A look into our world

Lately I have been climbing more. I was not an "early climber," so Mommy was thinking she might be getting away with a child who doesn't climb much. Yeah right, Mommy. My level of climbing has been raising over the past few weeks, but today it crossed a line. Mommy says I am officially an adventurous climber now.

Mommy was on the computer this afternoon, and I was playing on the floor behind her. When she turned around to look at me, this is what she saw:
A little while later, Mommy and I were in the kitchen (on the floor again, mind you.) Mommy went to take a few toys into my playroom, and when she got back, just a few seconds later, this is what she saw:
And you've seen this pose before, but I still like to do it. It's always fun to drag my Elmo chair up onto the black chair or ottoman, and then climb up and sit on it. It always makes me happy :) Another fun thing to climb on that Mommy didn't think to get a picture of this morning is the dishwasher. Not the open dishwasher, but the closed dishwasher. Yes that's right - closed. You know how there's a tiny little space between the base of the dishwasher and the door that folds down? Well, that space is perfect for tiny little toes like mine to fit into. So, you just reach up and hold onto the counter top, step into that little space, and pull up! It's very fun. Mommy's not even sure how I figured that one out, and I'm not telling. Climbing is so fun!

Today was my Dad's birthday, so we had a fun evening of celebrating! First, Mommy and I went to a few stores today in preparation. My Dad has wanted a motorized coin sorter for a number of years now, and his wish finally came true. Now that we have a Sharper Image store right here in our town, it was easy to go get it. Then we went and picked up some special ingredients to make Dad a yummy cake, and off to home we went to wrap and cook. Mommy felt very goofy because she didn't realize she forgot to get candles for Dad's cake until it was time to light the candles. Oops. Dad improvised and got one of Mommy's decorative candles from the living room. I have a funny Daddy :) Here Dad is, blowing out his candle after making his wish. And I decided to be sweet and share some of my graham cracker with Dad, since it was his birthday :) I love you, Dad! I sure am glad that you get to be my Daddy. You're pretty fun :)

I was playing in Mommy's bathroom while she was getting ready the other day, and I found this headband. I tried to put it on like sunglasses, and Mommy showed me the correct way to wear it. I left it on for quite some time - enough time for Dad to get home from his errand and see me and for Mommy to take a picture. Mommy thinks I'd make a pretty girl, except that I look too much like a boy :)
While Mommy wasn't watching, I grabbed a pen off the desk, popped the lid off, and aparently tried to put it in my mouth. She noticed pretty quickly, so she didn't get too worried about much getting in my mouth or anything...but she didn't notice quickly enough, obviously :)
Today for church I wore a super cool outfit (from M'laine). I got lots of compliments, and I even told a few people at church what the doggie on my sweater vest says.

Once we got home and before I got changed, Mommy wanted to take a sweet picture of me to share with you. Well, I wasn't really in a picture-taking mood. Mommy is posting this picture solely for those of you that think I only smile all the time. Mommy says "told you so." :)

Then Mommy got smart and grabbed my squirrel (note: see previous post). She turned him on, and the minute he got to singing and dancing, I started smiling. Good thinking, Mommy. Mommy says she can't get over how cute her boy is. I think it's a Mommy-thing.
Cheesin' it up bigtime for the camera (with a little extra drool thrown in there just for you!)

Last weekend after we got home from Colorado, Mom, Dad, and I put up some Christmas decorations. Well, okay, Mom put them up while Dad and I "supervised." Mommy did a great job, and our house is ready for the Christmas season! This year is a little bit different for Mommy. You see, Mommy is used to decorating her tree very pretty and not worrying about little hands touching (in a not-so-gentle fashion) the ornaments. Well, not this year. Mommy is trying her hardest to teach me "one finger," but that phrase can be interpreted in many ways. The following is my interpretation of "one finger." What you don't see in these pictures is me grabbing the ornament off the tree after I've touched it with "one finger." :) Mommy compromised by putting all her nice ornaments on the top half of the tree, and putting "Oliver-friendly" ornaments on the bottom half. I'm just taller than Mommy wishes.

The fun part of it all is I have my very own Christmas tree on the table in my playroom! A few years back when Daddy was selling his Christmas CD at church, "we" (I was in Mommy's tummy then) bought this little tree to put on the booth to make it festive. The edges of the pine needles light up in all different colors, and it's so pretty! I love watching it, and I'm actually very good with touching this tree gently. This is my Christmas squirrel that my great, great uncle Alex gave me, and I LOVE it! He dances around and sings a song very loudly, and at first, I was very unsure (Mommy says it would be appropriate to use the word "afraid") of this squirrel. But Mommy and Daddy smiled and sang and danced along with the squirrel enough that I finally warmed up to him. And now he's my favorite. (I have a few favorites, but he's one of them.) Every time Mom or Dad turns him on, I get my big cheesy smile and giggle going! And sometimes I even dance right along. Thank you Uncle Alex and M'laine for my fun squirrel!

Last week I was officially 18-months-old, and today I got to go (had to go was more like it) to the Dr. for my check-up. Mommy was looking forward to finding out all my stats. Me? Well, all I did was get stuck with needles, so I wasn't looking forward to much. But I did get some cool band-aids out of the deal! I only had to get 2 shots this time, and I only cried for a minute. It was quick and then over. I like my band-aids :)Since we think I have a peanut allergy, my Dr. decided to do a blood test to find out what allergies I might have. So, after I got stuck with needles for my shots, I got to go to the lab to get stuck with one more needle to draw my blood. Mommy was so thankful, because after the nurse looked at and felt both my arms for a long time (to make certain she could get a vein), she did indeed hit the vein and drew my blood with no problem. Here you can sorta see the red spot where I got my blood drawn. It wasn't the most fun Dr. appointment of my life, but I survived. Okay, so you want to know my stats? Here they are. I am about 26 1/2 lbs. and a little over 35 inches long. My weight is a little over the 50th percentile, and my height? Well, Mommy knew I was tall, but she didn't know I was off-the-charts tall. My height was like the 107th percentile or something like that. Whatever it was, it was way off the chart. And my head is perfectly normal - I think about in the 75th percentile. Basically, I'm a healthy, growing boy! Even thought I have a bit of a cold from Colorado (my ears and chest are clear), the Dr. gave me a clean bill of health and said I'm doing great! He gave Mommy some pointers on how to discipline me, and encouraged her that my "strong will", while seemingly hard for parents at times, is actually a good thing when steered in the right direction. All in all, Mommy came away from the appointment feeling good about how I'm doing in life. I'm glad she did, cause I came away with band-aids and needle stings :)