Wisconsin & Minnesota

Indie & Great Aunt Karen

Grandma & Indie

Grandma & Great-Grandma

Indie & Grandpa

Indie & Uncle Scott

Ollie & Boo

Great- Grandpa & Indie

Aunt Amy & the boys

Aunt "Jefinner" and the boys with Mama and the boys

Uncle D.R. & Ollie

"Aunt Mama" & Indie

Mimi & Granddad

Ollie, Shea & Batman

Mimi & the boys

August in Wisconsin

Grandpa Leif's swing

Great Grandpa Leif and Indie Leif

Great Grandpa Leif, Great Aunt Lou & the boys

Trying to get a pic with the whole gang! I LOVE silly children...grumpiness & all!

Ollie and his cousins.

Bat-Ollie. Ollie's cousins let him play with their bat-mask during our visit.

Heart-to-heart with Aunt Nichole.

Uncle Seth & Aunt Nichole

Granddad & Mimi with the babies (Indie & Shea).

July/August

Ollie and "Grandpa Bob" play croquet before Seth & Nichole's wedding reception.

Chef Ollie

"Worker Guy" Ollie "on the job" with his measuring tape. Yes...the undies are part of his uniform.

A summer afternoon on the back porch...perfect for rainboots.

...and perfect for a snooze in the swing.

Three Month Old Indie Leif

How to Make a Pulley

Ollie World

Ollie is in constant question mode these days. He has a "question ritual" each day as Daddy leaves for work. As he opens the door to leave, Ollie will call out, "Wait! I have to ask you a question!" The questions that follow vary from day to day...but always make us smile. We've heard questions like, "So...where are you going...to work? What are you doing at work today, Daddy? Do you have ice cream at the restaurant?" Sometimes we hear. "Can I go with you? Are you driving the car? Can you walk to work?" And any question that might stall his leaving...even for just a moment, "Do you have your keys? Is it raining? Are you wearing a coat?" Ollie also loves "how are you" questions. It is not unusual to be asked, "So...how are you doing today, Mama?" Or..."How was work today, Daddy?" He'll start each morning with, "What do you want to do today? What should we have for breakfast?" Ollie's questions extend to the world around him. Every new word he hears, he asks about. Yesterday, he asked mee if I knew what "inflatable" meant? When we walked to the playground, he wanted to know what was underneath dirt and on our walk home, he asked what was underneath the street. We talked about water pipes and drainage tunnels. He also asks about first letters...ALL DAY LONG. "What letter does 'turtle' start with?" Or, "What word starts with 'c-l'?" This morning, he wanted to know what word started with 'o-c.' I offered, 'octopus' and 'october.' Then, he wanted to know what word started with 'o-c-o.' Is there one? I was stumped!

Out of no where, recently, Ollie asked his daddy, "Daddy...where is your graduation hat?" (We were particularly struck by this question since it had been many months since my commencement in May...and we don't keep my "graduation hat" lying around. Christopher told Ollie that his graduation hat must still be at his school. To which Ollie replied, knowingly, "Oh, yes...are they borrowing it?"

Over lunch not too long ago, Ollie asked, "Mama...what's your favorite animal on a farm?" I told him, and we talked about it for a bit. Then I asked him. "Sheep. I like sheep because I like their mouths...because they eat grass with them."

Indie Land

Indie still has an awful cold. I'm hoping he gets over it soon. He is so uncomfortable. Maybe because of that, his grunting has reached new heights. His "angry grunting" is downright scary. He sounds a bit like a wild animal! While it's a little funny, I'm hoping he finds some more reasonable ways of communicating. :)

He's also drooling LIKE CRAZY...so I'm guessing there will be a third tooth showing up in the near future. Between his runny nose, the mass amounts of drool, and illness-induced tears, his poor little face is always goopy and wet. And, since he's a tiny, smooshy cuddlebug, the shoulders of all of my shirts are goopy, too! gotta love it.

A visit from Great Aunt Kathy. Ollie never left her side! He kept referring to her as "my friend." Here, Aunt Kathy is protecting Ollie as he rolls and jumps across the couch on top of this ball. (Showing off for his "friend.") Aunt Kathy took him to a petting zoo, which he STILL talks about! (She visited in July.)


Indie's new mama, "Great Aunt Kelly." Aunt Kelly was my stand-in during the weekend of my brother's wedding this summer. Indie took to her immediately. She was able to soothe him and comfort him even at his fussiest. (Actually, I don't think he was ever fussy while he was with her! She would rescue him when he was fussy with me! haha!)






On this particular day, Ollie approached me about creating a pulley. I asked him if it was okay if I made a video of him teaching me how to make one. He agreed. I think the funniest part is when he realizes after he begins that he's not really sure how to proceed...but he just keeps going, convinced that if we just had more tools, we could figure it out!

Brothers

Ollie World

*****

Tonight, Ollie--once again--took the measuring tape to bed with him. When I tucked him in, he told me to kiss the measuring tape good-night. (Two nights ago, he insisted the measuring tape was a giraffe) So, when he stretched it up to me, I said, "Good-night, giraffe." "Um...no," Ollie relied, "It's a measuring tape."

*****

In the middle of the night, he awoke--crying--and asked me to cuddle with him in his bed. When I crawled in, he looked at me and said, "I'm not sure you need earrings on for when you sleep with me." Oh...really? "Maybe you should take them off, and I will hold them so you don't lose them." How about I just put them in my pocket? "Okay."

*****
A recent bath:
Ollie: "I can’t tell where your voice is coming from." What do you mean? "It’s bouncing around. It’s an echo!" That’s very good, Ollie. He totally ignores me and continues, "Ducks live in water like this, but we haven’t got any ducks. No, we don’t have any ducks in our shower." Then, he proceeds to “feed” the ducks we haven’t got by breaking off little pieces of soap and tossing them on the shower floor chanting, “feeding the ducks, feeding the ducks.”

*****

Indie Land

*****

Indie's got such a bad little cold right now. His nose is stuffy, and you can just tell he feels miserable. Despite being sick, he's rather fearless these days and loves to explore. He tries soooo hard to climb our stairs. I'm really not ready for that! He pulls himself up on everything and resists being set down on his bum. He always wants to start standing.

*****

He does have two fears. He is terrified of the vacuum cleaner and buries his face in the chest of whoever happens to be holding him so that he doesn't have to look at it. He also gets terribly upset when I walk away from him. Even if I just leave the room for a minute, he cries. Or...really, even walking to the other side of the room can be emotional for him. Poor little fella.

July


Indie zoning out while Ollie jumps off of the furniture.


July Videos









Transcript:
Tada! See the smoke?!
Hooray! Thanks for all your help.
Should we build it again?
So…what are we doing on this situation?
I’m digging for a bench.
I found two benches for on the porch.
How do the benches hook up? Like that?
We’re building a house…and now…





So...what are we doing on this Saturday?

Swimming Lessons

Welcome to Ollie World!

*****

This morning, as Indie was scooting around the living room, Ollie kept throwing a towel over him, giggling, "Look! A crawling towel!"

*****

We put up Christmas lights today. Ollie was in charge of the toolbox. Whenever we needed something (hammer, nail, measuring tape, etc), he insisted we check it out from his tool library.

*****

Later, the measuring tape became a giraffe whose neck kept getting longer and longer. Giraffe needed to give Mama and Daddy kisses tonight and is currently sleeping in Ollie's bed with him.

*****

Tonight, after running errands, Ollie asked if we could bring the car inside from the garage. It wanted to eat supper with us, he claimed.

*****

I've been going through old notes and found a record of a conversation Ollie and I had in early October. It made me smile.

Ollie: "When I get big…first, I’m gonna be a daddy, like daddy. Then, I’m gonna be a mama, like you! And I’m gonna do mama things!"

Oh...Like what?

Ollie: "Like…nursing indie, pumping, lifting heavy things, driving the car, doing projects, stuff like that!"

(I love getting glimpses of how Ollie sees us. Apparently, I'm maternal, handy around the house AND really strong!)

*****

In Indie Land...

*****

Indie now has two teeth, likes to clap, and loves pulling himself up to stand. Can this be happening already?! He ADORES Ollie and wants to do whatever big brother is doing.

*****

He's also a grunter. He communicates through grunting. Who knew there could be so many varieties of baby grunts? We find this even more funny because of how articulate Ollie is, and has been, for a child his age. We joke that Indie will be our male model. ha!

*****

July

Yes...I know I sound ridiculous. But, Indie looks so cute. :) And, 30 seconds before I pulled out the camera, he was cracking up when I made that sound.