Week in Review

Ollie and I had a good week!  He is getting smarter, faster, funnier, and sassier every day. Although I don't have a video of it, he is really into throwing his food.  Not just dumping it off the side of his high chair, but chucking it clear across the room.  And as hard as I try to stay serious and tell him not to do it, I end up laughing right along with his adorable giggle.  Not effective, I know.  I just can't help it.  And getting a video probably won't help with the discipline but this really needs to be filmed and shared.

Speaking of eating, I thought it was time to introduce him to using a spoon on his own.  I thought I'd try with one of his favorites...yogurt.  He won't let me spoon feed him anything anymore, so I thought he'd be eager to put the spoon in his mouth on his own.  Turns out he has a ways to go:

"Is she really going to let me do this?!"

It's business as usual at pacifier-thief headquarters:

Can you see that smirk underneath?

Here's a photo of our backyard and Ollie playing in the sprinkler.  He loves running back and forth!

On Thursday we went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) which is another fabulous place in Portland for kids to play and explore. And make a huge mess. Ollie's favorite thing to do here is play with the water tables, not surprisingly.  I always bring a change of clothes...

We headed downtown to the Farmer's Market on Chris' day off to let Ollie run around.  Here he is, up close and personal...

Catch me if you can!

Monday Monday

Monday mornings are a particularly special time of the week for Ollie: It's garbage day.

On garbage day, Ollie and I head out bright and early in his little blue car in search of Gary the Friendly Garbage Man, who is busy dumping all of the trash and recycling bins into his huge garbage truck.  Ollie loves to watch in complete amazement.  And just today, Gary told Ollie that when he's bigger, he will let him press the button.

Wow.  Just wow.

The day got even better when a present from Mimi arrived - a truck book that makes real truck noises!  Holy cow!  What a day for Ollie!

Ollie wants to show off the new addition to his blue car.  It's the real deal.

Favorite Things

We have had a fun few days recently, and Ollie has been able to do some of his favorite things. On Wednesday we went downtown (which is clean, energetic, busy and fun) for an outdoor music concert that's part of a regular weekly concert series.  This week it was a lively marching band with pretty baton twirlers.  We packed a lunch and got a front row seat.  Ollie loves music and this did not disappoint him...

Notice the little head and butt wiggle - Ollie's version of dancing

Thursday we went to another one of Ollie's favorites...the zoo to see the diggers, I mean animals. He's really loving his backpack - and so am I. (Thanks Mimi!)

Zoo backpack selfie

Here's a photo of a cute thing he's been doing lately.  Since he runs just about everywhere with his walker, sometimes he'll go back into his room.  It will suddenly get very quiet, and I know exactly what he's doing:  parking the walker at his fluffy rug and crawling over to his crib to reach his little arm through to snatch one of his pacifiers.  We have a rule that the paci stays in his crib/room, but when he's so sneaky and adorable it's hard for me to take it away.  Here he is, caught red handed:

Can I keep it mom?

Friday was the first nationally televised Packer game of the season, which means we were able to watch it here!  Woohoo!  We had a Packer party with brats and beer.  Ollie was thrilled to be able to watch the TV for the first time since last season.  Here he is up close and personal:

This TV set up is not a child safety hazard at all, right?

Go Pack Go!

Finally, on Saturday we stumbled upon a thrift store on the way home from an errand and hit the big truck jackpot. We found some real gems for just 50 cents each!  I couldn't resist and grabbed as many as I could carry in my arms.  Ollie went bezerk when he first saw the treasure trove.  Here he is gleefully playing with him, making some real good truck noises:

He is one happy little guy...

Meanwhile...Back in Portland...

...we jumped right back into our daily adventures.  Ollie wasn't slowed down one bit by his transition back to Pacific Coast Time and 4:30 AM wake ups (although it nearly killed us).  Over the weekend I took him to Big Truck Days, which is a one day event where they fill a huge parking lot with, well, big trucks.  It was pretty much Ollie's dream come true.  Here he is posing with some of his favorites:

I like Big Trucks - and I can not lie

Hey wait - I think I have seen this thing tow Mamma's car!

Fire!

The sun continues to shine here - all day, every day.  I don't want summer to end.  Ollie loves the sun too...

Hi ladies

We went back to the Children's Museum. Having learned from previous mistakes, this time I dressed him in his swimsuit and water shoes.  He has officially learned to run before he independently walks. Once he ditches this walker, we're in trouble.

Notice he has an audience (which he loves).  They either think he's cute or that we're nuts.  Probably both.

And speaking of ditching the walker...it won't be long before he does:

Look Mom, no hands!

OT in GB - Part 2

We're back from our fabulous week in GB!  Here are a few more pics from our last few days there...

Riding the helicopters at Bay Beach Amusement Park

...and feeding the ducks at the Wildlife Sanctuary. 

I have childhood memories of feeding the ducks here too.  It's really beautiful!

We had a rainy day, which left a perfect little present for Ollie. Something tells me we'll have plenty of entertainment during the rainy season in Portland:

Thanks for the wonderful trip Mimi and Bop!  

OT in GB - Part 1

Ollie T and I have been in GB for a week already and we have packed it in!  We have had a wonderful time thus far.  The trip here was long but good; he's become a great little traveler (this is his 6th flight already!) and at the end, he arrived to Mimi and Bop's house smiling and happy.  Here we are on the plane at the beginning:

...and 12 hours later at the end.  Playing trains and dinosaurs with Bop. Yay!

First order of business the next morning was to visit the tractor/trailer factory warehouse located just a few miles from my parents house. If there's a heaven, this is what it looks like to Ollie:

Tractors and trailers and shovels - oh my. 

A very recent addition to my parents house is a new boat! Although Ollie really hates the life jacket, he quickly forgets about it when he's on Mimi's lap or when Bop lets him steer.

The highlight of the trip so far has been a visit from Auntie Mollie, Uncle Dave, and cousins Buggie and Ellen.  We have missed them so much while we have been in Portland, so it was a real treat to have them spend 3 nights with us!  Jane and Ollie play really well together and Ellen really loves sitting next to her big cousin.  They are such sweet sweet girls - and are going to need several days to recover from 3 days with their wild and crazy boy cousin!

Jane negotiating a train trade

Reunied and happy!

The three amigos.

The weekend got even better when Great Grandma Nancy (GGN) and Great Grandpa Tom (GGT) came over for dinner.  Ollie loved sitting next to GGN for dinner, as she entertained him with her bumblebee song.  Here he is getting stung!

Part 2 coming soon!

Weekend Adventures

It was a fairly low-key weekend for us; between Chris' studying and my trip preparations, we mostly hung around the neighborhood.  Our one 'big' outing was Saturday morning Dim Sum at a restaurant that got great reviews.  When we lived in Boston, we went out for dim sum frequently, so it was fun to do it again, just like 'the old days'.  Ollie was a fan of the chicken chow mein, and liked the waitresses with their wheeled carts even more.

Chow mein and organic turkey lunch  meat.  Chinese fusion!

Am I using my chop sticks correctly, Ma'am?

4 years ago today, we said good bye to our dear friend Todd.  Every August 2nd, there's a Ride for Todd in Madison, and sadly this was our first year to miss it.  So we did our own version of the Ride in Portland. Our 'ride' was missing some essential components (bikes and jerseys for half of the riders) so we found all of our Todd Squad gear, including wrist bands and key chains, and had a cold beer in his honor.  I think he would be proud of our Plan B. 

On Sunday morning, a 10K race went past our house and Ollie and I went outside to watch the runners.  After eating some good dirt, as he does, he stopped for a bit to watch and wave to them.  I have a feeling he'll be running on his own very soon...

Meanwhile, thanks to some newfound freedom with his walker, Ollie made a new and exciting discovery:

It's time to get some seat locks

In the afternoon, we made the short drive to Ollie's favorite splash park at Jamison Square where he loves to play with the waterfalls.

Finally, we ended the weekend with an early birthday celebration for Chris.  Ollie and I will miss his birthday while we are in GB, so we had a party with his favorite dinner and cheesecake and presents. We are one lucky family.

Portland's Newest Angelfish

Ollie passed his swimming class with flying colors.  His favorite thing to do is kick on his back.  When we're in the pool and I ask him, "Ollie, do you want to kick on your back?" he'll throw his head back in the air, ready for action.  He'll actually do this when we're inside or in his high chair or just about anywhere. 

After our 2 week trip to GB, we'll sign up for the last session of the summer!