Ollie's First Music Class

Today was Ollie's first music class! Although we sing and dance at home just about every day, this was Ollie's first organized class.  It was wonderful.  And as an added bonus, it was Chris' day off, so he was able to join us too.

Here's Ollie warming up...saying hello to the other babies and showing off his moves to everyone:

He was having so much fun, he just couldn't sit down!  Notice all of the other little boys and girls sitting on their Mom's laps?  Not Ollie...

One of these things is not like the others

Mimi and Bop do Portland

Mimi and Bop visited this week!  Ollie was so excited to get them up at 5:30 every morning to show them all of the fun things he loves to do in his new city.  Here are some of the highlights:

On Monday, we went to the Hospital to see Dada for lunch!  We took the gondola up - it was a beautiful day and the view was terrific.

View from the gondola, looking down

Bop giving Ollie a tour

After lunch, we played in the fountain at the base of the tram:

On Tuesday, we went to the Portland zoo.  My parents loved the beautiful space and the extensive variety of animals.  Ollie, of course, loved the diggers.

Can I pet it?

Yummy lunch overlooking the elephants.  We love the zoo!

Chris had the day off on Wednesday, so we spent the day on our mountain bikes while Ollie played with Mimi and Bop. The rest of the week was busy and fun - we managed to squeeze in some shopping, lots of walks outside, lunch downtown, and a trip to the Portland Art Museum.  Ollie loved giving kisses to the handsome boy in the mirror. 

Back home, Ollie was keeping close tabs on Bop, just making sure he was behaving himself.  

You never know who is watching you!

Thank you for such a wonderful visit Mom and Dad - Ollie loves you and so do we!  Please come again soon...

15 months ago...

Ollie T turned 15 months old today, and it has left me feeling nostalgic about how much he has changed and grown since the little 6 lb 4 oz peanut he was at birth, and how much joy he has brought to us. I went through my phone and picked my favorite Ollie T videos, starting from the very beginning.... (warning: I have a lot of favorite videos!)

This is from the first day of Ollie's first day of life, when I discovered the cuteness of baby hiccups:

This is the video of us bringing Ollie home and showing him his room.  I remember how incredibly emotional I was this day.

Poor little guy didn't even fit into newborn clothes!

Fast forward a few weeks...here he is chatting with Mimi:

Never too early to learn some nursery rhymes!

This one doesn't have anything to see, as I filmed his dark room as I went to pick him up from his nap, finding him 'chirping'...

Ollie rolls!  (almost 5 months old here...)

I miss the days of him falling asleep right on my chest...

Ollie's first foray into solid foods...

He still doesn't like sweet potatoes...

Future pianist?

Knock 'em down!

Ollie still gets a 'Bad Cough' every once in a while...

Bathtub Giggler...

Applesauce...

Don't get between Ollie and his yogurt...

Dancing and driving...is he of legal age?

At the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry - do you think he likes water?

And here we are, 15 months later...the little monkey jumping on the bed

We love you, Ollie T. 

Ollie in Motion

He walks...

And bounces...

Doing his crib gymnastics: A post-nap ritual

And loves his Dollie (who needs a name)...

Ollie giving his Dollie some coffee (as I'm trying to distract him from wanting mine!)

He also loves corn on the cob...  

No dental floss needed for dem toofs!!

Pre-Game Jitters

We all had nerves before the game...  Ollie had to run off some stress before kick off.

I think it helped. Go Pack!

Happiness

My friend Scott said it the best: "Your kid is the happiest when 1) he's eating and 2) when he's wearing Packer gear.  Excellent summary.  And he is definitely our kid.  

Speaking of food and happiness...turns out putting food on top of his head also makes him happy:

Crawling up the steps - his latest trick - also makes him very happy:

Next purchase: a crash pad

And we've known for a while now that his pacifiers make him very happy;  

Looking very cool with his hand on his hip.

I lost this battle at lunch.  (Not sure how he plans on eating?)

And finally, we all know how much he loves to walk (run) with his walker.  But when I distract him and hide it, he actually likes to walk without it too.  Here's a quick glimpse of him in motion sans walker before my video storage reached its limit:

Yes, Ollie is happy.  But he makes us even happier.