Congratulations to Bonnie

While this post won't do justice to the shear dedication, hard work and long - hours, Oliver and I would like to congratulate Bonnie (Mom!) on making director (i.e., partner) at SKGF, a very well deserved honor !  Congratulations!  We love you!!!

Thankful

We were told that during circle time at school today the kids were asked to say what they are thankful for.  Oliver said two things....

(1)  Thankful that his Daddy was bringing Myrtle home from school today.*
(2)  Thankful for his Mommy carrying his baby sister in her uterus.

I am indeed carrying his baby sister as shown in these pictures from a couple weeks ago (34 weeks pregnant):

*Once Oliver discovered many months ago that there are two Myrtles (one at home and one that was left at school for nap time), he decided that the two Myrtles needed to be together on the weekends.  He looks forward to bringing Myrtle II home every weekend.

Oliver's Pit Crew

So much fun!  Oliver was a boy on a mission.  He had a great Halloween.  The only thing faster than him cruising down Rittenhouse St. on his scooter was his mouth.  He was explaining everyone's costumes and had lots to say about all the Halloween decorations.  It seems Rittehouse St. is "THE STREET" for Halloween.  It was like we were leaving a concert.   There were crowds of people all along the sidewalks, even lines as some of the houses.  One of the biggest hits: a house a block up that had a popcorn machine and was pouring shots of scotch for the parents. 

As a side note, you might notice "Jada" on our pit crew t-shirts.  Several months ago Oliver told us his baby sister's name is Jada.  He knows no one named Jada and we have no idea how he came up with the name.  He is sticking to it.  We told him it could be her nickname.  To which he responded, "No, Jada is her REAL name!"

As for the candy loot.  Oliver got quite a haul.  He never asked for one while we were out, and he got to pick one piece when we got home:  a sucker, his favorite.  He said he would like to have "one or maybe two pieces of candy a day for the rest of his life."

Happy Halloween.

Cool for school

Oliver's school does a little Halloween parade each year so the kids can wear their costumes to school in the morning.  Oliver insisted on being a race car driver again this year.  Despite my efforts to persuade him otherwise, I have to admit he does make a pretty cool race car driver.  Even giving a little wave to his adoring fans as his class walked out.  But, not so cool he couldn't come and give me a big hug and kiss before the kids went back inside.  💗💗

Cheeks

Due to my "advanced maternal age" we had a 32 week ultrasound today.  All is well.  She looks to be about 4 lbs., chubby cheeks, and pouty lips.  

My Grandpa

We spent the afternoon at the "Pumpkin Festival" at Butler's Orchard on Saturday.  Grandma was in town this week to help us out while Joe was away on a dive trip for work.  Oliver and Grandma had a great week together.  And we all had a really fun time at the Orchard.  Oliver enjoyed all the tractors, space to run (and fly his plane), kids park, kettle corn, and pumpkins. By the time we picked out his pumpkin he was pretty tuckered out so we skipped the hayride to the pumpkin patch and picked a pumpkin at the market.  He declared the first one his choice and declined to smile for any pics. 

That night, I was laying with Oliver as he was fell asleep and he said the following:

I think my Grandpa would really like Butler's Orchard.  I think he would like it so much he could drive his tractor there.  Then all the other guys would say, "Wow, he is a really good tractor driver."  Then every time I go to the Orchard, I could see my Grandpa.

It seems the only thing Oliver thought was missing from our fun day was: his Grandpa.

On the go

We visited the Renaissance Festival the weekend Aunt Sheila and Cousin Claire were in town.  The main reason for our visit was that Oliver is well-read on birds of prey.  And they had a demonstration with raptors, which he really wanted to see.  We walked the whole festival, he played the games, he shared a turkey drumstick and soft pretzel with Dad, and we all enjoyed seeing the hawks and falcons in action.

Oliver and Joe have been biking to school and back a couple times each week.  He loves being on his bike and is very committed to practicing enough to get up to a skill level where he can take off his training wheels.  I love how passionate he is about bike riding.  I hope it is a sign that he will identify things in his life that he enjoys and will be willing to work hard to improve at them.

 

One of his other current passions is fighter planes.  We have several books and he is becoming quite knowledgeable about the different kinds of fighter planes, WWI and WWII (at least who fought who and what kinds of planes were used in the different wars), the mechanics of flight and jet engines, and (with less enthusiasm from me) the types of missiles/bombs and tactics to avoid them.  The Udvar-Hazy flight museum is an extension of the air and space museum.  It is a big hanger out at Dulles airport full of fighter planes, a space shuttle, helicopters, and other fight stuff.  It is his favorite weekend excursion.

I love Oliver's passion and thirst for knowledge.  I am so happy to be a part of his world.