Seaside, OR

One of the many things we did over the summer was go down to Seaside for a few days.  We stayed two nights; after two nights, I wanted to stay for more but we had to get back due to the craziness that was going on with our move.  Next year we will definitely be spending more than two nights there.

My brother, SIL, and niece also came down; we met up a few times but also did our own thing (in typical Seaside family trip fashion). 

Me and my arms are on here only because I love the look of pure joy on his face.  We were lucky enough that there was no one in the pool, so it was a great way to get to play with him without worrying about other kids splashing or being too loud.

We did get to the typical Seaside things - Carousel (as seen above), the aquarium, pool time, breakfast at Pig 'n' Pancake, and playing in sand.  You would think going in July would mean that it was sunny.  Wouldn't you know it, it RAINED and was cold and cloudy the whole time! 

Oliver and Chelsea loved the beach - particularly running around in circles!  Oliver's highlights also included destroying all the sand castles I was making.  He thinks he's Godzilla or something.



It is quite amazing how a trip to the ocean really recharges your batteries.  We all felt like new people after leaving.  Oliver had a wonderful time.  We cannot wait to get back next year - let's pray for SUN next time!

Fell off the blogging wagon...

Oliver turned 2 and the next thing you know, the blog stopped!  It was a hiatus due to a number of things, but as you know, sometimes life gets in the way - which is not always a bad thing. :-)

Oliver, Tim, and I have had a fantastic summer including a trip to Seaside, wading pools, parks, Golden Gardens, running, walking, and MOVING!  We will get to that last bit in a moment - but here's just a few videos from the past few months:

I will get back on it, I swear!  I had this going so I had something to look back on to see how our little guy has grown.  We had a crazy last few months so it should be back to normal soon!

2 year stats and other stuff

Sorry for the delay in updates.  Our work has been CRAZY BUSY which leaves no time for blogging updates.  :-(

So here are the stats on our guy for his 2 year check-up:

Height:  2 feet, 10 1/4 inches  (46 percentile)
Weight: 25 pounds  (15 percentile)
Head circumference: 19.69 inches  (83 percentile)

Our little guy continues to be full of big brains but still petite.  His pants are still in the 18 month range and tops are either 24 month or 2T.  No shots on this visit and next well-child checkup isn't for another year! 

A few weeks back while Tim was in Pennsylvania, I met up with my mom, brother, SIL, and niece for Touch-A-Truck down at Magnuson Park.  Here's my brother with my too cool for school niece and Oliver.

    

Oliver had a lot of fun - he is a boy's boy that loves trucks and buses and construction vehicles.  We went over to the playground afterwards where Oliver and Chelsea both had a wonderful time.

Some other stuff we've been busy doing.  Reading.  Trains.  Watching shows about trucks.

                   

 

Yesterday was Father's Day - we had a very relaxing day of Tim, Oliver, and me time.  We went to the Ballard Farmer's Market, Tim got a haircut, played with the trains at Ballard Coffee Works.  After a nap, we had more playtime and then over to my mom's for dinner.  Tim had a wonderful Father's Day, especially since it involved having a burger for dinner!  :-)  No pics from yesterday (besides the one a the trains above), but take my word that it was a lot of fun.

Happy 2nd birthday!

I'm not sure where the time went, but someone around here just turned TWO.  Two.  OMG.

In typical Hollingshead fashion, we spread out his birthday (if you count the time in Pennsylvania, this Birthday Extravaganza has lasted for 2+ weeks).  On his actual birthday, we celebrated with cupcakes and ice cream.  Here, Tim, Mom, and I can't carry a tune.

Is it just me, or are you super impressed how he just blew those candles right out?! 

We had a small get together on Sunday for his party - I am pretty sure everyone had a nice relaxing time.  Oliver loved seeing everyone and, of course, enjoyed getting to blow out more candles.  :-)

 

Whew, buddy!  You must be on a sugar overload!  Happy birthday to my favorite little guy!

Pennsylvania | Part two

While in PA, we went to visit Tim's other grandparents (his Dad's mom and dad).  They live a good way out so I was pretty thankful that we got to go in his sister's Suburban.  It was outfitted with a DVD player which kept Oliver and his cousins occupied when they weren't sleeping.  For the record, we probably watched Cars 6+ times just in the car alone during our whole PA trip.

 Having lunch at Donna's...

  

Oliver has been loving all the dandelions. He has become a master of blowing the seeds.

   

We then made another day trip to go visit Tim's dad. He lives in a super remote area apparently because I had no cell service there, and an hour before and after. :-\ His dad bought a bicycle (actually tricycle) that had a basket in the back. I was freaking out because Tim wanted to ride around with him in the basket. Oliver did fine - just sat and didn't try to jump out. Crisis averted.

   

Lastly, we went to go visit one of Tim's cousin's working dairy farm. Oliver went last year also. This year, he was very excited to sit on the tractors and check out the cows.

 

We had such a hard time pulling him away from the barn! Our little city guy loves the farm life! We had a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful trip. Tim's mom said it was probably her favorite week off as she got to spend it with her son and daughter and all her grandkids. We are so grateful for their love and cannot wait to go back.

Pennsylvania | Part one

I know it has been a long time since I posted!  We have been extremely busy at work so my downtime between calls has been non-existant. 

Tim, Oliver, and I just returned from Pennsylvania where we visited Tim's family.  I was SO looking forward to some time off.  We were a bit concerned about the flight (Oliver did wonderful) and whether he would warm up to Tim's family quickly (it was pretty immediate).  Oliver had a absolutely wonderful time.  Here are a few highlights.

We had delightful weather for the duration of our trip, with the exception of a day and a half of straight downpour. Oliver was a madman running through the grass.

We celebrated Oliver's birthday / Mother's Day with Tim's family.

 

Oliver had some cake and ice cream, and also got nice cards and gifts from the family. 

 

Oliver had a lot of cousins to play with. The one above shows Sarah (back to us) who is his 2nd cousin, and Lexi who is one of his first cousins. Lexi and Sarah are both about 10 months younger than Oliver - but like I mentioned in a previous post, Lexi is big. She is the same height and weighs more than he does. She has bigger clothes and shoes.

I am going to end this here and hopefully will get the rest finished! 

Parks and stuff

Lucky Oliver has many parks at his disposal.  We went to Volunteer Park the other day with my mom (Nona).

This weekend was beautiful! Tim, O, and I got to go to the beach on Saturday and the park on Sunday.  Oliver had such a great weekend!