So Grown Up!

Ollie loves to shave just like Daddy. The cutest thing is when they both shave together in the morning. My guys!

Tennis guy flashback. These pics are from a while ago...but I think they're soooo cute! Ollie really likes to watch tennis--especially if he gets to hold Daddy's tennis racket and wear a "tennis guy" headband!

Ollie's Grandpa Paul visited this weekend...and Ollie had so much fun! Ollie & Grandpa went on lots of walks and saw lots of construction trucks (which we've been hearing about ever since Grandpa left)! Ollie also got a duck call of his very own--his new favorite toy. I'm waiting for the day a row of ducks appear at our front door! Mostly, though, Ollie liked reading stories with Grandpa on the air bed and was more than a little disappointed when he was stuck with just Daddy and Mama after Grandpa's visit. :)

Even though Ollie doesn't get to see his grandparents as often as he (and we) would like...he's still very attached to them. He does a great job of talking to them on the phone--answering questions appropriately and filling them in on all the important details of his day. A funny thing happened recently when Ollie was talking to Mimi on the phone. She told him that she and Granddad were on their way to visit Great-Grandpa Leif, and Ollie misunderstood and thought that he was going to get to go, too. He started talking about Grandpa Leif's "water tank" (propane tank), his swing and the "broken car" (a wooden toy that Ollie likes to play with). When I told him only Mimi & Granddad were going and that we were too far away to visit, he got very upset and started crying, "Go with him! Go with Grandpa Leif!" It was very sad...and I realized how confusing time and distance must be for a not-yet two year old. But, it was also endearing to see how much Ollie loves his family both near and far--and what clear memories he has of spending time with them.

Random funny thing from this evening's bedtime. Ollie was sitting in my lap while we were reading stories when, from out of nowhere, he blurts, "I like sitting on Mama's prickly legs!" haha! I love that he tells me (with as much detail as he can muster) all the little things in life that make him happy.

1...2...Buckle My Shoes

Ollie, at bedtime, pretending to be "Daddy." His hair is wet from his bath...and he's getting ready for storytime with the "Daddy sweatshirt" on. He REALLY wanted to sleep with the sweatshirt on...but he & I compromised by merely sleeping next to it. When I went in to check on him later, he was clutching it next to him. So cute. The next few nights, he insisted on going to sleep with the "Daddy blanket" covering him. He really does miss Daddy at night but likes to know that when he gets home from work he will "peek at him."

The three of us had an interesting conversation recently. While Ollie and I were waiting in the car for Daddy to come out of a store, we saw a giant raccoon cross the street. When Daddy came back to the car, Ollie excitedly said, "Daddy! A raccoon crossed the street! Ummm...animals eat raccoons." This floors me, as we don't eat animals in our house (both Ollie & I are vegetarians) and, as far as I can remember, we've never talked about how animals are considered food by other animals and some humans. So I ask him, "What do mean, Ollie?" He answers, "Ummm...sometimes foxes eat raccoons." Okay. That could be. "Where did you learn about that, Ollie?" asks Daddy. Totally ignoring the question, he continues..."and, usually frosties like to eat raccoons." ("Frosties" is the name he uses for snowmen.) Okay...I'm stumped. Maybe it's true. Maybe snowmen do eat raccoons. I guess I learned something! :)

My one year old is turning two next week! I'm not ready!!! My little guy is getting bigger and bigger every day. I look at this picture and video from July...and compare it to today...and he has changed so much. While I celebrate each of Ollie's new accomplishments, each one brings a bit of sadness, as well. Caring for a child--and watching them grow and change before your very eyes--is a constant reminder of just how little time we actually have with the people we love. Life goes so fast! I don't mean to be a downer...I'm just trying to soak up every little minute I have with this silly little boy. :)

My one year old at 19 months old (yes...i'm incredibly retrospective these days!).

Transcript: (watching the birdies on top of our apartment building) Flew away! See...more. (hearing the siren) Ambulance! Ollie has had a fascination with ambulances since he was quite young and can talk for a while, now, about how ambulances come to help people who need to go to the doctor, if they have boo-boos, or are sick or hurt. Hopefully, he will never need to see an ambulance for himself.

Turning to Ice

It was pretty cold here earlier this week, and Ollie heard me say something about his little fingers turning to icicles when we were playing outside. Now, whenever one of us says we're cold, Ollie says, "Oh no...Mama's (or Daddy's) turning to ice!" It's so funny. The cold makes me fantasize about warmer times. The video below is from this summer.

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Ollie really enjoys wrestling with new concepts and classification systems. Lately, it's been about what's "human." A few nights ago, we were eating applesauce when Ollie commented, "Mmmm...applesauce...human." To which I queried, "What do you mean, Ollie?" Ollie replied, "Applesauce is human." I explained that applesauce is made from apples, and he corrected me by saying, quite knowingly, "Applesauce is made from humans." "Ollie, we're human. Mama's human. Ollie's human. Daddy's human. Apples are a fruit...a plant...not human." Not quite believing me, he ventured, "We are people." (Mama:) "Yes...people are human." Ollie concluded the discussion with, "Grown-ups are people. Applesauce is human." I guess we'll have to pick this up again later. :)

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He's also gotten VERY opinionated about his clothing. If I pick something out he doesn't want to wear, I'll hear, "I no like those socks! or..."Ollie no like those pants!" until an article of clothing that meets his approval is selected. He's also REALLY into pretend play these days. Some days he's a puppy, some days a kitty. Last week, he was an ant for a day and "Ollie Beluga" the next. This morning, he was a curtain. That was a new one. Both Christopher and I were a little stumped about that. But, he insists on being called by whatever his persona is for the day. For example, today...if I were to say, "What are you doing, Ollie?" He would correct me with, "What are you doing, Curtain?" Only if I repeated him with the correct title (curtain) would he answer my question! But without fail, at bedtime, Ollie becomes "Daddy." He likes to read bedtime stories while lying on Daddy's side of the bed, and he's taken to wearing Daddy's socks to sleep...which is hilarious as they reach all the way up to his diaper line. He's such a creative little guy...and sooooo funny these days. He has an amazing sense of humor and likes to tease and play. Often, when he thinks something is funny, he'll verbally let me know with, "That's funny...I'm laughing!"...at which point, the giggles will begin. He truly narrates his every action throughout the day!

Bedtime stories with Daddy.

More Thens and Nows

We have a lot of fun going to a waterfall near our home. Today, Ollie met a friend of his there for a playdate. Here, they are stomping down sand piles. Ollie was so sweet with her. He kept giving her LOTS of hugs. She wasn't quite sure what to do with him. Maybe, we need to start talking about personal space with him! :)

Ollie & his friend sit in the giant chair.

Ollie's buddy, Sean, came to play, too! One of Ollie's favorite things about the waterfall is this elephant statue/fountain. The nice thing about cooler weather is that the water's turned off and he can ride it!

Ollie held onto this cracker for almost an hour before eating it. Too funny.

These pics are from a trip to the waterfall this summer. I miss all of Ollie's curls!!! To this day, Ollie loves his umbrella and takes it as many places as he can. On this particular day, the umbrella went with him to the waterfall.

Post-waterfall tea party. Ollie likes to share his afternoon snacks with his bunnies. He props them up on the table, like this...talks to them and feeds them by hand. Trying to give them milk was where I drew the line. :) I thought this was so cute, I had to take a picture.

Beach Day Now!

Ollie had quite an exciting morning. First, he poured milk in Daddy's cereal for him when no one was looking (and didn't spill a drop! Ollie thoroughly enjoys pouring things these days.), then...Ollie and Mama went to the beach. We had a lot of fun...until Ollie decided to go for a swim! Actually, we still had fun even then. We just had to get home, take a warm bath, and have some hot chocolate with marshmallows. yummy!

Ollie's buddy, Sean, gave him this hat yesterday. Ollie has insisted on wearing the "Sean hat" as much as he can since then...indoors and out.

In addition to loving hats, Ollie adores his mittens...which I love, since last year, we couldn't get him to keep any on. He loves them so much, though, that he's slept with them on the past three nights. It's so funny. About the only time he takes them off is to eat. Apparently, he doesn't think he's quite as efficient at eating with them on.

I enjoyed comparing the pics from our beach visit today with some from a beach day this summer (see below). It truly amazes me how much Ollie has grown and changed in just a few months! How time flies....

And into the water we go!

Beach Day Then...

What?! We're going to the beach today? Woohoo!!!

We spent as much time at the beach as we could this summer. Here is Ollie getting ready for a morning in the sand. He's packing up his beach toys. Check out all those curls. I miss them!

Ollie in his shades.

Collecting shells.

Stomping in the water with Daddy.

We LOVED how Ollie would dig like a little doggie!

Kites Up High

Ollie loves to have things hanging from our living room ceiling. He especially loves helping Mama and Daddy hang them up by climbing on our step ladder and pretending it's a drum. (He drums on EVERYTHING these days...his favorite being the lids of metal garbage cans. He tells us he's a chapel drummer. One of Ollie's favorite things about chapel is watching the musicians.) For a while this year, we had kites and rainbows hanging from the ceiling (we now have suns and teddy bears). I'm posting this pic because of the video below...another clip from a while ago that I found as I was sorting through pics & videos. I think it's from June. I already miss the pudginess to his body, which is starting to go away...and the cute way he spoke then.

Color Day! We sorted some of Ollie's toys by color which he thought was really cool. He's pretty much got his colors down now. (And he does a super job of counting. Though, the other night, we were at a 27th birthday party for a friend, and Ollie started counting the birthday candles. "un...two...free...four...cow!" Not quite sure what that was about...maybe the effects of too much sugar! but he got a good laugh. heehee)
One of his favorite things to do is tell me when to stop or go at stop lights. And, when a light is red, he'll point to it and say, "Turn green!" He's pretty good at getting it to change colors for me. :) The other day, we were at a 4-way stoplight, with all four lights red. He was telling the red light to turn green when he noticed that, instead, the lights going the opposite way had turned from red to green. Surprised, he said, "Mama those other lights over there turned green. Go!" Probably a good thing he wasn't driving that day.

I like to take air out of that beach ball...

Ollie insists on sleeping with all of his buddies. They always start sitting around the crib, by the rails...but when we go back to check on him, he has them stuffed underneath him...like this. We think it's so funny. This is Ollie with Celia (his baby), Ellie (the elephant) and Platypus. Bla Bla Monkey is pinned underneath Ellie, poor guy.

A pic from a while ago...but one of my favorites. Ollie loves to be wrapped up in blankets and towels.

"I like to take air out of that beachball."

We had some dear friends visit this week from Australia. (I will post pics soon from that visit.) Ollie LOVED playing this beach ball game with Steve. Ollie would squeeze all the air out, stick the deflated ball to his tummy, and then demand that Steve blow it up again. (Yes, our little guy is in his birthday suit. This was right after bath time.) The game went on for quite a while...until Steve fell to the floor nearly passing out...which Ollie, of course, thought was just as much fun! :) This is also a neat clip of Ollie's talking these days. I know I'm his mama and think everything he does is "unbelievable"--but I still can't get over all of these words coming out of his little mouth!

Happy Halloween!

Wow...I can't believe it's been this long since I've posted anything!!! We've been just a little bit busy. We had an amazing summer...spending about six weeks visiting our families back home. I will post "summary" pics sometime soon. This semester has been CRAZY. I am looking forward to next semester (my last) when doctoral applications will be done and I can simply enjoy our last few months here.

Ollie is a pleasure, as always. He's our little conversationalist...engaging just about anyone he can in dialogue. Sometime near the end of the summer, he started using complete sentences. Few people believe that he is still one year old...and speaking so proficiently. He amazes us. There are still funny mix-ups, especially with pronouns like "I" and "you"...which help to remind us just what a little guy he is. :)

For Halloween, Ollie was a tomato! He loved the day...trick-or-treating at Mama's school, Daddy's work, and participating in a Halloween parade with other children from our apartments. As soon as he saw his daddy at work, he ran down the restaurant alley, tomato costume bobbing up and down, shouting, "Trick-or-treat, Daddy! Ollie's a tomato!" Coffee drinkers at the sidewalk cafe along the way were pleasantly amused. We decided not to trick-or-treat this year, but gave Ollie full control over answering the door and distributing treats. He was hilarious! He would squeal with delight each time the doorbell rang and carefully select the candy he deemed appropriate to give away to each little visitor. Our neighbor across the hall was wonderful with Ollie...encouraging trick-or-treaters to say, "Happy Halloween, Ollie," which Ollie, of course, enjoyed. Each time we would arrive at the outside door at about the same time, he would have a new trick or game to play with his little neighbor, Ollie. I'm thankful for good neighbors! A few times Ollie asked kids to come in and play...which was very cute. He was especially excited when he recognized a costume or character...and once even gave a little boy a hug! The most exciting trick-or-treater of the evening was when Daddy came home early from work. Ollie insisted he go outside again and again to ring the doorbell so that Ollie could answer it and give him new treats.

Ollie trying on pieces of his costume as Mama makes them.