Just a few pictures and videos

Hi all! Just a quick entry as I seem to have a few videos and pictures to share. Grandpa Ray, Grandma Sandy, Jennifer and Mikayla came over on Sunday afternoon to celebrate Oliver's birthday so of course there was more fun and presents!! As you will see the Stomp Rocket created lots of fun for adults and kids alike :) And I must say that Grandma Colleen's gift of Hot Wheels Tub Racers has made bath time great again - no more mummy or daddy getting in with Oliver - yay!!

Emily is getting stronger and stronger and has actually been able to sit up on her own a few times. We tried putting her in the highchair at dinner time the other day. She was fine sitting there but still wasn't very impressed - she is always crabby at that time anyway!!! She has started the high pitched squealing which I believe Oliver did around 8 months - I remember because of a certain plane trip to the US we took at that time!!

Now it is time to make the most of the weather before it all starts going downhill and getting chilly!!

Oliver playing with his new parking garage - he loves it way more than his facial expression shows!

Play time in the nest

The artist at work on his new chalkboard

Emily chilling at a play date

She should have been napping......

This is the look we get most mornings when we get Emily up!! She is, however, laying the wrong way round - her legs should be where her head is.

Sitting up

In the highchair for the first time

Sitting up part 2

Mikayla reading Oliver's new Cars book

Setting up the Stomp Rocket!

Oliver is 3!!!

Wow, our little man turned 3 today. Soon he'll be a toddler no more - woohoo!!! Ha, just kidding. Each age comes with its challenges I'm sure. Anyway, we've had a fantastic day. The weather wasn't great this morning so we headed to the Eagle's Nest indoor playground with Matt and Mikayla. The kids ran around like crazy things. Then we headed to Applebee's for lunch - the staff there sang a very loud and interesting birthday song to Oliver! Then it was home for nap time and the weather cheered up this afternoon so we got the swimming pool out and then had a BBQ. Of course there was plenty of present opening and playing in amongst all of that so we are now taking a well earned rest!!

On Wednesday Oliver had his birthday party here at home. 14 of his friends came over to celebrate which was lots of fun. And on Sunday we are having a family afternoon so the birthday celebrations are being spread out over many days - lucky kid!

And if this wasn't enough, Oliver is moving rooms at school at the beginning of September. He will officially be a preschooler and no longer a toddler. Eeek!!!

Well, I'm not going to ramble too much tonight. I just wanted to get some pics posted for you all to see.

Awwww, how he's grown :)

Emily checking out a yoghurt pot

Emily at the park earlier this week

Oliver preparing a meal

Cars birthday cake :)

Vincent and Oliver had great fun racing cars on the train table

Emily checking out her toys

Oliver's new tractor from Bryce was popular (Bryce, Oliver and Koen)

Iris and Sullivan

Birthday party fun! (Rowen, Bryce, Iris and Emily)

Oliver and Daddy sharing a birthday breakfast

Oliver and Mikayla at Applebees

Too bad Oliver isn't looking at the camera :)

Reading a new book with Daddy

Yummy - wooden sandwich!!




Aaah, pizza fun - and silly mummy!!

It's been hot!!!

The last week or so has been scorching!! Actual temperatures in the mid 90's but up into the triple figures with the humidity. I have never been so grateful for air conditioning!! But still, we have tried to get out and about as much as possible - to places with water or a/c.

One outdoor playdate we went on was to the sculpture garden in Minneapolis. All the kids had a wonderful time running around the gardens and exploring the sculptures. Across the road there is the Walker Art Centre where they have a cupboard full of toys that you can borrow. So the kids (and some of the adults!) had lots of fun with that. They were serving food there too so we managed to get lunch all done and dusted before going home. All in all a really fantastic time!

Oliver's visits from the special education team are all done now. We got his report in the post yesterday stating that he is pretty much bang on average for his age in all areas of development so that is fantastic news. He never stops talking so that's a good sign right??!!

Emily is doing well although I have started putting gripe water in her milk as I am concerned she may have a bit of reflux coming back (if it ever went away). She has been spending a lot of awake time upset, she has been sick a lot and spends a great deal of time arching her back - so much so that she can move herself from one end of the cot to the other. Anyway, she has been taking it for 3 days now and I think there has been some improvement but I'm going to have to give it longer before I know for sure. She still seems very eager to sit up and move around but she's not quite there yet so she gets very frustrated :)

Yesterday we went out and bought a new swimming pool for Oliver. Well, for both the kids really but Emily won't really enjoy it until next year! Oliver had great fun in it yesterday afternoon although he was scared of the pump we have to blow it up. He stayed well away while I was doing that :)

This week we will be celebrating Oliver's 3rd birthday. He is having a party on Wednesday morning (pretty much a glorified playdate!) and Jon has the day off on his actual birthday (Friday) so we'll figure out something to do then. Just think, 3 years ago today I was still working :))

Tummy time (she's not the biggest fan)

Laughing at Mummy playing peekaboo

It looks like Oliver posed for this one but he didn't - he was just trying to make his way down the sculpture!

Is there anything in this cone??!!

I can hold the bottle all by myself - I'm nearly 5 months old you know!!

Check out my belly!!!

My attempt at propping the little lady up - it wasn't long until she slipped over!

Oliver trying out the new pool :)

4 month check

Emily had her 4 month check last week and she now weighs 15lbs 14.5oz and is 25 inches long. I think she is on the 90th percentile for weight and 75th for length. I was actually surprised she didn't weigh more as I am really struggling to carry her in the car seat now :) She got three more vaccinations which she didn't like much but the crying was short lived. Well, I say that....she continues to be quite upset a lot of the time so if it is teething I wish we'd see an actual tooth pop through some time soon ;)

Oliver continues to drive me nuts one minute then do the cutest thing the next. As you will see from a couple of the videos he is really into his pretend play at the moment. This morning he made breakfast for his teddy bears (and a cup of coffee for me) and then I caught him washing the dishes afterwards which is where I started recording. He also loves to help with the cooking so we made some brownies one day last week. Check him out in his apron and hat!! He is getting on pretty well with his bike now. He is getting to grips with the pedalling but of course he wants to do it "all by himself" all the time which isn't possible. We take the bike to the playground nearby but we have to go down a steep hill to get there and we can't exactly let him go down there without holding on!!!

Oliver had a visit from the special education people last week - all part of his hearing exams and general assessment that we are going through. He motored through all the "tests" they gave him and kept busy for an hour and a half. The ladies that came said they hadn't got some of those toys out for ages because the kids generally lose interest more quickly or they've already reached the limit of what they can do. So it's a good sign that he is developing very well although he is very "full on" and still wants attention and interaction all of the time.

This weekend I think we are going to visit a kids carnival in Champlin - not much else planned apart from that. Just a few pics this time - I haven't been as busy with the camera as usual ;)


Silly billy!!!

Emily thinks she is much older than she is - she is always trying to sit up and can hold "crunches" like this for at least 10 seconds! She is holding a baby massaging toothbrush which is supposed to feel nice on the gums.

Oliver wearing Daddy's sunglasses on a trip in the car - he spontaneously told us that he was happy on that day :)