Early birthday party - 3 years old!

This past weekend, we had a birthday party for Oliver with a few friends and family members.  Since O's birthday falls on Memorial Day weekend, we didn't want to hold people hostage in case they had plans already.

A side note, I am going to be uploading videos to YouTube now.  For some reason, Vimeo does not think my videos are valid files.  I've also updated my YouTube channel so that my prior videos are public, however it made them out of order.  Just a little FYI for you.  :-)

One of Oliver's request was for pumpkin pie (in May, sure, why not?), but we of course had cupcakes. 

One of his gifts was a parachute.  Since we had enough people, we broke it out.  I love how Oliver just walks right through it like it wasn't even going up and down!

We all had a great time.  Oliver loves his new toys and enjoyed the day.

Bonus video of my mom with Oliver playing with Zurg!

Oliver and Chelsea

Oliver has been spending some quality time with his cousin, Chelsea.  The other day, we went to my brother's for dinner; my mom then deemed them both to be stinky so they took a bath together.  So cute.

Oliver loved having a bath buddy. :-)


Sunday, we watched Chelsea for a while. I thought it was going to be a scary situation as they were both due for a nap at the same time. Luckily, Oliver slept like normal in the crib, and Chelsea took a nap with me in the bed.

She has taken her first steps so soon enough she and Oliver will be chasing after each other. Speaking of the crazy man...

Eating like a dinosaur.  Just like his Daddy.  ;-)

Zoo time

With the first beautiful weekend we've had in a long time, we took the opportunity to use an annual pass for the Woodland Park Zoo.  Apparently the rest of the city thought to do the same - it was pretty busy considering that it was February!



We had a fabulous time - it really wiped us all out so Oliver got to take a little nap during the forbidden nap time.  Now that the pass is activated, we are excited to go any time, even if it is just for an hour or so. 

Oliver's highlights include the jaguar, elephants, and the gorillas.  The bears were not out, but we're hoping to catch them next time.  :-)

Christmas morning

It has been crazy busy at work this week - I think our customers are all getting things done during the winter break here and it means no time to blog!  :-(

This year, we had a pretty darn good Christmas.  Oliver was NOT sick (as opposed to last year), and he had fun ripping open gifts with a little help from us. 

Not that this is about me or anything, but I would like to put out there that it is 7 in the morning, so I am not looking my best. :-)

I'm posting this photo, too - because I love these two something fierce. And yes, still 7 in the morning.

The rest of the day was a typical Christmas day for the Hollingsheads - we went to Dad and Jana's in the afternoon (without my brother, SIL, or Chelsea as they were sick as dogs), and then to my Mom's for Christmas dinner.  It was a nice day with lovely people. 

Happy holidays!

Chelsea's birthday!

My niece Chelsea turned one on Friday, and my bro and SIL had a party for her on Saturday.  It was very nice; lots of good food, lots of presents for the birthday girl, and Oliver got to test out some of them, too!  :-) 

There was a gymnasium attached, and we found some balls to play with.  Of course, Oliver thought this was tons of fun.

               

We took a break from playing and ate. Oliver sat on Papa's lap and enjoyed putting the olive slices on his fingers then sucking them off. :-)

Chelsea then opened some presents. Lucky girl has so many people that love her!

               

It was cupcake time, and she loved that cupcake... to death!

Only one photo of Oliver with his cupcake. He doesn't get very much sweets, so he ate it in about 30 seconds. The WHOLE cupcake.

Can't believe it's been a year already with Miss C-Pants! That means Oliver is turning 2 before you know it!

Autumnal power

Wow, this weekend was the first where it actually felt like a crisp, fall day both days.  We had a packed weekend which meant that housework did not get done.  Darn that life getting in the way of cleaning!  ;-)

Saturday, we went up to Swanson's Nursery.  We had never been there before, but they had a hay bale maze for the small folks.  Oliver had fun in it, except for the one time he couldn't see Tim or me... but that was quickly remedied with kisses and hugs.

They also have a coy pond near the cafe.  Oliver thought this was super cool.  He loved watching them.  Tim showed him how you can pet the fish, or suck on your finger.  Oliver had his finger nommed on three times by a fish, and all three times he burst into tears. 

Sunday, we drove out to Fall City to visit Fall City Farms.  We did not buy anything (they had quite a bit of fresh, organic produce but the line to buy anything was extremely long).  We spent quite a bit of time just exploring and letting Oliver show us what he wanted to do. 

Highlights include:



     

Sunday evening we went to my Mom's house for dinner.  We celebrated my birthday, and my S-I-L's birthday, so both babies were present.  Nona was in Nona heaven! 

Pennsylvania, part 2 of 2

Oliver loves being outside.  Tim made sure to take advantage of the acres of lawn around the homestead...

        



Down the road is one of Tim's numerous cousins.  They own a dairy farm, so of course Oliver had to check that out.



I asked Tim what Oliver thought of the cows when they came home.  He said O was a bit scared - you know, because they are big!  Bippy in the mouth so he wouldn't put his dirty hands in.  Yucky. 

I also wanted to throw in an updated photo of baby Lexi - she is so cute, and would you look at her??  Her chubby cheeks are so nom-able.

Tim loves visiting his grandparents.  Oliver loves all the toys!  His grandparents have quite a few great-grandkids so they have a lot of things to play with when they come visiting.



The last bit of vacation was spent at Knoebels Amusement Park (and yes, you pronounce the K).  Tim, Oliver, Amy, Christopher, and Kathy went and had a blast. 

Love this one of Amy and Christopher.

Oliver got to go on some rides as well.  He was one tuckered out little dude by the end. 

Whew!  What a whirlwind vacation, buddy!  So glad you are home!

Pennsylvania, part 1 of 2

Tim and Oliver got back late Thursday night, and not only brought back pictures and video, but Oliver also brought back a cold!  He gave it to me and my mom so far.  He is such a giving little boy.  My throat is so sore this morning, but work is busy and I have no time off... so there ya go.

On the way to Pennsylvania, Oliver did pretty good on the plane.  He's a busy little guy who enjoyed playing with crayons, magnadoodle, and also listening to music.  Tim said he enjoyed taking the ear buds out and putting them back in like it was a game.

They had a brief layover in Chicago, where Tim was informed that his flight to Wilkes-Barre was cancelled because they didn't have a crew (this is where you say, "WTF??").  He took an alternate flight to a different airport about 2 hours away from his home in PA.  Tim's brother-in-law was nice enough to make the trek to pick up T & O.  Oliver took a little nap while waiting.



Not only was the flight cancelled, but Tim's luggage got lost.  Tim doubted it would show up on the next flight to Wilkes-Barre (which would be the next day), but a phone call was received Saturday afternoon that the bag had shown up.  Note to self:  American Eagle are a bunch of morons!

Oliver enjoyed having breakfast with his Grandma Kathy.

One of the reasons Tim and Oliver went to PA was to go to the Hobbie carnival.  Hobbie is the township where Tim lived, and every year they have a carnival to raise money for the fire station.  Tim's mom works the pizza stand, and Tim's sister and brother-in-law, Amy and Barney, work at the soda toss (ring toss onto soda bottles). 

The little baby head at the end below belongs to Sarah, Tim's new 1st cousin once removed, or Oliver's new second cousin.  And if you think Oliver looks sticky and sweaty, you would be right!  East coast weather = hot and humid!

To beat the heat, Tim tried Oliver out in the pool:



The water was a bit too chilly as it got really cold at night and cooled the pool down.  He still looks super sweet (did you see his little feet under the floaty?).

Look forward to part two, where Oliver goes to an amusement park!  Fun!