Frankenstein or Shrek?

Who does he look like, Frankenstein or Shrek?

What is on my ears?

If you look real close you can see one of Oliver's bottom teeth.

Oliver's First Dance Moves

                               Leave it to Auntie Brook and Andrea to show Oliver how to dance

First Thanksgiving

Erik "hunting" on the garage roof Thanksgiving day

Oliver can now hold a bottle all by himself

The Thanksgiving table that sat 17

Oliver eating his puffs after his sweet potatoes but it looks like he had one failed attempt. 

Is there something on my face?

Auntie Book and Andie

The the college Aunties

Well Oliver got to experience his first Thanksgiving. We had the whole Salm family over at our house and had a great time. Oliver got to sit at the table in his high chair and eat his puffs and sweet potatoes. Erik was happy that he got to do a little hunting before all the relatives came over. As you can see from the picture above I caught Erik doing little "hunting" on the roof of the garage but later he went down to the Allenville woods in search of the big one.

Oliver has had several milestones since Thanksgiving. He now has two teeth that have come in on the bottom. He can stand for periods of time while leaning on something and of course his a growing away and now fits into 12 to 18 month clothes!

Oliver and I went to visit my college roommates in Stevens Point. He was a ham as usual and by the end of the night had fallen in love with the girls. I was so nice to see them and boy I sure miss them .

The Little Hunter

Oliver has become really good at sitting alone and has graduated to some finger foods. At first he would put the piece of food in his hand and then close it and suck his thumb. Then he started to realize that if he shoves his whole hand in his mouth the chances of getting the food in would increase. Now his is able to scarf down his little pieces of food in no time.

Oliver's first tooth finally busted through. We have known for quite awhile that a tooth was coming because he has been drooling up a storm and shoving everything he could in his mouth including Erik's and my noses! It's just been so much fun watching him grow. Like everyone always says, it happens so fast.

Grandmacare

Busy working at Grandmacare

Grandpa Jim is sharing his love of Coke with his Grandson

Grandmacare is the term I use when people ask who watches Oliver during the day but I guess I need to add in the Grandpa's too. Whenever Grandpa Jim walks into the room Oliver lights up with a big smile. There has been several times where Grandpa Jim has been left home with Oliver for a few hours. Both Grandpa and Oliver have managed to survive. Oliver did have a diaper on backwards one of those days but he didn't seem to mind. 

Grandma and Grandpa Salm have been watching him one day a week and Oliver has been able to do a bit of farming. He was able to ride in the buddy seat of the tractor with Grandma Katie during the harvesting. He also got to watch Grandpa Keith drive the combine. He was sure a happy boy being with his Grandparents and observing the harvest.

Erik and I will often talk about how blessed we are to have our parents living close enough that they can be a part of Oliver's life. It's comforting to know that when I walk up to the door to drop Oliver off in the morning someone who loves him will open the door to greet him. 

Happy Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween everyone. When it came time to come up with a costume for the little man I thought nothing would  be better for our little stinker then a skunk. So the quest was on to find a skunk costume pattern at the fabric store. Grandma Chris used her amazing sewing skills to pull off this awesome skunk creation. It is soooo fuzzy and warm which was perfect for the cool trick or treating weather that we  had. Of course Oliver wasn't old enough to get candy yet but we tagged along with some friends of ours who have children Oliver's age and older. It was really a fun night out and a great first Halloween for Oliver. Thanks to all of you who sent Oliver his first Halloween cards. I put them in his baby book so when he gets older he can see all the people who thought of him on his first Halloween.

Oliver had another first and that was a trip to the Wollerman cottage. Grandma, Grandpa, and I made a trip up to Lakewood to rake the leaves at the cottage and spend a little time showing Oliver around. It was a really nice day and Oliver got to enjoy Great Grandpa Vern's swing. 

                                                            Enjoying the swing

Ready to hit the road to Lakewood

Getting a Bath

Part of our nightly routine is bathtime. It's Oliver's favorite time of the night. No matter how crabby he is he turns to all smiles in his tub. A few weeks ago Oliver discovered that he could suck on his daddy toe. It's sooooo cute and I finally captured him attacking it in his bath tonight.

This week my Mom and Dad went to visit my sister and my nieces for Emma's birthday so Melody (a long time family friend) came to watch Oliver.  I knew she won him over when  he was all smiles flailing in excitement when he saw her the next day. I was so grateful that she was able to take the time to come over and watch him.

There you are! You where hiding under a sock all day!

If I can just get you in my mouth. Almost

Steady..... Steady

BINGO!!!! Now.... is there room for my thumb in there?

I love baby food!!!!!!!!

So Many Things, So Little Time

Well if you didn't know school has started and time has now become even more valuable. I have been spending my nights soaking up the time I get to spend with Oliver. There has been so many things that have been happening with Oliver so here are the top ten.

1. Oliver now eats baby food. I've been blending it up food from our garden and Oliver is loving it.
2. Oliver discovered his tongue out and enjoys sticking it out. Grandpa Wollerman is good at getting Oliver to do it. 
3. Oliver weighs 20 pounds! Rolls galore!
4. Oliver now fits into 9-12 month old clothes.
5. Oliver can sit up for a little bit and then timbers.
6. He can stand for long periods of time. I think he's trying to get those thunder thighs back in the Bumbo.
7. Oliver can say Mamamamama. Erik and I had a bet and I won :)
8. He can move objects from one hand to another.
9. He laughs more.
10. Oliver sleeps through the night consistently!! Yay

We made a trip up to the Salm's cabin and enjoyed the Minaqua Beef-o-Rama festival and parade.Oliver still doesn't like fire trucks but sure loved all the attention he got from his little Stormy Kromer hat.

Erik and I also had a nice date night at a Packer game. We got to sit in the box seats and enjoy the game from the indoors with a great view and comfy seats. It was an awesome experience.

Jumping and Laughing

Well I am now back to work. It has been an adjustment but overall pretty smooth. I am so fortunate to have my Mom watching Oliver during the week and Katie helping watch when she can. I miss him dearly during the day but knowing that he is in good hands makes it a little easier. Oliver is growing in leaps and bounds these days. He can sit up, eat green beans and peas, laugh, touch is toes REALLY well, and sleeps through the night consistently now.
It's like a present every night he sleeps through the night and I was sure glad he was sleeping soundly last night since Gunner got sprayed in the face by a skunk! I went to let him in from going to the bathroom and WHAM the smell was amazingly horrid. I immediately shooed him out the door and ran to tell Erik. Then I Googled how to get rid of the skunk odor. Well we didn't have tomato juice or peroxide but we did have dishwasher detergent! At 9:45 pm Erik and I changed into some old clothes got out the garden hose, put the trucks headlight on the brights, and scrubbed away. Once we got him pretty clean I brought him in the house and gave him a bath with doggy shampoo to get rid to the detergent. He didn't have any odor on his fur but INSIDE his nostrils and mouth it still stunk. Amazing huh?
Enjoy the videos!

4 Months

 Jumped until he couldn't jump anymore. He's looks like a mini Grandpa Wollerman in the Marines.



Well it is hard to believe that four months has arrived. Oliver had another appointment and the Doctor said he looks healthy and great. He is at the top of the charts again and his new stats are: Weight- 18.8 pounds, Height- 26 inches, and Head Circumference- 44 cms. Amazing huh?
We have had a couple of great milestones. The first is he is starting to laugh. If I make strange noises or tickle him he will giggle. It's adorable. The second is that he is starting baby food! I put him in his Bumpo seat, which his thunder thighs barely fit into and TRY to feed him. He seems to wear more then actually goes into his mouth.
Oliver has a new favorite toy, the Jumperoo. Oliver will spend an hour jumping up and down, up and down. It's like he has an inner tube stuck around his waist and he is trying to bounce it off. Most people dread going to the gym to get a work out like that and Oliver enjoys it! Maybe he's working out to get those thunder thighs in shape so they fit in the Bumpo leg holes.

                                                            Oliver's first piggy back ride.

Safe and Sound

You wouldn't think so but there are perks to flying with a small child. People are just so much nicer when you are traveling with a little one. We had several people help us through out our journey including the pilot of our plane! After we had gotten off the plane we were waiting for the airport workers to bring up Oliver's stroller from the cargo hold for quite awhile. Finally the pilot of our flight got off the plane and asked if we were waiting for our stroller. When we told him we were he went down of the tarmac and pulled our stroller out and brought it up for us. Talk about service! Oliver was awesome again on the way home and slept almost the whole time. We really had a nice time down in South Carolina but it is sure nice to be back home. Below are a few pictures from the rest of our trip. Enjoy!

He can touch his toes! Just needed a little help to keep them there!



Oliver and Abby playing.
Oliver's first water park experience. It lasted for 2 minutes.
Oliver and Abby. I don't know what that look is for.

The Cousin's Meet at Last!

Oliver and Abby holding hands all on their own!

Oliver, Emma and Abby finally meet. Mom, Oliver, and I flew down to South Carolina to visit my sister Heather and my nieces.  I was so worried about how he would do on the plane but he did awesome. Our first leg of the journey was from the Appleton airport to Detroit. Oliver slept the whole way, take off to landing. Then we had an hour lay over at Detroit before our flight to Charlotte. We let Oliver stretch our and ate a little lunch. When we boarded the plane Oliver was looking all over and I fed him his bottle and he fell asleep until the landing and fussed a little bit but once we were on the ground he was happy as a calm again. Everyone on the plane was so impressed with him. We got the comment "We didn't even know he was on the plane."  Success!!!

It's been fun seeing the cousins together. I feel like I'm back working at the daycare at the YMCA. Stinking diapers and crying babies galore. One thing I have learned on this trip is that vacations aren't and never will be what they use to be. Rest and relaxation, what does that mean?

Stroller Ride

Oliver's First Flight Experience

Emma and I

Oliver's Workday

So tell me a little  bit about yourself and why you would like to work here.

So you're telling me that you would like more vacations days!

 

                 You want WHAT for a raise?!?!?!?!?

The Thumb Sucker

 The little angel.                                          He's not quite big enough but he's getting there!

Well Oliver is an offical thumb sucker. I don't know what to think about this yet. On one hand is is wonderful because he can self sooth and I will often time see him is his crib content and sucking away. On the other hand I can't help but think of all the germs that his hands will collect and a pacifer would be so much cleaner. I guess it's the teacher in me that thinks germs. I just have to remind myself that I survived just find sucking on mine and so will he. Enjoy the video.

4th of July

                     

The vicious tiger......                                               The sleeping tiger

                    

Getting ready for the parade                           Erik, Oliver, And I at the the parade.

Life has picked up the pace these days. We have been working on finally finishing up the basement renovation and we've starting training for a half marathon. I've also started my summer classes that go towards my masters' degree. So when the the fourth of July came along Erik and I were sure happy to step away from the daily routine and into relaxation mode in the north woods.
The night before we left Oliver slept though the night for the first time! I couldn't believe it. I needed that extra sleep so that I had enough energy to pack all the stuff it requires to travel with him. Our Traverse was packed FULL with bottles, diapers, pack and play, blankets, baby clothes, activity center, Boppy, coolers and all the other things a baby needs as well as our stuff. I wish I would have taken a picture of all the stuff we had packed in there it was quite amazing.
On the way up to Manitowish Waters, which is a 3 hour drive, Oliver slept pretty much the whole way. I hope he is that good when we fly to South Carolina in August to see Heather and the crew. Over the weekend Oliver spent a lot of time outside enjoying the fresh air. It was pretty warm and sunny out. We kept Oliver in the shade but we still found him some pretty cool Tigger sun glasses as you can see in the picture. He didn't mind wearing them and it was a riot to see them on him. Oliver also got to experience his first parade. Erik and I were watching all the little kids at the parade trying to figure out which one Oliver will be like next year.
I was nervous on the night of the 4th because I didn't know if Oliver would wake up through out the night due to all the fireworks but to my amazement he didn't. He actually slept from 8:30 until 7 the next morning and still slept the whole 3 hour ride home that morning. Things are looking up!

Hopes and Dreams

He's almost able to roll over from his back to his stomach !

When Erik and  I told people that we were having a little one the most common response was "your life is going to change forever, your not going to get any sleep, you won't have time to do what you want, and your going to have him for 18 years!." At the 3:30 feeding this morning I started to think about this advice and how that isn't what I would consider the life changing part of having a baby, that's just part of parenthood. What is life changing, worrisome, scary, and awesome to me is his future. I have all these things that I hope and dream he will be such as kind, thankful, hardworking, caring, grateful, happy, and a little tough :) We now have a little man that will look to us for guidance in life situations and hopefully we will have been good role models of these qualities. To me making sure that we are modeling these qualities everyday is the life changing part of having a child. I guess only time will tell if we were good models.