Oliver at SEVEN months

               
           So we moved into our new digs and all of us our loving it. Somehow being in such a cool townhouse made Oliver want to get onto a predictable schedule and nap really well. Ummm..... YES!!! It has been very nice for me. He also is almost mobile. When he sits up he can get into the crawl position so only time will tell. Oh, and this little guy got his first tooth this month! Yay! Goodness, he is growing up so fast!

             His little personality is starting to shine through. He is pretty shy around others. He will bury his face in my chest and shake his head! He is so cute when he gets excited too. He will put his fists in his mouth and scrunch his eyes, kind of acting shy again. Cutie!

              This past month we went to "Monkey Rock." It was a fun little family outing we did on my birthday. I had never been there before but it was really neat! Too bad we didn't bring our suits because the water was not as cold as we anticipated. Nathan almost convinced me to swim in my clothes... almost. 

       
           We had lots of fun at Porter Park with Rachel's family. We went on the swings, which Oliver didn't like too much. He just clung on for dear life, whereas Holly seemed to enjoy them a lot. We also went on the carousel. Oliver was pretty neutral about it.

          This summer has been really nice so far. Nath has a break in school so we have just been able to spoil our little boy with lots of attention.

Oliver at SIX months

          Oliver turned 6 months so we had a little half birthday party for him! My family was passing through town so they were able to be there. We sang to him while he looked at us with a very bewildered face then we pushed his cake close enough for him to get a little lick. Yum!  

          Oliver is just not one to stay still. He is reaching milestones so quickly! He has started sitting up this month and doesn't seem to be slowing down. He is such a determined little kid. He was never really interested in getting around by rolling. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times he has by his own free will and choice rolled over! I think he thinks he is too "grown-up" to do something so degrading! Haha! Silly kid-o! He has also started talking really softly when he is ready for bed. It like a cute little whisper, saying "Mom, I'm really quite tired. Could you please put me down?" Its pretty adorable.

wincing at bubbles

                  You may have noticed that this month I changed the title from "Ollie" at _ months to "Oliver." This is because we almost NEVER call him Ollie. It is so strange to me because I just love the name Ollie and I called him that for like the last 3 months of my pregnancy. I guess he just came out more like an Oliver, at least for now. Actually I think he came out more like a "GOPS" because that nickname has stuck for months now! I think its kinda funny and cute.

Oliver sharing a smile with Uncle Matt

                We went to the Ranch for the 4th of July this year and had a fabulous time despite a nasty flu virus sweeping Zinn Ranch! Oliver got to meet nearly all my aunts, uncles, and cousins on the Zinn side. We had  a once in a lifetime opportunity to have sacrament meeting on the lawn at the ranch because of the sickness that slowly took out nearly everyone at the reunion. We had the sacrament passed by my adorable cousins (so glad they are all worthy!) and then we had a testimony meeting. It was so wonderful to hear the testimonies of my family members and to get to spend some time with them! What a great month!

Ollie at FIVE months

We kicked off this month by visiting Yellowstone. It was our first family outing and it was so great! Oliver slept most of the way there, which was wonderful. Then he just smiled away as we walked around. It was a really nice day.

Oliver and his dad 

The two of us admiring a beautiful hot spring

 Nathan and I took Oliver on a trip to the temple one Sunday. There are some small hills by the parking lot and Nath and I took turns rolling down the hill. We even gave gops a slow turn down it. It was a nice little visit. The bench we are sitting on in the pictures is the bench Nathan and I used to sit on when we would visit the temple when we were dating.

I love to see the temple...

I'll go inside someday

We had some visitors from Wales this month! Naomi, Vince, Loren, and Laine Jones came to visit Rachels family, as well as ours. Oliver had a great time hanging with his cousins, especially Holly (6 months old) and Laine (4 months old). We went to the zoo, played at the park, and took a stroll on campus with them. It was a blast!

Loren, Jacob, Oliver, and Logan at the IF zoo

Oliver is starting to move even more now. He can rotate 360 degrees while on his belly and is starting to arch his back in the car seat and Bumbo to try and escape! I'm not sure where all this energy is coming from because he is not eating anything but milk still. We have tried some baby foods with him but he seems to hate what we have tried so far. What baby hates avocados and sweet potatoes?! I think he's probably just not ready yet. He also still isn't sleeping too well, sometimes he wakes up just screaming for no reason, which can make me feel drained but it's alright because we have so many sweet moments together. He woke up just a few days ago at 6:30am and all he wanted to do was smile up at me so we just smiled and stared at each other. He is such a joy!!!