Behold the beauty we found in East Dallas today

Oliver and I visited the Dallas Arboretum this morning and we had such an incredibly good time. Every year the arboretum has an event called Dallas Blooms and Tuesday is Tiny Tot day with a petting zoo, face painting, music and crafts for the children. They had 450,000 bulbs in bloom and countless other annuals and perennials that were absolutely gorgeous! In addition to all the flowers and fun, they had these adorable Storybook Playhouses strewn throughout the garden each based off of a classic children's story. The temperature was in the low 70's, overcast, and a little rainy near the end of our trip. Even though we were a little soggy, we had a great time and we even purchased a membership so we can go back again. Oliver was planning our next trip before he went to bed tonight! :)

Inside The Teremok playhouse -- A Russian Folktale

Steering the beautiful pea green boat from The Owl and the Pussy Cat

Inside The Little Prince playhouse

Oliver loved brushing the animals!

In the garden from City Green where cabbage was growing -- Oliver pretended he was Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh

They had four of these huge frogs spitting water to form a fountain in the center -- Oliver was impressed!

Sometimes I feel like I am looking in a mirror when Oliver uses these expressions while he is trying to tell me something -- this is totally me!

So big standing by the Crepe Myrtles

rows and rows of beautiful flowers

These were one of my favorites!

Oliver inside the playhouse from Alice in Wonderland. I think he drank the tea that made him too big for the house! :)

One fish, two fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

James and the Giant Peach

tulips and daffodils

Oliver watched parts of Bambi for the first time last week and he has been enamoured with it ever since. As soon as he saw these deer, he instantly said Bambi and ran right to them. So cute!

Oliver and the Jolly Roger from Peter Pan

Oliver posing so cute for the Volunteers in front of the Witch's house from Hansel & Gretel. I couldn't get him to look at me!

Inside the land wrecked ship from Treasure Island

Taking a little rest...hey who is that behind me?!?

I want one of these in my back yard!

look at Mommy

Please look at Mommy

Alright, I'll look, but your are going to get my cheesy grin! :)

This last one is a video of Oliver running thinking he is going to get to ride on a tractor, I love to see him run!

Who are you today, Oliver?

Oliver's Pretend Play is in full force lately, he pretends to be anything and everything and expects the same of us too. Well, a couple of weeks ago, Oliver found some slippers in my closet and put them on and walked around telling us to call him Grammy. If you know my Mom, it is rare that you will ever see her inside without slippers. I have yet to get it on video until today. Without further ado, here is a video of Oliver pretending to be Grammy.

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa Royal!

Oliver was so excited to see the FedEx truck arrive on Thursday, he just knew it was something for him. This video is of him opening a tow truck (which he calls Mater) and a Cars book from Grandma & Grandpa Royal which he absolutely loves.

And here is a video of him playing with his tow truck. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa. Oliver loves his new toys!

I must confess...

My confession is that I let Oliver eat french fries. I love, love, love french fries and every time I get them I let Oliver eat a few and as a result, he loves, loves, loves french fries too. I feel at least a little bit guilty every time he takes a bite considering this is a very unhealthy lifelong habit I have started for him. If you read my blog, you know I have been trying recipes from The Sneaky Chef cook book. Well tonight I turned our unhealthy habit into something much more manageable in the long run! Introducing The Sneaky Chef's Crispy No-Fry French Fries. This is one I was skeptical about as I have had baked fries before and they are nothing like the deep-fat fried versions. Well, the book proved me wrong...they were delicious. I used my beloved Cuisinart mandoline to slice the potatoes into perfect little strips and followed the instructions exactly.

Surprisingly they turned out delicious! This is a picture I found from someone else who tried the recipe.





I don't usually attach recipes that are not available on the Internet, but I had to because Missy Lapine states that the russet potato is the highest antioxidant vegetable out there...she has a pretty great resume, so I am inclined to trust her on this one...plus I want to believe it is true! :) See for yourself.

Good Morning Angel!

I loved how blue Oliver's eyes looked when I went in to get him this morning

I also love this cheesy grin he gives me when I ask him to smile! :)

Fun at the Children's Museum in Dallas

Oliver & I went to the One Year Old birthday party of the Children's Museum at the Museum of Nature and Science today. Even though it was super CROWDED, we had such a good time with Ace & Aunt Tricia. There is so much hands on stuff for kids to do. Oliver absolutely loved exploring everything and at some points, I felt like I was dragging him to the next room just to get away from so many of the crowds. We will definitely go back on a less-crowded day. Here are some of my favorite pictures from today. You may feel like you have been there after reading this post, but believe me...it could have been a lot longer as I took 157 pictures in two-hours! :)

Ace, Mommy & Oliver at Fairpark

Here is Oliver giving John Paris, the President of Atmos Energy, 5 today...Oliver got his first 15 seconds of fame as he participated in some publicity shots for the company today.

If there is a car somewhere, Oliver will find it. Here he is playing with a car on the Lego table.

I loved my little guy with his tool belt on...doesn't it just look like it belongs there?!?

Hmmm...what is in here?

Outside sitting on JUMBO's trunk at the Natural History Museum

Look at this John Deere Tricycle...so cool!

Oliver collected chicken eggs at the farm

Oliver still loves kitchens

Wash those dishes Oliver...he knows the way to the ladies hearts!

Look at this huge xylophone

Here is Oliver riding what he called the "Scary tractor" from Cars the movie...remember the one that chases Mater & Lightening McQueen out of the field after they go tractor tipping.

Oliver trying his hand at rock climbing

Look at this cute little bench!

I loved him taking a break under this huge oak tree!

hammer, hammer, hammer

Sometimes I wish I could peak inside his head and see what he is thinking about...this was one of those times.

Oliver in a tent in the back-yard play area

The firetruck! He loved this almost as much as the school bus at his favorite park

Ahhhhh!

Cooking on the grill in the backyard -- just look at that juicy hamburger, now how do I get the lid off this ketchup?

Rocking horse

Look at Oliver looking up at JUMBO, I can imagine him saying "Woa, man!"

Building a gear puzzle with Ace & Aunt Tricia

Building

Building, Building

Boys at the farm

Cousins Ace & Oliver on Jumbo's tusks

Ace, Aunt Tricia & Oliver -- so cute!

I loved them looking out at the pond!

You are such a cool dude, Oliver!

Cute!

And last, I wonder what Mommy would say if she knew when she took this picture that I was about to jump off this step! :)

Meet Blue

Mommy says he stinks!