Owl-iver

Auntie Karen coined that phrase. From the get-go, Oliver really liked owls (though not, apparently, as much as horses). So this year, we borrowed an idea from good ole Martha Stewart (oh Jenny Bourisseau was so right), got some materials from the thrift store and Michael's, and transformed little O into an Owl.

This week: pumpking carving!

The big day: downtown trick-or-treating

Happy Halloween Buddy!

Bring on the dancing horses

Oh I do like that song. (Actually, NMU radio hosts seem to like it too because for an old Echo and the Bunnymen tune, it gets a lot of airplay.) Anyway, that isn't what this post is about. It's about horses. Like Mama like son, so the saying doesn't go. I'll make up my own. Truth be told, I don't know that I was ever into horses this much at this age (17 months-ish). But holy cow, do we love the horses. 

We love the stick "horsey"!

And the plastic horsey!

And the finger puppet horsey!

And the spring horsey!

And now, we love the horsey books so so much that we cry. Yes, cry. Oliver was upset because he couldn't read them when he had one grasped tightly in each hand. Yet he wouldn't put either down so that he could turn the pages in the other. Hmmm.

(notice the other one is safely under his elbow...)

Horse love. New items making their way onto my "projects for Oliver" list. Last weekend, during an all-too-short nap, I fashioned together this horse book to teach Oliver a little about horse breeds. How silly, he flips through the pictures so fast I can't even say Appaloosa. He does think it's hilarious to point to the Clydesdale and tell his Papa, "cow".

Next up: a pony cloth book. We'll see how that goes.

Little Chef

So I've got this big idea for Oliver for Christmas: a kitchen. I convinced (coerced?) Dad to make a wood frame with a sink and oven (kinda like this one). I picked up a great little chafing dish at a garage sale that will be perfect for the sink. He's got his IKEA cookset from Aunties Karen and Monica. And I've introduced Auntie Kud's Charlie Brown lunchbox. So NOW I just need to get on the food. I finally got started with some eggs I'd been thinking about. They're a little puckery, but I'm learning. I'll post pictures when I get a moment. Now I'm on the lookout for some fillable wooden eggs. I can use the plastic ones in a pinch, but I was hoping for wood. You just let me know if you find any.

I also need to figure out what other food I can make... but I assume I'm going to need an apple.

Quiet friends

Well, this is an old photo, but I love it none the less. While our camera was down and out, we were driving back from the farm and Oliver was sleeping. Cricket walked all over the car until he finally settled where he wanted to be: on the lad. Man, that was an endearing scene, but it escaped filming. One of the blogs I check out had a great description of the same kind of gig: If he only knew. So as a tribute to the boy and cat relationship, here are a couple of my favorite moments that we DID catch on film.

Good job boys.

Fun fun! Maybe

Having a blast! Or fairly uncertain? Oliver and Trent hit the pony rides at NMU's homecoming festival.

Back in Action

Wahoo! We got a camera again! Now I just need to find the time to download our new pics. Great stuff... apple picking, puddle jumping, Papa hugging... more to come. Right now, here's a boy, a dog, and the ever present apple.