Growing Up

Oliver is growing up faster than we can blink our eyes! He is taking more and more and steadier and steadier steps every day. My mom said he would probably be walking by Christmas. I didn't believe her then, but at this rate, he probably will be! For a while, we were just having him practice walking back and forth between me and Jan. Every now and then I would randomly tell him to "walk to Mama!" and he would turn around and walk to my arms a few feet away. Now he is walking to toys that are about 6 feet away or walking to nothing in general (and falling after a few feet), but he is definitely getting braver. He is so ready, and I think he realizes he is close to mastering it (for a 13 month old, at least).

He's starting to want to help with things around the house too. He loves watching us cook, so we will sit him in his highchair, so he can see a little and give him a bowl and spoon to mix some of his snacks or a tiny bit of water. He thinks it's the best thing ever! Today, he even helped me pick up some toys he had thrown around in the bathroom. He always wants to be the one to put Zoe's jacket on when we are taking her outside. And he absolutely cracks up when she has her jacket and boots on and starts pacing around near him. He has learned a new skill that he finds quite entertaining...

In other news, Oliver is just getting over his bout of croup. He has had a cold for almost a month now. When it got worse last Monday, I took him to the doctor to find out he had croup. He got some medicine to help with the croup, but he had to heal on his own. He is finally able to breathe through his nose again, and coughing is rare. Hopefully he will be able to go to church again this Sunday.