Off on our holidays!!

Hi everyone :) We will be off on our holidays on Friday so this will be the last post until we get back. We are taking a road trip to Tennessee with Jennifer, Matt and Mikayla and meeting family down there. Jason has organised a cabin for us all to stay in. We are doing most of the journey overnight so hopefully Oliver and Mikayla will sleep well in the car :)

Oliver has a new favourite word: digger!! For a few reasons I suppose - Nanna Pan bought him a book on diggers, he has a couple of toy diggers and he sees them almost every day when we drive past the road construction on Highway 169. I've never heard digger shouted so loudly!! I tried to get it on video today but he wasn't performing for me but I'm sure there will be ample opportunity!

We've kept busy going to play dates as always! Last Friday we went to Jackson's house - it was his 3rd birthday so Oliver got messy with a cupcake. We were supposed to be going swimming but sadly it decided to rain. On Thursday we met Mary and Rowen at a local play area which we'd never been to before. It was a great place for older and younger kids so we may well go back there. Today we went to Rebecca and Bryce's house and had a great morning playing outside. Of course Oliver was happy just to push a digger round all morning :)

As you can see from the countdown timer we are making a trip back to England at Christmas!! We arrive on 19th Dec and leave on 3rd Jan. We are all so excited to be coming home for a visit - it will be 19 months since we left by then. Hopefully Oliver handles the trip well - he's quite into flying and planes as you will see from the video below!

Anyway, we'll be back in a couple of weeks with some photos from holiday - bye for now!

Oliver can't possible choose between his milk and his digger!

Yes, digging in the sand with diggers.....

Mmmmm - cupcakes :)

Daddy brought this hat home from work and Oliver tries every day to put it on :)

My almost 2 year old eating his lunch!!

Formula 1 Fan :))

Ah yes, Oliver watched some of the German Grand Prix last weekend so I got a couple of videos of him!! When he refers to a ball he actually means the driver's helmet!!

I don't have many pictures or news this time I'm afraid but here are a couple of photos of Oliver enjoying some play time on Thursday. We were supposed to meet a friend for a picnic but we ended up missing each other which was a shame but we stayed and had our picnic anyway. Other than that, we have been to a couple of play dates and tried to stay warm in the chilly weather ;) It's not that bad - just 20 degrees or so cooler than it should be in July! Hopefully it warms up by the end of the week as we have a swimming date planned :)

Here Mummy, want a cracker?!

Oliver is just like a Womble cleaning up after everyone else :)) (The US clan might have to google the Wombles.....)

July 4th weekend and more

Last weekend was the July 4th holiday so Jon got to have Friday off work :) I took Oliver out to a play date in the morning at a park about 20 minutes away. It was a great place with a wading pool but Oliver wasn't really in the mood that day :( In the evening our friends Katherine and Rusty came over - we hadn't seem them in ages so it was nice to have a few drinks, Chinese food, good conversation and play on the Wii!

After pottering around for most of Saturday we went over to Ray and Sandy's for a BBQ. They were having a big fireworks display with the neighbours later in the evening but we got home fairly early to make sure Scoop was OK (she barks like crazy at fireworks!).

On Sunday morning we took Oliver to the splash pad in St Louis Park. It was really quiet when we arrived which was great. It's amazing how much fun Oliver can have with a plastic tub and some water :) He wouldn't dare walk under the water though despite all the other kids running through it without a care!

Monday morning was more play time with friends and on Tuesday we went to a park and then to have some pizza. Oliver just loved the pizza :) I had a rare language barrier problem though when I asked for a bottle of water - after 3 times of trying the English way I eventually had to say "waaader" and the lady understood me - pretty funny :))

Yesterday was our 3rd wedding anniversary so Grandpa had Oliver for the evening while we went for dinner. We had some fantastic Thai food at a restaurant called Azia that had been recommended to me. After that we went to a friend's house and surprised Katherine who was there celebrating her 40th birthday.

And today Oliver has been spoiled yet again in Target (but in the dollar section!!). They have loads of things that are almost all $1 or $2.50 max and they had lots on clearance with 50% off. So he came home with some more fun stuff to play with - and it's so cheap we don't mind if it breaks, LOL!!

Hey Oliver - what are you doing???



How to sit on a chair the Oliver way - not very conventional but it seems to work!

Maybe the water was cold :))

Wearing my new shorts and t-shirt set from Aunt Pauline and Uncle Keith

We couldn't resist this bargain dinosaur t-shirt in Babies R Us yesterday - Oliver took one look at it and roared :)

Summer colds :(

Oliver and I had so much planned last week but we ended up spending Monday through Wednesday at home as Oliver got a cold and he wasn't very well. It was a long few days and it was very warm out as well so we didn't get to enjoy the sunshine until the end of the week. And to top it all off the poor little thing fell all the way down the stairs and got a nice bruise on his forehead :( But by Thursday he was feeling better and we managed to get outside to the splash pad in St Louis Park. Oliver enjoyed playing with a bucket - just filling it with water and throwing it over his head :) And on Friday morning we headed over to a friend's house for a play date.

Sunday was Father's Day so Jon got to stay in bed and be spoiled! Oliver shared breakfast with daddy and enjoyed helping him open his present (a homebrew kit!).

We've had a quiet week so far but we're off out to the zoo again tomorrow morning and a play date in the afternoon. We are going to another splash pad on Friday morning assuming the weather stays nice. It's a holiday weekend so Jon gets Friday off this week - yey :)

Oliver's new word (phrase?) this week is "ta da"!! I said it one night and he just copied thinking he was very clever. Now he likes to hide a toy behind his back and say "ta da" when he shows it to me :)

I got a new video this week of Oliver helping me do the cleaning again :)

Oliver got to have a bath with 3 girls last week after we stayed for dinner at the ice cream play date - lucky boy :)

Sharing daddy's scrambled egg

Mmm - beer!! The first attempt should be ready in a month or so!

A bit warmer than the -20 photo I took over winter :)


Having fun at the splash pad

Rowen desperately wanted to get in the car with Oliver :)

But he managed to get it to himself eventually!

Enjoying an ice cream on a hot day

Out and about

It's been a busy week in the Jozwiak household and another one to come - so many play dates and family events :) We love it though!!

I have to first mention the turtle because it made a return one morning this week. Jon spotted it at the end of our driveway and it had a stroll around the cul-de-sac and was last spotted on the neighbour's driveway. Was it the same one - who knows?? Sadly I saw another one upside down in the road but I didn't get close enough to identify it :)

Last Thursday Oliver and I went to the Rose Garden in St Paul and met up with some other mums and kids. It's a really beautiful place and we were sitting near a fountain which the kids just loved. Obviously Oliver was the one who managed to get the wettest and was intent on climbing in there but he was unsuccessful!

On Friday it was haircut day for Oliver which was much more successful than last time. He had a lollipop and bear blankie and he was more than happy - even let the stylist use the trimmers!

On Saturday Grandpa Ray had his 60th birthday celebration which was lots of fun. Oliver and Mikayla entertained themselves by playing with a train and a car up and down the driveway! Oliver disappointed Jon by eating my veggie burger instead of any of the meaty food that had been brought in :) He did the same the next day when we had a BBQ at home.

On Monday we went to a play date at Andrea and Ezra's house. They happen to live in a part of Minneapolis that is on the flight path - noisy, yes but so entertaining for Oliver. Every time one flew over he pointed up at it and was quite excited!!

And yesterday we spent the morning at Como Zoo and went to Matt and Jennifer's in the evening. Aunt Pauline and Uncle Keith have been in town from Canada so we all had dinner over there which was lovely. I risked going around the zoo without the stroller and Oliver did really well pretty much walking the whole way. After dinner I had a mum's night out at a friend's house playing Bananagrams - lots of fun!!

This afternoon is an ice cream social at someone else's house and another play date tomorrow morning. And of course it's father's day this weekend so Jon gets to be pampered - just like every other day then - ha ha!!!

I love this pic of my gorgeous boy - he looks very pensive but actually has a mouthful of goldfish crackers!

Getting wet by the fountain

This is an M&M cookie ice cream which I didn't realise was so big! Oliver picked off the M&Ms and gave them to me :)

Very grown up hair cut! Playing in Grandpa's garden

The fire pit was cold - I promise!!

Wearing my new muscle t-shirt and shorts from Grandpa and Grandma

Showing the other kids how to play with a wagon....

The training of Oliver continues - this week he learned how to put the rubber gloves on but he isn't tall enough to reach into the sink - soon :))


Jon entertaining Oliver and Mikayla

Turtle!

So this morning I was looking out of the window and I saw a turtle making it's way across our lawn which I thought was a bit strange! I took some pictures of it from inside then later I took Oliver out to have a look. He was very keen to touch it but I didn't let him - he just said hello and waved :) Later in the afternoon we took Scoop out on her walk and some other people alerted us to the turtle on the middle of the bridge. I managed to get past it without alerting Scoop and the other people told me it was a snapping turtle and could bite! They must have got hold of someone to come and move it as it was gone by the time we finished the walk. Pretty interesting though!!

Last Monday we hosted a play date in our garden. About 8 kids were here running around and playing on the swing and in the playhouse. It was great fun. We also went to a park and to someone else's house last week. And on Thursday Oliver and Mikayla had a play date at the park in Hopkins. The weather was just lovely until the weekend came and then it felt like the middle of winter again! It was still dull today but should be cheering up over the coming few days.

Our poor Scoopy has been concerning us this week. I saw her have a seizure on Monday morning which is the second one we know she's had (Jon saw the first). I took her to the vet later in the day and it seems likely she has epilepsy so we have some medication to give her if she has another seizure and if they become more frequent she will have to go on other medication full time. It's very scary and upsetting to see but 99% of the time she is our usual silly, happy dog :)

Today I took Oliver to the Eagle's Nest which is an indoor play area about 25mins away from home. He loved it!! He ran around like crazy and was ready to go home after 1.5hrs (he got his shoes and brought them over to me!!). Oliver also has a favourite song by the All American Rejects called "Gives You Hell" (not sure if that's popular anywhere else!). Anyway, every time it comes on he starts dancing so I managed to get a video of that today although he seemed more interested in bear blankie towards the end!!

I'll sign off by wishing my mum and Jon's dad very happy birthdays for today - hope you both had a great day :))


Having fun at our play date last week

Playing in the park at Lake Hiawatha



Spot which child wouldn't look at the camera for a picture....!

Turtle :))

Hanging out with Rowen on the fire truck

Playing with Ezra on the slide

Memorial Day weekend and more

Last Monday was Memorial Day so Jon had the day off and he took the Friday before off work as well so we had a nice long weekend. On the Friday we took Oliver swimming - we haven't been for ages so it was great to see that he still loved the water. But he has become a little (dare)devil!! He was determined to run into the deeper water without a second thought so Jon had to be there to catch him! It scared us just a little so we tried to keep him in the shallow part as much as possible. Hopefully we can get him back into swimming lessons sometime soon :)

On the Sunday we went over to Grandpa Ray's and Grandma Sandy's for a BBQ (well, Jon helped Ray move some wood and then we had a BBQ!!). I have never seen Oliver eat so much food! He had a hot dog, a brat, corn on the cob, baked beans and strawberry shortcake!! Of course he would never eat so much at our house if we had a BBQ as he proved last night :) Mikayla ate well too and really enjoyed devouring a chunk of watermelon!                    

I am so proud of Oliver's achievement of the week. For the first time he pointed at his nappy and went running to his changing mat and indeed he needed a change!! Now whenever he does a number 2 he invariably points at his nappy. The first stage in the long road of getting rid of nappies altogether!

Oliver and I have been to a couple of playdates this week. On Tuesday morning he threw his most major tantrum to date after I wouldn't let him play with toys he kept throwing around. It's so hard to know what to do when they get in such a state but he got over it. Thankfully I was at someone's house with other mum's who understand!

Yesterday we went out shopping and Oliver got some new books. I found a set of two book that have wheels and they are his new favourites I think! The car craziness carries on!! He loves seeing motorbikes, school buses, trucks, diggers, trains and pretty much anything else with wheels and an engine :) So today we couldn't resist buying a "Cars" t-shirt in the sale for him! Before bed tonight we read him a dinosaur book and he kissed all the dinosaurs and roared at the T-Rex on the last page - love it!

Other than that we have had lots of playtime outside in the fab weather and you will see a video of Oliver enjoying the garden and playhouse :)


Enjoying his biggest meal to date!

Mmmm - watermelon :)

Oliver in his friend's playhouse on Friday

Oliver pointing at the stairs - probably desperate to share Daddy's breakfast this morning!

Hello everyone!!