Sleeping Princess

We had a fun afternoon! A cold front came in yesterday, and we got even more cold rain today. Yay! We'll probably get tired of the cold rain soon, but for right now we're enjoying staying warm and dry and playing inside the house!

Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

Buttercup took a 3 hour nap!
































After she woke up, I bundled the kids up and we went for a run.



















Oliver couldn't wait for me to put the rain cover on the stroller, he was so excited!














A close-up of the cutest baby girl shoes EVER.













How sweet!

The usual business and cuteness!

We've been pretty busy over the past few weeks! The kids are growing and learning new things every day.

Oliver can spell his name, the word "open" and he attempts to spell "Buttercup" (but I think that one might take him a good bit longer to master). He can count to 13, knows the entire alphabet (even out of order), and can read several words. We're working on tracing letters and numbers, but that will come with time! He also has such a vivid imagination and is really into building his own tools. For example, (you'll see this in a picture below) he made a "nail gun drill" out of his drill, pliers, and my vacuum cleaner hose. He is such a smart little guy. I have no doubt that God has great and wonderful things in store for him!! Most importantly, Oliver is enjoying having a baby sister more and more every day . . . I think he just wants a playmate, he doesn't care about all of that baby stuff! He and Buttercup are turning into the best of friends. He's her protector, advisor, cup- and snack-retriever, and helper. He is just the most wonderful little boy.

Buttercup is such a sweet, laidback baby girl. She's going through some rough spots right now (teething and separation anxiety) but she is still mostly happy during the day! We just have so much fun together. She can sign "more" and "cup", she can mimic sounds that we make (da-da-da, ba-ba-ba, ma-ma-ma, etc), and she is trying to say a few words! She already has a word for Oliver -- "buh BUH" ("big brother"). She loves her big brother!!

















Oliver's "nail gun drill"















The young engineer at work.



















































One day, I told Oliver he could play quietly in his bed during naptime. 20 minutes later, this is what I found. :-)































These next few pictures were taken at a birthday party for 2 of Oliver's friends. There was a petting zoo! I think Oliver liked the bunnies the best. :)




















































Buttercup and her friend Lucy.
























































Oliver hard at work in his "worker site".

Real Big Acrobats!

This afternoon we took advantage of the cooler weather to have some fun at the playground before dinner. Oliver and Buttercup both enjoyed the swings for a while, then we all played in the rocks. Oliver made us rock "hamburgers" and "cheese", and Buttercup tried to eat as many rocks as she could. :-)

Here is a short video of Oliver's latest "acrobats" on the toddler slide.




And here he is, singing a song he made up about barrel bolts. If you're wondering about the look of confusion on his face midway into the song, it's because he forgot some of the words to the version he had just made up. :-)

Playing at "Old MacDonald Had a Farm"

Like most kids his age, Oliver loves going to McDonald's. We don't go very often at all -- maybe once every 2 months -- but every time we go, it's a major cause for excitement.

The last time we went was on a Saturday about 3 weeks ago . . . we spent the afternoon at the mall, then Dennis asked Oliver where he wanted to eat for dinner. Oliver said, "I want to go to Old MacDonald had a farm!!" So McDonald's it was. Fortunately for us, the closest McDonald's was across the street, and it had a huge playground outside. A playground that rose about 12 feet in the air. Oliver shoveled in his chicken nuggets as fast as he could, then ran outside (with Daddy in tow!) to play. He was a little hesitant at first, but then dove right in. What a big boy!




















































































These pictures are from one day last week when Oliver and Buttercup were playing in the living room while I cooked dinner. They're beginning to have so much fun together. :-)

Flowers from my sweet boy

Oliver is such a loving, giving, sweet little boy. He makes my heart so full of joy!! One morning this week, I took the kids out for a run after breakfast. On our way back up the driveway, Oliver noticed some purple flowers growing in our grass. He asked if he could pick one, and I said, "Of course!" He bent down and studied the flowers for a minute, then he carefully picked two. He walked proudly toward me, holding out the flowers, and said, "Mommy, I picked 2 flowers! This one is for me. This one is for you . . . but you have to share it with Baby." LOL! What a sweet, sweet boy. :-)




















Here are some other pictures from this week!

Oliver and Jaxon getting ready to BOWL!














Bowling is so much fun!!














How cute is this??!



















And this is what I discovered when I walked into the kitchen this morning . . . perhaps it's time to install safety locks on the cabinets? :-)

Halfway through August, already?

Wow, this summer is really flying by. We have been having a lot of fun, as usual! During naptime, I've also been catching up on my Netflix movies and redecorating some of the rooms in our house. Busy, busy!


The kids are as cute as always. Buttercup turned 10 months old on Monday! She is still army crawling everywhere (she hasn't quite mastered a "real" crawl yet!) and is beginning to pull up and cruise tentatively on the furniture. She'll probably be walking around her 1 year birthday! Oliver is just turning into such a sweet, sensitive, smart little boy. It's such a joy to watch him grow and learn, and I love seeing his personality develop. God has really blessed us with 2 wonderful, healthy, happy kids! We are so thankful to Him!

Here are more pictures from the past 2 weeks:


Oliver and Buttercup have matching PJs. Oliver asks to wear them every night!

















Different ways to use a Home Depot bucket:




































Anna pulling the kids around the yard on a blanket



























Puppet show!
















I asked Oliver to bring the laundry basket to the utility room for me, and he said, "It okay if I push Baby, please?"















"Cooking"


















Just having fun!

More pictures coming soon!

I am very behind in posting right now! Over the past 2 weeks I've been busy redecorating the kids' bathroom and beginning plans for their upcoming birthday party. I plan to post a full update by the end of the week, but in the meantime here's a sample of cute, recent pictures!