A Dah?

Oliver is really very good at communicating. If he doesn't know exactly the words I am saying, he definitely knows the tone :) His most common phrase/word is "a dah?" - which basically means, "what's that?" OR "look". He'll point and "a dah" and then point to something else.... "a dah". OVER AND OVER AND OVER :) But it is sweet and funny. When he gets something he shouldn't..... "a dah" and then a sly smile, a laugh and his speed demon crawling to get away from me! :) He just puts his head down and charges like a bull.....funny boy.

His walking is great, he is trying to run! He is letting go of things himself and walking instead of me always prompting him. He knows he is still faster at crawling so he'll drop and crawl when he is trying to get somewhere quickly.

Oliver is a chatterbox, too. No surprise there - have you met his father!? :) I remember when I was pregnant and working one day at Paper Twist, a mom came in with her little boy who was probably about 5.....he was talking to her about EVERYTHING, all he saw and liked, etc etc....At one point she said to him "Bobby (or whatever his name was) can you just not talk for a few minutes, just be quiet, let me think"......She wasn't cruel when she said it, it was more in a pleading tone of voice but still.....being a little judgemental of this mom, i thought "Geez, all he wants to do is talk to her and tell her things, that was a little mean of her to tell him to be quiet". But then, I got a glimpse into my future and saw PRECISELY this scenario several years down the road and understood her situation. It was almost inevitable that Oliver would be a talker (like Owen), just as it was inevitable that he would be stubborn, independent and sassy - NOT as in a fabulous "girl you look sassy in that outfit" (like me) AND opinionated (both of us....).

So there is a constant stream of chatter, "a dah" and various animal sounds all the time. But, the sweetest sound in the world is "ma ma".....oh it just melts my heart every single time he says it. I love it! He has started stringing it together with "a dah" and a point which i find to be quite impressive :) translation - "Mom, what's that?".

It is hard to believe that Oliver is almost 16 months old....He is such a big boy now!

He also has a bunch of "tricks". He can wave good-bye, hold up one finger when we ask how old he is, give me a hug when I ask, he claps and rolls his arms when we sing "Patty Cake", he can put both arms in the air for "SO BIG" when we ask how big he is, he can blow a kiss and his newest trick is he can "ear muff it". That is when he puts both hands over his ears - if you have seen the movie Old School, you know what I am talking about :)

He is a pretty good mimic....I'll have to keep that in mind before he mimics something he shouldn't!

Going for a walk in the neighborhood!