Visitors From the Netherlands

A few months ago, Mama's friend from high school, Tammie came to visit with her two adorable little munchkins.

Isabella

 

and Johannes (this was the best picture I could get of him since he wouldn't hold still!) were bundles of energy.

They helped us figure out what needs to be childproofed in our apartment.

Tammie brought a Netherlands national soccer uniform for Ollie and he's finally big enough to wear it.

He clearly has some natural soccer skills.

But still has the occasional hand ball called on him.

Pouncing Tiger

Ollie has been sick since Saturday, but in between his many naps and heartbreaking crying stints, that didn't stop us from enjoying his new favorite game (and possibly mine too from the reaction it gets). It involves him lying on the bed and me repeatedly pouncing on him.

Happy Halloween! Grrrr...

Ollie's first Halloween was an action packed one!

PART 1: Trick or Treating in Hershey, PA
First we visited Ollie's cousins in Hershey (who doesn't want to go to HERSHEY for Halloween?).

It's Spiderman and Supergirl! (aka Matias and Sofia)

 And Ollie was—of course—a lil' tiger!

Getting ready to trick or treat with the superheroes!

Spiderman carries the candy and Tía Natalia carries the tiger.

Showing Ollie how it's done.

Back home, enjoying the booty.

And this is Ollie's backup costume (or pj's) courtesy of Grammy! They even glow in the dark.

It was a great Halloween with his cousins.

"Now get me out of this sugar high madhouse!"

PART 2: It's a Jungle Out There
After Hershey, we made it back to Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon for some fun with Ollie's friends.

Off to the park with our little marsupial tiger.

To meet our friends ladybug and leopard.

Then a quick stop to play with Ollie's tiger friend.

How cute is that?

You know that saying "it's like herding cats"...

Then ladybug invited us over for a nightcap.

 Where Ollie changed costumes again.

But hmmmm... I wonder who the real devil is here?

Nature was turned on it's head as the ladybug attacked the tiger.

Happy first Halloween, our little blue-eyed tiger! You make every holiday a wonderful new experience for us.

Why the Lil Tiger grew teeth

The Lil Man still has little interest in solids, but he sure does love using his teeth

Right now his favorite item to gnaw on is Papa's beloved yellow chair known as the Hand

Crank the volume on this one....

Biggest Smile Yet

Grandma Ruthie and Grandpa David came by for a quick visit, and boy was Ollie happy to see them

Even when Grandma made fun of his hat....

Our Son, Our Counsel

Almost 2 years after we closed on our home during the financial meltdown, we decided to refinance. Last time we hired a real estate lawyer who worked his magic.

This time we brought the Lil Man to the closing, and as you can see he reviewed every document and signed with his tooth mark. Thanks buddy, now maybe your mama and papa could afford to send you to preschool.

happy birthday lilly!

i hope you have a great birthday and a fun party this weekend. i wish i could be there! we love you and can't wait to see you. love, ollie (and aunt tracey and uncle j)

happy birthday poppy!

here's a big ol' birthday kiss for you.

and may you have a birthday nap that is as glorious as this one was...

music class

i've been going to music class for a few weeks now and i love it. there are lots of instruments for me to play with—rattles and bells and tambourines and drums. and by play with, i mean chew on.

after class, we got to play with mr. adam's guitar. like everything these days, i thought it was a drum.

but then i figured it out and tuned it up good.

this is my friend zadia, she likes to eat music too.

Monitoring the Munchkin

Do you think he knows that we're watching him?

Dawg Pile with the Boys

Ollie had a playdate with his friends Milo and Finn.

Three boys learning to crawl. It was chaos.

Swinging

Ollie's first swing! Hold onto your hat!

Documenting the Seemingly Hopeless Eating Process with Our Incredibly Picky Son

The following are just a sampling of the various things we've tried to get Ollie to eat. Avocado, squash, sweet potato, apples, rice cereal, banana, pear. Whenever I'm eating an apple or pear or banana, he will grab it and suck on it for ages, but the minute I try to puree that same apple up, he spits it out and looks at me like I'm crazy for even trying to put something like that in his mouth. 

Solids Attempt #1: Avocado

Seems interested.

Smells ok.

Decides to give it a try.

Ewwww... 

Not his favorite. This picture is mid-sneeze... after he gags or coughs, he sneezes just like his Papa and Grandma Ruthie do!

Solids Attempt #2: Butternut Squash

Trying the distraction technique. New highchair, toys, spoon to bang.

Not much food makes it into his mouth that way.

But it keeps him smiling.

So he didn't necessarily eat more, but he had a lot more fun with the second attempt.

Solids Attempt #3: Sweet Potato

He may have swallowed some of it by this point, but not nearly as much as is on his face.

This is his normal reaction—keeping his mouth open until most of it drools out.

Or sometimes shoving it all out with his tongue.


Our little culinary expert in action.

A Boy and a Balloon

Ollie got a free balloon in the park the other day. At first he was more interested in the string than the balloon.
 

But then he found the balloon and has since been chasing it around the house.