Fall fun

It's more like autumn at the moment than winter and for that I am thankful. The snow came too early but was gone again quite quickly. We'll get enough of that in winter proper thank you very much!! So now the days are sunny and cool and the leaves are falling which creates a lot of fun for a toddler. Yesterday afternoon I decided to tackle raking some of the leaves and was quite successful after an hour. Oliver helped me by rolling around in the big piles I made :) However, today you wouldn't even know I had done anything! Serves me right for starting the job before all the leaves have fallen but 10/10 for effort right?

Last week the splint came off Oliver's finger for good and I'm pleased to say everything seems fine. He was using his finger and hand normally when I got him up the next day and doesn't seem to miss the splint at all. We're still wondering if the nail will come off but I hope not.

On Saturday morning we had a family photo session at home. A friend of mine has an aunt who has recently started doing photography professionally so we hired her to come to the house and she took a lot of pictures inside and out. I really can't wait to see them! Oliver was a star for the most part and did his very best to look super cute :) Of course this meant that he needed to get a haircut last week so we tried a new salon that has opened just down the road which is specifically for kids. This place has different chairs (cars, planes, etc etc) for the kids to sit in. Oliver chose the fire engine of course which even had a bell that he could ring! He did really great and came out with a sticker and a comb to take home :)

On Saturday afternoon we went off to a Halloween event at a farm about 45 minutes away from us. We had a horse drawn wagon ride and there were lots of animals to see. There was a also a haunted loft (Oliver wasn't so keen on that!) and lots of crafts for the kids to do. Oliver coloured some pictures which is one of his new favourite things to do. We have our pumpkins on the doorstep all ready for our Halloween visitors on Saturday evening. Oliver has a costume ready although we're not sure whether we're taking him out or not - if we do, it'll just be around the cul-de-sac. Let's hope we don't run out of candy this year!

All is well with me and the bump. I keep saying to Jon that I need a new bump picture then we both forget!

Enjoy the new video! Oliver's new favourite tune is by a group called Daughtry and he likes to sing along at the start and finish (the part were they just sing "ooooh, ooooh"!!). It's not the greatest quality - mainly because Oliver has a mouthful of toast......!

Getting a haircut in a fire engine :))

Testing out the comb he got from the hairdressers

It's been a while since we had a Scoop picture. Here she is with the biggest bone ever after being stuck in her crate while we had pictures taken on Saturday!

Checking out the chicken coop with Daddy

On the wagon ride - I think they were looking at the people dressed as a skunk and a butterfly!!

Halloween fun = candy, so here is Oliver with a lollipop!

Grandad Graham's visit

It has been a busy couple of weeks for us. This past week Grandad Graham and Dawn came out to visit which was a lot of fun. They were only here for 5 days but we visited the arboretum and the sculpture garden, ate out a few times and spent one evening with Ray and Sandy. Oliver just loved having Graham around - Oliver thought he was pretty funny :)) Graham just seems to be on the same wavelength as kids, ha ha!! Graham and Dawn even got interviewed by a local news channel when we were at the arboretum but sadly they didn't make it on to TV - they were quoted by the reporter though! Oliver managed to say Graham a couple of times but mostly called him "boobaa" which is the same word he uses for Grandpa Ray. Yesterday when we watched Graham and Dawn go through airport security he said "byeee boobaa" which was just lovely. Matt, Jennifer and Mikayla came to Ray and Sandy's on Wednesday night as well. Oliver and Mikayla were running around the basement like mad things! They played so great together - and puckered up a number of times for a kiss but I just couldn't catch it on camera. So cute :)

The week before Graham came out we were all sick with nasty colds which was no fun at all. Oliver also got a strange rash for a couple of days which we thought was chickenpox but obviously wasn't as it disappeared. So, we were stuck in the house for a few days going crazy. Oliver's finger is still in a splint but we are able to take it off on Tuesday. He had it x-rayed again which did show a very small fracture so they wanted him to keep the splint on for another couple of weeks. Oliver has been very good with it and seems to prefer having it on but it will be great to take it off for good this week. And it'll be far easier to get his gloves on!!

Ah yes, gloves! Boy has it been cold!! We had our first snowfall of the season on October 10th. Nothing very much but still a bit of a shock to the system. We've had a couple more snowfalls since then and I think the first two weeks of October have been the coldest on record. It is much nicer this weekend and we are enjoying a couple of warmer and sunnier days.

Monday is Oliver's first morning at daycare so I am frantically getting everything ready for him. I am almost there - just making sure his name is on all his clothes! Hopefully he enjoys it and doesn't miss me too much ;)) Tuesday is my next doctor's appointment - the belly is getting bigger and I think I'm feeling some movement but nothing too much as yet.


The return of the snow....

Not very impressed with this year's winter gear!

Checking out the pumpkins at the arboretum

The big kid and the small kid playing cars

Oliver pretty much drank all of Graham's lemonade!

In Grandpa's basement




Mikayla and OIiver being the crazy cousins!! I just love the last picture - it looks like Mikayla is finding Oliver's bottom highly amusing!!

Walking through the sculpture garden - Oliver only wanted to hold Graham's hand

Drinking Graham's lemonade - AGAIN!!

What a week!

Poor Oliver has been through the mill this week (as has his mum!!). On Tuesday morning we popped out to the shops and as we were heading home when Oliver got his hand trapped in the hinge of one of the car doors. He had a really nasty gash on his middle finger so I took him off to urgent care to get checked out. Thank goodness Grandma Sandy came with me as I was a wreck!! He had an x-ray which showed a possible fracture but they couldn't be sure so his hand was bandaged up tightly and we went back to our own doctor on Thursday. The finger was healing quite well but looked a bit swollen so at the moment he has a splint on it and we are heading back for another x-ray on Tuesday. Oliver has been so brave through all of this (much more so than me!) but he gets pretty upset when we try and dress him. We are hoping that he gets the all clear on Tuesday and he doesn't have to wear any more bandages on it.

To top it all off he's had a bit of a cold for the past couple of days and now I have it too so we are feeling very sorry for ourselves this morning. It doesn't help that autumn has hit with a vengeance and it suddenly got pretty cold.

We have had some good days though - some fun play dates with our friends and a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's last weekend. Grandpa cut some wood blocks to put on the pedals of Oliver's trike so he could reach them more easily. Now we have to practice using them! We have also been to the orchard for a visit and Oliver got to have a ride on the tractor and trailer. I had to practically drag him on there but I think he enjoyed it :)

We have also enrolled Oliver in daycare and he starts on October 19th. He will be going for 2.5hrs every Monday and Tuesday morning so not a very long time but a nice gentle start. Hopefully he will make some new friends and enjoy doing something different than hanging out with his mum!!

Climbing on the hay pile

Trying to figure out how to get down from the hay pile!

Watching Parker jump around like a crazy thing!!

On the trailer ride - Bryce is sat next to Oliver guarding his muffin very closely :)

Oliver the tractor!!

Checking out the pigs!

Supervising Grandpa and Daddy at work on the trike

Making sure that Bear Blankie and Tiger are feeling OK after their ordeal :)

On a snack date with Rowen!

Autumn is here

Autumn has arrived but thankfully the weather is still pretty nice - we are having the summer we didn't really have earlier! Today Oliver and I went out to the Minnesota Zoo with our friends Lauren and Caitlin. Two pregnant women wandering around with lively toddlers - fun! It was a great morning and we stayed there for lunch which was amusing in itself. Oliver got mac and cheese and Caitlin got pizza. Let's just say they did a bit of a food swap/share :) I was hoping for a long nap after that but I was rewarded with 10 minutes in the car instead!! Still, he has gone off to sleep tonight in a matter of minutes so that's good.

This past weekend Oliver and Jon were at home together while I was relaxing in a cabin up north with some girlfriends. I had a fab weekend doing absolutely nothing but I think the boys had a great time as well. Oliver got to run errands with Daddy and help do "man" jobs around the house! And of course there was a visit to Grandpa's house where Oliver watched the first half of the (American) football game. He can now say football pretty well and he can do the sign for a touchdown perfectly (although I am yet to get it on camera). Trust me, he said it over and over when we out for dinner on Sunday night with Matt, Jennifer and Mikayla. And Mikayla's word of the night was "cheers"!!

On Monday morning Oliver grazed his elbow for the first time :( He fell down just one step at my friend Mary's house but that was enough to start the bleeding. But he was very brave - hardly any tears at all. He just kept showing me his arm all the way home in the car!! What can I say, he looks like a proper boy now :)

Yesterday I went for my first OB appointment for baby number 2. I am pleased to say all went well and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat which was, of course, wonderful. I will now have 4 weekly checks and another scan in about 6 weeks time.

Tomorrow is our first apple picking outing of the season out at Minnetonka Orchards. I feel an apple pie baking session coming on :)


What is this animal Mummy??

Fish stick anyone??

Oliver still loves his sweetcorn :)

Attempting to eat yogurt with his hands.....

Slide part 1: what's on the slide?

Slide part 2: what's on my bottom??

Slide part 3: Oh, I guess the slide was wet :))

Slide part 4: but who cares? Let's go again!!

A new brother or sister for Oliver!!

If you haven't heard the news yet, we are expecting another baby!! I am about 12.5 weeks along now and the baby is due around the end of March. As you can see from the photo I am looking rather big already ;) I decided to spare you all from bare bump pictures this time - I'm just more sensitive about it, LOL!!! I am feeling well - no nausea and haven't gone off cheese like I did with Oliver. Just very tired! I had a scan about 3 weeks ago now (see pic below). I thought I was only 7 weeks then but the baby measured 3 weeks ahead so either I worked it out wrong or I am having a giant baby :D Anyway, watch this space for more scan pics and the growing bump! First proper docs appt is in a couple of weeks.

So, Oliver will have to perfect the art of sharing and he can start by sharing his website! Actually, he's pretty good at sharing with other children and I really think he'll be a great big brother. He loves to help so hopefully that won't change in the next 6 months as I think I'm going to need him :)

Last weekend was Labor Day over here so Jon had the Monday off. I can't for the life of me remember what we did on the Monday though - baby brain!! But on the Sunday we went to Ray and Sandy's for a BBQ which was great as always. Oliver was a little cranky so we ended up taking him home fairly early. He still wasn't napping last weekend but I am pleased to say he is back on schedule with it now. He was very cranky one afternoon this week after we'd been out on a play date so I tried putting him down and he went off to sleep. We are now on the 5th day in a row I think - bliss!!!

On Thursday morning I decided to go to a new store opening in Maple Grove. It was for a department store called Nordstrom Rack. Anyway, it was absolute chaos there!! Oliver and I queued around the building and then fought our way to the back of the shop - I was looking for some boots and of course they were right at the back!! But it was a successful trip on that score and Oliver got his picture taken queueing outside! If I find it on the web I'll try and grab a copy.

Other than that it has been play date crazy this week - 3 out of the 5 mornings I think! But that's the way we like it - lots of fun to be had while the weather is still nice. One new word this week - Bob! This was when Jon was reading him a Bob the Builder book :) Oh, and one thing that has really amazed me is what Oliver's eating at the moment. He just loves to snack on baby carrots and celery ;) I am not complaining - long may it last!

I almost forgot Oliver's latest height and weight stats! He weighs 31lbs 15oz (90th percentile) and is 36.5 inches tall (95th percentile). He is going to put me in the shade before I know it!

Hey Mum - over there!


Oliver and Mikayla playing cars at Grandpa and Grandma's

Giving his friend Rowen's trike a spin :)

Awwww :) I am loving this picture I took of Oliver at yesterday's play date :D

Yesterday again - all the kids having fun on the swing set (Oliver is poking his head through at the top!)

The first picture of Baby Jozwiak 2!

Oliver attempting to climb the climbing frame! He actually did it himself more than once but as soon as the camera came out he couldn't do it ;)

Just a quick update....

Hi everyone! Just wanted to put a quick update on here as I know it's been a while. I guess I took a break from taking pictures after Oliver's birthday :)

Oliver has been having a lot of fun playing with all his new toys since the big day. Jon and I are having watching him in comfort since we bought a new sofa for the playroom!! Hopefully that will be the end of getting holes in the knees of our jeans from crawling around on the carpet :)

We bought Oliver some new shoes a week or so ago. His trainers were getting a little snug so he has a nice new pair which should last him through the bulk of autumn and winter. He even said shoes for me yesterday but wouldn't repeat it for Daddy. I said to him: "Oliver, can you say shoes?" and his answer was "Yes". Ha ha!! Very helpful. Learning the British sarcasm already I guess. But his new favourite word has to be "no". And he can't just say it once - he says it half a dozen times or more very fast just to emphasize the point! And yesterday we went and got Oliver's winter coat and snow bib sorted out. There is a great shop here which sells nearly new kids clothing and more and I managed to get a good deal on a coat last year so I decided to go back. We even came back with a kid's picnic table as well :)

Today is Oliver's 2 year docs appt so I'll have some new weight and height stats for next time. And he'll probably get some more vaccinations. He can commiserate with Mikayla as she is off for her 18 month appt at more or less the same time :)

Just a couple of pics for you.....

Playing with the polar bears on Mummy and Daddy's bed :)



Loving the new Lego that Aunty Margaret and Uncle Jon got me!