Breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa- May 9th

Breakfast with Grammy and Grandad. We fed Oliver while we were eating too. He loves to chew on the tops of the Gerber food containers. He gets a little upset with us when we sign "all done" so if we use distraction techniques, we usually have a good response.
Grammy and Oliver
Oliver, or should I say the "Octopus" was grabbing everything he could see. We put him between Larry and Grammy. Amazingly he really liked sitting there. He had a great view of the entire restaurant. I guess he is nosey like me!
Just a silly face! I guess he loves his Aunt Christy!

Mommy and Daddy's first night out!

Our 5th anniversary was on Saturday. Larry took me to a really wonderful winery about 45 minutes from home. It is one of my favorite places! (Larry was planning to propose there years ago, but they were closed for the season.) Anyway, he planned a fun evening out while Grammy and Aunt Christy watched Oliver. When we got to dinner, Larry said that he planned a little surprise. I thought the red roses that he brought were exciting enough! After dinner we went to a movie! I kept thinking...WOW an entire evening out! How lucky were we? After the movie, the surprises kept coming. Larry surprised me with a night's stay at the hotel we stayed in on our wedding night. It was actually the same room! It was such an awesome day. Larry kept laughing at me because every so often I would ask him how he thought Oliver was doing. hee hee.

We took a fun family picture since we were all dressed up and ready to have a fun evening out!
Aunt Christy and Grammy are eager for us to leave I think. Look at their faces. They can have Oliver all to themselves.

Bathtime in Grandma's sink- May 7th

While we were gone, Oliver got a bath every night in the sink. His bathtub at home reclines him. He thought it was pretty special to sit up while getting a bath.
Grandma Sharon and mom getting him all cleaned up. He loves to have his head washed.
He only managed to go pee pee one time in the sink. Whoops! Sorry Grandma!
All ready for bed. His pj's say "crabby" on them. How far from the truth is that?

First ride in a shopping cart!- May 7th

We ran into the grocery store to order Aunt Christy's graduation cake. We were going to be brief so we left the carrier in the car. Mom thought it would be neat to put him in the cart! Daddy adjusted the strap so he could sit there snugly. He is such an easy going child. He didn't mind at all. We just had to be sure he didn't try to eat the cart. Luckily, this nice grocery store has sanitizing wipes at the entry way. I wiped the entire front portion of the cart down. I am sure people were laughing at me. I didn't mind though. Grammy is looking on to be sure he is a happy boy!

Aunt Christy graduates from college!- May 6th

Aunt Christy is officially a teacher. Well, she technically graduated last winter, but she was able to walk across the stage at the graduation ceremony this spring. After a long 5 1/2 years, she has her diploma. Right now she has a temporary position teaching 1st grade. She is working for someone who is on maternity leave. We were able to visit with her class for an afternoon while we were there. All of the children loved Oliver.
Cap and gown and ready to go!
Oliver was mesmerized by the tassel.
Fizzle isn't so sure what to think of Oliver. No one has ever been her size.
There is Christy in the center. We were texting back and forth before she walked across the stage to tell her where we were and to tell her to stop so that we could take her picture. Got to love technology!

The family with Great Grandma Lois.
Aunt Christy and Oliver. He didn't mind wearing the cap!
Christy, Great Grandma and Grandad
Great Grandpa Herb (Mindy's mom's dad), Oliver and Christy
Abby, Ally, Aunt Carol. Great Grandpa, Oliver, Christy, Aunt Judy and Aunt Lori. Christy was so lucky to have everyone there cheering for her!

Zoo- May 5th

Larry and I took Oliver to the ZOO. We were so excited because this is the zoo that we grew up going to. It was amazingly nice. If we lived there, I would definitely buy a season pass. I sure wish we had something like this near our home. Larry had such a great time, he and his mom took Oliver back later that week. I'll post those pictures later.
A nice family stopped to take our picture.
Mommy and Ollie near the kangaroo entrance. Usually you can enter the exhibit at the gate behind me and interact with the animals up close, but since all of the joeys were still learning their surroundings, we had to stay out. Bummer! I have never seen one up close.


Larry and I took turns carrying Oliver in the zoo. He is amazingly heavy after carrying him for awhile.
We saw such a variety of animals. Here we are with the horses.
Oliver is excited to be sitting up so tall. It is a completely different world at daddy's level!
Couldn't pass up posting a picture of the monkey with a carrot in his mouth.
The trees were in bloom while we were visiting. It was a perfect timing. Our trees back at home and just finished their blooming and were almost green for the most part.

Family time- May 4th

We loved spending time with family while we were at home. Here we are at Grandma Sharon's house visiting with Great Grandma Ellie and Great Grandpa Bob.

Oliver playing with all the animals.
Grandma's friend, Connie, shared all of her granddaughters toys with Oliver. He sure did love the train and all the animals.
Great Grandpa Bob holding Oliver.
Great Grandma Ellie showing Oliver how the train works.
There they are again still having fun!

Grandad's tractor! -May 4th

Grandad thinks his tractors sexy! Haha

Grandad got a new John Deere mower for Great Grandma's yard. He absolutely loves it! He was very excited to share it with Oliver.

Great Grandma Lois holding Oliver. He is almost half the height of her.

He was too heavy to hold, so Great Grandma put him on the ground. It just happened to make a perfect summer picture.
Grandad and Oliver on the tractor.
Far away shot. Grandad was nervous that he was sitting alone. Look how his arms are out ready to catch him if he moves an inch.

Great Grandma shared one of her frogs with Oliver. Kermit is one of the most famous frogs. Now, we just need to find Miss Piggy.

We made it home!

Grammy and Grandad picked us up at the airport. They were so excited to see Oliver....and us too. Grammy swept him out of my arms and wouldn't let him go.
Grammy Pam watching Oliver chew on his favorite book. Every child should have one of these. They can drool all they want on it and you simply spray it off with the Pampers spray (another fancy item that is wonderful for parents!)
Oh dear! Grammy Pam and Grandma Sharon are feeding him. I am not sure who is having more fun, Oliver eating or both of those silly grandmas!!

First Flight- May 3rd

We flew home for Christy's graduation ceremony and party. Oliver was such a great little boy for his first flight. Everyone was so happy to see a little baby acting so good!
Mindy and Oliver ready to board the plane. I think the two flight attendants in the background are a little happy for such an early flight. They were really nice though!
Daddy and Oliver smiling for the camera. We were able to get on the plane a little early because we qualified for "those traveling with small children or those who may need a little extra time boarding." It was great!
The pilot let Larry take Oliver into the cockpit for a picture. Daddy gets to see this kind of thing at work everyday, but it was all new to Oliver.
Oliver sat in a real seat while daddy was putting our carry-ons into the overhead bin.
Oliver slept before we took off until we landed. THANK GOODNESS! He had a little melt down while everyone was boarding. To the excitement of all those around us, he fell asleep quickly.

The Circus came to town!

Larry and Steve were both on travel so Amanda and I decided to take the kids to the circus. It was pouring down rain! Although we were drenched, it didn't put a "damp"er on our fun!

Oliver was very excited the whole time. He sat in the Bjorn and just kicked away! He loved the noise and lights.
Amanda, Ryan and Maya waiting in line for Ryan to ride the ponies. He tried really hard to be a big boy but didn't really want to go for a ride once he got up close to them. After a few alligator tears (which made a really cute picture), he was excited to get to our seats to watch the show.
Trapeze dudes! They were really great to watch.
Elephants! Can't have a circus without them.
Check out Ryan in the background! He is so excited that he was able to see a TRACTOR. A tractor at the circus?? There was a stunt where 3 motorcycles rode around really fast in a big ball. Dangerous in my mind, but it was kind of neat! They brought the tractor in to pull the big ball out and Ryan thought that was the neatest thing. He kept asking where the tractor was! I guess our next outing will be the tractor pull instead of the circus!

Daddy's on travel- April 27th

Larry left for travel for one week. This was a piece of cake compared to the three week trip that he went on awhile ago. We had a fun filled week! We went to the circus and were invited to different neighbor's houses for dinner almost every night! It went by very quickly! Jen- Loved the herb chicken and tomatoes. I managed to get my dust off my George Foreman a few days ago! Mmm!

Oliver just waited for daddy to leave for me to enjoy this surprise all to myself! He "pooped" this on me not even 3o minutes after Larry left. I hope no one is disgusted by this wonderful picture, it was just to unbelievable to pass up!

All cleaned up after a BATH in the middle of the day! There was no escaping the tub after that last picture. This is one of his favorite places. He will lay here for quite some time just talking and playing. We just laugh as he tries to tell us about his day.

Right after his bath, I put him on the guest bed while I was folding laundry. He grabbed one of Larry's shirts fresh out of the dryer and was asleep within minutes. He has never done this before. He slept for almost 2 hours. I wish it were okay to add a warm article of clothing to his crib every time he sleeps.