Impressions 5

The boys were feeling better and a little stir crazy, so we headed off to Impressions 5 for some good toddler fun!

The boys had a great time! Oliver loved the toddler room...especially the water table! We'll definitely be going back there in the future!

Fishing at the water table!

The light table was pretty neat as well!

Lovin' that digger!

ooohhhh...

Making slime...well, Mom and Aunt Saundra making slime...they made it about 5 minutes...

Some Christmas Illness

Shortly after Christmas, the majority of the family became quite ill. Jason took me to the ER overnight to make sure everything was okay with Spencer...thanks to Aunt Julie for coming over to watch Oliver. The day after that, Jason and Oliver came down with it...as well as Evan. Once the worst was over, we decided to go back down to Leslie and spend time with the Honeysetts since we were all contaminated anyways.

We had lots of baths and low-key playing...but everyone still had a great time.

Triple bath time!

Ready for bed Grandma....NOT!

Playing with our diggers

Happy early Birthday to Daddy!

Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa Garrett's

After our sledding excursion, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Garrett's house for some great food and great family!

Oliver absolutely loves playing with Evan and he even took quite a liking to Seth...which makes me hopeful that he will enjoy Spencer as well.

Opening Presents

Playing with Seth

Buffing up with Evan :)

Grandpa enthusiastically purchased a little Christmas train set for Evan and Oliver...which they thoroughly enjoyed...but it was missing several parts come the end of the week... :)

WOOT WOOT! Here comes the train!!!

A Christmas Sledding!

It was a nice morning, so Daddy decided to take Oliver for a quick sledding expedition at Grandma and Grandpa Feazel's...all while Mom stayed inside and took pictures :)

Christmas Eve

Oliver had a great time on Christmas Eve! He enjoyed all of his presents and expertly assisted others in unwrapping theirs.

Sitting with Mom while enjoying Grandma's Christmas light necklace

Froggie was a prize present! Everyone wanted to take him home!

Pretending to have nap time with his Pillow Pet from Aunt Shelly and Uncle Bill

Rolling his new Mickey Mouse suitcase around the room

All the good presents got the cowbell!

Assisting Grandpa with his present opening techniques

GO BLACKHAWKS!

His First Christmas Gift Opened!!

Thanks Sami! Oliver just loves his new easel and coloring books! We colored all night last night!

As I left this morning, he was coloring Rex the dinosaur...Odie was roaring while coloring him green :)

Turning into a Big Boy!!

Oliver has been learning more and more every day. Just this week he counted to 6 while taking care of his cars. I've never heard him go higher than 3!

He is also very concerned with possession. It's either Momma's coat, Daddy's coat, or MY coat!

He loves to have his own items, such as blankets and a spot on the couch. He also finds it very funny to "steal" mommy and daddy's blankies as well...

Oliver spends at least an hour a day coloring. He loves to pick out colors and trade them in for different ones. For some reason he always crumples up the paper to give it to you...a form of artistic expression perhaps??

Hooray for Odie-sized bananas! He loves to sit and eat an entire banana all by himself! It takes some effort to keep him sitting for the entire thing, but it's a work in progress :)

We're very excited for Christmas! He's just going to love all of his wonderful gifts from family, friends and Santa!!

Santa!

Oliver had a nice visit with Santa. He doesn't really know that Santa brings presents, but if there is a Santa figurine within 1 mile he'll see it :)

Oliver's 2 Year Check-up

Oliver's two year check-up went well. His weight gain has slowed a bit, but the Dr agrees that it is because of his recent refusal to eat...which he doesn't have a problem with at day care...go figure!

Other than that, he seems to be doing well! I'm going to start trying a few different techniques at meal times to see if they work...wish me luck!

Thanksgiving!

It was a trying Thanksgiving this year...but everyone made it home safe and sound, so that's all that matters!

Jason went down to Saundra and Adam's and Oliver and I stayed here. Oliver was determined not to eat the entire weekend and managed to get sick by the end of it. We did have a great time at Uncle Jim's 50th Birthday party (thanks to the video games) on Saturday! Jason came home Sunday night and I slept the entire day on Monday!

I think the word "holiday" is a major misconception...let's hope Christmas is a little easier!

Oliver's 2 Year Pics!

Almost 2 weeks ago a high school friend came down to my Mom's to take Oliver's 2-year pics. Today I got a preview of his awesome pictures! Here's a little collage I created until I can get my hands on the images :)

100 Days...

until Spencer is due to arrive! If he is anything like his brother, then he will arrive a few weeks earlier than that!

We are picking his crib up after the holidays...just add a mattress and a double stroller and we should be all set!

Oliver's 2nd Birthday

Yesterday was Oliver's second birthday. He had a great day with visits from Grandpa and Grandma Garrett and Grandpa Feazel. He got all bundled up and helped Dad and Grandpa Feazel pick up leaves and sticks in the back yard. Once I got home from work, Oliver and I went for a nice fall wagon ride.


We finished off the evening with some more cake! I told Oliver to pick one cupcake and he looked at me and said "two" and grabbed a chocolate and vanilla one!



He didn't do much more than lick the frosting off, but the girls were anxious to get in the living room for any offerings that Odie was willing to make. They all know how generous Oliver is when it comes to food!


Tomorrow, I'm planning on taking Oliver to his first movie. Megamind opens up tomorrow and there is a 1 o'clock showing. It's really close to nap time, but I think the popcorn and candy will keep him awake for a while. I hope he enjoys it!

Halloween!

Oliver went trick-or-treating for the first time on Sunday. He did pretty well for the 10 or so houses we visited down in Leslie, but he didn't understand why he just couldn't sit there and eat the candy as soon as he got it.

We couldn't get him to say trick-or-treat until the last house, but we got a "please" and "thank you" that got him extra candy at a few houses :)

At his first house!

Walking down the street to the next one!

RRRRAAAAAAARRR!

Of course Olive and Agnes couldn't be left out on the festivities and trick-or-treated with Oliver! We all thought Agnes' outfit was a little tight, but we didn't say anything... :)

Pumpkins!

After Oliver's party...and a much needed nap...Grandma Feazel and Julie's nephew John helped Odie carve his first pumpkin! I don't think he was too sure of the gooey pumpkin guts, but it was the start of a great tradition! Uncle Jeff wanted to toast the pumpkin seeds, and the dogs agreed...they kept stealing the raw ones from the mat.

Oliver's 2nd Birthday Party!

Oliver had a great time at his second birthday party. He had a great time playing with his cousins Lexi, Beckham and Cooper and his best bud Maddie! We were a little worried when MSU was so far behind, but the game and the party were victorious!

I don't know how we did it, but Jason fit all the goodies in the Tahoe. Thank you to all who could come and make Oliver's day special! He loves all his new toys and can't wait to play with them...even if I am convinced the Mr. Potato Head makers are crazy if they think we are going to be able to keep track of all his parts... Also, a special thanks to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Julie for the use of their house...we all loved the extra space and toys.

Blowing out the candle with Mommy

Yum! Cake!!

Presents! Lexi and Beckham were great helpers!!

Pinata time!

Not sure why Grandpa is down there...I'm sure he's "helping" with the candy!

New toys!