Category Archives: oliver

Halloween weekend, plus an apology for being an absent blogger for two months

Where to begin? Yes, I’ve totally slacked on keeping up this blog. Yes, I’ve heard the complaints. And yes, I do have an excuse (several, but I won’t get into much detail). The main issue is that our laptop has pretty much died, so finding time to sit in the office and upload photos and videos has been scarce. But I hope to change that.

I feel mostly bad that the past few months have not been documented here on the blog. We’ve done so many fun things, including two trips to the Museum of Transportation, several visits to our house by my parents, a special visit from my sister who lives in Minnesota and the surprise move of my other sister to a permanent (for now, at least!) residence here in St. Louis.

Apologies aside, I’d like to just pick up like I never left. We had such an awesome weekend, and I captured so many cute pictures of the kids that I thought I’d just dump them on here for public consumption. Many of you readers haven’t seen pictures of the boys since July, so this should be a treat (at least I hope so). And with that, here’s how our weekend went:

On Friday night, Sarah and Oliver baked cookies:
Photobucket 

On Saturday, we went to the farm near our house to pick out pumpkins. Oliver had fun petting the animals:IMG_0065 

And we played in the hay maze:
IMG_0074 

Oliver sat on the hay maze and had a blast:
IMG_0092

Oliver went on a pony ride:
IMG_0105 

On Saturday, it was all about Halloween. Owen wore his pirate shirt during the day:
IMG_0122 

Oliver painted his pumpkin:
IMG_0127

Owen had fun watching:
IMG_0130 

Here’s Oliver hugging the pumpkin that I carved:
IMG_0145

For the big night, Owen dressed up as a dragon (the costume may look familiar, as it made an appearance two years ago on his older brother):
IMG_0167 

Oliver was a puppy:
IMG_0181

Oliver then went trick-or-treating for the first time at a church in Maryland Heights. Here he is getting candy from “Fred”:
IMG_0195 

After getting treats, we went inside and played some carnival games. It was fun. Then, at home Oliver wanted to go trick-or-treating at houses, so we walked around the two courts at both ends of our street.

While walking around, he kept begging for candy, so we finally gave in. By the time we got home, that boy had more sugar in his system than he’s ever had. He was acting kooky. First, he sat in his rocking chair, handing out candy to kids, telling them, “Take two.” Then, he sprinted around the yard and kicked up leaves. Eventually, we put him to bed and he fell asleep before the door closed he was so tired.

All in all, a fun Halloween. So what do you think? Is this a welcome return to blogging or what?

In one boy and out the other … learning to eat and use a toilet

We’ve had two back-to-back days with momentous occasions in our boys’ lives. Yesterday, Owen ate food for the first time. We mixed up a bowl of rice cereal and he chowed down. He did unbelievable well. I guess that was to be expected, as he is over 5 months old now, so perhaps overdue to be eating food. Oliver was already on jarred food at this age. Here’s a picture of Owen enjoying his cereal:

Photobucket 

And then, not to be outdone, Oliver stepped up to the plate – OK, the potty training toilet – and did his thing for the first time. Just a little No. 1, but he did it a couple of times on command. (And to prevent future embarrassment, no pictures.) It was another great first, and hopefully a building block toward weaning him off of diapers during the next several months.

What good boys we have!

Tunnel vision? Nah, it’s just our son

I wrote yesterday about the recent visit to our house by my sisters, brother-in-law and mom. While at a local park, Oliver was cracking us up running through sprinklers and … a long tunnel. He loved the tunnel. It was cool, because nobody was at the park that day and Oliver’s voice was amplified so well in the tunnel you could hear everything he said. I shot a video of him running back and forth between me and Carrie. You think he slept well after all this running? Uhhh, yes, he did. Enjoy:

Big family visit at the Lopinot household

We recently had a rare-but-extremely-welcome visit from my sister Jennifer and her husband, Ryan. My other sister, Carrie, and my mom also joined us for a long weekend. We had a blast, hitting a farmer’s market, a park and the Magic House. We also celebrated my mom’s birthday. It was so much fun, but Oliver was a little confused when we didn’t use the lyrics “Happy birthday, dear Carrie,” during the birthday song. We all miss the family so much. Stinks that they’re spread out all over the Midwest!

Below are a few pictures from the visit (only wish I had a picture of mom on my phone to upload – sorry!). Enjoy.

Carrie holding Owen:
Photobucket 

Jennifer and Ryan teaching Oliver to “magnet fish” at the Magic House:
Photobucket 

Oliver and Jennifer inside a giant bubble at the Magic House:
Photobucket 

Oliver mystified by floating objects at the Magic House:
Photobucket

A pause in the fireworks? Oliver wants ‘more please’

We had a fun weekend visiting my parents in Springfield, Mo. It’s always nice to be around family – especially for the extra hands with our two boys!

On the Fourth of July, we headed to Battlefield, Mo., to watch fireworks, just like we did last year. Owen was enthralled, looking up at the lights in the sky while my mom covered his poor little ears.

And Oliver? This year he really enjoyed the show. Man was he excited. Whenever the fireworks would pause, he would yell out “Again, again!” or “More fireworks.” And a couple times, he even asked politely, blurting out, “Again please.” It was pretty adorable, as always. Enjoy the video show with the “nightframing” mode on our camera:

Owen learns to roll over

It’s been a while since I blogged, and I hate to keep missing big moments in Owen’s development. Today, for example, he learned to roll over … well, at least from his stomach to his back. He’s getting really good at “tummy time,” holding his head up high for long stretches while on his belly and grabbing onto objects with his hands while laying on his back.

Below’s a video from this evening of Owen rolling over. Of course, Oliver had to show of his mad rolling over skills, too. Enjoy:

When worlds collide: The boys visit the office

Tomorrow will be my last official day working at the Standing Partnership , and I have a lot of great memories. Though most of my memories involve learning opportunities and client work, I’ve also had a lot of fun. This includes

  • Countless “Fridays at 4” happy hours that went a bit too long (though I never got “grounded” by my wife, despite joking about it);
  • Riding our receptionist’s scooter around the hallways; 
  • A surprise baby shower in which my wife showed up at the end of a loooong retreat as “one more guest” (hopefully nobody saw me roll my eyes before I realized the guest was Sarah!);
  • An awesome visit to our former Portland office;
  • Getting an Alyssa Milano autograph despite not getting to meet her in person (12-year-old Justin would have DIED to know that I almost had this opportunity);
  • Touring an underground mine;
  • Talking hockey with the boss;
  • Seeing the other boss’s husband’s band rock some ’80s hair metal;
  • Tuning in a Cardinals’ playoff game on the television and my co-worker’s resulting excitement; and
  • all the fun I’ve had with the great group of people I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside.

During my nearly four years at this company, I also welcomed my two boys into the Lopinot clan. Last week, my worlds collided when Sarah brought Oliver and Owen to the office to eat lunch and mingle with my co-workers. Below are a few pictures. Enjoy.

Photobucket

Photobucket 

Photobucket 

Oliver wants some cake at Grandpa Gil’s birthday party

Local and Dallas-based family were in town this past weekend for the 92nd birthday party for Sarah’s Grandpa Gil. We had a lot of fun. Oliver was mesmerized by the song “Happy Birthday,” and he’s been singing “Happy biiiirth-daaaay tooooo grandddd-pa” over and over ever since.

As always, Oliver got a lot of attention. He even helped Grandpa blow out the candle on his cake. After the flame was extinguished, he immediately commented, “I want cake,” much to the delight of everybody present. Good times. I got a video of it, but it’s a little difficult to hear his big line. Enjoy!

A rare, rare thing … peace and quiet

Sarah took the boys to her parents’ house today, and they’re not home yet. The house is quiet. Yes, quiet. It’s such a rare, rare thing. I’m watching television and the dog is sleeping next to my feet. It’s wonderful. On a typical day, the only time the house is quiet is when both of the boys are sleeping (also a rarity). And now, back to my enjoyment …

Photobucket