A look into our world

Last night when Mommy and I got home from Walmart, Dad was in the living room playing his guitar. I wanted out of Mommy's arms fast to see what was going on in there. I crawled right over to Dad's legs, pulled up and watched him for a minute. I'm a pretty fast learner, so I started right in helping him play.
Then Dad pulled me up onto his lap to learn from the correct perspective. I watched intently.
"What's that stuff up there?"
"Look, Oliver, this is how you strum" (says Dad)
"I've got it, Dad, let me try!"

This past weekend we went to Branson for a few days to visit M'laine and Aunt Shannon while they were up there. Bella got to go stay with Uncle Tim and Auntie Sarah while we were gone, so before we left, we got her kennel all ready to go. I thought it would be a fun idea to climb in there. I got part-way in...
Then I had to climb over the little step on the edge...
But once I got all the way in there, I didn't know how to get out. Maybe getting in Bella's kennel isn't as fun as I thought...
It was so fun to see Aunt Shannon again! She is one of my Aunties that lives a little bit far away, so I don't get to see her as often. We had lots of fun in Branson! Hope to see you again, soon, Aunt Shannon!
Then, on Monday, M'laine came to play with me for a few hours in the afternoon. We read books out on the porch swing, and then I got a little bit sleepy. I thought I'd go ahead and give her a little bit of snuggle time. M'laine's a good snuggler. Thanks for playing with me, M'laine!

I had a special treat when I woke up on Monday morning...M'laine had come to visit me for the day! We had such a fun time together, and she brought me lots of new clothes for the summer. M'laine's what we call a "really good sale shopper." This is me sitting with my piles of new clothes all around me...I wonder what I should wear first?
"My future's so bright....I gotta wear shades"
I come from a family who likes things to match, so Mommy was quite excited when M'laine pulled out some cool swim trunks with this matching hat and sunglasses! Now I'm all set for our beach trip this summer...
Papa couldn't resist this "John Deere" hat for me...I'm hoping he has one just like it so we can match! For now, it's Dad and me in our backwards hats, chillin' together like cool guys.

Mom caught with the camera Bella and me playing today. I was trying to take "jack" away from Bella, but she was holding on pretty good!
Then I got a little mad and whiney when she wouldn't give jack to me.
Today when I was supposed to be going to sleep, I decided to untie some of the ties on my bumper pad. Then while I was sleeping, Dad came in and caught me sleeping like this - with my arm over the bumper pulling it down over my face. Usually I roll over and sleep on my tummy all cuddled in to the sheet, so since I was face-up, it was much more comfy having something close to my face.
Then I woke up and saw Dad and Bella in my room! This is what I look like, especially in the mornings, when I wake up and see Bella on the floor, jumping up and so excited to see me :)

Guess what? I learned "High Five!" Now when Mommy or Dad put their hand up to me and say "High Five!", I put my hand up and slap their hand. It's very fun!

In exciting food news, I am now eating real, adult green beans and corn. Mommy cuts the green beans up in little chunks for me, and corn is just the right size! I do like them. Sometimes I make weird faces, but I eat them nonetheless. I've done it for 2 nights in a row now, and last night I was getting quite good at the whole chewing-swallowing-not-gagging-thing. I wonder what I'll get to eat next?!
In this piture you can kinda see that I'm learning to balance on my feet. One of my favorite things to do these days is to walk while holding on to someone's hands. I also like to pull up on almost everything, and smack my hands down on flat surfaces to make fun noises. Dad wonders if I'm going to be a drummer :) It's been very nice weather here, and Mommy and I have taken a few walks, and we've swung on our porch swing everyday this week. That really is my favorite - has been since I was just a little bitty guy. Last summer, right after I was born, I loved swinging on that porch swing; back then during my "fussy" time in the evening, Mommy or Daddy would sit out there with me, and it would keep me calm. We sure love that porch swing! Mommy has been loving it, because this week when we sit out there, I've saved up a few cuddles for her, and we just cuddle together on the swing. Normally I don't like to cuddle unless I'm sick, but now that it's nice weather and we can be outside, it's kinda nice to cuddle in the warm breeze on the swing. But just a little bit :)

Mommy and Dad had mashed potatoes with their dinner the other night, so before Mommy seasoned the potatoes up, she mashed a few bites for me. I didn't really know what I thought about them. Mostly I just liked playing with them with my hands. I had a few bites, but this is about as far as we got...
I had some more fun play-time with Bella in my pack 'n play today! We had a good time. I had fun petting Bella, and she gave me a few excited kisses. Mommy was impressed that Bella and I both stopped to look at the camera!
And here's my big, teethy grin. My teeth count is up to 5, and Dad thinks more are about to come in.
My saggy drawers...
After Bella was finished with play-time, Dad put some toys in there for me to play with. While I was moving around, I accidentally fell onto one of my hard toys. It hurt pretty bad, and I cried big tears. You can see the welt above my eye. But I was all better after a minute of cuddling with Mommy. Then it was back to playing!

Today it was 66 degrees outside! Mommy and Miss Kara thought it would be a great day to take me and my friend Hudson to the park. We had a great time. Our mommies spread out some blankets on the grass and put some toys out to play with. As you can see, Mommy sort of dropped the ball on how many toys she brought for me. Hudson's Mommy was much more prepared.
So Hudson shared his toys with me. He's a very good sharer! Plus, he has really cool toys. I really liked Hudson's hat - I tried to touch it a few times. We had lots of fun playing.
This was my first real introduction to grass. I thought it was very interesting. I liked touching it, and even found this stick to pick up.
Then I got a little hungry, so Mommy fixed me a bottle. I am really good at holding my own bottle now, which Mommy thinks really comes in handy! All in all, it was a fun afternoon at the park. I'm so glad you could go, Miss Kara and Hudson! We're excited about many more trips to the park...