Looking Cute, What I Do Best

 Brother Time

Tooth on the Way!

 

Play Time with Daddy

A Day Out With Thomas

There comes an age when your child begins showing strong preferences, and you have no idea what he will choose as the inexplicable objects of his love and devotion.  When Oliver came to this point, it became all about trains, or "choo choos" as he would say.  I could show Ollie 20 different cool, engaging, fascinating toys, but forget about it if a train was in sight!  It was confounding to me (really trains!?!?) but the genetic programming that creates this attachment to trains in little boys was too strong; there was nothing I could do to fight it.  As time went on, Oliver became aware that Thomas is king in the world of trains and that cheeky little licensed character gained another devoted worshiper. This is where I have to thank Ollie's cousins Chris and Alex (and especially their parents Jill and Franco) for giving us their old Thomas train table, accessories, engines and cars, because they surely saved us from bankruptcy!

Saturday, May 12, 2012 was, I am pretty sure, the best day of Oliver's life so far because he got to see Thomas in person and go for a twenty-minute train ride - on Thomas!  Ollie's friend Ruth has some pretty sweet connections: a grandma who is a member at Greenfield Village, a mom who purchased tickets for us to ride on Thomas... so the date was set.

For weeks leading up to the event Ollie talked about going to see Thomas and knew that "Thomas is coming." I also think he believes that Ruth is singlehandedly responsible for this miracle. On the days leading up to it we had a countdown.  He held up his fingers showing and telling how many days until he would see Thomas....

You will notice there is not a single picture where Oliver is willing to look at the camera.  He only had eyes for Thomas!

I don't think Tony was anticipating the effect it would have on our laundry habits when he bought Oliver a bright yellow Day Out With Thomas shirt that Ollie has worn at every opportunity since the big day.  But it is so sweet to see how he loves reliving the memory of this day, in any way he can.  If you ask him about it, he will list off the thrilling highlights to you in his best narrative style with wide eyes and a voice filled with wonder, nodding his head (just keep prompting him, "What else!?" to keep him talking): "There was steam. There was track. With Ruth. All aboard! There was steam. Choo choo! It goes ding, ding, ding. And Ruth. He have eyes. There was steam."

We did have to fib to Ollie and tell him that Thomas went home to the Island of Sodor so that we are not expected to bring him to visit on a daily basis.

Thank you, Ruth, for an 

amazing outing!

Sweet Potato

Elliot's first experience with solid food:

 What is that???

I want it!!!

 Mom's putting it in my mouth...

What was that!?!? I don't think I like it.

 No! Not again!

I am trying to trust you, Mom, but I just don't know about this.

So, it's not so bad to play with...with your hands.

Could I just touch it instead???

 The jury is still out.  Check back later for continuing progress.

Artichoke

Strangely, artichokes are one of my all-time favorite foods.  This goes way back. I can remember coming home from high school soccer practice, famished, and patiently waiting the 45 minutes it took to boil an artichoke because to me it was the best possible snack in the world. So you can imagine how proud I was when 2-1/2 year-old Ollie took to artichoke eating like it was nothing! With just a quick demonstration from mom, he figured out how to dip the leaf in hollandaise sauce, scrape the "meat" off with his teeth, and discard the leaf in the compost bowl.  No problem! 

We shouldn't have been too surprised, after all, Oliver is a pretty great eater in general.  He ate lentil soup, yogurt, and beet juice with his artichoke.

Tulip Time

It is considered perfectly normal in my hometown to dress your children up in cute, traditional Dutch costumes.  Let's not kid ourselves, this is purely for adult entertainment and enjoyment.  These costumes have about seven to eight separate pieces to snap, tie, adjust, tuck and pin. But it is so worth it! Thank you to Oma and the VanderLeeks for the costumes!

 Taking a break while the costume goes on....

 Time to pose!

Ollie's Turn:

I know I am biased, but I am pretty sure these kids could be in an advertisement for Tulip Time.

I Can Roll

Elliot has become so good at rolling from his tummy to his back that we think this kid may never crawl!  Here he goes:

 

 Oliver is never far...

 ...and Elliot couldn't be happier about that.

Ollie's First Haircut

At 2-1/2 Oliver finally needed his first haircut. The back was especially long and getting tangled, but since the front and sides weren't so bad (and we didn't want to lose all those cute curls), we decided to just go for it at home. 

BEFORE:

To ensure that it was not a traumatizing event, we situated Ollie with his beloved binkies watching an episode of Thomas.  He could not believe his luck, and barely noticed the cutting that was happening.

 DURING:

 AFTER:

Hurray!