23 months

It's hard to believe Oliver is only one month away from turning 2. He seems more like a little boy and less like a baby every day. We love him so!

Madison and celebrating #4

I had a conference in Madison the second week of August so we decided to all drive over and see family too. We spent a few days in a hotel downtown and then stayed with Shell and fam for a few days. Although sharing a hotel room with a toddler is not the most relaxing, we had a blast. Oli had breakfast in bed and got to watch PBS each morning so he was a happy camper. 

roadtrip!

a litte car snooze

gorgeous view of Lake Monona at sunset from our hotel

loving hotel life

The Ayres-Wilhelms were moving (congrats on the new house you guys!) so things were a little hectic, but it was great to see them and their new house. Their new place is in a great neighborhood and we took advantage of the nearby park. While everyone else was moving, Oli and I took a walk through the community garden. He loved seeing all the vegetables growing, especially the yellow squash. He did great on the trip overall. Right before we left he fell off the bed and hit his head which resulted in a huge goose egg above his right eye and lots of tears. He was pretty upset and didn't sleep well that night but thankfully was fine by the next day.

walking to get pizza for dinner

cousins waiting for ice cream

goofy family shot

sisters!

While in Madison we celebrated our wedding anniversary (#4!). Scott (a friend and colleague of mine who was also at the conference) watched Oli for us so we went out for dessert and walked around downtown Madison. It was low-key (especially compared to the canal cruise we took in Amsterdam last year) but nice to have some time to ourselves.

Chris got me some delicious local chocolates

photo in the elevator on our way to celebrate

candlelit Italian restaurant

dessert!

Visiting with friends

Our friends Vickie and Marc from Santa Cruz came to visit us in early August. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and had a blast (as always) catching up with them. Thanks for the visit you guys!

picnic by the Lake of the Isles

dinner at Seward Cafe in Minneapolis

at the pool!

floating at the pool

snack time

at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium for Mates of State and
The Postal Service

gorgeous morning at Swede Hollow Cafe

Oliver & Vickie

Oli getting his pennies back out of the fountain

me & Marc

*Thanks to Vickie and Marc for some of the photos.

22 months

We have been enjoying summer and spending as much time as possible outside. This month I started my third trimester and have been thinking about the changes the new baby will bring. We are trying to savor every moment of being a family of 3 before the baby arrives this fall.

Oliver continues to be sweet, smart, and funny. He's talking up a storm and says new words and phrases all the time. He has gotten really into vehicles and one of his favorites is going outside to watch the garbage or recycling trucks. He has moments of frustration (as do we), but overall he's so much fun! More pictures and some fun things we did this month to follow.

21 months

21 months old

This month has been fun. Oliver is talking more everyday and it is so fun and funny to hear the things he says. He still loves numbers and now we take walks for him to see the numbers on all of the houses. He'll look at each house and say "Numbers!" or "Lots of numbers!" and then as we walk away "bye bye, numbers." He's also very observant when out on walks and excitedly points out what everyone is doing or riding (I'm sure they love it), "running!" "two bikes!" "red car!".

One of my favorite things he has started doing is...

Summertime

It's summertime and we're embracing it. Green grass, puddles, sunglasses, water fountains, sprinklers, gardening, ice cream, not wearing pants... loving it all!

Houseboat trip with the Bocks

At the beginning of June we met up with some of Chris' family for a houseboat trip on the Mississippi. Despite some rainy weather, we had a great time! This was Oliver's first time on a houseboat, first time on the Mississippi, and first time meeting Chris' uncle Brian, aunt Vivian and cousin Jessica since they live in Columbia, South America. Jessi was great with Oli and he had so much fun playing with her. Oliver did really well on the river in general, even wearing his life jacket without much protest and sitting happily on one of our laps when we went out on the little boat. By the end of the trip I think he had learned everyone's name, although at first he was calling his cousin "balloon" and Chris' dad and his two brothers were "the Bruce's". It was really nice to spend time with everyone. Jenny we missed you! Looking forward to next year (in Austin?)!

First, a few of Chris' great photos and then a few photos from my phone: