23 months

It's hard to believe Oliver is only one month away from turning 2. He seems more like a little boy and less like a baby every day. We love him so!

A few updates for this month: He's continuing to talk up a storm and even talks to himself in the morning and evening when he's in his crib. We started letting him take a book to bed in the evenings and it's so cute to hear him "reading" to himself and see him asleep with a book across his chest. He's interested in punctuation these days and wants to find question marks and exclamation points in his books. We're also casually working on potty training and he has used his "little potty" twice so far. I think it will be a long process but I'm not in a rush (at this point) so we're ok with the slow approach. Of course we're still soaking up as much of the outdoors as we can too.

trying out a bike at the park

fun outside with Toby

Cheers at Punch Pizza!

first ball pit

In the last month or two Oli has seemed to have gotten more attached to us. He wants to interact with Chris or I most of the time and regularly asks for one of us to hold his hand ("Mommy, hand"). Sometimes it's a little annoying but I know I will miss it when he's older, more independent, and holding our hand is the last thing he wants to do. The good part about a toddler that is attached is all of the hugs and kisses. When he asks to give us hugs or kisses, it's the best. And who could resist those big brown eyes and that smile?

I can't say enough how much we have been enjoying the summer. The weather has been cool and we've been on walks, bike rides, or at a garden or park as much as possible. Not even the beautiful fall leaves can tempt me this year. I don't want summer to end!

playing the community piano

loves bike rides

static at the park

smelling the flowers

sand box at one of the community gardens

Chris & Oli on a walk in our neighborhood

I've been wanting to spend a day at a sandy beach all summer and we finally made it to Cedar Lake and had a great time. The water was warm and Oli had fun feeding the fish some of his snacks. We were reminded of our trip there about a year ago!

He has gotten a little more adventurous with food but is still pretty picky. Some favorites are pizza ("pizza is good, yum yum yum"), fruit (blackberries are his current fav), and cheese. He has been developing his sweet tooth too and loves peanut butter cups, ice cream, and m & m's (shown picking them out of his trail mix below).

raspberries are best when eaten off your fingers

loves to play with squash but not a fan of eating it

He got his second non-home haircut this month. Unlike the first one where he climbed up on the chair and sat there happily, this time he was not so keen on the whole thing. He cried through the entire process and clung to Chris. Luckily it turned out cute despite that and all he seems to remember is that he got to watch Elmo while he was getting his haircut and got a sticker when it was done.

And one year ago, he turned 11 months old just as we arrived home from Europe.