Together Again

Tomorrow Huts and I are leaving for Kansas City. The kids, meanwhile, are going to their great-grandparents. We will all be together again that night. I can't wait to give them a big hug and find out what they got from Santa this past week. Huts and I are bringing them another car load of presents for them to open on Christmas Day. I hope they're as happy to see us as we are them.

So Boring

That's what Ollie thinks of housecleaning. Whenever we clean house, like we did this past weekend, he opts out. "Don't you wanna help," Ollie? we ask. "No!" he shouts. "Cleaning is so boring." What a fight we are going to have on our hands later when he finally has to pitch in and help. Right now he is off the hook, but that won't be for long.

Missing Us

Ollie called home last night. He is having fun but says he needs to be with his family. We miss him too. I need to hear some of his stories. Just three more days and we will all be together again in Kansas City. Ollie is sure to come in with tales of the Santa parties on Friday and Saturday (last year Uncle Sam played Santa). Meanwhile, we've been getting the house ready for all of the stuff we are sure to bring back with us.

Gone

He didn't really want to, but Ollie got into Grandpa's car and went to Kansas City. He figured out halfway there where they were going and got upset, but all if fine now. No doubt he saw the Christmas tree and wall of presents. It also helped that uncle T.J. came and Ollie could fill him with all sorts of information about Transformers. Anyway, I am sure he will have a great time.

Big Brother Again!

We're finally pregnant. Ollie kind of gets it. He says that he wants a baby girl named Abby, like Hunter has. He asked his dad last night what the pregnancy test stick was. Huts told him, but I think he is going to need a few months to see it for himself. He does understand that the baby will be smaller than Abby at the sitter's (as small as he was).

Doesn't matter whether it's a girl or a boy, Ollie is bound and determined to call the new baby Abby. It does not matter what we actually name the child, Ollie is set on the name Abby and that's what he insists the name be. I don't have a problem with Abby, but I think a little boy might, and I don't see Huts going for the name Abner.

Cranky

Scene: Ollie is being cranky.

Tresa: Ollie, if you don't cut it out, I am going to scoop you up and put you into bed.
Ollie: How are you gonna do that, Mom, without a crane?

Smarty pants!

Not Going, Uh-Uh

That what Ollie says when we asked him about going to Grandma's for a visit this weekend. He refuses to hear of it. "You are my family," he says. He just cannot get his skull wrapped around the fact that there are immediate family and extended family. He tells us all of the time that he is never going to leave us, yeah right. "Sorry, Mom and Dad, but one day we will grow up and Tori will leave home. Don't worry, I will stay. I am going to live with you forever!" I hope he changes his mind when he sees Grand and Grandpa. If he doesn't go, I have no idea if Tori will. She seems daring enough to go it alone.

Festival of Lights

That's where Ollie headed tomorrow night. He saw the commercial on TV and hasn't stopped talking about it since. He is ready to see the red dragon that moves. We are getting them dinner from McDonalds afterwards. It should be a fun night after a fun day at home with Mom (furnace check). He can't wait to sleep in and play in his pajamas all day!

Jammy Fu Fighting

Nightly, after his bath, Ollie has one request. He wants to JAMMY FIGHT! This involves him and his sister wrestling with their Dad while he tickles them so much it makes Tickle Me Elmo look like a wimp. It always has to be in Tori's room as per Ollie's instructions. I think he likes it because I can toss him on the top bunk and shove him under the bed without much of a problem. It seems to make it more fun for him. His sister likes me to pretend to sleep and have me do the same while Ollie tries to jump on me from all angles.

Most of the time the Jammy fight ends within 30 minutes or when it changes to hide and seek. It ends when it changes to hide and seek because Ollie doesn't like to be scared when I jump out at them, so his brave sister is left to find me alone. She finds it fun.

There have been a few instances of injury. Ollie bumping his head on the bed frame, me dropping him on his head while flipping him around, but there have been no trips to the hospital and I hope to keep it that way. Especially since he insists we do this every night. I've had to say not a few nights like last night where he threw up a little bit of his dinner and then wanted to fight. I didn't want to be covered in vomit, so I told him he had to wait until tonight. Saturday night I begged off due to my back already being sore from lifting the toilet to replace the gasket and bolts. I'm getting old and sore from simple things, but the Jammy Fight must continue according to Master Ollie.

Ollie did not cry this time at the dentist. He was good and is all set for another six months. He got a red toothbrush and a yellow dinosaur. We took him out to eat and he was very good there, eating most of his macaroni and cheese and his cookies. He also conned his dad out of a quarter for some M&Ms.

He is looking forward to Christmas, mostly the presents. We're going to take him to the mall sometime and see if he has anything to say to Santa. Bet that doesn't work out. He is pretty sharp and knows that Santa lives at the North Pole. These fake Santa's just don't cut it for him.

Vacation Over

Ollie counted down the days of Thanksgiving and realized this morning that his time with Mom and Dad was over. He thinks that he is only going to Sharon's once this week, but he is wrong. He will be going all week, even on Friday when Mom and Dad p[lay hooky and finish their Christmas shopping. He had a good time staying at home, even staying in his pajamas all day long on two of the days. He was sick with a cold, so we let him stay in his PJs and play all day. He has played with every toy he owns I think, and even helped me select some for the collection at work. I won't tell you who he threw into the bag, but let me just say that he hates this particular doll, and so does Tori. The doll has been sitting untouched on a bookshelf for two years!

Movie Buddies

Ollie has started to watch more non-animated movies lately. He loved Wild Hogs, Pirates of the Caribbean and most recently Transformers. The only problem he has with these is that he can't watch them the first time by himself. Some of it is scary to him. Usually one of us watches it with him. He provides play-by-play commentary and asks all kinds of questions about the movie. He especially wanted to know where the other transformers were who weren't on the screen at the time...every 5 minutes!

Last night he tried to watch Spider-Man 3 by himself. He got about 15 minutes in before he got scared, so he went back to watching animated shows. We made a deal that after we cleaned the house tonight we'd watch Spider-Man together. I'm trying to get him to go see Bee Movie, but he isn't too convinced. I don't think he likes the theatre experience too much. Maybe I'll get him to go this weekend with the bribery of popcorn or candy

The Birds and The Bees

Ollie is becoming more and more aware of relationships. He really would like another baby sister and asked us how we can make one (I told him to leave that to his dad and me). He also thought it was funny when I kissed his dad and giggled last night when he told us that Grandma Marie could sleep with Grandpa Steve. He covered his mouth on that one. According to Ollie, we can[t go to Grandma's because she doesn't have enough beds. She needs one for me and Ollie, one for Tori and Huts, and one for her, and giggle, Grandpa Steve. Hmm.

Got Em

Will wonders never cease! Ollie sat with the three of us this weekend and took his picture. Got a good one of the four of us, the two kids, each kid by themselves and Huts and me. We will post them and send them out at the end of November. Ollie held on to me for dear life at first, but relaxed enough to crawl under a ladder and smile. He got some Transformers for being such a good boy and Tori got a Care Bear.

The rest of the weekend was chitchat on Transformers. We should have got him Jazz, because that is all he talked about. power Rangers are out for the time being, and Transformers are in. Next week, it will probably be just the reverse. On another note, Ollie believes that Santa and Santa only delivers gifts. When we told him that Grandma Marie would have gifts for him, he got upset and said that she is not allowed to have presents for him—just Santa is. Not sure if he will change his mind about this fact by Christmas or not. Ollie may be one unhappy kid until Christmas morning when he gets to open Santa's presents.

Halloween

The day started off rocky with Ollie refusing to take treats at my work. He got past it and collected a bucketful. He refused to have his photo taken again, but Tori did it. Look for a sullen pink fairy soon. They got excited around 5:30 and went out in the wagon with Dad. They only made it a quarter of a mile but came home with a large bucket of candy. A third of the candy went to work with me, a third with Huts and the rest is at home.

One Last Trip

We took the kids to Tanner's Orchard this past weekend. The day was warm and sunny, so everyone was out, but the kids seemed to manage the crowds well. Ollie was cranky at first, but he got into the groove of things. He spent much of the day sliding down the pole in the boat and even fed the goats. He also talked his dad into burying a sack of apples, an apple pie and a couple of cookies. He ate his cookie and had a slice of pie the moment he got home.



The parent of the week is me. Ollie went with me on all of my walks and asked me to give him his bath. He filled me with stories and recounted the Grinch cartoon to me as he watched it. He said that I am his for a couple of days and then it's Dad's turn to be his buddy.

Visit Put On Hold

Everyone is so busy that the trip to Kansas City was put on hold until December. Ollie and Tori didn't seem to want to go, and Grandma Marie has a million things on her plate. She is hoping that Ollie and Tori will be willing to come down for a week in December. Ollie still says he is not going anywhere, so we will see. He can be very stubborn when he wants to be, just like his parents.

Last night, the fun was sitting in toy buckets with a blanket and pillow watching TV. Ollie begged me to let him sleep in the bucket last night, but fortunately by the time bedtime rolled around, he had forgotten all about his request. Huts and I will try to post pictures this weekend.

Keeping the Babysitters Straight

Tonight Ollie and Tori will play with the kids in the toy room while Laura watches them; Huts and I will attend Bible study in the next room. This weekend, Ollie and Tori will play at home while Kelsi watches them; Huts and I are going over to a friend's for dinner. Ollie doesn't remember Kelsi, who once watched Tori. He is getting Laura mixed up with Kelsi, and the confusion is ticking him off. By this weekend, he should have the two sitters all straightened out.

Sad Ollie

Well, we finally got around to putting up the Halloween decorations last night. Ollie and Tori had a great time with the eyeballs and pumpkins. Huts put up the large pumpkin on the light post last. Ollie told me that when the light turned on, it would be Halloween and he could go trick-or-treating. I tried to explain to him that Halloween was a few weeks away, but he wouldn't hear of it. He stomped downstairs and told his dad he was ready to put on his costume and go out. Huts explained that wasn't going to happen and that's when the tears started to flow. Apparently, Santa Claus got thrown into the mix somehow and more tears flowed.

All is fine today. Ollie put on his costume last night anyway and played around, while Tori put on her blue and white polka dotted sundress for the first time ever and danced with me.

Spongebob Olliepants

One of Ollie's favorite cartoons happens to be SpongeBob Squarepants. This is a very silly show with a very silly and naive main character Spongebob. So it is of no surprise that Ollie likes to imitate him.

While working outside this weekend Ollie was playing on the chairs we have under our deck. He started marching in place. Then he started singing out "I'm Ready, I'm Ready, I'm Ready!" I knew I had heard the phrase before, but I couldn't place it. I asked him who said that in the shows he watches. He replied that Spongebob did, with a hint of "Geez you old geezer don't you know that", thrown in. I asked him to do it again for me and his Mama to see. He gladly obliged and I have it for embarrassment purposes later in his teenage life.

Two Peas In A Pod

I know I have described Ollie and Tori in this way before, but I can't help it. I just marvel at the way the two connect and take care of each other. Ollie makes sure Tori gets a bite of everything, wears her coat and so forth. She hollers at him up the stairs and makes sure she knows where he is at and what he is doing. They play on the swing set together, eat together and fake sleep together. They just seem to genuinely like each other.

Well Actually

That's Ollie's new phrase for the week. Every sentence almost begins with that phrase. Don't know where he picked it up, but it's favorite this week. Another favorite? Optimus Prime. Huts now has hooked on Transformers. He has new underwear with Transformers and has requested them for Christmas.

Baby Sister

Last night Ollie went on and on about Maya, a baby at the sitter's like Abby. Apparently, he now wants a baby sister like Abby. He really likes baby girls, I guess. On another note, his imagination has gone wild and he has been making up stories left and right about rocket ships, monsters and so forth. Maybe he is preparing for Halloween and the legends and lore of that holiday.

Weekend at Grandma Vickie's

Ollie had a good time, I think, but came home with a runny nose. We weren't sure if it was the air conditioning, smoke or a cold. He seems much better this morning, so maybe it was a culmination of everything. He also stayed up late one night, so that probably didn't help.

He spent most of last night watching TV and slept all night without a peep. He got up this morning and took his remaining Starbursts with him to the sitter's. Tonight Mom and Dad are hosting the Bible study group, so he will have most of the evening to himself to watch TV and play. He should be back normal tomorrow.

As for the weekend, Ollie seemed to have a great time playing with all of the cousins. He was shy at first, but eventually, he took off and had some fun. He looked at the new twins a couple of times, but was too busy with the big kids to do anything else. Thankfully, he didn't ask to hold the babies who were much too small for that.

Ollie's Weekend

Ollie was playing in his room when his Grandparents arrived. He came down to see them and quickly went back up stairs to play with his Power Rangers. He came down to check out the stuff they brought for him and couldn't wait to get the plastic growling dragons on his hands. After playing on the swings, everyone but Ollie and his parents took a nap. Grandpa Steve slept through cartoons and Ollie playing Power Rangers loudly.

Ollie wanted a hot dog for dinner, but after he ordered he wanted macaroni. So, he got a bit of macaroni from his protesting sister and then ate his hot dog. He behaved really well at the restaurant and loved pointing out all the stuffed deer and bull skulls on the walls. As long as the deer weren't singing, he was fine with them. After his bath, Ollie played Power Rangers until bed time. He then got to camp out on a mattress in Tori's room, which he loves doing. He only woke up once during the night, but that was long after Tori's crying was over. Luckily he went back to sleep or his dad would've been camping out on the floor.

Sunday at the reunion, Ollie ate a good lunch. He's even started to like chicken drumsticks and other meats. He ran into a few issues on the play ground with older kids. They scared him off a bit when they told him he couldn't play with them. He also had a hard time climbing the 1/2 circle structure past the first level. He attempted it, but got scared every time he tried to go up to the second level. He kept trying, though he never made it past the first level. Eventually it was time to go and Ollie was hot, tired and ready to leave. He ate a little bit of pizza for dinner and played the rest of the night.

He was sent to bed early because he was crabby and snotty. However, he didn't go to sleep and was allowed to get up and stay up. He watched Wild Hogs with us and asked to watch it again on Monday. Ollie mostly chilled out that day and ran a few errands. He seems ready to head out of town this weekend to see his other Grandma, Aunts and Uncles and the twins. Hopefully he'll be as good this weekend as he was last weekend.

Too Much TV with Mom

There isn't much to watch on TV during the summer so I spend a lot of time watching Psychic Detective on Court TV. Well, as I was watching a string of the episodes on Sunday, Ollie decided to watch with me. He got very interested in the cops and bad guys and how the bad guys were caught. He would catch just enough to spin his own story. It was nothing like what really happened, of course, but it kept his imagination in full swing. Now he enjoys playing cops and robbers and putting the bad guys in jail! Look what I started--yes, yes, I won't be letting him watch those shows with me anymore.

Grandma and Grandpa comin'

In a week and a half, Grandma Marie and Grandpa Steve are coming for a visit. Ollie hasn't said much about it yet, but as the date approaches, I am sure he will get excited. He likes the loot that Grandma brings and all of the attention they shower on him. No doubt he will have tons of stories to tell them, including the long-winded one about the bad guys (he paid far too much attention to the court TV shows I was watching).

Playtime

Last night Huts and I went to a Bible study group. Ollie and Tori came along and played in the toy room with a young sitter. Ollie had a ball with her. He liked being a cop and locking her up in the barn-like jail. (Barn was kid size.) We are hoping to get the phone number of that young girl so we can have a date night from time to time.

So Angry

Ollie brings toys to the babysitters almost everyday. He brings enough for everyone to play with and they all seem to have fun with them. This morning Ollie brought a bag of swords to play with, nothing he hasn't done before. He came in and dumped them on the ground as usual and one of the other kids said he couldn't be cause he wanted to play baseball. Ollie picked up a few of the swords and threw them on the couch. Then he got this angry look on his face and started squeezing the plastic bag.

I noticed him in this frozen angry state and went over and asked what was wrong.

"I'm so angry with this!", he said as his lip started to quiver.

I picked him up and help him and told him it was ok, the tears started to flow. He was so upset about it and he didn't know how to express it. Instead of choking the kid who made the comment, he choked the plastic bag to death.

Unfortunately, I think he gets this reaction from me, though I haven't choked any bags, I've flown off the handle at silly remarks before. At least he found a way to cope with his anger today instead of lashing out at someone.

He settled down and got his swords on the floor because the sitter wouldn't let them play baseball while the baby was on the floor. He sat with the sitter for a few minutes and then was ready to play.

Good Taste

Ollie went to the hardware store last night to choose new handles for his red dresser. He wanted red ones, but there weren't any, so he chose not the stars, basketballs or other kids' knows, but cool copper colored knobs with black swirls. Of course, they weren't the cheap kind, but because he only needed a few of them, he got them. Now he wants to know where the rest are for the top drawer which has four holes for smaller knobs. Well, we couldn't exactly find any of those that would fit last night…so until the next time!

Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday was Huts' birthday and Ollie has been telling me for weeks that we should get Dad a new computer. Dad got a new laptop this spring, and because I use it too, Ollie thinks it is mine. Little does he know, and now it seems he wants to buy Dad a new computer every year for his birthday! If only his piggybank could afford that!

OK

Mom gave me an old dresser which I painted red yesterday for Ollie. He has been begging for a red room for months now. He didn't want a new dresser, however, so I had to sneak it up to his room. He caught me when I got it into the room and started arguing that he didn't want it. I told him that we would just try it, and after putting his stuff on top of it, he decided he would keep it. It was fun to watch Mom put everything into the drawers while telling me all about the new white Power Ranger. This afternoon, we're off to the hardware store so Ollie can pick out new knobs for his new red dresser.

All Gone

Ollie had a good time with Grandma last week and with helping Annie move out of her apartment, but by Sunday morning, he was tired of everyone and ready for them to go home. He told Grandma that he wanted her to go home and then he told me that he wanted everyone else to go home. My mom laughed and said she was ready to go home, too. Four-year-olds can be so brutally honest!

Good For Grandma, Bad for Mom and Dad

That's the best way to describe the kids. They have been wonderful for Grandma Vickie and rotten the moment we walk into the door to pick them up. Tori threw a major fit yesterday when her dad left to pick up something from our house. She cried and cried until Grandma laid down in the floor with her and pretended to cry. Ollie stays nice until he gets home. Then he throws fits and gets nasty because this or that doesn't suit him. Lucky us. Thankfully, they settled down last night and watched the Good NIght Show for an hour while eating pizza, their second dinner of the night.

Job Approved

For several days, we have been painting our living room. It is textured, so it took four cans of paint and several hours to complete. Ollie has been checking our progress daily, asking me when I was going to finish and if I had enough paint. With Tori napping and Ollie visiting Annie on Saturday, we finally finished. Ollie came in, looked around and gave me his seal of approval.

Grandma Is Here!

Simpson Ollie

Ollie was totally excited to see his grandma Vickie. He spent most of Saturday with her and Aunt Annie. Grandma came over to his house on Sunday and he filled her with stories. This morning, he got up and started filing bags with toys that Grandma would like. He loves his Grandma! When he got to Annie's apartment, he flew out of the car and up the stairs. He settled in with Grandma and was happy as a clam.

A Scientist One day?

A few nights ago I watched a documentary on dwarfism. Ollie watched it with me and was fascinated with the skeletal comparisons between average-size adults and little people. He said, "Look, Mom, look. That's a skeleton." Next up was a cross-section of the brain. "Look, Mom, look, that's a brain, We all have brains, Mom, and they are in the skulls. Our skulls are part of our skeletons."

After a discussion in simple terms of brains and aneurysms, which primordial dwarves are susceptible to, Ollie decided our conversation was done. He went back to being age 4 and talking about Power Rangers and dinosaurs. The show ended, a new documentary started on the tallest people in the world and the Q&A session started over.

Smart boy!

Ollie's Fair

Ollie went to his first real fair this past weekend. The first ride was an easy carousel ride to get warmed up. He tried to get in a red helicopter, but he couldn't figure out how to open it, so he skipped it while he threw his fit. We later came back and he got to ride in the red one like he wanted, so that ended well. Then he went for the gusto and got on the ferris wheel with his Dad. This wasn't the typical ferris wheel, it had a more closed canopy boat type carrier. Ollie was still a little afraid and kept his head down through most of the ride. He did look up on occasion to see everything below.

Having conquered the ferris wheel Ollie next tried a dragon roller coaster...alone. This one wasn't fun for him as he almost cried during the ride, even though it was a kids coaster. After that he enjoyed every ride he went on. He spun around in the strawberry's, rode a motorcycle, rode in race cars and tackled a fun house a couple of times. Eventually he stopped for a drink. It was hot and humid that night so he was very red in the face.

After his drink break we made our way back to other rides in the fair. He tried to have me go on the swings with him, I was too big and he didn't want to go without me, a small fit ensued. Instead he rode in a few boats and then we headed off to the giant slide. Ollie did the slide 3 times before we hustled him off to a 2nd fun house. But not before almost getting run over by his Dad and sister. People were telling him to move, but he didn't budge. Luckily there was enough room that I could stop us before tumbling into him.

The 2nd fun house was a blast for Ollie he went in it twice. The first time he didn't go in the barrel roll, so he had to go back and do it again. His 2nd attempt didn't end so well. He tried walking in it, but couldn't keep himself upright and ended up falling down. Then he rolled on his hands and knees before he figured out that he better crawl out.

After that it was on to the vomit inducing Tilt-a-Whirl. Not for Ollie, but darn close for his Dad. That right seemed to last forever and about half-way through, the kids weren't enjoying themselves anymore. We finished up with a hair-raising scrambler ride to help cool the kids off. After that we headed home to cool off and get the kids dinner. They ate a lot since it was almost 7 pm and slept like rocks from all the fun.

Growing Up

Ollie: "Daddy, am I going to be a baby again?"
Me: "No you are going to be a big boy."
Momma: "You are going to be big like Daddy."

Sound from the back: "Phbbt".

Ollie: "That sucks!"

Bad Parents

This past weekend we promised to take the kids to orchard to play. We ran into a small glitch, the orchard didn't open until Monday. Ollie wasn't happy about that. We tried the 2nd orchard, but the play area wasn't open yet. He was even more distraught and cried about not being able to go to the orchard. We ended up taking him to the park instead. He played in the "castle" with his sister, running around and trying almost everything. He tried the balance beam for the first time and did it successfully with a little help from Mom and Dad.



He didn't seem to mind not going to the orchard after a couple minutes and he and his sister played for almost 2 hours. His sister was so worn out, she almost fell asleep as soon as she hit her car seat. Her brother stayed up, but rested for awhile while watching cartoons. He's close to the stage where he doesn't need naps anymore, but he was really tired come bed time Sunday. He's not quite there yet.

Burp!

Ollie is gassy, incredibly gassy. He burps constantly and farts, and tells us every time he does it. He thinks he is funny, and he is also into other gross things. This past weekend when Tori got a mosquito bite on her foot, Ollie told his great-grandma that it looked like a nipple. That was embarrassing. He also told everyone at the dinner table that Mom had to push and push and push to get him out of her tummy when he was born. Lovely.

Aunt Annie's Departure

After five years of living in Peoria, Aunt Annie has decided it's time to make her departure. She is moving back to Cape Girardeau at the beginning of August. We relayed the information to Ollie and he seems ok with it. He knows that Aunt Annie will be living with Dale and Grandma Vickie and that's fine with him. Of course, when Uncle Dale left and our cat Zoey left, he asked about them constantly. No doubt he will do that with Annie, too, once she leaves. He will miss her playing with him and buying him presents. Oh well. Maybe Aunt Annie will take him for a week next summer.

Zoo

We stopped at the St. Louis Zoo on our way home from Pittsburg, KS. It was hot out, and after water and ice cream, Huts and Tori took off. I left later with Ollie, and somehow, we missed each other. We spent half an hour trying to find each other and wound up outside of the Big Cat territory. Ollie liked the giraffes, who were eating out of everyone's hands but was ready to go home afterwards. He was just too hot. The kids slept most of the way home and stayed up until almost midnight on Tuesday night. They relaxed on the Fourth of July and seemed ready to go to Sharon's this morning.

Grandpa-pa-pa Paul

That is what Ollie calls his great-grandpa Paul. Last year it was just Grandpa Paul. I guess this year a few more syllables were necessary.

Ollie spent the most of the weekend with his great-grandparents at there house. It was rained most of Saturday and Sunday so a lot of planned things got rained out like the rides at kiddie land. While his sister played in the water, Ollie refused to play in the rain. Ollie did find 2 new things he liked, the arcade and puzzles. We went to the arcade after he had a meltdown during lunch. He was tired and we had just gotten into town. After a brief lunch, the arcade cheered him up a bit. He got to whack some sharks and ride in a coin-operated helicopter (something he hasn't done in Peoria). Once home he found the toys and started playing with the puzzles. They were small 20 piece puzzles with Clifford the dog and Blues Clues on them. He was frustrated with them at first, but he eventually figured them out and had no problem putting them together. We ended up buying him a couple puzzles to take home.

Ollie also ended up with another Power Rangers Megazord from Wal-Mart. If you need to know where all the Power Rangers toys are, just come to our house! Ollie also got a waving flag that plays music from his Grandma Tip. He didn't want it at first, but he was playing with it by the end of the day.




His Grandpa Steve and Grandma Marie came for a visit on Sunday and brought Ollie dinosaurs a TV (which he refused to have in his room) and a bubble sword. Ollie made a few bubbles but he mostly preferred to destroy them with his sword. Everyone went out to a chicken lunch and Ollie ate almost everything on his plate. All through lunch Ollie was asking about the robbers who stole his Aunt Lucy's stuff and what happened to them, who shot them etc. He was very concerned about the robbers. After lunch, while Grandpa Steve was trying to take a quick nap, Ollie woke him up with his sword/gun that makes noise.




Monday Ollie went to the park while his sister was sleeping and then got an icee. He was tired out from running around at the park. But he kept right on going. He played around the house and yard before heading inside for pizza.

Tuesday came and we headed home. We stopped to eat at an Applebee's and Ollie ate quite a bit of his mac and cheese. We also stopped at the St. Louis zoo so the kids could run around for an awhile and tire themselves out for the trip home. Ollie had to see the hippos again. No piggy back rides for the hippos this time. Once we were back in the car Ollie slept until we got home about 7 that night. He was well rested and ready to play that night.

He didn't want to see the fireworks this year. They didn't start until after 9 pm anyway, so we skipped them. He wasn't the least bit interested in smoke bombs or snakes either. Maybe next year.

Fun Time at the Park

Friday night was a busy night for the Ericksons. We ate at Sonic in Pekin and went to the park for Relay for Life, a cancer fundraiser. While I helped with the dunk tank, Huts took the kids to the playground. They played for a long time and then watched the dunk tank. Ollie thought that was funny. Huts took over my duties and I took the kids to play around her team tent. They finally got tied and I walked everyone back to the car. Ollie was crushed that he was going home and I was staying all night for the fundraiser. Little did we know that I would be coming home in a few hours due to stormy weather. The kids left, my sister arrived and we walked around for a while until the weather got nasty and we were told to go home. There was supposed to be a kids' walk the next morning, but it got rained out too, so we spent the rest of the day at the toy store and running errands.

Ollie and Tori are going to see their great grandparents this coming weekend. Ollie remembers Grandma Tip and playing outside on the deck and watching TV. He also remembers feeding the ducks in the pond. I think he will have a good time again this year, though it might be a little busier with the cousins and grandparents around. He got spoiled last year and had everyone to himself.

Two Tickly Balls

Yesterday, Huts had a craving for chili, so after much debate, we stopped at Casey's for some tomato sauce. Ollie thought it was the police station and refused to come in. Tori went, and after a while, Ollie changed his mind and went in. It didn't take either one too long to find drinks, food and two squishy, hairy balls that lit up. They tugged at the hairs and threw the balls around at home for hours. That night, Ollie's ball lit up and stayed that way until this morning. I guess the light got stuck! Who knew $2 balls could be so much fun!

Dad Time

Mom is going to be on the track all night for Relay for Life, so Ollie and Tori will be spending most of the evening and all night with Dad. Don't know exactly where they will be sleeping since I won't be there to sleep with one of them. Maybe they will hunker down in Ollie's bunk beds, two kids on bottom and one big kid on top. Maybe Dad will put them in their own beds tonight. Who knows where everyone will end up. Tomorrow morning, they are coming back to the track to get their T-shirts and walk around the track for the kids' lap. Tori will probably participate, but Ollie, well, he may sit out.

Squallin' Time

Yesterday was checkup time for Ollie and Tori. They did not take it well. Ollie screamed at the top of his lungs when they tried weigh him, measure him and take his temperature. He did not want to take off his clothes, and when I forced him to, he took everything off, including underwear.

I gave up trying to convince that no one wanted to see him naked. The nurses also wanted a urine sample. As you can imagine, that wasn't going to be easy. I talked to Ollie about it for several minutes, but he refused…until I told him he couldn't do it in the cup. He whipped it out and was ready to go. Huts tried to tell him to wait until we got further instructions, but he wouldn't. I knew he was getting ready to go in the floor, so I grabbed some cups from the draw and let him go. He filled two cups, and just as I was about to take one to the nurses, the doctor walked in.

She was quite surprised and not too happy about the situation. Had we done it the right way, in the bathroom, I doubt Ollie would have complied. He wouldn't have wanted to put on his underwear or the gown, nor would he have went in the strange bathroom. Ugh! I was embarrassed, but oh well. I am sure Doctor Carol has forgotten all about it.

Aqua Boy!

This past weekend we went to the carnival and water park with the kids. Ollie loved the carnival and the rides, though he wouldn't go near the water fountain all the kids were playing in. He enjoyed his dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, but when we were walking in, his Dadda carried him. He was a little afraid when he saw the giant shark hanging from the ceiling coming right at him, but he didn't scream and only slightly shuddered at its sight. He loved looking at the rest of the animals hanging from the ceiling and pointing them out to us. We each had to have a favorite. He ate all of his dinner and then part of the cream cheese crepe for desert.

Saturday we went to Splashdown for Tori's birthday. Ollie isn't as fond of the water as his sister, so he didn't even want to get into his swimming suit. About 90 minutes into our trip to the park we forced him into his suit. Still not wanting to be in it, he tried to pull his pants down outside in front of everyone. Some people got a view of his moon then.

After protesting and almost going in the water, he finally saw Tori on a tire swing in the water and wanted to join in. After he got done with that, Tori showed him how she went under the water spouts to get wet. He thought that was funny and slowly started enjoying himself. Eventually he worked his way up to the kiddie slide in the kids water area. I don't think he knew there was water at the bottom, but he did it and got his head wet for the first time in the night. Another kid ran into the back of him, but that didn't seem to bother him, he was in the water to stay! He went over to the climbing tower that sprays and dumps water from a giant bucket on people from all directions. He climbed the ropes and sprayed people playing with the nozzles and hand cranks. He even went on the lazy river for a ride around.

Finally it was time to go and he didn't fuss much about it, but he said he wants to go back again. Whether we have to force him into his suit again will be another question.

Good Boy

Although he plays rough, Ollie was good last night. He played for a while, talked on the phone to his aunt, watched some TV and went to bed with very little fussing. He slept there all night and got up early. He got dressed without a fuss and made himself a bowl of grapes for breakfast, which he ate in the car. Oh yeah, he also played a kissing game and made the circle around the lower floor and kissed me each time. Going grocery shopping this afternoon--let's see if his good mood lasts!

Asleep

Ollie was so tired last night that he fell asleep around 8 o'clock, on the couch of course. We moved him later and he slept all night in his bed and woke up groggy. He got up at 10 to use the bathroom and went right back asleep. Too much running away playing. You should see his bruises. He looks like he has been in a fight. Bruises on his legs, elbows and even a scrape on the bridge of his nose. We have no idea where he got that, I asked him, but he doesn't know. Too much jumping around on furniture and rolling around on the floor with Power Rangers in hand,

The Sneak

Ollie has been going through the phase of not wanting to sleep in his bed again. The past couple of weeks he's been bed hopping for his bedtime. One night its his bed, another the office, our bed, and he's even slept on the couch. All by his choice of course. Apparently his room is scary or he doesn't like it. A few nights he sneaks out of his bed and goes into another. He's slipped into the office while we were watching tv without us noticing. Last night he slipped into our bed while we were awake in the living room. I didn't even notice him when I was shutting the windows. We convinced him that he can't sleep in our bed all the time. He relented and slept in the office. I don't know how long the game of musical beds will last this time, but I'm sure it'll come about again after he gets used to sleeping in his own bed again.

Young Cassanova

When we picked up Ollie's Mama from work today, the first thing he said to her is "I want your booty". We quizzically looked at each other, but thought he might be talking about pirate booty since he likes pirates. After a bit more questioning he stated that he was talking about the part "right below your back Mama". Apparently he knows what "booty" really is, though he doesn't know the meaning of what he said.



Later in the night while we were doing Tae Bo, Ollie told us that he liked one of the girls in the video. We busted out laughing because a 4-year-old doesn't say things like this. Specifically, he liked the blond with the white top and red pants. He liked her because she had blond hair like the yellow power ranger. Everything comes back to Power Rangers.

Catching Up

A couple of weekends ago, Ollie visited his Grandma Vickie, Uncle Dale, Uncle Travis, Aunt Diane and Cousin Tyler. While there he went to Jackson park to play with Travis, Tyler, Tori and his parents. He covered a lot of ground at the park. 2 sets of playground equipment, swings and the creek. The creek was of particular interest to Ollie. He liked watching the small fish and water bugs move around on the the water. One of his favorite things, was walking in the cold creek water with his Uncle Travis, who was thrilled to freeze his toes off.



The one thing Ollie didn't like was getting the algae on his feet while walking in the water. From this Ollie determined that "Algae Sucks!". Like Tyler's pictures we couldn't get a decent picture of the three of them together.



No one was in a cooperating mood for pictures that day. He was at least willing to take a picture with Diego and Alicia at the "Go Diego Go" show.


His sister was a little more skittish around them as seen in the photograph. He was supposed to be part of the show, but during the practice, he started crying, so instead we got to go backstage and see some of the puppets and sets. Both he and Tori loved the confetti and would've taken it all if they could. We did get a picture of all of us on the final set piece.



Unfortunately,, Ollie wasn't so good when we tried to get his picture taken professionally. He's stubborn and apparently it rubbed off on his sister who didn't want her picture taken either. We came home with 1 decent shot of her and a try again card for playing that game.

Other pictures of Ollie that we haven't posted yet include his birthday.

Some of his presents,

And playing with is presents.

Stubborn

Bo, oh, boy, is Ollie stubborn. He refused to have his pictures taken this weekend. No amount of coaxing from his grandparents would change his mind. He also went four days with no #2. Last night after bellyaching I made him go to the bathroom where he finally gave in and stopped up the toilet. When oh when will he get past this stuff.


Update: It wasn't tonight. At least he didn't hold it, he just went in his pants instead. At least he isn't crabby and "cold" about it. Its easier than taking him to the doctor for an enema. His four day hiatus also caused the toilet to clog. Guess that's what 4 days of holding it did for him.

Mr. Know It All

In addition to throwing fits, Ollie knows everything. "Nuh-uh" is his favorite word when he doesn't like what we have to tell him. We know nothing, while he knows everything in his four short years. Guess this will continue into the teen years. We will always know nothing, and he will always know everything.

Naughty

Ollie has been asserting himself lately and this has resulted in him throwing lots of temper tantrums and getting into major trouble. Last night, he threw a fit three times at the grocery store. It all started with me having no change to get him some runts. He threw a massive fit and I had to carry him down an empty aisle and talk to him in a corner. In the cereal aisle, we fought again and I counted to five before he decided I meant business. He got into trouble again when I was bagging groceries and he tried to go out of the grocery store by himself with his sister in tow! At home, Mean Mama came out and he got swatted for another fit. Time to get tough before he turns into a demon.

A Little Horse

Ollie went to Grandma Vickie's this weekend, and although he had a lot of fun, he didn't stay because he didn't feel so good. For one reason or another, he work up coughing at 2 on Sunday morning and bumped Grandma off the couch. He slept there until 5 and then woke up again. Grandma sat with him until he fell asleep. He got up a little tired and hoarse, and still sounds like he has a frog in his throat. It is supposed to be in the 80s and stay that way all week, so hopefully that will help.

Two In One

And The Winner Is

Ollie or Christian Oliver Erickson as he insists on being referred to on occasion. What did he win you ask? He won tickets to see Go Diego Go! Now this is through no fault of his parents. One of his Mama's co-workers entered him in the contest. Not only did he win tickets to the show he won lunch with Diego (which Ollie couldn't attend due to the time constraints), attendance at a meet and greet with Diego before the show, 4 tickets to the show and a walk-on part in the show! He was nice enough to share his tickets with his sister and parents. Whether he actually does the walk-on is a big question. I'm guessing he'll be scared and chicken out, but he may change his mind. It'll be interesting to see how they dress us up. Yes his Dad gets to be part of the show too. Guess we'll be helping Diego and Baby Jaguar save the day!



Go Diego Go

Ollie won tickets to the show. He was supposed to have lunch with Diego on Tuesday, but we didn't receive enough notice for him to do that. So that night, he went to a Meet and Greet where he met Diego and his sister Alicia and had his picture taken with them. Then he went backstage to prepare for his walk-on role in the finale. He got halfway across the stage and started crying. They gave us a backstage tour after the show instead. We saw the show and then went backstage to check out the puppets, scenery and confetti. Ollie had a great time, and so did his sister. He came home tired but happy, and was wound up this morning. Thanks to my coworker Ronda for entering us into the contest.

Final Match Continues

Watch out. Anything you own in pairs will be in the final match if Ollie is around. He puts everything, toothpicks, shoes, strings, in the final match. "Dad, are they in the final match?" he often asks. If it isn't a sword, then it's a final match. Guns, swords and the final match. Can anyone say wrestler or boxer?

Stella

Ollie loves his cousin Stella. He talks about her all of the time and was looking forward to her coming up over Memorial Day weekend. Stella can't come, though, so he will have to wait a bit to see her. He sure does like his cousin and Tori is starting to learn to say her name. Stella outranks all aunts, uncles and parents I think with those two. Heck, Tori and Stella even look alike.

Return of Zoey

Our black cat Zoey finally came home after two years of living with my mom and brother. Ollie has been asking about her the day since she left, and he was excited to get her home. She seems ok. She likes going outside, but always returns home, sometimes the next morning. So far, Ollie hasn't had a chance to pet her. She runs from him. Of course, the return of Zoey makes him lng for the return of Baby, who is happily living with a coworker's mother. Her new name is Luna and I don't think she is returning.

Upcoming Weekend

Tori and Ollie are going to visit Grandma Vickie this weekend. Ollie says he is going to stay there for a week, but we'll see. HE has never stayed at someone's house while Mom and Dad left. He always goes with rather than stay behind. Anyway, he is looking forward to checking our Grandma's trailer. Wish us luck. Car rides make for live wires! One more note: Tonight (Monday--5/14) is Huts' last day of class. Ollie and Tori are looking forward to having Dad home every night of the week. They're tired of Mom Monday nights.

Weekend Craziness

Tori and Ollie had fun at the yard sale. We made $250 for Relay for Life (cancer) and the kids were good sports about their toys being sold. Ollie took the leftover toys to his toy box upstairs, while Tori fell asleep on the swing and took a long nap. Both stayed out of the baked goods, though Ollie ate some of the freshly baked cookies his dad made when the cookies started running out.

Birthday Boy

Ollie turned four yesterday. He received his presents on Saturday night: a tool bench, two Power Rangers, a Power Ranger DVD and a Rock 'em, Sock 'em Game. He ate some cake and went to Maid Rite for lunch on Sunday and to the park and the zoo. Ollie played hard all day. His ears were bright red around 5 o'clock, and after a few fits, he took a bath and went to bed at 6. This morning, he was up and running, ready to tell Grandma Sharon that he is now 4.

Big Bad Ollie

Boy, oh boy, was Ollie ever rotten Saturday. He refused to listen to either parent and back talked us all day. He ran around the stores, refused to stop running, tried to tell us what to do, etc. He got into a ton of trouble that day (two spankings), and Sunday didn't start off too well either. He calmed down by the afternoon and said sorry every time he did something wrong or put himself in Time Out.

Underwear Only

That's how Ollie spent yesterday evening. It all started with him having an accident as he was leaving the sitter's and coming home in underwear and a shirt. After Tori took a shower with her mom and ran around in a diaper, Ollie took off his shirt and ran around in his underwear until about 8:30. Then he finally decided to put on clean pajamas. It was funny to see him hop around on the bed in his underwear and sing his silly songs.

Competition

Ollie is definitely a boy. Everything is about swords, guns and fighting. Everything is about competition, everything has a Final Match. 2 crayons are in the final match, 2 tags from plants are in the final match, even 2 blades of grass have a final match.

Power Rangers to TMNT, every sword, gun, fight scene he wants to imitate. He'll battle you with tree bark and fake plants. He wants to be every character, the Red Power Ranger, Raphael from TMNT. He even wants to be King Arthur from The Sword in the Stone...a new favorite.

I guess he'll be King Arthur after he sees Shrek the Third later this summer.

What Planet?

Last night Ollie wanted to know what planet we lived on. I told him earth and we'll see if he retains it. On another note, he may go to camp this summer for a week or two. They have two one-week long sessions at Lakeview Museum, and we're considering enrolling him in one of them. We want to get him more accustomed to other kids since he will be starting kindergarten in another year. Where did all the time go? He was just a baby!

Playtime

After a couple of weeks of waiting, the kids finally have a swing set, or rather, part of a swing set. Huts managed to get the tower and slide up yesterday, and boy, did they have fun. Tori managed to climb up the rock wall and Ollie went all over the thing. They climbed and slid down the slide again and again and again! Ollie got upset when he found out the swings and glider weren't getting put up. Huts ran out of time and energy. He believes they're going up tomorrow, but we'll see.

We finally got the whole thing setup on Wednesday. There is still a few things to do like leveling it and getting the stakes in the ground, but the kids got a chance to swing a bit.

Turtle Power

Ollie got to see his 2nd movie in a theatre. The first was Happy Feet, the second, a rebirth from his parents childhood TMNT. He was excited to go and ready to see it. He sat in his seat when we first entered the theatre. Once the first preview started for Live Free Die Hard he was ready to leave. After a bit of telling him to quiet down and the rest of the previews, he settled in to the movie.

He whispered a bit during the movie and about what was happening on the screen. About 20 minutes into the movie he had to sit on my lap and remained there for the rest of the movie. He never really hid his eyes during the movie and seemed to enjoy it all. When we exited the theatre he exclaimed, "That was the best movie ever!".

I took him to the bathroom before we left the theatre, while I was using the bathroom Ollie checked out the stalls. Luckily no one was in them or Ollie would've gotten a shock and so would have the occupant. Instead he crawled on the floor between them. That was so much better.

Overall, he had a good time and I'm sure we'll go see Shrek the Third later this summer. I'm sure there are other movies he'll want to see when he sees another preview.

Easter Time

And Ollie does not seem interested in it one bit. He says the Easter bunny only brings candy and Santa will arrive the day after with toys. He does not want a swing set one day and then he wants one the next day. He is whiny and crabby, and he has stated several times that he is going to throw a fit tonight when he gets his hair cut. He also says he is a bad boy and seems to be waiting for us to confirm or reject that notion. We've done both, and he is not satisfied with either answer. These days, Ollie is quite the cantankerous little boy!

Christian, Christian, Christian

It is not easy to remember to call Ollie Christian, but we are trying. I don't remember how the process worked with my brother Dale who went from D.J. to Dale when he was younger. I am trying hard to change my ways just in case Christian goes to preschool in the fall and that is what they call him. And just in case you are wondering, Christian has cut us some slack when it comes to his new name, but I doubt that will last much longer.



Just now he told us the Ollie Erickson is gone. "I'm taking his place, Christian Oliver Erickson!", Christian said as he laughed maniacally!

Christian

I think we're are turning another corner and Ollie is ready to be Christian. At least that's what he has been saying these past few days. He says that Ollie is the baby, Christian is him the boy, and Christian Oliver Erickson is an adult. I've been calling him Christian to test the waters and he hasn't said much. We'll see. By the way, he wants to go to preschool now, so Huts and I have to start looking for one of those now.

Ollie's New Best Friend

Yesterday Ollie went to the park with his aunt Annie and his new best friend Jared. Jared is Annie's roommate's boyfriend. Ollie loves him! He is in hog heaven when Jared comes over. It's like he has his own life-sized toy, and it ain't his mama or his daddy. Poor Ollie. He doesn't realize that Jared is going into the military soon and will probably get sent to Iraq. Let's hope he returns home safely.

Ollie Fun

Scene: Ollie flattening an empty paper towel roll into a gun.
Huts: "Ollie, give me your gun, so you can eat your breakfast."
Ollie: "No, Dad. It is 'berry' dangerous for big people like you. Only little people like me can use it."
Breakfast got eaten in the car.



Scene 2: Ollie climbing up the ladder to his bed.
Ollie: "I love you, Mom, and Daddy, and Tori, and Grandma Vickie, and Grandma Marie and Grandpa Steve…"
Long pause.
Ollie: "Mom, Grandma Vickie doesn't have a grandpa."
Tresa: "That's right, Ollie. She doesn't. I have a dad, though, and he's your grandpa. You know, Grandpa Lanny."
Ollie: "Oh, yeah."
And now the conversation revolves around Huts and me being married and Ollie being married to us!

Grandma and Grandpa's

The kids seemed to have fun and returned with more clothes than they left with, some balls and some new stuffed dinosaurs, which they got to build. Of course, Ollie has reminded me several times since that he never ever wants to leave home again. "I want to stay with you, forever, Mama!" Hmph! We'll see how long that lasts. On the potty training front, he hasn't had an accident with No. 1 in days. No. 2 he refuses to do on the pot. Guess that will come in all good time.

Grandma's Favorite Trick

Power Rangers

That's what Ollie and I played last night after cooking on his grill. He saw me try to play with Tori and decided that I could be his playmate since Tori felt bad. We played for an hour or so before he got bored with me and went to watch his new $1 Superman DVD. Boy, does he like Superman. He watches and yells at us what is going on. Last night, there were two Supermen. Imagine that!

The Saga Continues

Ollie went to the potty last night and received his toys. Then he topped off the night by going in his pants after asking for underwear. This morning, he woke up surly and threw his new Power Ranger underwear in the trash. One step forward, two back. Fun, fun! Little booger!



The good news is that he has gone potty 5 times! 3 times at the sitters, twice at home. Now if he could only figure out that the urge is telling him to go!

Major Fit/Happy as a clam

"I am going to scream and cry,' Ollie told his dad before we got to the beauty salon, and that is exactly what he did. Threw a huge fit as though he was being tortured. Rotten boy! Tori, on the other hand, sat up nicely by herself in the chair and got her hair cut into a short bob. She is sooo cute now! Looks like a true little girl! She loves getting her hair cut.

Accident Time

No success at potty training this weekend. Ollie wore underwear most of the time and held it until he was off the toilet. Accidents again and again, and several loads of laundry. Today, he is in underwear at the sitter's, her choice, and tonight he will stay in them until bedtime. Now the quest is on to see which of us is the most bullheaded.

All Moved In

Ollie is in his new room now, and boy, oh boy, is he having fun. At first, he was scared to get up on the top bunk, but now, it's no big deal for him. He also likes to slide down the side pole rather than climb down the ladder. Tori gets up on the seconf rung and flips over onto the bottom bunk.



Of course, he wasn't too happy when he got home and discovered that his room wasn't quite done. I had it painted and the majority of his stuff moved in, but the bed was not up, nor was the fan and blinds. He looked at it and then stomped into the office complaining that it wasn't done. Huts and I spent the next three hours putting everything together, and then Ollie was a happy pants.

Promises Kept

Thursday was the day for our latest rounds of hair cuts. We had told him all week that we were getting our hair cut and he was going first. He would always reply rather disgustedly with "OK".

Thursday came around and I picked him up from the sitter's and reminded him we were getting our hair cut. "Ok", came his reply, but he added, "I'm going to scream and cry". After verifying what he said, I didn't think much about it because he has been crying and screaming during hair cuts lately anyway. He was first and it was time. He reminded me he was going to scream and cry.

He promised and he delivered. We just had her buzz him to get it over with faster. The only good thing is he didn't move much while screaming and crying. He got it done in record time, even while wailing through the entire thing. Needless to say, we are going to be video taping his next encounter with the hairdresser for embarrassment purposes.

Nearly Time to Move

Ollie spent most of last night jumping around his new room as Annie packed. He was excited about the test patch of paint and happy to take all of Annie's aliens. He piled them into his chair before he went to bed and stuffed them into his lunchbox this morning, after sharing a few with Tori. Keep your fingers crossed that the good mood continues when his room is done. On another note, Ollie is the last man standing at the sitter's, Nate has joined Hunter in wearing underwear and going to the potty, Ollie refuses. Ugh!

Dear Diary

I woke up in a rotten mood this morning, but I kept it a secret from my parents until my mom mentioned renting "Flushed Away." That was enough to make me start crying because I wanted to rent it right then and there at six o'clock in the morning. I didn't want to wait all day long until Mom and Dad got off work. And when Dad tried to give me some cold medicine, I pitched a real fit. Stupid grape syrup. I'm fine. I don't know why they are giving me that stuff. I finally settled down once I got downstairs and ate some strawberry oatmeal, my favorite, but boy, did I give my parents a rough time. That's what they get for bumpng me out of my old room.

Happy as a Clam

If you have read Tori's site, then you know that Ollie got temporarily moved into the office this weekend, and he LOVES it! Two nights in a row, he has gone to bed with no fuss. This morning, he even got up at 5 and insisted that I put him back in his own bed under his blue blanket. I think he accidentally fell out of bed. Anyway, he loves being back there and I hope he loves it even more when he is in his own room, else his Dad might be moving his office to Annie's old room.

Sick Again

Ollie has a bad cough, a really bad one that made him throw up this morning. We're guessing he caught the bug at the Chilldren's Museum. Wherever he caught it, the fact remains that he is sick. Two days in a row, he has fallen asleep sitting up and is extremely cranky at times. This morning when he got up, he was very sad to see that I was dressed for work. He wanted to stay home with his mom (I left early from work yesterday because of the snow). After a few minutes, he seemed better and got dressed with no problem. He was happy to wear his Power Rangers shirt and go off to Sharon's to fight with the other Power Rangers, Nathan, Hunter and Tori the Pink Power Ranger.

I Don't Like My Purple Walls

This is Ollie's latest attempt to get out of going to bed. He must think we're going to repaint the walls just so he can go to sleep. Ha! He received his dinosaur stickers for his closet doors in his new room and stuck them on his bedroom door for the time being. Then when night dawned, he decided he would use the stickers on his door as a reason not to sleep in his room. Guess what! We refused to move them. Funny boy!

No Mickey Mouse Club

When the sitter turned on the show, Ollie started weeping. Sharon had no idea what was wrong. Nathan loves the show, and so does Tori. Ollie, on the other hand, hates it! He tears up and screams for us to turn the show whenever we come across it on the TV. I thought he had pulled this stunt at Sharon's but apparently not. Poor Sharon. It took her quite some time to figure out what was wrong. She finally caught on and sent Ollie to another room to play with blocks. Speaking of those blocks, Ollie has been carrying four red ones back and forth for days now. When he forgets them at Sharon's, a tirade ensues, and when he can;t find them at home, another tirade ensues. Fun, fun!

Museum Again

To the Children's Discovery Museum is where we are headed tomorrow and then to Famous Dave's to satisfy Dad's craving for barbecue. Ollie didn't want to go and now he can't wait to get there! The positive frame of mind continue throughout the evening with him playing hard in the empty living room (couch coming soon) and going to bed without much fuss. He woke up this morning and announced he had slept well because he didn't cry too much.

Blue Nails

Ollie has them, and he looks funny with blue nails, especially today with his tie-dye shirt! Let's hope the trend goes away soon. My birthday is today and he has requested balloons! I requested a DVD that he wants from a friend and have rewrapped another gift for him to open. It's his celebration too!

Mom's B-Day

I am turning 34 tomorrow, and Ollie promises me toys, balloons and cake. He already has given me a DVD, but he insists there will be more presents. No mention of cupcakes this year. We will be going to the Children's Museum and Famous Dave's to use my gift certificate. Fun, Fun!

Two Peas in a Pod

That's the best description for Ollie and Tori's relationship. Ollie adores his little sister and takes her everywhere he goes, up and down stairs, onto beds, flying off chairs, etc. They play Power Rangers together, walk hand in hand through stores together and run around in circles together. He treats his little sister so much better than I ever treated my little brother Travis. No hitting, not smacking, just pure adoration. The fights must be yet to come.

Super Friends

On our trip back from KC one weekend, we stopped in St. Louis to stay the night. Not much was on TV, so we ended up watching one of the Superman movies. Ollie was hooked. Ever since then he's been talking about Superman and super heroes. This continued even when he went shopping.

One day while we were at Circuit City, he noticed a Super Friends video. It was the entire season 1 of the Super Friends. He had to have it! We bought if for him and he's watched it all 3 DVD's several times. It has been great for him. It doesn't scare him like some of the Disney DVD's do and he likes all the characters, even the bad ones.

This past weekend we went shopping for a new comforter for his new full size bunk bed. We looked, but they didn't have any Full size Simpson's comforters like he currently uses. We walked around and found a few super hero comforters. Ollie wanted Superman, there were a couple others so I showed him those too.

"Ollie, do you want Batman?", I asked.

He replied emphatically, "Batman Sucks!".

Thus was the end of that debate. Luckily he said it loud enough so the whole store could hear. Now they all know Batman sucks. We couldn't help but laugh, it was too funny. When we got home, we tried to find stick-ups for his wall, but he didn't want Superman ones to go with his comforter we just bought. I showed him a few others and he wanted Dinosaurs! The Superman comforter is going back to the store today. In its place will be Dinosaurs. There really isn't any pleasing a 3 year old.

Hello, My Name is Stubborn

With the age of 3 comes testing your boundaries. Ollie has been testing them regularly lately. Last night he got in trouble several times for going beyond his boundaries. He had gotten a plastic sword from the Disney store and had hit his Mama with it after I told him not to. I told him that I was going to take it away from him if he did it again.


"No you're not", he boldly stated.

I warned him if he talked back to me again, I was taking it away too.

"No you're not", he repeated.

Then his sword was taken away and he cried about it. He started going upstairs upset about not having his sword. He was told he could have it back if he apologized.

"No, I don't want it", he replied as he stomped upstairs.

About 10 minutes later he came up to me and said he was sorry repeatedly. Apparently, he'll do things on his own time. Unfortunately for potty training purposes, I think we are wasting our time. He'll do it when he is ready. We just hope its before he is 5.

The Protector

Unlike his mother, Ollie is very protective of his sister and watches over her carefully. He always includes her in whatever he is doing, even if she is not interested, and takes her by the hand often. It is quite the sight to see the two of them grasping hands and running down the hallway.

What We Missed

While the kids were away, Huts and I played, and like most parents, we eventually ran out of steam and started to miss our little ones. I missed the blur of little bobbing heads as they ran through the bathroom while I took a shower, while Huts missed the scampering of feet. We missed the smiles, the questions and the laughs, and when we finally arrived at the meeting point, we were both glad to see how excited the kids were. Ollie's face lit up immediately, and Tori reached out to me with a stunned look on her face, as though she couldn't believe her parents were finally in front of her. Of course, Ollie keeps saying he wants to be with us forever, but that will change one day, and then we can look forward to being the doting grandparents.

No New Room

Annie will be moving out in the next couple of months, and Ollie has dibs on her room, though he doesn't know it. We bought him a bunk bed and will be moving him to the larger bedroom once Annie leaves. Ollie hates change, so we have been trying to prepare him for the move by telling him about it now. We have shown him his new bed and told him we will be painting the room, but so far, his one response is "I don't want to move out of my room." Oh well. He is going, and I bet he will like it once he gets used to it--that is, as long as there are no shadows in it. For the past two nights, Huts has been chasing the shadows from Ollie's room in order for him to go to sleep. After the chasing, they discuss where the shadows have gone and Ollie will finally go to sleep. I keep telling Ollie that the shadows go to Arby's to be with Annie, but he doesn't believe me.

One More Present

After missing in action over two weeks, Ollie finally returned to the babysitter's yesterday and received one final Christmas present, a blue Power Ranger on a bike. He was very happy with it and played with it most of the night. Tori got a Dora doll which she tossed aside in favor of her Dora DVD.



Hunter, Ollie's buddy at the sitter's, is now potty-trained. We are hoping Ollie will follow in his footsteps. He will get on the toilet now, with some moaning and groaning, but so far, he has had little success with the potty. He is going to wear Big Boy pants this weekend, so wish us luck. I am sure there will be tons of accidents.

Recovering

The recovery from the trip to Grandma and Grandpa's resulted in Mom having to take a day off work yesterday to let Ollie and Tori take long naps and get back to their normal routine. Ollie was exhausted and slept from 12:30 to 3:45. His stomach settled down and no more vomiting or diarrhea occurred that night. He appeared to be fine and slept from 9:00 to 6:15 this morning.

Since returning, Ollie has played with all of his loot and has discovered that he owns a lot of dinosaurs and a lot of Buzz Lightyears in every shape and size imaginable. We lined them all up last night, along with Jesse, Bull's Eye and all of his Woody dolls. He spent part of the evening shooting arrows from Buzz Lightyear's ship at Tori's Barbie dolls.

As for the clothes he received, he has been picky thus far, turning down all shirts with zippers and all extra layers. The turtleneck made it past his inspection this morning, though he pulled at it several times. He also turned down Sponge Bob and some other character outfit. Maybe next week.

He had a good time at Grandma and Grandpa's but doesn't want to "go there again any time soon." So for all of you out there who would like to see Ollie again, he wants you to know that he won't be leaving home again for a long, long time. In fact, he wants to stay with us "forever!"