dog camp

Here are some pictures and a video from our camping trip this past weekend. Grisha, the owner of Ahimsa, has some property near Darrington, WA and she held an Outdoors Manners Camp for dogs :) We went up to help out and let Penny run! Aside from a little rain on Friday, the weather was nice (the forest was so thick that you could hardly tell if it was raining). Oliver loves, loves to camp, and is looking forward to his week long trip with Bapa in August. He remembered how to make s'mores, which surprised us since he had only made them once before. As soon as we handed him a marshmallow, he was asking for a cracker to go with it. Penny was on her best behavior and had fun with the other dogs and campers, and getting lots of running in. She was very sad to go home.

traveling in style :) we got him a DVD player for the back of the headrest which kept him very quiet in the car. The headphones didn't stay on very long though, so we ended up listening to the DVD with him.

loving his new camp chair!

eating lunch with Daddy

hiking under a log

i see you!

Penny did a lot of this

and this :)

quick rest in the sand

just kidding!

he loves to get dirty!

collecting sticks with Daddy

on a hike and munching on Daddy's protein bar

And here's a short video clip of Oliver playing hide and go seek with Daddy

siding

Our re-siding and painting project has finally begun. After visiting the paint store almost every day for a week, we picked out a color that everyone seems to like (we still have to pick out colors for the trim, entryway and door). We picked up the paint tonight and Nick started painting the first batch. Since today is summer solstice we had plenty of light. At 9:30pm we finally looked at our watch and realized Oliver needed to go to bed! Brother Evan arrives in a little over two weeks to help Nick hang the siding.

always has to be doing whatever daddy is doing!

painting away

Green! and there will be lots of it. It looks brighter in person.

pile of siding waiting to be painted - 200 pieces total!

play group

A few months ago we created a Monday playgroup with a few of Oliver's friends. The group has grown now and here is a picture of the bunch! All of them are October, 2009 babies. You can't get much closer in age than that! One fun fact: Tessa is 9 days older than Oliver, and her mom Jess is due just 11 days before me with baby #2!

This is my favorite of Oliver :) And the toddlers in order: Tessa, Owen, Rachel, Grant, Adam and Oliver

All but one of the mommies in the mirror!

Happy Father's Day!

Oliver - Month 20

Here are a few un-posted clips and photos from Oliver's 20th month. He was pretty sick for a week with a virus, so not quite as many activities as usual. Lots of guitar playing and weed whacking; this boy sure has his priorities straight :)

thrilled that daddy has added a makeshift guitar strap to his tiny guitar

very proud

he's a natural

he even sings!

snack at the zoo with his friend Rachel

I miss that hair! We recently had it chopped off, but it will be back :)

camping

We took Oliver on his first camping trip to South Whidbey State Park this weekend with our friends Kaila, Mike and their dog Zartan. The reason for going to Whidbey Island is because there is a dog-friendly beach where dogs can actually be off leash! In Washington State, dogs are not allowed on most beaches, so this was an awesome find. Penny was pooped by the time we got home :)

Oliver had a great time too (the weather cooperated!), and I think he would prefer to be camping all the time. He was also really well behaved and camping went more smoothly than Nick or I anticipated. He was good about the fire pit, except for sometimes wanting to put too much wood on :) and he hardly ever wandered out of our site. He did great on the hike that we took and loved the beach. The tent was also a big hit as Oliver continues to sleep in one every night in his room. As soon as it was assembled, he was calling it his bed.

 The family camping next to us had a little boy Oliver's age and last night Oliver decided he wanted to share his tractor (that Kaila bought him). He shyly walked over to show the other little boy, who was equally shy. After the tractor finally switched hands, Oliver walked back to our campsite and showed up shortly after with a log for their fire. He apparently thought their fire wasn't quite adequate (it was much smaller than ours) so he put a log onto their fire for them. He's such a nice boy :)

first awake ferry ride!

a bit too windy for Oliver

comfy in the car

happy Penny after a long walk and lots of ball chasing

traveling in style

Kaila taught Oliver how to dig for clams

leaping over the waves to catch her ball

watching Penny

look at my shells!

family photo attempt

i found something else

Kaila also taught him how to roast marshmallows (or rather catch them on fire)

eating the only part of the s'more he likes, the graham cracker

trying to smash an uncooked marshmallow onto a graham cracker

he loved sitting in the warm sand. he actually refused to get up when it was time to go.

no need for a chair

Oliver just uses his ride on toys :)

3 turns into 4 (plus Penny)

We've been a bit busier than usual for the past few months, and this is why: Oliver is going to be a big brother!

proud big brother!

Baby # 2 is due sometime around December 17th. The pregnancy has been going really well. I have hardly had any symptoms except that my allergies have been awful, just like they were when I was pregnant with Oliver. I bought a doppler of ebay and have enjoyed listening to the heartbeat at home for over a month now. That has been really nice since I don't really feel pregnant. I have also started to feel the baby move every once in a while, so that has been nice too.  I'm not the only one who enjoys playing with the doppler.

looking for his baby's heartbeat!

We had our first trimester ultrasound today and of course have some pictures. The technician was really nice and took the time to get good poses :) It was fun to see the baby squirm around in there. The little bean is very healthy and measuring just three days ahead of schedule. Here is the little bean at 12 1/2 weeks:

profile

foot and leg!

trucks

I took Oliver to "Touch-a-Truck" at Magnuson Park this morning. It was love at first sight for him. He really wanted his daddy to take him, but unfortunately Nick had to work. The weather cooperated and the temperature reached almost 80!

The event offers children a hands-on opportunity to explore heavy machinery and meet the people who build, protect and serve the Greater Seattle community. The vehicles on display included a big rig, tractor, bob cat, two cranes, garbage truck, dump truck, oil truck, sewer truck and an ambulance. The place was packed with mostly little boys and their parents. Oliver's favorites were the tractor and of course his beloved garbage truck. Ever since we had the tractor in our yard last week, Oliver has started calling all trucks "tractor". He was thrilled to see all the "tractors" today :)

checking out the view from the crane!

happy to be on the biodiesel truck

catching a ride on the garbage truck

up in the cab

and driving away!