Monday, October 22, 2012

Autumn


Autumn is well and truly here - the dramatic temperature changes and the associated coughs and colds! Poor Emily had a terrible cough last week and suffered particularly at night. The rest of us have just been a little under the weather. Hopefully we're near the end of it all now!

This past weekend we did get to enjoy some great weather at the Minnetonka Orchards with some friends. The kids had a fab time. What with that, dinner with friends, a birthday party and all the regular things we have to get done on a weekend it was a busy busy time!! And my first weekend off for 2 weeks so it was nice to spend some time with the family.

Oliver only had school one day last week thanks to the annual teacher's conferences. Things are still going well and I see lots of progress in many ways. He is such a little artist and always has some little project on the go!! The days off did work out well though as I managed to get sibling photos taken at Emily's school. I am hoping they turn out better than Oliver's kindergarten photos (I am hoping for a retake on them!!).

Emily's teachers at school today told me how much her speech has progressed with them. She has been pretty quiet there up to now but she is learning how to express herself better every day. She managed to get through two changes of shirt in just 2 hours today thanks to hand washing alone!!

Halloween is the next big thing for us. Plenty of Halloween activities on the agenda and I probably need to figure out a second costume for Oliver's school party as the Angry Birds one is just to big for him to take!! The question is will it snow before then? Watch this space :)

Oliver's Angry Birds picture

The first really chilly morning at the bus stop

Hanging out with my boy on a day off school!

Must be a comfy way to sit!

Oliver's joy at his Amazon parcel arriving

One project - homemade hats!

Emily enjoying a cookie decorating playdate

Oliver's ghost impression!

Getting a haircut at Daddy's hair salon

The finished article :)

Hello Kitty - a picture he drew for Emily :)

Emily is the perfect advertisement of how NOT to act at the dinner table

Dog walking part 1!

Watching the puppet show at the Nature Center

Oliver choosing a puppet

Out for a short hike!

One of his favourite puppets!

Dog walk part 2!

Bedtime stories :)

Checking out the corn maze!

Jumping off the hay pile

Cutie!

Not too sure about the tractor

Oliver's face painting

He liked the tractor though!

Off on a ride on the Apple Express!

Emily really wanted to ride but when I took her photo she just said "no"!

Aw, Celia and Emily just being cute :)



Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Nanna's Visit


Today is the last day of Nanna's visit to Minnesota. She has been here for the last ten days and, as always, the time has flown by. We have packed a lot into the past week and enjoyed some wonderful weather - tomorrow it all goes downhill so it seems she is taking it with her!!

We visited the Minnetonka Orchards last Tuesday and the Arboretum on Friday - both beautiful days and the fall colours were fantastic. Nanna got to see Oliver take the school bus a few times and drop Emily off at preschool. She also saw swimming lessons and the Kids in Motion class they do every Thursday. At the weekend we went to the Twin Cities corn maze which is only a 5 minute drive away. The kids got off to a shaky (whiny) start but it all turned out OK in the end! Even Emily got to go down the big, big slide with Daddy (see the video!) and she went on a pony ride for the first time. She rode a pony called Cupcake and she can't stop talking about it when Nanna shows her the video!

Mum very kindly looked after the kids overnight on Saturday so Jon and I could spend the evening downtown. We saw a comedy show and drank far too much beer but it was a lot of fun!

The past couple of days have been a bit more relaxed and we have made the most of the weather and tried to play outside as much as possible. The kids are loving the leaves which are fast covering the entire lawn!!

In other news, Oliver has become an eating machine and is hungry ALL THE TIME! I know - I dreamed of this day when he was 2! I just have to remember this when I see Emily leaving meal after meal ;) It's not like she is wasting away - she is just being a toddler :) He is doing great at kindergarten and shares lots of information about it without being prompted. His teacher is very musical and he is always singing to us!!

Emily has "performed" for us on the potty. A complete and unrepeated fluke. If you even suggest it to her now you are probably asking for a tantrum. Ah well. One day :) Nanna is amazed at her ability to operate an iPhone!! She is a character - you just never know what to expect from her. Makes for an interesting life ;)

I have lots of pictures from before and during the visit. Here goes.....

Tired Oliver after school

Muscles!

A happy moment

Swinging - and actually happy together. The swing is often a sharing nightmare!

Oliver designed his own Angry Birds game

See how big I am now Mummy?!

Oliver's Timberwolves impression!

Mummy after her crazy 5k mud run!

On Grandpa's boat

Oliver driving

And Emily's turn

Chips!! Emily loves pickle chips!!

Handsome boy

Uncle Jason teaching Oliver guitar

A sneak preview of Halloween costumes!

My pretty princess!

Ha ha!! Reading Oliver's books!!

Coat trying on time - this one is still a tad big....

Oliver loves this jacket that his cousins gave him - especially the hood!

And this was Rowan's superman shirt which comes complete with a cape!

England tracksuit from Nanna!

Cheese :)

Needing a little help from Nanna!

Growing every day

Just one of several pictures on the train

And another....

At the Arboretum

Oliver loved all the "secret" paths!

And the eco play area :)

Checking out pictures on Nanna's phone

Hayride - Oliver really didn't want to go but changed his mind and loved it. I love how Emily is hanging on to her brother :)

Making the alphabet out of leaves!

Emily is happy just to run in them!

Just enough room for Emily in bed!

Hmm - pictures are out of order. Oh well. Peekaboo!

Emily will catch up her brother if he doesn't watch out :)