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.  ;-)

Dentist and weekend update!

Our little O had his first dentist appointment this past week, and he did WONDERFUL.  We went to Greenlake Kids Dentistry (the name drives me crazy.. Greenlake - one word??  WTH).  This place makes me wish I was a kid so I could get my teeth checked out here!  It is in a pretty new building, and the place was full of Oliver's favorite things.  Duplos.  Thomas the Engine.  Cars movie.  It also had big windows for Oliver to watch all the buses as they went by!

Sadly I only have one photo to share.  Somehow they didn't save??  I dunno.  Stupid phone.

These folks were WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL.  Love.

Saturday, Oliver and I went downtown to pick up some bridal shower gifts for my awesome friend Brooke.  We got there a little before opening so we watched the cars and buses from the parking garage.



Oliver had a wonderful time helping me pick things out.  We also checked out my old hangout at Westlake Center (back in my Sunglass Hut days), and my how things have changed! 

We went to the grocery store afterwards where Oliver had a sample of an orange.  He sucked on that thing the entire time.  Then, we went for a walk around the neighborhood - Oliver had to check out every nook and cranny of every rock, stick, leaf, and crack.  Good thing we were not in a hurry. 

       

After I got back from the bridal shower, Oliver and I picked up some Paseo sandwiches. Oliver was busy running through the riverstones next to the building.

Sunday we went down to the Farmer's Market. Oliver loved watching all the musicians. He was dancing for most but this one he is just content on having Tim hold him.

Another great weekend under our belt.  Can't believe he will be two in less than two months!  What?!

Weekend update

I really try to slow the weekends down, but don't you know it, time keeps going just as quickly as ever.  Oliver, Tim, and I had another fantastic weekend.  Nothing too fancy, but even running errands to the grocery store and Fred Meyer is so much better with the fam.

On more cuteness, Oliver's new favorite word is "No."  Even when he doesn't mean it.  "Oliver, is it time to get naked?" "NO!"  "Do you want to leave your clothes on? "NO!"  He has the cutest little voice so for now him saying no is pretty darn adorbs.

Also, I was busy folding laundry and had the radio on.  Oliver came in to keep me company and it turned into a dance party.  Those Stray Cats really can make a toddler shake and shimmy!



The thing with his fingers in the beginning is him trying to snap his fingers because that's what I was doing.  My little dancing buddy. 

Hiatus update

January has slipped by so quickly - only 3 blog posts?!  What?!  I think between illnesses, the snow, and work being crazy busy, I am sad to see my poor performance in blogging.  Alas, it's February now.  New month.  Let's move on, peeps.

Recapping January, Oliver had his first bit with snow.  Not surprised that he was a fan of looking at this new and fascinating thing, but he was NOT a fan of how cold and wet it was.  Also not a fan of being pulled on a sled!  Not sure what that's about... I'm thinking next year may be a different story.  We shall see.

We love our fireplace.  We haven't had many fires since Oliver has come into the picture.  Now Oliver understands "hot" and "no touch" so it's a bit more feasible to have a fire while Oliver is awake.  Here he is supervising Tim making a fire.

Here's a couple other photos that happened last month.

Why we are pro-bumper in this house:



Oliver has figured out he can chomp a sandwich like a dinosaur now - no more bite size pieces!

My grandpa with Chelsea and Oliver. Oliver has been drooling like a mad man lately (more molars?).

                      

That's all the news that's fit to print... maybe you'd like a flashback of BABY Oliver?  How about this one...



School bus

My mom got Oliver this school bus which currently cannot leave his sight.  He woke up this morning pointing frantically to the school bus that was left on the nightstand. 

Silly guy

Things are status quo here, but here is a video from Christmas time...

Oliver continues to delight and make us laugh with all his craziness.  :-)

New year - new hair

I hope everyone had a wonderful new years!  Oliver rang it in with his FIRST HAIRCUT.  Based on recommendations, we went to The Salon at Kids Club in U Village.  

We were delighted to see that Oliver got to sit in a car while getting his hair cut.  He was pretty delighted, too.  :-)
 

Tim told me before-hand that he was going to be the one to tell how he wants it cut.  Being the loving wife that I am, I LET him have free reign.  ;-)  He wanted to get the sides and back cleaned up but not too short, and just a little bit off the top.  Tim really likes it the way it was, but just a bit shorter.  He didn't want him to look like a doofus.

Pre-haircut:

The lady who cut his hair was VERY good.  She worked quickly on this moving target.  Luckily Oliver didn't mind at all, as he was busy playing with the car and having a snack.

         

The after shot looks pretty similar - since his hair is so light, it's hard to see it anyway!

Here is a bonus video.  Oliver has been "talking" a lot lately.  Here is just a snippet of him telling me things (and climbing on the couch).

I hope everyone had a wonderful new years!  Tim and I had a good 2011 and are looking forward to 2012 when you-know-who turns 2! 

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!

18 month check-up!

It has been CRAZY BUSY at work lately, so I haven't been able to update the blog like I would like.  The most recent adventure for our little guy was his 18 month check-up!  The stats are as follows:
Height - 31.5" (26th percentile)
Weight - 25 pounds, 3 ounces (40th percentile)
Head circumference - 19" (70th percentile)

It should be noted that I fed him a very big breakfast, and they actually took his weight with clothes and shoes on (and a poopie in his diaper, muah ha ha), so the weight may have been a bit more than what it actually is, but I really did not want to have a discussion that he is too small. 

The doc was pleased with his growth, and how well he was looking.  Oliver got two shots on this visit and took it like a man - screaming and crying. 

Some other adventures include going to Swanson's Nursery.  I have told you about them before, and now they have a winter wonderland up there, including camels, santa, and REINDEER. 

The camel was interested in O, but O was not so interested in the camel. 

Here are some others from my camera over the past couple of weeks.

Also a video of Oliver practicing his balancing act on Tim's back.  He will be known as Oliver, the pantsless wonder!

Happy 18 months, buddy!  Can't believe the time has flown so fast!

Oliver, master of oatmeal

Oliver, aka master of oatmeal, is learning to master the spoon.  He loves to feed himself now that he knows how to do it!

His go-to breakfast in the morning is oatmeal with my homemade applesauce and milk.  He loves it.  Spike also loves oatmeal.  What a silly kitty.

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! 

The Outdoorsman

With less sunlight at night, it's becoming harder for us to play outside.  This doesn't stop Oliver, though.  Our little man LOVES being outside.  We have a patio in the back of the condo where recently a neighbor left a wheelbarrow (it is gone now), and you can bet that Oliver thought that thing was AWESOME.

We also walked down to Joann's with my mom on Friday - I had no idea Oliver would have such a good time!  He absolutely loves running through the aisles touching all the fabrics...

Perhaps one day he will be on Project Runway, making his Mom lots of cool things... :-)