Embracing Chaos

Lazy weekends...

2012-01-29T21:29:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend hanging out around the house. Here are a few precious moments to remember.

Drew loves playing IPad games. Some are actually pretty neat and educational. Ollie still lacks the patience and attention to play the IPad, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the passion. Some times Drew has to find a quiet place behind a chair to play without Ollie pushing random buttons. Of course Ollie still found him on this occasion and crawled behind the chair with him before being shoo'ed out. Little brothers...sheesh, am I right?

This photo may not demonstrate it, but Ollie is doing really well without his pacifier throughout most of the day. He is only allowed to have it upstairs. So when he is upstairs, sometimes he needs a little extra paci "umph" to make up for the time he's gone without it.

Sunday afternoon after naps, we needed to get out of the house. So, being Atlanta in February, we donned our hats and mittens, and went for a bike ride. On this particular ride, Drew and Ollie learned the joy of the downhill run. All the way down the big hill on our street, Drew yelled, "Weeeeee!" and Ollie had his uncontrolled giggle. Why, though, is it that Mom and Dad had to do all the work then to get them back up the hill? I didn't get a picture of it, but by the end of the ride the kids switched hogs, mainly I guess for the novelty of the others ride. Ollie just couldn't quite reach the peddles on the trike, but rang the handle bar bell unceasingly all the way home.

Naturally after the bike ride, an argument ensued about just whose turn it was to ride the Thomas-the-train power wheels. The machine was given to Drew on his second birthday, but he promptly offered it to Ollie at that time. Drew has now since reclaimed it. So we are still waiting on a Supreme Court hearing to decide to whom exactly Thomas belongs.

Random, Unexpected Momments

2012-01-22T19:32:00.000-05:00

We don't need to see another amateur video of random police beatings on the evening news to know we live in the world of instant video. I bet every one of you reading this post has a camera in their pocket right now. Well, when was the last time you flipped through all those Kodak moments? As a diversion at dinner one night while we waited for our service, I gave the kids my camera-phone to flip through all the old photos I have stored on it (after all who doesn't like to see pictures of themselves?). It made me think about all the great moments in life that we captured. The most interesting thing about the camara-phone is that it is the tool of choice for those random, unexpected moments in life that occur when you don't have a traditional camera handy. So here is a little snippet of some of those special moments I pulled off our camera-phones (in no particular order).


Drew's friend, Jacob, came over to play one evening.	Sheep came to my office one day to do some land clearing.


Hanging around the house in our underwear is a favorite activity.	This is actually our back yard, I think I have a little yard work to do.


The bench outside Chili's. They're always happiest with full bellies.	Our favorite activity at Publix: bakery cookies, and racing down the empty aisles, especially in pajamas.


The park swings.	Showing the kid's the thrill of the "Underdog" push.


Hiding, naked, in the closet...every evening.	Dirty-laundry swimming.


We love to watch the carousel at the mall, riding it...not so much.	Watching the 3D TV's at Fry's.


Snack Time!	Hiding...again.


We love Murphy.	Ollie way up in the McDonald's bubble.


Two too cool dudes.


Waiting for our food at Taco Mac	What can I say about this? Elizabeth went on a girls' weekend to Gatlinburg.

Our National Bird

2012-01-21T14:11:00.000-05:00

With two kids doing breathing treatments multiple times a day, and with each one taking 15 to 20 minutes a pop, we thought it wise to get our friend Panda Bear a buddy. To help personalize the routine, I told Drew he had to give the new nebulizer a name. Hey, he couldn't do any worse at naming toys then we have: his bear is named Bear, his monkey is named Monkey, his blue bear is named Blue Bear, you get the idea. So naturally he named it Cuckoo Penguin.

Welcome to the family Cukoo Penguin, even though you're a bald eagle.

Panda Bear

2012-01-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned previously, we were at the urgent care on Christmas Eve. Ollie was sick with an ear infection and pink eye. Then, ten days later after the last drop of the antibiotic was dispensed, he still was not well. We went back to the doctor. She gave us a 21-day antibiotic. Who's ever heard of a 21-day round of antibiotics? Then, about five days into that I decided we needed to go back to the doctor again because he didn't seem to be getting any better. We ended up at our doctor's office on Saturday morning for their walk-in hours. I'm so grateful they have Saturday hours. At this appointment we had the on-call doctor, but as luck would have it - it was one of our regular doctor's who knows Ollie quite well. She said to scrap the medicine we had been given and she was going to give us a stronger medicine for him to take, but in addition to that we needed to ramp up the breathing treatments. So, instead of our normal once a night "panda bear" treatment, we needed to do 3-4 a day. We have been doing that for awhile now. I do feel like he's finally getting better, but just in time for Drew to now be sick.

So, now we are doing "Panda Bear" with Ollie morning and night and then we switch to Drew after Ollie is done. Panda Bear is how we fondly refer to our nebulizer. It looks like a panda bear.

The boys have been such troopers with the nebulizer. It's not fun, but they do it without complaint. Ollie will tell us when he thinks he's done by saying "done, done, done" all while signing the word "done" to us. We say to him, "one more minute." He'll repeat, "one more...one more..."

They are good kids.

Digging for Dinosaurs

2012-01-18T21:09:00.001-05:00

Yesterday when I picked Drew up from school his teacher pulled me aside to tell me that Drew's mittens may be ruined. He got to digging on the playground with a friend, in an area that they had been told not to dig. It was some sort of tar pit. In any case, his mittens are not going to make it. I'm tossing them because, honestly, I don't have time to clean them properly.

When Mike and I asked Drew why he chose to dig in that area he said so innocently, "I was digging for dinosaurs, daddy." Then daddy said, "Did you find any?" Then sadly he replied, "Noooo." He is so stinkin' cute I can't stand it.

I believe that he really thought that if he dug hard enough he would find some bones. No such luck. Maybe we have a budding archeologist on our hands??

Three Firsts

2012-01-17T20:57:00.002-05:00

Over the last several weeks, the boys experienced three big "firsts":

During our visit last month to Minneapolis, we spent the day at the Mall of America. I've been to the Mall of Georgia, it's just another Mall. This is no Mall of Georgia, or even a Mall of Minnesota. It's called the Mall of America for one reason, the Mall of America is an experience all its own. It's three levels of shops, restaurants and other fun spots, with about 3 dozen Caribou Coffee shops mixed in, and all surrounding a full scale amusement park.

This is where Drew and Ollie had their first real amusement park ride. It was Blue's Skidoo, followed by the semi-trucks. Drew and Ollie just stared in awe at the rides while Elizabeth went to buy us all a few tickets. Drew, Ollie and I, along with Gretchen and Jakey quickly got in line once Elizabeth returned with tickets. When it was finally our turn to ride, Drew, Ollie and I crowded into one Blue, and we fit just fine, but we got kicked out by the snot-nosed zit-covered punk running the ride, only two per blue. Because Ollie was the youngest, he made Drew ride alone. This absolutely crushed Drew's excitement for the ride. He was on the verge of tears, when Elizabeth spotted the trauma, and quickly jumped the fence to ride with him. He was happier, but the trauma already took its toll. Next up was the semi-trucks, and the same situation, Drew had to ride alone. He later admitted to Elizabeth that the only reason he didn't like riding the tucks was because he had to ride alone. The pictures below just break my heart seeing at the sadness in his eys:( I just hope this experience doesn't permanently spoil all rides for Drew. Ollie appeared to enjoy both rides, but especially liked pushing the buttons on Blue and honking the horn on the truck. Jakey was screaming when he got off of Blue, not because it scared him, but because the ride was over and he wanted to keep going.

On another day excursion, during our time in Minneapolis, we took all the kids to a wonderful children's museum. The museum consisted of several themed rooms. I think everyones favorite was the water room, with water tables, a bubble table, and the kids first boat regatta race. It reminded me of the boat regatta races we had in the cub scouts. My boat never won. Both Drew and Ollie really loved racing their boats, and did it over and over again. Drew chose a boat with a pointed front end that was especially suited to cutting through the water. He's a sharp one that kid. Ollie just loved grabbing the boats and splashing in the water. He was actually very infatuated with the bubble table. That boy, Ollie, is in LOVE with bubbles.

After all the holiday trips were complete, and we actually got to spend a weekend home, just the four of us. We thought it would be fun to go see the Dinosaurs again at Fernbank. I think Drew is slowly starting to realize that dinosaurs are long extinct, and all we have left are cartoon dinosaurs and bones, that is as far as he can grasp the concept of "extinct". He was very sad, when we got to Fernbank that there were no real dinosaurs. He did finally get into the amazement of the giant creatures, even though the were just bones, and even enjoyed the dinosaur statues outside in front of the building. Ollie really liked looking at all the mounted animals, particularly a pair of bald eagles on loan from the US government. The fun part of Fernbank though is NatureQuest, the kids play area on the upper floor, of course they enjoyed that. But, the real reason for going to Fernbank that day was for the kids to have their first movie theater experience. We went to see the IMAX presentation of "Born to be Wild", a heart warming story about orphaned elephants and orangutans, raised in sanctuaries and released back into the wild. We thought it would be a good choice for their first movie experience because it is about cute animals, and has a 40 minute run time, which is already maxing out Ollie's attention span. Drew really loved the experience from the start, and sat amazed at the images the whole time. Ollie was a bit scared of the giant IMAX screen, and flying sequences at first, but after hiding his face in my chest for a little while, and after realizing that it was a pretty good story, he did finally get into the experience and enjoyed the movie just as much.

Of course, a lot more happened to us during these three adventures, which I can't detail in full right here, but take a look at some of the additional pictures below, and you'll get the gist about just how much fun we had.

Other fun we had at the Mall of America included our first ride, the coin operated merry-go-round, a mirror maze (also a first for me as well as the kids), lego building, and just having fun running around the mall hallways.

Other fun we had at the children's museum include bubbles, making paper snowflakes, cooking, planting a garden, and just general running, being silly, and having a ball.

Our fun at Fernbank included touching fossils, petting an alligator, kissing a turtle, swimming with the fish, steering a submarine, and eating fruit snacks (everyone's favorite).

I Tooted

2012-01-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

One thing I've learned in the last year is that three-year olds can get away with most anything as long as it's funny.

After the christmas craziness, we loaded up the kids one more time and headed to Charlotte, NC to celebrate the new year with the Carters. We had such a good visit to Bo's house (as Drew put it referring to their lovable lab), or to see the cow (as Ollie put it referring to their black and white spotted dog, Zoey) that Drew was very sad when it came time to say goodbye and go home. To ease his pain, Melody allowed Drew to take home a whoopee cushion that Trevor used to teach the kids the joy of fake farts. Thanks, Mel!

We stopped at Waffle House for lunch on the way home. Naturally, Drew insisted on taking his new whoopee cushion into the restaurant. Usually, he just slowly squeezes it letting out the air silently without much fanfare, he just doesn't have the weight to set it off in all its glory. So, what harm was there in bringing it into the Waffle House?

We were not seated for more than one minute when Drew inflated his whoopee cushion, put it down on the bench, sat down, and dhdbsdivjsbavfqrsyxsvwgdicovhgjthrgsbjvjdhebsjdh!!! After which, in his loudest outside voice, he announced to the whole restaurant, "I TOOTED."

Following this excitement, Drew went back to school and each day insisted on bringing his whoopee cushion to school. We made him wait for Friday to take it to school because on Friday's all the kids get to take something for show-and-tell. Naturally, Drew had been waiting for this day all week. He loves show-and-tell day. He has been dying to bring his new flatulent maker to school, and this was his chance. We weren't there, but according to his teacher, the show-and-tell presentation went like this:

Drew got up in the middle of the circle, pulled out his fart bag, and slowly inflated it up in front of the class. Bare in mind that this is a group of 3-year-olds, most of which have never seen a wind breaking device before. He set it on the floor, hunched over it, and sat down. I don't think I need to provide a lot more detail here except to say that the whole room broke out in laughter at the sound of the cheese being cut.

As a father, I couldn't be more proud.

Uncle Bob's Carnival Cornucopia

2011-12-31T13:13:00.001-05:00


Drew quickly figured out the airplane belt	Our view upon take-off

After we celebrated Christmas Morning at home, we quickly packed up the kids to catch our flight up to Minneapolis, MN. More precisely, our final destination was Mound, MN, on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. On take-off, the sky was a beautiful burning deep red color, with only the thinest sliver of a new moon perhaps only hours old, but the entire moon disk was visible. Red sky at night, travelers delight, so they say.

We arrived at Uncle Bob and Aunt Gretchen's house on Christmas day evening. The next day, Grammy and Pa, with cousins Jack, Ella and Ellise from Greenbay in tow, arrived in town. I'm sorry to say, Don and Amy were not able to come, but enjoyably, their kids were able to hitch a ride with the GP's With the addition of the Greenbay clan, to the home town clan, twins Robbie and Jake, all the Chilson cousins were accounted for. Then the craziness began.

Hold on Robbie & Ollie, this ride is a bit bumpy.

While we did have some great adventures during our time in the Twin Cities, including a visit to the children's museum, a giant play center, and the Mall of America (more on those later), the greatest fun happened at Uncle Bob's Carnival Cornucopia in the upstairs bonus room.

The fun started with the kiddie rides: namely the stair coaster, followed by the jumpie castle, the obstacle course, the bouncing wall, and climaxed with southern sledding. That's right, we went all that way to go southern sledding because there was no snow in the Great "White" North, which apparently is nothing more than riding down a hill in a wagon. In addition to the roughhousing fun, there was a rousing game of hide-and-go-seek, simon-says, and much much more. Check out the photographs below of all the fun had by all. Don't miss the video at the bottom of this posting staring our own "Air Drew".


This is typical for our kids, sitting on the sideline observing the craziness.	Once the crazies left, Drew jumped right in though.


The "Obstacle Course," Drew loved this from the get-go.	Drew also quickly figured out the "sit-n-spin" and rode till he was dizzy.

This was Drew and Ollie's favorite, running, jumping, and bouncing off the wall. In fact, I think they instigated this one, and got everyone else doing it.

Jack knew all the best places to hide...where is he?

Naturally, being Christmas, Grammy did not show up empty handed. The gifts she brought for the kids were certainly a hit, the biggest and most appreciated of them all was the quality time they spent with the kids. Ollie and Drew absolutely adore their grandparents, and were very sad when it came time to say goodbye. The two gifts that were the biggest hit, other than themselves, were the fake light-up aquarium and the large blankets, Drew got a Lightning McQueen, and Ollie a Snoopy blanket, and they've asked to sleep with them every night since our return. After setting up Drew's light-up aquarium in his room, he agreed that it was no longer necessary to leave the hallway light on outside his room. That is progress.

Our visit climaxed on the last day with Grammy's surprise grand prize game. The winner of the raffle got to take home a very special gift that sat wrapped under the tree since our arrival. The winner of the grand prize game was the one who talked about it the most, and who was the most anxious to see what was in that last gift of the year...Ella! What did the grand prize turn out to be? It was the most precious Chilson Family heirloom: the elephant cookie jar that sat atop the fridge in the Chilson household as long as I can remember. May she eat from it for years to come.

Thanks for being such gracious hosts, Bob and Gretchen!


All the kids were mesmerized by the light-up fish tank.


Jack and Ellise hauling the "sled" back up the hill.	The kids huddling in front of the IPad watching Charlie Brown Christmas before bed.

Frozen Lake Minnetonka at high noon. Well, as high
as the sun gets so far up north.

Christmas Part 2: Santa's Arrival

2011-12-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

Christmas morning arrived and we had two very happy boys who were extremely excited to go downstairs and check out their new toys. We got a late start because they slept until 8am. Why in the world would they sleep until 8am on Christmas? In any case, we enjoyed sleeping a little bit late and then slowly going downstairs in anticipation. We have some video, of course, but it might take a bit of time to edit it. I'll explain as best I can what happened.

We went downstairs and Drew opened the front door to invite Santa in the house. I'm not kidding. He looked for about 10 seconds on the front porch until I explained to him that Santa had already come in the middle of the night. He then realized, along with Ollie, that there were toys in the living room. He was super excited to see the train table and all the trains set up! There were a lot of trains. I think Santa may have gone just a tad bit overboard with the trains, but as Drew told me today - Santa brought trains for him, and for Ollie, and for Daddy. Obviously, daddy needed to have some trains, too.

Ollie discovered an easel with dry erase markers. He loves markers. Again, if someone can please explain to me why Santa left a toddler with a full container of markers that would be great. I don't know what that old man was thinking. Ollie sure enjoyed the endless markers so much so that he didn't even want to go through his stocking.

It was a lovely morning full of toys and more toys. The kids received so many wonderful presents - books, puzzles, art supplies, cars, a "real" football (Drew was adamant it be real) , a much talked about purple camera, dinosaurs, candy and more candy. The kids were in heaven. The boys also received an orange in the toe of their stockings, which Ollie needed to dig into right away. Yes, he ate the orange before even asking for candy. What's wrong with this kid?

We had a lot of fun opening all the presents and watching their expressions. Drew's favorite present was either the Wilson Chuggington train or the purple camera. It's a toss up. Ollie's favorite was the markers, hands down.

The dinosaurs are fun, but they seem to need lots of time outs for biting the boys' fingers. Bad dinosaurs.

Sidebar: Speaking of dinosaurs, on the way home from Fernbank Science Museum today (another blog to come, I'm sure), we needed some entertainment and Mike began singing "Old MacDonald had a farm..." and can you believe that it had a dragon, dinosaur, lion, pig, and tiger. Do you know that those animals make some funny noises? They all went "Rrrrraarrrr", except the pig which said Oink. Anyhow, it was pretty darn cute listening to my quiet boy yell at the top of his lungs the animal noises.

Anyhow, back to Christmas. After we had opened presents, eaten cinnamon rolls, and gorged on candy, I discovered that it was pushing 11am!!! We had a flight to catch to Minnesota. We needed to leave our house by 2pm so that left 3 hours to get our family packed. I originally thought we had plenty of time to get to the airport, but then when 11am hit and we still hadn't moved from the living room I began to get a little panicky.

We did get packed and we did not miss our flight. In fact, the boys did quite well with all the modes of transportation. Buses, moving sidewalks, elevators, escalators, airplanes, and cars. Ollie loved the airplane. He kept pointing and saying the word "airplane" over and over. Mike tried to move him along at one point and then he had a very unhappy Ollie. Next time, I explained to Mike that he needed to allow Ollie to say "bye" to the airplane in order for him to have some closure and not get the meltdown. For some reason if Ollie doesn't get to say "bye" he loses it!

The flight was quiet and empty. The best time to fly is on Christmas night because everyone else is already at their destination. The boys were good and Uncle Bob was nice enough to meet us at baggage claim. Drew ran right past him and rightly so because it has been a full year since we saw them last, but mostly I think it was because after being restrained in a sardine can for three hours, Drew exploded with energy and ran the distance from the airplane to the baggage claim without looking where he was going.

Christmas Part 1: Urgent Care & Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T15:29:00.001-05:00

I always feel like my vacation isn't complete without a sick child. And, so it begins. The morning of Christmas Eve, Ollie woke up with a small "booger" in his eye. I left to go to Target and when I returned I saw that it had turned into a major eye infection. I even said to myself as I left the house for last minute errands, "when I return that eye is going to look worse than it does right now." And, sure enough, that's what happened, so off to Children's Healthcare we went. I packed all the essentials: IPad, books, snacks, pacifier, and bear. It's always a bad sign when, upon entering the urgent care facility, there is a dry erase board that says, "current wait time: 3.5 hours". Ugh. But, Ollie was a trooper. In fact, he ran and played like nothing was wrong. They even had his favorite animal featured, fish, with a large fish tank and fish on the wall paper. He can do a great fish impression with his lips, complete with the sucking noise.

As usual, he was such a good boy. The triage nurse weighed him, picked him up to sit him on the medical table, took his temperature, etc... he was an angel. He giggled while she did all of this and saw immediately the eye issue, since by this point of waiting it was almost completely glued shut.

We then went back to the waiting area and waited awhile longer. We ate gold fish, read books, played on the best invention ever - the IPad, and finally Ollie's name was called. We went back to the small waiting room to wait for the doctor. Ollie explored the room, looked in every cabinet, read books, and then magically the doctor appeared. He diagnosed him with an ear infection and eye infection and sent us on our way with multiple prescriptions.

He finally fell asleep on the way to get our prescriptions filled. Such a sweet little guy.

The rest of our christmas eve was great. Dinner at my Aunt Katherine's house complete with singing carols and a reading of "Twas the Night before Christmas". Drew looked shell shocked with our family tradition of singing and reading, but he'll eventually get into the swing of things.

Ollie & Drew enjoying a "cheesy roll" on Christmas Eve morning. Breakfast of champions.

Drew is excited about Santa's arrival.

Drew & Ollie playing with toys at Aunt Katherine & Uncle Eddie's house.

Drew opening his first christmas present this year.
It kind of made me cringe allowing him to open one before Christmas morning.
My mom never let us open presents before Christmas and it has stuck with me. He really loved his puzzle from Aunt Katherine & Uncle Eddie, and had it put together before dinner.

Ollie too was given the privilege of opening a gift prior to Christmas morning.
A frog book, appropriate because he loves imitating a frog.

Putting together the large puzzle pieces. He actually did most of it by himself.

Fish lips. Adorable, right?

My cousins, Amanda (left) and Ellen (right) reading "Twas the Night before Christmas",
which is our holiday tradition.

My cousin, Harper, and his wife, Yukari.

My Aunt Martha, Aunt Katherine, Uncle Eddie, and Uncle George singing carols.
Another tradition....you better sing loud, it makes it better.

I cannot seem to get these two in a photo together without them goofing off or one trying to run away.

Drew hugging his sick brother.
Drew loves his brother and often gives him hugs even when Ollie is adamant he doesn't want one.

We made it home, and the kids were in bed and asleep in time for Santa's arrival.

The Second Child

2011-12-19T21:34:00.002-05:00

Let's face it, Ollie is the second child, now matter how hard we try, he tends to get the shaft. It's always about Drew and Ollie, never Ollie and Drew. But, we certainly can't belittle his place in our family. I can't imagine our life without him, and I can't begin to tell you how he has changed us all for the good. He has even gotten Drew to lighten up some and see the good things in life, but this posting is about Ollie, not Drew and not us. Ollie is turning 19 months this week, and his personality is certainly uniquely "Ollie".

Since his last doctors check-up, 6 months ago, Ollie has lost 2 pounds! This weight loss actually got him back on the chart at 50%, he is still tall though at 80%.

We have mentioned previously how passionate he is about panting, coloring, and hiding. Other passions of his are bubbles, puzzles, and digging in the dirt. He will stand at the back door insistently asking to blow bubbles until we relent (they're only allowed outside). He is actually very good at blowing them himself and could do it all day long, while we sit with him freezing. Stick Ollie on the ground, in a pile of mulch, or sand, and he'd be as happy as lark just digging. He has permanently dirty finger nails. Apparently, Collin, Ollie's best bud at school, and Ollie (both built like linebackers) are partners in crime playground diggers.

Ollie is a yacky-yackerton, he just goes on and on, and will repeat most of what he hears, very clearly hitting every syllable. His first, "I love you," happened eons ago, it might have been his first words. He can name all his colors, and animals, and animal noises (that last one he learned from Dad, I'm so proud), and most animals he can act out, his best routine is the frog complete with, "ribbit." He will try to mimic everything we or Drew does, like sit a certain way, or walk funny, or dance on the bed singing, "I'm naked! I'm naked!". He just doesn't have the muscle control yet so he mostly just falls over in his attempts.

The big news of late is that Ollie has mostly given up the pacifier, with relative ease at that. One day, Ollie and I were home alone, Mom and Drew were out of town, so I just said, "Ollie, if you want to go down stairs, you have to leave your paci up stairs, and that was that. I've always said that paci stands for put-a-cork-in it, but nothing can cork up Ollie. Every once in a while, he has to go upstairs for a quick fix to settle himself down, but the paci stays upstairs. He can sleep with it, and have it in the evening when we're all upstairs, but that's it.

Our bed time routine is still a bit hectic, but structured, so its efficient. Ollie has been doing breathing treatments from panda bear (his nebulizer) every night since the day he was three months old, and continues to this day. Apparently, he has a constricted trachea, and panda bear helps keep it open. When a cold comes on, we have to do panda bear twice, or three times a day! I sure hope he grows out of this condition soon. He's never known anything different, so it's just part of the routine for him. Starting about 6:00pm, Ollie's schedule is dinner-bath-brush-milk-Clifford-panda bear-books-songs-bed and lights out by 7:30pm, and he is out till morning.

He loves all his stuffed animals, but I'm not sure yet which one will be his best bud. He tends to switch best buds every now and then. For a while, it was Gerald the Elephant, then his loyalties switch to his bear, and now he can't get enough of Tiger. He asks for each of them very clearly in his most sweet voice, which I hope I'll never forget.

He is a Daddy's boy for sure. He loves all the Daddy rides, and runs to give me a hug the moment I come in the door every evening. In the morning, the first person he asks for is Daddy. If Daddy is around, he his number 1. However, Drew has woken up Ollie in the morning or after nap a few times, and now on many occasions, he had called out for Drew in the morning, which is very sweet. He loves his big brother like there is no tomorrow.

The sad, but fascinating part is that Ollie is growing up, and dare I say it...the terrible twos are here. May the tantrums commence. I know he won't be this sweet little boy for much longer. The thing's I'll never want to forget though are the sound of his contagious laugh, the ribit-ribit routine across the floor (usually with shoes on his hands), the little ball of a boy snuggling up next to me on the bed while we do panda bear, tickling those wonderfully wiggle toes, and the look of excitement on his face the moment I walk in the door from a hard-days work in the real world. Pretty soon, I'll have to threaten him with kisses in front of all his friends if he doesn't give me a hug, but for now I'll just revel in the sweetness of my little boy, Ollie.

Cookies Everywhere....

2011-12-18T20:44:00.000-05:00

One of my most favorite activities during the holiday season is decorating christmas cookies. About a week ago I decided we should have a cookie decorating party with some of Drew's friends and their families. I set up an evite and sent it out to five of Drew's friends. It was a completely last minute thing to do, but I was running out of time with the holidays on our heels. After the responses came to me, it was determined that only one of his friends could come. I thought about changing the party to a different day but there wasn't another day that would work for everyone, so we decided to leave it as is. I have to say, I'm glad we did. It was a lot of fun! And, I think it may have been a little too much with more people. Everything always works out as it should.

Drew's friend, Molly, is one of his dearest friends from school. Not to mention that they have been by each other's side since they were infants. I absolutely adore Molly. She is a party girl and is not afraid to share her opinion, which from one opinionated girl to another, I love this about her. She also wanted to wear her pearls today. She has a pretend pearl necklace that she is wearing in the pictures. I love this. She is also incredibly sweet, as is her younger brother, Mack, who also joined us at the party. He is about six months younger than Ollie. He is a climber and very curious! Jill & Mark are the parents of this brood and we really enjoyed seeing them for more than the standard few minutes we typically see each other on an average day.

The decorating for the kids lasted for about three or four cookies, then they took off running and being silly around the house. There is nothing better than watching friends be silly together, especially when they are three-year-olds.

Drew randomly puked up everything he had eaten halfway through the party (did we mention he had a full lunch about an hour before their arrival). However, after he got that out, he was in a very jolly mood and acted like nothing had happened. I thought it was a major downer for the party, but because Mark and Jill are such wonderful people they stayed a bit longer to continue decorating cookies. I will feel horrible if later this week either of their children are ill. I do think it was just a case of a too full tummy, but we shall see.

I can hardly believe this year is soon coming to a close. Where has the time gone? Ollie will be 19 months this week. He is, as mentioned in several previous blogs, quite artsy. He really enjoyed painting the cookies and then coloring on paper with the other kids.

The Big Six.

2011-12-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

Well, Mike and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary on Saturday, December 3. It was a whirlwind weekend. My oldest brother graduated on Friday from Nurse Anesthetist school at the Medical University of South Carolina. I could not have been prouder. Mike couldn't get off work to go, so I made an executive decision to bring Drew and leave Ollie at home with Daddy.

December 2nd (Friday morning) Drew woke up at 5:00 am, which was a tad bit early. Since he was awake and we were packed, we decided to hit the road for Charleston, SC at 6:30am. We made it in record time, five hours and 30 minutes. We were able to get checked into the hotel and freshen up before attending the ceremony. I had no idea the ceremony was so far from the hotel. It really was only a few miles away, but with traffic, road closures, and my other brother with me made for a very slow trek to the graduation, so much so that I was fretting we were going to be late. I hate being late. We pulled into the parking garage with exactly 6 minutes before the ceremony was to begin. It was held in a beautiful small chapel. The chapel was absolutely packed. We were literally running to get there. My brother, Chris, carried Drew. Lauren and I were running with her two kids not far behind. It was madness. We walk in the door and were so grateful that Dutch's in-laws saved us a row of seats. Thank god for saved seats. We would have been standing in the back if they hadn't saved us seats.

The ceremony was just like any other graduation. The speakers were incredibly boring. In fact, at one point the lady talking said something about how passionate she was about this field of study and Lauren poked me in my side as she silently laughed at this statement. There was no way this lady had an ounce of passion inside of her. The monotonous tone said it all.

In any case, Dutch received his diploma. We are thrilled for him and for his family. It has truly been a difficult two years and at times I think he wasn't sure he could finish because of all the stresses, but he did! He made it, and all of the hard work will pay off!

After the ceremony we went to a quick reception with the college, then onto a catered dinner at a rec center. Tami had decorated it beautifully. The kids had fun running from one end of the room to the other. The food was yummy. Drew even tried shrimp for the first time and liked it. We bargained how many shrimp he needed to eat in order to get a piece of 16 layer chocolate cake. Yum.

Drew finally had his first big meltdown as we were leaving the reception at 9:00pm. I wondered when it would hit. He actually held out longer than I thought he would considering he had been up since 5:00am, traveled a long distance, sat through a formal graduation, and then remained happy through 2 receptions. It was about time. It hit hard when we got back to the hotel as I was trying to get him in bed. He finally did fall asleep around 10:30pm. LATE!! We slept late on Saturday morning, visited with family, and then hit the road for Atlanta. We made it home in time for Mike and I to celebrate our 6th anniversary. I do not have any pictures to memorialize the occasion so you'll have to settle for my stories.

Mike and I enjoyed a very loud dinner at Taco Mac with the kids. It was the SEC Championship game that featured UGA & LSU and for those of you not down here....the UGA "dawgs" are the team to root for and it can get quite loud and ugly. In fact, the SEC Championship game occurred six years ago on our wedding night featuring the UGA bulldogs and LSU (if you can believe it!), and I won't even mention how many of my family members asked me if we would have a big screen TV so they could watch the game but not miss the reception. But back to 2011, the game being on essentially meant that the kids could be as loud as they wanted at dinner and not one person would bat an eye, not to mention that Mike and I could not talk to each other, which was kind of amusing since it was our anniversary. Following dinner we went to get sundae's at McDonald's across the street. The kids played on the slides while Mike and I recounted the past year. It was a really nice evening, except the Bulldogs lost!

We finalized the evening by going to pick out a christmas tree.

I will say that I am in love with Mike more and more each day. He holds a lot of qualities that I wish I had...and I discovered this year that I truly love traveling with him. I cannot fully describe how much I have missed him on trips that I took this year. He is the perfect travel partner for me. And, it's good to know that the man I married is someone who I want to always spend more time with, even when we seem to be doing nothing at all.

Here's us on our wonderful wedding day.

[Mike: Ditto]

Arf-Arf

2011-12-12T10:27:00.000-05:00

I imagine every little boy goes through the, "I'm a dog," stage. I suppose the phrase, "It's a dog's life," isn't for naught, even little boys see the benefits. Recently, Drew began crawling, and arfing, and generally acting like a dog. He call's himself T-bone, Clifford the big red dog's lovable companion. Naturally, Ollie jumps right into the routine, what one does, the other is sure to follow. In their defense, the both of them do make down-right adorable canine friends. Although, Drew's insistent and unrelenting arfing tends to get on the nerves, especially when trying to read him a night-time book, or trying to get out the door on time in the morning, or sitting in a quite restaurant. Ollie is more the silent, panting kind of dog, much more amiable. Both enjoy a good belly rub, and like to be scratched behind the ears.

Sit Ollie sit...arf...good dog.

Our Favorite Ornaments

2011-12-11T10:50:00.001-05:00

This blog posting is inspired by one particular ornament new to our tree this year. I look forward to the day our tree is covered with many similar ornaments to be collected through the years. This particular ornament has the distinction of being the first of it's kind, a child's self-made-from-scrap-material home-made ornament. The ornament at left is Drew's own handy work made with his favorite art implement...scissors. If you haven't figured it out yet, it's a snow man.

We all have our favorites, and all the ornaments on our tree have special meaning because they were made by and/or depict someone special, or we obtained it during a special moment in our lives such as a fun trip. Below are a few of our favorites.

Our tree this year is very lovely, but modest in stature. When we pulled up to the Christmas tree lot, Mom set the rule that we all had to agree on which one of the trees at the lot was ours, even Ollie. Drew at once demanded that he wanted a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. I know most people say that, but usually they mean it metaphorically. Drew meant it literally. On several occasions, he picked up a dinky broken branch and asked, "how 'bout this one," and I believe he was serious. Every option given to Ollie, he promptly vetoed with a short "no". I'm still not exactly sure what he was looking for in a tree. In the end, we did get a consensus, mostly I think because Ollie lost interest and I vetoed Ollie's "no", and Drew allowed himself to be persuaded into a slightly larger, but still "Charlie Brownish" tree, if not more metaphorically speaking.


Ollies favorite. It hangs low on the tree so he can see it and take it off and rehang it as he pleases.	This is a hand-panted seashell. We got it on our honeymoon in the Bahamas


One of Mike's favorites. We road our bikes from the beach to a small shop in Seaside, Florida.	One of Elizabeth's favorites. We got it at a street art fest in downtown Charleston, South Carolina


Not sure exactly where this one came from (we can't always remember), though I know we were someplace really cool, maybe New Years Eve in Ashville, North Carolina.	This is an easy one to remember. Our babymoon at Estes Park, Colorado. Elizabeth was pregnant with Drew. It's an elk in case you can't see it clearly.

Giving Thanks at Hard Labor

2011-12-01T20:22:00.001-05:00

Even though most of you are already into the Christmas spirit, we're a bit neglective, so bare with me while I revisit Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always a hoot with the Smyths. I think there are around 50 of them, including me, I'm proud to say, but, I think only around 40+ of them made it to the Thanksgiving festivities this year at Hard Labor Creek State Park.

I'm am extremely proud to say that I saw, I baked, I concurred, and I ate pie. Last Christmas, my Mom taught me how to make her fabulous apple cream pie. And, after being a bit disappointed at the Thanksgiving feast last year, that didn't have a pie to be had, I was determined to make one of my own. It turned out delicious. Naturally, everyone had the same idea, so in the end there were two tables of deserts, which meant more left over to take home and keep for myself!

We've been going to Hard Labor Creek State Park now for a few years, and I like to start out the weekend with a family hike on a series of short trails. The past two years, we were only able to do half the length (the yellow trail) for a number of reasons mentioned previously in this blog, so I was determined to do the red trail. So, we did, but just barely. I attribute this years near short coming, not to Ollie's little legs, or Drew's short attention span, or either of their sometimes severe mood swings, but to Elizabeth's empty stomach. We've learned long ago to always feed kids well before embarking on any adventure, but we still haven't learned to feed Mom. Drew can be pokey, and tends to stall, and look at interesting thing's on the trail, so he can be a bit slow. Too slow on this occasion, so we had to scoop up Drew in the back pack and carry Ollie old school before Mom passed out, which meant that she had the "pleasure" of wearing Drew in the back pack, while Ollie crashed in my arms. We made it, and have a good story to boot.

After a good hike and a good meal, it's always fun to wind down with a rump at the play ground. That is if you're at or below the design tallness for the play equipment. I was chasing Ollie in and out of the play equipment to try and get the two rascals to sit for a Christmas photo. I ran in OK, grabbed Ollie, then on my way out, SMACK, I saw stars and found myself lying prone in the dirt. A couple weeks later, and I still have the scar on my forehead. I hope it's not permanent. The two pictures at the top of this blog are the best we were able to get.

Throwing leaves on Uncle Chris

There are a few people in this world that Drew really relates to, I'm not sure how he picks these people, but he might not see them for a year or more, and be instant best buds with them the minute he sees them across the room. I think Drew met Elizabeth's cousin Andy maybe once. It was fourth of July at her Uncle John's house. The two of them hit if off instantly, it was kind of fun to watch Drew open up to someone besides Mom and Dad. He hasn't seen Andy since then, but the minute Drew spotted Andy sitting across the crowded room, he lit up, and started goofing around with him again, like they were the only two people in the room.


The Hiedler kids taught Drew and Ollie a new funny face	The toy of this holiday season is the IPad 2

Uncle Chris, Uncle Dutch, and "Little Dutch"

Of course, there are also the Heidlers. We don't see them very often, especially Dutch and his family (HAPPY GRADUATION DUTCH!), but both Ollie and Drew are certainly falling in love with the whole Heidler gang, who all made it to this years Thanksgiving. Ollie and Drew light up when Chris, or Dutch are around, and always get excited when playing with their cousins.

And then there were the Guineafowl, always prowling around and hanging out around the cottages. I'm sure they were just looking for a little Thanksgiving handout (which as far as I'm aware, they got none), or just a friendly acknowledgment (though they were chased relentlessly). But, they tended to pop out unexpectedly from behind a parked car, or around a corner, and Drew did not like that. If he saw them at a distance, which they were always around, Drew wanted to go in the other direction. If they came remotely close, or stood in between were he was and were he wanted to be, he climbed and had the death grip on me or his mom.

We were also determined to get a good Christmas card photo shot during this trip. It is nearly impossible to get these two kids to sit still and smile at the same time. I still don't know what we'll end up with though. You'll have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.

In the end, we ate a lot, but survived for another year, and had left over pie to boot.

See you next year Smyths!


The kids tables at Friday's feast	Drew's the last one left after dinner, playing IPad


The Hiedler Siblings, Chris, Beth and Dutch	I'll close with this last picture entitled, "A plate of Pie Before Consumption."

Cuckoo Andrew Thomas

2011-11-28T21:26:00.000-05:00

Drew has an incredible imagination, and when the mood strikes him, he can be one of the silliest boys I know. He has unofficially nicknamed himself Cuckoo Andrew Thomas. This naming convention also extends to his toys. He has named his newest toy train Silly Blue, and he uses the name in the most serious way, as in, "I want Silly Blue". Unfortunately, because of Drew's natural shyness, only the people closest to him have seen this side of him. So, if you never thought Drew had it in him, these picture show Cuckoo Andrew Thomas' true colors.

Southeastern Railway Museum

2011-11-27T20:19:00.001-05:00

Ollie in the engineer's chair

Two weekends ago we visited the Southeastern Railway Museum. Mike discovered this one day online and thought this would be the perfect place to take the kids. It is a large train yard full of very old trains. Upon arrival, the kids were quite excited. Ollie remained excited the entire time, but Drew became scared of them very quickly once he realized how big a train is in person. They are large and overwhelming when standing next to one. He found the little gift shop with a train table much more exciting and fun. In fact, we had to bribe him to come out of the gift shop. I lured him out with the promise of him being able to come back and pick out a toy train to take home. We got to climb inside the cockpit of real steam locomotives, and enjoyed fruit snacks while sitting in the lookout tower of a real, red caboose.

Having a snack in the caboose

Drew and Ollie are very much in love with trains these days. We have a train set at home and have acquired a number of trains since summer. Every afternoon when we come home the boys play in the living room with their trains for about an hour. They each have their favorites and since visiting the railway museum they have each added to their own personal collection. With the help of Daddy, Ollie picked out a very expensive James (part of the Thomas collection); while Drew picked out a very cheap diesel engine train for a fraction of the price of James. I was thrilled at that. He has since named the train, Silly Blue. He fits our train track perfectly and he has become a welcomed addition.

These trains are a lot less intimidating

The kids also enjoyed a ride on a real diesel engine train while we were at the museum. They loved this part and were so cute while watching the engineer work his magic. I had wished it was a bit longer and faster, but the kids thoroughly enjoyed the experience regardless.

The web site warns to never put anything to be squished
on the rail because of a risk of derailment

Dad and Ollie driving Warren G. Harding's campaign train

Drew didn't care much for the "choo-choo" part

Mom and Ollie, the train we rode in the background

The At-Home Carnival

2011-11-18T20:07:00.001-05:00

There is no shortage of excitement in our household; every day is a carnival. We have a vast collection of "Daddy rides" that the kids just can't get enough of, and at times totally exhaust me. I wish I could get video of most of them but you'll just have to use some imagination at the glee they bring.

The "Rocket Ship": I actually stole this one from my brother, Bob, but I reinvented it at whole new level of action and sound effects. Naturally, it starts with a countdown (5...4...3...2...1...BLASTOFF!) and the rider yells, "blastoff", they shake and rattle off the launch pad, almost touching the ceiling as they enter orbit, and then come screaming down at reentry, and end with a splash-down in the bath tub.

The "Airplane": This is the kid's favorite way to get into the bathtub. Before take off, they need to deploy their wings (arms), then the engine starts with a shake of the head and sputtering of the lips (Ollie is really good at this part), and away they fly. They fly around every room skimming the walls as the make high banked turns, then nose dive towards the floor only to pull up at the last minute. With the landing gear down (their legs), they land smoothly into the bathtub.

The "Astronomy Lesson": There are is a large model of the solar system hanging from the ceiling in Ollie's room. For scale, the sun is about the size of a basket ball. The rider has to guess which planet is next starting with the Sun, and when right, Daddy lifts the rider up to each planet gives it's name with a little descriptive saying like, "the red planet, Mars," or "the ringed planet, Saturn," or "Mars, to get more candy bars," and the rider gives it nudge and sends it wobbling. Sadly, each ride ends the same, with a short ode for the missing planet, Pluto.

The "Stair-Coaster": This is the only way to get down the stairs in the morning. Sitting at the top of the stairs, the rider climbs onto my lap. The countdown starts: 5...4...3...2..1...BLASTOFF!. The rider has to yell, "Blastoff," as loud as they can, or the ride doesn't go. Every now and then, I can get Ollie to raise the roof with his very sincere, "Blastoff!" And, down we go, bumping down the stairs together.

The "Swing": My dad use to do this one to us, it's a classic. The rider lays on their back with their arms and legs raised in the air. I grab their ankles and wrists and swing them between my legs. Drew was very hesitant with this one. He had never wanted to ride until Ollie came along and showed him how much fun it can be. Now, he can't get enough of it.

The "Ride-um-Cowboy": I lay on my back, the rider sits on top, and we bounce away at the hips. The ride is most fun when done in sync to an off-tune hum of a Lone-Ranger/Bonanza remix.

The "Horsey-Back Ride" and the "Piggy-Back-Ride": Both oldies, but goodies. The "Horsey-Back Ride" tears the knees up, especially in a house with hardwood floors.

The "Battering Ram": This is in reference to the classic ride at Busch Gardens. I lay on my back with the rider on top, and roll back and forth on my back. The ride goes further and further back, until he is upside-down and can touch the floor behind them with their toes.

The "Racing Car": Ollie has a small push-car, but we bring it to a dangerous level. I back the car up as high on the driveway as I dare, and let the car and rider go. If any of the readers of this blog have been to our house, you'll know the driveway slopes at a very steep angle away from the street. If all goes well, the rider threads between the parked cars, and flies off the driveway into the back yard. Or, I run behind pushing the car and rider as fast as I can around the house, up and down the hill, banking turns, and skidding out at the end.

The "Fork Lift": This is my tactic for getting the boys moving when its time to go to bed (or out), go to the bathroom, or go anywhere else they don't want to go. The fork lift (my arms) slide underneath the rider, and lift straight up, causing the rider to change position as little as possible from their original lazy sitting or laying position. It's not as easy as it sounds, it takes a bit of strength. But, for some reason it's fun, and effective. At the end, the air brake sounds with a, "Hissssssss."

The "Drag": Exactly as it sounds. I grab them by the wrist and drag them backwards. It's fun, I don't know why.

The "Stilts": The rider stands on my feet as we walk together, another oldie but goodie.

The following video shows Ollie enjoying the "Stair-Coaster" and the "Ride-um-Cowboy", there is nothing sweeter than the sound of Ollie's laugh. What's most impressive, however, is that Mike took these videos all by himself.

Star Command meets Godzilla

2011-11-09T21:33:00.001-05:00

The Gang: A bat, Buzz, Buddy, a lion, and a dinosaur (AKA: Alex, Drew, Jacob, Noah, and Ollie)

Let's start by just saying that most of our halloween pictures were accidentally deleted, but not all was lost, just the best. We still have a collection of pictures taken around the halloween holiday, and by friends on halloween night, and thank them profusely for sharing.

Halloween 2011 started Friday morning when we dressed up the kids and sent Buzz Lightyear and the cutest dinosaur ever to school. The kids had a parade of costumes Friday morning in the parking lot at their school.

Through the years, we have learned that the ladies at school have some magic powers over Drew to get him to do things he never would at home. In the most recent case, when we got Drew dressed Friday morning, he would not wear the Buzz Lightyear hood. He insisted it be tucked into his shirt. Low-and-behold, his teacher got him to put it on for their parade of costumes. Maybe they use peer pressure, "see Alex is wearing his hood," or maybe it's bribery, "if you want a cookie...", I don't really know, but I wish they would share their secret.

Friday night was trunk-or-treat at the kid's school, but it rained, so they moved it inside and made it more like a haunted house (without too much haunting for the little ones) trick-or-treat in each of the classrooms. Each teacher had a halloween display with cauldrons of candy in their classrooms for the kids. Drew met a couple of friends of his there and both he and Ollie had a ball filling up their pumpkin buckets.

Then, the big night. We met up with Drew's friends Jacob and Alex, and their families for trick-or-treat fun. Ollie caught on quickly to the idea of walking up to a stranger's house and getting candy for doing nothing but looking adorable. He had the sweetest barely audible, "trick-or-treat," and said, "thank you," at every house. Drew spent the first half holding Alex's hand laughing and shouting as they ran from house to house, and into and out of the street. The second half of the night he spent "flying" from house to house, and into and out of the street. Just like on the real Buzz Lightyear, there is a button on Drew's uniform that when he pushes it, his wings (arms) pop out, and away he flies.

Now it's time to "filter" out the candy that Drew and Ollie can't eat. Uh-Oh, it seems all the peanut butter cups have all been tampered with.

On a side note, in reference to the blog post Ollie's Follies, you might notice that in all these pictures, Ollie is sporting a shiner. This happened sometime the week before when he took a diver onto the footboard of our bed. Monday night, he took another tumble down a few steps when he got his feet tangled in someones electric pumpkin set out on their stoop. This resulted in a small gash on the back of his hand. He has grown into a bit of a clumsy, no-fear little boy, and that makes for a bad combination. One of his favorate activities is to pretend to fall down, but really fall down. He'll start by making a sound like, "whoa, whoaoa...," wobble a little, and face plant on the ground. No doubt, we'll have our share of broken bones with this one.


The dinosaur costume is a redo, can you guess which is Ollie and which is Drew?


Drew's on-again-off-again girl, Ella Ollie in the background with his eyes covered, he didn't seem to mind	Drew's best bud Alex, get these two together, and there is no-holds bar silliness


Even with a shiner, he is still the cutest little boy ever!

Ready or Not...

2011-11-03T21:58:00.000-04:00

At the doctors office, the little waiting room.

At the pajama section in Kohls.

In our closet.

Where's Ollie?

OK, Not hiding, but cute.

Ollie loves to hide. This is one of the things (there are many) where Ollie is the leader, and Drew loves to follow along. Our ritual every night is first we "finish" dinner, then march upstairs, then the kids b-line for our walk-in closet and hide behind the hanging clothes. We've had many pre-bath strip-downs take place in the far corner of the closet. Then, when they see an opening between the legs, they b-line, giggling and naked, to hide behind the purple chair in Drew's room, then back and forth, back and forth endlessly if allowed.

Bed time is not the only time Ollie's passion for the obscured strikes him, anytime he sees an opportunity to disappear, he's all in. The cutest part is that as long as he can't see you, he thinks he's well hidden. Those little legs and feet always show at the bottom. See if you can spot Ollie.

The Snoopy Conundrum

2011-10-29T10:46:00.001-04:00

For months now we have been reading Charlie Brown books. Last Christmas my friend Chandra gave Drew and Ollie a book based on "A Charlie Brown Christmas," about Charlie Brown picking out the ugliest tree and the Peanuts gang vilifying him in the middle of the story, only to have them take back everything they said and find their christmas spirit. Well, ever since he received that book, he has wanted to read it almost every night, even in the summer months. This is the type of book where it shows a picture of Charlie Brown or Linus and then Drew gets to push a button and you can hear the characters' voices. Well, he loves the Charlie Brown voice, "Good Grief". So, now that halloween is fast approaching, Mike and I purchased the "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" book which does the same thing. He gets to push buttons and hear all the voices, etc. Well, he has fallen head over heels in love with Snoopy. Who can blame him? Snoopy is adorable.

The big predicament is that weeks ago he picked out his halloween costume which was, at that time, Buzz Lightyear. In fact, he wore it home from the store because he was so excited about it. What does this mean to me? I can't return it! The dilemma is that now that he has fallen in love with the beloved beagle, Snoopy, he wants to be Snoopy for halloween. He's not allowed to change his mind....doesn't he know we have already purchased Buzz Lightyear, not to mention how that will make Buzz feel to be reduced to nothing?

Drew "flying" down the isle at Party City

I came up with a new plan after much thought. He will be Buzz Lightyear and I have found some very cute trick or treat bags with Snoopy on them. He picked one out tonight and agreed that he could carry Snoopy in his hand, but wear his Buzz Lightyear costume. We shall see how this goes....

Obviously we also needed a bag for Ollie. He deserves a Snoopy, too. Happy Halloween! Everyone.

Pumpkins 2011

2011-10-23T13:05:00.000-04:00

A couple of weekends ago we picked out our pumpkins at the most sincere pumpkin patch, lasts Sunday we got a chance to carve and transform them into our 2011 Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns. Drew was a little hesitant at first to grab a fist full of pumpkin guts, but he got into it in the end (literally and figuratively).


Dig in, Drew.	I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty!	Is that what the inside of my head looks like? Mom always calls me "Pumpkin."


Pumpkin brains, anyone?	Did someone say, "pumpkin pie"?


Very intricate work.	Meet, "Silly Face" and "Kitty-Bat."

The Finished Products

A Snake in the Bed

2011-10-18T20:13:00.000-04:00

We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner Friday night. Naturally Drew was immediately drawn to all the unusual stuff in the Cracker Barrel store from the moment we walked in. His attention soon focused on this Scooby-Doo airplane fan toy candy thing. I know you're all like, "huh?", but it doesn't matter, we did not get it.

Drew, being a three-year-old, wanted nothing to do with his chicken strips. But, we knew if he didn't eat, then, we'd soon have grumpy Drew on our hands, and grumpy Drew is no fun at all. As anyone who either has or had kids knows, sometimes you have to bribe them to eat their dinner. The bribe was one chicken strip for the Scooby-Doo toy, and it worked.

After dinner when it came time to pay the bill, Drew chose which Scooby he wanted, but wait, oooo what else is in this store. I really didn't want him to have more candy, so I sort of coerced him to the toy section. When he saw all his other choices, he dumped Scooby like a bad habit. I gave both boys the choice of an airplane, fire truck, scooper (front loader), some other stuff, this and that, and etc. Ollie chose a water and glitter-filled ball with an eye ball floating in it. Drew could not decide, and Mike and I were losing our patience. Drew was a heart beat away from being extracted from the store screaming without a toy when he spotted the articulated wooden snake.

He named it Floppy before we even got to the car.

Drew is in love with Floppy. Floppy gets all of Drew's kisses and hugs, and Floppy is just as affectionate kissing Drew in return, and Mom, and Dad and even Ollie. Floppy is not shy at all about going down my shirt either. Floppy gets to sleep with Drew, and go for car rides. Floppy has not replaced Bear, but Floppy is a close second. "I love you, Floppy." Floppy does have a subtle, yet very sweet smile.

Dad is a little creeped out.

Welcome to the family, Floppy!

Zedonk

2011-10-15T20:40:00.000-04:00

Have you ever met a zedonk? No, it's not a Dr. Seuss character. It's half zebra, half donkey, and I gotta say, pretty darn adorable. It was such a nice cool, sunny day last Saturday, we decided to pack up the kids and check out the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in Dahlonega, GA. It is a rescue, and exotic wildlife preserve. Though they had some interesting animals, large cats, bears, cows, donkeys, zebras, camels, elk, a zedonk, lemurs, etc., the kids were much more interested in the rather cheesy and beat-up play equipment. But, they had fun, and that's what it's really all about. Drew and Ollie did get the opportunity to pet a snake and an alligator, and I got to pet the two hump wump (camel).


Ollie couldn't get out of wagon fast enough when he saw the alligator		Checking out the bear


I think there is an emu just feet from these guys, but they were having fun playing in the trees.	This is classic Ollie veering off the road, pinning himself to the wall.


Enjoying "Fruit Snacks"


He is trying to pump on the swing, but just sort of leans back and freezes expecting the swing to go.

Since we were already up that way, and we're head-long into pumpkin season, we stopped at Kinsey Family Farm to pick out our pumpkins and catch a hay ride. Last year we found Kinsey Farm on a whim when we drove by a sign on the highway that read "PUMPKINS". It is actually a christmas tree farm and nursery, but they sell pumpkins and pumpkin treats in October. Drew picked out his pumpkin first, it was just big enough, but not so big that he couldn't pick it up. Mom found Ollie a tiny baby pumpkin he could hold onto. But, when Drew saw Ollie's tiny baby pumpkin, he wanted one too, so Drew scored two pumpkins in the end. I found one perfect for carving.

By the time we got home, we had two exhausted boys on our hands. It was a full day.

Our Pumpkins

It's been a long day


Feeding the Fish

Mom's Pumpkins

Drew picked out the most perfect baby pumpkin

Our Chatterbox

2011-10-11T19:48:00.000-04:00

Tickle-Tickle

2011-10-04T20:24:00.000-04:00

Ollie is really silly these days and lately he has been trying out his "tickling" on himself and others. Here is a video of him tickling his own feet, but also trying to engage Drew in a tickle-fest. Drew doesn't go for it, but it's still cute. I personally love how he can laugh at himself and make himself giggle at the things he does. He's quite fun to watch.

Tonight, Ollie was tickling daddy's feet and tummy. He is the sweetest little boy. He's getting so big.

Enjoy!

Our Little Artists

2011-10-01T21:31:00.000-04:00

As time goes by, our boys' personalities are becoming quite distinguishable. Drew is the controlled, organized, deliberate, thoughtful one. All those traits that might make for a good athlete or engineer. Ollie is the free-wheeling, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants, independent, goes-his-own-way type that might make for a world class artists, and has the passion to follow.

He really has no one speciality, he dabbles in it media: crayons, markers, watercolors, side-walk-chalk (my favorite), finger paints, you name it. I'm really surprised sometimes with the dexterity and control he exhibits holding a pen, crayon, or paint brush.

This is not to diminish Drew, he has skills too, Ollie's passion is just at a whole different level. Here are a few samples of their work.


Look at that technique, with a pen or brush!


Ollie's Masterpieces


Drew's "Airplanes" in crayola marker

Don't count me out!

"Fall Color" in watercolor	"Black Stallion" in watercolor


Sometimes Ollie more than does art, he becomes the art.

The Buzz Lightyear PARTY!

2011-09-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love birthdays. The older I get the more I love them. I think every day of life should be celebrated, but especially that special day that comes only once a year. Drew began his birthday celebration a bit early while Grammy & Pa were here visiting so Mike and I could go to Philly. We came home and Grammy had bought a pretty cake and present for Drew to open. They also tapped into Ollie's favorite hobby with a small present for him.

On the back porch he opened a Thomas the Train which when shaken will go very fast across the floor. You know he loves something when it becomes a toy he wants to sleep with at night. He's attached to his toys, but especially those that were given with love.

Ollie, too, loved the present that was given to him. If there is anything that could be given to Ollie, this would be it. Bubbles. He loves bubbles. I think he asks to do bubbles constantly. He pronounces it so clearly. You cannot be mistaken about what he wants to do every afternoon when we get home from school. He wants bubbles. The worst part, for me, about doing bubbles with Ollie is that you will inevitably get a huge meltdown when trying to get him to come inside and put the bubbles down. I assume it is much like what a police officer says to someone when asking them to put a gun down and don't shoot. It goes something like this, "Ollie, put down the bubble wand. Put the bubble wand down." Tears ensue. He stomps his feet really hard and gives you a really really sad face, but alas it is dinner time and he must get inside. He's tough when he wants something. He's entering toddlerhood for sure!

After we finally did get Ollie into the house, we ate dinner and then enjoyed the cake that Grammy & Pa bought for Drew. We lit candles and once again he would not blow them out. Grammy had to help. He was way more fascinated with the decoration on the cake and wanted to stick his fingers in the icing.

Later in the week, Drew had a party at school. I, mother of the year, made cupcakes for him to take to school on Friday. He loves cupcakes. Really, who doesn't?? He had a great day at school. It was his last day in the little boy classroom. On Monday he moved up to the big boy room with all of his other friends who had moved up a month earlier. It had been a tough month without his normal pals to see everyday.

After cupcakes on Friday, we made our way to the big party on Saturday morning. If anyone knows Drew, they know that Drew is not the kid who is asking for attention. Taking that into consideration, parties with all the attention on him are not always a good idea :) He is a shy, introverted little boy. I don't know if he'll always be that way, but he is certainly a shy little guy right now.

A few weeks ago I wasn't sure what to do for his party, but I wanted to see if he would get on a bouncey. We spent on afternoon a few weeks ago at a place called "kangazoom". As soon as we walked in the door, Drew turned to Mike and said, "Daddy, I don't wanna do this." I held out and paid the fee for he and Ollie to bounce. Ten minutes later after Daddy showed him how it could be really fun, he decided he would try it. By the time we had left we decided that we definitely would have his party there.

We invited about 5 kids from his class and they had a ball! Evan, Ella, Alex, Molly, and Jacob were so fun. They would swarm from one area to the next. This place was perfect. Very clean! Lots of bounceys all in one location. They could run from one to another in a matter of steps. Some of them had large slides, others were more traditional. It was a great time. The only downside of having the party there was that they actually expected Drew to have a "party." He didn't particularly want to stop bouncing. He didn't really want a parade where everyone chanted his name as he was supposed to be the line leader into the party room. He didn't want to eat pizza. He didn't want to eat cake. He did not want to have people sing happy birthday to him. He had some meltdowns during this whole part....then when it was all over he asked me, "Mommy, I need go bounce." Okay Drew.... and so he bounced for another hour or so and then all his friends had to go home and we went home too.

I must say, I do love Drew's friends. They are all adorable and sweet and funny. I sometimes find myself thinking.... how is it possible that their kids never have a meltdown?? Seriously, all of them are so well behaved and do exactly as they are told. Then there are my children. Granted, it was his birthday, and he can cry on his birthday if he wants to, but my goodness - it would have been nice to have a day free of crying.

On another note, we got home and asked Drew if he wanted to open presents. I never knew present opening could be so slow. I don't think he finished opening presents for two days. He would open one and then spend the next several hours playing with the new item. The biggest mistake was allowing Drew to open one more present before bedtime. Mandy and Patrick gave him a race track for some very fast cars. It needed to be put together and then he wanted to play with it for another hour or so before he would settle down. I am going to have to cut them off from giving presents. Seriously, though, all the presents were really thoughtful. He is enjoying all of them.

Then, Sunday was his actual birthday. I am not sure what we did on his actual birthday other than eat more cake.

We had a great birthday week with Drew. He is still singing "Happy Birthday to Me" and doing a silly dance while singing. I know everyone thinks he's really quiet and he is, at times. However, when he's in the comfort of his own home he has plenty to say or sing. He's such a silly little boy. And, his mood can go from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds flat. Lately, his favorite thing is to come up to me or his daddy and say, "Mommy, I love you." or "Daddy, I love you." It will come at the most random moments and I love it.

Yes, this is the blog that never ends. Do you know how hard it is to get all of this down with two kiddos?? There is no time to write blogs anymore.

SO.... On Tuesday, Drew had his 3 year old doctor's appointment. I cannot believe my baby is 3. Where has the time gone? Seriously! So, with that said, I made Mike take Drew to the doctor for his appointment. He is at the 50% on height and weight. He brought his bear and monkey to the appt with him. He was a trooper and earned a pack of fruit snacks for the ride home. Mike called me on the way home and gave Drew the phone to talk to me. He kept saying how much he "no like bandaid". He did very well. What's also funny to me is how Dr. Chastain feels the need to call me on my cell phone to let me know how the appointment went and give me test results after Mike and Drew have left the office. I love that my pediatrician spends time calling her patients and doesn't delegate those tasks to the nurse. Mike sent me a picture of Drew in the waiting room. He looks a bit scared, but it turned out fine. No shots :) He did get the flu shot, but it wasn't really a shot - just a nasal thing.

A fabulous third birthday for my really big boy.

At the Party:

Opening Presents:

At the Doctor:

Don't Forget about Ollie:

Philly Here We Come!

2011-09-19T22:31:00.001-04:00

For about a year now, Mike and I had a trip to Philadelphia planned. It was supposed to be for my sister's wedding day; however, a month before the wedding she made a very brave and very smart decision to call it off. I cannot tell you how proud I was of her to make such a difficult and heart wrenching decision, but I am so happy for her. She is beginning a new part of her life and all I wanted to do was lay eyes on her to make sure she was really okay after such a tumultuous month. And, I must say, she looked good! I have a beautiful and smart sister who I don't get to see often, but when I do I am so happy to be part of her life. Even though we are almost 8 years apart in age and did not grow up in the same household, it is amazing how similar we really are. Definitely Heidler genes! She is a strong woman who is embarking on a new journey. I am confident it will be a fun year for her.

Personally, I was very happy to make the trip without the kiddos. Mike and I had a ball seeing everyone and spending quality time with my dad, step mom, and sister. We saw all the sights! We had an itinerary that was endless and we vowed to see it all. Independence Hall, The Constitution Center, Liberty Bell, Philly Cheese Steaks, you name it....we did it. We spent most of Friday in the city seeing downtown Philadelphia. In the evening we headed out to the suburbs to spend the night. We spent Saturday at Valley Forge National Park, then met back up with AJ that night for dinner and bowling. On Sunday Mike and I headed back downtown to stay at the Omni Hotel at Independence Park. We went to Museum of Art, which, I must say was the largest and most expansive Museum of Art I have ever seen. Mike and I literally got lost in the Chinese Art section. Who knew, right? After that we had lunch at this really good restaurant that used to be a fire station situation right across from the Eastern State Penitentiary. We toured the old prison as it is no longer open.

After that we met back up with Chris & Lauren and their kids to tour the Betsy Ross House. All of this history was really neat and it being on the weekend of the 10th anniversary of 9-11 made it that more special. We had the privilege that evening of being right in front of Independence Hall for a 9-11 ceremony. It was very cool to be there on that evening.

After that we ventured off to dinner. I really wanted a steak but we couldn't really agree on anything so we decided on a whim to go eat some "bar food". We had already gone down the entire strip in search for a place and we went into this too trendy bar and ordered a drinks thinking that they had something on the menu that sounded good. As it turns out, Mike, who never complains about anything says to me, "um, I don't see a single thing on this menu that I could eat." With that, I agreed. We drank our drinks very quickly and went and had dinner at an expensive steak house a few doors down. Best steak I have ever had. Absolutely delicious. In case you are in Philly, go to Marmont on Market Street. Yummy! I must say though that anything would have tasted good compared to the restaurant we had previously been at. I mean who has fried cauliflower on a menu?? It was just such an odd menu of items that we had no choice but to leave. I will give them points for the margarita. They did do that part right.

Then Monday morning we found a toy store to pick up a few treats for the boys before heading home. However, before getting on the plane we needed to have one more really good cheese steak. We stopped at Jim's Steaks on South Street in Philly. Yum. Even at 10am it was the best! From there we got our car and headed to the airport.

A huge thank you to Grammy & Pa for taking on the tornadoes for four full days. They miss you already. It was especially sad when Drew realized it was "grandparents day" at school and his Grammy and Pa were not able to be there. But, I am truly grateful for all that you do for them! It is a blessing to have you in our lives.

And, now it is back to reality. Here are pics from our trip.

You are the Next American Idol

2011-09-03T22:04:00.002-04:00

It has almost been three full years since Drew rocked our world. It has been a wild ride since his special day in September 2008. Many people came to visit him during those first few weeks to welcome him into this world. You all were very good sports and went along with Mike's antics to make Drew feel especially loved, and I must say, Drew comes from a very talented family. So, turn off "American Idol", "the Voice", "Don't forget the lyrics", or whatever else you're watching and tune into yourselves singing your hearts out. It's taken us almost three years to get this one posted.

My favorite part is when Smyth jumps in to save Ian the embarrassment of singing on camera. Way to go Smyth!

Dog Days of Summer

2011-08-30T21:49:00.000-04:00


Drew and Ollie's new Jackets. Drew is no longer willing to pose for photos, so this is the best I was able to get by waiting to surprise him from around the corner.

We started this weekend on a good note. When we came home from school/work, there was a package on the porch from Nana Max. The first thing Drew looks for is either a key or scissors when there is a package to open. Mike is teaching him the basics of using the right tool for the job. When Drew got home, he needed a pick-me-up, and nothing makes him happier than having a chance to use his scissors. In the package were a couple warm jackets for Drew and Ollie. They wanted to try them on at once. Thank you, Nana Max.

Ollie

We started Saturday morning by meeting one of Drew's friend, Jacob, and Ollie's friend, Noah, at the park. The kids, slid, swung, climbed, biked and chased each other around the park. Later in the day we hung outside our house and played in the yard. The house across the street is up for sale, and someone happened to be looking at it when we were out front. I got a chance to chat with them and talk up the neighborhood a little. They seemed like a nice couple, young, just starting their family. We liked the people moving out, but this couple seemed like a suitable replacement. It was their second time looking at the house, so who knows? Even today, the houses in our neighborhood don't seem to stay on the market too long, but the house does seem to be priced for a steal.

It appears we are headed long into a drought-induced fall. So, since the kids were already outside, and it's about time they start pulling their weight around here, Mike got the rakes out and put them to work raking pine straw from the yard. Remind me the next time we buy a house to pick one that has no pine trees. They are evil. The boys then got a few wagon hay rides, a few jumps, and some gold fish out of the deal, so they didn't seem to mind too much...if fact, both are always very enthusiastic when it comes to opportunities to help Mom and Dad. I hope that enthusiasm lasts when they are old enough to actually be of help. Between the three of us, we made quick work of the yard and got it cleaned up in no time.


Working Hard


Or, hardly working?


Drew sleeping in his new light-up shoes

Saturday evening, we thought it was time to get out of the house again, and after a stop at Steak-n-Shake (without getting a shake because Drew didn't eat his steak) we headed to the mall to get some new shoes for Drew, and runoff a little energy before bed. Lately, whenever we've mentioned to Drew how he needed new shoes, he would say, "light-up shoes." I think someone in his class has got light-up shoes, and now everyone wants light-up shoes. That's how fads go. First one person gets something, then a few, pretty soon everyone has that something, but once everyone has something, its lame again (Mike's theory). So Saturday, when it actually came time to buy him new shoes, he was beaming with joy that he just might get light-up shoes. If anyone has ever thought that they might ever avoid buying something for their kids as gimmicky as light up shoes, they've never had a three-year old ask like it would be the end of the word if they didn't get their light-up shoes. He loves them so much, he slept with his shoes on last night.

He got his McQueen and Mater multi-light-up shoes, it's like a fireworks show with every step. He ran all over the mall with his new multi-light-up shoes. Mike warned him on several occasions to watch were he was running, and not at his shoes. Of course, he responded, "Why?" This, of course, right before he would run into a wall.

Ollie got new shoes too. Not light-up, just the regular dark kind. Mike thinks they look sporty, but I think they look like orthopedic nurses shoes. He did his best too to keep up, but it was late, so Ollie was more content lying limp in the stroller taking in all the sights and sounds and smells of the mall. Ollie did get his second wind after he got half of Mike's DQ heath blizzard, and half of my milkshake in him. Drew wouldn't share his M&M blizzard. While I took Drew to find a potty, Mike and Ollie hung out outside the As-seen-on-TV store. Ollie spent the entire time giggling and running back and forth across the hall running into people and leaving his fingerprints on the store window.

Drew did finally eat his dinner. We packed it up to go, a threatend no dinner, no ice cream. We've eaten ice cream in front of him before when he didn't eat his dinner...we're ruthless.

One quick ride on the quarter machines that rock, and an escalator ride up and then back down and we were off for home and bed. It was a really fun weekend.

Ready for Take Off

2011-08-19T22:20:00.000-04:00

Please return your seats and tray tables to their upright and locked position...we are cleared for take off.

Ollie's Follies

2011-08-18T21:17:00.000-04:00

Ollie has moved up to the big boy room at school, also known as the "young toddlers". With that comes hazards....yesterday Ollie arrived home with a large bite mark on his arm that I noticed when I was putting him in his car seat. No one has any idea who did this to my baby because he is so laid back that he probably didn't make a fuss about it. However, I'm also wondering who in their right mind would want to bite Ollie. Wouldn't they worry that he would tackle them? He's as big as a linebacker.

Then today I get a call around lunchtime that Ollie was walking with his sippy cup and tripped landing his chin on the edge of a chair. He has about a 1/2 inch gash right under his chin. That is the last time I send him to school in a shirt that reads "here comes trouble." I figure I'm just asking for it, right. At this point I would like to make it to the weekend without anymore incident reports. Here are the pics they sent me since I was debating taking him to the urgent care for stitches....thankfully I decided it probably didn't need it after seeing the pics! He is such a trooper.

Also, anytime he sees a camera these days, he immediately says, "cheese", as you can see from this last picture taken. I just love him to pieces.

Our Favorite Things

2011-08-14T21:39:00.000-04:00

Drew, Bear and Doggie Blanket

Drew has gotten into the habit of always needing to take a toy to bed with him. He won't settle down until he has some random object to sleep with. There are objects that have been buried in his toy basket but have now claimed a new place in his heart. Some of you out there reading this might just recognize a few special items you might have given him and thought he had have forgotten about by now.

Some of his favorite objects he just can't live without:

Bear (aka church buddy) is a teddy bear that is Drew's best friend. No matter where we are our, what we are doing, it's good to have bear around. When Drew is in his most hysteric mood and in full emotional break down, he calls out through his tears, "I want my Bear!" (it used to be Daddy or Mommy).

Doggie Blanket is a small handkerchief sized blanket with a small dog head protruding from the corner. This is something that started as a random find at bed time while looking for a toy to sleep with. Now in some instances, Doggie Blanket has actually replaced Bear (but certainly not exclusively), as in, "I want my Doggie Blanket!"

There has always been a place in Drew's heart for Buzz. During Grammy's last visit to Disney World, she slurped down the most sugary, tooth-rotting drink just so she could get this really neat Buzz Lightyear that lights up that came with the drink. Drew loved the toy until the battery ran out, which of course was no ordinary battery. Elizabeth visited every Batteries-Plus store in the metropolitan area to find a replacement. Every day for a week, while Elizabeth hunted, Drew never forgot and asked, "Buzz fixed?" She did finally find a replacement battery, and Drew is back in love with Light-up Buzz Lightyear. Elizabeth bought some extra batteries just in case Buzz's light goes out again.

Easter Bunny, Barney and their airplanes

Most recently, Drew discovered a small stuffed velveteen Rabbit in his toy basket. Ever since this past Easter, every rabbit Drew sees, books, stuffed, or wild, it doesn't matter, is the Easter Bunny. Now, he doesn't go anywhere without Easter Bunny. And, occasionally, Bear or Doggie Blanket is replaced in, "I want my Easter Bunny!"

Every now and then, Drew still picks up and loves his large stuffed Barney (the purple dinosaur). Though come bed time, Barney has to sleep on the floor. He just takes up too much space in bed.

Doggie (separate from Doggie Blanket) is a stuffed dachshund. Unfortunately, many other animals and toys get a lot more love at home then Doggie does, but for some unexplained reason, I think Doggie has made more trips to school for Show-and-Tell then any other of Drew's possessions. I can't explain that one.

Tonight, Drew fell asleep looking at the stars. A turtle that lights up with stars all over the ceiling. This week it has become the favorite at bed time.

All this is cute, but of course, Drew's most favorite toy at any moment is the exact toy that Ollie is playing with. When Ollie was a baby, and mostly unaware of much except "Dougie" (read on for explanation) and his bottle, we got in the habit of allowing Drew to have whatever Ollie was playing with as long as he gave Ollie something in return. However, now that Ollie is older, and rather attached to whatever he is playing with, he knows a good and a bad trade when he sees it, and not always happy about Drew taking his best toys from him. We're working on correcting that one.

This isn't all about Drew though, Ollie has a few things he just can't do without too:

Dougie is Ollie's pacifier. I'm not 100% sure why Ollie calls it Dougie, but in his moment of need he'll call for Dougie until he gets it. For the longest time, we though he was calling for his Daddy, but no, it turned out he wanted his pacifier all along. He's not as addicted as Drew was at his age, he can go long stretches of time without it, but when he needs it, he lets us know.

Ollie and Gerald

Gerald is an Elephant and Ollie's favorite stuffed animal. Gerald got his name from one of our favorite series of Kids books featuring best friends, Gerald and Piggy. He really loves all his stuffed animals and will give them big hugs when he sees them. There is also ER, a homemade teddy bear that a hospital volunteer gave Ollie when he went to the ER with pneumonia; a giraffe, a larger teddy bear, and car teddy (who lives in Mike's car, and Ollie holds on to every day driving to school), and a singing Barney that Drew recently gave Ollie because he fell in love with his larger stuffed Barney and thought Ollie might like one too.

Ollie's latest passion has been airplanes. We have a few hot wheel sized airplanes that both Ollie and Drew love to play with. And, they both make some great airplane sound effects. But, Ollie just puts that extra heart into his sound effects. You would be amazed at the sounds this little guy makes when swinging an airplane back and forth. Its like your standing in the middle of Hartsfield-Jackson's main runway.

Ollie watching Clifford.

Naturally every kid loves TV. But, some just have that natural couch-potato instinct. Ollie will point and point at the TV until it gets turned on. He has his favorite shows, but it really doesn't matter what's playing, he just wants to watch. He will stand right in front of the TV with his nose just inches from the screen transfixed to it.

Ollie and Murphy

Lastly, Ollie is in love with our kitty, Murphy. Really, both the kids are. But, Ollie for some reason has a special way of wanting to get Murphy's attention. He will squat down where his mouth is close to Murphy's and sort of do a sputtering with his lips. It's almost as if he's trying to blow a kiss to Murphy. Murphy finds this rather annoying and quickly disappears. I am grateful that I do not have pets who lash out at my children. For whatever reason, Murphy takes a minute to gather his wits and then will return a little bit later only to be confronted with the same nerve-ending behavior. I am sure he will be thrilled when Ollie is a bit more mature.

We have a lot of other "junk" around the house. But how can we throw or give away any of it when you just know that that one meaningless unloved thing today just might be your kid's next best friend tomorrow.

Nana Max

2011-07-27T20:42:00.000-04:00

My step-mom, Max, regularly sends us packages in the mail. Drew and Ollie love getting things in the mail but especially from Nana Max. I am so grateful to have had a really nice relationship with my step mom through the years. She is a wonderful woman and I am appreciative of how much she loves the boys. My dad and step mom live in a very rural part of western Pennsylvania. My sister, AJ, is now in Philadelphia and getting married in September. I can't wait to see them all very soon. However, once again they will not get to see the boys because Mike and I are taking the trip to Philly for the wedding without kiddos. Thank you Grammy & Pa for allowing that to happen!

But, back to my story...Just the other day we received a box in the mail for Drew & Ollie. Lo and behold some new pajamas emerged from the box along with some Disney/Pixar cars for the boys. You should have seen Drew's face when he saw "Light Queen". He was so excited and happy to have new PJs for bed. Ollie, too, was thrilled to also receive a "Mater" for himself. He has to stand his ground to keep any toy that comes in the house these days.

Here is what Nana Max sent. The boys were beyond thrilled. Ollie loves Elmo.

And, here are the boys tonight as they got dressed after bath. This may have been the saving grace for Drew. He has been in meltdown mode all week....so anything to help the bedtime routine is a good thing. Thank you Nana Max for the wonderful pajamas and cars. We love you.

Imaginative Play

2011-07-25T21:57:00.000-04:00

Drew's imagination is really starting to blossom. Anyone who has been lucky enough to see him enter this world of imagination knows that he can become quite immersed in play and be oblivious to the real world around him. He invents whole story lines with his toys interacting, and helping each other out. This video really doesn't do his play time justice because he's strapped into his car seat and only has one toy within reach. It does get the point across though.

Fernandina Beach

2011-07-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

My last vacation for the summer just ended. It's always sad when you realize that you only have a few more days until your summer ends. I go back to work this Friday, which for most, seems early for school to be starting back - but as a counselor I always go back one week before the teachers and two weeks before the kids. Too soon if you ask me.

This past week we were at Fernandina Beach. I have many really good memories of this particular beach. I grew up going to here. It is where my mom wanted her ashes scattered and so when I am there I always feel like she's around me. And, she must have worked some miracles on this trip because everything went better than I anticipated.

My Aunt Martha & Uncle George invited us to come stay at a house with them for the week. It happened to be the very house I stayed at for many summers growing up. A quaint yellow house on the beach. I have a very vivid memory of eating taco salads on the porch when I was little. We were there with my two cousins and their families. Harper and Yukari flew into Jacksonville from San Francisco. Hunter, Jessie, and their almost one year old, Addie drove from Atlanta. Addie was quite the social butterfly. She waved and blew kisses to anyone in her sight. My boys on the other hand, watched her like a hawk, worried that she would somehow take their toys. Glad I taught them to relax a little, right? It was a good time, minus some missteps on our part :) I will get to those later.

I was fearful that Drew and Ollie wouldn't take to the beach / sand / water because Drew has always had a healthy fear of getting his feet dirty and actually dipping himself into water. When we arrived around 5pm it was completely overcast and there were tidal pools on the beach. Drew and Ollie slowly worked their way into the little pools. Ollie did not mind getting himself fully soaked. Drew was a bit cleaner and tossed his clothing off a little at a time until he was fully naked running around in the pools and sand and water. I looked at Mike like, "are you seeing this??"

Drew when we first arrived at the beach.

Ollie's first ever view of the beach. He couldn't get down there fast enough.

Looking at shells.

Mike & Ollie. Drew being silly in background.

Stripped down. Who needs clothes?

I love this picture. Ollie is oblivious to the butt in the background.

Ollie enjoying the tidal pools.

Jessie, Hunter, and Addie arrived!

Gotta have the shovel!

Addie thought she had a friend in Ollie....

Until he thought she might take his shovel. Who is that back there?

Day after day we enjoyed the water and sand. Daddy is an excellent sand castle and hole digger. Ollie particularly enjoyed climbing in and out of the holes that were made. He let them fill up with water and then would find his own way to get back in and out again. The pictures really don't do it justice.

Aunt Martha & Uncle George blowing up the floats.

Drew with his feet in the water.

Favorite part....sitting in the waves!

Ollie & Addie sharing a hole.

Ollie & Drew being silly with each other.

Martha, Harper, and George relaxing on the beach. Martha trying desperately to keep her drip castle away from Drew.

Ollie napping on Mommy. What a sweetheart.

Ollie & Drew enjoying some "fruit snacks."

The Hole!

Ollie's favorite spot.

Harper trying to to help save the hole from a water breach.

We also had some fun days downtown seeing the boats, eating ice cream, going into shops and seeing the sights. We went one day to Little Talbot Island State Park. There are more birds, shells, and wildlife at this particular park. We spent a morning over there. Mike and I went on a sunset cruise one night while Martha & George watched the boys. It was a pretty sunset cruise that went around the Cumberland Island area. We then had dinner at the Crab Trap. It was when we left the house in a hurry for the cruise that Mike couldn't remember where he'd last had his wallet. Later we received a weird phone call which as it turns out had nothing to do with the wallet fiasco. Then, our car was egged. Yes. We were egged while on vacation. This was discovered while Mike was searching our car high and low for his wallet. He didn't find it. The next morning he went to retrace his steps at the State Park and I did some more searching. I found his wallet buried in the back of a closet. Yippee! The other misstep was allowing Ollie to play with our car keys. It always seems harmless, but it's not. At 3:58am on Friday morning I kept hearing banging on the door to our house. After verifying that it was the police, he said that the door to our van was wide open. There had been some car burglaries and they wanted to make sure nothing was taken. As it turns out, everything was fine. No burglar is going to settle for a Jungle Book movie and Clifford reruns, right? Well, it turns out that as Ollie was playing with the keys he managed to open the door to the car and it never got closed. Ugh. Barney Fife did tell me that they had caught the guys who were doing the egging the night before. Yea for the Fernandina Beach Police. What a night. Again, a misstep on our part.

Ollie gives the best hugs.

Happy Boy.

Ready to go for a dip!

My growing boy. Walking everywhere.

Sunset cruise!

Even an IPad2 can come in handy with toddlers!

Dinner at Sliders. Yummy.

Enjoying the view.

Drew discovered goggles and wanted to wear them everywhere.

And, when Drew didn't have them, Bear was holding them.

Here are my little shrimp.

While at the beach we played lots of poker with my family. We listened to good music. We enjoyed relaxing in the sand and surf. And, we ate ourselves silly with seafood. It was delicious and overall a very fun trip.

It finally happened.

2011-07-09T23:59:00.000-04:00

It was a very important day today, and several things that I have been waiting a long time for finally happened.

Today marks the 7th anniversary of my mom's death. July 9, 2004. A day I will never forget and, honestly, don't want to forget because it was an important day in my life. I loved my mom, and for the past seven years I haven't enjoyed this particular day. It typically is a very hard day to get through because usually I think about all that she is missing, and all that has changed in my life that she didn't get to be part of. It makes me sad. And, it makes me sad that right now no matter how I try to explain to my boys about my mom, they just don't get it....yet. One day they will, but at their young ages they just can't comprehend that my mommy is gone. And, since they have never met her, they can't even make a connection to her. I hope that will change over the years as I tell them stories about her or explain to them how much she would have loved them. She would have truly been amazed at how much Ollie looks like my oldest brother. She would have been able to solve all of Drew's biggest frustrations with her unending patience. And, she would have been available for babysitting on a moment's notice. Life is definitely different without her here.

But, today was a good day, and here's why. We woke up and played in the living room. We painted with watercolors in the dining room. Ollie is quite artistic. He loves to color and paint. We had a nice breakfast together as a family at home. Drew ran around in his Buzz underwear. This made me laugh.

However, here is the biggie. Ollie took some really good steps yesterday afternoon, but today, he has really begun to walk! He's walking. Finally. I have been ready for this moment for months now. Do you know how heavy 28lbs feels in your arms when you have groceries to bring in the house? Do you know how heavy 28lbs feels when your almost 3 year old has a meltdown and needs to be carried, too, in addition to Ollie? Well, I for one have been ready for the walking to begin. He's been crawling since 8 months old. He will be 14 months old next week....come on....bring on the walking! Today was the day. Do you think perhaps my mom manufactured this one for me??? She must be my angel.

We went to the Fernbank Natural History Museum today. Hold on, let me go back. On Thursday, the 7th, I took the boys (by myself!) to the zoo. We had a great time but Drew left a bit disappointed. First, he did not get to see the lions. For whatever reason, they thought it was too hot and probably were hiding somewhere and could not be viewed. Secondly, he was a tad bit sad that there were no dinosaurs at the zoo. I know, right? Who knew. He left saying how he really wanted to have seen some dinosaurs. I tried to explain to him that if he wants to see dinosaurs we need to go to Fernbank which is where all the dinosaurs are kept. So we ventured to Fernbank to see dinosaurs today.

When we did finally arrive after all the dilly-dallying trying to get there, it was extremely busy. Why? Because, apparently, it was Pirate Day at Fernbank. Ha. Again, who knew? We had a great time. Both boys exhausted themselves all over that place. Ollie walked some on his own. Drew ran across the all new "Nature Quest" kid zone a million times. Back and forth across the large bridge, then down the stairs and across the make believe water puddles in the floor, and under the dry ice water fall. Then, over to the very cool microscope with spiders, then into the fossil section and then back to look at the baby alligators. It went on and on. It was fabulous. We had a really good time.

We finally decided to leave around 4pm. Hopped in the car and on the way to get dinner, we had to stop, not once, but twice on 75/85 in downtown to let Drew go potty. We literally got into the car after the first

potty and not 10 minutes later he was telling us he had to go again. At this point, I just had to laugh because trying to get across 4 lanes of interstate traffic at 5pm was not ideal. However, we did make it and he did have to go, twice.

We arrived at Carrabbas for dinner. We had a delicious meal. Both boys were well behaved, in fact, a little bit silly all through dinner. And, I was really happy to have enjoyed a good meal with my family.

On the way home, I got my final "it finally happened" moment. Drew told me he loved me. He also told Daddy and Ollie and Murphy (our cat) that he loved them too.

Today marks 7 years that my mom has been gone from my life, but this is the first July 9th I have enjoyed. It is also a day that Ollie began walking. And, the day that I got my first "I love you" from Drew. Life is sweet, isn't it.

The Way Home

2011-07-09T22:56:00.000-04:00

On the way home from Harrisonburg, VA, we thought it would be fun, and cheap, to stop and stay a night at our friends the Carters in Charlotte, NC, Troy, Melody, and their son, Drew's buddy Trevor. The Carter's are always up for a good time, even if it's just a short night. They have three dogs, and two cats so pretty much a house full. The three dogs are Bo (calm and Sweet), Zoey (hyper active), and Knuckles (the wild puppy). Ollie loved sitting in the middle of the craziness, even sought it out and got trampled a couple times. Drew, on the other hand really liked Bo, his favorite ("I like Bo"), but spent most of his time in the dog-free zone on the couch. They still could get their noses close though, which made him constantly concerned for his Bear, whom he did not want to get eaten ("don't eat Bear"). A couple nights later at home, he woke up in terror that there were dogs in his bed, and could not be convinced otherwise. Other than that episode, I think it was good for him to be around the dogs. More recently, Drew and I were reading a new library book about a dog who doesn't want to eat off the floor. I asked him, "Do you like dogs?", he promptly responded, "I like Bo."

The next morning we took the boys to their neighborhood swimming pool, and to my surprise, Melody actually got Drew "swimming" on his own in the shallow water lured by diving toys. Way to go Drew!

After lunch, we said goodbye to the Carter's and aimed for home. We were in the car just long enough to need a short break and energy boost, when we neared Abbott Farms in Gaffney, SC. For those of you who have traveled the I-85 corridor, Gaffney is where the giant peach water tower that looks like an *#$, sometimes referred to as "the moon over Gaffney". We past Abbott Farms on the way up, intrigued but did not have the patience to stop then. Abbott Farms is really nothing more than a fruit stand, but fun at any rate. We were lured off the highway by the advertisement of fresh peaches, but got enticed by the freshly made fruit ice cream. I really wanted to try the peach ice cream, but Drew kept insisting on the strawberry ice cream (yawn, been there). So, to appease Drew, I got a container of each. Well, kudos to Drew, everyone agreed the strawberry ice cream was best, not to discount the peach though that was also yummy. I'd recommend the stop for any weary traveler.

In the end we finally made it home all in one piece. Check, vacation over. And, back to work.

Harrisonburg Children's Museum

2011-07-07T09:35:00.010-04:00

On the first day in Harrisonburg, VA, we took the boys and their cousin Ella to the Harrisonburg Children's Museum. It was actually a pretty neat place with a television studio, milking cow, construction zone, mechanics shop, science center, tree house, ice cream stand, theater stage, doctors office and ambulance, and much much more. Drew's favorite spot was the mechanics shop where he had the opportunity to change and re-change a tire several times, and check and fill all the car's fluids. Dad's favorite part was the construction zone with giant blocks to build with. Ollie liked all the space to crawl around in, and all the things to touch and explore. We also ran into the boys second cousins, Jillian and Jocelyn, whom Ella became quick buds with.

THE YOUNG TODLER AREA

THE DOCTORS OFFICE

THE CAR SHOP

THE BARN YARD

THE CONSTRUCTION ZONE

MAKE UP AT THE THEATER STAGE, AND
THE TRAIN DEPOT

THE ICE CREAM STAND

40 and 1

2011-07-06T09:34:00.000-04:00

41 years ago, my parents got married and started our happy, loving family. We celebrated with them in Chicago last year. 40 years ago, one year to the day after my parents, in the same church and at the same reception hall, my Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim got married and started their happy family. Last year, my Cousin Andy married his wife Amy and they now have a little one of their own named Joseph. We loaded the kids into the car with plenty of snacks, and books and toys, and movies and drove to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley region of Virgina to celebrate my Aunt and Uncle, and cousins.

We took two days to get there, stopping for a swim at Mount Airy, NC. This trip had proved to be a good opportunity to get Drew in the water with swimming pools in both the hotels we stayed at. He's made great progress in the water over the weekend, including multiple "races" verse Grammy across the pool (i.e., dragged by Dad).

Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim live in a gorgeous area surrounded by mountains in the middle of a Mennonite community outside of Harrisonburg, Virginia. While we had a few adventures visiting nearby attractions (more to come on those), we spent our evenings at their farm. Drew and Ollie got to see plenty of horses and cows up close, Mom even got the opportunity to stroke a horse, which I know made the trip worth it for her just for that. During the drive from town to the farm, Mom would point out every cow pasture along the route, and Drew would ask, "my side?" meaning the right side of car because that's the window he can see out of. He would follow up after seeing the cows in his best Forest Gump voice, "I like Cows," stressing the "ow" part.

It was good to see all the Pattersons, Millers and Chilsons in attendance, and we got to catch up with some relatives that I just don't see very often. Very few had ever met Drew, and even fewer had ever met Ollie. The kids had a ball hanging out with Grammy and Pa, and Ella, their only first cousin to attend.

In addition to checking off one more state visited, both boys had a few "firsts". First campfire in the rain (just a light drizzle), first hot dog cooked over an open fire (though Drew didn't eat one), first s'mores (I'm sure there will be s'more to come of those), first cow, horse and turkey sightings (up close), first roll downhill in the grass (I taught Drew that one), first corn-hole game (bean toss, or whatever you might call it in your neck of the woods), first poop in the woods (see previous blog on that one, I'm so proud), first peach ice cream (yet to come in a future blog), first time sleeping in a sleeping bag. I'm sure there were a ton more first that I'm just not thinking of right now.

Drew found a croquet mallet in the lawn, and began "cutting the grass." I'm always surprise by the imagination this kid has.

Drew rolling down the hill. He loved doing it almost as much as me.

Drew really had us puzzled on this one, when he kept insisting on moving his chair closer within the line of fire of our game of corn hole. It was an "ah-ha" moment when we figured out he just wanted to play, but was just too tired to stand up. He actually was a pretty good shot from the sitting position.

Ollie loved dangling his hands and feet in the water. This picture was taken moments before Ollie took a nose-dive into the water. Luckily Mom was able to hold onto the pants, and I was already in the water right next to him. He went under, but was unfazed, dare I say amused.

Ollie and Great Uncle Bill got along together great. They have very similar personalities...crazy.

Drew and Ollie's first s'mores. It was a bit of a mouth full for Ollie, and Drew couldn't get past the stickiness. We'll have to try those again soon.

Mom, Drew, Ollie, Grammy and Bear sitting by the fire in the rain.

This is Drew and Ollie's Cousin Ella. Her Mom and Dad couldn't make it, so she hitched a ride with Grammy and Pa. We had a ball hanging out with Ella and glad she made the trip.

It's picnic time on the hotel bed. Are you going to share with Bear, Drew?

The boys did a lot of this in the car, we had a few late nights on the farm. Despite the late nights and missed naps though, both boys kept up very good spirits.

Pa, Drew Grammy and Ollie enjoying a swing and cookies together.

Good Night.

I love you.

2011-07-05T21:53:00.002-04:00

My breath is often taken away when watching my kids do something for the first time, or say something for the first time and that is exactly what happened tonight.

Drew has never said, I love you, to anyone or anything. It just hasn't been in his vocabulary. Every night I wait for him to say it back because I don't think it's a saying that should be forced. He'll say it when he's ready. Tonight was it. I was feeding Ollie. We had the lights turned out. Drew had just gotten out of the tub and brushed his teeth. He was being silly and ran into Ollie's room naked. He saw that I was trying to get him to go to sleep. He came up and gave Ollie a big hug and said, "Night Ollie." Then, a very sweet, "I love you" while still hugging him. Then he ran out of the room ready to go get in his own bed.

This is not something I would have ever predicted; the first "I love you" goes to Ollie. Wow. I'm speechless. Hands down sweetest thing ever.

Shenandoah National Park

2011-07-04T09:36:00.012-04:00

Our country has some really amazing sights. While we were on vacation in Harrisonburg visiting Mike's family, we decided to take in one of our nation's most beautiful places: Shenandoah National Park. We got up bright and early Sunday morning, loaded up two sleepy boys, packed the backpack with all of the essential items, and hit the trails.

We stopped first at the visitor's center to ask what about an appropriate hike. They suggested a place called Dark Hollow Falls, which is a 1.5 mile roundtrip hike that takes us to a waterfall along a very steep trail. First, however, we had to get Drew & Ollie their stamps in the National Park Passport book. Drew was skeptical at first but when he realized that they were stamps, just like the ones used at school for the "fun bus", he was all in. He also wanted a stamp on the back of his hand.

We loaded back into the car and headed for the falls. They were right. It was definitely a steep climb down. I held Drew's hand most of the way. Ollie enjoyed the view from Daddy's back. He was perfectly content in the backpack. It was a beautiful hike down, but all the way I was thinking to myself that it was not going to be a fun climb back up. I always think it's better to climb uphill first and go down last, but that was not the way it worked here.

Drew fell twice. He scraped up his knees pretty badly, but with the promise of some "fruit snacks" he jumped back up quickly and went on his way. He's a fruit snack addict. We enjoyed the streams on the way down and Drew became a master at climbing over the rocks on his own. I only allowed him to run if he was holding my hand because everything was so slippery.

About halfway down, Drew told me in his way..."it's coming out!" And, so, we found a perfect spot to pee over a log. He has become quite good at peeing outdoors.

Last christmas he received a magnifying glass from Santa. It is perfect for hikes so he is able to see all the little things along the way. It is also a good distraction from a tough fall.

We finally made it down to the waterfall. Ollie was very happy to be released from his constraint. Mike found him a perfect nook in a rock for him to sit. This is also where we broke out the snacks and stopped for some pictures.

And, then, it was bound to happen right? Drew telling Mike that he had to "go poops". Oh no. We're nowhere near a bathroom. We're on the busiest trail in all of the Shenandoah National Park. And, what does his daddy say??? He tells Drew to go with mommy. I am not the expert on pooping in the woods. In fact, I've never pooped in the woods. I don't know what I'm doing. And, I was absolutely thinking that Mike owed me after this! So, I took him farther down the trail and as much out of the limelight as possible. I took off his shoes, pants, and cars underwear. I found a perfectly situated log and sat him on it like it was a potty. And, he amazed me. He pottyed so fast that we were done before anyone came up the trail. I, of course, did my best to "hide" the poop under some leaves. At which Drew said, "where's poop go?" He wanted to see it! I did my best to explain why we needed to cover it up and he apparently thought that was a good enough explanation because he was ready to do some more hiking. A success. If you can see the look on my face in the second photo....that's really how I felt. But, Drew is definitely potty trained. He's been doing great.

Then we climbed back up this very large hill back to the car. It took us about 45 minutes to climb back up. We counted all the steps and as Drew was about to wane at the end, I made up a game about a bear getting him so he would run a little faster. The bear liked to pick him up and snuggle him. He would say, "come get me bear." Ollie thought this was funny too. Occasionally the bear would tickle Ollie's legs. He would giggle and giggle. It was my motivation, too, for getting up that mountain - chasing after my little cubs. A lot of fun.

The Trade.

2011-06-20T14:18:00.004-04:00

Drew has been addicted to his pacifier "paci" since he was born. He really had the type of personality that needed it. However, over the past year we have tried to do our best to restrict the paci in certain places, slowly taking it away, without him thinking that it was gone forever. At first he could have it whenever and wherever, in the car, playing outside, at the store, etc.

Before Ollie was born, we made the rule that Ollie would have all the orange colored pacis and Drew would have all the blue colored paci's as not to have them picking up each others. This definitely worked because Drew knows that he was not allowed any other color.

Mike made the rule fairly early on that he was not allowed to have it in the bathtub. We had some screaming off and on about that one for months. But, it finally stuck. No paci in the tub.

Then about a year ago, we took it away from him in the car. He was no longer allowed to have it in the car at all. That was a hard step, mainly for the driver. The screaming and tears were overwhelming, in fact, we gave it back for a long trip because it was too dangerous otherwise. As a driver, it is very hard to concentrate when you have a screaming toddler in the backseat.

Eventually, Drew was only allowed to have it in the house and nowhere else.

A few months later, we made a rule that he was only allowed to have it in the upstairs portion of our house. If he had a meltdown during dinner and said, "paci, paci", we said, "that's fine, but you have to go upstairs and you can't come down with it." He learned quickly that it was not allowed in the kitchen or dining room, etc. He would always leave it on the ledge of the stairs.

On occasion he would make it downstairs in the morning with it in his mouth, and he was usually the one that noticed he had made an error. He quickly would pull it out of his mouth and hand it to me or Mike.

Then he decided to give it to some of his friends before coming down, such as bear. Bear is always the most likely recipient of the paci. He has been the "chosen one" more times than I can name. Occasionally Buzz Lightyear would be the recipient.

Then, we said he could only have it in his room. Then, it was only at bedtime. We have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take it away. He only uses it to sleep at night. I have been contemplating ways to get rid of this pacifier since he was about 1. He's almost 3.

Several of my friends have talked about the "Paci Fairy" who comes to get them, but honestly, I don't like that way of doing things because there isn't any closure for the child. It seems like a cop-out, like having someone else do your dirty work. I want to be genuine with my children and have a lot of open communication.

I have had other friends who have just taken it on a random night and told their kids to go cold turkey, and while this was a possible choice - it just seemed mean to me. It seems like there should be some prize for giving up their most treasured possession. It would be the equivalent of someone asking me to hand over my cell phone in exchange for nothing. I am not sure you would get a very happy person if this were the case.

So, for a couple of months I have been talking to Drew about how big boys don't use pacifiers, they are for babies. Ollie is a baby and he can have one, but Drew is a big boy. He constantly refers to himself as a "big boy." He loves this title. One night while watching Clifford before bed, he took out his paci and gave it to me and said, "no need paci. baby paci, me big boy." But then, that only lasted until he climbed himself into his own bed and then begged for it back.

This past week I had an idea. We were at Target one day after school. Drew was in a great mood. He was being so silly. He saw a Ligtning McQueen matchbox car and I thought to myself, here's my opportunity. I did what my mother always did with me; she bribed me. And, why mess with a good thing - when it works, it works.

In the Target on that afternoon, I said to Drew, "Drew, we can get Ligtning McQueen, if you give me your paci tonight. No more paci. Do we have a deal?" He said, "me get Queen?" I said, "Yes, but you have to give me your paci when we get home." He said, "Okay." I said, "Are you sure? You will not get your paci back." He said, "Yes." I said, "You understand, no more paci?" He said "Yes." Of course, he also had to include Ollie. Before leaving Target he said,"Ollie paci??" I said, "Ollie still gets to have his paci because he's a baby, you aren't a baby anymore - you're a big boy." He said, "Okay."

The moment we got home, we opened up the set of Ligtning McQueen toys that I agreed to buy. And that very night, he handed over his paci to his daddy. As a mommy, I was so worried that he was going to wake up in the middle of the night and ask for it, but it has now been 4 full nights, including one with a babysitter, and he has yet to ask for it. I think it's safe to say, we made a good trade.

Ligtning McQueen is my hero.

Journey to the Ruins

2011-06-05T20:25:00.031-04:00

Well, we average about a two- to three-week delay in most of our postings. I know what your thinking, another blog about another hike in another forest somewhere. I know there has been a few in the last couple years, but hiking is one of our favorite activities on a nice Saturday morning (in this case, Memorial Day). So, chances are, this won't be the last. About a year ago, I found a book called 60 hikes within 60 miles [of Atlanta], and we intend to hike them all.

Sometimes I really marvel at all that Georgia has to offer. In my opinion, it has one of the most beautiful, and varied, state park systems in the country. Within an easy days drive, we are within reach of cloud-covered misty mountains, rich historical sites, breathtaking waterfalls, expansive echoing canyons, swamps teeming with wild life, and raging rivers filled with kayaks. This time we chose a river-front hike to a preserved ruin of a civil-war era factory on the Sweetwater Creek, i.e., nature and history.

Ollie experienced the hike from the comfort of Daddy's back. He took in all the sites from the high vantage point, and enjoyed every moment. So this story is really about Drew (sorry Ollie, you had a great time). Since Drew has been walking, we've had some great hikes, and some not so great hikes. In retrospect, I think however one turns out (good or bad), it's really Mom and Dad's fault. We've learned a lot in the last 2.75 years of what makes a successful outing with little ones. Even though we don't always follow our own advice, this time we did every thing right and had a great day on the trail.

The key to starting off on the right foot is to have a plan. We picked our trail the night before, so we were out the door before breakfast. We stopped and picked up Chick-fi-la on the way, because bellies full of chicken always make the best hikers.

On this trip, we had everything in place and two happy kids ready to go, so after looking at the trail map, decided on a little more adventure than the normal hiker might choose. There are two trails that lead to the ruins, there is the red trail that is flat, wide and direct that everybody uses, and then there is the blue trail. It wanders up into the hills a little away from the river, it's narrow with lots of ruts and even a few climbs, but mostly, it's about twice as long as the red trail. We were feeling good, so we took the blue. Unlike most who were there mainly to see the ruins, we were there to see the moss, the logs, the bugs, and the lizards, and all those things are on the blue trail.

Drew was excited to be out there. He has always loved being outside. As a baby, one trick we had in our pocket when he was fussy would be to walk him outside, even just standing on the front porch seemed to soothe him. He started strong and stayed strong. He actually ran a good bit of the trail. I use the term "ran" here in the loosest possible meaning of the term. It was more of a gallop, not really a skip but close. Imagine a kid with a broom between his legs pretending to ride a horse, now imagine it without the broom. That was Drew's gait. Not the most efficient walk, but it sure looked fun.

Right from the get-go, we had some good instructional talk about staying on the trail, and how to find the best path to navigate difficult terrain like roots and logs and stairs. He caught on pretty fast, and soon found that the best route isn't always a straight line. To make sure he was doing it right though, he found it necessary to narrate to himself. Whenever he encountered a difficult place in the trail he told himself, "around, around." Then, as he passed the obstacle, "close one." On two occasions, whether he lost focus, or the roots just jumped out and grabbed him, he fell, which did shock him pretty good, and did put a little fear in his head. One fall even nicked him a little. These falls were,however, mostly nervewracking to Mom and Dad though. We knew one fall could spell disaster for Drew's good mood, and we were in no shape to carry two kids the remainder of the hike. Luckily, it just took some good'ol TLC from Mom, so after both falls, he bounced right back and was once again galloping on the trail.

A short part of the blue trail followed a small brook. Drew was fascinated by the small trickle of water, and the small micro-ecosystem within the shallow gully. He even spotted a small lizard on a fallen branch and watched it closely as it crossed the brook. I think these small things most people miss, but also the things that make the hike worth while. And, while watching a small lizard cross a brook is fun, it is even more interesting watching one through a 2.75-year-old's eye.

In no time really we got to the ruins. Just a fair warning to all those heading out there, if you're hiking Sweetwater Creek State Park just to see the ruins, you may be disappointed. Sure it has pretty interesting history, and it's a very scenic location on the edge of the river, and it does have a bit of old world charm, that is if you can get over the fact that there is a huge, ugly, chain-link fence taller than the building itself surrounding the site that obscures any chance of getting a clear line-of-sight. But it was fun any way having lunch on the over look right at the rivers edge. It gave Ollie a chance to stretch his legs, and Drew a chance to recharge.

While Drew was keeping up his good spirits, he was starting to show signs of fatigue. Because of this, and because its always more fun to hike in a circle then retracing your own steps back, we decided to take the wide, flat, shorter red trail back to the car.

The next part of the story requires a short flash back. - Insert eerie music here - As I've mentioned in previous postings, Drew is potty training, or sometimes we like to think potty trained. So, we stopped in the visitors center to complete our business before hitting the trail. No biggy, right? Well the bathroom looked fairly normal at first glance, but once we got the first stall and looked into the toilet, it was one big abyssal chamber. To make matters worse, the chamber was open to the air somehow so sunlight lit up the whole pile of..., and an eerie breeze, not smelly, but very eerie, was emanating upward. I sat on one and got a "refreshing" gust up my back-side. Drew first choose to go in the men's room, because that's what men do. We tried every stall, but Drew just couldn't bring himself to do it. Then he went into the women's room, because that's what little boys do, and again tried every stall and just couldn't do it.

So back to our story. After lunch, on the trail, in the middle of nowhere, on the crowded red trail, Drew instructed us as he always does, "it's coming out." Though it sounds imminent, Drew is actually pretty good at giving us good warning, and we usually have time to find facilities before it actually comes out. But special circumstances require special actions, and Drew became christened as a big boy and true outdoors men by urinating outside. I would have preferred he gone when still on the less crowded blue trail with lots of trees to hide behind, but we are on Mother Natures schedule, so Drew stopped in the middle of a large bridge on the red trail, dropped trow, and made water over the edge. Oblivious to the million people passing by him giggling at his hiney hanging out, he stood there amazed and proud, and refused to pick up his pants.

In short order, the parking lot was in view, and we were once again on hard pavement. By the end, Drew was still going solo, but slowing fast. The last hundred yards, he hung onto the back of Ollie's backpack and allowed himself to be pulled back to the car. He was cooked. He had hiked approximately 2 miles! What a big boy!

Our navigator with the GPS. Though he may have been a bit confused with its true function. On occasion, he held the GPS up to his face and said, "Cheese."

Ollie was a great sport, he enjoyed the trail thoroughly from Dad's back.

This is a plank bench on the side of the trail. Add a fallen log behind the bench, and it made a great seat and table just Drew's size.

Our lunch time spot. The end of the boardwalk was a shear drop to the river. So Dad had to play defence for dare-devil Ollie.

Oranges...Yum!

This is Drew watching the lizard cross the brook.

Drew was still going, but he let himself be towed at the very end.

Shutterfly

2011-06-05T15:26:00.005-04:00

I was about to start a new Blog about our weekend fun at Sweetwater Creek State Park, but when I logged onto blogger.com, I saw a random post down the list that was started, but never posted. My curiosity got the better of me, so I took a look at what it was. It was Ollie's birthday party invitation. When we ordered Ollie's party invitations, we saved an image to a new blog post so we wouldn't forget to add it to his birthday party blog post. Obviously, that worked really well. I know its about three weeks now past Ollie's birthday, but around here we follow Grammy's ideology by celebrating the birthmonth. Alright, I know it's June, so to be fair, I'd thought it would be fun to go back and revisit Drew's first birthday party invitation too.

Drew and Ollie are as different as night and day now in the looks and personalities. Albeit, the older they get, the lesser the disparity in their ages really seems. I'm sure they'll be great brother's as the grow up, and look after each other even into adult hood. Or at least I can only hope. But for now, Drew loves to give Ollie hugs, and Ollie has even started planting his slobbery open-mouthed kisses on Drew. Ollie loves to climb on Drew's bed, and Drew is very tolerant to Ollie climbing all over him. Ollie mimics every thing Drew does, and actually visa-verse on that one. Lately, Drew has learned to love roaring like a lion. He gets up close to you and, "ROAR!". Ollie loves this, and returns with his own sweet high-pitched, barely audible, "roar." Drew loves chasing Ollie around the house, and Ollie loves to be chased around the house. Ollie can be very wild, careless, and a bit dare-devilish, while Drew takes Ollie's safety upon himself following him around warning, "Danger Ollie, Danger."

While I'm sure the antics will change as the get older, I sure hope the interaction stays like this forever. However, I digress back to my original intent of this post. Below are the invitations to both Drew's and Ollie's first birthday parties. It's kind of fun to view them side-by-side considering that their pictures were taken when they were about the same age.

And, just for fun, I thought I'd throw Ollie's birth announcement up here just for giggles, to make the point about how much he's really changed in the past year.

Movie Night

2011-06-02T22:27:00.023-04:00

Sometimes a still photograph just doesn't capture the moment. That's when it's nice to have a video camera on hand. Sometimes it's hard though to capture that perfect moment, because you don't quite know when its going to happen until it's happening, and by the time you realize you ought to be videoing this, it's over. But, on the other hand, sometimes you get lucky, the camera is near by, and the battery is charged. I happen to have a small glut of videos on my hands that I've just gotten around to editing recently. There is no real theme here, just enjoy.

In this video, Drew is singing his ABCs. We are lucky to have captured this moment on video. He typically goes silent once he realizes someone is listening. Drew's vocabulary is really starting to blossom and this is just a small example. We can't always understand him, but he does have a lot to say these days.

This one is from Ollie's birthday party a couple weeks ago. It's a tad long (~7.5 minutes including cake and presents), but worth the showing. We showed you photographs earlier. You tell me which is worth a thousand words. Pay close attention to Uncle Chris' commentary in the background.

This is Act II of Ollie's Birthday Party. Ollie is doing excellent learning to walk. We think it might be any day now. He can actually balance himself up for several seconds. Drew and Smyth had a ball squirting Seth, and Seth had a ball getting squirted.

Last weekend, we were really on the ball, and were able to get a hike in Saturday Morning at Sweetwater Creek State Park. I'll try to post more pictures of the day later, but for now enjoy watching the Path Finder blaze our trail.

Here is a blast from the past (1 year ago). When Ollie was born, I asked all the people who visited him in the Hospital to provide him with some small tidbit of wisdom. I've only now gotten to string them all together. Pay attention, there might be some useful advice in there for all of us. I did something similar for Drew, except I asked all his visitors to sing him a song. Maybe I'll get around to editing those for his wedding. Who knows.

If you ever want to watch these videos again, or any video that appears on this blog, simple search for user name MyDrew2008 at http://www.youtube.com

The Primrose Superstars

2011-05-31T20:47:00.008-04:00

Ollie and Drew attend Primrose. This is, by far, the best choice in childcare I could possibly imagine for my kids. They are absolutely phenomenal at what they do each day and I love them for it. They are thoughtful, loving, committed, and truly amazing individuals. I've enjoyed getting to know them over the past few years. For Ollie's birthday this past week, they went out of their way to make it a special day. Ms. Krista made a huge banner for the door and all the teachers loved on him, passed around the camera, and celebrated his day with him. I realize that they do this kind of thing no matter the child there, but I secretly think that Ollie is their "favorite" in the infant room - my gosh - how couldn't he be??? He so lovable. Here are the superstars in action in the Infant Room...

Ms. Felisa. Ollie loves her so much. He just smiles and coos when he's around her. If he ever goes missing, I will know where to find him! Sometimes it is hard to pull him away in the afternoons because he is just so happy being with his teachers.

Ms. Krista is new to the infant room this year, but of course, has fallen in love with Ollie and made it her personal mission to become his friend. She has succeeded, obviously. He's hard to resist.

Ms. Jenni is great at snuggling with Ollie. He loves her, too. Ms. Jenni spends a lot of time on the floor with the kids and this makes Ollie very happy to have someone to crawl over and around.

And, last but not least is Ms. Alita. Ms. Alita is the early riser who gets to greet the boys each morning. She has been on staff for 20 years. Ollie is thrilled to see her each morning!! She is a saint for being in education as long as she has.

These are some more pictures they took throughout the day. He is happy as a clam eating his cupcakes, drinking juice, and playing.

A huge thank you to the women at Primrose for loving on Ollie and Drew as if they were your own. You have no idea how much it means to me. I have yet to hear the words, "I don't wanna go to school!!!" In fact, they are excited each morning and happy to be seeing their friends and teachers. I am so grateful for all that you do each day.

365 Days

2011-05-24T20:55:00.033-04:00

Ollie is 1. Try saying it out loud yourself, it's hard to believe. Ollie is the sweetest, most jovial, and wildest 1 year old I know. He has the most contagious, self propagating laugh that sometimes causes him to literally fall over from laughing too hard.

First to business

Weight: 27.1 lbs (95%)
Height: 30.8 inches (80%)
Head: 18.7 inches (75%)

His birthday weekend started early Thursday with a wonderful surprise in the mail from Grammy and Pa. He got his very first White Sox jersey. He wanted to try it on right away. We're bound to raise one White Sox fan, right? Drew and Ollie are really starting to interact like real brothers, they don't fight too much, yet, but they can get very silly. Thursday night the two of them were chasing each other all over the house, and under the dining room table.

For Ollie's birthday dinner, he chose pizza, so we thought we'd try a place that we've never been to because we had a coupon. Good times, so-so pizza. It was one of those places where all the kids just kind of wander around, while their parents enjoy pizza and beer. From the moment we walked in, Drew had his eye on the gumball machines. He's still, or at least was until that night, content to just twist the knobs without thought of what would happen if he had a quarter. A couple kids with money came by and ruined the magic. Luckily, Daddy enjoyed the vending machine earlier that day and had a couple left over quarters in his pocket.

His formal birthday party was on deck for Saturday. Elizabeth's best friend, Mandy, and the Atlanta Heidler's, Chris, Lauren, Smyth and Seth, helped us celebrate. Ollie did need a little help opening all his gifts, after all he is only 1 years old. Drew, Smyth and Seth had no hesitation in providing assistance. Some of the treasures: an inflatable swimming pool from Mom, air to put into it from Dad, a dinosaur walker, a pretty cool parking garage thing with twisty track, a musical dog that I nicknamed "Patch", and a Buzz Lightyear water rocket (my favorite). So, we spent the afternoon swimming, rocketeering, and having a "carnival". Not surprisingly, Seth was the first one wet, and had to go home in his swimming suit because it was the only thing that stayed dry. Drew and Smyth had their part though holding the hose.

Chris worked hard on bringing Ollie to the dark side, and I think he may be winning. Ollie is becoming smitten with his buddy, Uncle Chris. Sorry, Dutch, Bob and Don...I think Uncle Chris is winning the "favorite Uncle" contest for both Drew and Ollie hands down. It may be access, but likely it's more the Chris-ism.

All this was fun, but what are Birthday's really about? The cake! And, boy did Ollie enjoy his Cake. He finished his entire piece of cake. While Ollie's face is a mess, you'd be surprised at how the rest of him and the area around him stayed pretty clean. His was able to get the majority of his cake in his mouth. I know we're not suppose to compare our kids, but it always amazes me just how different they are. Compare Ollie's cake eating strategy to Drew's in the pictures below. This says a lot about both their personalities.

After the Heidlers left (thanks for coming Heidlers, we had a great time with you). Drew thought it was time to do some yard work while the rest of us just hung around in the shade on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Like any well prepared gardener, Drew wore the appropriate PPE: hand and head protection. Sunday was a lot of the same, except Drew threw around the Frisbee...surprisingly very well. For two days straight after the party, Drew continued to sing almost to the right tune, "Happy Birthday to you...me".