*four months*

we are already a week into the fifth month so i better write about the last month...

Oliver is 26 lbs and is 33 1/4" tall (he was 23 lbs and 31.8" in March)

our little guy is talking up a storm. it's like someone turned a switch on. his vocabulary is changing every day. he now says words like hi, bye, yeah, no (he loves to say this over and over and over), all done (it's so funny, it sounds like "a dun"), bubble (ba bo), pebble, pepper, bath (ba), big car (beegar), go, whoa, wow and recently he's been saying wa for water and one day he did say water but still keeps with "wa". 

as i was adding to this post..Oliver saw these pictures and i said "that's you with Leo." he said "We-o"...now he's running around the house saying "we-o...we-o...we-o!" i love hearing his sweet little voice!

i also have noticed that he's listening to what i say when i talk on the phone and will either repeat a word he knows or show me an object that i've said. now i know i have to be careful. ha! i know he really wants to talk more because if he hits his head on something he will start to babble and then point to his head and then point to the table he hit it on. if i ask him if he hurt his head on the table, he will say "gah" (his version of yes).

Oliver loves to help out. he loves to hand the check out people the items in the cart and one time when we were checking out, he handed the lady our gallon of milk (with one arm). it was crazy! ha! he loves to help sort clothes but hasn't quite got the idea of piles. he loves to throw away trash and will go to the two trash cans (recycle/regular) and look at me for guidance on which one to use. he loves to break down boxes and throw away plastic. i love this! he also will put his toys away before nap time. i help him and tell him where things go but he actually enjoys putting things away.

one thing that i started last month was reading to him before nap time. i started to get out our "special" (ones with easy to rip out pages) books and will read him one in the living room. it's different then what we do at night time. usually b will read to him in his bedroom and it will be Oliver's choice of a board book. i really think this has helped with our bonding. last week i noticed he was looking up at me while i was reading and i looked down at him a smiled. he now will snuggle up to me when i read to him. i also have noticed that he is getting more affectionate with me. he likes to cuddle on the sofa with a blanket after his nap or he will lean into me when we sit together somewhere. over the weekend, he came up on the sofa and put his arms around the back of my neck as if i was going to give him a piggy back ride. it was like a back hug. ha! so sweet! he also now will cry if i have to go somewhere with out him. he won't give me a kiss goodbye. instead he will start to cry and if i ask for a hug, he will run up to me and hug me. i calm him down by hugging him back and talking to him. my sweet boy.  

he loves to associate things like if he has a little dump truck and i tell him "dump truck", he will go and find his big dump truck and show it to me with his little dump truck. there was also one day where we were reading a book and he pointed to an umbrella. i told him what it was and he ran over to the corner of the room where we keep the umbrella stand and started pointing. i love that he's learning to associate what he sees and what he has here at home!

he has become very curious about his body and our bodies. he wants to know what areas are...this has been pretty comical around our house. he will point to his head and i will say head...then he will point to mine, appa's and ardens and then back to his head. it's really cute. he pretty much knows all the parts like elbow, cheek, bummer, feet etc. oh and yes, he has taken interest in his lower area...which i have read is typical for this age and for being a boy. it's been an adjustment for me to say the least considering i come from an all girls background. ha!

 

 he likes to mimic things we do so let's say, i kick and walk or skip down the hall...he's right behind me trying to do the same thing. he-he. the funny thing is when he mimics my yoga positions! he does them so well but to see his little frame in a downward-facing dog is too cute!

 

Oliver continues to eat pretty well. he does get picky and is not a good breakfast eater. he doesn't eat typical breakfast food except for sausage and bacon. my boy likes meat in the morning...that's for sure. do not feed him bread. yuck! he does like the occassional egg and maybe some strawberries but that's about all. he is a good eater when it comes to lunch and dinner so i will take at least one meal being a little difficult to figure out. :)

Oliver now says "O-mmmm" when we pull into the drive way (this makes me so so happy!). he gets excited about seeing Ardie when we walk up to the door and loves to run to his room to play with his toys. he's generally a very happy boy. he will have some melt downs but it's becoming less and less...except for right now with him having an ear infection in both ears. our sweet boy is grumpy, short tempered, easy to cry and likes to get mad. i'm hoping it's because he doesn't feel good and not the new terrible two stage. fingers crossed! 

 

i know there is so much more i could add because he is growing so fast and picking so much stuff up so quickly....but i will stop here. next month i am sure i will have even more to add...for now...we feel Oliver is doing so so well and could not be happier with his adjustment!!