Halloween!

Okay, so I know it's been a while since my last post, so I promise this one will be filled with cuteness.  :-)  Oliver was a cow for Halloween.  Or a bull, depending on who you are asking.  My mom made him his costume, complete with a hat that had horns and ears, but he refused to wear it. 

We went over to my Mom's for dinner on Sunday, where my niece Chelsea was a chocolate chip cookie (outfit made by my SIL).

Several attempts were made to put his hat on. He always ripped it off as soon as you put it on. Stubborn as a bull. Hey-yo!

We even tried the hat on other people, myself included, and Oliver came over and ripped the hat off. I wasn't watching TV, but saw on this photo that "Fear Factor" is coming back? What?!

Monday evening, Oliver and I went down to Market St here in Ballard to do a little trick-or-treating. He definitely got that he was to hold the buck.

I got him out of the stroller, and he saw how the other kids would put up their candy vessel up for candy. So he gave it a try. The lady tossed in a dum-dum into Oliver's bucket.

          

        

Oliver was probably thinking, wow, she gave this to me!  After this, he refused to hold the bucket, and just wanted to carry the dum dum around.  He would burst into tears if I tried to give him the bucket.  I attempted to show him how you can get MORE candy... but he was satisfied with his one piece. 

So I was, too.  :-)

He had a wonderful time just watching the other kids that were dressed up.  We played a bit on the back patio before heading inside for a bath.  In his other hand is a box of Nerds, which he loved shaking.  Hey Oliver, Nerds are for eating!

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... :-)

Hike!

Gooooood Monday morning, y'all!  I am recalling the weekend in my head and thinking, where the heck did it go??  Oliver is learning so much right now, it's MADNESS.  After being a relatively quiet guy, he is really practicing the talking thing.  He does a lot of jabbering, but sometimes you can catch a word or two.

For example, as he squeals with delight chasing the cats, we can hear him say, "Ki-ki!" Something else that was funny - we were watching part of Sunday Night Football and there is a commercial where a guy at an auto body shop picks up the phone and says "Thank you for calling A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A Auto Body" and right after that line, Oliver says, "A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A."  We have really watched our language since he's been born, but this gives even more incentive to watch our P's and Q's.

Oliver recently got this little nerf football.  Tim has taught him how to hike the ball.  Silly guy now likes to just put his head on the ground and look between his feet!

We went to a potluck on Sunday that our daycare was hosting.  I brought my camera but forgot to take it out the whole time!  Darn!  It was a lot of fun, and we all are pretty good cooks.  :-)

Fall is in full swing so I hope we can get to the Arboretum before all the leaves are gone!

Oliver update

I'm a little late getting this out - Monday I was volunteering and yesterday I was sore from all the heavy lifting I did on Monday.  :-)  All that good karma comes with a price.

Little man turned 16 months on Sunday, and he is a walker now, although not in a direction you need him to go.  He also is still practicing on the stairs at the condo which is great fun.  Here is also a list of things he gives thumbs up and thumbs down...

Things Oliver likes:
Walking
Kitties (see video below)
Squealing with delight (while chasing the kitties)
Milk
Showing you his bellybutton
Bringing you a book, then you reading to him
Elmo (really Oliver?  What about Grover?)

Things Oliver dislikes:
Dolls (they make him cry)
Pink feather boas
When I have a towel on my head, post shower
Diaper changes
And, of course, being told no

Not too many things make him upset, although Tim and I think he will be a sensitive little guy as he grows older.  The home daycare he goes to 3 days a week commented on how quiet he is.  We had always noticed too that he is more of an observer rather than a doer.  He is a sweet sweet boy, and we love him so so so so so so much.  :-)

A quick video of Oliver cornering Bailey.  The middle of the video gets kind of dark, and I was too lazy to edit it.  So feel free to forward it along.

Post sickness

Little O seems to be getting over the hand, foot, & mouth disease.  It has been a really awful sickness - fever, sores, rashes, crankiness... yesterday he spent the day with my mom and seemed to be in better spirits than the past couple of days.

This was the beginning... he had a few spots on his face. 

Getting him in the bath was a bit difficult as the sores would get inflammed with the warm water.  But I did manage to get a smile out of him :-) 

He did a lot of sleeping, especially on Thursday and Friday of last week.  This one is from Saturday when Tim and I were out running a few errands (sorry Oliver, but we do have a few things to take care of!).

Here's hoping we can go a month before the next illness so I can bank up some PTO again!  :-)

Oliver, aka the walking machine

I was going to update on how I am sick again, but it's really OLIVER who is the sick one.  We were notified by Oliver's daycare that the coxsackie virus, aka, hand, foot & mouth disease, was going around.  We thought little man was in the clear until he was up with a fever last night and had spots on his face, hands, and feet this morning.  :-(

So he is now at home today resting up. 

On to happier note, Oliver is officially a walker!  Yeay!  We went to a local event on Saturday down at the spray park, and Oliver actually walked around just like all the other kids.  I tried to get him to pose with Tim, but he was so distracted.  :-)

A few other cute photos over the past couple of days... first he shows us his new toy - the ever popular corn popper (I think it is LOUDER than it used to be).  He then shows us how awesome sand is.  He hearts Golden Gardens.

                  

G'Gpa was nice enough to buy Oliver some SHOES.  He was in need of them badly since he is walking now, but we haven't found any that fit his chubby little feet. 

Sunday, Oliver visited my mom's friends, Susan and Joe.  They have transformed this sandbox into a wading pool, which Oliver gives the thumbs up on!  Susan is entertaining Oliver with bubbles. :-)



So pre-sickness, Oliver has had a great couple of last days.  It's been SOOOO nice and warm!  One last video of Oliver rocking out on a box.