Did you know there are hills in Dallas?

I didn't know Dallas had anything even close to resembling a mountain until this weekend when we went to far south Dallas to visit a college campus. The area was so hilly and beautiful and the college had some great landscaping, so we were able to get some cute pictures of Oliver.

Not a great picture of me, but Oliver wanted me to sit on this cute wooden bench with him, and I liked the picture of him.

Reminiscing about the Good Old Days

Oliver's exersaucer was one of his favorite toys during his first year. It had so many different activities, it could keep him occupied long enough for me to do something I needed to do like cook dinner, laundry, etc. I officially put the exersaucer away over a year ago, but given that we don't have a basement, away for me is shoved in a closet somewhere. Lately, every time I hang up clothes in Oliver's closet, he has been fascinated with the dragon puppet and has a cute little conversation with it that goes something like "Hi, Hi (in a deep voice), good, good (in a deep voice), bye , bye (in a deep voice)". His conversational skills are really coming along and he loves to vary the tone and pitch of his voice, so it is actually pretty funny to listen to (probably much better than reading it).

Anyway, today I asked Oliver if he wanted me to take the dragon out so he could see it better and of course he emphatically responded, "Yeah"! That meant taking out the top of the exersaucer. What happened next was completely amazing to me. He immediately went over and sat in the center and played with all the toys just like he used to. I don't know if he remembered playing in it and therefore remembered sitting in the center, or if the hole in the center just looked like a good place to sit. Of course after giving each of the toys their fair share of attention with touch and sight, his toddler tendencies kicked in and he preceded to step on, kick and try to detach every toy from the exersaucer. Needless to say, shortly after that began the exersaucer was back in the closet to be saved for another day. Here are some pictures of him playing with it ever so nicely.

Oliver Clayton Royal is Twenty-Three Months Old!

My sweet little boy is 23 months old! Wow, where did the last month go? I think this month may have gone more quickly than the previous 22 months.

Some updates on Oliver's development: Oliver has become quite a talker this month. He tries to say more things every day. It is funny how quickly the sign drops off once he masters the word for it. For example, truck was a sign that he used probably every other minute then yesterday he began saying "truck" while we were running errands and he hasn't used the sign since. Unfortunately, Oliver has been having some intermittent short naps and as a result a few more temper tantrums, but I believe that is because he is cutting his 14th and 15th teeth -- both canine, one on top and the other on bottom. He is still very strong willed and tests his limits and boundaries quite often. I think Oliver's favorite word is "play", and we hear it non-stop when it is time to get ready to eat, or take a bath. He has turned into a little climber and I don't think there is anything he can't get if given the correct conditions. Luckily we have rubber feet on the bottom of our chairs so he hasn't figured out that he can move the chairs to climb yet.

Some other things of note: We purchased a booster seat for him this past month because he was really interested in sitting in Mommy & Daddy's chairs instead of his high chair. But as it turns out, he still really likes his high chair for eating and the booster seat is now his activity chair (for coloring, painting, etc.) We are loving the cool weather we have had for the past couple of days. I think Oliver would be most happy if we could spend all day every day outside playing. He has developed an increased liking for his farm set that we bought him for his birthday last year. He loves the song Old MacDonald had a Farm. He picks the farm animal, says it's sound, and sings the chorus so cute: E-I-E-I-O! One of the biggest surprises over the past month is his current obsession with Winnie the Pooh. We purchased his first Pooh video recently and every time he sees the TV, he tells me he wants to watch "Winnie Pooh". Next time you talk to Oliver ask him what Winnie the Pooh likes to eat and he will gladly tell you "hunny".

Despite Oliver's temper tantrums he is still so incredibly sweet! I just can't get enough of him and I hate having to leave him almost every day. I love how he still wants to snuggle in my lap when I read him stories. I love how he wants to help me with everything I do. I love when he says Amen at the end of of family prayer. I love when he giggles at silly things I say or do, and how he still loves to get tickle kisses from Mommy. I love that he acts so big in everything he does and loves to rough house with Daddy, but if he gets hurt or sad he still wants Mommy. Oh I could do this I love stuff all day, but for now I'll just leave you with his 23 month old pictures as well as a short video of him wishing himself "Happy Day Ollie":





and my three favorites...

Happy Day Ollie video:

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Oliver can put on his own shoes!

This morning Oliver and I were going outside to play and I asked him to find his shoes. He showed them to me, and I told him to hold on a second and I would help in put them on. Before I knew it he was exclaiming "Mommy, shoes", "Mommy, shoes", and I turned around and sure enough he had put on his shoes on the correct feed no less. Sure they were slip on crocs, but I think that is pretty great for an almost 23 month old. I was so proud and as you will see, so was he. Here is a picture of him holding up his feet to show me what he did!


I have heard that children will play with toys differently at different stages. I have noticed how true that statement is lately. Oliver received this lawn mower for his first birthday and has enjoyed pushing it around and pretending to mow. Well today it was like a whole new toy for him. He started playing with the musical part of it that plays the ABC's (which we are currently working on) and another button sounds like you are filling it with gas, and a third sings a song about mowing. He got such a kick out of it that I had to grab my camera again. Too cute!

Oliver swinging at Archgate Park

The other day it occurred to me that I didn't have any pictures of Oliver swinging at the park right behind our house. We walk to the park at least 2-3 times per week, and Oliver could swing all day long. Now that the temperature is decreasing, we can spend time at the park in the afternoon too! Oliver thinks this is a great idea!

A quick update...

We are adjusting to my school schedule and I sometimes wonder what was I thinking taking 16 credit hours while still maintaining my status as a full-time stay at home Mom? Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who has definitely stepped up to the plate to take on more than his fair share of work. While continuing to work full-time himself, he has arranged his schedule so that he is able to be home with Oliver while I am at school. However this means that I barely see Clayton. I leave for school as soon as he comes in the door, and he leaves for work as soon as I do. When I return from class at night, I study and he usually works or sleeps. It is a crazy schedule we have worked out for ourselves, but so far so good. My classes are now officially 25% over and I am on the count down.

Oliver is so funny, every time I change my clothes (be it into PJ’s or first thing in the morning), he thinks that means I am leaving and he rushes over to give me a hug and kiss and says “bye”; sometimes I think he is a little disappointed when I tell him that I am not going to skooool (in Oliver speak) right then! Oliver has really enjoyed spending extra time with his Daddy and we are really proud of the way he has adjusted to this new schedule.

Oliver does the cutest things!

Today while we were playing, Oliver decided that he would see if his zoo train would pull him too. The train has a difficult enough time traversing our carpet, let alone moving a 25+ pound toddler around. I couldn't resist posting these pictures!

Have you ever heard of a Germ Monster?

Oliver has; they live in his mouth just waiting to eat his food. For about a year now we have struggled with tooth brushing every single day. Oliver has his own tooth brush and loves to brush his own teeth, but as soon as it became time for Mommy or Daddy to finish the job, it was a nightmare. We would eventually have to hold his mouth open which lately has just led to huge tantrums. I was almost to the point of giving up brushing all together (not really :), when I received an e-mail from Babycenter.com touting that they could end tooth brushing battles. Baby Center has been a great resource for me since I was pregnant. After Oliver was in bed that night, I rushed in to read the e-mail and sure enough they had several suggestions we already tried (i.e. let him have his own toothbrush, let him brush in front of the mirror, let him brush your teeth, sing a song, etc.), but they also had some suggestions we had not tried before. The next night I told Oliver that he had Germ Monsters living in his mouth and asked him if he knew what color they were and he instantly responded "blue" (his favorite). I told him they were hiding between and behind his teeth and that he needed to use his toothbrush to brush them away so they wouldn't eat all the leftover food in his sleep. After he finished brushing, I checked his teeth and it turned out he left some behind and when I told him I could still see some, he instantly opened his mouth and let me brush. I was so impressed. Germ Monsters along with the privilege of spitting into the sink after brushing has been our greatest help with the teeth brushing battle. We have been using this technique for a week now and I am proud to announce that we have not had one teeth brushing battle since we began. I love that the Internet is so accessible and that we live in a day and age where we can find the answers to our questions by the click of a mouse. Here is a video Daddy brushing away Oliver's Germ Monster:

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Oliver's fascination with wooden spoons

Recently I was putting together Oliver's book for his first year and I found that the first picture of him with a wooden spoon was when he was only four months old. Oliver loves wooden spoons; I guess they are some type of security object for him...maybe that is why he loves cooking in his kitchen so much. If I had to guess, I would say that probably half of my pictures at home have some type of cooking utensil such as a spatula, a whisk, or his favorite the wooden spoon.

This week Clayton met Oliver and I at Gymboree and we switched cars and he took Oliver home to play and have lunch, while I went to a meeting at school. Clayton took these pictures of their playing at home. I loved the one where Oliver is showing Clayton how flexible he can be and of course, a wooden spoon is always in hand.

Oliver's new booster seat

Oliver has been increasingly interested in sitting at a big chair at the table, so we ordered him a booster seat and it arrived today. He was very excited and proud to have his first snack in his new big boy chair.

Oliver feeding ducks and playing with squirrels at the Chisolm Trail

Yesterday I was cleaning all the stale crackers out of our pantry and Oliver and I decided that the ducks might like the crackers. So this morning, we went to where the ducks always gather on the Chisolm Trail and fed the ducks. They were approaching us as we got out of the car their mouths agape basically begging for food. This was exciting because generally these ducks are not very hungry and snub their noses at what we offer them. Anyway, Oliver had a blast. They ate all our crackers and begged for more, so Oliver fed them the rest of his waffle he had nibbled on during the ride over. So many people stopped and commented on how cute he was feeding the ducks. I thought it was so cute too and luckily I had my camera. Here are some pictures of him feeding the very hungry ducks:


After the ducks had eaten everything we had to offer, Oliver started playing hide and seek with a squirrel around a tree. When Oliver would get close to him, the squirrel would run to the other side, then Oliver would run to where the squirrel was now, and the squirrel would circle back to the original side. It was so cute! I was taking these pictures which were not capturing it quite as I had hoped and then I realized I could record it. So here are some pictures of Oliver saying "Hi" to the squirrel and finally a video.

Video of Oliver playing with a squirrel:

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Oliver at Play

Oliver has taken an interest in musical instruments recently, so we purchased him a drum, a trumpet, and a few other instruments. This morning he was really into the drum and I was able to snap some cute pictures and this video:

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Later in the day, Oliver enjoyed a relaxing ride on a blanket courtesy of Daddy.

Oliver had a great week with Grammy & Gramps

My Mom & Dad came to stay with us this past week. Oliver warmed up to them in no time and by the end of the week he was asking for Grammy & Gramps before he went to bed and first thing when he woke in the morning. He had such a fun time with them here and loved having someone to play with while Mommy was doing mundane things like laundry and cooking. During their stay, Oliver rode a huge horse on the the carousel and enjoyed tastes of Grammy, Gramps and Mommy's ice cream cones while watching ice skaters at Stonebriar Mall. We took walks and played on the playground in the park behind our house. Oliver had a blast when Grammy taught him how to play Jacks; he loved throwing the balls in the air. We went to see the animals at Owen's Spring Creek Farm, where Oliver enjoyed feeding some very hungry sheep and goats and had so much fun counting the horses with Gramps: Oliver counts: "one, twooo", so cute! And finally, Oliver was able to ride all the mechanical cars and trucks at Willowbend Mall play area. Oliver's favorite part of the entire week was getting to know his Grammy & Gramps better and developing memories that will last a life time.











On the last night Grammy & Gramps were here, after dinner Oliver went to Grammy and took her hand and said “come” and then to Gramps and took his hand and said “come” and then he led them into his toy room to play. They played with puzzles, cars, trucks, shapes among other things. It was almost as if Oliver could sense that they would be leaving the next morning. My Mom said she will remember that for a long time. It was so cute! This is a picture of them playing that evening:

My family loves to play the card game "May I?". Last night we played probably the longest game of "May I?" ever! I am sad to report that I think I may have lost my touch with the game as last night I had my all time worst score, but that may be because I never got the calendar (inside joke). Thanks for coming to stay with us Grammy & Gramps. Here are some pictures of Oliver saying his goodbye's. We will miss you!