45 weeks old: beach getaway and bending down to pick up and maybe a wave

Oliver is 45 weeks old! He does lots of loud babbling, copying noises and movements, going from sitting to laying to sitting again, scooting and spinning on his belly, dropping things on the floor over and over for fun, laughing and squealing, and so much more. This week I took both kids to the mechanic to get my car looked at and we were there a couple hours. I took them to lunch at a pizza place a couple blocks away and gave Oliver his first taste of pizza. He is very adventurous when it comes to taking bites of large pieces of food.

Incidentally he also got his first taste of ice cream. Two thumbs up for both.

Even though Oliver does not crawl or walk yet, he does manage to travel around at a snail's pace. He does a combination of rolling and sitting and reaching and spinning and scooting to get himself where he wants to go. And sometimes where he doesn't want to go. He can only scoot backward and he gets very frustrated. I let it play out once for the sake of capturing it on video. The password is Oliver2016.


On Friday, we drove out to Manzanita, Oregon for a long weekend at the coast. It was not his first time at the ocean but it was his first overnight there. In the mornings I put him in the front carrier and went for a walk on the beach with his sister and the waves and motion of walking lulled him to sleep for his morning nap. Partway through the Saturday morning walk we stopped and had a snack on a log.

We spent each of three mornings on the beach and had snacks or lunch and played in the sand. We brought beach toys and a kite from home.

Shortly after that last photo was taken Oliver started eating sand by the fistful. Is that a rite of passage for kids at the beach? It could not have tasted good! The house we rented was right on the ocean and had amazing views. It was also very comfortable and kid-friendly with lots of toys. We brought our little portable baby seat that attaches to the table and collapses down flat and Oliver seemed to like it.

Oliver hums when he chews food. I think that's what he's doing in that photo. It's the cutest.

A for sure first and a possible first both happened at the coastal house. First, for sure he bent over and picked a toy up off the floor for the first time from a standing position. He did it a couple times holding onto the ottoman with one hand. Second, he *may* have waved for the first time. I was waving and trying to get him to wave and he flapped an arm. Evan thinks it was on purpose as a wave. We'll see if it continues.