Better Than Harry Potter Part Two

This is what happened to the "Welcome Home, Daddy" sign we had been working on for the past few days....

And this is what happened to the clean house the day he arrived...

Even though the sign and house were a little bit trashed, we all jazzed ourselves up to go and meet him!

We were THRILLED to see him through the glass where he was waiting for his luggage. Abby tried to jump the gate and pry her way through the exit doors. The guard was screaming at her to go back, but she was mad determined to get to her daddy. Seconds later, she made the gigantic run and jumped into his arms. Oliver was okay with daddy hugs from the start, which is almost a miracle.

He even let Jeremy hold him long enough so I could have an afternoon nap. Ah, heaven.

Abby wouldn't let Jeremy out of her sight the first few days. She was terrified he was going to slip away again and not come back. Not. Going. To. Happen. At least not this year.

It's wonderful/weird to have the hubs back. I keep waking up in the night and wondering for a split second who the stink is under the sheets beside me. I also wonder who keeps leaving piles of man stuff everywhere. And why I keep falling into the toilet. But then I smell the most fantastic food coming from my kitchen and remember it's the man I love.

He was worth it all :)

Acting Like Animals

I'm using my zoo/aquarium pass like a mad fool. It's the perfect way to spend an afternoon with the kids, especially when the weather doesn't look the greatest.

I almost didn't bring my camera, but I was super glad I did when Shawna got crapped on by some random bird. I guess she doesn't need a souvenir!

Oliver had been screaming at me all morning long.

ALL. MORNING. LONG.

I seriously was at the end of my rope. Shawna was kind enough to walk him in the stroller far in front of me until he passed out. I really love Oliver to pieces, but his screaming can send me right to the edge sometimes. It's so nice to have someone around to pitch hit for me on bad days.

He was back to his chipper, lovely self after his super long nap.

Sweet Abby gets hit in the face by his smacking arm quite a few times every day. She is so patient and understanding with him. She deserves a medal.

Instead she got to spend time on this time out stump for failing to heed my rules on leaving the playground without asking my permission. Rules are rules, even at the zoo!

Dunkin Donuts = chocolate overload = naptime. Awesome.

Crazy Eyes

It was raining, again, so we headed downtown to a museum. WAY fun. Abby dug the pirate room.

Oliver made a few masterpieces while we waited for her to locate some treasure.

You can almost feel the jealous vibes from Oliver shooting these boys off their magic carpets. The blocks weren't nearly half as exciting, even after Oliver licked each and every one. The boy with the helmet doesn't get a ride; oh, the irony is heartbreaking.

Isn't he a cute Aladdin?

All he needs is a harem of women to complete the look.

This room was a hodgepodge of village markets/wooden houses/reading nook/random horse. I didn't get it. I guess you have to be a kid to read between the lines on this one.

Antje and Shawna joined in the fun.

Oliver was none to pleased to see another kid in the magical forest.

Abby created her own horse while she waited for a ride on the real one. That horse has crazy eyes. I'm a bit surprised it gets ridden at all. You can almost hear it screaming, "Get this kid off of me."

Clearly, Abs had the time of her life.

A Berry Good Time

We went berry picking this week about 45 minutes outside of Berlin. The weather was fantastic and the loot was awesome.

I think Abs was 10 times more excited to have this box than to pick the berries. She walked up and down the aisles forever just looking at it. I'm sure she was contemplating how to create a more efficient box for the next time we come.

I'm not going to lie, the kids baskets were full of green, purple, and half eaten blueberries. I spent a good portion of the day dumping out their baskets when they weren't looking and refilling them without drawing attention to my master plan. It was exhausting, but serious fun.

Oliver had a reaction to his MMR shot that he got last week and was rocking fever of 103.5 the night before this adventure. This continued for a few days -- fine during the day and running a temp at night. Can't you tell that he was thrilled to be living it up at the berry patch with us?

Please don't notice that I am taking out two of your berries for every one you put in!

BLUEberries. Only the blue ones.

Oliver was so patient with us. I had to keep ditching him at the side of each row to help the other kids. He is such a delight.

Oh Canada

I stole this from Shawna's blog. I love when I make cameos in the blogosphere. I'm a big fan of keeping the Canadian spirit alive!

Denise, my Berlin Bestie, is actually (gasp) a Canadian...puck-sucking, meese humping, Mountie smooching, maple lover. And today is Canada Day.

We sang the Canadian national anthem (and by "we", I mean "I sang the first two lines, which are the only ones I know, whilst Denise warbled the whole thing") made traditional maple cookies and Baby Oliver made sure his mama got enough of the yummy sweet stuff.

Happy Canada Day, all you Canucks!

Where We're At

I love when I come home at night to find the babysitter has taken a few snapshots of Abby throughout the night. I will title this one "The Scent of Tom Foolery":

I spent Fourth of July with the Flanagan family. We joke all the time that I'm his second wife, since I am there nearly every day up in his business. This photo just adds to that drama. We both have hands on our shoulders -- which hand is his? Where did the other hand come from? Why does he look so dang happy? We need a reality show.

Denise, the golly green giant.

Abby's kita is closed for a three week vacation. I filled our schedule with plenty of day trips and crafts to keep us both sane during this time. It's hard deviating from my regimented weekly plan, but I'm learning to be flexible and attempting to not spend my days worrying about the house, or what needs to be done, or what I forgot to do.

I am in the process of trying to get Oliver to eat anything other than baby food. He gags on anything for babies older than four or six months. He won't eat any baby crackers, toasts, treats, cookies, etc. Gosh forbid I try to mash any bananas or vegetables with my fork and let him have a bite. Basically, he won't eat anything that isn't nearly liquid. There has been a lot of choking and vomiting on this side of the world. In his defense, he turns one in two weeks and he doesn't have a single tooth to help a brother out.

Being the crazy helicopter parent that I am, I hijacked my one-year doctor's appointment to have his gag reflex checked and his gums looked at. The doctor's advice was for me to calm down and let him eat whatever he wants to eat. I just hate having to remember to pack baby food all the time. It would be nice to just be able to feed him off my plate and cut out all the extra steps in between.

I am so happy for Jeremy to come home and train this dog. She is making the neighbors -- and I -- crazy with her renegade barking and fence stalking.

Abby is so clever. We went to a baseball game a few weeks ago, and in the short time it took to get the blanket out of the stroller, put Oliver on it, and turn around, Abby had disappeared. I found her about 15 feet away at the concession stand waiting for her hot dog, grape soda, and sour strings that she so independently ordered. She had paid the lady with money she had taken from my purse when we got there -- "I took the big bills, Mommy." You've got to be kidding me! This girl is three going on 30.

Abby taught Oliver to stick his tongue out, which he spends about 90% of his day doing. It reminds me of those little dogs that can't close their mouth. Yup, I get licked a lot.

Is it sandbox pouting time already?