Forgotten Post: Outing to Smiths with Nicole & Devon

My sister and Devon came down the day before Oliver's birthday party and slept over for some sibling/cousin bonus time.  Devon is just old enough (17mo) where he can start enjoying activities (zoo, aquarium, etc), so we thought Smiths Playground would be perfect with the boys. 

A very pregnant Mommy

Showing Devon our favorite activity - Steering wheel on the firetruck!

Of course, a visit to Smiths wouldn't be complete without a ride on the wooden slide.  Nicole was a good sport and went down once with each of the boys.

The 2nd Birthday Party

Since Oliver has been watching a lot of Shaun the Sheep lately (claymation on BBC) we went with a barnyard theme for his birthday party this year.  It was impossible to find Shaun themed party supplies, but Adam was able to get us a delicious Shaun cake.  Adam did a great job with the decorations and the wall decals were a big hit (and still up).   

Oliver Turns Two!

Oliver's birthday festivities actually began the day before his birthday.  I arranged with daycare to come in with a treat for the class and have a small celebration. I was so disappointed once I realized a few days beforehand that I had a business meeting in the suburbs that morning.  Pauline went solo and reported that Oliver spent the entire time asking "Go home now?", wile the other kids enjoyed the party.  We brought in homemade mini-zuchini muffins with a cream cheese frosting that were apparently a big hit - no easy feat coming up with a fun, yet somewhat nutrious, morning snack! 

Oliver's favorite teacher, Mila

POTD - Bagger! Boy Heaven

After nap yesterday, Pauline and Oliver discovered a backhoe (bagger in German, a word which Oliver uses to refer to all construction vehicles) at the corner of our street.  After seeing how excited Oliver was, one of the workers let him sit inside and even let him honk the horn.  What boy wouldn't love that?

POTD Lunch

First outside lunch of the season

Finally a Photo with the Easter Bunny

In two years, we have no photos of Oliver with Santa or the Easter Bunny.  I'm not keen on standing in line, to pay, for what may not be a memorable photo/ pleasant experience (do I sound like a poo-head?), so we haven't made a specific outing to get photos taken and the opportunity hasn't really otherwise presented itself....  until this Easter.  It took Oliver being with someone else to get a photo with the Easter Bunny.  This photo was taken at Cousin Remi's easter party while we were in Miami. 

Pee-Wee Soccer Heaven

On Wednesday, Oliver started soccer camp.  I was so glad I tagged along because Oliver had an absolute blast! I was worried he was going to be the kid in the corner staring at the grass disinterested in the group, but that wasn't the case at all.  You can tell that he's one of the youngest, as he doesn't really follow directions, but he is having the time of his life.  He was much more outgoing than he normally is in music class or gymanstics.  Pauline's theory (which I happen to agree with) is that this has something to do with the fact that this class is taught by two men, compared to the other classes, which are usually female-led.  Oliver has long preferred men - more willing to let them hold him and always stopping to talk to men, but almost never women, on the street.  

Friends of Pauline & Oliver (another German au pair and the child she cares for) are also in the class, which will be nice for all four of them.

Singing Boy

Lately, Oliver really loves to sing and knows the words to more and more songs.  We have been listening to a Sesame Street CD a lot and "Farmer in the Dell" and "Who are the People in Your Neighborhood" are  two new favorites.  On Friday, while I was changing his diaper he was singing something new and it took awhile for me to figure out that he was singing a song from Sound of Music, which he must have learned at "school" on Thursday.  Since then, it has been stuck in my head - ahhhhhh!!!!!

He's a better singer when distracted, so we caught him singing last night while playing blocks with Daddy.  The video starts in the middle of the song (words he is attempting below).  What cracks us up every time is when he tries to go up an octave to sing "thread".  I think Oliver has definitely gotten Mommy's tone-deaf singing voice (my apologies that you have to listen to me sing on this video as well!)  This isn't even the best he can sing it - he can sing the whole song without assistance, I just didn't happen to catch it on video. 

Do Re Mi Fa (You Tube Video)
Doe- a deer, a female deer
Ray- a drop of golden sun
Me- a name i call myself
Far- a long long way to run
Sew- a needle pulling thread
La- a note to follow so
Tea- a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to do oh oh oh

First Official Haircut

About two weeks ago, we finally took Oliver to get a real haircut.  We had been doing it with Adam's trimmers and he was starting to look like he got his hair cut at home.  It was time for an official haircut.  Pauline & I took him on a quiet, warm Friday afternoon.  He was such a trooper, sitting quietly for the hairdresser, not complaining at all about the scissors being near his head (he had been less trusting of Mommy weilding the scissors, making it even harder!).  He kept turning his head to see what else was going on in the salon, so he watched videos on the Flipcamera, to keep his head facing forward.  Afterward, Oliver was rewarded with a dum dum lollilop - the highlight of the outing.

Before

sitting patiently

Mommy was SO impressed!

After.  MUCH Better!

Our Newest Addition: Babydoll Emily

I got the idea from daytime TV while I was home sick, that we should get Oliver a doll to help him prepare for the onslaughter of babies that are coming our way.  Since he will occasionally pelt one of us with a Thomas train, I figured it would be good to get him practicing how to be gentle.  So, last weekend, Oliver & I took a trip to Target and picked out a baby doll.  I figured I had to sweeten the deal a bit to entertain a 2-year old, so I also sprung for the baby stroller.

I named the baby Emily - this is the name my mom always used to refer to our unborn children long before Adam and I were seriously considering parenthood.  Since there will be no girls in our family (I can assure you will be NOT be having a fourth!) I figured we might as well get some use out of the name.

To some extent, my plan is working... Oliver will comment on how little she is, and will ask for her to come snuggle in bed with us and wrap her in a blanket to take a nap.  She will also sit and watch us eat.  But, his favorite part is strapping Emily into the stroller and racing back and forth on the first floor - not exactly the gentle-behavior I was trying to encourage!  Most recently, he's been wanting to play in the stroller himself and likes belting himself in and requesting that we push him around.  Tonight, the stroller fabric started to rip, so that's the end of that game. 

This is a pretty hilarious video of Oliver playing with Emily tonight.