Thomas

Since Ollie got his Thomas the Tank engine trains, they have been the most played with toys. Even Buzz Lightyear has taken a back seat to Thomas. We've even added 4 more trains to his collection. Of course he wants them all!

Most of the time Ollie will just put the trains back to back to back to make "one big Thomas" as he says. Then that's it. Occasionally he'll wreck the train or his sister will wreck it and he'll rebuild. This all has to be done on the train track rug.

We've even thought about taking him to "A Day out with Thomas" in Union, IL. I don't know if he'd actually on the train that looks like Thomas. It looks like it is a full sized train. The last time he was near a full-sized train, he wouldn't go near it. It might be different if the train was Thomas. Of course, he could also have the same reaction as he did to going to look at tractors "I want to go home". Some day he'll out grow his fear of things larger than him. Once he does that, he'll enjoy more things. Like the air show we went to last year.

The Artist

Next to playing with trains, drawing is Ollie's favorite activity. He uses his drawing board to draw with markers, crayons and chalk occasionally. Though he doesn't like getting the chalk on himself anymore. He also likes using pens and pencils, particularly the red ones. He specifically asks for red pencils. If we don't have any, watch out. He also found our notebooks that we had around the house for various things. Needless to say, we are done to none. The funny thing is that his 'art' sometimes consists of drawing a single line and then he's done with it. He'll rip it out of the binder and bring it to you saying "here, I made this for you". Of course it is a masterpiece!

When we go out to eat and he gets to color, we usually color with him. Ollie won't let you color the way you want, he has to direct. You can only use certain colors on certain areas. If you violate his rules, your coloring is colored over by his in an instant. He is a dictator and you better follow his coloring rules or there will be swift coloring punishment.





This morning, Ollie realized he had a pocket on his sleeve. Of course, he had to have art in the pocket. So, we had to cut little pieces of paper for him to put in his pocket. Apparently, the size of art knows no bounds.

The Ride

Ollie's grandparents brought a wagon for Ollie and Tori to play with over Memorial Day weekend. It ended being one of their favorite toys that both of them like to play with together. No fighting, no screaming and actual sharing. There hasn't been a fight yet. The only bad part is when Ollie gets tired and Tori wants him to push more. Too bad, he doesn't realize that we get tired of carrying him and the its the same situation for us!


Ready, Set


GO!


Round the Turn


Pit Stop


Wrong Way!

Today is Ollie's check up on his ears. I'm sure he'll be crying like he did last time. At least it won't be a complete exam. If we are lucky we won't have to read the same book 20 millions times while we are waiting.

Farm Pics

We went to a farm park while Ollie's grandparents were in town over Memorial Day weekend. Here are some of the pictures from that trip.


Watching for Snakes


Cooling off in the School House


Racing Down the Slide


Checking out the Chicks


No Pictures Please


Ollie has his check-up appointment tomorrow to ensure his ear infection is gone. It'll be interesting to see if it is gone. He only got 8 days of medicine instead of 10 like he should have from the pharmacy. We'll see if it made any difference.

Pictures

Climbing

Nooooo!

Turtle

Cool Man

Memorial Day

Ollie's grandparents came for a visit this weekend. They arrive while he was supposed to be napping. Everything was hauled inside and Ollie got to play with his new toys. They also brought clothes and a bunch of Thomas the Train stuff for his birthday. He hasn't stopped playing with them since.



We missed both of his naps Saturday and Sunday. He has an inmate skill for staying awake when he is having fun. Sunday we went to the Fodulac Farm park with his grandparents and we all got to see the animals. Luckily for his Mama, Ollie and Grandpa Steve were the only ones to see the snake in the lake. He seemed to enjoy the whole visit to the park and wasn't afraid of the animals like he was last time. He also wasn't afraid of the slide, which he went down 50 gazillion times. The playgrounds were avoided because Ollie would get sand in his shoe. As his trip to the park showed, sand in your shoes is a distraction and a no-no for Ollie. The rest of the trip to the park was enjoyable for him.

Sunday night we went to dinner and Ollie behaved well for a 3-year-old out to eat. We usually don't get that good behavior when we eat out, his grandparents must've had an influence on him. He finally got to nap on Monday and was back to his normal schedule today.

This weekend he also rented his first movies. Lilo & Stitch 2 and Pooh's Greatest Adventure. He watched Lilo & Stitch quite a few times before giving it up to be returned. Then he watched Pooh and will be able to watch it for another few days. If it doesn't magically disappear from our house.

Just Hanging Around

Ollie at the playground

More Birthday Madness

The Cake:


Fire!

Wind

Food

More Wind

No More Wind

Wellness and Presents

Ollie got his 3 year-old check-up yesterday. He is 34 lbs. and 38 1/2 inches high. They guestimated that he'd be 5' 11" if he keeps up this pace. He'll be taller than his parents if that is the case. He is in good health other than his ear infection that he gets with every cold. This time was no different. He's on antibiotics for it again.

He fussed, cried and groaned through out the exam by the nurses and the dr. exam. One of these days he is going to at least tolerate these things. At least he won't have to go back unless something happens or he gets another cold which causes and ear infection. That is likely. Anyway, onto happier things, like Ollie opening his birthday presents!











He opened his presents and promptly ignored them. Apparently birthday's aren't his thing just yet.

I'm My Parent, He Is Me

Growing up I hated eating roast for dinner. It was and is the worst meal in the world. Before I could leave the table, I had to eat 3 bites of roast. Not the most pleasant thing to do. Usually I would put potatoes or gravy on it to mask the taste. Being forced to eat roast, I naturally took the easy route and took the smallest to eat. Ollie has this technique ingrained in his biology apparently.

Last night at dinner he didn't want to eat. He wanted ice cream. We had some noodles for dinner so I made him eat 3 bites of his noodles (see, I'm my parent). Being the smart boy that he is, he didn't eat 3 forks full of noodles, he ate 3 noodles (he is me). I couldn't argue with him because he did what I said. Next time, I'll have to be more specific. Damn smart 3-year-old.