During the past week, we have caught Oliver singing to himself quite a few times. He tries so hard to make the words come out for the ABCs, the “Happy Birthday” song and “Jingle Bells.” And for the past couple of days, he’s started to chime in when we sing those three songs. For “Jingle Bells,” he yells out the last word, “sleigh,” and makes the most excited facial gesture. It’s not the best video ever, but below is one we shot of him doing his big ending. Enjoy!
Category Archives: oliver
Happy New Year! What will the next decade bring?
Well, the “Aughts” ended with a whimper last night, as we stayed in. But we had a lot of fun, playing games as a family and ringing in the New Year together.
I could go on and on about the past decade, as so much has changed. I’ve been working the entire time, going from editor to reporter to a media relations specialist to my current job at Standing Partnership. I’ve also earned a master’s degree, met and married my sweet Sarah, fathered a beautiful baby boy, started teaching classes at UMSL, bought my first house, got my byline into about a dozen publications, started blogging, lost some hair, started getting a few gray hairs, gained some weight, got a dog, made dozens of new friends, played lot of ice hockey, started playing Texas Hold ‘Em and so much more.
Soon, I’ll be the father to a second son. I’ll also turn 40 this decade (**gulp!**). What else could possibly be in my future? Whatever happens, the next 10 years are sure to be full of countless highs and lows.
Oliver ‘laces them up’ and skates with me on my birthday
Many of you already know this, but today is my birthday. Another year older. I started the day by going to the DMV to get my drivers license renewed. I spent a good amount of time making sure I had the right shirt on and would be making the right smile/face for my photograph. However, it was all for naught. Yes, the face that will appear on my drivers license for the next six years resembles that of a swollen, burnt marshmallow. Really nice.
This afternoon, we were looking to do something as a family so I chose ice skating. We went to Frontier Park in St. Charles, along the Missouri River, where they have a temporary ice rink set up. I wanted to take Oliver out for his first skate.
Well, it could have been worse, I guess. He was really, really crabby. We only made it around the rink one time with his rented ice skates on. Here’s the only proof I have (look close at his feet) that he did “lace them up” before his second birthday:
He really wanted to walk around, so we put his shoes back on and he calmed for a bit. Then, he wanted to go back out on the ice with me. I held his hands and he would either walk or drag his feet as I pushed him around the rink. On some occasions, he’d lean way back and make eye contact with me, saying, “Upside down,” and smiling ear to ear. It was really cute, and I’ll always remember that look he gave me.
But then other times, his face would curl up into “pouty” mode and he’d be inconsolable. You can see that in some of the pictures, like this one:
A few times, I’d hug him and he’d just want to watch the skaters whiz by, like in this picture:
Other times, he just wanted his mother. He even coaxed her into taking him over to look at one of the nearby train cars. However, once he got over there, he still was cranky:
He finally relaxed after we got some food in his tiny stomach. He had to eat his hot dog with a spoon, but he sure enjoyed it:
The rest of my birthday went well. We’re relaxing now, after putting Oliver to bed. Plus, it’s been a long week and I have to work tomorrow. I do owe you all a blog post about the second part of our Christmas adventure. Hopefully, I can get something posted this weekend. Hope you all had a great holiday and will be safe on New Year’s Eve.
The first part of our Christmas journey
The first part of our Christmas journey ended about an hour ago, when we got back from Sarah’s brother’s house. Oliver has had a blast during his second Christmas. He’s really come into his own, and he just loves opening presents, as seen here:
He got some really cool gifts, including lots of fun toys and this little shirt and tie combo he’s holding, courtesy of his Great-Grandma Frieda:
Our crazy goldendoodle Molly had a pretty exciting Christmas, too. She got a stocking full of treats and this cool little sqeaky toy:
Santa delivered quite a bounty, and Sarah tried to pose in front of our tree and the gifts with Oliver and Molly. The boy struggled to get away and do something else, while the dog showed her excitement with a yawn:
One of my favorite gifts was a calendar that my sweet wife put together with pictures of our family. Here I am showing the pictures to Oliver:
What a Christmas. I’ll have some great memories for years to come, that’s for sure. But our Christmas journey isn’t over yet – it continues over the next few days, which we will be spending with my parents, my sisters and my Grandma Carol. Should be fun.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everybody out there.
Our holiday card did NOT get stuck in the mail – sorry!
We’ve been bad this year. About that holiday card of ours … no, it didn’t get stuck in the mail. In fact, we didn’t send any out this year. For one thing, it’s been a really busy month for us. I hate offering excuses, but I’ve been working quite a bit (at my day job and doing the UMSL thing). Add that to everything else that comes with raising a toddler, and time just flies by. The next thing you know it’s Dec. 23 and you’re blogging for just the second time in weeks.
So to those of us who sent us a holiday card this year, we say “thank you.” And to those of you who normally would have received a card from us (and for those who just like my blog or me), we offer a picture of our boy after eating a “holiday” Oreo. It had green and red filing, and the boy went crazy on it. He was pretty darn cute. Below’s a picture. Have a great holiday season!
Our son’s first picture with Santa
Yesterday, after chopping down our Christmas tree at Pumpkin & Pines in Warrenton, Mo., we walked around the food and gift area while waiting for our tree to be bagged. They had a Santa area and you could get a picture taken for $5. After lots of pressure from people to get a picture of Oliver with Santa over the past few weeks, I thought this would be a good opportunity.
Sarah just knew he’d throw a fit, so she waited at the doorway as I entered with Oliver. He immediately started kicking and yelling out, “No. No. Noooo!” But I persisted and put him on Santa’s knee. Then, Oliver made his classic “pouty face” and I told the woman to take the picture – quickly. She did, and it was pretty bad. She asked if we still wanted it. We almost passed, but I said to go ahead and print it for us. I’m glad I did. We can now laugh about it, and I’m sure we will for years to come.
And with that, here’s Oliver’s first picture with Santa (among the skinniest, youngest and least Santa-like I’ve ever seen, by the way):
Chopping down our Christmas tree
Growing up, my family had a tradition of driving way out into the country to a tree farm to chop down our own Christmas tree. Sarah’s family had the same tradition … sooooo, we have started our own. Last year (see my post about it), Oliver was itty-bitty. This year, he’s still small but he was walking and talking the entire time. We think he had fun, except for when we put him on Santa’s lap (more about that later, assuming I can get my photo scanner working). Special thanks to Sarah’s parents for meeting us out there, like last year, and sharing in the day.
It was chilly, but not terribly cold. We got a nice tree, and it’s warming up in the corner of our living room awaiting decorating tomorrow. Below are a few pictures from the day. Enjoy.
The family on the tractor ride out to the field:
Oliver, who just made up his mind that he was going to walk WHEREVER HE WANTED, being helped by his Grandpa across the grassy field to another set of trees:
Oliver was fussing a bunch trying to get his hands on the saw, so I helped him “cut” the end of our tree:
Like last year, Oliver and Sarah put their heads into these wooden snowmen for a family portrait:
Our son loves to dance, what can I say?
I took a pretty hilarious video of Oliver dancing the other day. The following YouTube clip IS NOT that video. I’m having trouble exporting off my camcorder, so I could only get a snippet onto my computer. But it’ll give you an idea of what he likes doing lately. And that is, walk over to the stereo, turn it on, then “dance” (i.e., spin in circles, often holding his Elmo or Grover doll). Anyway, enjoy:
Our half-day at the park
We had great weather in the St. Louis area over the weekend. I think the high was in the mid-70s. Very nice. We did a lot of work around the house, installing a new backdoor, mulching leaves, etc., but on Sunday was also went out for half a day. We picked up some Jimmy Johns sandwiches and headed to a local park.
Oliver was all over the playground until other kids showed up, then he panicked. He was pretty tired, as we pushed him past his nap time. Anyway, we ended up walking through the nearby woods and he was all joy again. He loves picking up sticks and looking at leaves. Shortly after we got home, he took a near-record three-hour nap. Needless to say, it was a nice, relaxing afternoon for his parents.
Oliver’s Halloween costume
Oliver was still getting over his pneumonia yesterday, so we just put his monkey costume on him for a short while. He sat outside with me and helped hand out candy, but that was about it for our Halloween. Pretty exciting, eh? Anyway, he was a cute little monkey. Here are a few of the pictures we took:
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