The Kids Meet Curious George at the Des Moines Public Library

The library regularly has characters come visit for meet & greets with kids, like Clifford the Big, Red Dog. Today, they had the opportunity for kids to meet Curious George. Our kids were stoked. They went all out and drew pictures for Curious George (Jo later lost one of her drawings and refused to leave for the library without it).

I'd hurt my foot and couldn't go, but Andrew took the kids and said the kids were shy but thrilled! Oliver brought his well-loved monkey to show Curious George :)

Happy Fourth Birthday, Oliver!

Our little guy turned four today! I feel abnormally emotional about it. Oliver is such a good kid, and he amazes me every single day. Things were so difficult when he was a baby. He cried and screamed basically nonstop for his first year. It was an impossible time, and I still don't know how we made it through that period. Shortly after his third birthday, Oliver went through a violent streak. He shoved kids around. We were at a loss how to handle those situations and dealt with them as best we could.

Now, here he is. Four years old. He is so sweet, thoughtful, and sensitive. He is always concerned for others and talks a lot about what other people are up to. He tells me how Jo is feeling and what she needs. He tells me about what stages different kids are going through, like how Paisley is really little and how, soon, Grace will start needing him to break off small pieces of food so she can eat.

Oliver has a really incredible memory, and, sometimes, it's a little eerie. He seems to remember everything. He'll tell me about last Halloween, for example, or about the time he flew on the airplane with Grandma Colleen (last winter). Random things come up all the time, and I'm left thinking, "He can't possibly really remember that!"

He was a little slow to start talking, but now he talks all the time. Sometimes, the things he says are (accidentally?) profound. For example, I told him today how he's getting so much bigger. This is what he had to say to me:
Mom, I'm getting bigger now. I can do lots of things all by myself. You can't do everything for me anymore, but sometimes, I still need your help. You're my best helper.

He pays a lot of attention to how people are feeling, and he doesn't forget if someone got sick or hurt. I had eczema on a finger that lasted for three months, and he was constantly checking on it. Today, he noticed a nick on Colleen's finger, and he wouldn't let her go before he inspected it. If a random baby cries in the store, he tries to figure out what might be bothering him or her, like if the baby is tired or sad or mad. Which reminds me: Oliver loves babies! He enjoyed spending time with his baby cousin, Sawyer, and mixing up bottles. As Sawyer got older, he enjoyed handing him toddler puffs, one at a time. He is so gentle with little babies, and he walks around with his dolls all the time and kisses them. His stuffed animal, Monkey, is no longer just Monkey. Monkey is "Baby Monkey."

Oliver still enjoys cooking all the time. He wants to make something, always. At his birthday party last weekend, Grandma Colleen gave him an Easy Bake Oven. Oliver has used it twice now. He mixes the batter all by himself, pours it into the pan, pushes it into the oven (using the pusher and with his oven mitts on), sets the timer, and then pushes the pan into the cooling zone. He mixes up the frosting, frosts the cookie, and then shares it with everyone else. He grinds and brews coffee, makes smoothies, helps with dinner, and pours his own cereal & milk in the morning. When he's not cooking, he's usually helping around the house. He still loves doing dishes and laundry.

He also tries to be more of a parental figure to Jo. When he thinks I'm not looking, he'll find a treat in the kitchen and offer it to Jo. He'll tell her, "If you go pee-pee in the potty, you can have this cracker." When she goes potty, he insists on taking it to the bathroom and flushing it.

Sometimes, he tries to act like a parent to Andrew and me. If he sees me with scissors, he reminds me to be careful. He'll tell me not to use certain things (like scissors) around Jo. He's always reminding us to be careful or letting us know how we all need to dress for the weather. He won't let Andrew go to work without first packing him a lunch. "Wait, Dad! I have to pack you a lunch!"

He spends more time away from home now. He's not in preschool yet, but he does go to Chinese school, a preschooler cooking class, and a sports class once a week. He is always very happy to spend time with grandparents, away from Andrew and me. He wants to know that he can handle himself without us. In that way, he is very independent, just like his mama!

It would be so easy to see and treat Oliver as a much older child, but then he does something that reminds me he's just a little kid. Right now, his beloved stuffed animal is missing (more on that story another day soon), and he's devastated. He sometimes acts like a little kid around people he doesn't know very well, too. If someone he doesn't know tries to talk to him, he'll often turn to me and say, "I don't want her to talk to me!"

He's started to get into some things that are a little more typical of a boy his age. He loves trains and is a huge fan of Thomas & Friends. He also is playing on the iPad again. He used to play Angry Birds but eventually lost interest. Now, he's really into a couple of games by Disney: "Where's My Water?" and "Where's My Water 2?" He also plays, "Subway Surfer" with Andrew every night before bed. He still has never seen a full movie, but I'm thinking about taking him to the theater sometime soon.

Oliver is finally eating more and has gained a decent amount of weight this year. He's officially at 38 pounds! His tastes are expanding, and he'll eat veggies now. I no longer have to hide them in his food! I'd say his favorite foods are pasta, yogurt, chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese, Parmesan cheese, fish sticks, and peanut butter & jelly. For whatever reason, he doesn't like pizza. Even when he doesn't like something, he's (almost) always willing to take a few bites.

When it comes down to it, Oliver is really just a good kid, and a kid who wants to be able to do everything for himself. He's very focused on self-improvement and caring for others, as well as learning how things work. I love him so much, and I am so proud of him.

Oliver's Interview with Mommy

Oliver is 3 years and 4 months old. He's getting much better at answering questions, so I decided to ask him what some of his "favorites" are. This is what he had to say.

Favorite video? Barney (Barney Pajama Party)

Favorite iPad game: Bad Piggies

Favorite color: pink

Favorite stuffed animal: Monkey

Favorite food: yogurt

Favorite appliance: the mixer

Favorite fruit: strawberries

Favorite number: "I'm 3, and Jo's 1."

What do you want to be when you grow up? "First, I'm going to fix computers. Then, I'm going to drive a train. Then, I'll be a nurse."

Sweet Dreams, Oliver

Oliver fell asleep in his cave of lights yesterday.

Pinterest Challenge Day 22: Monkey Pancakes

My son loves monkeys. He has half a dozen stuffed monkey animals at our house, and he can't sleep without one of them. In fact, he woke up at 3am this morning. I was downstairs (already awake for the day), and, from over the monitor, I heard, "Monkey? Monkey?" I had to go unearth "Monkey" from his monkey blankets and give it back to him so he could go back to sleep.

So, when I saw a pin for monkey pancakes, I had to repin it to save for later.
http://pinterest.com/pin/216383957066132869/

That later day came today! As soon as Oliver was up for the day, we set to work. Oliver held Monkey in one arm while stirring with the other. He kept exclaiming excitedly, "Monkey pancakes!" even though he couldn't possibly know what monkey pancakes were.

We finished making the pancakes, and I built a monkey. I used a warm chocolate chip to draw in the mouth. I set a banana on the plate and proudly presented it to Oliver.

He loved them! He'd announce all of the facial parts before biting into them. Don't worry: he took care to make sure "Monkey" got some, too.

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 60: Hide-and-Seek Animals

Oliver invented this game yesterday. I can honestly say this game was made by a two-year-old for a two-year-old.

We were in his room when he opened his blanket chest and tossed some of his stuffed animals in, like so:

I asked him, "Where's Monkey?" Oliver's eyes lit up and he smiled. He opened the chest back up and yelled, "Boo!"

I laughed and exclaimed, "There he is!" Oliver was thrilled that he tricked me, and so he continued "hiding" his animals in there over and over. I continued saying my lines, "Where's Cookie Monster? Oh, no, where'd he go?" and "There he is!" Oliver loved being in charge of the game, which made it fun (if not repetitive) for me, too. Hide-and-Seek Animals gets an A. Good job, Oliver!

Oliver's Birthday at Boo at the Zoo

Oliver turns two today! My mother-in-law, Colleen, had gotten Oliver a zoo pass for his birthday, so we decided to take him to Boo at the Zoo. We met both sets of grandparents at Starbucks, one of Oliver's favorite places. He got milk, we got coffee, and my mom brought homemade monkey cupcakes!

We arrived at the Denver Zoo, where a clown greeted Oliver with bubbles.

Oliver discovered the peacocks wandering the zoo almost immediately. He loved them! He giggled and laughed when they jumped down a stairwell, and he asked them to do it "more."

Oliver discovered the art of trick-or-treating. He doesn't recognize candy and didn't know what he got in his bag, but he enjoyed holding it out and trying to say, "Trick or treat." I'm glad he got practice in for tomorrow. Here he is with his first trick-or-treat goody of the year:

We found an owl demonstration. Oliver loved the owl, too!

Grandma Colleen carried Oliver for a while. She showed him the lights that were strung in preparation for Zoo Lights.

Here's my happy, little birthday monkey:

We discovered a train that ran through the zoo! It wasn't free for those of us three and older, but we sprung for the $1.50 to ride, anyway. Oliver did a great job waiting in line for the 20 minutes. After the train ride, he didn't want to leave, but he didn't protest too much. I was proud of him for not throwing a tantrum.

I'm pretty sure Oliver enjoyed his birthday. There were moments when he was a little overwhelmed, but the smiles and laughter far outweighed the tears. Happy second birthday to my amazing son, Oliver!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 52: Doll Bed

As is typical, I chose today's activity from The Toddler's Busy Book. "Doll Bed," as the activity is called, is just as it sounds. You make a bed for your child's dolls or stuffed animals. The book suggests using a box and a miniature pillow. I had neither of those things, so I used our laundry basket. I tucked a full-sized pillow inside, propping up one end to resemble pillows on a bed. I tucked one of Oliver's old receiving blankets on top of the pillow to act as a sheet, and then I put a small blanket on top of that to look like a comforter, like this:


I excitedly showed Oliver the bed. He was upset! I tried to tell him that it was a bed for the new stuffed baboon he got for his birthday. I demonstrated tucking the baboon in for him. Oliver took the baboon out and chucked it across the room! Then, he started dragging the bed across the floor. It wasn't until he got to the top of the stairs that I realized he was trying to take the laundry basket downstairs to do the laundry. I explained to Oliver that we weren't doing laundry right then. I told him we were going to play and put the baboon to bed. This was Oliver's reaction:


I tried one last attempt to get Oliver to play "Doll Bed." I grabbed Monkey, thinking Oliver would like to play with his favorite stuffed animal. I was wrong. Here is Oliver grabbing monkey out of the bed:


And here is Oliver throwing Monkey across the room, right by his new baboon:

So, doll bed was not a success. I don't think the activity will fail for all toddlers, but it failed miserably for this one. Thankfully, it didn't take any real effort to set up or clean up. It didn't cost me any money, either. However, because all it did was make Oliver angry, it gets a D.

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 40: Unwrapping Game

I took today's Unwrapping Game from The Toddler's Busy Book again. It's pretty self-explanatory. You take your toddler's favorite toys, wrap them up, and give them to him (or her) to unwrap and discover what's inside.

I wrapped up Oliver's stuffed monkey and Duplo dog toy when Oliver wasn't looking. When I handed the packages to Oliver, he inspected them and peeled the tape back a bit, but he quickly lost interest. Even with me prompting, "What's inside?" Oliver wasn't interested. Finally, I told him there was a dog inside of the package. That did it! Oliver immediately wanted the package to open. He got the dog out in no time:

After he got the dog out of the wrapping paper, Oliver wasn't interested in the other package. Nothing I said would motivate him to explore it and open it. Nothing, that is, until I told him Monkey was in there. Suddenly, the package was interesting. Here's Oliver opening up the package with Monkey in it:

In all, this game was OK. I give it a C grade. Oliver wasn't that interested in the activity, and so it seemed like a (slight) waste of effort and supplies. I don't think we'll play it very often, but I told my husband that it would be a good idea for us to play it before Oliver's second birthday party next month. Maybe with some practice before his party, he'll be able to open presents himself!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 28: Family Portrait

Oliver loves pointing out photos throughout the house, especially photos of his daddy. He'll climb up onto the couch just to point to a picture of Andrew and me on the side table. He loves standing in the stairwell to look at a picture of him with Andrew. I always point out all the people in photos, and he loves it.

While browsing for a fun activity, I discovered one called Family Portrait. It's cute and pretty comical. I have a camera and printer, so it's an economical activity for us, too. The first step is to get a large blanket and drape it over something, like boxes, to create a good background without distractions. I hung the blanket over the headboard on our bed and draped it down. Then, you gather up all your child's favorite toys and stuffed animals, and you scatter them into the photo. If your child doesn't sit still, you can just take a picture of the animals. If you can manage it, though, take a few shots of your child in the photo. Here are ours:

I did all of that yesterday. Then, I went to print out the picture to show Oliver. Wouldn't you know, something went wrong with the printer! It kept printing in a green tint. So, I asked my husband if he could print out a photo on regular paper and bring it home to me. He did because he's awesome.

Today, I sat Oliver down, and I showed him the photo. I pointed out Monkey to him, and he was visibly interested. He pointed out all his animals to me. Then, I pointed to the picture of him, and I said, "Look, that's you! That's Oliver!" He pointed at the picture of himself, and then he pointed to him, and said, "Two!" How cute!
That was basically the end of the activity. It was pretty anticlimactic. I have the photo hung on the fridge for now so Oliver can look at it, but it hasn't captured his attention since. It was pretty fun making the photo scene, and Oliver enjoyed it, too, even though he didn't know what was going on! I give the activity a B- because it was fun making the picture happen. Because it was just a one-time thing and isn't that interesting for more than a minute or two, I don't think it deserves a higher grade than that. Still, I'm glad we did it this one time.