My Guys

Joe and Oliver have the day off (Veterans Day).  My office is open, and I am at work.  Joe has been sending me updates about their day.

It started by collecting seeds from the remaining tomatoes in our garden for drying and trying to use next year.  I overheard them discussing the DNA inside the seeds while I got ready for work.

During the day, Joe sent me photos of their biking and hiking adventure via text.

As I looked at the photos all I could think about was:  I am so lucky that these are MY guys.

I Love Halloween!

We had such a great day.  It started with a costume "parade" at pre-school.  The kids were adorable, and Oliver was so excited to see us there.  He stayed at school for the day, and we picked him up early to head up to Connecticut Ave., where the local businesses were handing out candy.  We did not really partake in the candy, but Oliver loved riding his scooter through the crowd and seeing all the costumes.  We stopped in to see friends in a couple of our favorite businesses (toy store and Greek restaurant). 

Next, we met up with his pal Avery from school to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  I thought he would last a few houses.  Over an hour later, we had to call it.  They were a little slow to start, but once they got the hang of it...he was fearless and running from house to house.   Unfortunately, shortly after arriving at Avery's house, he decided he was done with his race car jump suit so he did his trick-or-treating without his costume.  However, this did not seem to impact his haul.  From which, by nights end, he was allowed to eat one lolly pop and a small bag of chocolate covered raisins.  Thankfully, we told him that Halloween was over today, and he has not asked for any "treats" since.  This will likely be our last year to get off so easy on the candy.

We made one final stop at my good friend and secretary's house.  She baked Oliver Halloween cookies, and he was even willing to put his Halloween costume on for the last stop.  We stayed at her house until he nearly passed out on her couch.  He was one tuckered out little race car driver by the end of the night.

He left his class to say hi to us, he even saved me a spot in their circle calling out, "mommy, you can come sit right here."

After parading out of the school and sitting in a circle to sing a Halloween song, he cheered.

Our race car driver.

A pretty happy little guy.

We ran into his pals Abby and Bo while on Connecticut Ave.

Oliver and his "pit crew".

Oliver and his Mommy.

Oliver and his Daddy.

Oliver and Avery (note: Grandma made the awesome race car bag).

Oliver and Grandma.

Oliver (sans costume) realizing that his neighbors are giving him treats..."I love Halloween!"

It was a fun and full Halloween.  Now, its time to get ready for Thanksgiving!

It's Almost Halloween!!

The excitement for Halloween is building around Rittenhouse.  As a matter of fact, Oliver now declares nearly every day Halloween.  Halloween and Thanksgiving have evolved into my two most favorite holidays.  I would say for two main reasons.  First, I love Fall.  I love everything about it: the colors, the leaves falling, the cooler weather, the smells....  Second, the end of the billable year is October 31st.  So every year since I started working at the firm, October 31st has a been a bit of a celebratory moment. 

Today we carved pumpkins.  He has been talking about it since we picked our pumpkins a couple weeks ago.  But, we held out as long as we could because the weather has been so great 55-70 all October, so we were worried carved pumpkins would not make it to Halloween.  It was worth the wait, Oliver and I had a great time. 

Ready!  Wearing Daddy's safety glasses (his new must have item when "working").

Let's get scooping.

Oliver requested "Happy Jack-o-lanterns," not "Spooky Guys."

Carving is serious business.

He was pretty pleased with our work.

My little pumpkin with his Halloween pumpkins.

Happy Halloween!

He is now telling everyone what he is going to be for Halloween, but I have not shown him his costume yet b/c I am sure he will not take it off.  Hopefully, he loves it.  We have plans to go trick-or-treating with his pal Avery at school.  I think it will be a long week of anticipation for both of us!

My Big Little Pumpkin

Since Oliver started pre-school life has taken on a bit of a routine here.  We were very fortunate in that Oliver made the transition to pre-school very smoothly.  He really seems to love it. 

Most mornings, he has his favorite breakfast, pancakes, and I drop him off at school.  If we leave early enough he can play in the "Sassafras" room, which is the before care playroom where they have a train table and a pet iguana.  He always wants to leave early because he loves going to Sassafras room.

Most afternoons, Joe picks him up from school.  They are usually playing outside for after care.  He often asks to stay a little longer and play because he is having fun with his friends or riding the scooters.  He spends time with Daddy after school, has dinner, and I usually can make it home by bath or bedtime.

Weekends mornings are Spanish class and Soccer on Sat and Sun, respectively.  Saturdays after Spanish, in particular, are usually Mommy and Oliver days.  The rest of the weekend is usually pretty full with running errands, trips to the bookstore, latte shop, and/or train table, and playing outside, often with his friends Abby and Bo.

Enjoying the apples Abby brought over for Oliver.

Oliver and Bo sharing a giggle.

I cherish the time I get to spend with our amazing little guy.  He is clever, sweet, and so fun to be with.  A couple stories from today made me want to jot a few moments down.

-After Spanish class, I asked him what he would like to do next.  He said he wanted to go get ice cream (note, we have never gone for ice cream after Spanish class).  Once we got in the car, I asked if we should go get ice cream from the market near our house.  He said, "No, thank you.  I would like to get ice cream at one of those other two places that we go sometimes."  I asked if he was talking about Bloo Moon or the place in Georgetown.  He said yes, Bloo Moon sounded good.  Bloo Moon is closer, so I looked it up.  I told him it was not open yet, so we could go later.  His response, "It's ok Mommy.  We can just go to the place in Georgetown instead."  Sure enough, the place in Georgetown was open.

Enjoying his mint chocolate chip (favorite) ice cream.

-Our tomato plants have been producing a handful every couple days of delicious cherry tomatoes for the past couple months.  I love picking the tomatoes.  I love the smell of the plants, and I feel a burst of joy each time I pick from our garden.  We had one last large tomato.  In honor, I wanted to have BLTs for dinner.  Oliver and I made a special trip to the store to get turkey bacon and fresh bread.  At supper time, I said we are so lucky that our garden has given us so many good tomatoes.  After my little speech, Oliver looked out the door and yelled out, "Thank you, Garden!!" 

April 2014

September 2014

-Oliver's class had a "field trip" to the pumpkin patch on Friday morning.  Every child had to bring a parent.  I was able to take the morning off.  He was so excited on Friday morning, he was practically bursting.  He packed his bag of Halloween treasures (glowing pumpkins, candles, flashlight, and plastic pumpkin from his grocery toys).  He loved the hay ride, pumpkin picking and playing with his classmates at the farm.  It was a very fun day.  He is now in full Halloween mode.  This morning he woke up and turned on all his Halloween pumpkins, candles and flashlights.  Then he called us in to say, "Happy Halloween!!!"

Ready for pumpkin picking.

Oliver and his pal, Avery, at the Pumpkin Patch.

Oliver making his selections.

Hayride with Mommy.

He's Scooting!

First Day of Pre-School

Oliver visited his pre-school for an interview in the Spring and spent an hour during an open house last week.  But, getting ready this morning, walking up to the school, and during the drop-off, you would have thought he was a kid who had been doing this all year.  He was so excited to got to school today.  I thought the drop-off would be a process, but he simply waved good-bye, told me he would have a good day, and gave me a kiss (after I asked).  He never looked back, I did not even have a second to take a picture before he was off to his first day of pre-school.

There are about 20 kids in his class.   Our brief report from the teachers was that he had a pretty good day.  The teachers are always smiling and keep a pretty neutral tone, so it is hard to know for sure.  I was happy to hear, no accidents and he likes the little kid potty at school.  The one comment from both teachers was that they noticed "he is very particular."  They mentioned that when they went outside he was very clear that he wanted his hat because the sun was in his eyes (his hat was inside).   He also requested a specific cup from home, and he declined to drink using the cups from school.  We are assuming he will cave on this one.  They also said all the lights were turned off and the kids were laying down for nap time, but he refused to lay down until they turned on a light.  He eventually got them to agree to turn on the light in the bathroom and he accepted this compromise. We will see if the "particular" stories continue or if he decides to go a little more with the flow as the week goes by. 

Other parents warned us that the first day can go deceptively well and then the next day(s) are more challenging.  I am prepared for some hard days.  However, I am grateful for the joy and enthusiasm he had for school on his first day.

Oliver's first visit to his classroom

Oliver and his teacher, Ms. Denise on first visit

First Day of Pre-school

Our Pre-schooler

Oliver is Three!

The past few weeks have been wonderfully busy and full of family, friends and fun.  Most notably, we celebrated Oliver's 3rd birthday.  He is becoming an independent, thoughtful, and capable little boy right before our eyes.  I love hearing his perspective on events, seeing his joy when he plays with his friends, and watching him gain confidence in so many areas of his life.  He is so clever and serious at times, but at the same time he is a child so full of joy.  I am grateful for this journey with our little boy.  It has been an amazing 3 years, and I cannot believe this is only the beginning.