No More Crib

Earlier this week Noah asked if he could sleep on the floor in Oliver's room. We said sure, set up a little bed for him and said good night to the boys. Not five minutes later, Noah came out of the room laughing because Oliver kept climbing out of his crib and trying to snuggle with Noah. So, we gave it shot and put Ollie down there too. It took a bit to settle them down but they loved it and Oliver did great! They slept on the floor for three nights in a row so I decided today to make the switch that we've been talking about. The crib is gone/dismantled and Noah's mattress has been moved into Oliver's room. Joel wants to build the boys some new beds so until then they will sleep on their mattresses on the floor. We decided to make one room for sleeping and clothes and the other for all of their toys, a spare TV and whatever else they drag home. I have a note out to a friend who may need the crib but if she doesn't I may have a great crib that needs a good home so keep it in mind.

Two More Years

Oliver is so disappointed every time big brother and dad leave for karate. He loves to go and mimic what the class is doing. However, he can also get loud and frustrated when he can't get on the mats and be out there with them so he often gets to stay home with mom. The other night, after they left, he noticed that Noah had not worn his karate uniform jacket so Oliver put it on instead. He practiced his draw palm and draw punch, did a few kicks and then asked for a glass of milk. Must of needed to refuel after such a tough workout. Oliver has to wait two more years before he can sign up for karate too, by then he should be well at the top of his class if he keeps watching and learning from Noah.

Shh, be Vewy Vewy Quiet

On my elusive hunt for the perfect holiday picture I often found myself feeling like Elmer Fudd in his never ending quest to bag Bugs Bunny. Oh, I came close quite a few times and thought a-ha I've finally caught you, you wascally wabbit but it always got away. I won't post the one I finally did catch for our Christmas cards but here are a few of the wascally ones that I did catch.


Of course, I had visions of playing in the snow and capturing two happy boys on our journey. No such luck as you already know from previous posts.






I figured after a good nap in the car on the way home from the mountain that getting a cute shot of the two in front of the fire would be easy. This is the best one that I got and I took A LOT!




So, by this time, I'm figuring that I'm going to stop trying to pose the boys and just get a candid shot or two. Hey, I was getting desperate and anything at this point was worth a shot. I actually considered using this one because it truly depicts what goes on around here.






This is the one that almost made it into the Christmas cards. I had titled it "The Three Wise Guys" and had even uploaded it to my printer. I decided to try one more thing before going this route and that is when I got my shot. You'll get to see that one when your card arrives.

A Reading by Noah Wayne

From the book Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton...

Christmas Lights

Joel hung up some Christmas lights this evening and Oliver was helping. He held the strands, showed me where dad was, repeatedly and just enjoyed being out on this chilly night.

Thanksgiving In The Snow

We decided to veer off from the normal feast of Thanksgiving and head to the mountain for some fun in the snow. We had planned on being out of here a bit earlier than we did but I got called into work. So after a two hour delay we headed up to Mt. Hood. From this point on it feels as though we were on two separate trips at the same time. Let me explain, Noah had a great time. He loved being in the snow and couldn't help but roll around in it like an excited kid would. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't sled anywhere (they don't allow it on the mountain at all anymore) but we promised him that we would be sledding before winters end. We also know some great people who live up off of Wildcat Mt. Drive (you know who you are) that might let Noah sled around on their property sometime. Hint, Hint. =)

Anyway, that was Noah's trip and then there was Oliver's trip. This story was quite different. With the delayed start and a side trip to the store to pick up an extra SD card for our camera (yes, we left ours at home). We didn't make it up to Ski Bowl until Oliver's nap time. We got bundled up and I noticed Oliver was holding the remote to the DVD player that the boys were watching in the car. I took it away from him and it all went down hill from there. He did not stop crying until he passed out in the car about an hour or so later. It's one thing to hear your kid cry but it's something completely different when it's bouncing back off the mountain at you. Joel and Noah stayed out a bit longer while Ollie and I headed back to the car.

Like I said, Oliver passed out in the car. We headed up to the lodge and this time it was Joel's turn to stay with Ollie and let him sleep while Noah and I explored the lodge and the hills around it. It is so beautiful up there. I've been there many times but I forget just how awe inspiring it really is. We will hopefully try for another trip to the snow and this time avoid the little guy's nap time. Below are pictures of our "trips." I also posted some scenic pictures in the previous post that we took along the way.

Pictures of Noah's Trip

Pictures of Oliver's Trip

Scenic Pictures From Drive

"OH NO! Not Again!

Warning: Do not view the pictures if you are faint of heart or get queasy with ease...Shana.

Noah has some footed pajamas that he loves to wear. He had pulled his feet up out of the traction/no slip area and was "skating" around the house this morning while I was making his lunch for school. I heard a big thud then Noah shout, "OH NO! Not again!" Let me just add that he had also pulled his arms in so when he fell he could not stop himself at all. He came around the corner holding his chin and then I said, "Oh yes, you certainly did." He busted his chin open again and I immediately knew that we would be headed to the doctors for stitches. Luckily, Joel was able to come home and take him because I knew that Ollie would not sit quietly through that. Noah did great at the appointment and came out with six stitches which is one or two less than the last time this happened. If he keeps this up he will have as much scar tissue on his chin as his Uncle Ben! I also got to see a bit of myself in Noah this morning when I found him in the bathroom, pulling on the wound so that he could see the muscle and other tissue layers better. He then showed a bit of his father when he proceeded to tell me that it isn't the muscle that hurts because the nerve endings don't really go through them, it's all of the sensitive tissue around the muscle or getting to the muscle that causes the pain. Just what I need after a good adrenaline rush, an anatomy lesson. Anyway, like all good scrap booking mom's I had Joel take a few pictures for me...

The poor chin gets no respect!

Noah getting the stitches.

Six stitches and chin looking better!

Roaring Good Time!

I guess I'm going for a personal blog record in the uploading photos category! Today was Oliver's birthday party. We kept it very small and we had a great time. Oliver decided that the camera was no longer his enemy and posed for quite a few shots. Here's the rundown on the pictures:

Oliver opening then playing with a gift yesterday from Grandma Ricki; the super cute lion cupcakes decorated by my talented mom; Oliver concentrating very hard on the lit candles, they might sneak away you know; Oliver blowing out the candles; Uncle Ben being a goofball and putting Junior on Ollie's head; Oliver opening gifts, surrounded by friends; this next picture is a very special gift from Jack P., he made Oliver a diorama of the jungle - very talented and the perfect gift!; Ollie had to stack the cool Disney blocks that he got from Noah G as soon as we opened them; just a cute smile after presents, cake and ice cream; sweet Mackenzie showing Oliver how his new toy works.

It was a very fun party and Oliver LOVED the attention that he got from everyone...he is a ham and quite charming when he wants to be.

Proud Owner of a Two Year Old!

November 16, 2005

November 16, 2006
November 16, 2007
Happy Birthday Oliver!

It's My Birthday And I'll Do What I Want!

I've been trying to get a good birthday picture of Oliver this morning and apparently today is the day he's decided that the camera is evil. He also informed me that it's his birthday and he wants a balloon and to be the one taking pictures. So we have ended up with pictures like this...

Or this...
but, don't worry, I'll keep trying.

Recipe Anyone?

TODDLER CORN SOUP
STEP 1: Invite one toddler, with a cold and little appetite, to the dinner table with the rest of the family.

STEP 2: Ask toddler to stop playing with his food and to try at least one bite of everything on his plate.

STEP 3: Watch as toddler spoons corn from plate into glass of water.

STEP 4: Watch toddler stir concoction with spoon AND fingers.

STEP 5: Watch toddler try his "soup" and proclaim, "YUM!"

STEP 6: Use your good manners and say, "no, thank you" when offered a bite.

The proud chef!

GrandPop and Grandma Heidi

Grandpop and Grandma Heidi came into town this weekend for a quick visit. They decided to come on over and spend some time with the boys and buy them each a birthday present. Lucky for the boys, they even let them open them up and play with them. I realized, about five minutes after they left, that I had not taken any pictures of them with the boys! I even took the camera with us when we went down to the fish/train park. I did, however, get this cute picture of Oliver and his dad watching a choo-choo go by.

My don't they look a lot alike! We had a great time at the park, had a good visit over dinner and met up again this morning. Noah knew they were going to take him to the store to let him pick something out so he was a bit excited when they got here. You know, the monkey on crack, kind of excited. We FINALLY headed over to the store. Oliver picked out a Thomas the Train flashlight that makes choo-choo noises and Noah picked out a Lego set from the Mars Mission line. Pop and H had to leave before he got them all put together so Noah promised to make me post a picture or two on the blog. He picked these...

We had a great visit with Grandpop and Grandma Heidi and hope they can make it back soon. They seem to love spoiling the boys and the boys love to be spoiled. Thanks for coming over this way, love you!

Fun Hand Me Downs

My friend Stephanie came over to visit and brought some of her kid's old costumes - thank you so much! Oliver likes to play with them, or really pet them, but hasn't really tried much on. Noah, on the other hand, loves this one and actually slept in it that night. Steph and I also got to go out to lunch and visit some. I love it when Steph and I finally meet up (those schedules are always getting in the way) and get a chance to just talk, laugh, cry, whatever. I hope that all of you have at least one friend like Steph in your lives.

Prayers for those who Grieve

My sister-in-law and her family lost their nephew this past week. Link to this post and/or this post to read a little bit about Tony. They are asking for thoughts and prayers to get them through this and help move them towards healing.

Wouldn't You Think

That after this many years that someone would be able to come up with a way to make school pictures look less school picture-esque? Noah wanted to know why I was laughing when I saw the pictures and I told him that he is just so dang cute that I have to giggle a little. Don't get me wrong, my school pictures could scare most of you into hiding and I've seen much worse, but the raised eyebrows, the forced smile and the hair in need of a haircut...it just makes you smile and maybe even laugh a bit. Don't worry I have plenty of wallet size photos to share with all of you!

Defining Oliver

Noun: toddler
1. a young child

Noun: tantrum
1. a display of bad temper

Noun: temper
1. a sudden outburst of anger
2. a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
3. a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger

Adjective: stubborn
1. Tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield
2. Not responding to treatment
3. Difficult to treat or deal with
4. Persisting in a reactionary stand

Despite this he is still...

Adjective: adorable
1. Lovable especially in a childlike or naive way

Adjective: cute
1. Attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
2. Obviously contrived to charm

Adjective: loved
1. Held dear

Verb: love
1. Have a great affection or liking for
2. Get pleasure from
3. Be enamoured or in love with

Orangutans - You Can Help

The Oregon Zoo is constantly making the environment better for the animals and the people that visit them. They are currently working on two huge projects, Predators of the Serengeti and my favorite the Red Ape Reserve. The zoo, at this time is concentrating it's fund raising efforts on the big cats. The orangutans new exhibit Red Ape Reserve is also currently under construction but because the fund raising efforts are focused elsewhere at this time the budget leaves little for the extra enrichment items needed for these beautiful animals. My friend, Amy, and other primate keepers have joined together, on their own, to raise the necessary funds needed to provide this important piece to their lives at The Oregon Zoo. If you would like to help Inji, Batik and Kutai and enrich their lives you can purchase one of the incredible t-shirts pictured above (this would make a great Xmas gift). On the back, is the actual hand print of their male, Kutai. Just let me know how many, what color (green or orange) and what sizes you would like (they are available in both adult and youth sizes). They cost $15 each or 2 for $25. If you mail your check to me I will forward them to Amy. Please check back regularly for other opportunities to help and please forward this information to anyone that loves The Oregon Zoo. Thank you!
Get to know Inji, Batik and Kutai