Trolleys and Santa

I could not bring myself to venture to the mall to wait in line and see Santa.  While we have not said much about the Santa angle of Christmas, Oliver has heard/read enough about him to have a significant interest.  He has been asking to go back to the Trolley Museum (we last visited for his birthday).  So when I discovered that Santa would be riding the trolleys this weekend, we decided it would be a win win.  I have never seen this kid get ready to leave the house so fast.  It was rainy, but he was still totally captivated the whole time.  Mostly by the trolleys, but Santa was a hit too.  He wanted to show him his plane and happily visited with him on the trolley.  When we got off the trolley, he told me he wanted Santa to come home with us in our car. 

Oliver, with a look of wonder as he watches Santa.

Holding our tickets and enjoying the sights during our trolley ride.

The yellow trolley.

Uncle Dustyn and Aunt Joni

Dustyn and his wife, Joni, arrived back in the States after spending a couple years in Germany with the Army.  He re-enlisted and is now stationed in Texas.  He is already slated to deploy again in the Spring.  Dustyn has a few weeks off before getting settled in Texas, so they planned a cross-country holiday trip to visit family and friends.  We were the first stop.  Oliver was thrilled to spend time with Uncle Dustyn and Aunt Joni.  They only stayed a couple days, but we are having some unseasonably warm weather so we spent lots of time outside...playing in the sandbox and a trip to a local aviation museum were the events of choice.

Walking and talking with Uncle Dustyn outside the aviation museum.

Oliver flying his new triplane.

Dustyn and Joni

Oliver opening his Christmas gift--an army teddy bear, which he proceeded to give a kiss.

Botanical Gardens Holiday Train Exhibit

I think his facial expressions say it all.  The exhibit is all made from sticks, leaves, acorns, etc.  We went last year, but did not appreciate the Thomas trains.  This year, Oliver was most thrilled to see Thomas, Percy, and Emily.  They also had an express train that he said did not have eyes, but still looked like Spencer.

Snow at Rittenhouse!

Oliver's response: "Snow...it's almost Christmas!!"

When we celebrated Christmas at G&G's there was snow.  We also put up the tree and stockings yesterday, it seems all the elements are in place as far as he is concerned.

After putting up the tree and some lights around the house, Oliver had a huge smile and said, "our house is beautiful!"  It's impossible not to fall in love with the holidays again when you have a two year old.

ZooLights

We discovered an awesome new DC activity.  To date, my favorite annual DC event is the kite festival down on the mall.  The ZooLights are now a very close second.  We passed the zoo on the way home from the airport last Saturday and noticed the lights.  The zoo is less than two miles from Rittenhouse, so we ended up taking Oliver on Sunday after dark to check it out.  The lights were amazing.  The entire zoo is decorated in lights.  Oliver walked the full length of the zoo (after walking a few blocks from our car and chatting up a storm), but he hitched a ride in Daddy’s pack for the walk back.  We all LOVED the lights.  To my surprise, Oliver was also very taken with the costumed panda we met.  He wanted to hug him and talked about him for while.  He also declared himself a little prairie dog popping out of his hole when he got into Daddy’s pack.  At the end of the zoo is a little train that you can take rides on.  It was getting late so we stopped and looked at the train, but did not get in line to ride it.  After leaving the train and making our way back out of the zoo, Oliver started singing a song I did not even know he knew the words to.  He was not saying the words, he was really singing.  This is the first song I have ever heard him sing…”I’ve been working on the rail road all the live long day….” 

I discovered our camera battery was dead when we got there, so these are all from my phone....

He wanted to see each display up close.

All along the walk above us the trees were decorated with lights.  One of my favorites (not shown) was a huge tree with all the branches covered with lights that looked like shooting stars.

He loved this panda.

Oliver wanted to "let Myrtle eat some of that green grass."

He wanted to "touch those lights!"

The prairie dog.  Like many of the displays this one changed to appear like the prairie dog was "popping" out of the hole.  Currently, prairie dogs happen to be one of Oliver's favorite animals--after turtles, of course.

My little prairie dog riding in Daddy's pack, singing his song.  The trees behind them were light displays set to classical music that changed in time with the music...so pretty

The lights stay up for all of December.  I think the ZooLights will be a new holiday tradition for us, and we will probably go back at least once this season!

Growing Up

Sheryl sent me these pictures from one of their walks this week.  We had a few days of beautiful weather and they took advantage of every minute.  How is this amazing little guy full of personality and positive energy my baby boy?  I can't believe how fast he is growing up.  

I'm so grateful to be Oliver's mommy.

Cousins Kate and Claire

We just got back from a visit to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving.  It was a busy trip, but one stand out joy of the visit was watching Oliver spend time with his cousins.  He adores them!  When they were not at grandma and grandpa's house, he would ask, "where are cousins Kate and Claire?" or say, "I want cousins Kate and Claire to come." 

Fridays at Daycare

In an effort to start exposing Oliver to other kids his age, a few more trusted adults and a little more structure, we started him in a small at home daycare on Fridays.  He still stays with our nanny, Sheryl, Mon-Thurs.  As you can imagine, we put a lot of thought into this transition and my anxiety was high as I worried about how he would adjust.  Daycare is 5 minutes away and I worked from home the first few Fridays.  Here is how it went along with some highlights from email exchanges between me and the daycare his first couple weeks (pictures are all from daycare).

Sept 27^th:  Drop-off at 8:45 AM was easy.  We visited before so he had met the owner, Tara.  He was excited to see all the new toys and kids, and he did not even cry when I left him.  I worked from home that day just in case. 

At 9:30 AM, I got an email from Tara at daycare, "Doing great! Talking up a storm and very happy!!  Will keep you updated..."

10:30 AM: "Makin a tree!" 

11:44 AM: "Just wanted to let you know that Oliver does not want to eat his lunch and is pretty upset about nap. He is happy playing but when we ask him if he wants to eat or nap he gets very upset. Not sure what you want to do. He is fine staying and playing. Just not sure if he will sleep."

Noon:  After a phone call saying Oliver was inconsolable, I picked him up.  I told them to tell him the time and that I would be there at 12:00.  He sat down in front of the clock and stared at it repeating that, "Mommy is coming when the arrow is on the 12" until I got there.  He was red eyed from crying, hungry and exhausted when I got there.  Feel asleep after eating some crackers during the 5 minute car ride home.

The following week, everyone was sick at daycare so he did not go.

Oct. 11^th:  Drop-off at 8:45 AM was easy. 

10:00 AM: "Doing great!

12:21 PM: "He was doing great until about 15 min ago when it was time for lunch. He doesn't want to eat and keeps saying "I take my milk home now". He is totally done now but is watching the clock. It's just this transition we have to get through. He loves playing all morning!"

12:30 PM:  I went and picked him up.  Similar to Sept. 27^th.

The following 2 weeks, Oliver was sick so he did not go.

Oct. 11^th:  Drop-off at 9:30 AM was not as easy. 

10:22 AM: " I will keep you posted around lunch. But he is very happy now."

At noon, "We have definitely made progress today!! Oliver sat at the table and ate all his lunch with no problem, however I do not think he will nap today. I talked to him about it and showed him a mat, or the crib. He wanted nothing to do with it. He won't even let me take off his shoes, he did however have a great day. It was so great that he ate his luck with no problems. I think next week will be even better!"

At 1:00 PM, I arrived to pick him up.  I peak in the window and see him sound asleep on the mat.  I get back in the car.

At 3:30, Me: "How is he?"  Tara: "He is good, but keeps going to the door asking for you."  Me: "I'm wrapping this work call and will be there in 15."  Tara: "He had a great day and LOVED playing with Christopher and Baker!!"

3:45 PM:  I went and picked him up.  We went for a one of his favorite treats: to the latte shop for milk and a hazelnut biscotti.

Nov. 8^th:  Neither leaving the house nor the drop-off at 9:00 AM was easy.  I stayed and read him a couple of books before going.  He had calmed down, but still cried when I left at 9:30 AM. 

9:38 AM: " Stopped before you reached the car!"

9:51 AM: " He's doing great. Chatting up a store and playing blocks!"

10:18 AM: " Cheerios!"

11:43 AM:  "Fast Asleep.  He did great. Ate his lunch, laid right down and literally fell asleep within two minutes. We will cover him with his blanket!"  

 2:57 PM:  "Doing Great!"

4:30 PM: I went and picked him up.  He literally started dancing when I came in.  He had a hue smile and was so happy!  Milk and hazelnut biscotti.

Nov. 15^th:  Leaving the house and the drop-off at 9:00 AM was not too bad.  I stayed and read one book, he whimpered a little about me leaving, but was not too upset when I left. 

11:00 AM: " He is hilarious today. Chatting away. Such a smart boy!  He is in a great mood!"

2:11 PM:  "Sat right down for lunch.  looked at a book for 2 minutes on his mat before he fell asleep, still sleeping..."

3:33 PM: "Just woke up!"

3:38 PM: " He was dancing and laughing!"

5:00 PM: Joe picked him up.

I am so proud of him and how he adjusted.  He is growing up so fast!

24-27 months

 I realized that since turning two (and frankly starting many months before), I have become much less concerned with the "milestones."  I guess because there is a sense that he is doing fine and the time for possible major red flags has mostly passed.  Accordingly, I have been very bad about keeping track of Oliver's milestones.  But, in an effort to get a few things on the record (b/c I fear I will forget), here is a general update on Oliver since around the time he turned two.

Physical:  We were late with the 2-year visit (as I said we have gotten a little relaxed about things), but here are the stats as I remember them at 26 months:  weight-28 lb (50th percentile), height-32" (generously 10th percentile), and head (85th percentile).  For most pants, he most appropriately wears 18-24 months; shirts either 18-24 or 2T.  He is on track with motor skills and developmental milestones. After a mild case of pneumonia last month, he did lose a couple pounds...but his appetite and energy are making a comeback.  Not yet potty trained.

Social:  Oliver is still with our nanny, Sheryl, full-time during the week.  We have enrolled him in various activities to try to increase his interaction with kids his age.  He goes to story time at the library every week.  Sheryl also did a couple months of music class with him, but he has never really cared for music class, so we let that go mid-summer.  We did a full summer of weekly soccer for tots.  More recently, Oliver started weekly gymnastics. The first class was a disaster, but each class after has gotten better.  Oliver is a regular a the local park and has a group of kids (most slightly older) that he is familiar with and interacts with regularly.  The newest change was about 5 weeks ago, we started him in a small daycare (5 kids) on just Fridays.  However, due to illness at the daycare and then Oliver getting sick for two weeks after his second visit, we have not gained much traction.  The goal is that he will stay for a full day of daycare on Fri, but continue Mon-Thurs with Sheryl.  However, the two times he went to daycare, he did not made it the full day.  He did great in the mornings and played with the kids, participated in the activities, and was generally very happy.  Right up to lunch.  Then he freaked out.  He would not eat or nap there.  So both weeks, they called and we had to pick him up at around 12:30.  This week was the first week he made it the full day (including lunch and nap).  I am not sure if it was a fluke or if it was the breakthrough we hoped for.  Oliver has a few "friends" that we see from time-to-time.  I would say maybe once every 1-2 months he sees one of them, and he loves to talk about them and gets excited to see them.  He also interacts regularly with family and friends via Facetime, but the quality of the on-line interaction depends on his mood.

Emotional:  85-90% of the time Oliver is the sweetest, most joyful and loving little boy you could ever imagine.  He hugs and kisses family and friends.  Though Myrtle gets the most kisses.  He tells us how much he loves Myrtle and he sometimes says he loves Mommy or Daddy.  He will hug and kiss photos of animals or kids in books.  On his own he will pucker up and ask me for a kiss (melts my heart every time).  Oliver is very independent, which appears to be age appropriate.  He has strong opinions about what he wants to do, eat, wear, and what he wants others to do.  He can articulate his feelings.  He will tell us he is frustrated, sad, happy, calm, etc.  However, being tired or hungry and sometimes transitions can be difficult for him to work through.  He often wakes up a little cranky and needs time to warm up in the mornings or from naps.  These are the times we hear the most Nos and experience him in his most irrational state.  He had a head-banging stage that had, thankfully, mostly passed.  He would do it when he got really frustrated and mostly just to me because he knew it upset me the most.  It particularly bothered me because he would do it hard enough to give himself a bruise on his forehead.  He knew it would hurt, but he would look at me and say, "Oliver is frustrated, I want to bang my head!"  Drove me crazy!!!  Unfortunately, he just recently started taking his frustration out on me and will hit me.  This just started.  He does not hit hard, it is actually intentionally barely a hit.  He sometimes uses Myrtle and will gently tap me, but he knows it is still hitting and seems to just do it to make a point.  We have a zero tolerance for hitting, so hopefully he will grow out of this quickly.  There have also been a couple of occasions where he has tried the head banging again.  When he gets mad and we try to talk to him about it, he will say things like, "I just want to stand here and scream and cry about it" or "Oliver is not crying, Oliver is calm now."  While he has these outbursts and has not yet learned how to control his emotions, he seems very aware of them and can usually calm down in a very short amount of time and move on-assuming sleep is not the issue.

Learning:  The kid loves to read books.  He can identify all his capital letters, most small case letters, all major colors, basic shapes, and numbers 1-10.  He knows a few sight words and can identify the letter associated with many sounds.  If you ask him what letter certain words start with, he can tell you about 50% of the time; and if you give him a letter and ask him for a word he can come up with a word for about 50% of the alphabet.  He loves to rhyme.  Before turning two he started memorizing/reciting most of the Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.  He can even manage some tongue twisters like "Peter Piper..." and "Fuzzy Wuzzy...."  He has now memorized many story books in his library verbatim cover-to-cover, and for most of the other books, he has memorized parts of the book.  He knows the planets and can give you facts about special features related to each, loves to talk about energy, can tell you about macrophages/antibodies/bacteria/red blood cells, and generally talks in full conversational sentences.  However, he often refers to himself in the 3rd person and mixes up his you/me; your/my.  He likes to draw, but he still does not draw a straight line on request consistently.  In general, he has an amazing memory.  He remembers street names, people/animal names after only one meeting and brings them up in context months later.  He remembers events from months past, recites full definitions of words he asks us to explain and will use words in a sentence weeks later.  He likes to talk about things that are nuanced, e.g., "I know X means Y" (usually a definition we have given him) followed by "I think X is Z (usually something he has come up with on his own."  He has been combining words lately and asking us what they mean, e.g., "a water car means?"  If he is particularly interested in something he will ask you what it means and then ask you to repeat it over and over until he has memorized the answer/explanation so that he can recite it word-for-word back to you.  He will chatter on and on about things that interest him or repeating things he has learned.  However, if he is in the middle of playing with his trains or cars, and you ask him a basic question, he will ignore you and continue on as if he has not idea what you are talking about.

Fun:  Some fun things that Oliver does or says at this age:
-loves the concept of water, dirt, leaves, etc. "flying off" the wheels of something.  He even has gone through a stage where when we walk, he will stop and sprinkle dirt or crushed leaves on his shoes and then take off running while announcing that he is going so fast the dirt is flying off his shoes or he is a blur.
-loves to be outside and to go to the park
-if something really strikes him as funny, you can bring up the story a day or two later and he will laugh hysterically and retell the story over and over just to crack himself up
-I love his love for books
-Oliver drives his fire engine around he house like it is the Indy 500.  He will put myrtle on the back and off they go.  He can stop with pinpoint accuracy and turn the corners at full speed.  Sometimes when we are out he will say, "I want to go back to Rittenhouse and ride my fire engine."  Since Halloween, he now asks to wear his fireman coat and helmet every time he wants to go outside and ride his fire engine.
-he loves to tell stories about and play with the cats
-he likes to be my little something, e.g, he tells me he is my little joey and asks to sit in my pouch (my lap); my little bird and asks me (mama bird) to feed him worms and then he flaps his wings; my little pumpkin when putting on his orange jacket; my little astronaut and then he blasts off (takes off running)
-helping mommy get ready in the morning is a usual ritual and he likes to look at himself in the mirror
-legos with Daddy
-imaginative play.  I love listening to him play.  He will narrate the activities of the farmer, mechanic, race car driver, construction worker, etc.  "This farmer is riding in his carriage around this garage.  The farmer probably should go to the market now to get some food.  Now the farmer should probably go get some water for his horse and then go to the barn.  The farmer is happy...."

As I write this I realize it is impossible to capture all the wonders of our little boy at this age.  I know I have already forgot some wonderful moments.  Each day he does something that amazes me, something that challenges me, and something that warms my heart.  Once again, I am left with a sense that he is simply everything he needs to be at this age and I feel so grateful to be a part of his world.

Happy Halloween!

We started talking about and reading about Halloween a few weeks ago.  I had a costume in mind.  But as soon as the costume concept was explained to Oliver, he had his own opinion about what he wanted to be, a Fireman.  He never changed his choice.  I knew the costume I ordered was going to be a little big, but I wanted him to try it on so I could see if we could make it work.  I thought he would be so excited, but the response was a clear, “NO!”  He was still firm on being a fireman for Halloween, but he refused to try on the costume.  I asked every morning and every night for a week, “Oliver, do you want to try on your fireman costume now?”  Same answer, NO!  This morning we told him it was Halloween…NO!

I hoped that once he saw the other kids in their costumes he would change his mind.  Thankfully, he did.  The photos do not do him justice.  He was so happy and smiley riding around on his fire engine in his costume.  He wanted to ride up and down our street (actually, only about 2 houses in either direction).  He liked seeing all the kids come, but he was not interested in going to trick-or-treat at the houses.  

We told him that our neighbors might give him a treat if he told them “trick-or-treat.”   He finally built up the courage and told us he wanted to go trick-or-treat.  He walked up the steps to our neighbor John’s house, whispered trick-or-treat, and was very sure he wanted the treat in the red wrapper.  We only made it to the one house then he then wanted to go home an open the treat.  That is when he said, “I want to open the red treat and see the car inside!”  I should have known.  We explained that the “treat” was candy, which is something sweet...  

 ...yes, I did let him try his first candy treat.

Oh, and Happy End of the Billable Year too!