Rides

The last time we went to visit Liz, Ben, Ethan and Adam, Ethan only had eyes for Davis - literally, when we were leaving last time Liz and I commented on how Ethan ignored me and Oliver our whole visit, and showered Davis with attention. This visit Ethan was just as excited to see Davis (and just as unexcited to see Oliver and me). But, after a bit, Ethan realized that Oliver is getting to be a bit more interesting.

Ethan gave Oliver a ride around the playroom.

Ethan then let Oliver give him a ride.

Liz was even able to get in on the fun.

And then they discovered the pole - perhaps we have a couple future firemen on our hands?



We had a wonderful visit. Pretty soon Adam will be joining in the fun.

Date night

This past weekend Davis and I went on a date night. While we were enjoying some time just the two of us, Oliver was home enjoying some time with his Aunt Elizabeth. He was so excited to have his aunt to himself again that he decided to show off - and discover the stairs.


Once he grew tired of climbing he decided to go through Anna's toy box and pulled out her duck - gross.

Just plain fun

Here are some pictures we've taken over the past week or so. As you can see, we've been having lots of fun.

Oliver's been riding around in his wagon,


Been a bar fly with his friend Carragh (these two are going to be trouble),


And he's been playing with his toys.

I still have not figured out how to flip a video so you are going to have to, once again, either turn your computer on its side, or turn your head to watch this. As you can see, my video-taking skills have also not improved.

Out with a bang

Five months ago my maternity leave came to an end and Oliver was to head off to daycare on the days I work. Not keen on her nephew heading to daycare Oliver's Aunt Elizabeth offered to be his nanny. Oliver and Elizabeth have had many adventures together - and many photo shoots. On the days Elizabeth spent with Oliver, Davis and I would often get picture mail or text messages updating us on what they were doing. Or we would get home and Elizabeth would upload (literally) 215 photos of their day together.

At 13 weeks old, the age Oliver was when Elizabeth started spending time with him, he was adorable, but to be honest didn't do much. Over the past several months Oliver has grown - At eight and a half months old he now crawls, almost walks, gets into everything (the more dangerous the better), and has developed a wonderful personality. Both Davis and I know that Elizabeth has been instrumental to Oliver's growth and happiness. Oliver knows this too. As soon as he sees Elizabeth he breaks out into a huge smile - and he often cries when she leaves (mind you he never cries when Davis or I leave).

While Elizabeth has an amazing ability to connect with children, she is also incredible in the kitchen. Her talent in the kitchen was noticed and a few weeks ago Elizabeth was offered a job at Good Tastes http://www.good-tastes.com/. Although we broke out the champagne to celebrate, Davis, Oliver and I also broke out the tissues because her new job meant that Elizabeth would no longer be able to play with Oliver on the days I work. The silver lining is that Elizabeth will be moving into an apartment just under a half mile from us - and the apartment has no laundry. We know that Elizabeth will be over to play with Oliver (do laundry) quite a bit.

This week when I was at work I got two text messages - "Oliver is a fish!," and "We are going out with a bang." When I got home Elizabeth filled me in on their day - it included going to the Y and going swimming, walking up and down the driveway, a bath, a dance party, a couple walks, a go on the swings...I know I am forgetting something - Oliver gave me a huge smile when I got home, and then turned to snuggle with Elizabeth.

Here are a couple pictures:

Walker Park

This past weekend we headed to Maine to meet Carver and congratulate, in person, Sarah, Thor and Finn on the new addition to their family. Unfortunately the plague that has crippled many houses and has canceled oh so many play dates this winter, descended upon their house about the same time we crossed the border into Maine. Thor placed the house under quarantine and banned us from visiting. Faced with no plans on a rare sunny, and relatively warm day we decided to introduce Oliver to Walker Park.

We went to the park with my parents and grandmother - and while we were pushing Oliver on the swings we reminisced about the many hours they had spent at Walker Park pushing Elizabeth, Jon and me on the swings, exploring the tide pools with us, and watching us roll down the park's hills. Oliver seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself - we are all looking forward to the hot days of summer (ok, we are talking coastal Maine, so maybe just comparatively warm and sunny) when we can head back to Walker Park for more exploring, adventures and fun.

No self-respecting sharks in the English Channel

Davis has booked a pilot boat and has someone he is training with, so while there may be "no self-respecting sharks in the English Channel," per the Dover Solo Organization, come September 2010 you will find Davis swimming in the Channel!

I asked Davis to get dressed up in his hot pants and goggles so we could post a photo at the same time we shared his exciting news, but he would have none of it (strange considering the get-ups he allows our neighbors to see), so here's a picture of the Channel.

Happiness

Oliver got his first little red wagon today - and he is very happy.

Blue Banana and Mr. Monkey have spent much of the last couple hours riding around the house - they too seem to like the new toy. Anna and Pippa are, however, a bit wary of Oliver's driving ability and quickly move to another room when they see Oliver and his passengers headed towards them.

Carver!

Oliver has a new little friend - Carver! Carver was born Sunday evening and weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce. Sarah, Thor and big brother Finn are all doing well.

Carver's dad, Thor, was speculating Carver might be a bit lazy since Carver was a week over due - but Carver proved him wrong (proved he was just waiting until the right moment) and was born after just over an hour and a half of labor.

Congratulations!

Exploring

We spent much of the weekend exploring the north shore. Here is an amazing family portrait we took on a walk in Ipswich (notice the little Oliver hat (top left) and little tuft of Anna fur (bottom middle/right)?).

After exploring Ipswich we went to Gloucester and went on a hike that took us to Little Agassiz Rock and Big Agassiz Rock. This is a picture of the little rock - it is pretty amazing how the rocks are balanced.

Oliver, Anna, Pippa and I were hoping to do more exploring today - but, unfortunately the 60 degree weather we had this weekend has given way to cold and snow (Again!).

Smitten

Oliver is such a happy little guy - always smiling and laughing. And he seems to fall in love very quickly. Earlier this week it was the walker thing - then Wednesday night he went and met some new friends and became smitten with a girl and a horse (not a bad combo).

First the horse - Oliver's new friend Alexander had some amazing toys that Oliver really enjoyed. The horse, however, seemed to be a favorite. (Thank you Alexander for sharing.)

But then a girl caught his eye - Freya.




Freya was (adorable) and wonderful with Oliver. She didn't seem to mind his staring in the least.

While we were visiting Althea and Freya (and their dolls) got new dresses. The girls looked so cute all dressed up that I had to include a picture.

Track star, retirement, ready for Southie...

It is unclear to me whether Oliver is ready to be a track star, if he is trying out his retirement outfit (leisure suit with matching powder blue shoes), or trying to tell us he is set to move to Southie (again, leisure suit with matching powder blue shoes). What is clear- Oliver is pulling himself up on everything now - nothing is safe!

Danger

When we found out we were having a boy Davis and I decided pretty quickly that the name would be Oliver. Yes, there were times that we questioned this decision and started to consider other names, but we always went back to Oliver. Oliver's middle name was another story. It wasn't until the day after Oliver was born and after the nice lady from the hospital came by and asked us to fill out the information for his birth certificate that we made our decision. One of the names that had been in the running - and that Davis was (and probably still is pushing for) - Danger. Over the past couple weeks I have started to wonder if Davis was on to something.


Oliver has progressed from his worm crawl to speed crawling - if it were an Olympic event Oliver would -- if there was a shiny dog bowl of water at the finish line - win, or at least take home a medal. Thankfully he has only located the stairs a few times - but, as you can see, he has no fear of them.


Oliver has also decided it is time to practicing walking. Molly lent Oliver a walking thing this weekend and Oliver immediately fell in love (and on the kitchen floor, dining room floor, and then we called a time out). Unfortunately I can't seem to figure out how to right the video, so you are going to have to turn your head - or place your computer on its side.



Oliver is 8 months old today - I am guessing that over the next few weeks, months and years, he will, like his dad, explore danger a bit more.

The Smalleywog takes Arizona, Part II

As promised here are several more photos from our trip to Arizona.

Playing in our room before heading out for the day.

Playing in the stroller - if Oliver had his way he would always be either naked or just in a diaper.

A couple of my favorite pictures of Oliver hiking.

And here is a little video of Oliver, Davis and Oliver's papa swimming.


As you can see, we had a wonderful trip. Unfortunately we returned home to a cold house - 45 degrees! We bundled Oliver up while Davis diagnosed the broken boiler and then we waited for the boiler man to come and replace the broken part. The good news is that we are now toasty warm.