Christmas is coming

December 1st! How did that happen?!! I just ordered Christmas (photo) cards, and put the advent calendar up this morning -- Oliver's very excited about putting another "ormamen" on the tree each day! We just got back from Thanksgiving in Maine a couple of days ago (yum! and lots of fun!), and in another couple of weeks we head back up for Christmas (Andy to follow on Friday the 18th). So I've made the difficult decision to NOT have a Christmas tree here in NJ this year. It's so much work, and not enough time here to enjoy it!! We'll be in Maine for over 2 weeks, and we'll have a tree there at the house, so it seems excessive to have one here as well (plus, it will get lonely while we're in Maine, and I can't deal with that sort of disappointment). :-) We're thinking of trying to do some outdoor lights this year, that would be fun.

So, it seems like turning 3 has been a TRUE turning point for Oliver -- he potty trained himself in the week before his birthday, and in the weeks before and after he turned 3, he just has become a lot more manageable when we're out and about... we went to the grocery store today, and it was actually FUN! I can't believe I just said that, but it's true. Which is not to say that he can't be a complete rascal sometimes, but mostly he's a really good boy. He talks endlessly, and asks "why?!!" all the time, which seems to be a very good thing, even if he does push the limits a lot! He's very imaginative (as you can see in the first photo), and he has started to be a very attentive big brother - this morning he brought tons of his books into my bedroom where Maddie was sitting on my bed, and read to her bits of each one. Well, paraphrased from them... !

Maddie turns 8 months old tomorrow! Imagine. She's become a voracious eater - she pretty much YELLS at me at mealtimes when I don't keep the food coming fast enough! By means of really loud humming, if that's possible. She eats a lot of what Oliver eats now - chicken pot pie with peas and corn, macaroni and cheese, toast, pasta with tomato and meat sauce... I haven't made her Armenian pizza yet, but I'm sure she'll love that, too! Avocado, applesauce - butternut squash was a big hit -- she ate a lot more of Thanksgiving dinner than Oliver did! For a couple of weeks now she's been nursing less, only twice a day, so I have to be sure she's drinking enough from a bottle. She's a VERY happy baby, quite content to play on her own sometimes, very "go with the flow." She usually goes to bed around 8 or so and sleeps until 7am, give or take... how lucky am I?! She's sitting on her own now, no sign of crawling yet.

We're about to send off a Christmas package to our family in England, and I've somehow figured out almost all the presents for our family here, so I'm feeling pretty ahead of the game! This Saturday is a big holiday party organized by the moms group that I'm in, and it will be the first time ever that Oliver meets Santa, can't wait!

Show the love

Oliver has been having more and more fun with his little sister... now that Maddie is so responsive and smiley, he likes to play with her sometimes. The other day, I put her on the floor to "practice" sitting with the boppy behind her, and Oliver said, "I want to sit, too!!" They were so cute together, I had to take some pictures. Then Oliver leaned in to give her a big hug of brotherly love, and I got this second photo - sweet! Maddie is almost 7 1/2 months old now, and she's sitting up on her own pretty much, with just the occasional tumble. She also has 2 teeth!! Her two front bottom teeth... I knew of the one coming in, but the second was a big surprise to me today!

Oliver turns 3 !!!!

Oliver had an exciting, action packed 3rd birthday!! It started on Friday morning, November 6th, when he came downstairs to a big stack of presents on the kitchen table - wow! He opened them up with Grandma Carole looking on from the webcam (Granddad was away on his travels) - his favorite presents were his new doctor set, and his cool plasma car. After breakfast, dad had to go in to work and Oliver had a nice webcam with his grandparents in Maine. Then we set off for Kitattiny State Park to meet Alison Snow and her boys James and Alex and their friend, Christian. We all had a great walk (Oliver on his bike) to the airstrip at the end of the lake, where the boys enjoyed rolling down the hill and wrestling. It just isn't a birthday without James and Alex to play with! Massive tantrum when it was time to go home, overtired boy... In the afternoon, Oliver helped me decorate his big birthday cake, which took a lot of time and effort!! It was super yummy, though - a recipe from my friend, Deanna, for maple chocolate carrot cake!! Decorating was fun, until Oliver decided he just wanted to take the big tubes of homemade colored frosting and suck on them. Can't blame him, but ick! That night, we had pizza for dinner with dad, and a little ice cream cake with three candles, and several rounds of "Happy Birthday to you!!"

The next morning, we baked the sausage rolls (prepared the night before) and whipped up a million little cucumber sandwiches, packed up the car, and headed out to Expresso Yourself in Sparta, for Oliver's party. Attending: Carys with Mark and Lisa, Emily with Marcy, Kayla with Melissa, Ryan with Carole, Georgie with Beth and John, and the 4 of us... Anja and her parents had to cancel because the girls hadn't been feeling well. What a fantastic place -- a lovely old house that's been turned into a pottery painting studio/coffee bar. The kids had a great time picking a piece to paint, choosing colors, and painting with their parents. I loved it because the party was so small, we could really all chat together and have a good time. We had nice snacks and then big pieces of cake, and then we opened presents!!

The next day, we continued the tradition of going to the Bronx Zoo on Oliver's birthday, and it was as fun as ever. Oliver asked several times in the car ride there if the lion was going to eat him, but he seemed more curious than scared. We told him that the lions are pretty well fed at the zoo, not to worry. We loved the sea lions best of all, as usual. It was around 75 degrees, crazy warm for November (!), just lovely. Maddie was happy as ever, facing out in the bjorn and taking everything in. Our big boy is 3... still having trouble remembering that. Or maybe facing it.

Maddie growing up

How can Maddie be 7 months old already?!! The time definitely goes faster the second time around. She is SUCH a good baby - she definitely only fusses when something is really bothering her, which isn't often! And she sleeps from at least 9pm to 6:30am, of often longer... I take it for granted now, but whenever I talk with other new moms, I'm reminded of just how LUCKY I am to be getting so much sleep!! She's so smiley, and very ticklish. She loves to watch Oliver and play with him, and now that she's so responsive, he loves to play with her, too. She's eating lots of new foods now - avocado is a big favorite. She's sooo happy in the bjorn, and going for walks in the stroller - she definitely loves action, but is also happy to relax at home. She's starting to look really grown up to me.... oh, the time goes fast.

Potty Training - phew!

We decided to make Oliver a "toidy chart" to motivate him to use the potty... the idea was, he'd get a sticker for every pee and poo, and at each railroad tracks, he'd get a special prize. He also got a prize for just STARTING the chart, which is witnessed in this first photo -- Oliver with his new Wonder Pets Viewmaster! After two very small pee pees. That was October 10th... then it wasn't until the day before Halloween that he decided to go again on the potty... and that was the day he decided that the potty was the way to go!! We were in Maine, and he announced that he wanted to pee before we got in the car to drive home -- ok, I said! Then, when we stopped at a rest stop, he said it again! Couldn't believe it, as normally a lot of kids are anxious about public restrooms for a long time. Not Oliver!!! After we got home, he started using the potty regularly, and a few days later, had his first poo!!! He went from nothing to everything in a matter of days, all on his own; I didn't have to do anything except hand out the stickers!! He's definitely not motivated by the prizes anymore, as his new favorite thing is to stick the stickers anywhere on the board, not in the top section - here's a look at his chart as of today. He's even going out around town for hours at a time with his big boy underwear on, no problems... he thinks it's really fun to pee in the woods (though he usually gets some on his pants!) Such a big boy - I'm so proud of him!

A new friend

We have had a fantastic time in Maine for the two weeks before Halloween... we missed daddy a LOT, but got to hang out a lot with Grandma , Granddaddy, and Greenie, as well as Uncle Ian and Aunt Suzanne, and even cousin Eli a bit! In our last week up there, we had a visit from my old college friend, Amy Robbins (now Amy Robbins Wilson) and her little boy, Clayton, and we all had sooooo much fun. First we played at home, then we went to the lighthouse and spent ages on the rocks, both boys just loving exploring the tide pools, tossing stones into the water, etc. It was THE most gorgeous day, a day when all you can do is smile. We went to the port after that, had a little lunch, then drove around for a while until both boys fell asleep!! It was so fantastic catching up with Amy - she's such good fun - I can't wait until our next visit.

Logs!!

We got a cord of wood delivered here at the house in Maine yesterday, and today Oliver and I set out to get it stacked... Andy's in England right now, and I missed him, especially when trying to maneuver this really old wheelbarrow with a big tire in the front that is completely flat. We even have an air pump here but the tire is so old that its little air valve is shot. SO not fun when trying to move big, heavy loads of wood from one part of the yard to another. Anyway, the weather was gorgeous - sunny and crisp - and when I wasn't swearing at the wheelbarrow, I really enjoyed myself! I stacked almost the entire cord today, and got such a sense of achievement from it. It made me think of how I miss that feeling, of a "job well done," since my full time job now (mothering) is a "squishy" one -- a job where it's really hard to see your progress or achievements.

I thought it would be hard to stack the wood while managing O and M, but I just did it while Maddie napped, and Oliver had a great time helping me and generally running around the yard and being silly. He'd check inside the house from time to time to make sure Maddie wasn't crying. Quite a team! I only have a tiny bit left to stack now, and I'm actually sad it's nearly done... ALMOST makes me think I might like gardening one day, but I'm not holding my breath. We'll see!!