Sonogram

We had a sonogram today for the new baby. Oliver went to a babysitter for the morning so Eric and I could actually get something from the sonogram and appointment. Everything looked perfect! They were able to get all of the shots they were hoping for and the baby was very active. We saw the baby do a complete flip. The doctor said the baby weighs about 13 oz and is measuring 2 days ahead of our due date so everything looks right on track. Here are a few pictures from the sonogram.

New Bed

Last week, Oliver decided that he wanted to climb into his crib and he did. We were planning to get him into a new bed before the new baby comes, but hadn't really thought about exactly when we would do it. So this made us take that step. We got Oliver a new bed on Saturday and put it together that evening. Oliver "helped" us. He was all right until we tried putting the slats in for the support, he thought it was funny to slide those around while we were trying to position them. Needless to say, at that point, he watched a movie and Eric and I finished putting it together.

Oliver was going "night-night" in his bed right after we got it put together and put the mattress in it. He seems to like it. I think he especially likes having a pillow.

His new bed in place with his Cars bedding.

Oliver was pretty excited to come in his room and see his new bed with the sheets on it. He kept pointing to the car and saying "mooo"- which means movie. Cars is pretty much his favorite movie.

Today at naptime, when Oliver fell asleep, this is how he was. He slept this way for his whole nap.


Switching to a toddler bed has gone pretty well so far. He seems to be sleeping fine in it, but falling asleep still takes a little work. Naps are a bit harder than bedtime, but I'm sure before long he'll have the hang of both without any problems.

We still have the crib set up in the room, but haven't got a second mattress yet. We're hoping he doesn't try climbing in it at all and we can just leave it up and it will be boring by the time the new baby gets here and they will share a room with no problems. For right now, Oliver gets his own room and seems to be enjoying his new bed.

South Dakota

Our South Dakota vacation was a lot of fun. We got there to our resort near Custer on Saturday, July 17th. On Sunday, I spent most of the day relaxing. Eric went with a group of people and climbed a hill/mountain. You could see a long way into the distance and you could see our cabin from the top. I did the climb on Monday. I have a few other pictures, but they are on our other camera and Eric has that in Pittsburgh.

On Tuesday, we went with Dale, Audrey, Madison, Randy, Kara, Alex, Max, Sophia, Henry, Amy, and Cody to Mount Rushmore. We had lunch in the parking lot and used the back of the truck as a play pen. :)



I don't have any pictures on the camera I have from Wednesday, but we went to Crazy Horse and then we went on a train ride. Oliver loved the train ride- he had a blast!

Thursday was a long day. We went to Devil's Tower with a big group of people. We did the walk around it, then we went and had lunch. After lunch, our big group split into smaller groups and went their own ways. We were with my mom, Randy, Kara, Henry, and then myself, Eric and Oliver. We found a coal tipple near the booming metropolis of Aladdin (population 15). We went to the general store there and asked if they had a place where we could rinse sippy cups for the little boys and they told us they didn't have sewer or running water. :) But they did have a pump out back that we could rinse them in. After that we found the geographical center of the US. It was quite the adventure. The center was in a cow pasture out on a gravel road. We had to climb through a barbed wire fence to get in. It was a small cement slab with a little marker and a flag on it. We took lots of pictures there. The roads out there had lots of beautiful scenery. It was a very fun day.










On Friday, we went to a Mammoth Site with Kathy, Dale, and Samantha. On our way we saw buffalo. It was pretty cool. Eric is much more brave with animals than I was and he kept going closer than I would have and than I preferred him to. But we all made it through. At the Mammoth Site, Oliver had fun digging for bones. We ate lunch and then we went to Evan's Plunge which was a pool that was filled with water from a natural spring. Oliver loved swimming there and the water was at a constant 87 degrees.




It was a fun vacation and we are looking forward to next year's vacation. Planning is started and it looks like we may be headed to the Ozarks in Missouri.

Patty Cake

New York Vacation!!

Kathy and Samantha with all of the kids going for a ride on the golf cart at Kathy & Dale's new cabin.

Driving away on the golfcart.

Eric and Oliver in front of the pond at the cabin. Oliver like to look at the water and I'm pretty sure would have been more than happy to walk into the water.

Rainbow in front of the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

A shot from the pedestrian bridge between Canada and America. It was the first time either of us had walked across the bridge and it was neat to see the falls from a different perspective.

Eric and I in front of Niagara Falls on our anniversary trip.

At the Syracuse Zoo doing the obligatory tiger shot. Kara and I got to join in so we could officially have all of the kids that were on the trip in the picture.

Oliver and Henry got popsicles for dessert on Saturday. Oliver enjoyed it, but held onto the popsicle and ate the popsicle stick. Henry was thrilled to have the popsicle and was all smiles about it.

The five kids that spent so much time playing together outside at Kathy & Dale's house. Poor Randy and Kara trying to get pictures of 5 kids together soon- it took some work :)

We left for New York on Friday, June 25th and got there late that night. My mom went along with us and Oliver enjoyed having her or me in the backseat. I think Grandma was more fun because she sang more songs and read more books than I did. We spent a lot of the week relaxing, but we managed to fit a few things in. We visited Kathy & Dale's cabin and Kathy/Dale were able to get a 12 passenger van for us and so we filled up a van- Kathy, my mom, Henry, Kara, myself, Oliver, Sophia, Samantha, Alex, Max, Randy, and Eric. It was nice to be able to all fit in one vehicle and visit on the ride up there.
On Tuesday, Eric and I left for Niagara Falls for our 5-year anniversary. It was a fun get-away. We relaxed, went out to eat, did a lot of walking, and enjoyed seeing the falls. Oliver stayed at Randy & Kara's while we were gone and didn't seem to bothered by us being gone. I think having 4 kids to play with, plus the toys that come along with that, was way better than having mom and dad for a few days. We are very thankful that my mom, Kathy & Dale, Samantha, and Randy & Kara were all so willing to take care of Oliver while Eric and I got away for a few days.
On Friday, we went to the zoo. It was a warmer day than earlier in the week, but was still fun. The kids got ice cream after the zoo visit which they all enjoyed.
Saturday was a relaxing day and we went out to eat for Kathy's birthday.
On Sunday we went to church, where Alex was an altar server at mass. After church, we went back to Kathy & Dale's and loaded up a few last minute things and were on the road by 9:35. We had a great drive home and saw a few fireworks on the way. We were back to our house by about 10:30 that night.
It was a great trip and we can't wait to do it again some day. My mom drove back to Dunkerton on Monday. Eric, myself, and Oliver spent the day relaxing and getting ready for the next week.

Pool Fun

Oliver was attempting to blow bubbles in the pool. I think he mostly got a few drinks of pool water.

Relaxing in the pool!

It was a warm day today and this afternoon Oliver and Andrew went swimming. They loved it. Oliver is a little fish in the water. He loves splashing and jumping in the water. He likes to lay on his tummy and "swim."

I know it has been awhile since I've posted any pictures, as you can see, the little boy keeps growing. He stays busy and loves to climb. I am starting to feel better which I think is pretty wonderful. We are glad the weekend is coming and are looking forward to it. We haven't made any plans for Father's Day yet, but I'm sure we will find something fun to do for the day. Hopefully I will continue to feel better and my posts will become a little more frequent.

Happy Friday Eve!

Its a ???

The bad news is we won't be home for Christmas. The good news is that Oliver will be a big brother. If you are like Eric and can't read between the lines... we are pregnant. :) Our due date is December 31 and we are very excited. We may be more excited once the first trimester is past, because Sara has been feeling under the weather these past few weeks due to morning sickness.

So this marks my (Eric's) first post to the blog. We do have an ultrasound picture of the lil one. Although there is not a lot to see at this point. Maybe I will post it for everyone to see if I get a spare second.