Slick

Yesterday, I decided the little man needed a trim. His hair had gotten a little unruly. Before his haircut I had a little fun with a brush and some hair gel. :)

We also had some fun with some socks and the dog. Ollie and I thought it was hilarious. If Cadbury could roll his eyes, he would have done so.

Once Jordan got home, we got on with the haircut. I think it turned out nice. 

Having another successful haircut under my belt feels good. I am so glad I haven't butchered his hair...yet.

In other news, looks who has learned to climb up onto the coffee table {Cadbury thought it was a good idea too}.

Ruh, roh.

Veteran's Day

Can you think of any reason, any reason at all, why a plane full of passengers, after being delayed 2 hours to begin with, would then continue to sit quietly and voluntarily in their seats once they have finally reached their destination? I would never have been able to come up with a reason...until I was one of those passengers. I had just said all my goodbyes to my family and was headed for something new in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jordan anxiously awaited my arrival. He had been in Tulsa and started working for American Airlines at the end of January 2011. Immediately upon his arrival there was a HUGE snowstorm leaving him trapped in our unfurnished apartment for 3 days {all of our belongings were in AZ with me}. I stayed behind to get everything loaded into moving vans, but mostly because my Grandma had just passed away and I stayed for the funeral. I too was anxious to get to Tulsa and start organizing all the moving boxes that were also arriving that day. I had a layover in Dallas and as I waited & waited for my connecting flight time ticked by. What was taking so long?! As the departure time came and went people got anxious and angry. Finally, the lady at the gates voice came over the speaker, "We would like to thank you for your patience today. We have a very special passenger who will not be riding in the cabin like the rest of you. His seat is in the belly of the plane and he is taking his last flight HOME after making the ultimate sacrifice for our country. He is being loaded into the plane, we invite you to stand while this is done." A hush went over the crowd of passengers as we all stood up. We then were all loaded on the plane. As we made our final decent into Tulsa, the pilot asked us all to please stay seated when we arrive at the gate. A military escort and the young man's family would be there to welcome the fallen soldier home. 

Every one of us stayed seated and watched from the windows as the fire truck lights flashed, his fellow soldiers saluted, marched, and carried his coffin to that heartbroken family. 

As the lights faded, with tears in our eyes the rest of us got off the plane. I will never forget the feeling of gratitude and love I felt that day. I am reminded of the sacrifices these men and women make when I think back on this experience.

The song, "Home" by Dierks Bentley says the rest of what I want to say, better than I can say it:

"Home"

West, on a plane bound west
I see her stretching out below
Land, blessed mother land
The place where I was born

Scars, yeah she’s got her scars
Sometimes it starts to worry me
Cause lose, I don’t wanna lose
Sight of who we are

From the mountains high
To the wave crashed coast
There’s a way to find
Better days I know

It’s been a long hard ride
Got a ways to go
But this is still the place
That we all call home
Free, nothing feels like free
Though it sometimes means we don’t get along
Cause same, no we're not the same
But that’s what makes us strong

From the mountains high
To the wave crashed coast
There’s a way to find
Better days I know

It’s been a long hard ride
Got a ways to go
But this is still the place
That we all call home

Brave, gotta call it brave
To chase that dream across the sea
Names, and they signed their names
For something they believed

Red, how the blood ran red
And we laid our dead in sacred ground
Just think, wonder what they think
If they could see us now

It’s been a long hard ride
Got a ways to go
But this is still the place
That we all call home

It’s been a long hard ride
And I won’t lose hope
This is still the place
That we all call home

Thanks to all who serve our country and all who have served our country. May God bless you.

Tantrum Relief

Right about the time Oliver turned 15 months he experimented and finally perfected "The Tantrum." I mean, PERFECTED The Tantrum! Tantrums would especially be thrown IF: his diaper was being changed, his outfit was being changed, he was being put into his highchair, being put into his car seat, being put down after being carried, coming in from being outside, if Mom went to the bathroom and closed the door, if he was told "No," if you looked at him wrong, if he hit his head on something in the middle of one of his tantrums, etc., etc. You get the idea. It has been a rough month. BUT, as quickly as that stage came, it has gone. {Phew!} For the last week, he has been so much fun it {almost} makes the last month worth it. He mimics everything we do and it just so darn cute I can't even handle it. 

He has learned where his "button" is...

 and is happy to show you where it is located. He loves being outside and exploring the backyard.

He is a goofball and is always coming up with something new to make us laugh...

or when he decided the printer/copy machine was a new chair...he came up with this all on his own, I swear...

Jordan & I were dying of laughter, but also worried for the printer - so we bought a filing cabinet for the printer to sit on. Ollie can no longer make copies of his bootie, cute as it may be. ;)

His crib was pushed as far away from the window as it would go, because Ollie would mess with the curtains...well, he recently discovered the curtains hanging on the french doors and when I thought he was asleep he was really spying on me.

So, we picked the lesser of the two evils and slid him back towards the window with the crib leg sitting on top of the window curtains to keep him from peeking outside/keeping himself awake.

The kid loves shoes. If he isn't trying them on his feet, carrying them around, or sticking them on his hands, 

he is most likely licking them. {Ewwe.}

He is teething like crazy and sometimes a Popsicle or sucker is our last line of defense.

Church is pure torture. Don't let the cute kid at the piano fool you,

Jordan usually ends up taking him to a nearby park for the last hour while I play piano for the primary. Then I listen to a screaming toddler on the ride home until he finally makes it to his crib for a nap. Just two more months and then we get to ship him off to nursery to play with the other kiddos. Yay!

I put Ice Age on the other day, since it is a favorite of mine, and the little guy needed some chill-out time. He was entranced by the opening scene with Scrat.

As soon as that scene was over though, so was his attention for it. Oh, well, I enjoyed listening to the movie while I made dinner. 

Oliver, I am so thrilled that smile is back on your face.

Thus, the smile is back on my face. Let's keep it that way buddy!

It's Autumn-time

It's autumn-time. It's autumn-time.

The leaves are falling down.

It's autumn-time. It's autumn-time.

It's all around {T} Town.

It's autumn-time. It's autumn-time.

There's yellow, red, and brown.

It's autumn-time. It's autumn-time.

Bright colors can be found.

This old primary song keeps running through my head. {Listen here.}

 I looked outside this morning and knew a photo-shoot was in our future. Of course, Ollie didn't get the memo...there are some cute pics though.

One, in particular, was sooo close to being PERFECT...

{I promise there is a HUGE smile behind those leaves!}

I did get one "money shot" - - I will show it again - -

Ahhhh! Just precious!

Happy Autumn-Time everyone!

(Un)Happy Halloween

Well...we did have a nice Halloween. BUT the little man wasn't exactly into the day in general. 

{These sum it up.}

He was not cooperative for his photo shoot, but I did manage to get a couple decent pics that show off this cute kid of ours. His daytime costume was Buzz Lightyear!

And his nighttime costume...a chicken. :) 

I tried to make him Chicken Little, but he only wore the glasses for these pics.

We did walk around the neighborhood, 

but didn't end up knocking on any doors.  Ollie expired quickly, and ended up going to bed early. Which meant an enjoyable, relaxing evening for the rest of us! We threw a little party of our own, watching a scary movie and eating $5 tasty pizzas from Carrabbas. Oh, and I may or may not have made Jordan pick up some Krispy Kremes to fill my Halloween doughnut needs. We missed you family! You guys better have eaten enough of mom's homemade donuts for all of us!

For your viewing pleasure, or to get the full effect of a 15-month old chicken strutting around, watch this...