The Sex of our Baby...

Today I asked Ollie what we should name his sibling. He responded promptly with "Bobby". The question is, should it be "Bobby"? Or "Bobbie"?

Hmmmmm.....you'll have to wait until January.

Who is this kid?

And what happened to Ollie????

Last night, we set up Ollie's "big boy" bed. Marge and Ed (Joel's aunt and uncle) lent us their's that's been around the family. We decided that we needed to push this transition soon because 1) there's a new baby coming, and we wanted that not to be an issue then, and 2) Ollie is climbing in and out of more stuff--I don't want him falling out of his crib!

So here are the pictures:

As you can see, he was SO EXCITED! While we ate supper last night, he just kept pointing back to his room and saying "bed, bed". So we tried it out last night. (He's just started taking his nap on a big bed at Andrea's--so we knew he can do it.) He did fine! Here's the weird part though. This morning, he is still in bed. It's 8:00am! Now, that's not unheard of...just very unusual. The weirdest part is that I've gone in there 3 times when I hear him talking--and each time he cries "More, more!" He wants me to go back out and shut the door so it's "dark". It's absolutely hilarious--this coming from the child that is immediately ON when you go in his room--talking, playing, etc. It's quite possible that he's not feeling the best though, as he has been sleeping more this weekend...but still. So unlike him!

Ollie

Wow. The weeks just fly by, and I don't get posts done very often...I'm sure you're all waiting with baited breath (whatever that means) for our next one...

It's pretty much all about Ollie.

Here's Ollie in his Halloween costume. His friend Taylor turned 2 last weekend and had a farm themed party--and all the kids came dressed up as an animal--Ollie was a cow. (Thanks Sarah and Judah, for letting us borrow your outfit!)

Here is a picture of Ollie's newest hobby: coloring! I hadn't colored with him for several months because he'd eat the crayons. I pulled them out Wednesday night and we colored for 30 minutes--and when I told him it was time to clean up ("nee uh") he cried and cried. Warms a mother's heart!
(and Hooton family--thanks for the Mickey Mouse hat--he LOVES it! He wears it much of the time!)

Something I've been dying to take a picture of is him in time out ("mamout"). This week we've started sitting him in the corner facing the wall when he doesn't listen or obey--and I think, unfortunately, that he really likes it. He talks about timeout A LOT. So we're also trying more stern methods...

Anyway--the funny thing is that he put himself in timeout the other day while I was showering. And he just sits there backwards and bends over his knees...it's so cute. But I've refrained from taking pictures, since it's not SUPPOSED to be funny...

Here's a video of him talking/twirling in his cow suit. And yes, we have NASCAR on in the background again. I always seem to take these videos on Sunday!

G-r-o-w-i-n-g

So, at LEAST twice a week for the past few weeks now I've had someone ask if I'm having twins. Many people are surprised to hear that I still have 3 months to go...actually, 12 weeks...but YES--I am due January 8 and YES, there is only one baby. (I will ask my doctor Monday again to be sure...)

Here is my one pregnancy picture for those of you far away.
And here is where I ended up kind of...still over two weeks prior to Ollie being born: (yikes!)
Okay...now that I compare them...I still have a LONG way to go before I'm that huge!!!

Houston Trip Part 2

Here are some other pics from our trip:

1. Fuddruckers. Notice Addilyn's major fat lip--she fell while in line and cried and cried. She didn't eat much that night--but just sat on my lap while we pigged out.
(Okay, it's hard to see. But she was so sad...)

Sunday we drove to Galveston for some beach fun and hurricane-damage-gazing (as well as Waffle House!):
The hurricane damage was crazy--whole restaurants were missing from the piers--you could see where they had been. Large areas of beach were gone and had washed onto the roads--there were lots of giant piles of sand that had to be moved from the highways. Boats were washed up everywhere--by the road, next to houses, etc. Many trees were down or damaged, and lots of houses had major damage, too. One cool thing: we're pretty sure we saw the white gazebo where Jim Cantore stood before things got too bad--remember the one where, on live TV he said, "Guys, we gotta go--this thing isn't going to hold up much longer! Cut--let's go!" It was awesome.
At Waffle House, we enjoyed deliciously UNhealthy food. Ollie and Addy were getting into trouble while we waited--so they were pushed against the wall where they could play together. They were entertained so easily.

Bath time with Addy:
We had such a great trip! Thanks Tyler, Erin and Addy!

A Morning with Addy

Today we're in Houston. We drove down Thursday and spent yesterday at the Johnson Space Center, the Houston Galleria, and IKEA. Today, Tyler and Erin went to the K-State/Texas A&M game (they'd had tickets before we told them we were coming!) so we are staying home with the two kids. It's been really fun! Here are some highlights of our day together:
Playing with puzzles
Shopping at Target
Sporting her new shoes we bought her (aren't they SOOO cute???)
Ollie "fixing" Addy's chair/table with a drumstick...(probably not what Tyler had in mind)

Yesterday's highlights included:

NASA (where my brother works):
Old Mission Control room
The Saturn V (they completed the Apollo missions in this--apparently they've gone to the moon 6 times!!!)
Joel and the moon.

(Other highlights didn't have pictures...IKEA, Pei Wei's for supper, and navigating Houston traffic--YUCK!!!)

Tonight, we're taking the kids to Fuddruckers, and then tomorrow we'll go to church and on to Galveston to see the beach and damage.

We're sure enjoying our trip! (But it's been hard finding warm-weather clothes that fit me!!!)

Fun with Friends

We had such a fun, full weekend! Taste of Newton was Thursday night (no pictures) and we ate delicious food: chili, brisket, and fruit cobbler. Such beautiful weather, too!

Friday evening, three of my friends, Jess, Kara and Amanda, brought their kids over to play. We had such a fun evening catching up. Later that night, we watched another friend, Mackenzie, and then my sister, Courtney came over! Here are some pictures of the kids--mainly Cora, Mason and Braden--they're all within a couple weeks of each other!

Mason and Braden playing together

Cora, Mason and Braden--all 7 months old!

Saturday, Joel pulled out 4 bushes from the front of our house--they were so ugly--it actually looks better with nothing there! We're hoping to redo our porch this fall...here's what it looks like now.

Yesterday afternoon, college friends came over and we hung out and watched our 4 boys play together. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up again!

Last night, the Cubs played their final game of the season. Unfortunately, they lost in the playoffs after having an incredible season. Joel could have had 5 minutes in front of the church if they won the World Series!!! Anyway--I'm thankful that, although Joel was bummed, he's over it. He doesn't dwell on that stuff or let it ruin his day. Our Cubs rock will sit in our yard for another year...(okay, seriously, this picture is NOT sideways in my file. Sometimes they turn and I have NO idea why!!!)
Tonight, Ollie and I went out to check on our garden again. We do this daily. Our raspberries are blooming--it's so fun! He says, "Two?" when we walk out there, hoping for a raspberry in each hand. I always give him two. Who can resist?

We're also growing peppers and jalapenos, and we have some spinach and lettuce coming again.

Ollie loves to help in the yard/garden. (For those of you green thumbs, you may notice that my asters are NOT doing well. Every year, I try mums or asters again, and every year--they die! What am I doing wrong????) Here he is watering our flowers:

Finally, here is a video of Ollie doing a puzzle. He has really become more interested in these in the last couple weeks, and can actually do several by himself!