Buttercup's Newest Word

Well, it finally happened -- Buttercup has a word for Oliver! She used to call him "Uh-Oh" -- or maybe it was just a coincidence :-) -- but yesterday she started calling him "Ah-vuh." And she doesn't just say it sweetly in her usual voice, she yells it. "AH-VUH! AH-VUH!!!!" Oliver refuses to believe that she's saying his name though. He says, "No, Buttercup, it's OLIVER. Can you say OLIVER?"

We had a really fun day today. This morning we were playing with some old(er) toys and Oliver thought it would be fun to pretend the toy box was a boat. Here are the two kiddos in the "boat" with their "oars" (inflatable guitars).















Then we headed to the outlet mall to get some bigger PJs for Oliver and meet up with our friends Robyn and Leah. Oliver very kindly pushed Buttercup in the stroller while she finished her snack.
















We stopped for a bit at the mechanical rides and the kids rode the carousel.












































After naptime, Oliver asked if he could have some chocolate milk. We didn't have any chocolate syrup, so I used the cocoa mix Mom gave me for Christmas. Oliver did NOT want his milk heated up, so we had to stir for a while to get it all mixed in.















Tasty stuff!
















Then we headed to the duck park so Oliver could try to catch something in his net. He caught: leaves, rocks, a minnow, 2 sticks, and an empty beer can. Lovely!










































We even had time to play at the playground for a little while before heading home.





























When we got back home, I got dinner ready and Oliver watched Lady and the Tramp . . .















. . . while Buttercup played with the shopping bags . . .


















. . . and I tickled her with my foot.



Then after dinner, Dennis took Buttercup on an errand while Oliver helped me fix Dennis' lunch for the next day. Here he is helping me wash celery. What fun kids we have! They are the best!