Christmas Fun!

And just like that, Christmas is over. I have to say, it is way more fun to celebrate Christmas morning as a parent than as a child. And, that's saying alot, because I absolutely loved Chrismas growing up. And Oliver didn't even know what was going on this year, so I can only imagine how much better it's going to get in the coming years.
We had 3 Christmases this year. One with Matt's family the week before Christmas, then our own little family's on the 25th, and then my family came up for this past week right after Christmas. Oliver is so out of his normal routine and I feel for those daycare peeps next week in trying to get all of these kiddos settled down.
Oliver got lots of great presents this year, but the two that stand out most are a slide (which is currently in our living room; thank you Grammy & Grandpa), and a dancing monkey (thank you, Aunt Emmy!). Here are some videos of him trying them out. Oh, and as I type this Oliver is dancing with the monkey, who plays a Ke$ha song. I was not familiar with the song before, but now, well, it plays in my head on repeat at night when trying to sleep. Yay!

A Boy's Best Friend

Oliver is 18 months old these days! His favorite word to say is "doggie" and he says it alot. Preston provides tons of entertainment for him, and if we could just get a little more consistent with "soft touches", I'm pretty sure Preston would be a big fan of Oliver's as well. As it is, P is getting fed more these days thanks to toddler food-droppings everywhere, and he's getting more exercise due to Oliver's decent throwing arm. Oliver always loves to nestle with his back right up against something, so Preston has become a sort of resting spot for O. Here is a pic of the two of them co-existing in peaceful harmony. (Sorry for the picture quality.)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! May you all enjoy peace and prosperity this holiday season. We are staying put this year, and will miss getting to see friends & family this time around. We hope to get together with those far away but close in our hearts very soon!

Meeting Santa (or not)...

So, last Friday was my work Holiday Party in Topeka. It was a family thing so I bundled the troops up and we all made the 30 minute drive to show them off to my envious co-workers. (I do have the cutest family).
Santa was there! There were tons of kids and it seemed like the line was forever long so we waited until everyone else had sat on Santa's lap before taking Oliver up. He was very interested in what was going on and who the guy in red was, until we forced him to get up close and personal. Oliver said, "Hmm, I don't think so" (in the form of an ear-splitting yell) and high-tailed it out of there. 
The pictures below capture the duck-n-run escape in chronological order. The first pic barely managed to get snapped, and I had to position myself as a solid barricade between O & Santa. There were no major tears shed though, so it could definitely have been worse! There will be another chance this Saturday to meet the big guy, so we'll hope round 2 is a little more successful.

GO POKES!

You might have been aware of a certain "big game" that was this weekend. Matt and Mick Griffith (fraternity brother and fellow-Lawrencian) took a trip down to Stillwater to watch the OSU/OU game. That left the moms to be home with the kiddos. Stacia and I took Charlie and Oliver over to Noah Clothier's house to watch the game and let the boys entertain themselves. Emily, Stacia and I were really the ones entertained by watching these 3 cuties clown around. Here is a video of the "wavey song" that gets played by the OSU band whenever the Pokes score (it was played ALOT during this game). All of the OSU fans wave their arms back and forth over their head to symbolize waving wheat. We never bothered to learn the actual words to the song, so we just call it the wavey song.
Anyways, here is Oliver's attempt at the wavey song. I think it's pretty hilarious. Don't worry. There were no injuries sustained! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ol That's Fall
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We stayed put this year and celebrated our blessings with Grammy & Grandpa and Matt, Emily & Noah Clothier (and soon-to-be-baby-sister). It has been a wonderful fall weather-wise and fun-wise. Below are some pics from a get-together with our friends the Kenkels, where Oliver discovered the joy of things that go vroom. Uh-oh! There is also a video of Oliver going crazy at Alex Kite's 2nd birthday party at the Lawrence Gymnastics Center. He was so wound up!

Halloween Fun!

Does anyone else find it hard to believe that October has come and gone? Halloween sure snuck up on us this year. As a result, Oliver was forced to wear some spur-of-the-moment "free" costumes that we kind of scrounged up last minute. For the Stepping Stones Halloween Carnival on Sunday, he went as a baseball player, courtesy of a hand-me-down Charlie Griffith baseball uniform. Sidenote, Oliver is developing quite an arm, and is practicing his pitching with pretty much anything that is not nailed down to the floor.
Grammy & Grandpa Coles were on hand to witness the Carnival Fun, but had to leave on Halloween day. Aunt Meghan was also around Halloween weekend. Mommy & Daddy got into the act (half-heartedly) on Saturday night but couldn't quite convince Meghan to join them as a blue-jean super hero.
For Halloween night, we turned Oliver into "Little O", his rapper name. Yes, he was the littlest Beastie Boy, courtesy of a fun Puma tracksuit that was a gift from Grammy & Grandpa. Add some sunglasses, askew ball cap, and some bling, and he was set. And, for some reason, he kept his sunglasses on almost the whole time we trick-or-treated. That in itself was the real Halloween treat! Enjoy some pics of Oliver's fun with his pals Charlie, Noah and little Samantha Whaley to boot!

Oklahoma on my mind

Oliver and I took a road trip last weekend to Lawton to see my parents. He had a ball. I think he is a country boy at heart. Pa-pa and O had some good bonding time while Nana and I went to a bridal shower. Oliver is obsessed with water and Pa-Pa indulged his fixation with a trip around the house checking out all of the outside faucets. Oliver also enjoyed "helping" the grandparents child-proof their house by finding every breakable/dangerous item within reach to point out the need to move them to higher ground! :)
It was a successful weekend away, but we missed Daddy, and I will definitely not be attempting another solo road trip until DVD's become at least moderately entertaining for a certain little mister.

Indian Summer with a side of Pumpkin Patch

Howdy,
First off - How 'bout them Pokes! :)
It's October 9th and 82 degrees outside! I'm not complaining. The warmer the weather, the more outside we can be - and that's the only place Oliver wants to be these days. This weekend we went to Schaake's Pumpkin Patch just south of town. We went last year as well, and it was fun to see Oliver so much more "into it", shall we say, this time around. We saw some chickens, goats and cows, picked our pumpkins, saw some good friends, and ate some yummy kettle corn. Doesn't get much better than that for a little boy. Or his parents! Today we had a classic Lawrence Sunday - met Dad downtown at Dogtoberfest, ate some lunch on Mass Street, played in the park, and went home to watch some football. Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Here are some pics to remember this fun, warm autumn weekend.

Movin' on up!

Monday is Oliver's first day in the Toddler Room at daycare! He is quite the big boy these days. While I am sad to see his time in the Infant Room come to an end, I know he is more than ready to graduate. And, the gals in the Infant Room are probably ready as well, judging from the onryness they bore witness to here in his last few weeks. At fifteen-and-a-half months, he is a constant blur of movement. He never stops. Literally. Never.
Here are some recent pics I managed to get with him in a rare moment of slow(er)-motion.

Summer's End.

Hello,

I am not at all sure anyone is still checking the blog these days. The summer has flown by and the fall looks to be just as busy. Oliver has had a blast at the pool this summer. Whether it was the South Park wading pool, the big public pool, or the indoor acquatic center, he has been perfecting his belly flop and having so much fun splashing around. Here is a video of our first time at the indoor acquatic center. He was the littlest one out there, but that sure didn't stop him one second.

Olls Wel That Ends Well...

The Long Pause
Hello, blog world! I apologize for the month-long absence of postings! Life has been outright crazy lately, and it is all I can do to make it through the day most of the time. I value sleep more than blogging, and something had to be put on the backburner, so blah blah blah, here we are in June.
What all has been happening in the last month? Hmm, where to start? Oliver is outright walking and basically, running circles around us all. He is into absolutely everything, and is the most observant little bugger I've ever met! He knows exactly the minute a cabinet door has been left "unbaby-proofed" and thinks the dog's water bowl was created solely for his personal splashing enjoyment.
Also speaking of Preston, Oliver now finds him to be ideal for climbing up, on, and over, as well as for grabbing, pinching, and general pulling-on. Poor Preston! He has been a good sport about it all, but I do not want to find out where the line is in terms of pushing his patience to the limit!

To Tube Or Not To Tube?
As you all are probably aware, my son has not been the healthiest of babies this year. We have had so many ear infections, I think the doctor even has a hard time keeping up with them. So, Matt and I made the decision for Oliver to get tubes. This hasn't happened yet (June 23rd), but just arriving at the decision involved alot of back and forth discussion and general angst. We have only heard good things from other parents who have done it, so we are going for it and crossing our fingers that it will help prevent at least a few ear infections that seem destined to seek out our little guy.
O has actually been ear-infection free for the last several weeks. Although, we did have a nice run in with pink eye last week.

1st Year of Life: Done and Done!
So, now the part you have all been waiting for....Oliver turned 1 year old yesterday! Oliver Welman Coles, born June 11, 2010 at 2:19pm. I can't even remember what happened last week, much less what life was like before he came along. All I can say for certain is that my life is better with him in it, and he has taught me invaluable lessons on love, patience, and the necessity of a comfortable rocking chair. We love him so much and are in constant disbelief at his new achievements that are coming along at an alarmingly fast rate!
We started Oliver's birthday celebrating a couple of weeks ago over Memorial Weekend by driving down to Oklahoma to visit Nana and Pa-Pa, and Aunt Jennifer as well. It was a great time exploring their brand-new, beautiful home! (No downsizing for retirement with those two). ;) We have continued the Oliver-festing through to this weekend, when we had his birthday party with friends in Lawrence. There was lots of fun had at the South Park Wading Pool, where Oliver and his friends splashed around the kiddie pool that was just their size. He got to eat his first cupcake, and go on his first swing! The day was a great success and we feel so blessed to have had so many wonderful friends and family around to help celebrate our little big man.
Here are some pics from Oklahoma and Oliver's birthday. Enjoy!
(Oh, one more note on the blog:  I've made it through Oliver's first year attempting to preserve some memories and share our experiences with all of you. I'm not sure how much longer my not-very- disciplined self will be able to blog with any sort of regularity. I will try to keep up with keeping you updated, but please understand if the blog becomes more of a monthly publication from here on out. Thanks for reading!!!) :)

Every Little Step You Take...

Happy Mother's Day! My first. And best! It was a great day hanging out with the fam and enjoying our downtown. And, Oliver actually had a couple of decent naps today, which is a great gift in itself.
One Small Step For Man
Within the past two weeks, he has started letting go of whatever he's holding onto and taking a few steps all on his own. No fear! I think we are up to 5 being the max so far. So exciting! AND, he can also climb up all of the stairs like it's nobody's business. That achievement is mega scary.
Organized Chaos
One of Oliver's favorite things to right now is to take out of a drawer whatever it is you just put into it. And then to take out every single thing out of every other drawer happens to be within eyesight. The pro of this activity is it entertains him for up to 15 minutes at a time. The con, of course, is putting things back after Hurrican O has left the room.

Here are some pics from this super fun weekend. We had a block party on our street on Saturday night. The Griffiths and the Clothiers came by to help us get friendly with the neighbors. The kiddos had a great time. And then, today we enjoyed lunch at Ingredient before taking a stroll down Mass Street and a pit stop at Sylas & Maddy's Ice Cream Parlor. Great day!

All Our Eggs In One Basket

Happy Easter! Oliver's 1st! These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of grandparents. Grammy Melanie & Grandpa Jerry visited us last week, and Nana Karen came up this weekend. Everyone is amazed at how aware Oliver is of ALL his surroundings. He can spot a non-child-proofed cabinet door from a mile away!
And, man is he fast! As evident in the pics below, I could not get a moment's pause to get a really perfect shot of him in his super cute Easter outfit (a present from the Youngblood relatives in Nashville. Thank you!). It was chilly this morning, so we had to put on an undershirt and socks for church.
For Oliver's first Easter, we started a new (hopefully annual) tradition. We headed over to the Clothiers house to share some yummy food with Noah's family as well as Charlie Griffiths (Mick & Stacia). It was a fun afternoon of food, friends, and egg hunting. O actually ate some deviled-eggs, greenbean casserole, cheesy potatos, and some ham. This was the most "real" food he's eaten at one sitting!
Oliver just loved watching Noah and Charlie wreak havoc everywhere. These three are definitely going to be keeping us parents on our toes for years to come. Good times!