A couple of months ago I decided it would be fun for the kids to have a scrapbook each with photos from every month of their lives, plus pictures from birthdays and holidays and other special events. I've begun by pulling out photos from each month, and just for fun I have put them together to show a year per page. It's quite fun for me to see how much they have changed! I've posted these pictures for you to see. Enjoy!
The only thing Pippa has been able to talk about for the last month was how she wanted roller skates for her birthday. Rollerskates this, rollerskates that. So before I spent a ton of money on rollerskates, I figured it would make sense to put her on a pair first to see if she actually likes it, or if she just saw it on TV and thought it looked cool and then once she got them she would never use them again (I'm guilty of doing that on more than one occasion. So last week Aunt Silly and I took Pippa to the local roller rink to toss on a couple of skates and see how she would do.
Oh boy, it looks like we have another toddler on our hands! Oliver's no longer a baby, but a small toddler. He is becoming a really good walker, every day able to get further without falling or tripping on something. He is very steady, controlled and deliberate, always choosing to walk between pieces of furniture rather than crawling. He just turned 10 months old, so it's going in the baby book as walking at 10 months!
The best picture I have of the 3 kids together. We're working on it...
We did go for a pretty long walk around our neighborhood the other day. The weather was great and we took the long way to a new park next to the school. This new park is made especially for the preschool set and it's great! On our way we saw lots of fun things, but the favorite of both Pippa and especially William were the wind chimes in somebody's yard. He was fascinated by them and the noise they made! "What's that noise?"
The Wind Chimes
The house with the carved bears. I love the carved bears!
The Preschool-Sized Park
Pippa and myself playing outside the house on a sunny afternoon.
Like I've said, Oliver really wants to walk. Over the last week he has been practicing taking steps without holding on to anything. I keep turning around to see him hurtling toward me. Here's a short video of the star!
This last weekend was President's Day, so we decided to drive up to Portland to get our fix of the bigger city. We always see a difference in the kids when we go on these trips; their vocabulary seems to increase at super-speed and you can almost hear their minds working overtime.
Pippa's favorite thing this time, besides the hotel and the Children's Museum, was the escalator at the mall. I can't think of any here in Bend, which seems crazy to me. There must be at least one public escalator somewhere, just nowhere I go!
Riding the Washington Square mall escalator
Oliver looking a little mid-blink! See those teeth?
Pippa running around the Oregon Garden before heading back to Bend
Trains! William could have stood there all day watching that train go round!
They were great travelers overall and we all had a great time. I can't wait to do it again!
Oliver has been busy growing teeth this month. On Jan 1st he got his first bottom tooth, then a couple of weeks later his top teeth came through, then a few days ago he got the second bottom tooth. He's also started to say "no, no, no, no, no" when we move him away from a toy. It's like his growing up or something.
Speaking of that, he had his 9 month well baby check up last week. He's weighing in at 22lb, 10oz and is 28.5" tall. He also has a cold, along with all of us, but Pippa got her first ear infection. She has perked up now she's on antibiotics.
I know I keep updating about Oliver, but he is just doing so much so quickly right now. Over the last few days he started letting go and standing, albeit for only a second. Yesterday I got a shot of that second for you!
Okay, I'll talk about William. He's very sweet and very boyish. He hurls himself at things and laughs when he lands, he headbutts things when he's cross and then realizes it hurts and he likes to play catch and soccer. He's shy when there are people around but talks a lot when there aren't. He knows how to say everything and he uses more and more phrases. His face lights up when I understand him, which is most of the time these days or when I get the camera out, or when the phone rings. He laughs a lot and has such a sense of humor.
"I'm gonna poke your eye!"
"Catch"
William's solution to baby brothers stealing his lunch. Lock him out.
We dog sat the Johnson's dog, Rocket, for a night. William found a new best friend.
Here is Pippa after a sponge painting session. I wasn't paying enough attention, so she decided she would prepare to try out for the Blue Man Group.