's our Saturday AM routine).  Oliver & I went to the playground and then played in the park near the Farmers' Market before getting our veggies, and apple cinnamon donuts. 
I haven't been to the playground with Oliver in months and it was amazing to see how much he can do now.  Of course, the very first thing he BOLTED for when I got him out of the tricycle was the steering wheel.  He can sit himself down and go down the slide alone, he can walk across the bouncy bridge, and he can sit unassisted and "bounce, bounce".  Pretty crazy!!!

After the Farmers' Market, we dropped off our groceries at home and set out again.  We met four of my Junior League friends for brunch near Rittenhouse.  Oliver was incredibly well behaved (running around for 2 hours beforehand definitely helped) and only got a bit cranky near the end, when it was naptime.  We took the bus home, so he wouldn't fall asleep on the trike (not comfy), which is an exciting outing all on its own. 

POTD: Another Friday Office Visit

Oliver picked me up from work on Friday, but we weren't allowed to leave until he had proofread my work!

POTD - First day of Gymnastics

Today was one of the first days that I really wished I was a stay-at-home mom. Oliver had his first gymmnastics class this morning!!!

Katharina has promised lots of photos and stories when we get home.  Here's a preview...

Sleep Deprived....

I miss these days.... when Oliver would easily, comfortably, happily co-sleep with us.  We WISH that this would be the solution for middle-of-the night wakings, but no such luck..... 

Such a little munchkin - not even 1mo old yet in this pic

For the last two nights, Oliver has gotten up between midnight-1am and hasn't gone back to sleep until 3-4am.  Dragging doesn't even begin to describe how Adam & I are feeling.  The first night, we tried bringing him into our bed on two seperate occassions, hoping that he would be happy to be near us, but get bored by us ignoring him, and finally settle down to sleep.  Nope!  He kept telling us he wanted to eat, which I think is just a rouse to get us to take him downstairs to the first floor.  We finally caved and offered him a bottle, which he didn't want.  Oliver sleeps on his stomach, sometimes with his butt in the air.  In our bed, he would repeatedly sit up (on his knees), look around like an animal on watch keeping the herd safe, and then FLOP back down.  Repeatedy.  Adam does a great impression of this!  We kept waiting for Oliver to get himself comfortable, burrow himself up to our headboard, and finally give in to sleep, but that just wasn't in the cards....  Last night, I was determined to keep him out of our bed.  So, there was lots of screaming from his room - hours of it.  I finally turned off the monitor and closed the bedroom door.  Even then, with earplugs, & my head sandwiched between two pillows, I could hear him.  Every 30min or so one of us would check on him and try to calm him down....

I was supposed to stay overnight on a business trip tonight, but with Oliver & I each having been sick (and me missing work on Monday), I rearranged the trip so that I could come home late tonight.  I'm really bummed I'm not getting a night in a hotel now!  (Sorry, Adam!)

Sentences!

Yesterday, on his 17mo birthday, Oliver surprised us all by starting to put nouns & verbs together to form mini-sentences.  After dinner, we were at our friends' house down the street.  Oliver & I were hanging out downstairs as they put the lil' guy to bed.  When it got quiet on the monitor, they came downstairs and Oliver said very matter-of-factly "Baby sleeping".  Wow!!!

Then, when I got home, Oliver & I were sitting on his rocker getting him dressed and he asked "Daddy Coming?" as he heard Adam on the steps.  It was pretty crazy!  This morning, one of the first things out of his mouth was "Daddy Going?"  We have gotten the occasional "more eat" both verbally and signing, but it was as if a lightbulb had turned on and he figured out how to make himself better understood.  Now if only he would learn to use the word Poop without prompting -- it would be so nice for him to tell us, instead of us always having to "discover" one lurking.

Today, Oliver entered a very-toddler phase -- the "No-phase".  That was the answer to everything from the minute we got home from work until bedtime.  It happened literally overnight.  When the real answer to a question was Yes, he would think for a moment after his inital No to correct himself.   I'm afraid this new-favorite word is here to stay.

Darn DayCare!

Poor lil' guy hasn't adjusted to day care yet.  While Oliver came back with an upbeat report (busy, helpful, cooperative - were the emotions circled) the first class, "concerned" has been circled the last few times.  I suspect "happy" may never get checked out - that's just not his disposition.   

On the first day, everything was so exciting and new AND there was gymnastics!  Since then he has been crying as we've dropped him off and Katharina has reported that he wasn't such a happy camper when she picked him up.  I had been hopeful that Tuesdays - Gymnastics Day - would go over a bit better in general, but that wasn't the case this week.  I think its just going to take Oliver some time to get used to the new routine - that's just his personality. 

So, Oliver has only been to daycare 4 times and this afternoon he came down with a fever.... bracing for a long night, and a long winter!

POTD: Office Visit

Katharina brought Oliver to visit both Adam & I at work on Friday -- Friday afternoons before holiday weekends are notoriously slow in finance-land.  On the trading desk, Oliver apparently wanted to have nothing to do with anyone and was happiest sitting at Adam's desk making pretend phone calls and pounding on the keyboard and bond calculator.  He was a bit more social at my office, but only with the men. 

POTD: Mean Mommy!

Today, I got address labels from a charity looking for a donation.  We barely pay bills the old fashioned way, and without any thank you/holiday cards, or baby/moving announcements in need of sending, I have more of these then I know what to do with.  So, I thought of them as stickers and gave a sheet to Oliver to play with.  Then, I decided that I would have a little fun and tried to see how many he would let me stick on him.  He was peeling them off as I was sticking them to him - it was pretty funny.  He was a real good sport about it, but not easy to get a good picture of!

End of our first bungalow season

Yesterday we packed up what needed from the bungalow and called it an end to the first season. What a great summer we had!!!! 

Oliver has changed so much since we started the frequent trips to get the place in liveable condition. Back when Papa and Colin were helping Adam take down some trees in early May, Oliver was afraid of gravel and I could barely get any raking done since I needed to keep an eye on him.  On Saturday, he was my little helper cleaning up the remenents of Hurricane Irene.  He played around me while I raked and really enjoyed running through my leaf pile (what kid doesn't love that activity?)