Ollie on the move!!

Ollie is 9-months old now, and boy, is he on the move!!  For a while now he has been able to "worm" or roll his way to where he wanted to go, but in the past two weeks, he's converted fully to crawl mode, and can now get to where he wants with ease, and also pull himself up to a stand.  That makes watching him a lot harder work!  haha  But he's funny to watch. 

Only in the past couple of days has he really started getting in "trouble."  We try to let him roam pretty free (with a close eye on him), since it's good for him to explore and learn on his own.  But there are a few areas we try to keep him away from (TV/entertainment center, cords, cat food/water bowls, etc.), and of course that's where he wants to go!  We're starting to say "no" a lot in stern, raised voices.  I think he gets it, but he's not too intimidated...haha  Today, for example, I yelled at him as he was going toward the entertainment center.  He stopped, and turned around, but had a big cheesy smile on his face!  So I guess he's already testing Mommy!

Ollie went for his 9-month check-up last week.  He is doing very well.  He is now almost 19 lbs and is 28.5 inches tall.  He is apparently at the 50th percentile for everything growth-wise, except for weight, of which he is at the 25th percentile.  But the doctor said he is growing fine.  It's funny because people still always say how big he is, and he really isn't compared to other kids his age!  I guess all of his hair makes him look much older.

Speaking of hair, Ollie got his first official hair cut the week between Christmas and New Year's.  I was leary to cut his hair, but it was getting in his face, and starting to get ridiculous.  And I think Mark had it when stangers started thinking Ollie was a little girl...haha  We took him to a "Great Clips" to get it done.  He was a very good boy!!  He was pretty sleepy since it was after a long day at day care, and he just sat on Mark's lap while the hairdresser cut his hair.  She was awesome, giving a good QUICK haircut!  Now he definitely looks like a little boy!

Ollie had a good first Christmas!  It was great to visit everyone over the holidays, and show off Ollie's new tricks.  But man, did he get spoiled!  Especially considering he didn't know what was going on...haha  When we put him in front of his presents, he was very excited about the pile of boxes, since cardboard boxes are one of his most favorite play things (of course!).  We tried to help him tear the paper, but I don't think he really got it.  He definitely loves all of his toys that everyone gave him, and we play with them all of the time.  We had to get a toy box though to try to keep his play area neat, but there's always toys strewn about these days.  I've posted some pictures that Mark took on Christmas below.

Well, I guess that's about it for now!

-Mandy :)