I had put Oliver down for a nap and was picking up when I noticed this:



Oliver put all of the little people in an empty gatorade bottle. He cracks me up. This morning I found little people in the ball popper along with some liquid (I think it was diet coke from the bottom of the can.)Every day I am amazed at the difference between boys and girls and how differently they think and play. Brady never played in the toilet. Oliver is fascinated at watching the water go down. This morning I heard: Splash. Clunk. He was throwing a bottle of lotion in the toilet. I forgot to close the door to the bathroom! And I keep wondering how it is I am aging so fast!

Father and Son

There are times when Oliver just flat out prefers Michael. He even gives me a very satisfied, smug look when he is with Daddy. I am okay with it! I think their relationship is beautiful! And I think I have figured out why he loves to hang with Daddy:



Daddy lets Oliver stand on the counter and open and close the cabinet doors and explore what's inside. (He stands right beside him)




Daddy and Oliver kick back and watch The Wiggles and Teletubbies on youtube.

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And then they demonstrated what they do when I am at work!

Sick baby

My poor baby! I think mother's instinct is always stronger than what any doctor can tell you. As of yesterday and over 48 hours of fevers spiking up to 104, Oliver's fever still hadn't gone down and he was still very sick. I couldn't get him off my lap to even get anything done. I called his doctor and they had me bring him in. He has a double ear infection. Why didn't the ER doctor pick up on that on Monday morning? I realize that little ones move quickly and it is hard to see back in that ear canal, but c'mon! They wrote it off as a GI flu. He never vomited again after the first time. I am still not sure they have uncovered all of the reasons he was sick. But for now, his ears will feel better.
I came across this article. I found it to be very true and very funny. I can relate to numbers 9 and 21 the most. But I think that number 10 may be the funniest. I happen to like Pittsburgh so up yours, Scott Baio! I still miss the job though. Flight attendants are a group like no other. Those personalities are hard to find. Ruth, Elham, Jenn and Jason, I know you will relate!

Mr. personality

This kid just cracks me up. This is just a small snippet of his personality. He's so cute I can hardly stand it. Brady dives for cover any time the video camera is near.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What a weekend!

Wow! What a great weekend. Friday night Michael and I headed out to see the Hillbilly Gypsies at the new Roadworthy Restaurant and soon to be resort.The music was great and I saw a few faces that I haven't seen in a long time and some that I am always happy to see. You can check out some pictures on the band's website here. Our group is in about the sixth line of photos. If you get the chance to see the band, they are definitely worth the time. Next we head to see the Hackensaw Boys in Morgantown on 02/02. I just hope that work doesn't interfere!
On Saturday we headed to Pittsburgh to see Pap and Noreen and spend some time at the Carnegie Science Center. What a great place to pass the time with your kids. Oliver really loved the kid's water section in the Exploration station. He loved it so much that I am glad I took an extra set of clothes as he was soaked even with the plastic apron. I had forgotten the camera at that point and had to run and get it out of the car. On the second floor they have a very elaborate train display. Brady and I had a blast checking out all of the details on the people in the display. They even had an outhouse and when the door open there was a man on the toilet with reading material. I was sure to get a picture of that! The pictures of Brady are in the wind tunnel. We finished off the day with dinner at Pap and Noreen's.
I was supposed to work on Sunday but Michael had been suffering from a head cold and I woke up with a sore throat. So we just hund out and layed low. Michael was supposed to go skiing Monday morning, but can you guess why he didn't? Yes, Oliver was sick. He woke up around 4am and was restless. Then he started crying around 5:30 and then came the vomiting at 6am. His fever spiked and we couldn't get him to stop crying so I started to worry that it was an appendix or something. So off to the ER! Nothing major. Just a nasty virus going around that we probably picked up at the science center. He is a little better today and we are trying to head back to our normal schedule. PTA and Brownies tonight!

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My little girl....

is no longer little. Look at this sweet face! Where did that baby girl go? Now she is a big kid. I am amazed at the changes she is making. I recently asked her if she wanted me to put a rubber band with ribbons on it in her hair and she took it out of my hand and flicked it across the bathroom and said, "No. That will make me look stupid." When did she decide that? She wore it earlier in the school year. Did someone tell her that she was a baby for wearing it? She has also weeded through the clothes in her closet and gotten rid of things she won't wear. Most of them are little girl looking clothes. She has an MP3 player and loves the Naked Brothers Band.
The other day I told her, "I wish I could go to school with you all day and see what you do in class." The look on her face was sheer terror. When did that happen? She used to love having mommy at school. She made a Valentine the other day. It said, "Be Mine." And, "Love." ???????????????????? She told me her friend told her what to put on it. So I asked her who she was giving it to and I got an embarrassed look and an evasive answer with a shrug of the shoulders. I hope she doesn't get her little heart broken. My heart kinda aches when I think of her growing up. I know it will happen and I have to accept it and help her grow to be the beautiful woman I know she will be. But I don't have to like it. Hug your babies, mommies. They won't be babies for long.

Technical problems

I have so many great pictures to share and I am having problems with blogger and uploading pictures. I have also been really busy. I had a huge week at work last week and I am still trying to recover from the exhaustion of working and mommying. The weather has been back and forth. Winter or spring? Just choose one and stay there! I would love to have one really big snow before spring comes. I mean BIG. I haven't gotten to take Brady sledding in years. I would love about 18 inches of snow. And then bring on the spring! This piddly little snow with no accumulation is wearing on my nerves.
I'll be back when I can post some pictures!

Many Happy Returns!

There are so many January birthdays in our family. I will send out birthday greetings in order of occurence. Happy Birthday to: Cupcake, Dylan, John, Drew and Carson!
We celebrated Dylan and Carson's birthdays on Saturday. Dylan went bowling and played laser tag and Carson had a full on fancy tea party with dress up clothes and fun games. I haven't had a chance to post pictures of update the blog! I was scheduled to work 51 hours last week. I got someone to work Friday evening and left early on Sunday so it went down to 41 hours. whew!This was hard for me as I usually only work a few days a week and sometimes even a few days a month. So I have been trying to recover from the exhaustion. I had three days where all but about 12 hours were spent at work. We had the owners of the company in for a strategy forum. Work will probably be few and far between from here on out.
Anyway, here are some pictures of Carson's birthday party:

Man of Peace

When Michael and I were talking about names for a boy, we weren't too crazy about any of the family names. None of them felt right. For some reason, Oliver came to mind and we both liked it. Oliver is English. Here is the meaning of the name: The olive tree. The biblical olive tree symbolizes fruitfulness and beauty and dignity. Extending an olive branch signifies an offer of peace. When he was about 6 months old, someone pointed out that he has an upside down peace sign in the veins on his head. So he is our man of peace.
I am not sure if this is a weird coincidence or if all babies have an upside down peace sign on their head. To me he was meant to be my little man of peace. I tried to get a picture of it. I hope you can see what i am talking about.

Ice Skating

I just wanted to share some ice skating pictures. We went a lot while the kids were off for Xmas. Brady has gotten pretty good and can get around without the walker. The walkers are provided for skaters who are unsteady on the ice. There are some dangerous kids there who race around and weave through the skaters. If my kid ends up taking a face full of ice because of one if these snots, they will have to deal with ME! I can be pretty intimidating. There will definitely be tears. Don't mess with mama bear!



I realize the last one isn't a skating picture. I just love when he makes that face!

Victory is so sweeeet!

They said it couldn't be done. 84% of the country had their money on OU. I even had my doubts after the last month of upsets and shocks. Michael said right before the game started that they would pull it off. And they did. I am a die hard WVU fan and have never been prouder. Even right before the game they commentators said they liked OU. I can't stop watching the clips and re-living the plays. Seriously. Nineteen years ago I went with Tom Haymond to the Fiesta Bowl and sat in the stands and watched Notre Dame beat the Mountaineers. This was vindication. And I know you were watching too Daddo! I only wish he was here so we could have watched together.
Now, on to next week. The only thing that will make it really sweet? LSU wins the national championship.