Don't start buying dresses yet, Mom...

Well, this week I had my first 'baby dream'. And in my dream, baby #2 was a boy. I had three dreams about Oliver being a boy (no girl dreams), so I'm going to follow my instict and predict that we're having another boy. We'll see what my future dreams are like...

Austin spent the day with us Sunday. We had a fun day, playing at the park, swimming at the pool, and wrestling with Ian:

Oliver loves playing peekaboo, no matter where he is:

And I am SO proud! I planted two tomato plants and two green pepper plants a few weeks ago (kinda late), and LOOK! I have little baby tomatoes already! These will be cherry tomatoes. I usually kill plants within days. I couldn't even keep a cactus alive. Seriously.

Big Brother!

That's right - Oliver is going to be a big brother!
Ian and I are very excited to have another one on the way. Baby #2 is due March 2010 - and no, you will not get an exact due date. We know how that ends up.
We see my midwife next week. More updates to come!

10 months!

Oliver is ten months old today!
His favorite new things are:
Pointing - at people, animals, anything.
Clapping - anytime he knows he has done something good, such as....
Climbing off of our bed or the couch the right way. No falling!
He is also trying to figure out how to crawl down stairs. But since the only stairs we have lead to our 'dungeon', he doesn't get much practice with this. Mostly at the park. (He's a pro at going up stairs.)
Attempting to walk! I have said that he'd be walking by ten months.....and depending on your definition of walking, he may have mastered it. Last night, with some bribing (he loves to get ahold of my cell phone), I got him to take three sturdy steps, and then he took five 'shuffle' steps before going down to his knees! And today, he actually took a step on his own - no 'bribing' from us! I was barely paying attention, even.
So, he's not officially walking. But that's okay - he gets into enough trouble just by crawling. And I'm not ready for a toddler!
We had a busy day today, so I haven't gotten his 'official ten month photos. But I'll do that tomorrow. Here are a couple for you:

Showing off his pointing skills:

Oh, and....

The sleep thing? Yeah, it was a fluke. He is back to waking up once in the early morning to nurse.
But, I have faith that he will do it again....someday...

We've been busy...

Here is Oliver checking out his new cousin, Gabe! Gabriel Kent was born May 30th, weighing 5lbs, 9oz! He is soooo tiny! Oliver was that small, oh, maybe in my 7th month of pregnancy? :) Oli really likes him already, although I think he just wants to play with him like a doll. Oli likes to watch Ian mow...

Never waste money on baby toys. I picked up this mop at the store the other day. The entire time in the store, Oliver was holding on to it. When he and I left the cart to grab something, he starting bawling because I made him let go. As soon as we got back to the cart, he grabbed it again and was fine. He has been playing with it pretty much non-stop since we got home. Hilarious.
But he eventually found a new toy...this bright blue bouncy ball! He was in the cart at Target, and figured out how to stand up, turn around, and lean over the seat to try to grab it. All while still buckled in, and in about 5 seconds. He loves picking it up and throwing it.

We went to the Jester Park Natural Playscape the other day. It's pretty cool there! They have a nice little wading area, I wish that I had brought Oli's swim trunks. I think we are planning on having Oliver's birthday party there. The party will be August 22, by the way, if you want to mark your calendars!

ah, sleep!

One week ago today, Oliver suddenly decided he didn't want to take morning naps anymore. At first, it was exhausting. He was non-stop all over the house, and it's nice to have that little nap break! But now it's easier to get out of the house, and we have taken full advantage of it, trying to get outside to a playground or running errands every morning. He's gone all week without a 'real' morning nap (he'll sometimes sleep in the car for a little bit), and he is just as happy as can be.
With no morning nap, that means his afternoon nap is now earlier, and usually longer. He's gotten into a great schedule of napping from about 1-3 every day.
But it doesn't stop there. Last night, Oliver.....drumroll......slept through the night!!
I know, most people think he should have been sleeping through the night months ago. I have heard that I need to let him cry it out. I have heard that he "isn't hungry" in the night. Well, most people who know me well know that I don't take unwanted advice. I've been going by my mama instincts and nursing him at night when he's hungry (and yes, I can tell if he's hungry or just can't find his pacifier.). And I haven't been complaining. (Well, maybe I did a few months ago when he was teething and was up every two hours.)
He had been down to nursing once in the night, usually around 4am. He always goes right back to sleep so I'm usually only up for about ten minutes.
This morning, I woke up when Ian left for work at 6am and realized I hadn't gotten up with Oli yet! I immediately went back to sleep, figuring now that I knew, he'd wake up in fifteen minutes.
At 7:05, I hear him talking in his crib. I let him play for about ten minutes, went in his room, and saw a huge "Good Morning!" grin.
I am sure that this was just a fluke and he won't do it again until he's five. But hey, one night was nice!

Enjoying the Weather

This week has been beautiful (well, until this morning!) and we have taken advantage of the sunshine!

On Tuesday, Ian found a toad in the yard that Oliver enjoyed watching.

Friday morning, Oli and I joined the Holistic Moms of Des Moines (or "Hippy Moms" as Ian calls it) for a playgroup. Oliver liked meeting new friends and of course eating some sand!

After a nap, we headed to the Ankeny Pool. Oliver likes to read books in the car.

We started out at the Splash Park, but it's really best for kiddos who can run around, so we switched over to the big pool. Here Oli's showing off his cool trunks.

I wish I could have gotten photos of him in the water, but I was sure that I would end up with a drowned camera. Oli LOVED playing in the water and even put his face under (accidentally) and was okay with it. We had crackers and banana for a snack:

Walking Update:

Oli is getting more and more comfortable standing up on his own. A couple times, I have gotten him to take one step towards me before diving forward.