Myrtle Beach and Halloween

Hi everyone!! We made it back safely from South Carolina on Thursday evening after a lovely week. Jason and Jamie's wedding on the beach was wonderful although I spent most of the time trying to keep Oliver out of the sea :) He did perform his ringbearer duties though before realising that sand and the ocean were new and very exciting things!! Both Mikayla and Oliver passed out at the reception and had good naps despite all the noise in the room.

The day after the wedding we took the kids back to the beach and Oliver just loved paddling in the sea. Every time a wave came in he would squeal with delight and stamp his feet with excitement. He walked for ages along the sand and just loved it (until we left the beach which he didn't like so much!!). The rest of the week was a bit chilly so we took Oliver swimming indoors instead. The pool at the hotel was as warm as a bath so he loved that.

One evening we carved pumpkins - something I had never done before!! I had to dedicate mine to Oliver and there is a picture of the finished article below. I think Oliver will have great fun doing that when he's older.

So it seems the weather in Minnesota is being as crazy as ever. While we were away I think we missed the first snow. When we came back on Thursday it was 70 degrees (warmer than Myrtle Beach). It has been warm like that all weekend and again today. But it may snow again my Friday so we are preparing for a 30 degree temperature drop in 4 days. It's no wonder people get sick out here all the time. Oliver and I both had colds at the beginning of our holiday so hopefully it doesn't happen again.

Friday was Halloween and we had LOTS of callers. Put it this way, I bought 5 bags of funs size sweets and we have one bar left!! We had to switch the lights off to deter any more callers for fear of running out!! Next year I will be more prepared! It was good fun though and nice to actually enjoy the event rather than dread it like I did in England.

Today is the big day of Nanna Pan's arrival!! She is in the air as I write and is due to arrive in about 3 hours. Oliver and I are very excited and can't wait to hear how she enjoyed the flight :))

Almost forgot - while we were away Oliver said Daddy very clearly!! Apart from car, that was his first clear word :)

Oliver was very willing to wear the mask at Margaritaville as you can see because Jon is holding his arms back!

Oliver's Halloween shirt - this had to be bought because Mummy is spelled the English way :)

Fast asleep on Grandpa's shoulder at the wedding

Mikayla passed out at the reception

And Oliver didn't last too much longer either!!

Grandma and Grandpa entertaining Oliver

All dressed up as the ringbearer playing the maracas (Mikayla's toy!)

Looking so smart before the wedding (and eating a comb.....)

This was just so cute - seconds after the picture was taken Mikayla rolled right over!!

The happy couple covering each other with cake!!

The day after the wedding and Oliver looks exhausted!

Oliver with his lovely blanket - a present for being the ringbearer - made by Jamie's mum

Pumpkin carving evening

And the finished article by me :))

A busy and fun weekend!

We had a lovely weekend spending time with family and friends. On Saturday morning Jeanne and Kate came over for a couple of hours and Oliver and Kate had fun playing. It was funny because Oliver has had a ball popping machine for a few months which he has hated - crying every time we even show it to him, let alone switch it on. Anyway, Kate loved this toy so she was playing with it and now Oliver doesn't mind it at all and even asks for it to be put on!! Just shows what a bit of peer pressure can do :))

On Sunday we went to Emma Krumbee's apple orchard which is about an hour's drive away. Three of Sandy's grandkids came along as did Matt, Jennifer and Mikayla. The weather was fab and there was loads for the kids to do - a big hay pile, tractor and trailer rides, music where the kids could play along with a variety of instruments, play area, animals to feed....... Oliver was quite content to push his buggy around most of the time. He wasn't sure about any of the animals but had fun on a little bike in the play area. We bought some pumpkins which are now on the doorstep awaiting the callers on Halloween :)

In the afternoon we went to Matt and Jennifer's and took the kids out to the playground. They had fun on the swings and slides but, again, Oliver either wanted to push the buggy or just wander around. This walking thing is fun I guess!! In the evening we went out for dinner at Old Chicago. Without going into details, Oliver came home with no trousers on - oops!!!

Sadly Oliver has caught a cold which got progressively worse yesterday afternoon. He woke up every hour last night coughing and spluttering. It's very unlike him to be ill so it's sad to see and we are hoping it clears up in time for our trip to Myrtle Beach on Thursday. I'm not feeling the greatest either but I'll live!!

Very exciting that it's less than two weeks until Nanna Pan arrives - I've even added a countdown for it (thanks Katherine!!). We're really looking forward to it.

I'll post again when we get back from Jason and Jamie's wedding - we are bound to have some cute photos from that!!

Driving the big truck with Daddy

With Mummy on the ark

Mikayla hanging out in the hay

Oliver wasn't really up for posing for this one :)

Who could possibly sell these very cute kids??!!

Oliver and Mikayla on the horse swings

Riding the bike with Mummy's help

Oliver was quite intrigued by the straw sculpture....

Mummy and Oliver staring at the fake cobwebs on the ceiling of Old Chicago

More cheesy grins :))

Fun at the playground

Hi everyone! Where have the past two weeks gone? Sorry for taking a while to add the next update but time just got away from me.

Oliver has been enjoying the new play equipment that has been put in at the park just over the bridge from us. It is literally a two minute walk away. He likes the swings and generally just playing in the sand over there!! But a lot of the time he just wants to push his buggy around. The other day he pushed the buggy all the way home - and the hill next to our house is quite steep!! Now he has found his feet he just wants to walk everywhere - Mr Independent! Plus we got his first pair of proper shoes a couple of weeks ago and now he has got used to them he seems much more confident. Cost a small fortune though as he's inherited his dad's wide feet :)

On Friday we went out for a playdate in St Paul. Oliver didn't quite know what to do to start with but soon started interacting with the other children. He is quite clingy at the moment so he likes to be close to me or Daddy when he's in strange situations.

The weekend has been lovely so Oliver was able to get outside to play for a bit but sadly I think that's the end of it. Today is very wet and it's supposed to get colder throughout the day rather than warmer. The autumn colours have been amazing but now they are fading and everything is yellow/brown. We even got our sprinkler system winterized over the weekend (as did most of the neighbours) so that's a sign of things to come *sigh*.

Oliver is so funny when we go to the supermarket. The other day he just laughed out loud whenever he saw another person. If anyone knows Nelson from the Simpsons his laugh was just like that - quite embarrassing but everyone seemed to take it in good humour. At least he's happy when we go shopping right??!!!

And I think we can safely say that Oliver's first proper word is "car". He says it multiple times a day, even when there is no car in sight. He said it quite a lot on the webcam to Nanna as well!! He's a true boy and likes any toy with wheels :) Til next time......

A colder morning when mittens were needed :)

Cheesy grins with Daddy

Having fun in the car at the playground

The view from our kitchen window

But Mummy, I want to walk!!!

Playing with Mummy

Doors, lunch and apples!!!

A strange title to this one but that just about covers the events of the past week :) As predicted, Oliver can now open doors - see the two videos to prove it. He thinks he's quite clever but of course now we can't keep him contained. I don't mind really except when he starts to empty the bathroom cabinets!

On Saturday we went over to Katherine and Rusty's place for lunch as Kirstie is in town for the week. Fab to see her and catch up with all the ladies!! Oliver and Kate had fun hanging out together.

Today we went to Minnetonka Orchards for some apple picking with the ladies and babies from the Hip Mamas meetup group. It was a beautiful morning - sunny and cool. Oliver picked an apple (yes, one!) and proceeded to munch on it!! Probably against the rules but I'm sure he's not the first and won't be the last!! There was a play area there and Oliver found a truck to play with. I think he would have been happy to play with that all day. Then we took a group photo of the kids in amongst the pumpkins. Oliver had never seen a pumpkin before so he was really excited!!

This week Oliver has tried a mild curry - a recipe from my baby and toddler book. He seems to really enjoy it. The first time he tried it he loved the first few mouthfuls then kind of screamed after each one - not in pain I hasten to add but I think the curry powder was having an effect :) Anyway, it has been better since then and he loved it tonight. I think that's all for now!!

Kate and Oliver playing on the stairs

Happily helping Daddy with his beer!

Showing off the gap between my teeth!

OK, I take the blame for teaching Oliver to show me his tongue :)

Wow - what have I found??!!

Mmmm - tasty apple!

My prized possession :)

Playing with the dumper truck

I don't know if you can see but the tractor was called Oliver so we had to have a picture :)

The kids posing with the pumpkins!

Last day of formula

Well, as the title suggests, today is Oliver's last day of formula milk. We have been gradually phasing it out since his birthday and have finally reached the end of the road. Woohoo!! Cows milk is so much cheaper :) And he seems to enjoy it!!

Oliver's walking has come on in leaps and bounds since the last post. He can now take several steps at a time and cover the width of a room with no problem. He is getting more stable by the day as well. He can also reach door handles now but can't quite open the doors! I'd say we're another week or so away from that. No more securing him in one area......

Last Monday Oliver and I went to a quaint little bookshop in Linden Hills called Wild Rumpus. They have a storytime there every week which includes some song and dance as well. But the crazy thing about this place is that they have animals there!! A couple of chickens, ferrets, chinchillas, birds, cats. I think that's it! But it's amazing and so much fun for the kids. I think we'll be going back there.

Over the past week Oliver has been suffering a bit with his teeth. We went out for ice cream one day last week and I noticed then that one of his molars was coming through at the bottom. The next day I saw that not only the other bottom one was coming through but the next two up top as well - poor little mite :( He's been a little out of sorts but really not bad at all.

Last night Oliver was so cute. When Jon came home from work he tottered over to him and gave him a proper cuddle!! I had a tear in my eye it was so lovely. He is becoming much more affectionate and really understands cuddles and kisses. He gave me a hug one day last week too and when I tell him I'm going to give him kisses on the lips he giggles and hides from me :)) He was also mimicking his alphabet train yesterday. It says "bye bye" if you don't do anything with it for a period of time and Oliver straightaway said "bye bye" back. Obviously not really clearly but he was definitely copying.

What else?? Well, on Saturday we went to Ray and Sandy's and saw Matt, Jennifer and Mikayla there as well. We had a lovely BBQ on the last weekend of summer (it's still quite warm here though). Mikayla is doing great and loves to squeal with excitement like Oliver used to do at that age. She also loves her food and ate some beef stew and watermelon :) Yesterday I took Oliver to the swings for the first time and he loved that. 

Other than that, I keep forgetting to say that Oliver keeps pointing at his photos and smiling!! He really knows it's him I think and it's so cute :))

And there was I thinking I didn't have much news!! I'll stop now - here's pics and a video :)

Oliver found his wine glass last week and had a great time playing with it!

Jennifer and Mikayla - something must have caught Mikayla's eye!

Giving super cute smiles to Grandpa!!

Father/Son bonding time watching the game and eating popcorn!! And the Vikings won at last :)

Here we go!!

Oliver has taken his first proper steps!! This past week he has started taking 2-3 steps at a time and has done this several times. But this morning he took about 6 steps and I managed to catch it on video (see below). He was playing with Mummy's beauty products at the time - he loves the moisturiser!! The razor he's playing with is all plastic just in case anyone out there is worried :)

Yesterday we went to the Chippewa Valley air show but unfortunately it poured with rain and none of the planes could fly :( We were there about an hour and got pretty wet so we headed back home. It's raining again today so I'm guessing it's the same story there again. 

Other than that, Oliver has sampled peanut butter this week and loved it!! He has also had spaghetti hoops when Mummy has been lazy at lunchtime (like today!!). And the cheese cubes that Grandpa bought him yesterday went down very well!!

How to amuse Oliver for quite some time - put him in the toybox!!!

Cutey :) I think he looks very much like cousin Morgan as a baby in this pic

Learning to drive Mummy's car

3 generation pic by the weiner car :) Yes, Oliver is in there somewhere....



Pics of the drowned rats :)

Surrounded by nice toys and playing with an empty water bottle!!

Brrrr......

The Minnesotans reading this will think me crazy but it's turned very chilly here!! The Brits will just hate me cos the temperature is like a British summer :) But to put it in perspective the temperature has gone down about 20 degrees in the space of 2 days. On Tuesday it was very humid in the morning whereas today Oliver and I both had to wear long sleeves for Scoop's walk. A sign of things to come me thinks :) It was funny yesterday because I put Oliver in a long sleeved top for the first time in weeks only to find it was more a 3/4 length sleeve! I later found out that most of his long sleeved tops are 9-12 months and therefore too small - oops!! No worries though - we do have some as well as some jumpers and jackets.

Oliver's 12 month check at the docs last week went well. He weighs 24lbs 1oz (75th centile) and is 31 inches long (90th centile!). He got 3 vaccinations and had to have a blood test for a couple more things which meant having a finger pricked with a needle. Apparently he bleeds well - not too sure I'm happy about that one but oh well!!

It was Labour Day here on Monday so Jon had the day off work. We took it upon ourselves to decorate the cloakroom on the main level because it had a gold ceiling and red and gold wallpaper and really was the worst decorated room in the house! It is now a more neutral shade and much more pleasant. We did have time to take Oliver on his first picnic though - just to a local park but it was nice. He didn't eat much as he was more interested in pushing the buggy around :)

As you will see from the video he still loves pushing his toys around but is yet to take independent steps. He gets really angry if one of us doesn't turn the toy around for him as he hasn't worked out how to go round a corner!! The walls and skirting boards are taking a beating but that's par for the course I think.

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy the pics - sorry there aren't too many this time. But I did think it was time for a look at then and now.....

September 3rd 2007

September 4th 2008

Mummy and Oliver just being silly

Scoop and Oliver jostling for camera space!!

Dressed up for the chilly morning (rugby shirt from Nanna Pan and JCB fleece from the Curry family!)