As of Saturday, Oliver officially became a carnivore. Yes, we finally allowed the boy to eat some good old meat. Well, meat paste at least.
He’s still on Stage 2 baby food, and we introduced a little something called Sweet Potatoes & Chicken. And let me tell you, it was …. well, kind of like cream of chicken soup. Really thick cream of chicken soup. I guess it was OK, from the little bit I tested on my finger. Oliver seemed to like it a lot. He ate another jar of it tonight.
We have lots of other varieties (usually a meat with some random vegetable) to try in the coming weeks. Can’t wait to bust out the Vegetable Turkey Dinner. Yum.
All posts by jlope23
Oliver almost on all fours (video evidence)
Need further evidence of Oliver being days away from crawling? Check this out:
Enjoy the bugs, Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad,
Sitting atop the top step on our patio, you have freaked Sarah and me out for two consecutive summers.
You’re usually out pretty late at night, like when I’m letting the dog out to go to the bathroom before bed. Most times, though I should know you’re out there, I catch a glimpse of you in the corner of my eye and almost jump out of my shoes. When you startle Sarah, she tends to let out a shriek and hop over “your” step as she enters the house and slams the door shut behind her. You must find it all amusing.
Each time we open that door, about 2-3 bugs fly into our kitchen. I’m sure that number would be much higher without you standing guard outside. From your picture, you appear to be eating quite well.
Anyway, I realize that with the cold weather moving in, you’ll soon be hibernating for the winter. I read somewhere that toads usually live 4-15 years, so we hope that you continue to come back and see us each spring. For now, continue to enjoy the bugs.
Your friend,
Justin
All I want for Oliver is his two (frickin’) front teeth
Oliver has had his bottom two front teeth for quite some time already, but those top two just won’t bust through. It’s got to take place any day now. I mean, it just has to.
God love the boy, but I’m tired of hearing that darn whiny, “I’m-in-pain” voice. I feel bad for the kid, too. It has to hurt, and I don’t blame him for complaining.
The pain has been waking Oliver up at odd hours during the night, cutting his nap time down drastically, and made him just, generally, fussy. And he’s not a fussy baby. He’s the calmest, most relaxed baby I’ve ever seen … just not these past couple of days.
Is it time to baby-proof the house?
Oliver cannot crawl yet, but has figured out how to get up on all fours (yikes!). Is it time for us to baby-proof the house?
‘Fire in the Hole!’
You may be wondering where we’ve been the past week. Well, Thursday we headed down to Springfield, Mo., to visit my parents (Oliver’s grandparents). We got a late start on the drive, and Oliver went into a crying fit around 9 p.m. in the middle of nowhere. Since he’s usually so calm, we were pretty concerned. We pulled off the highway in some small town about an hour past Rolla in I-44. There were crazy locals everywhere, making noises and walking around with cups in their hand (I swear the one guy was a bum, but Sarah thinks he was a McDonald’s employee). Anyway, we hit the road again quick and a bottle of milk held the boy off for the rest of the trip.
During the vacation, we spent Friday at nearby Silver Dollar City, Saturday at the local Cider Fest street festival and Sunday relaxing. Oliver’s grandparents were so amazed by how big our little boy has become over the past two months. They fawned over him the entire weekend. It was pretty cool.
Anyway, below are a few pictures and a short video from our trip to Silver Dollar City. Enjoy.
Here’s a video of my dad and I at the start of the new PowderKeg ride (we’re in the third row). This ride was FAST (and a bit scary).
Here are Sarah and my dad (I’m on the left, but apparently my mom didn’t line us all into the frame) getting ready for WildFire, a crazy-fast and scary ride with numerous tight loops. I think I didn’t breath until halfway through the ride.
Here we are getting ready for the train ride (Oliver’s first ride). He seemed to enjoy punching us all in the face more than the actual show (if you’ve been before, you know the routine: train stops “unexpectedly,” two guys hold up the passengers, etc.).
A total coincidence, I swear, but Oliver’s attire matched the scarecrows on display throughout the park.
And finally, here’s Oliver with his grandparents next two a “tree” made entirely of fake pumpkins.
No, I don’t have pinkeye
No, I don’t have pinkeye. I just made homemade salsa the other day.
Huh?
OK, let me explain. I was chopping up all the goodies for some homemade salsa, and the last items were jalepenos. Well, that oil stays on your hands. And stays on your hands. And stays on your hands. …
With a baby in the house, plus a dog, plus being a generally clean person by nature, I probably washed my hands at least 10 times prior to taking out my contacts that evening. Well, just a touch is all it took. My eyes turned read and started watering and itching.
I threw that pair out and put a fresh pair in the next day. And mind you, that was after probably five or six more hand washes and a shower. Well, same thing. Just putting the new contacts into my eyes was enough to set me off. They’re still red and sore today. I think the next time I’m chopping up jalepenos, I’m going to wear gloves.
Gawking at the big Lopinot heads at Oliver’s 6-month checkup
“I’m not that worried about his large head, because his dad has a big head as well.”
That, or something close to it, is what Oliver’s doctor told us today during his 6-month checkup appointment. She was taking his measurements, got his head circumference and went over to her table to write the number down. After making a puzzled expression, she came back over and measured it again. Same number. She double-checked her chart. Then she told us about his enlarged melon.
“His head is above the 97th percentile, which can be cause for worry,” she told us.
“Big heads run in Justin’s family,” my loving wife chimed in, as they both gawked at my freakishly large head.
Then I joined in the fun.
“My head’s probably the runt of the Lopinot men,” I explained.
Nothing to worry about. That’s what we were told. He has a big head, and big heads run in the family. End of story.
His other measurements today?
Weight: 19.4 pounds (the 75th percentile)
Height: 28.25 inches (90th percentile)
So the boy is big, but not gargantuan as he was during his 3-month checkup. Just the head. Big, huge head.
Oliver’s first six months … in video form
Oliver’s 6 month birthday (that counts, right?) is today, so we put together a short video to capture some of our favorite moments. Enjoy:
Seven years ago …
Seven years ago today, at a happy hour-gone-long, I mustered up the courage to meet Sarah at Helen Fitzgerald’s in South County. I won’t go into a lot of details (check out past issues of St. Louis’ Best Bridal magazine or STLtoday.com’s bridal page on the Way Back Machine if you haven’t heard this already and give a damn). I will, however, state the obvious: My life has never been the same. And that’s a good thing.
I now have a beautiful wife, an awesome son, a quirky (and annoying) dog, a cool house, a master’s degree and so many other things I could have never imagined. So really, who gives a crap drama at work and other non-importantissues. Life’s about family, and that — kind of — makes me feel better about things.
Blog Full of Letters 