Oliver is ONE!

 So I know that I must seem like a liar when I keep saying this, but I AM SORRY FOR NOT KEEPING UP ON MY BLOG! Life is just so busy when you have a kid who walks around and is so curious that he gets into everything. I recently caught him on his tip toes trying to open the back door. I go into our bedroom and see that my son has taken up interior design and has redone my room with vacuum dust, clothes everywhere, the ensign shredded, and boogers on my blankets. I also get boogers quite frequently on my shirt.I use to think that I was pretty good about keeping an eye on him but I guess I am not.  I have found plastic containers in the dryer. (We gave him his own cabinet with plastic containers in them which he loves having to himself) Quentin has installed those baby safety drawer stoppers. He has recently learned how to unhook those and now nothing in the kitchen is safe. He is intelligent. There are some days that I can't find one of my shoes. He is missing some toys and I think that he has a hiding spot somewhere in this house that I have no clue where it could be. I have seriously searched high and low. I have crawled around on the floor searching. This kid is sneaky I tell ya. Anyway, I still love being his mom and find him hilarious. Here is Oliver's 12 month update.

Guys, my baby is ONE YEARS OLD! I have made it now through 14 months of being a parent. I have loved every second of being a mom and I have changed so much. With having a child I learned a lot about myself, Oliver has taught me to be a better person. He has taught me to be humble, patient, more kind and loving. I didn't know I was lacking in those areas until he came around. And I am sure that the more kids we have the more I can perfect those traits and learn more.

Okay, so this post isn't about me, it is about Oliver of course.

Oliver's 12 month:

October 5,2013- Oliver started walking on his own and hasn't stopped walking. (He is now running around. YAY?!)
-Oliver has figured out that things exist under other things. For example daddy under a blanket. Or a ball under a bowl. He also is putting objects into cups and stacking blocks.
-Makes cute mouth expressions.
-Follows me into every room. He always has to have me in his eye sight. He knocks on the door when I am in the bathroom.
-Had his 1st birthday Tuesday, October 29,2013 (His actual birthday is on Halloween if you guys don't remember). He sucked on his birthday cake because I don't think he has ever had so much sugar in his life before. He actually fell asleep in the middle of his party so we had to wait to do presents and cake. (I will go into more detail about his birthday party later.)
After his birthday party we came home and played with his new toys for a while and then he went straight over to his books.
-He LOVES books.
-October 31- Oliver tripped on my foot and rammed his head into the door frame. He bled for a while and stained my white lace shirt but that didn't matter to me. I was worried about him and if he would have brain damage from the accident. I am glad that he forgives quickly. It did take him a long while to stop crying and I don't blame him, that must have hurt.

Now for some pictures. I don't take as many pictures as I once did because he moves around a lot and I am spending my time playing and being in the moment with them that I rather make it a memory than a picture. Did that makes any sense?

Aren't those the longest eye lashes you ever did see?

He fell asleep in my arms.

He likes to look out the window and watch cars drive by.

This picture credit goes to Oliver. He was taking a picture of daddy while his diaper was being changed.

This was his Halloween outfit for the month.

There is my boy caught up in a book.

Things that have happened

I am using this post to catch up on some news that I haven't shared. Again I am sorry that I don't write as often as I should. I am going to try and do better. I have a whole Post-It note filled with posts that I need to write. So here it goes:

This year Quentin and I celebrated our second anniversary in August. All I remember is that we had something grand planned out but those plans never happened because of our son, Oliver. We were lame. We went to a theater in a town that is 40 minutes away and watched The Wolverine. It was a good movie. We came home to find our son was crying the entire time we were gone. B had finally got him to sleep but he woke up and cried 5 minutes after we got home. I'm just saying that I hope our third anniversary is more fun and memorable than this year's. Quentin and I did buy ourselves an anniversary gift which were cotton sheets and pillowcases. (Cotton is the traditional second year gift)

I got a hair cut back in August I think it was. I was growing my hair out to donate to Wigs for Kids. I was really REALLY scared and nervous. I finally just made an appointment. I went in and told that lady that I want my hair cut. I was so scared that I forgot to mention that I wanted to donate my hair and to save it. I didn't remember till Quentin asked me about it and we were already on our way back home. I felt so sad that I forgot and that I didn't get to help kids.
I didn't really take a before and after picture but the pictures I do have are pretty close.

This is the kind of before...

And this is the kind of after picture. I like my hair short and I am thinking about getting it cut shorter! What an idea right?!

I think it was two weeks ago I woke up one morning and felt like making a fort. And so that is what I did. 

This is the outside, obviously.

This is the entrance.

This is, yeah. I don't know.

I made myself a bed inside. :)

Halloween was just last week. OLIVER TURNED ONE!!!! My baby boy is one year old! How exciting is that!? I am so blessed to have him as my son. But I am not going to talk about his birthday just yet. I threw a birthday party for me and that will be more in detail in another post. I want to point out that I was not in the hospital for this Halloween. I was actually home for trick o' treaters. But only three came by. Colebrook is a really small town and most of the people are old. But I got three. Quentin and I dressed up. Quentin was a pirate, I was a Greek goddess, and Oliver was Max from Where The Wild Things Are. I think he pulled his whiskers off because there was only one when I got the picture. Oliver went trick o' treating at B's, his GG Aunt Sandra, and his Nana. Oh and at Quentin's dad's store! (That is where he got most of his candy). The night before Halloween Quentin and I carved our pumpkins. 

I am marvelous! 

This pirate is telling you how it is.

This is me scrapping nasty pumpkin guts off of my fingers.

Oliver sitting on his trick o' treating bag while we do all the hard work.

Quentin carving his pumpkin.

There I am again carving my pumpkin.

And these are the final results. I carved a spider. Oliver's is the Jack O' Lantern and Quentin's is the (say it in a vampire voice) Velcome skull one.

I think his turned out the best. 

Here is the King of the Wild Things.

That is the update on what has happened with this little family. I am going to try this week and catch up on my Post-It note of posts I need to write. No promises though. 

Guess who!

You guessed right, I am back!
I am so soo SOOO sorry that I haven't written in months. BUT I do have an excuse. My laptop decided to break and not charge at all. It is alright, it lasted me a good 7 years. Quentin got me a new laptop and I love this one. I don't miss my old one at all.

A little update on Oliver with months 9, 10, and 11.
WOW! This seems like such a long time ago. Just keep in mind that he is about to turn one and that he has grown and  matured. He seems like a tiny baby when I read my notes. He is very intelligent and bright and I am a proud momma.
Month 9-
July 2,2013 crawled on his knees for the first time.
July 17, 2013 I was vacuuming the basement of my in-laws place. Oliver got scared of the vacuum. So he went over to where the vacuum was plugged and pulled it out. (He hasn't stopped unplugging things, like Daddy's computer cords.)
-Has associated that the light switch turns on the light bulbs.
-Can sit himself up now. So cute.

Went to Beaver Brick Falls.

He is enjoying his new hat.

He likes to play in the water.

He also doesn't mind getting dirty.

He closed the toilet lid on his hand.

And me being the mean parent that I am, I decided to take a picture of it before I rescued him.

Isn't he a cutie?

Month 10-
-Walks along walls and furniture
-Obsessed with how things open and close
-Interested in wheels and things that spin
-He likes to clap and dance
-His new things it to carry toys in his mouth and crawl to the next room with it in his mouth. Sometimes he like to act like a dog.
-He stands for several seconds at a time.
-Has 5 teeth.

Quentin and I were both teaching lessons today. Since YW is held in the nursery room(we don't have any nursery children) I got to watch Oliver. A little into my lesson I realized that Oliver wasn't in eye sight. So I stopped my lesson looking for him when I heard him give out a yelp. And this is what I found.

Again, being the mean parent I am I decided to take a picture of him before rescuing him.

Oliver watching a man mow the lawn.

Look at those eye lashes.

My boys fell asleep during church.

Again, amazing eye lashes huh?

I found Quentin's handkerchief on the floor and the first thought that popped into my head was this.

My lone ranger.

Beautiful blue eyes.

Walking with daddy.

Auntie Ivy thought it would be funny to put an empty chip bag on my baby's head.

Month 11-
Sept. 2- Went to the Lancaster Fair. We went to the horse pulling show. Oliver was more interested in the tractor going back and forth putting the weights on the horses than the actual animals themselves.
Sept 7 at 7:13ish p.m.- Oliver took his first 2 steps. Q and I were laying on the floor talking to each other. From my peripheral vision I saw Oliver stand up and take 2 steps toward us. He was 10 months and a week old. Woot woot. We are going to have a walker soon.
-He dances, waves, and says bye.
-For the longest time I wouldn't wash the mirror in the living room because you can see his cute little hand print on it.
-Sept. 27- Oliver stood himself up and walked about 8 feet. Daddy didn't get to see. Sad day.
-Had a FHE lesson on sharing and Oliver is quite good at it. (He like to share food that he doesn't like with mommy and daddy)
-Sept. 30- Had O try an olive and he politely put it on the table and gave it back to me. I guess he doesn't like food that is black.
-Works out with mommy, massages daddy's head(more like plays with daddy's hair), and likes to chill on the floor. He does this thing where he is on all fours and will bend his head down and kiss the floor. I keep telling Oliver that we aren't Buddhist.
-I wasn't paying attention to Oliver and what he was doing. So he crawled over to me, put his hand on my cheek and turned my face towards his and then he gave me a smile.

Look! It's Gru and one of his minions at the Lancaster Fair!

This goat's name is Oliver. They pretty much act the same. 

At Lancaster Fair. 

Here is Oliver observing the wheels on the tractor at the horse pulling at the Lancaster Fair.

Blurry picture, I know. But it is the only one that has all of his teeth showing.

He likes to look at his reflection in the oven door.

Oliver is good at yoga. No, he is just eating his toes.

Look at my little man standing. 

Well there you have it folks, a little update from moi! I have more posts to write and a birthday party to get ready for tonight. (not Oliver's)

7,8 lay them straight

Okay so I am in need of keeping up on my blog. I am so sorry for those who are regular readers. I think about it everyday for 2 minutes and then I am distracted by my baby climbing up the stairs. I don't get the chance very often anymore to be on a computer. It is 4:30 a.m. and I am awake. I couldn't fall back asleep. I was screaming at myself (in my head), "Tailour! Stop thinking about random things and go back to sleep!" I kept saying that over and over in my head. Nope! Couldn't fall back asleep. So I am going to use this time wisely and catch up on my blog here.

Last Sunday my precious baby boy turned eight months. I can't believe how short of a time he has been alive because it has seemed like forever since I gave birth to him. It seems a lot longer I guess when you don't get any sleep.

Here are my notes from when he was seven and eight months.

Seven months:

• Can grab his feet and eat his toes. (We call them piggies)
• Pats my arm randomly which is super cute because it makes me feel like he is telling me that I am doing a good job at being his mother.
• Has started and tried pulling himself up.
• Being a big boy and not taking naps during church when I want him to so I can listen to the talks and lessons.
• Loves being outdoors and our walks together.
• Mimics noises. He can say "Ma" but doesn't associate the word with me.
• On May 19,2013 during Stake Conference he started making crawling movements. I put him on the floor so I could take notes. I looked down at one point to see if he was doing okay or if he fell asleep. I saw him pulling himself forward trying to get a toy. He didn't crawl with his head up though, I guess he thought it was to heavy for him. But the next day he started crawling with his head up. (I guess it really isn't crawling, more like pulling himself...army crawl I guess it what people call it.)
• HE HAS A TOOTH! And bites me nonstop. I think my shoulder has bruises from him constantly biting me. I have screamed a couple of times because it really hurts. I looked at him with a stern look and tell him not to bite me because it hurts mommy. He will either smile and do a little laugh or if I am serious enough he will cry a little. And he is so cute that I have to look the other way to smile and let out a little laugh and then look back at him with a serious look trying to teach him that biting people hurts. 
• May 14,2013 was a really cold day and so we got the wood stove burning. I think I was taking a shower at the time and I don't remember what Quentin was doing. Oliver was in his walker and back up straight into the wood stove and burned his little fingertips. I cried and cried. He cried for only ten seconds. And it didn't seem to bother him that he had huge burn blisters on his left hand. He still pounded that hand on things. I cringed every time he would hit his hand on something. 
• May 29, 2013 I was changing Oliver's diaper on our bed and I needed an outfit from the dryer. So I left him there and ran to the dryer, grabbed the outfit and ran back. I was back just in time to see him roll off of our bed and onto the floor. I screamed and tried to catch him. I was too late. I hated myself so leaving him there. But that makes one drop for Quentin and one drop for me. Not that I am counting or anything.

Oliver is eight months woot woot:

• Has fully learned how to pull himself up onto things and get himself down. It is so cute (and scary) to watch him get down from things. He will grunt and whine because he is frustrated that the ground is so far away and he doesn't want to land on his head. It takes him almost a full two minutes for him to get back down so he can crawl around. He will kneel down and try to touch the ground and then realizes how far away it is so he stands back up. If he doesn't get back down then he will look at me and cry begging for help. I find that cute too.
• June 16,2013 Quentin found a beetle in Oliver's mouth. 
• June 17,2013 Oliver ate his dinner later than usual and threw up 4-5 times that night. I think I changed my clothes a couple of times.
• June 20,2013 Quentin and I were making dinner. Oliver was crawling around on the floor. He was fine and having fun when all of a sudden he let out a huge scream. I look over and there was a wasp on his right ring finer. I immediately dropped what I was doing pulled that wasp off of my baby and threw it. Quentin found it and killed it which I am grateful for. I picked up Oliver who was crying so loudly (which I have never heard before) that my ears were ringing. I think he cried for at least an hour. I had to hold his hand so he couldn't use it. His finger swelled up and he got a little hot and I was getting worried. Quentin did some research and found out that it was normal for him to swell and get hot after a wasp sting. I don't know how that wasp got in the house or onto my child's hand but I strongly disliked him for stinging my baby. Now that I think about it, I think the wasp's wings were damaged and Oliver thought he was interesting and picked him up and the wasp didn't like that so he stung Oliver.
• I didn't write down the date on this one but Oliver has taught himself to climb up the stairs. Not just a couple of stairs but ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! This is scary because the stairs at Quentin's parent's place don't have any side railing. I have to constantly watch Oliver now. I can't put up a gate because there is no railing for the gate to work effectively. I have learned to put objects on the first stair so Oliver can't climb up them any more.

Well there you have it. News from me about Oliver's developing and growing up. I have to say he is a handful and it makes me not want to have anymore kids. But I know deep down inside of me I want more. Quentin and I think we will have about five. We wrote down the order of which gender our kids will be just for fun. 

Oliver is still so sweet and adorable. I like his Jack O' Lantern smile. How curious he is about EVERYTHING and how things work. I like watching him listen to sounds outside and how calming the wind is blowing through the leaves on a tree. I like how active he is when I change his diaper and he rolls over to see what is behind him and then cries when I put him back onto his back so I can put a diaper on him. I love how much of a mommy's boy he is. I love seeing him learn how to use his body. I love how excited he gets when daddy is done working and can play and give attention to him. I love seeing those two together. 

Quentin has been the most wonderful husband. I couldn't have asked for a better companion. In the mornings he takes Oliver so I can get some much need sleep. He also takes Oliver when I get frustrated with him. Quentin reminds me that I am not alone in raising this child of God. He helps me see things in a different perspective. He show me love and kindness. And tells me that I am beautiful even when I don't feel like it. Recently at night before we doze off he has been telling me what he loves about me. I smile and cry a little inside because I need to hear those words. I am grateful for such a wonderful and amazing husband. I don't know what I did to get him but I am glad he is mine. Oh goodness, I just teared up a little. I have learned that having children makes you more emotional. I cry all the time, they are happy tears of course. I am remind how good Heavenly Father is and how blessed I am.

Here are some pictures of Oliver when he was seven and eight months:

Got him a Johnny Jumper. He loves it!

Do you see those precious tears?

Working with dad. Giving him a high five for working so hard.

I love his face in this picture.

My world!

We decided to give him a lemon...

and this was his reaction.

:)

I think he liked it in the end.

I love spending one on one time with this boy!

His eyes are amazing.

I think someone took my phone and took a picture of us sleeping.

I love seeing these two together.

He got stuck between the toilet and the wall. He couldn't figure out how to back himself out of it so he let out a yelp until someone came. 

Isn't he adorable!?

I love watching him sleep. 

That sounds creepy.

And I just remembered that there are pictures and videos on Quentin's phone. I am too lazy to upload them though so I guess you will just have to deal with only getting half of our pictures and such.