Back Home and Back Again

Auntie K sent us to PA in July for 2 weeks.  Following are some picture highlights.

Showing Aunti K all the toys.

Wineberries

It was so hot it was hard to be outside even for 15 minutes.

Auntie K was super good to us.

Meeting baby Frannie for the first time.

Uncle Frankie!

Cheesesteaks Oh the cheesesteaks!

Playing ball everywhere with everyone!

At Mimi's house a favorite destination!

Aunt Brenda!

Uncle Nate at Tamatos Deli!

Playing with Poppa Guido!

Making your own crayon at the Crayola factory!

Yeah!

The time of our lives...

Hollis is a little man.  Talking in sentences, identifying colors, using adjectives... he is just blowing my mind everyday.  I feel like the luckiest mother in the world to get to spend every day and nearly every minute with the love of my life. He slows me down to observe the wonder of nature and speeds me up to keep me by his side.  He never stops always exploring, always playing.  He loves to spend time with friends young and old, real and imaginary.  My favorite days are those with now obligations where we just get to play inside, outside and explore this world together.  He is almost two, and we are planning our big family camping trip to the Strawberry Mountains, Hollis says he likes it.

21 Months

I wish I had time to post everyday.  Everyday Hollis does something, says somethings and I think to myself I should blog about that and the day slips by.  They all do.   Hollis is still very into balls.  Now, it is baseball and everything included from gloves to bats to baseball tees to home runs.  Every morning, before or after breakfast he will give me a bat and he will grab a bat for himself.  Then we practice pitching and hitting together.  The other night he when I pitched the ball to him, he swung, dropped the bat and ran in a circle screaming "home run" "home run" and I didn't even know that he knew what home run was.   He likes to watch videos on mlb.com and hoot and holler when someone makes a good hit.  He spend literally hours outside hitting the ball off the tee over and over again.  He is so young yet so dedicated to the sport, the sport of balls. 

He is speaking a lot lately.  I catch myself listening to him babble only to realize he was saying something like "momma mango" "mango treat" "momma mango treat" or "outside"  "shoe outside"  "shoe outside momma tee" Today I couldn't even guess what he was saying.  He was very angry that I took the toothpaste container from him and replaced it with an empty one.  He kept saying something as he cried.  I finally realized he was saying "brush" so I gave him a tooth brush put some toothpaste on it, he brushed his teeth happily and walked about the house. It must be so tough for him sometimes! 

He loves his baby swap family.  Moms, dads, but especially the girls Ayla and Anni.  He talks about them all the time.  When he gets to their houses on Monday or Thursday he screams with pleasure and runs to play with them.  Today we went to the park to play with friends and he had a blast climbing up ladders, chasing friends, and just being outdoors.  He seems to run away less, and l like that. 

He loves art.  He asks to paint regularly.  He will paint anything he can get his hands on, my old drawings, himself.  I can't leave him alone with the paints or markers very long before he is covered. 

He laughs a lot.  He loves to play on the bed right after he wakes up.  I want to cuddle, but he would rather pretend we are trapped under pillows and need help.  He will scream out "Georgie Help!"  "Daddy Help" even if no one is home.  He laughs the whole time. 

He is starting to understand space, desires and his own strength.  This is problematic when I find that he has pulled a dining room chair to the freezer, and he standing on it trying to get into the freezer say "pop" "pop" "pop"

When he doesn't want to do something, there is no way to get it to happen.  I just walk away and wait for him to return and try again hoping he may have forgotten that he didn't want to put his jacket on.  He is so strong and stubborn at times, and then so agreeable and helpful at others.  He is really exploring all that he can do and be, it wares on me as much as it is a delight to watch. 

He likes to talk on the phone, especially to his friend Jo.  When he is having a tough time in the car I just call Jo and hand him the phone.  He just says hi over and over again and listens to Jo talk.  Sometimes when we are at home he will take the phone over to places and try and show Jo things.  I narrate. 

The Good Life

Time is flying by!  The Pacific Northwest weather has been great.  Downtown Farmers' Markets have started, it is a good life.  Hollis recently turn 20 months. 

Hollis is a mimicking machine.  He repeats almost everything I say.  He is always talking about Lego guys, baseballs, trees, birds and trains (choo-choo).  He has quite the vocabulary in sound effects which he uses when ever he plays with trains, cars or figures.  He likes to pretend he is a cat or that he is sleeping. 

He is still a climber.  There ain't no mountain high enough for this kid.  Every Sunday we go hiking with good friends to explore nature, watch wildlife and most importantly get dirty.  Hollis quickly finds sticks (swords) and battles it out as he runs along the path.  He loves running downhill, and prefers Auntie Jo to hold him on the inclines.  He never tires of throwing rocks into the Willamette River.

This kids asks for his helmet and backpack (bah-pah) first thing every morning.  I don't argue, a toddler who wants a helmet on 24-7 is a good thing for me. 

He loves to color with markers, crayons and he loves to paint.  He continues to explore more colors, more ways to get paint on the paper, and more ways to make a colorful mess.  I love it.  Last week we had a great time painting with friends. 

Happy New Year!

Hollis and Joelene on a bridge at Finley Wildlife Preserve.

A second Christmas with Georgie!

It has been a while since I last posted!  My how time flies when your busy working, busy being a momma and trying to find to sleep on top of that!  Anyway, Hollis is such a delight!  We had such a great year together in 2012, and 2013 is off to great start.  Every Sunday we go hiking with Joelene.  It is tough to get out into nature because it isn't directly accessible and it has been so cold.  Somehow the sock gloves are no longer keeping Hollis's hands as warm as he would like.  He is pretty good at keeping busy on these hikes.  Often he likes to hike on his own for the first bit, before he asks Jo to carry him. 

We had a second Christmas with Georgie when he got back from Arizona.  We saved most of the presents for his return.  Hollis enjoyed opening gifts with his big brother.  Georgie was especially happy to find gummy worms in his Santa Stocking.  We are still enjoying the many gifts that the family sent.  Just last week Georgie and I made some slime.  And we almost cracked open a new puzzle last night.

Hollis with his Baby Co-op buds, Ayla and Annika. 

 Hollis's Baby Co-op started up again early in the New Year and he was so happy to be reunited with his best buds.  He spends Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with these girls each week.  He also started a Fit Kids Toddler class at the Benton Center.  He loves all the activity with his 12 or so other classmates, many returning from his fall toddler class.  Each Thursday we sing songs, play in the gymnasium, eat snack and read books with his classmates. 

Hollis and Momma at Oak Creek

He just turned 17 months 3 days ago.  He is very verbal.  His favorite words are guy, car, ball, cheese and cracker.  Cheese refers to any snack.  He loves reading, his favorite books are all about balls "My Yellow Ball", "Balls", and many more.  Thanks to our public library I can keep this kid entertained for hours with ball books.  Speaking of balls, the kid amazes me with his ball talent.  He kicks, knee kicks and even head butts balls.  We are saving some Christmas cash to put him into little kickers.  And tonight we are going to Eli and Corbin's basketball practice. 

Hollis and Jo at Bezell

Outside of our family of four, Joelene is easily his favorite person.  He often cries when we leave the farm or when Jo leaves the house.  Jo explains "It is a lot of pressure to keep up her awesomeness."  She lies.  It all comes so natural to her.   She always does fun things that I would never think of doing, like finding crawdads, hiding in the bushes when Hollis isn't looking, she turned the box I sent to her house filled with Hollis's train set into a tunnel.  She put velcro strips on her kitchen island and put velcro on the toys.  She is always coming up with new ways to blow Hollis toddler mind. 

Hollis and Daddy love to wrestle.  I haven't quite got so comfortable with rough housing and Hollis can tell, he usually ignores my invites to roll around on the floor, but never passes up a ride on Momma's back.  Hollis loves to pretend he is a cat and crawls and meows around the house.  And still he looks forward to bathtime especially if his brother joins him.  I am so blessed with a great family and friends.  Happy New Year.

15 Months

Today Hollis is 15 months.  I just read the parenting handout on 15-16 months and this little guy is right on target.  These days goes by so fast.  Hollis wakes up, looks for Dad while I make a cup of coffee.  I drink my coffee while Hollis eats breakfast.  He usually eat blueberries, yogurt and some of my oatmeal.  Then he sits on the potty for a little while before he gets dressed.  Then we are both ready for the day's adventure. 

Yesterday he put on his brothers bike helmet and tried to go out the front door.  For a kid who hates hats and hoods, he is fine with helmet as long as he gets a bike ride out of it. 
Yesterday we went to the farm and Hollis spent the morning entertained by Joelene while I tried to get some work done.  They spent hours running around the barn throwing potatoes and stomping in puddles.  He was having some much fun he didn't want to leave. 

Hollis loves looking at books and sharing books with his family and friends.  We point at the pictures and talk about them, but rarely does he give me a chance to read before he turns the page.

Balls, of course.  I can't give an update with out mentioning these little round treasures.  Hollis lives to play ball.  Throwing and kicking and laughing he spends a good part of his days devoted to ball training and practice.

On the table

These days it is not unlikely to take my eyes off of Hollis for a couple of seconds, and then find him squealing in delight standing on top of the dining room table.  We play outside, I look away for a second to dig up some dead plants and he is running fast towards the street.  This morning I stepped out of the living room to change my clothes and he was screaming within seconds because he managed to pull a fire place broom from its holder onto his face.  Danger lurks at every second in my toddler raising life.  I relax when he sleeps or is tied down in his high chair eating.