Fun with Visitors

Last weekend we hosted our good friends John and Anne Sutherland and their two adorable babies Jack and Will.  Jack and Ollie were born on the same day, and little Will is just 5 months old. Ollie had a really fun time having 2 playmates around!

On Saturday we took the kids hiking at Multnomah Falls, which is a beautiful waterfall only about  25 miles outside of Portland.  Here are two sets of best friends:

The Falls are gorgeous! However, as you can see, Ollie wasn't so thrilled about being back in the backpack, as he would much rather "Go Go" (walk around).

We also took the kids to some live children's music, The Portland Zoo, dinner in our neighborhood, the Science Museum, Children's Museum, parks, and long walks!  We packed it in!  Here are O.T and Jack Jack having a blast with water at the museums:

At one point I peeked in at Ollie who was keeping Will company in the living room and captured him giving kisses (:

After a super busy 4 days, we all felt this way:

Thanks for the great visit, Sutherlands!

Ollie's favorite sound

Ollie wants you to hear his 'big truck' sound.

You can tell he's pretty proud!

Getting Big

Little Ollie T. is growing so quickly...every day he gets a little faster, a little stronger, a little chattier, and a little sassier (:

Here we are having fun at the playground:

He can usually be found with a car or truck or anything with wheels in his hand

Testing out some strong moves on the slide:

Careful, Ollie T!

Here he is playing with the trains at our community play space:

All aboard!

Although he is so active and busy, he enjoys morning snuggles and books in bed too:

The calm before the storm

Family Weekend

Chris had his first weekend off since early August this past weekend, so we took advantage of the time together and packed it in! On Saturday, we headed to the Pacific Coast for the day.  It's only 1.5 hours away and is a beautiful hilly, tree-lined drive. We were excited to show Ollie a beach and the ocean for the first time - and he really liked it. 

Here he is...taking his first bare foot steps in the sand:

The water was really cold, but he loved to dip his toes in it!

Cannon Beach is beautiful...

Ollie has flat feet like Mama:

On Sunday, it was another gorgeous fall day, so we took a short drive to a local pumpkin patch. Ollie got to ride in a wagon, a tractor, and a cow train.  Think he enjoyed himself?

Cow train with Dada

Meanwhile, back at home, the mornings have been very chilly.  But this doesn't stop Ollie from roaming the streets in search of big trucks and kitties!

Babies and Art

On the first Thursday of every month, the Portland Museum of Art has a "Babies and Art" event, which is an invitation for Moms to bring their babies for a slow looking and interactive tour of an exhibit.  Sounds like a great idea, right?  That's what I thought too.

Here's the room full of moms and their quiet, sleeping, cooing babies, peacefully enjoying the beautiful porcelain sculptures:

And...here's my toddler:

I'm not sure Ollie will be invited back to next month's Babies and Art event

Later on...Ollie got pumped up for the big game and ate dinner under the Packer bunting.  Go Pack!

Quick Ollie Update

Here's a quick video of Ollie playing in the water at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  I think it really shows how big he is getting! He is a very confident walker now, and is very much a curious, funny, independent, and determined toddler.

Another exciting Ollie update is that he is really talking!  He has about 10 words, some which are Dada, "Ba-Ma" (for Mama), ball, bye-bye, "gug" (for dog) and all done.  He loves to say "all done" at the end of his meals, when i park and turn off the car, and with about 5 minutes of music class remaining (he's good for about 40 minutes and then has had enough!).  I hope to get some of these words on video soon (: