Playgroup goodbyes...

Tonight we went to a very fun farewell cookout at Pauline and Marco's house. Marco has been transferred by Lilly back to the Netherlands, and the family will be moving in a month. Playgroup won't be the same without Pauline, Pelle and Charley. We will miss them very much! We did have a great night hanging with all of the playgroup families.

Symphony on the Prarie

Sax player in the crowd.

Our view of the stage.

Listening to the music!

We just finished up a great weekend! Our friends Avi and Alisa came down from Chicago to visit, and had exciting news of their own. They are expecting a little one in January! So they had fun practicing with Oliver. We headed to Symphony on the Prairie on Saturday night. It was the music of Billy Joel featuring Michael Cavanaugh. Michael Cavanaugh was hand picked by Billy Joel for his broadway musical, "Movin' Out". We had a fantastic time. The music was fabulous, we had great food and wine, and great company, too! Our neighbors the Injays were also there, and we all sat together. It was a perfect night for a picnic and a concert.

Standing tall!

Oliver has been standing on his own more and more lately! He was playing in the kitchen this morning when he went from a squat to standing straight up! I did manage to catch it on camera. What a big boy!

Sumo squat...

Standing tall!

9 month stats...

Oliver did great at his 9-month doctor's appointment. He is still a long, skinny boy! He was 29.5 inches long (90th percentile), and 17 pounds, 15 ounces (15th percentile). Dr. Bergstein said that he looks great! He is meeting all of his milestones, and the most exciting thing, he gets to start eating "real" food! Other interesting things Dr. Bergstein told us were that his eyes shouldn't change color at this point, and that she could see his 4 top teeth, but they were still pretty far up in his gums.

Other things that Oliver has been up to in this 9th month:

• He said his first word! It was mama. This was on the July 12. I left the room for a moment, and Jon said that Oliver put his arms out towards the door and said "mama". He has been saying it more and more.
• He also has been saying ba, and today, he said dada. I think he's going to be a talker!
• He has discovered how to climb stairs.
• He is loving all of his new foods. Breakfast these days consists of a waffle, half of a banana, and a yogurt. He eats more than I do! He pretty much eats everything that we eat at this point.
• He has started to stand without support for 10-15 second stretches. His little legs are getting pretty sturdy!
• He loves going to the pool. He's a water baby!
• He love, love, loves dogs. He will crawl up and pet them, and lay his little head on them. Maybe someday...
• The other day I was in the bathroom, so I pulled out his car walker to keep him occupied. The next thing I knew, I looked out the bathroom door and the car was racing down the hallway with Oliver behind it. His little legs were moving so fast! He has also been cruising on the furniture. Maybe the first steps will be soon?
• He likes to blow on things.
  
• He has been pointing at everything. I will stick my pointer finger out, and he will touch it with his. I call it ET fingers. He thinks it's pretty funny!
  

9 months old!

We spent Oliver's 9 month birthday up in Elkhart where we attended a family friend's wedding. It was Oliver's first wedding, and he loved it! He had a great weekend playing with his cousins, and visiting with Grandma, Papa, Auntie Erin, Uncle Ben, Auntie Kylie and Uncle Tim.

Playing with the cousins:


Pictures from Matt and Heather's wedding:

Welcome to our blog!

We have now joined the blogging world. Thanks to everyone who has kept up with our babysite. This will be the new place to look for all things Oliver! I will try to continue updating several times a month.