Keeping Busy

Here's some pictures of what Oliver does during the day for entertainment.

Play with ice.
Play with play-dough.
Eat...with strange utensils.
Play in the sandbox.
Swing.

And some pictures of what Isabel does during the day for entertainment.

Play it the sand-box.
Play with friends.
Eat...with strange utensils.
Make a mess of herself.

Family Time

We love living so close to the water. There aren't big sandy beaches near here, but there's plenty of sand and rocks and water and fun to be had.

Catching Up, Halloween

We finally worked out some issues we were having with our internet connection, so I'm going to try to post some pictures of the last couple of months and try to catch up over the holidays. Maybe my new years resolution will have to be to post pictures at least once a week...we'll see...

Halloween

Once again Isabel was very excited to carve her pumpkin with daddy, she planned out exactly what she wanted carved (a volcano, we couldn't figure out how to do it though). And once again she almost vomited when the pumpkin was opened up and she saw the insides and smelled that good pumpkin smell. Don't know what it is, but it has happened every year, and I kind of had to giggle a little. Both kids really enjoyed trick-or-treating at the six houses in our neighborhood. We had plans to go to another neighborhood too, but they were both had a cold so they were happy to come home and enjoy their candy after half an hour.

Preparing the pumpkin
All dressed up and ready for some treats.
My silly girl.
So fun trick-or-treating in the cold weather.
Love my pumpkin.
Enjoying the spoils.

Family Day

A couple of weeks ago after everyone came back from ship trials there was a Family Day at the base for the JSF folks. We all got to go see where Robert works and check out the airplanes. The kids made cards for the troops and got to meet the pilots. They even took a family picture for us!

Pre-Halloween

Halloween came early to us this year. I took the kids to the sculpture gardens to trick-or-treat in the garden. They had tons of fun! Oliver had a great time checking out all the other costumes. We heard lots of ohhs and ahhs every time he saw some funny costume while Isabel inspected every piece of candy they got and decided when exactly she was going to eat it.

In case you can't tell Oliver is a construction worker, he just wouldn't keep his hat on for more than three seconds. And yes, Isabel is a giraffe again this year. But hey the costume still fit and no one here has seen her in it. And just in case you're worried we will be trick-or-treating on Halloween night around our neighborhood too.

Weekend Activities

We enjoyed a beautiful fall weekend. On Saturday we went to a local Amish farm and picked out some pumpkins, squash, apples, and mums. The kids enjoyed riding around on the wagon and watching the horses plow the field.


Then in the evening Robert and Isabel decided to camp out in the backyard so we broke out the tent and sleeping bags. Isabel had a wonderful time playing in the tent, having a camping treat of baked bananas, marshmallows, and chocolate chips, and reading books with daddy. She fell right to sleep and would have stayed out all night, but Robert made her come in at 4:00 am because her teeth were chattering so much. They finished their campout on the family room floor. In the morning we used those apples we had bought to make a delicious apple pie...a great ending to a wonderful weekend.

(the view in our backyard is so beautiful right now)

Corn Maze

We decided to brave the cold rain this weekend and visit one of the local corn mazes. None of us had ever been and we all ended up having a great time! I think the kids liked the petting zoo and corn box even more than the maze itself. We took the shortest possible route through the maze, and even Oliver was able to walk through most of it. Both kids enjoyed exploring and collecting corn cobs and rocks as went. We will definitely go back next year!

Arrrrrgh

Isabel celebrated talk like a pirate day a couple of weeks ago by dressing up in her pirate finery. Introducing The Dread Pirate Isabel:

Being Oliver

Oliver's first birthday came and went so fast that I didn't get a chance to sit down and document how much he's grown. Here are some facts about our amazing little boy:

- Personality: laid back, serious, loving
- Enjoys: trying to copy anything his sister is doing, picking up rocks, giving mommy hugs, watching tractors and trucks
- Teeth: four
- Communication: does well with grunts, squeals, pointing, and other random noises. No words other than momma, dadda, and deldel (for Isabel)
- Walking: yes, doing it well since Hurricane Irene. He does this cute stiff legged walk, tries to run, and has been trying to jump the last few days.
- Food: enjoys eating, but definitely picky about what he puts in his mouth. Most notable dislikes are cheese and gluten-free bread
- Sleep: has turned into a great sleeper! Usually sleeps from about 7:30 pm to 7:00 am without a peep, then has two naps that total about another two hours of sleep.

One

Happy First Birthday to my baby boy! I cannot believe Oliver is one year old! We had a wonderful birthday week, celebrating with lots of fun activities and a visit from Grandpa Urso.

We started the day by visiting Artsfest at our local sculpture garden where the kids had fun making crafts, playing with balls, and drinking/eating lemonade, then Isabel helped Oliver open all of his gifts. We ended the day with singing and cupcakes.

Milestones

I'm constantly thinking that time is just flying by these days. I can't believe how big my two kids are getting. Last week was Isabel's three and a half birthday and this week Oliver is eleven months old.

Isabel is great. It has been so fun to watch her growing up lately, her little mind is just developing its own way of thinking. This does present some issues as she tries to push her boundaries and see what mommy's breaking point is, but for the most part it's just funny. She likes to make up stories and songs and sayings, and is always talking to her imaginary friends. Yesterday she was telling Thumper (her imaginary pet bunny) "I think at 4:00 am" instead of the more traditional "I think, therefore I am."


Oliver is changing every day too. On Saturday he took his first independent steps, although he hasn't repeated himself since so I think we might have a couple of weeks before he's running all over the house. On Monday he climbed all the way up the biggest slide at the playground and did not want to come back down. He is very opinionated these days and will scream bloody murder if he isn't getting his way.

Baptism

We had some family visiting this week, so while they were here we had Oliver baptized. It was a lovely ceremony with Isabel being a great helper, and Katie and Adrian the godparents. Welcome to the Christian family Oliver! And thank you Fr. Ray for doing this for us on Friday evening.

Hurray for the Internet!

We finally have our computer and internet up and running. I'm so happy, now I don't have to do everything on my phone!!!!

In no particular order, here are some pictures of what we've been up to the last couple of months:

Oliver found Isabel's cowboy hat while we were unpacking her room.

Isabel likes to pretend that she is camping. Doesn't everyone go camping with their curlers in?

Isabel and I watched the Forth of July fireworks from the trunk of our car. It was her first firework experience and she is still talking about it.

Oliver LOVES tractors. All of the building is so much fun!

Both kids liked the boats at St. Mary's City.
I try to take the kids down to the water at least once a week. Their favorite is the beach, but they also like to go for hikes by the Patuxent with Daddy on the weekend.

Robert turned 40 two days after we moved in!

Oliver loves to investigate everything, he can now climb in the washer and dryer.

We haven't been on base yet, but we took the kids to the Naval Aviation Museum so that they could see the x-35 that daddy worked on in California.

Aren't they just so cute...
Isabel has been keeping busy at nap time with puffy paint. For a week she painted about fifty every day.