Tooth Really Coming in Now

You can really see that little tooth coming in!

Dandelion Bouquet

Is this the sweetest picture EVER?

Merrit picked this bouquet of flowers for me. (Who says dandelions are weeds?!)

"No, no, Ollie, don't eat them!"

Super Happy Fun Time with Gramma B

Gramma B came up to visit us this weekend. Since I've lost all but 10 pounds of my pregnancy weight, it was finally time to go shopping.

Here she is introducing Ollie to "Gummy the Bear," from New Bern.


















Merrit helped Gramma B go through her button box for a small sewing project.













Trying on big brother's bike helmet...











Impromptu family photo. :-)

Seersucker Sweetie; Crawling Everywhere

Ollie has this totally adorable seersucker sunsuit. This has GOT to be one of my favorite outfits on him. It's just so totally cute!

















Mr. Curious is traveling all around the living room, getting into everything.


















Checking out the carpet...














...and Daddy's guitar.

Ollie is definitely crawling everywhere now. And he's got great form, too. Left knee/right arm; Right knee/left arm. His little fingers are spread wide when he slaps his hands down on the floor. I think he looks a little bit like a tiny tree frog!

He's got a different style than Merrit had, I've noticed. Merrit seemed to crawl to a spot on the floor only to stop and sit up and look around. Sometimes, he'd crawl to get a toy or crawl to a reach a person. Ollie crawls with singlemindedness: He wants to reach furniture and/or the edges of the room. Something, anything, that he can try to pull up on.

Here's the rub: He is getting so many bangs and bruises because he crawls to these hard-surfaced objects/edges and TRIES to pull up, which he's not ready to do. Much of our downstairs has hardwood floors and Ollie has had a few face-plants right onto the floor. The baseboards and kitchen cabinets, also, have not been kind! I feel so bad for him. He's tough, but it's no fun for him! Hopefully, before too much longer, he'll start getting the hang of it.

Trip to the Mountains

This past weekend, we drove the four hours to Black Mountain, where my Nanny and Papa live, where Uncle Rocky and Aunt Dyan live, and where Mommy and Daddy grew up. As you can tell from the pictures, we had a wonderful time!! I even kept a little travelogue, but more about that later...


















Now that ain't right! Who put me in this box?


















Mommy, Merrit, and me...still in our PJs.


















Sitting in this ol' high chair is a rite of passage. All the grandkids before me have used it, too!















A kiss from Papa. A perfect way to start the day.















My Nanny LOVES flowers!


















The Bible and NASCAR. I'm getting an education in "the finer things" on this trip to the Western North Carolina mountains!!


















My Uncle Rocky and my big brother, Merrit.


















It's my turn, Uncle Rocky!


















"Whoa, not so fast! I just ate breakfast, dude."
















We all hung out on the back patio on Saturday afternoon. Here I am with Papa.










"Eric the Magician" stopped by to say hello. He's an old friend of my Mommy and Daddy's.


















Papa and Merrit worked on a Veggie Tales puzzle...


















...While Daddy played guitar.













Later, Papa explained to Merrit all about how he gets honey out of his bee hives.


















I can't wait until I'm big enough to tag along on all of Merrit's adventures. Today, he went to the park in Montreat, where he went rock hopping. He got soaking wet and all muddy (how fun!)...and then got to stop on the way home for chocolate ice cream! Boy, when I get bigger...!!!















Nanny and I swing on the front porch swing. (She told me that my Daddy and Mommy used to sit out here, swinging and talking, when they were dating in high school and college.)


















We drove up to Montreat. Here I am with Mommy at Lake Susan. Wow, it is so beautiful!!


















I love my Mom. And she loves me!


















Here I am, flying high with Daddy. Oops, I'm drooling a little...again!














...Well, maybe a lot...















...Oh, how embarrassing!


















A squeeze from my Nanny is one of the best things on Earth.

"My Appalachia Travelogue"

"Biscuits and gravy. Mmm, mmm."

After a hearty breakfast at Nanny & Papa's Bed and Breakfast, I decided to make the most of my weekend in the mountains and I set about packing in as much sightseeing, hiking, and outdoor activities as possible.













"Hey, don't forget the bait!"

First, I hitched up the bass boat and hauled it down to Lake James for some fishing. I typically only fish for bass in the fall and spring when the lake is quiet and the waves aren't stirring up the shoreline, but during the summer I find fish around the docks and holding off shore in 15' to 30' of water. I think that drop-shotting, jigging and finesse-fishing work best during the summer months.













"Just need to do just a bit of client work..."

After fishing (caught two seven-pounders, by the way), I popped back into the B&B to check my email and do a little work for my biggest client, Acme Apiaries.

You know how it goes, had to put out some fires back at the office, yada, yada, yada.














"Good thing I brought my beekeeper's suit and gloves."

Turns out that the client needed me to pay a visit to their Asheville-area apiary. Technically, I'm on vacation but--well, you know how that goes.

The client required quality assurance testing and reporting. Well, since I'm not one year old yet, I couldn't personally taste the honey. (Infants who swallow botulinum spores--which can be found in honey--are susceptible to the spores germinating in their immature gastrointestinal tracts and producing botulinum toxin. Yeah, that'll ruin your vacation!)











"Double Americano with a shot of vanilla and room for cream, please."

I started the second and final day of my weekend by picking up my usual brew at a great little coffeeshop I discovered here called The Dripolator.

















"Pass the GORP, please."

I decided to take the scenic route out of town, and made my way to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I stopped a couple of times to hike along some of the more popular trails. The Devil’s Courthouse trail was awesome, ending at a large bare rock mountain overlook. Grave Yard Fields had a beautiful waterfall view. I didn't have time to hike Mount Pisgah, but I plan to work that into my next trip to Western North Carolina.

Signing off on my Appalachia travelogue. Hope you've enjoyed it. Stay tuned for future travelogue editions.

Signing off,
Oliver William

Sitting Unsupported!

Ollie is now like a pro at sitting up all on his own, without any additional support. Look at him, the little show-off!


















Look, Ma, no hands.


















Got my paci, too, all by myself!


















Perfect posture!


















Back to back brothers.

MOPS Playdate

I'm involved with Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), which I love! Some of my best friends out here in Clayton are ladies I've met at MOPS. Today, we had our second of three summertime playdates at Centennial Park in Garner.

The weather was gorgeous. Merrit had fun. Ollie napped contentedly in his sling. I chatted with good friends. We ate a picnic lunch.

Days like today remind me what a blessing it is to be a stay-at-home mom! What a privilege. :-)


















A game of Duck-Duck-Goose.


















Roo sawing toothpicks...













The kids playing on the jungle gym.












Sidwalk Art #1.
















Sidwalk Art #2.

Noah's Ark

This is a Noah's Ark wooden toy made by the Melissa & Doug toy company (I love their stuff!) that used to belong to Merrit and has become one of Ollie's favorites.















Put the animals in the ark. Take the animals out of the ark.


















"Hey Mom, have you seen the other giraffe? You know, they go in the ark two by two."


















The concentration is palpable. (Just look at the drool!)