Dancing!

Oliver got so many musical toys for Christmas that he has become quite an accomplished dancer!! There are a couple of videos here that show it although one descends into a playtime with Scoop :) We also got some more balls for the ball pit which Oliver seems to enjoy!

Happy New Year everyone!

That's more like it!!

Peekaboo :))

Christmas 2008

Hi everyone and Merry Christmas!! Wow, what a tiring but fun few days we've had. On Christmas Eve we went to Grandpa and Grandma's house for a family get together with them and Jennifer, Matt and Mikayla. We all got to open our presents together and of course the kids were thoroughly spoiled! We were amazed at how good Oliver was at opening his gifts - something that continued on Christmas Day! He got the hang of it very quickly so he'll be an expert by the time his birthday and next Christmas come around! We also got to webcam with Granny Colleen in New York. It was a surprise for her which I think she enjoyed :) Oliver and Mikayla opened their presents from her so she could see. It was great fun!

Yesterday the three of us spent Christmas Day at home together. Oliver got up about 7am and his stocking was waiting for him outside his bedroom. You'll see his reaction in the video below!! There were tons of presents under the tree and it literally took all day for him to open them (and we had to put them together in between times!!). He now has so many toys our playroom is stacked!! We were on the webcam with the family in England twice during the day which was great. It was the first time I'd seen my sister, brother-in-law and nephews since I'd left England so it was very special for me :)) The whole Christmas thing completely exhausted Oliver. He had a morning nap as normal but sadly we misjudged when he was tired again in the afternoon. He normally only has one nap during the day but yesterday he definitely needed two! Anyway, we set him down at 4:30pm for a short nap and had to wake him up at 5pm for dinner. Let's just say he really didn't want dinner and just wanted bed!!!

Today we've just been at home playing with all the new presents. Our friends Justin and Angie came over this afternoon with their little boy, Logan. He is almost two so he had fun playing with Oliver and all his toys!!

Well, I have a ton of photos to put on so I'll get on and do that! Enjoy the light switching on video - this happens every afternoon ;)


A couple of pictures showing how much snow we've had - I think Morgan and Rowan enjoyed seeing this on the webcam yesterday!

An unusual present to find under the tree......

Mikayla and Oliver playing peekaboo at Grandpa and Grandma's house

Opening presents with Mummy

The first step to becoming a guitar hero like his Daddy :)

I'm way too busy to actually look at the camera.....

Opening presents from Granny

Where's Oliver??!!

There he is!! Trying to make his escape from the highchair....

Jennifer made this bear for Oliver and as soon as he pulled it out of the box he gave it a big kiss - aaaah!!!

Here Dad - you probably need another beer :)

Back to the present opening on Christmas morning - these are from Aunty Margaret and Uncle John



Opening and crawling through the playtent from Nanna Pan

On my bounce and spin zebra from Aunty Mary and Uncle Malcolm

Trying out my new dressing gown from the Curry's!

OK, whose bright idea was it to buy a drum and musical instruments??? Oh, mine......

With my new truck from Mike and Jackie

I wasn't quick enough to get the picture of Logan and Oliver both leaning into the toy box!!

Snow!

As the title suggests, we have had some snowfall here in the past couple of weeks. The Friday before last it snowed when I was out with Oliver at a playdate in Minneapolis so I got to drive home in it - good practice!! It was fine really as most people were driving slower but the snowploughs were obviously behind me as the road still hadn't been cleared so I couldn't see the lines dividing the lanes. The main roads do get cleared pretty quickly but it's a different story on the residential roads. We had more snow on the Sunday so I had to take Oliver outside to experience it! He was fully bundled up in snow bib and snow boots but still he was ready to go inside after about 15 minutes! There is a video of him walking around in the snow and watching the older kids sledding down the path!! Jon also got a video of Scoop going hyper when I took her outside!!

Today it is silly cold (about -21C) so I'm staying inside as much as possible! Scoop still has to go outside of course but I try to stay in the garage as much as possible while she does her thing :) The weekend was so warm (above freezing anyway) so a lot of the snow melted and then the temperature dropped about 30 degrees so it's a tad slippy out there.

On Saturday morning we went over to our friends place - Jeanne and Corey - to hang out and for Oliver and Kate to have a playdate. They had a great time together playing in the ball pit, giving each other rides on the car and eating lunch together. It was a fun time.

Other than that there really isn't too much to report. Oliver has discovered hitting and hits me in the face every so often which isn't the greatest. And it's pretty hard to discipline a 15 month old who doesn't understand *sigh*. On the brighter side he is starting to learn parts of the body and now knows his head, toes, knees and bellybutton!! We are also trying to wean him off his bottle so we started putting his milk in a cup the past couple of days (learning from Kate!). He is fine having the milk in the cup but hasn't learned to tip the cup up so the milk comes out!! It won't take him long though.

Not too many pics this time I'm afraid but here's a few to keep you going!

Kate giving Oliver a push

Just hanging out

Playing in the ball pit

Yes, now I have to take my keys wherever I go because Oliver is capable of locking doors! This one leads to the garage so if I'm taking Scoop outside and Oliver locks me out.......well, I'd be very cold!!

Playing with the Christmas card I got from Nanna Pan - it lights up and I love it!!

Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday is well and truly over but we had a lovely long weekend. On Thursday we went over to Ray and Sandy's for dinner which was really nice. Mikayla and Oliver got to hang out again. The rest of the weekend was really quiet but nice family time (well, when Oliver wasn't crabby!!). We put up the Christmas tree on Saturday (thanks Nanna Pan!) and we're really pleased with it. Oliver was very helpful - he liked to take the baubles off the tree after we had put them on!! Thanks goodness we bought shatterproof ones, LOL but they do have a lot of glitter on them so he got covered in that!!

When Nanna Pan was here she bought Oliver a wooden Santa advent calendar so every day he had been getting a treat. Before now Oliver hasn't really had many sweets so we didn't know what to buy. We ended up getting M&Ms, chocolate mints and some fruit sweets (like jelly beans). On Monday I put 2 M&Ms in the Santa and in the afternoon got them for Oliver. He had never seen such a thing and handed them straight back to me!! So, I gave in and ate them *sigh* just to prove they were edible!! Then all was well. We have since tried the other sweets and he likes them all. Apparently Santa's ration of two a day is not enough so we do have a little performance afterwards :)

Last week Oliver had his 15 month check and ended up just getting a flu shot. We had to go back this week to get his other vaccinations as they couldn't do them all at the same time. So yesterday he ended up having 5 separate shots!! I was shocked. Some of them are normally combined according to the nurse but they didn't have any hence why he had so many. Anyway, he was great about it and not much crying at all. He was weighed and measured and now weighs 25lbs 11.5oz (50th-75th centile) and is 33.25ins long (95th centile!). The doc says he will be tall and skinny!!

Other than that, not much to report. We went on a little coffee playdate this morning and met some new mums and babies. Always nice to get out and see people. Catch the video of Oliver feeding himself yoghurt - a new thing :)

Oliver pretending to be a fencing star with a seive!

I remember this toy (one of Oliver's that stays at Grandpa and Grandma's)

Nice smile Oliver - thanks for that one!!


Spending time at the park on one of the warmer days (above freezing - celcius)


The Christmas tree in all its glory!

Oliver's first haircut!

Oliver's hair had finally got just a little out of hand and messy so yesterday we decided to take him for his first haircut :) We went to a kids hair salon in Maple Grove which was great. There were toys to entertain the kids while they waited, colourful chairs to sit on and a little TV to watch while their hair was being cut. All the children are given an Adventure Pass as well. We weren't sure what this was until we saw other children use it after their haircuts. They put it into a machine and they got a prize!! Oliver was so good during the whole thing and just looks so grown up now. He wasn't too sure about the prize machine but he did win some crayons so that was nice :) There is one downside about the whole thing though - I asked the girl cutting Oliver's hair to save some of it (especially the curly bits from the back!!) because it won't be blonde or curly forever. She did this and we put it in a ziploc bag and put it in his changing bag. Anyway, when I went to get it at home later it was gone :((( I am so distraught (probably irrationally so). Jon even phoned the restaurant where we had lunch to see if it was there but no :( We'll just have to cut another piece off I suppose but it's not the same *sigh*.

Oliver turned 15 months old this past week and is growing up so fast. He now likes to come down the stairs like a big boy - holding onto the bannisters and actually stepping down each stair! He understands a lot of what we say and if we ask him to pick up a particular toy he usually does it. Of course he is learning the word "no" as well - from when we say it and when he doesn't want something!! He said "no" quite clearly one day this week at dinnertime :) He likes to play with Scoop and throw the ball for her. He thinks it's hilarious when Scoop chases the ball and slips all over the laminate floor! And his new favourite cupboard is the one with the saucepans in it - give him a wooden spoon and a pan and he's happy!

It has been soooooo cold here the past few days as well. We are happy today because it's warmed up by 20 degrees and is in the 40s (Fahrenheit). The wind was so nasty at times that I described it to Mum as like having my face scraped along loose gravel!! It's not like it's been snowy or icy at all - just very very very cold (for me!!). Apparently that is what it's like in January so can't wait for the New Year, LOL!!

This week Oliver gets to have his 15 month check at the docs so more vaccinations. But it's also Thanksgiving on Thursday so Jon only has to work 3 days and then has a nice long weekend. We are off to Grandpa and Grandma's house for my first taste of Thanksgiving - looking forward to it :))

Oliver just looked so cute with his hood up!

Oliver starting his own rock band with wooden spoon and tupperware!

Oliver is actually a morning person despite the look on his face! I wanted a picture of his super cosy dinosaur PJs!

Whenever I put Oliver's hat on he does this really cute face :)

And the finished article before going on a Scoop walk!

Mid hand-clap! And wearing a cute Christmas jumper that cost me less than $5 - see, Sis, I can find bargains too :))

The before haircut look......

.....and after

Daddy and Oliver doing cheesy grins together - so cute :))

Nanna Pan's visit

Well, Nanna Pan's visit is over and she's probably walking through the door at home as I write. We had a great 10 days with her but the time went very quickly. On the day she arrived the temperature was 70 but four days later she got to see some snow and experience somewhat colder weather!! We did lots of shopping (Mall of America, Ridgedale, Albertville) and had one day being cultural visiting the State Capitol in St Paul and Lake Calhoun :) She made a wonderful Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday and we had Ray, Sandy, Matt, Jennifer and Mikayla over to celebrate early with us. Obviously Nanna and Oliver had some great bonding time and he even managed to say Nanna a couple of times while she was here! We also went to the theatre - Sandy, Mum and I went to see Menopause the Musical, LOL!!! It was pretty funny. Then we went over to Macy's to see their Christmas display (A Day in the Life of an Elf). We may try to take Oliver to see it as I'm sure he'd love the bright lights and moving figures. Apart from that, we did lots of eating out!!

Mum coped with the flight very well and didn't suffer too much with jetlag. The language barrier proved a slight problem at the start but it was all fine by the end of the week. Here's why..... we were in Target and this is what happened:

Target employee: Are you finding everything ok?

Mum: Yes, are you??

Ha ha ha!!! Mum thought he was asking her if she was OK :) Sorry Mum, had to put that on here as it was hilarious!!

I am missing Mum being around as she was fantastic with Oliver when I had jobs to do. Now I have baby permanently wrapped around my legs again!! And his new thing is screaming at the top of his lungs to get attention or something he wants. It's driving me crazy and I hope it doesn't last too long!

Here are some pics of the visit. We hope you come back again Nanna Pan :))

Oliver found a new toy - a tin that previously had a bottle of perfume in it!

What's in here??!

Mummy and Oliver

Playing at the Ridgedale Centre

I had to take Oliver outside to play in the snow - too bad he wouldn't keep his gloves on so we weren't out there long!


Nanna discovered a new tea time game - yoghurt pot and spoon!

Ready for dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Daddy, Oliver and Scoop - not too sure what Oliver's trying to do here!

Mikayla being her usual cutie!

Grandma, Mikayla and Oliver


Christmas dinner


Silly hat time!

Even Scoop took part!

And Mikayla of course (Oliver had turned crabby by this point and was in bed!!)


A lovely morning at Lake Calhoun

Being cultural at the State Capitol!

Mum standing on a map of Minnesota in Hennepin County (where we live)

You can see who rules the roost when it comes to getting some warmth in our house!!

A snowy morning in Champlin!