Cute is in the eye of the beholder...or the number of friends you have

So this weekend, we went down to the Baby Expo for the cute baby contest. Of coarse, I didn't expect to win, but I wasn't quite prepared for such a defeating loss. Apparently, when they said, "It's based on audience applause, so bring everyone you know," I was the only one who didn't take it seriously. In fact, I didn't take anyone with us, not even Daddy (who was sleeping at home between shifts). Everyone else, on the other hand, brought everyone they knew and their grandmothers. As each parent went up with their kid, you would hear a section of the audience, apparently the invited friends and family, scream their head off. But when it was Ola's turn...nothing. And then...a little sympathy clap. Apparently, no one else thought he was cute. Which was kinda sad, considering I thought they were all cute, so I cheered for everyone. I was glad, however, to stand next to a very nice girl and her 8 month old son. They're military, so they didn't have much fans either, just her husband and two friends (which is still 3 more than we had). She laughed and said, "I'm actually sorry that I subjected my son to this." I guess it's good that they're so young, otherwise, I might worry he'd get a complex. Oh well. As Aho said when we got home, we don't need a contest to tell us our baby is cute. And even if he's only cute to us, I can live with that.

Well I think he's cute...

A classmate of mine from highschool heard on the radio that they were holding a Hawaii's Cutest Baby Contest at the upcoming New Baby Expo. So, she looked online, found the site, and e-mailed me the info saying I had to enter. And so, to make Aunty Kyra happy, I submitted a picture I had on file that I thought was pretty cute. The rules said a panel would decide the finalist and then they would have to compete for audience applause at the expo. Well, wednesday we got a call that Ola is a finalist. I don't know how many finalists there are, but I'm pretty excited. I'm just hoping people applaude for him. I mean, I think he's cute, but it's not up to me.

This is the picture I submitted for his entry.

Thanks again Aunty Kyra for all your love. You totally get points.

Back to the dark ages...

I've always thought that I could do without technology. Who needs a microwave when you can barbecue over hot coals? Why watch tv when you can go to the beach? But today I realized...I miss my technology. With the death of my digital camera, I returned to the totally outdated 35mm version. Granted, I begged for my film loading Rebel when I was in high school, but now I'm definitely missing the digital capabilities of my cannon. In the past two days I've used up three roles of film. I don't, however, know if any of those pictures are worth anything, since I can't view them after shooting, and I have to await the developing process before I can see or share the shots that actually worked out. Oh how I miss my technology!!!

Wonderful and Terrible...all in the same day.

Yesterday, I was super duper excited. When we got home (we spent the afternoon at the beach), the UPS guy came to drop off a package. I knew exactly what it was. I asked Aho for something very special. So special, in fact, that it is my mother's day, birthday, anniversary, and probably Christmas present for this whole year (it was kind of expensive, but this month my friends were running almost a two for one deal so I got double what I would have later). But that's ok, cause it's that special. I ordered a bunch of natural oils that you can use at home to help with illness without using drugs. My sister-in-law got me into it, and I think it's great. Oils are great because...

1. They're all natural. They include things like basil, oregano, and lavender, things that won't harm you.

2. You don't have to worry about overdose. Unlike Tylenol, I don't have to worry about giving Ola too much. You just need a drop or two, but more won't hurt.

3. You don't have to monitor the time. When Ola got sick last time, I had to write down when we gave him medicine so I wouldn't give him another dose too soon. Not so with oils. If he starts showing symptoms again, you don't have to wait.

4. I can treat ALL kinds of things. At his age, and with me too since I'm still nursing, Ola can't take too many things. In fact, he can pretty much just have Tylenol. With the oils, I can treat almost anything. Fever, ear infection, nasal congestion, basic cold symptoms...all kinds of stuff.

5. And most important, with swine flu going around, I can use the oils to boost his immune system. Two basic oils, oregano and on-guard (a blend), can help boost any one's immune system so that you're less likely to get sick when other people are.

So as you can see...I am SUPER excited. I LOVE these oils. In fact, I was so excited, I wanted to take a picture of my new oil kit. And that is when wonderful turned to terrible. I turned on my camera to take a picture of my new oil kit and all I saw was black and purple and squiggly lines. NOOOOOOO! My camera!! NOOOOOO!! And if that weren't enough, now it won't even turn on. I was having such a great day and then it all went down the drain. I don't know how long I can last without a functioning camera. Now I have to see if I get Aho to spend more money and fix my camera. Wish me luck.

P.S. If you're interested in checking out the oils I'm talking about (since they're so cool), you can look at my site, www.mydoterra.com/deltro

Feet first

We've been working with Ola on the "right" way to get off of our bed. Our box spring is right on the ground, so it's not too high, but he has lunged off a few times, head first. So, we've been showing him and practicing going off feet first. He surprised me a couple of days ago, but I actually caught it on video this morning.

Daddy & bedtime

Last night, aho came up to help put Ola to sleep. This is how he helped.

It's hard to be mad when they're both so cute.

Sharing and high 5's

Today, with me and Aho both home, we spent some quality time with our little guy. We've been trying to teach him little things here and there, but today he actually caught on to some new skills. It all started this morning while Aho and I were eating milk and cookies (yes, we're all about a wholesome breakfast). Ola came rushing over once he realized we had some type of food, and not wanting him to feel left out, Aho got him one of his baby crackers. Ola loves his crackers, but was still trying to sneak a cookie. So Aho decided the only thing to do was make the cracker seem better than the cookie. "Can you share with Daddy?" (Daddy takes a bite of Ola's cracker) "Mmmmm! Thank you!" This happened about three times. Then, on time number four, Aho didn't have to take a bite of the cracker...Ola reached up and gave it to him. So we tried again. "Yay! Good boy." And again. "Wow! You're sharing!!"
So we thought...let mom try. If he'll share with Daddy, he'll share with Mommy. Yeah...apparently, even though mommy gives him all the milk and food and snacks that he wants, he can't spare a bite of cracker for her. No, no, I'm not bitter. Just because it took twice as long for him to share with his mother. Eventually, he gave in though, and even mom got a few bites. We then noticed that he was eating a lot faster and trying to shove large pieces of the cracker into his mouth. I guess he figured if he got rid of it fast enough he wouldn't have to share anymore. Well, just because he learned how to share doesn't necessarily mean he'll want to.

Later this afternoon, Aho was trying to distract him from his own grumpiness and asked Ola to give him a high five. I helped him out a couple times and then he had it down. And this time, he did it for both of us, no preference. So I told Aho he had to get it on video.

We were also working on standing up without holding onto anything. He was doing pretty good, but no pictures since we both wanted to make sure he didn't fall down too hard. He's been knocking himself around a little too much lately and we don't want that precious brain damaged.
It's amazing though, how fast kids can pick up on things and it was really fun watching him learn. Now if only we could get him to sign. That would actually be a skill I could put to use.

All Boy!!

So, yesterday, Ola, Aho, and I headed to the doctor's office for Ola's 9 month check-up. I was all excited to see how BIG our boy has gotten. Well, turns out he's not so big after all. In fact, he has dropped to the 25th percentile in not only height (he's been short since the day he was born), but now also for weight. He was a measly 18 lbs. 14 oz. Oh well, I guess I just have to keep feeding him. But our pediatrician cracked me up...as always. He was trying to get all the things he needed from Ola, like checking his ears and his lungs and what not, and all Ola wanted to do was go to him. He kept leaning forward until the doc finally finished and took him. He was laughing saying that he'll go to anybody and he's so relaxed.
And then he said..."Wow...he is ALL boy. There is nothing feminine with this one. He is just boy all over. He's gonna be the kind boy that jumps in the water without thinking and then once he's in there thinks...oh crap, I don't know how to swim." I laughed, probably because I've seen him dive off the bed without thinking and know that that is exactly what he'll be doing for quite a while. Yes, my boy is ALL boy. He climbs on everything, lunges off everything, and takes it all to the extreme. Even a car seat can be dangerous when he's around.

And in celebration of our little boy, my mom got us some mochi and Boy's Day decorations. We only have one little man in our house, but tutu got us EIGHT fish. Like everything else...Ola just wanted to see what the fish tasted like before we hung them up. Happy Boy's Day!!

another busy weekend

Ola and I had quite a busy weekend (which of coarse, is a stretch for us). Friday night my mom flew up and spent the night. She just came home from another work trip, that one to Boston, and brought Ola more things. I say more, because before she left Boston she mailed us a box full of things so she wouldn't have to pack them. But, she packed two toys for him, a duck and a lobster, that she had to bring with her this weekend. The duck quacks. And since Ola absolutely LOVES animal noises, he thought it was great. I guess it didn't taste too bad either. (I promise...I do feed this kid)

Saturday, my friend's fabulous son invited us to his birthday party. So we spent the day hanging out at their house and swimming in their pool. The water was freezing! At least at first. I think it took me almost 20 minutes to actually get in the water up to my waist. Ola...LOVED it! He was having a blast. A lot of the other kids were shivering and getting out of the water, but when we got out, my fully insulated fatso wasn't cold at all. I guess fat can be good. Then, this evening, we headed over to my brother-in-law's house to celebrate our nephew's birthday. I haven't seen them since Christmas and their kids are just shooting up. Ola was asleep when we got there but woke up just long enough to play with his cousins. They were loving it, he was loving it...it really was precious.
And the biggest news of our weekend...Ola hit his 9 month mark today. I honestly can't believe he's already 9 months old. And he'll be 1 year in just 3 more months. Where did all that time go? I am excited though, because tomorrow we have his check-up and I'll get to see how much he's grown. I've been slacking on taking his monthly pictures in the same outfit, but I did snap a few when we got home from church, while he was playing around. I love the fold over the diaper. Now that's my kid!!