Learning Tower

Here is the tower that Nick built for Oliver while we were in California. We absolutely love it and don't know how we ever lived without it! Oliver loves to help us cook and we're so glad we no longer have to worry about him falling off a chair.

a birthday

Oliver dances to my birthday card :)

green soup

I'm hooked on this Binny-inspired green soup that we made while I was visiting earlier this month. I've sort of adjusted it to my tastes, and to my surprise, both Nick and Oliver like it! This is a picture of Oliver eating by the spoonful! One day he ate three small bowls full in one sitting. Now I don't care if he eats any other vegetables for the rest of the week :)

Here's my recipe:

2 carrots
1/2 bunch broccoli
1/2 bunch kale
1/2 bunch chard
2 oz cheese of your preference
almond milk (or other milk of your choice)
olive oil
walnut oil
salt and pepper

1. Steam veggies in a small amount of water, retaining water.
2. In a blender, combine steamed veggies plus water, cheese, and almond milk until it reaches desired consistency.
3. Add about 1 Tbs of oil (I use olive and walnut) and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 1 full blender, about 40 oz.

Dinner Time

This is how Nick and Oliver eat dinner together on the nights that I teach. Notice the napkin that Oliver took off the shelf by himself, and placed delicately on his lap.

Video: Month 17

A few more clips from last month:

More California Fun

Here are a few more pictures from California that I haven't posted yet.

we celebrated a birthday

enjoyed our 1 day of sun!

played on the swing

and in the wet sand

rode a horse

and a dog!

and hung out with the guys.

Great-Grandparents

Who knew great-grandparents could be so much fun :) Here are a few photos of the time Oliver spent with his great-grandparents, Great Binny and Great Grampy.

helping Grampy with the tricycle

Oliver was thrilled that they had a baby doll for him to play with

water fun with Binny

he loves to pour water from one container to another

and he met one of Binny's many Buddha statues!

group photo

Exercising at the Airport

Just a fun way to burn energy before a flight :) This is on the moving walkway at the Oakland Airport.

Harmonica

Oliver just figured out to play the harmonica that Binny gave him last year. He even tries to get Penny to play it!

Trains!

Last weekend Oliver rode the steam trains at Tilden Park for the first time. He loved it! Here are a few pictures from the day:

Walking quickly to catch a spot on the train

We took up a whole car

He loved sitting next to Grandpa

Walking along the tracks while waiting for another ride

and sitting on them

Don't get run over! Laying on the tracks with grandpa Bruce.

Choo Choo! The train was definitely smaller than I remembered it being when I was a kid.

Oliver and Mommy

Sitting in the engine! He didn't want to leave.

cousins!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

17 months

Another month has flown by. Oliver will be 2 before we know it! Here are a some pictures from last month that I haven't posted yet. A lot of them revolve around food as he's become a lot more independent with his eating lately.

drinking at the table

one of his favorite ways to eat, standing at the table on his little chair

he's gotten really good at using forks

and he finally likes bananas

he takes huge bites!

kisses for Penny!

and hugs!

sharing a chair with daddy

so happy to be eating like a big boy

mmm, cereal

i love the library

and swings!

Flight

We completely lucked out on our flight today as the plane was half empty! That meant, not only did we get an empty middle seat as I was hoping we would, be we actually had the whole row to ourselves. That made for a perfect flight with a very active toddler. I put all the armrests up and let Oliver run back and forth on the seats. He loved it, and between that, lots of snacking, and a short nap, we had a very successful flight.

eating freeze dried blueberries before take off

he spent a lot of time looking out the windows

appropriately dressed to see uncle Evan

Park with Cynthia

Yesterday was Oliver and Cynthia day at the park!

Mmm!

Enjoying a chocolate at Fran's!

Cars, cars, cars

Oliver sure loves his cars. . .

Headphones

 Oliver loves to use Nick's headphones to listen to his mp3 player or his electric guitar so much that Nick thought he should have a pair of his own. We found this pair for ages 2-5 which fit him perfectly on the smallest setting.

thrilled!

of course playing with the cord is half the fun

rockin' out!