Visitors to the Land of Enchantment

We were so excited when we heard that Josh and Eliza (Christian's sister and husband) were coming to visit us here in Albuquerque. They brought their two little cuties, Belle and Abe and we had a blast. Oliver and Abe hit it off in about 1 minute and weren't seen without each other for basically the rest of the week. Abe sent Oliver laughing to the floor on numerous occasions and they just ran around and played- it was seriously the cutest thing I have seen in a long time. We covered a lot of bases with them, too- Old Town Albuquerque, lunch with my lunch group, Santa Fe, shopping, movies, games, night out with some friends, etc., etc. We had so much fun hanging out with Josh and Eliza and I especially enjoyed my one-on-one shopping trip with Eliza (it's sooooo nice to get out with girls, no kids, and just shop). So, here's some fun pics from the week:

Old Town Albuquerque at the church grounds

Old Town Albuquerque, jumping up and down with excitement

We finally got these two guys to settle down for a sec while we got a picture.

Probably up to no good, these two...

Oliver loooovvveeedd this drum in Santa Fe.
Getting ready for the long drive back to Utah, with full tummies:)

Isn't she the cutest little bug you've ever seen (Belle)???

Some last-minute mischief before Abey had to leave...

FYI

A lot of people have been asking about our new house and want to see pictures. Well, we just have a few little decorative things to do around here and then, I promise, we'll fill you all in. :)

Happy B-day, Jake!

It was Jake's birthday on Monday and so I wanted to give special shout-out to him. He exited the teens and is now 20 years old! Yeah! Jake's been living with us now for about 3 months and we are loving having him around- he's so easy-going and helpful and Oliver loves him, too.
Well, for his b-day, I made his his favorite breakfast: cowboy (eggs, potatoes, ham, and cheese), and then Oliver and I brought him cookies to the dental office where he works where some of his co-workers had brought him a cake of his own and then took him out to lunch. The night was topped off with one of his favorite dinners: chicken parmesan. And for desert, a Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake. Yum! Yum! We hope you had a great day, Jake!

Another trip to the A-T-L

I found a REALLY cheap ticket to Atlanta a few weeks ago and as a spur of the moment thing, I bought it. Also, because I know my parents have hoards of rugs all over their house that they so generously share with their children and Christian and I really needed one for our new house. So, Oliver and I made the llloooonnnnggg trip to Georgia, via Phoenix (I know, it's the opposite direction, but that's what you get when you fly cheap). And so that's why it made for a long day and some promises afterwards that I would NEVER do it again, without Christian to help with Oliver. I was close to tears a few times out of frustration and at one point, I gave up and let Oliver sleep on the floor of the airplane for a couple of hours of solace. I don't even want to know what the stewardesses were saying. Overall, it was a great trip and so relaxing. We just ate out, shopped (only a little), and watched some great flicks (The Other Boleyn Girl, Across the Universe). It was just so nice to be able to spend so much quality time with my sisters, Emily and Claire, and my mom. And, mission accomplished: I came home with a beautiful rug that fits perfectly in our main room.

Oliver practicing the piano. I couldn't even get in a note with him around.

Oliver is now playing the piano- you can see the difference.

Oliver loved getting to know his cousin, Cooper better. They were never seen with less than two cars in hand.

Speaking of cars, these boys watched Cars at least once during the week. Oliver only lasted about 5 minutes, but Cooper was a champ- sat through the whole movie!

Here's the Proof...

So, I know you're all frustrated because Christian's been going on and on about all the cute (and not so cute) things Oliver has been up to lately, but without ANY pictures! So, I've tried to capture a few gems these past few days for your viewing pleasure and for proof...:)

Mom caught Oliver on the couch, all prepped to go outside with his jacket.
You will also notice the little red object in his left hand. It's his red corvette version of every other kids' blankie. He bathes with it, sleeps with it, and eats with it.


Oliver (with his jacket) and his new thing- "trying on" Mommy's shoes. He only likes these flower-covered ones. By the way, he had just woken up, hence, the jammies.


There is a planter full of soil that Oliver loves to get in... Are you CRAZY???!!! Do you actually think I would let him stick that stuff in his mouth? It's just some Girl Scout Thin Mints.:)

Lawrence of Olivier

More tidbits:

Oliver had his second week in nursery (his first week in our new ward's nursery). When I went to pick him up, I watched him for a few minutes through the looking glass, doing his thing. My favorite thing in the world is to clandestinely watch him in an foreign environment with foreign people, especially kids. The scene I observed was him and a few other 1.5 yr olds sitting around a round table with little cups of water, napkins, and crackers set neatly out before them. All the other tots' areas looked orderly enough, while Oliver's was a sopping mess. When I went in and remarked on this, the nursery folks informed me that upon receiving his cup of water, he dumped it out on the table, then, unsatisfied, commandeered those of his neighbors to make the pool bigger. Ratface.

I've already related Oliver's love for outside. Now that we're in a house, we let him have pretty free access to the fenced-in backyard. The few days it's been cold, we still let him out, but put his coat on. So now, like a dog with its leash, when he gets the outdoor itch, he'll find his coat, hunt us down, and thrust it in our faces. Then, when through darkness or some other reason, we bring him in for the rest of the day, he won't let us remove his coat because that would be an act of total surrender. So he kicks it the rest of the night inside with his winter coat on. As long as he's got the coat on, there's hope. Very remote hope, but hope nonetheless.

And no matter how long we let him play outside, he loses it when we bring him in. He loses it a lot lately in general, come to think of it. Kind of a big whiney pants about always wanting to be held, or up high on whatever object lends him a foot or two.

He's said his first non mom/dad name. He calls Jacob, Day-da.

Great guy.

Sweet Tooth

People often remark that they think I'm "so disciplined." I'll admit, I have my strengths and I might have a hard time missing a day at the gym, but I am also a closet (well, I guess not anymore) sweet food addict. I have tried to stop this habit and even gone so far as to put some major wagers on it and even refusing to purchase anything with chocolate or sugar in it. But, I always succumb in the end to this unforgiving addiction. If you had asked me 6 months ago if I was the worst person I knew when it came to sweets, I would have answered an emphatic, "yes!" But, I met my match in my friend, Rachel. Without divulging her skeletons too much, this girl would truly put me to shame with any pan of brownies, batch of cookies, ice cream or any other delectable treat. So, we made a pact as of February 3rd (Super Bowl day, mind you) to not eat another treat until March 1st. When consulting our husbands about our plan, her husband literally laughed out loud and said, "Even if you swore to me at end of the month you hadn't eaten any treats, I still would never believe you- it's impossible." I might also mention that she is hypoglycemic (her body craves sugar in ways that normal people's don't and this sometimes translates into her eating spoonfuls of sugar just to get a "fix"). Anyway, we decided that we were going to do it, with or without the confidence of our hubbies. So, it began on February 3rd and ended only yesterday. We had more than a few phone calls to each other in moments of weakness and let me say that it was a lloooonnnngg month, but WE MADE IT!!! No chocolate, no candy, no cheesecake bars (our fave), cookies, cupcakes- NOTHING. And, to make things even more official, I even swore off any food that had any sugar or corn syrup in the ingredients during that last week. This is a lot more difficult than one might think. Just check your bread, salad dressing, mayo, crackers, etc.. And, so, yesterday, I enjoyed 3 chocolate chip cookies, a donut hole, a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream with hot fudge, and a few handfuls of chocolate chips. And, I thought this a pretty good day considering I definitely had the potential to binge. No, I'm not going to go straight back to where I was- the inescapable life of a sugar addict. My tolerance for incalculable amounts of sugar is definitely a lot lower as I discovered tonight when Rachel and her husband treated us to homemade crepes, but I have resolved to be stronger and now I know I can do it. I didn't go a whole month of passing up peanut butter bars, ice cream with all the fixings, iced sugar cookies, funfetti cake truffles, Ghiradelli brownies, and my favorite chocolate cookies to go right back to where I was. And, so for all you sugar addicts out there- it can be done. Because if I can do it, anyone can.

Oliver quirks

Here are a few weird/funny/cool things Oliver does:

Oliver screams and cries whenever Reba or I leave, even though the other stays behind. And sometimes when I leave and he doesn't see me leave but figures it out, he'll walk around the apartment from room to room, even looking in every closet and bathroom, all the while sobbing, then finally admitting defeat and throwing his crying self into Reba's arms to be held.

Whenever I have soda pop he wants some. And even though his face gets red and eyes water because of the spicy carbonation, after he recovers he wants more.

Oliver has a bit of a temper (we're working on this) and says "no" to us and others quite a bit, sometimes for no reason other than to exert his authority. But when he's really mad and screaming the no turns into "doe!"

Last week, while we babysat for some friends for a few days he started yelling no at other kids when they cried. I didn't know this, so I was confused today in sacrament mtng. when he kept shouting "no" at apparently nothing and no one, but Reba filled me in that he was communicating with the faraway fussing kids and babies.

He loves having his teeth brushed. When he sees me put the little rubber brush over my finger he opens his mouth wide and likes to steal a few nibbles, mid-process, for that rubbery texture.

He screams in anger whenever I hug anyone (including Reba). We noticed this a few months ago and couldn't tell if he was jealous of me, reba, both, or like any normal kid, is just grossed out by gratuitous parental affection. So we conducted a controlled test. We had Rebecca hug her nephew London and Ollie looked on with nothing but happiness for the two. Then I hugged London and he lost it.

He loves to be up high (couch, counter, bed, person, whatever).

He has an amazing dog sensor. We'll be out on a nature walk and he'll start doing his bark (which he does for any animal or insect) and I think he's bluffing, but without fail, after some long inspection I'll find some far off dog barely visible through the sagebrush. His candy sensor is also without equal.

He LOVES being outside. So much so that if we open the door to our 3x10 ft second story concrete patio (that actually only has about 2x5 ft of space due to bbq and other stuff), with a wall blocking his view to anything, he'll hang out there as long as we let him, even in 30 degree weather.

That's another thing, I've never seen him bothered by the cold. Never. Gonna be a great river swimmer.

The other day I was working at the computer and it kept making the sound it makes when you plug a device into one of the jump drive portals. I couldn't figure it out until I looked down and saw that Oliver was sucking on the other end of the plugged in ipod cord.

One of my favorite times with Ollie is in the morning when he wakes up and hangs out on my bed with me. He's so happy and loves to wrestle and be thrown around.

My other favorite time is at night near his bedtime when becomes so calm and cuddly.

Albuquerque Home and Lifestyle Show 2008

The Albuquerque Home and Lifestyle Show has come and gone. Christian had to really hustle in the few days leading up to the show to get his logo designed, banner constructed, and business cards made. But, all in all, it turned out REALLY well and there was tons of interest. I was so impressed with Christian's confidence and knowledge as people stopped by and asked questions. He was so personable and professional- people stuck around the booth for a while, just talking to him. We're really excited about the next few months and the business this little shindig is going to bring us!!!
Oliver was our secret weapon at the show. People and dogs alike stopped to play with the little guy. We almost decided to rent him out to the other booths- $30/hour!

These Boots Were Made For Walking...

So that's just what I'll do... You got it! Oliver has finally arrived- he's walking! As of about 1 1/2 weeks ago, Oliver is officially a walker. And, after 17 1/2 months, this is definitely a much anticipated achievement. He's almost over the Frankenstein-imitating phase into full-fledged bent-knees, one foot in front of the other stance. One this particular day, he discovered that he could build things with his legos. So, he unloaded them out of his pickup truck, one by one and then stacked them up on his stool. He soon discovered, however, that he could just as easily destroy things (and this might be the more fun of the two), and so I had legos all over the kitchen floor (not pictured:)).



This next one is purely for fun. Oliver likes to upset his mommy by putting his lunch-food hands all through his hair. Daddy was on baby patrol this day, so it got particularly out of hand, as you can see from his rat's nest: