Learning Tower

I really want one of these learning towers for Oliver. He is at the age where he wants to help with everything in the kitchen and around the house and I am not comfortable with having him on chairs unless I am right next to him. He can fall off too easily if he stops paying attention to where he is. You can see more about these cool towers by clicking here.

My friend Tracy also found instructions on how to build them here.So if anyone has some extra time to spare, Oliver would love one :)

Feet

Oliver's feet have gone through a growth spurt.

Garage Door

We got our long awaited garage door and opener today. We are in love :) No more dragging the stroller and tricycle up two sets of stairs and no more parking them in our living room. The door will be painted along with the rest of our house this summer.

new door

the old one was in pretty bad shape

Penny's Shoutout

So it turns out Penny did not make it onto the cover of the March issue of Seattle Magazine. They did, however, manage to give her a little shoutout and get her photo on the letter page since they were so bummed she didn't make it to the cover.

Penny's Great Hot Dog Retrieve!

Another haircut

After family coffee this morning Jim and Oliver went to the barber shop down the street to get much needed haircuts together. We usually take Oliver to a kid place for his haircuts so it was a bit more difficult to distract him here and he wasn't exactly thrilled with the whole experience. But he got a great haircut!

Before - look how long his hair was

Watching Jim Baer get his hair cut

The finished product - you can see Oliver wants to get out of there ASAP

So handsome

Drill Team

Penny and I are now part of a drill team at the training center where I teach. We meet every other week and the goal of the drill team is to perform at various dog events in the Seattle area to show off the power of positive dog training. Here Penny and I demonstrate the new moves we learned tonight.

Oliver - Month 16

Here are the pictures from last month. Not a whole lot has changed, except that his hair is growing like a weed! His girlfriends are jealous because Oliver's hair is so long and thick that he can wear headbands, clips, you name it, while his friends have hair that is much to fine to hold any accessories. Another haircut is in our near future. When I asked Nick if there was anything I should add, he just said that he's getting better at everything. Here is a sample:

• climbing anything and everything - including onto our kitchen table, our bed, the window sill, etc.
• signing (he has well over 50 signs now)
• potty training!
• Sleep - this is a big one! We started the process of night weaning him, and he can sometimes go up to eight hours in his bed (yep, he's in a toddler bed now) before he wakes and comes into ours. This is HUGE, as before he could only make it about four hours, but was averaging more like two or three.
• sleeps in a toddler bed - we took the front crib railing off about a month ago, and he absolutely loves his bed now (he hated the crib)
• playing ball with Penny - the two of them can play by themselves now. Oliver throws well enough that she will actually retrieve the ball to him. This is great for me because it keeps Oliver occupied and Penny exercised.
• He babbles all day long. Dadadadadada has become the background music in our house.

He is just the sweetest little boy. He showers us regularly with kisses and frequently signs "i love you" after doing so. If I pick him up to help me stir something in the kitchen or help him do something else that he really likes, he is especially sweet. Today he even signed "i love you" to Penny!

He loves to wear our hats

and shoes

another one of Daddy's hats

even Mommy's headbands when his hair gets too long

Drinking coffee with Grandpa and Family Coffee

This is his favorite activity at Family Coffee. Thank you Jim Baer for showing him how to use it! We now spend each visit wiping up the floor afterward.

He loves his tools! And look at that drool - must be the molars.

Wearing his friend Rachel's backpack

Looks like he's ready for school!

dadadada

Reaching for the camera - he likes to see the pictures after we take them

wearing a napkin

are you watching me??

I'm trying to escape!

Cranberry Orange Scones

My professional looking picture of the few scones that were left.

I made these yummy cranberry orange scones for Nick for Valentine's day. They were delicious and didn't last very long in our house. Here's the slightly modified recipe (originally from Elana's Pantry):

 

Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Scones

2 cups blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 egg
2 tablespoons agave nectar

1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cranberries and zest
2. In a smaller bowl, combine egg and agave
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Knead dough with hands if necessary to ensure proper distribution of ingredients
5. Form dough into 2 little circles so that each one is about ½-inch in thick
6. Cut each circle like a pizza, into 8 slices
7. Using a metal baking spatula transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet
8. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes
9. Serve

Happy Valentine's Day!

Video: Month 16

Oliver is 16 months and 4 days today. Here is some footage from the past month. Update and pictures coming soon!

A nap

Story Time

I've been catching Oliver reading books to himself lately. Here's a short clip. . .

Laundry day

I have a very eager helper now when I do laundry! The best part is that when I go to put the clothes away, he actually can follow simple directions to put items where they belong, instead of sorting and unfolding my neatly folded clothes :)

Yoga

Potty Trained!

At just under 16 months, we now consider Oliver to be basically fully potty trained! All the hard work with the elimination communication early on has finally paid off! He either signs "potty" to us or just goes over to one of his many potties by himself when he needs to use it. If we do ask him, he'll nod or shake his head, and he's been so reliable that we believe him now if he says "no". It is so nice, and easy! He's even reliable if we're out and about for the day and if someone else is watching him. He also loves to help us dump it out into the big toilet. His potties are multifunctional, as you can see below. In addition to wearing them, he also uses them as step stools and for carrying things.

Monday

I snapped this picture of Oliver today as we were leaving the Children's Museum at Seattle Center.

Milk Party

Today we attended a milk party hosted by the family who I donated breast milk to for nine months. Their son is two months younger than Oliver and his mother was never able to produce milk. She had a goal of breastfeeding him to at least 12 months and sought out milk donors to get there. Now, 47 donors later, they will make it to 14 months! These 47 donors provided 15,000 ounces of milk for her son. I was one of the top three donors, providing about 1,600 ounces. The party was a way to thank the donors and their families. Most of the women had toddlers and Oliver had fun playing with the other kids and eating chicken skewers. It was also fun to finally meet the little guy (actually, he's a big guy - weighing at least 5lbs more than Oliver) who has been drinking my milk. His mother often came during his nap time to pick up milk so I didn't have the chance to meet him sooner.

Fruit Fast

The yoga program Nick is doing right now includes a three day fruit fast. Today is day two! I'm joining him in a slightly modified version (I'm eating protein since I'm still breastfeeding). Our kitchen counter is covered with a wide variety of fruit: apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, peppers, avocado, cucumber and melons. The hardest part is when we feed Oliver because all of the other food looks so good!

Multitasking

Safe and sound

Nick is safe and back on the ground today after the first flight for airplane 9, which is his test plane. Phew!

Another painting

To create this masterpiece, Oliver used the paint brush to paint his hands, apron, and pants, and then smeared the paint on the paper. This was also done at the Children's Museum, definitely NOT in our house :)

A Birthday

Yesterday was Jim's birthday and we celebrated with a wonderful party that Cynthia put together at their house. Oliver was in a great mood all evening, even though he didn't go to bed until nearly 10pm! He even did a little naked dance for everyone as we were trying to get his pajamas on. He spent a lot of time chewing on a lamb bone and trying to get a sip from everyone's wine glasses.

Oliver and the birthday boy!

Feeding Jim Baer the lamb bone he's been chewing on.

Mmmm!

He's definitely not a vegetarian! He chewed on this bone for a good part of the evening.

Video - Month 15

Here are a few clips of Oliver from last month.

15 Months!

Oliver is 15 months and a few days now. He's working on his first molar, and it looks like it may break the skin any day now. Not a whole lot has changed since most of you saw him at Christmas. He has over 40 signs now! He's talking a little bit more too, but he still primarily uses sign language. Last week I taught him the sign for bear while reading a book to him and the next morning, when I asked him if he wanted to see Jim Baer at family coffee, he walked toward the door signing "bear". So now, whenever you say Jim Baer, he signs "bear." Jim also taught Oliver his game of Nice ____, Nice _____, (petting the person gently while saying their name), Niiiiiiicce ____ (petting roughly). Oliver now walks around the house saying "Ni" to Penny and petting her. It's so cute! Luckily he doesn't do the last part very often.

He has also learned how to blow his nose, which is helpful :) We still have to hold the tissue for him though.  Elimination Communication is going really well, and we pretty much don't have accidents anymore, even if we're out and about. He has become very proficient in moving his stool around the house to get to things he wants. His favorite place for it is below a window in our kitchen which overlooks our side yard where Nick was working recently. He also uses it to help him get onto the couch and to reach the knobs on the stove.

Here are a few more pictures from last month. Thank you for all the Christmas presents! As you can see, he's been having fun with them!

A chair that's just the right size for Oliver

He can climb up to, and go down the slide all by himself now.

And he loves them! They are often the first thing he goes to at the park.

Oliver loves his new play tent!

We actually can't tell who likes it more, Penny or Oliver. It came with a tunnel, and Penny, with her agility training, was able to show Oliver how to go through :)

On his new trike!

Which he loves!

He rides to the park every day when Daddy gets home.