My Little Mail Carrier

As I have written before, Oliver has a huge fascination with all things transportation. Lately his play has been consumed with trains and pretending to be a postal worker. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to get him for Valentine's Day, and I didn't order the gift until Wednesday afternoon, so I already had a substitute gift ready in case it didn't arrive in time. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when the package arrived in the mail on Saturday as I knew he would absolutely love it!

check out that smile!

this is his all business smile. :)

We ended up having a great Valentine's Day together as a family. We went to church in the morning, unfortunately we were ready with no time to spare, so I didn't get a picture of us all dressed up together in our Valentine's Day duds, but we did look good; I promise! :) Then, we went to lunch at the Texas Roadhouse in McKinney and it was so good! Oliver loved throwing the peanut shells on the wood floors and then walking on them. We hope you had a great Valentine's Day too!

On a totally unrelated note, Oliver did receive another gift that same morning. It took him two weeks to earn it, but he made it! He went three consecutive days without timeouts and earned some new tracks for his GeoTrax set. We are so proud of him and he is so proud of himself too! Great job Oliver!

This is a video of him right after receiving his new tracks

Project Day

While Oliver and I stayed in Utah last month, Clayton came home to a big mess. We had known our hot water heater was coming to an end of its life, but had hoped for it to at least keep going while we were in Utah, but we had no such luck. The water heater was gushing water into the garage when Clayton arrived home. At least we are fortunate to have it in the garage and not in our house! Our best guess is the water tank had broken a few days before and kept filling and spraying water for a while, because with the freezing temperatures, there was a few inches of ice in our garage and down the driveway. Clayton came back to Texas to return to work, so replacing the tank, replacing insulation and drying the rest, as well as replacing Sheetrock in the garage turned out to be a long drawn out task. Every time I would call, if he wasn't working, it would seem as if he was working on something to do with the water tank. Honestly, I was just thankful I didn't have to be there to deal with it and didn't care how long it was taking! Little did I know, my sweet husband was not just replacing the water tank, etc., he was also installing a shelving system in my utility room and a cabinet over the toilet in my bathroom. I was so surprised and happy when I came home to it last month!

We decided that it would be a good idea to have the same cabinet in our hall bathroom as well, so Saturday, Clayton and Oliver went to work. Oliver loved helping Clayton put together the cabinet.

and here is the finished product in my bathroom.

Thanks Clayton and Oliver! Now I just have to decide what to place in them! :)

Put some muscle into it...

Pretty much every place in Dallas was closed the Friday after it snowed, including Spanish School, so we took advantage of the extra time and had some more play time in the snow. We took a walk around our neighborhood and dug snow along the way. The way Oliver digs snow totally cracks me up: It is like he is winding up for it. He puts his shovel arm way back behind him, pauses for a while and then really puts some speed behind his digging. This video shows Oliver digging the snow and also illustrates why we didn't end up making any snowmen or snow angels at our house...the snow is just too cold and Oliver didn't like it when it touched his skin.

They were so good!

Oliver and I had this fantastic idea that we were going to make cupcakes to take to his friends at Spanish School on Friday. The snow however, had other plans in mind, and ended up keeping us home on Friday so Oliver didn't get to share his yummy creations. That left 22 cupcakes in our possession, and unfortunately I ate way more than my share and we ended up throwing some away after having them in our house for four days. Fortunately I used a Sneaky Chef recipe, so they were not as bad for us as they could have been. Here is the little decorator:

decorating the ones to keep

He couldn't wait, he had to dig right in!

The things we do for our kids...

I have been reading the weather forecasts for days and dreading the impending snow storm. I grew up in Salt Lake, therefore you might think I would enjoy the snow a bit more. And I didn't necessarily mind it when I lived there. I remember walking around in skirts without tights in the winter plenty of times and not thinking anything of it. But now, now that I have moved to Dallas, a place that is NOT supposed to be very cold, a place that is NOT supposed to get much snow, I have become weak. When we were in Utah last month I was literally freezing the entire time there and I spent as little time outdoors as possible. It may very well be that I just don't have the cold weather clothes any longer to make myself comfortable.

But today, today I spent two hours outdoors in the snow all to make my little guy happy. Believe it or not, it actually took some convincing on my end. I think I have a big influence on the little guy and when I say I don't like the snow, he internalizes it and thinks he shouldn't like the snow either. So today, I bit my tongue and said I wanted to go play out in the snow. After some protesting declaring that the snow would be far too cold, he finally agreed to go out. In all honesty, it may have something to do with him not wanting to be left inside alone whilst I went out to have all the fun...I may have mentioned something like that to him. So we put on our layers, and headed outside.

Oliver played just outside the garage for a while, running his tractors through the snow.

I suggested we go in the back yard and make a snowman, but he quickly found the patio while I attempted the snowman. He didn't want to walk in the snow. Who could blame him with rain boots instead of snow boots? Poor kid.

He was content to play on the porch, but the snow wasn't sticky enough for the snowman, so I decided to use our shovel to make a track for him to walk in so he could walk around the yard.

He really ended up liking the track and worked with me the entire time I was digging it. He kept insisting that we were not playing, we were working...which he very much likes to do. Before I knew it, we had been outside for two hours and had missed lunch and surprisingly, I think I may have had just as much fun as he did!

Just before we went inside for lunch, we walked down our driveway to see the park behind our house.

There is the park on the left from our alley.

Even though I don't especially like being in it, I'll admit, snow really is beautiful.

We ended up having a great time and fortunately were able to stay mostly dry under our outer layers, despite our lack of snow apparel. We warmed up nicely with some Sneaky Chef Tomato Soup. Yumm.

Could I really be half-way already?

I had my 20-week sonogram today and Clayton and Oliver came along to see the new baby, and Oliver was an absolute angel! The sonographer confirmed for us (if there was any doubt from the 12-week sonogram) that it was in fact a boy and found that all his measurements were exactly perfect for his age: 20 weeks and 3 days. She estimated that he weighs 12 oz., again perfect for his gestational age. I was happy to see him moving all over, however unfortunately his position didn't really cooperate for good sonogram pictures...but I will still attach them below. After the sonogram, I had my regular appointment with my doctor and I just love her! She makes me feel so good about everything! Thanks Dr. Walsh! It looks like we will be having another sonogram in four weeks with the perinatologist to check the growth of a cyst I have in my uterus. No worries, my doctor just says it can cause pre-term labor if it gets really big. So maybe this baby will be like his big brother after all and have a ton of prenatal pictures too! :)

The sonographer said he looked like he was smiling in this one, it's kind of weird if you ask me.

Mommy, I can still wear it!

Oliver wanted to try on this baby hat he wore when he was seven weeks old. Look at how sweet he is on the left, and how mischievous he is on the right. This picture actually makes me baby hungry for his little brother.

How we enjoy 50 degree afternoons

It was a beautiful afternoon, so after nap today, we headed outside with Oliver's big boy scooter for the first time.

As soon as we walked out the door, Oliver headed straight for his baby scooter.

It took A LOT of coercion to get him to try out his big boy scooter

Here is a video of him on the big boy scooter for like three seconds

He headed straight back toward his baby scooter...I guess it is even difficult for three year olds to say goodbye to the past.

We were getting a bit cold as the sun began setting, so we grabbed Oliver's cozy mittens and hats and that made it a ton warmer for him. Does that smile look just a bit mischievous to you?

There's that smile that I love!

We even walked over to the park and giggled on the swings for a bit. I think this one is adorable; I'm definitely framing it!

It seems hard to believe it has been over a month since I last blogged. I have always loved spending my time updating this blog with pictures, however when you are as far behind as I am, it is easy to let it keep getting further behind. I have been debating on whether to update my blog with past pictures, or just move forward and I have finally decided on an in between solution: I am going to begin blogging forward and as for the past, I'll post date and add in the those updates when I have time. For those of you receiving my posts by e-mail, please bare with the old pictures.

As for now, here is a little update on our family:

Oliver continues to be the light of our day. He is so smart and is usually so sweet. He is very excited to be a big brother and often talks to my tummy and wants to include the baby in things we do. He does things all the time that amaze me. The other night he asked me in what year our home was built and when I told him a long time before he was born in 1996, he said "Oh, I thought it was like in the 1960's". I have no idea where that came from because as far as I know, this child doesn't even know what year it is today. Oliver is one of the most strong willed three year olds I know; both Clayton and I agree that he gets that from me. Listening and cooperation are things we work on every day. Oliver works towards rewards for going a set number of days without timeouts. He is currently working towards a track expansion kit to go with his beloved GeoTrax train set Santa brought him for Christmas. He is still fascinated by all things transportation including cars, garbage trucks, tractors, construction equipment, airplanes...not so much boats, but I bet if he ever rode on one, he would be.

The baby seems to be growing well, and so far, everything is normal. For the last week and a half, I feel the baby move a little more each day. Both Clayton and Oliver are excited for the time when they will be able to feel the baby move. We just started talking about names, and we are not even in the ballpark of making a decision...there is still plenty of time for that. However, my calender has made me realize I have a 20 week sonogram next week which means I am half way. Wow, that first 20 really went fast. This week I took down Oliver's newborn and 0-3 month size clothes to try to help me decide what I need to buy. It seems that I may need to buy a few things since Oliver and the baby are different seasons, but we are well prepared for the most part.

Clayton is busy with work and school as usual. He is taking two of the last three classes he needs before he qualifies to take the CPA examination. Fortunately, both of the classes he is taking are online which means he doesn't have to travel to South Dallas this semester. Clayton's weekends are spent playing with Oliver, which is exactly how the two of them want to spend it. I really love how much the two of them enjoy each other's company and I envy how Clayton can just completely be in the moment with Oliver. I couldn't have picked a better Daddy-O!

I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to get our home and lives back in order after being in Salt Lake for a month. It is definitely bitter sweet to be home. I don't know what it is about this pregnancy, but it seems like it takes me at least twice as long to do anything. It probably doesn't help that I have had a cold since the middle of December which my doctor says is completely normal. Really, a month and a half is normal??? She said that your immune system doesn't function normally when you are pregnant so your body doesn't reject the baby, so it takes a long time to get rid of anything. I really hope I am not going to be sick for the duration of my pregnancy. As a result of being sick and pregnant, it took forever to put away Christmas, but I am happy to report that aside for our outdoor lighting, it was all put away as of last Sunday. On a completely happy note, I made my goal at 24 Hour Fitness and will be ordering my free bodybugg in the next couple of days. Unfortunately, I haven't seen much of the gym in the last month, but I am hoping to gather up the energy to go back tomorrow for my 8:00 AM 24 S.E.T class. I guess now that I am showing more, I am going to have to invest in some maternity exercise clothes. Oliver and I started another session of Mommy & Me class at the Spanish Schoolhouse today and it was fun to have something normal to attend and see some of the people from last session. I don't know if we will start back at gymnastics or not, as we are not certain when we will be heading back to Salt Lake, nor for how long, but I know Oliver misses it. Maybe I will have to talk Clayton into a trampoline since that was Oliver's favorite part! :)

Nap time is over now, but look for pictures soon!

Budding Artist(s)?

Maybe budding artists only a mother could love. But who couldn't love those goofy smiles and messy hairdos? :)

Hard at work in the kitchen

Oliver is a great help in the kitchen. But it sure takes a lot of work to spin that salad.

I need a break just watching him! :)

Look at all that snow!

We had really bad timing as far as choosing when to make our two-day drive both too and from Salt Lake. The snow you see is the first snow in weeks. However we were really fortunate and the roads were NOT bad at all. This snow mound is in Monticello, Utah. The previous three days were snowy, hence all the snow pack, but fortunately the day we drove was pretty good. All in all, aside from this snow, a few snow drifts, and some fog, our drive was pretty good. We consider ourselves lucky we traveled this week instead of the following week when New Mexico and Western Texas really got snow.

I don't know if you can tell, but Oliver was absolutely livid with me for setting him down to take these pictures; he yelled at me for a minute straight!

We'll miss you too Grammy!

I hate saying goodbye.

My mom was so sad because she thought it might be the last time we ever saw each other and she hates that we have to be in masks because we have had a cold for weeks and can't give her any hugs because we don't want to get her sick.  

We love you, Mom!

It took a week, but he did it!

Oliver loved the Timbertown Railway Geotrax set Santa brought him for Christmas. Inside the box was a DVD featuring his train and others in the Geotrax family. He fell in love with Aero and his engineer Eric. All he talked about for well over a week was them; in fact, he would even pretend his set Steamer and Samuel were Aero and Eric. Since Oliver was struggling with time outs and listening, Clayton and I decided he needed to earn the train and so the rules were that he had to have two consecutive days where he listened and didn't go into time out. There were a couple of times when he would go into the second day and then lose it, but I was actually surprised it only took a week. On the day before he actually earned it, my parents went and bought the train for him, but stuck to our rules and didn't give it to him until he made his two days. The morning after he did it he was so excited that it was an Aero and Eric day. It was even more exciting that he didn't have to go to the store to buy it and he got it right after he woke up. Thanks for making his day Grammy & Gramps! He loves the train and he loves you two, too!

Video of him with his new train

check out how happy this little guy is!