HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVER!!!

Two years ago this sweet little boy came into our lives, 10 days past his due date and 37 hours after I felt my first contraction. Its been an adventure ever since. Oliver's been to 6 states (9 if you count airport layovers) and 5 countries and has had a great attitude the entire time. He loves cars, bikes, bugs, balls, balloons, and Daddy and talks about these things constantly. His goals for next year are growing more hair, learning to potty like a big boy and telling his baby brother all about their awesome Daddy and how much fun they'll have when he gets home. Oliver's life is about to change drastically in the next few weeks, becoming a big brother and man of the house, but I think its a challenge he's up to and will do a great job. We love you so much Oliver William!


Oliver William Jones
November 20, 2007 4:53 AM
7 lbs 13 oz

Halloween 2009

If you know anything about me you know that I absolutely LOVE Halloween. A whole day where wearing a wig and something crazy is perfectly acceptable, I am all over that! Plus orange is my favorite color so it just all works out. On Thursday we went to a costume party. Everyone really put on a good show, there were only a few losers that didn't dress up. The event was held at this restaurant that is trying to appeal to Americans with Friday's style atmosphere and non Italian food. They even have a billboard outside post that say "Grab the handfuls...don't be chickened out" Of course something is lost in the translation but I think that makes it all the better. The food was pretty tasty too. Here's our costumes. Not super original but pretty comfy and mostly stuff we already had!



Since we live in government housing, this is the only place that the American kids can actually go trick or treating (my least favorite part of Halloween) and every year it is madness. People go crazy and buy TONS of candy. I can't figure this out, I buy as much as I want and when its gone its gone. I don't want all that left over stuff or to spend that much anyway. Well we set up our table at the end of the walk since the kids come so fast and furiously, and we set up the fire pit and BBQ and had a really nice time. Kirby took Oliver around to the neighbors to trick or treat then Oliver spent the rest of the night running around like a madman with the other neighborhood kids. He had a lot of fun and didn't ever wonder what happened to all that candy the next day. Here's Oliver in his costume and Kirby's oddly ginormous hands.





I couldn't resist another chance to dress up so I pulled this outfit together but don't think many people got the reference. Either they were too young or not horror movie buffs but I thought it was clever. My name tag says Rosemary...



Oliver and his bag that our neighbor had made for him.



Our awesome pumpkins, Kirby's is the one on top.




Scare you later boys and ghouls!!

What We've Been Up To

Kirby was gone training for about three weeks and when he came home Oliver was very happy. I'd never seen him smile so big or be so obviously excited. I tried to capture a picture of them, this was the best one.


I've been getting all the baby stuff ready. All this baby stuff takes up a lot of space. Here's Oliver in his old car seat.

Since Kirby's return, Oliver has been obsessed with all things Daddy and has perfected his salute.

He put these boots and hat on himself.

We went to a birthday party at the bowling alley. Oliver bowled a great game as always and ate 3 pieces of pizza. We were astounded.

Oliver and Kirby in their Seahawks gear

He's not actually "going" in this picture, he has yet to really give it a shot, but he likes to sit on it every now and then. Potty training in full is right around the corner!

Oliver's new bike or bikle as he is now saying.

A live Sesame Street show came to post, and it was a big hit with the kids!

Here's Oliver when they first came out, notice how hard he is squeezing Kirby's finger. It has turned purple. He had a great time.

Before the show.

Me and the Belly

Pumpkin patch. It was so hard to get him to look at the camera!

I love the expression on his face here.

Oliver wants to be a big boy and drink from a regular cup. Here he went into the kitchen and poured himself a cup.

....with just a minor amount of spillage...

...but he cleaned it up!



Thats all for now folks!

Florence

This past weekend we jumped on the train to Florence. We are getting pretty good at navigating the Italian train system and even helped an American tourist buy her tickets on our way home. When we were in Rome with Kirby's parents we popped into this hotel called the Minerva to change Oliver's diaper. It was a very nice hotel and Kirby said he wanted to come back and stay there sometime. I looked it up and saw that there was also one in Florence and since we hadn't been there yet we decided to stay at that one instead. It was walking distance from the train station and overlooked a great courtyard.









That night we found a Mexican restaurant to our surprise and ate there, cause frankly we are sick of Italian food. The next day we went to the Ufizzi Gallery and did a lot of walking and exploring the city.






The next day we shopped at the local market that was going on and I got a few nice things, we ate more gelato then headed home. It was a great trip and the last big outing I think we will make before the baby comes. All that walking nearly did me in!

Random Pictures

Its getting really hard to get a good picture of Oliver. The whole time he is running around and getting in to things. He rarely sits still


Our new baby

Oliver started trying to skip his naps for a few days, this is what happened by dinner time.

and after I lifted him up, still didn't wake up

His newly converted crib-into-big-boy-bed

This is my "its a boy" bouquet that Kirby got me the day we found out


Sweet boy


Loves the sprinklers


Hamming it up


classic Oliver, pointing with his middle finger


Oliver thought Dozy needed a hat


Ciao for now!

Boy Oh Boy :Updated

Well you may have heard by now its another baby boy for us. I had my feeling all along but started getting convinced that it was a girl, but alas another boy. Which is good because I won't have to change the name of the blog, this baby will also be made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails.
Its been very hot here and we've been transitioning in many ways. Getting ready for a new baby, a missing Daddy, and a baby becoming a boy, it all keeps us on our toes. Oliver is now in his big boy bed, its still his crib but with the front missing. He is much happier being able to get in and out of bed on his own, but bed time can be a bit more challenging for the same reason.
Also we're getting a new car! I've suffered the Echo as long as my cheap frugal self could but now its time for a momma mobile. We're getting a Ford Flex, they are really cool and spacious, so if you come to visit you won't be stuffed into the backseat of the Echo anymore! I'm really excited:)
We had a great trip back to the states visiting the farm in Colorado and Kirby's family in Washington. I didn't take many pictures but here are a few my mom sent me from CO. You can see some pictures of us in WA on Janis's blog, Written in Lynden, the link is on the right side of the screen. Ciao for now


Pictures are bigger now and a couple more are added!