January Pictures

Here are some pictures we took of Oliver during the month of January. I can't believe we had this much fun already. 2009 is going to be a great year!
Talking to Papa on the phone and as happy as can be.

Ryan can Wii too! He actually did a really great job!

Kim's flip flop birthday cake. Kim wears flip flops all the time, so when it came time to make a cake...there were no other options.

Oliver was have a blast passing out beer at Kim's party. I promise that is 'teething drool' not 'interest in beer drool'.

All dressed and ready for church. Aunt Christy bought every piece of this outfit! Great taste!

Do I see trouble? Double trouble? Ryan and Oliver may figure out how to drive a car by the time they are 10. They already are tag teaming...Ryan..you drive and I'll start the car!

Ready Ryan...hands on the wheel...I'll shift it into gear! HANG ON!!!

Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin??? Nah..just Oliver making some noise in the store. I seriously pity the mother that stays home with her child all day with this toy. I am extremely jealous of the mother of a child who can actually make beautiful music on a piano!

15 month checkup at the doctor's office. Oliver thoroughly enjoyed the cat and butterfly mural on the wall. Those are two of his favorite things to sign.

Larry went backpacking with some friends for 3 days in the WINTER! BRRR! He needed a sleeping bag that was warm enough for the near 0 degree temps. Oliver enjoyed daddy playing hide and seek with him at the store.

This is Oliver going through the recycling. Thankfully the bottle had been rinsed out! eek! I thought it was a neat picture because the winery that this came from is called Oliver Winery. How appropriate?? Just another 20 years until the real thing. Maybe on his 21st birthday, we'll take him there.

snow day!

It finally snowed!

When Larry got home from work it had already began to rain so we hurried up and went outside to build a snowman. From the pictures you can tell that Oliver thoroughly enjoyed almost every second of being outside. He was doing great until he managed to face plant right into the snow and then it all frowns (or crying) after that. Here are some memorable pictures of Oliver's first Frosty! side note: We didn't have any coal so I used black pre-made decorator icing to make his eyes, nose and buttons. Frosty lasted about 3 hours before he decided to take a forever nap in the bushes. Well, every time the dog goes outside, I can't get her back in because she is very preoccupied with all that yummy icing. Bad move! Next year, we'll improvise with something else. Who would have thought?
Post face plant!

All bundled up and ready to to play. If only he could move his arms. Those cool purple boots are awesome. Got to love Grammy purchases! They really came in handy...they were warm AND he was able to walk in them! Perfect..if only they weren't purple. Eh, who cares!

We had friends over for dinner. The ladies and kids were in the living room talking on Skype to my mom and sister. The guys were in the dining room talking about camping. We each thought the other was watching the kids. As we were chatting away, I heard dishes clanging with silverware. The noise is such a common noise I think we all tend to block it out. After a while it came to my conscience and I looked up and saw Oliver sitting on our peninsula making music. I just stood and froze. I was afraid that I would startle him if I screamed, but it took everything to hold it back. I asked Larry if he had put him up there, but he said no. That means that he climbed up there himself. YIKES! So, just for blog, we reenacted it. So far, the chair pads that I have put on have kept him off. A great deterrent.

Wii family!

We are a Wii fit family! I was working out with my new Wii fit while Oliver was napping. We have used our fun game numerous times in front of him, but he has never tried to do it himself. When he woke up from his nap and saw it out in the middle of the floor, he hopped on and acted like he had done it 100 times before. It is amazing how impressionable children can be. They are little sponges that soak up information and mimic everything even when we don't realize that they are watching.

Apparently I do yoga a little more than I thought. Downward facing dog anyone?

Seriously, who says wii fit is only for the body? I guess it works the brain as well! Maybe you absorb more information by reading on it. (Even if the book is upside down..minor details!)I couldn't resist posting this picture of Oliver signing in action. The book is open to the page with the kitten on it (look closely). To sign kitten you put your pointer finger near your cheekbone and thumb near your chin and pull outward touching the two fingers together just like you are pulling the cats whiskers. You can see him in the middle of the sign! I LOVE IT! He signs ALL the time. Our communication is amazing!

I had a friend over to work on Homeowners Association paperwork. (I am the Vice-President!!) Her son, Layne is 4 and came over to play with Oliver. We took a small break to eat lunch. They went home to let their dog out and to eat. Oliver had played so hard that when it was time to eat lunch, he crashed while eating! The video is kind of long, but hilarious!!!

I know this post is super late, but it is too cute too pass up! Oliver learned (better late than never) what Santa says. Hopefully, next year Santa will say more than one "HO."

Christmas #1

Every year we spend the evening of Christmas Eve with my dad's family. This year we held it at my parent's house. We had a wonderful dinner followed by present opening and then dessert! MMM! Aunt Julie should be a pastry chef...she always makes the best goodies!!!

Oliver had a bath somewhere in there and is all ready for Santa go come, but first we have presents to open!My grandma drew Larry's name in the gift exchange. As you can tell, he was so excited to get a beer making kit. Just kidding! He is really trying to mimic the man on the box.
This is a laptop computer that my grandma got Oliver. He always tries to play with mine, so now he has his own.

This year we drew names but we also surprised my grandma with a new TV! She was so surprised (and mad at us) you know how grandmas are. They never want anything for themselves.

Sophie is getting in the Christmas spirit! Aunt Julie gave her a green Bobo!

Christmas #2

Look how much changes in a year! This is Oliver on his first Christmas (2007) sitting in all the presents that Santa delivered.....

12 months later (2008) and still sitting in all those presents!

There must have been a bunch of good people this year at this house! Santa didn't forget to visit! Oliver and mommy walk down the stairs to see all the gifts that are laying under the tree. This was one of the most exciting moments of the year for my sister and I. We would wake each other up early in the morning and race down the stairs together to see what Santa had left! I hope Oliver will be as excited as I was!

The family all dressed up for Christmas morning, makeup and all! haha
Oliver got an Etch-a-sketch from Grammy and Papa.

To our surprise, he drew this all by himself!! We were shocked! Anyone see an extremely close resemblance to a happy face!

Oliver can't wait to dig into his stocking!
Aunt Christy gets a teacher related gift. Surprised...I am not. It is a lap desk so she can grade papers while sitting in a comfy chair. On her Christmas list this year was colorful notepaper to send letters home to parents. Such a teacher!

Papa gets a webcam! We have skyped them almost everyday since we have been back at home. Check out www.skype.com ! It is awesome!

Christmas #3

We enjoyed spending time with Larry's mom's family for our Christmas #3! After we opened Santa's gifts on Christmas morning we got ready and went to see all of his family. We have it every year at an apartment clubhouse. Everyone brings dishes to share and the clean up is minimal! What a great idea!

Oliver sure warmed up with Grandma. He loves to snuggle!
Have toys will travel. Oliver is playing with his new toys from Santa!


Is that ANOTHER present for Oliver? Larry's Aunt Susie and Uncle Barry got him an adorable IU airplane ornament. Cousin Jennie got him a wiggle toy that is an eye catcher. Aunt Diane and Uncle Tom got him a bath time tugboat toy! He is so fortunate!

Absolutely no hesitation on opening presents. He had lots of practice this past 2 days!
Grandma, Uncle Barry and Grandpa all packed up and ready to go home. What a great time we had spending Christmas with family!

Christmas #4

After spending Christmas afternoon with Larry's family, we complete Christmas day with a trip to my Aunt Lori's home for the evening. My mom's family is huge so we always have a lot of people to enjoy our time with. It wouldn't be Christmas without the annual Christmas photo. Yes, we cram 33 people into a living room for one big family picture! We are actually missing 17 people too. Get the wide lens because we are only growing. haha Quantity, not size! Check out Larry way in the back. I think he may be taller than the tree sans angel!

And then we slowly reorganize into smaller groups. Here are all the cousins and their children. For some reason, spouses are not included, but you get an idea...we are even missing 5 cousins and 7 of their children. wow!!These are all of my aunts and uncles, their spouses and my Grandpa!

Side note: check out the plate in all the pictures. Since I can remember we have written the date on a plate. Well, a few years ago, my engineer husband made the dial-a-plate! Instead of wasting a plate and scrambling to make it while eveyone is getting ready for pictures we simply dial it to the appropiate year! What a smarty pants! You should have heard the chuckles when we showed up with it a few years ago. What an engineer.

And finally our family!

Here is some of the family grazing near the food. After eating 2 times already today, we must muster the strength to find room for more!

Oliver and I are playing with Grammy's camera case. He was totally intrigued by it!This is my cousin Justin and his fiance Amanda. (Justin does smile...I promise and we don't have to worry about Amanda, she is ALWAYS smiling!) I posted a picture of them so you can get a preview of future posts. They are planning a visit sometime later this year! YAY!! I can't wait!!