My post have been few and far between. We have been so busy that there is just no way blogging has been able to fit in my schedule.
We decided its time to upgrade. Time for a new casa, something with more space. After Hanley came along, it seems as though we quickly outgrew this house. So, we decided to put our house on the market earlier this month. Thank goodness, our beautiful home sold in 7 days! Keeping this place spic and span with a one year old is darn near impossible. As I would clean up one mess, he would be in the other room making another mess! It didn't help that Cody was out of town too so all the mess management was on me.
The thought of leaving this place in 7 weeks is just heart wrenching. We gave this house so much character and personal touch that part of me can't imagine not living here. I guess its pretty natural to fall in love and have an emotional attachment to your first home though.
After making it past the inspection period, it's become more real to me that we will be leaving here for good which means we will be leaving behind so many great memories. I often find myself pulling out my camera, feeling the need to capture the last memories we will ever make in our first home.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
17 MONTHS
This past month flew by in a flash. Life has seriously been beyond crazy here.
-Cody has had to do some traveling for work lately...everything from driving to the Canada border, nearing the Idaho border, and flying halfway across the country to Fort Lewis, Missouri. It's made for some lonely nights around here and exhausting days for him.
-Hanley took his first big tumble the other day. He tripped outside and fell face first onto the concrete. His poor decision not to break his fall with his hands lead to one messed up little face. Poor kid. Of course it happened when Daddy was out of state.
-Drop off's for daycare have been especially hard on Hanley lately. I think it's related to Cody being gone so much.
-Words he has added to his vocabulary: Bite, Please (which sounds more like peeeeease), Shoe, Hot and Puppy.
-He still loves bath time. As soon as you turn on the bath water, he comes running. He will try to crawl into the tub fully clothed and everything, he's gets that excited.
At 17 Months Old...
-Cody has had to do some traveling for work lately...everything from driving to the Canada border, nearing the Idaho border, and flying halfway across the country to Fort Lewis, Missouri. It's made for some lonely nights around here and exhausting days for him.
-Hanley took his first big tumble the other day. He tripped outside and fell face first onto the concrete. His poor decision not to break his fall with his hands lead to one messed up little face. Poor kid. Of course it happened when Daddy was out of state.
-Drop off's for daycare have been especially hard on Hanley lately. I think it's related to Cody being gone so much.
-Words he has added to his vocabulary: Bite, Please (which sounds more like peeeeease), Shoe, Hot and Puppy.
-He still loves bath time. As soon as you turn on the bath water, he comes running. He will try to crawl into the tub fully clothed and everything, he's gets that excited.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
A Spring Break Tradition
My first day back to work post maternity leave was Spring Break last year. My Mom was here to watch Hanley that week and help us adjust back into our new routine. Well, that started the tradition-The Hanley and Meme Spring Break Tradition.
My Mom was here the whole week....we ALL got spoiled.
My Mom helped around the house, prepped dinners for us and would do dishes after dinner to give us time to play with Hanley.
Hanley and Meme played outside as much as possible. Most the days were raining but Hanley didn't care. He still tried to convince Meme to take him outside...and he usually got his way.
We attempted potty training. Hanley started out doing great the first half of the first day. I was sooo impressed with him! About mid-day though, he decided he wanted nothing to do with the potty. So, most of the week was trying to get him back on track with being okay with sitting on the potty. Needless to say, its still a work in progress.
We took advantage of having a free babysitter which means Cody and I got a date night! We had a gift certificate to Cinetopia from our friends Cam and Sarah from Christmas that we made sure to put to good use! Cody must love me a lot because he let me pick the movie...again! He took me to see the Veronica Mars movie (which totally brought back so many fun memories from college!).
The week was extra busy because we are getting ready to put our house on the market, search for a new home and Cody had a last minute business trip to Boise. I don't know if my Mom fully understands how much help she was with all we had going on. It was a great week for all.
My Mom was here the whole week....we ALL got spoiled.
My Mom helped around the house, prepped dinners for us and would do dishes after dinner to give us time to play with Hanley.
Hanley and Meme played outside as much as possible. Most the days were raining but Hanley didn't care. He still tried to convince Meme to take him outside...and he usually got his way.
We attempted potty training. Hanley started out doing great the first half of the first day. I was sooo impressed with him! About mid-day though, he decided he wanted nothing to do with the potty. So, most of the week was trying to get him back on track with being okay with sitting on the potty. Needless to say, its still a work in progress.
We took advantage of having a free babysitter which means Cody and I got a date night! We had a gift certificate to Cinetopia from our friends Cam and Sarah from Christmas that we made sure to put to good use! Cody must love me a lot because he let me pick the movie...again! He took me to see the Veronica Mars movie (which totally brought back so many fun memories from college!).
The week was extra busy because we are getting ready to put our house on the market, search for a new home and Cody had a last minute business trip to Boise. I don't know if my Mom fully understands how much help she was with all we had going on. It was a great week for all.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
16 MONTHS
Well, another month flew by. Hanley's 16th month birthday fell on a Monday and I happened to get that Monday off of work! It was really fun to spend the day with him.
-Hanley LOVES to be outside. When he wants to go outside he will grab his shoes and hand them to you, then stick his arm straight out for you to put his jacket on. This really makes me excited about camping this summer.
-He stopped signing once he started using a little bit of vocabulary.
-He can get up and down from the dinner table chairs without any help. When he is hungry he will sit up at the table or drag his highchair to wherever you are. The minute he decides he is hungry, you better have sometime ready for him! His patience is about equivalent to his Daddy's.
-He likes to hold hands when he's walking. I love it!
-He made a new friend named Roscoe. We dog sat for our friends Cam and Sarah for a long weekend. Hanley loved Roscoe and Maxi hated him! She found the highest spot in the house and didn't move all weekend.
-April is expecting baby #2 early this fall. We are so excited for her and her family but the thought of not dropping Hanley off with her every morning is hard to wrap my head around. Her and Hanley have such a strong bond. Next to Cody and I, she knows him better than anyone. It will be sad to see him start a new daycare chapter in his life.
-We were up in Seattle last weekend to visit Courtney. She took Hanley to the Children's Museum. He loved playing with balls in the gravity area and was obsessed with the fish tank!
-We spent some time in Eugene celebrating my Dad's birthday, visiting Baby Colton, spending time with my brother who is recovering from knee surgery and having drinks with good friends. Opa took Hanley to visit Grandma Tina. He got his first Happy Meal on this outing as well. Thank you for that Opa...
-He got his first haircut. Good bye curls! Hello slightly more tamed madness.
-He got to meet 3 week old Baby Jaclyn and 2 month old Baby Ellie. Yup, he already loves the ladies...
-Hanley's took his obsession with Eli and Alligator to a new level this month. We made the mistake of taking him into a restaurant without them. Just ask Courtney and Kyle how dinner went that night. I also forgot Eli and Al over at Mindy's house one day. I tried to put him down for nap with a different blanket and stuffed animal. He ended up chucking the stuffed giraffe out of his crib and across the room (hey, at least we know he has a good arm!) and...then he refused to nap.
-Cody built his own mash tun and started all grain brewing. Hanley loves to "help" Daddy brew and by help, I mean mostly be in Daddy's way :o)
At 16 Months Old...
-Hanley LOVES to be outside. When he wants to go outside he will grab his shoes and hand them to you, then stick his arm straight out for you to put his jacket on. This really makes me excited about camping this summer.
-He stopped signing once he started using a little bit of vocabulary.
-He can get up and down from the dinner table chairs without any help. When he is hungry he will sit up at the table or drag his highchair to wherever you are. The minute he decides he is hungry, you better have sometime ready for him! His patience is about equivalent to his Daddy's.
-He likes to hold hands when he's walking. I love it!
-He made a new friend named Roscoe. We dog sat for our friends Cam and Sarah for a long weekend. Hanley loved Roscoe and Maxi hated him! She found the highest spot in the house and didn't move all weekend.
-April is expecting baby #2 early this fall. We are so excited for her and her family but the thought of not dropping Hanley off with her every morning is hard to wrap my head around. Her and Hanley have such a strong bond. Next to Cody and I, she knows him better than anyone. It will be sad to see him start a new daycare chapter in his life.
-We were up in Seattle last weekend to visit Courtney. She took Hanley to the Children's Museum. He loved playing with balls in the gravity area and was obsessed with the fish tank!
-We spent some time in Eugene celebrating my Dad's birthday, visiting Baby Colton, spending time with my brother who is recovering from knee surgery and having drinks with good friends. Opa took Hanley to visit Grandma Tina. He got his first Happy Meal on this outing as well. Thank you for that Opa...
-He got his first haircut. Good bye curls! Hello slightly more tamed madness.
-He got to meet 3 week old Baby Jaclyn and 2 month old Baby Ellie. Yup, he already loves the ladies...
-Hanley's took his obsession with Eli and Alligator to a new level this month. We made the mistake of taking him into a restaurant without them. Just ask Courtney and Kyle how dinner went that night. I also forgot Eli and Al over at Mindy's house one day. I tried to put him down for nap with a different blanket and stuffed animal. He ended up chucking the stuffed giraffe out of his crib and across the room (hey, at least we know he has a good arm!) and...then he refused to nap.
-Cody built his own mash tun and started all grain brewing. Hanley loves to "help" Daddy brew and by help, I mean mostly be in Daddy's way :o)
Monday, February 10, 2014
15 MONTHS
Tonight I got emotional putting Hanley down for bed. As tears welled up in my eyes, I asked Cody why he has to grow up so fast. Without skipping a beat, Cody said "Honey, he was smearing handfuls of sh*t all over his crib this morning. He's not that old!"
Well, yes. That did happen this morning. Hanley was indeed caught this morning finger painting with goods from his own diaper. Not really how we wanted to start the day...but it's still hard to believe my baby is becoming less and less of a baby each day.
-Portland got snow in February! We got a 5-6 inches at our house but other parts of Portland got up to 10 inches. It was Hanley's first experience with snow!!! He wasn't too sure what to think about the snow at first and wasn't thrilled about getting bundled up in his snow gear. We pulled him around on the sled but it wasn't until Cody took him sledding down the driveway, that he really seemed to start enjoying it. He's a natural dare devil. By the 2nd day, he had no problems getting bundled up because he knew it meant he got to go out to play! And by the 3rd day, if he saw his snow suit out, he begged to put it on!
-I have been reading to Hanley since day 1 and he has always enjoyed it. In fact, before he became mobile, reading to him would calm him down when he was cranky. When he started walking he lost interest in reading. He wanted to constantly be on the go and acted like he didn't have the time for that anymore! Just in the last couple of weeks, he started getting back into reading again!!! Which totally makes this Mama's day! I will often find him sitting there just flipping through different books on his own. Sometimes he will even bring me a book and crawl up on my lap so I can read it to him.
-Earlier I posted about Hanley's use of vocabulary. What I didn't mention is that somehow we escaped (at least for now!) from him using the word "no". I know far too often, that is a favorite first word for kiddos.
-If he wants you to do something, he will grab your hand and place it on exactly what he wants. It's so cute but demanding at the same time!
-We spent Super Bowl at Mindy and Clayton's house. Hanley had lots of fun breaking in all Baby Jaclyn's new toys! At nap time, we put him in Jaclyn's crib which is equipped with the video monitor. We have never used a monitor of any kind at our house but I have to say, I loved being able to see him put himself down for nap! I think Mindy made me a believer in the video monitor...Future Olson Baby #2 may just get a video monitor someday!
-One night last week, Hanley woke up twice in the middle of the night. This is really unusual for our great little sleeper. He's working on another molar so I couldn't blame him too much though! The first time, we let him settle himself back down but the second time I went in to check in on him. I picked him up and rocked him back to sleep. He fell asleep immediately but I just couldn't bring myself to put him back down. I rocked him for 45 minutes before going back to bed and let me tell you...I LOVED every moment of it! Since we like to encourage self soothing, intervening isn't something I would normally do. But in the back of my mind, I thought I better take advantage of the opportunity because someday he's not going to want me to rock him. He's only little once and darn it, I was going to indulge in the moment! So, I did just that.
Well, yes. That did happen this morning. Hanley was indeed caught this morning finger painting with goods from his own diaper. Not really how we wanted to start the day...but it's still hard to believe my baby is becoming less and less of a baby each day.
At 15 months old...
-Portland got snow in February! We got a 5-6 inches at our house but other parts of Portland got up to 10 inches. It was Hanley's first experience with snow!!! He wasn't too sure what to think about the snow at first and wasn't thrilled about getting bundled up in his snow gear. We pulled him around on the sled but it wasn't until Cody took him sledding down the driveway, that he really seemed to start enjoying it. He's a natural dare devil. By the 2nd day, he had no problems getting bundled up because he knew it meant he got to go out to play! And by the 3rd day, if he saw his snow suit out, he begged to put it on!
-I have been reading to Hanley since day 1 and he has always enjoyed it. In fact, before he became mobile, reading to him would calm him down when he was cranky. When he started walking he lost interest in reading. He wanted to constantly be on the go and acted like he didn't have the time for that anymore! Just in the last couple of weeks, he started getting back into reading again!!! Which totally makes this Mama's day! I will often find him sitting there just flipping through different books on his own. Sometimes he will even bring me a book and crawl up on my lap so I can read it to him.
-Earlier I posted about Hanley's use of vocabulary. What I didn't mention is that somehow we escaped (at least for now!) from him using the word "no". I know far too often, that is a favorite first word for kiddos.
-If he wants you to do something, he will grab your hand and place it on exactly what he wants. It's so cute but demanding at the same time!
-We spent Super Bowl at Mindy and Clayton's house. Hanley had lots of fun breaking in all Baby Jaclyn's new toys! At nap time, we put him in Jaclyn's crib which is equipped with the video monitor. We have never used a monitor of any kind at our house but I have to say, I loved being able to see him put himself down for nap! I think Mindy made me a believer in the video monitor...Future Olson Baby #2 may just get a video monitor someday!
-One night last week, Hanley woke up twice in the middle of the night. This is really unusual for our great little sleeper. He's working on another molar so I couldn't blame him too much though! The first time, we let him settle himself back down but the second time I went in to check in on him. I picked him up and rocked him back to sleep. He fell asleep immediately but I just couldn't bring myself to put him back down. I rocked him for 45 minutes before going back to bed and let me tell you...I LOVED every moment of it! Since we like to encourage self soothing, intervening isn't something I would normally do. But in the back of my mind, I thought I better take advantage of the opportunity because someday he's not going to want me to rock him. He's only little once and darn it, I was going to indulge in the moment! So, I did just that.
His Growing Vocabulary
Today I got an extra snow day (okay, more like an ICE day) at home with Hanley! Today has been one of those days that makes me wish I was a stay at home mom. All I am going to say is that Cody better come home and remind me of the "difficult" days at home before I walk into work tomorrow and resign...
Today also happens to be Hanley 15 month birthday! We celebrated by finally getting out of the house to play (after being snowed/iced in since Thursday evening)! The roads weren't too bad (I only hit one slick spot that made my heart race).
This month I really noticed Hanley's ability to communicate has increased drastically but I don't believe I have really blogged about his use of vocabulary. So here it is...
1) His first word was "bye" at 10 months old. I distinctly remember going to the grocery store on a Sunday in September (the day after Cody's high school reunion). He went around the store waving to everyone, saying "bye".
2) His second word was "hi" at 12 months old. He shocked Cody and I both when he picked up the phone and said "hi". This was also his first phone call. Here is Kim's account of that call on Nov 19th...
"I had my first phone call from Hanley last night. It went something like this:
Oma: Hello ( a little jostling of the phone) hello, Hanley is that you?
Hanley : Hi (clear as a bell)
Oma: Hi Hanley ! How are you today?
Hanley : (a little Hanley speak Oma has not learned yet)
Oma: Have you been a good boy today?...
Hanley: (very enthusiastically ) Da!
I think that is Norwegian or Canadian for 'Hell yeah!'
And then he hung up! I love you little man!"
Oma: Hello ( a little jostling of the phone) hello, Hanley is that you?
Hanley : Hi (clear as a bell)
Oma: Hi Hanley ! How are you today?
Hanley : (a little Hanley speak Oma has not learned yet)
Oma: Have you been a good boy today?...
Hanley: (very enthusiastically ) Da!
I think that is Norwegian or Canadian for 'Hell yeah!'
And then he hung up! I love you little man!"
3)A few days after that phone call he FINALLY started saying "Mama" and "Dada".
4)More recently he has started saying "uh-oh" whenever something is dropped (He often purposely drops things so he can say it! He also says" stinky" and plugs his nose!
5)Other words he says but aren't as clear are "thank you" and "cracker".
Date Night!
I called my Mom a three weeks ago and begged her to come up to give Cody and I a night out. Okay, lets be real, there was no begging involved! My Mom jumped at the chance to have a night with the boy Hanley lucked out and got a night with not only Meme but Grandpa too! This can only mean one thing...he was double spoiled :o)
We started our night with dinner and drinks before the Blazer's game.
The Blazers were playing Minnesota and Cody happened to get great seats from work! The last time I watched Kevin Love play was at Mac Court and we all know the local boy didn't get any love there (after choosing to play for an out of state team-UCLA). It was fun to watch him play again and see him receive lots of support from the crowd. We both had a great time cheering on the Blazers and were happy to leave with a win that night!
After the game, we went out for ice cream before heading home. It was a fun way to spend our night out together.
I was a little worried about leaving Hanley just because he had been so clingy since our return home from vacation. It would be the first night since then that someone else put him to bed. Of course he did great! My Mom said the night was filled with lots of laughter and he went to bed right on time with no problems.
Meme was extra lucky that night. Not only did she get to spend the evening with such a happy boy but she got to be the last one to give him his VERY LAST bottle. After that night, he was done. Done for good.
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| Cuddles with Grandpa! |
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After the game, we went out for ice cream before heading home. It was a fun way to spend our night out together.
I was a little worried about leaving Hanley just because he had been so clingy since our return home from vacation. It would be the first night since then that someone else put him to bed. Of course he did great! My Mom said the night was filled with lots of laughter and he went to bed right on time with no problems.
Meme was extra lucky that night. Not only did she get to spend the evening with such a happy boy but she got to be the last one to give him his VERY LAST bottle. After that night, he was done. Done for good.
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