Men at Work

In an effort to hurry the arrival of warm, sunny, margarita weather we have been doing a lot of yard work this week. But it hasn't been all work and no play; Oliver and Davis have been enjoying pushing each other around in the new wheelbarrow (alright - Oliver has been the only one getting rides).


As of today we have officially gotten rid of the dirt pile, we've spread mulch, seeded the yard, and put out the furniture -- anyone want to come over and help us hasten the arrival of warmer weather? We'll give wheelbarrow rides...

Zoo starter kit

We spent this past weekend in Arlington, Virginia visiting Oliver's aunts, uncles and grandparents. Oliver had a wonderful time playing with everyone - however, Davis and I were so intent on keeping Oliver's path of destruction to a minimum that we neglected to take pictures of the visit. We hope to see everyone again soon - and remember to bring out the camera!

The weather in Virginia was amazing - especially compared to the weather here - and so we decided to take Oliver on his first trip to the zoo. On the ride over Davis kept telling Oliver about all the animals he was going to see - I told Davis to be careful since we weren't sure what animals would actually be at the zoo. Davis said that he was sure the National Zoo would at least have the "Zoo Starter Kit" - giraffes, bears, monkeys, hippos, a big snake, and a crocodile. And he was sure that the zoo, given it was the National Zoo, had gotten the upgraded kit - and so it would have lions, tigers, and elephants. We were disappointed to find that the zoo didn't get the starter kit - no giraffes! Despite the lack of giraffes Oliver had a great time at the zoo. His favorite animal was the little black bird that flew over us while looking at the lion. His second favorite was the emo, and his third - the orangutan.



Oliver also enjoyed walking around the zoo. Luckily it was full of children doing the same thing, so we didn't hold up traffic too much.

Sharing

Oliver has discovered sharing; however, like waving, he seems to only be interested in sharing with a select few. Mr. Parrot is one of the lucky few, as are the "Biscuit Sharks," Anna and Pippa. It seems that at 9 months old Oliver has already perfected "sharing" with the sharks. Last night I cooked him sweet potato for dinner. The little bugger took a bite, looked at me, scooped the potato out of his mouth, and leaned over the side of his chair and waved his hand around -- seconds later Pippa took the potato. Potato-free Oliver looked at me, smiled and shoved a bunch of Puffs in his mouth. I tried again to give him sweet potato, and again, Oliver scooped the potato out of his mouth and fed it to Pippa.

Not captured

Although we have discovered the fun of trying to capture milestones, antics, and just plain fun on camera there are, of course, moments that are not captured.

A couple recent moments had to do with Mr. Parrot. Mr. Parrot has been away on vacation (he actually got eaten by a dog) and a "new" Mr. Parrot arrived in the mail. Oliver's face when we opened the box and he saw Mr. Parrot was, not to copy Mastercard, but it was just priceless. Also priceless was Oliver, so excited to see Mr. Parrot that he kept trying to put his pacifier in Mr. Parrot's mouth (beak).

Another moment was last night. We were playing with several of Oliver's friends and I commented that while Oliver does a great high-five I have not been able to get him to wave good-bye. I then scoop Oliver up to leave, say good-bye and look - Oliver is waving good-bye to his little friends. Davis, Elizabeth and I kept trying last night for a repeat performance, but we have been unsuccessful - I guess he just saves his waves for his litle friends.

"Cousins"

This past weekend we got together with family to celebrate my Aunt's birthday. Oliver doesn't have any cousins of his own (yet), but at the party he met my cousin Pete's little girls. The girls loved playing with Oliver, and Oliver seemed to have a great time with them.

Here is a great picture of Oliver's great grandmother with all three of her great grandchildren.