Our Little Fish

Jacob and I have been wanting to get Oliver enrolled in some activities and with it being the summer we thought swim lessons would be perfect!  I researched a few places in the area and always came back to The Swim School.

I called last Friday expecting to be put on a long wait list but to my surprise they had a slot open on Mondays from 6:15-7:00pm!!!  I printed out all of the paperwork online and we were to show up 30 mins early for his first day to turn in our paperwork, get a tour and buy his official swim clothes.

Ollie in his new swim trunks waiting for class to begin!!

 He kept wanting to put the toys in his mouth...YUK!!

Making friends

Everyone at The Swim School is very nice and helpful.  They have a play area inside for the kids and a sitting area for the adults with screens that monitor the pool if you do not want to sit by the pool.  The class that Oliver is in is the Baby and Me class where a parent has to be in the pool with the child the entire time (every class after that we will not be in the pool with him).  There are six children and their parents and two teachers.

Finally class began and it was so fun to watch Ollie in action and interacting with the other children in his class. He did so GREAT!! The teachers were so impressed that he was kicking his feet so well and never cried.

They have different songs they sing while getting them to move their bodies in the water or JUMP in the water...we will have to work up to the jumping part.  All of the kids go under water voluntarily and involuntarily...HA but for Ollie's first day they don't recommend we dunk him just yet!! We want him to like going to swim lessons!

To get them to practice being on their backs they give them a book to look at

They also have a slide and well you know what happens next....

Woohoo....GO Ollie!

So very proud of our little fish!!

Ollie and the Watermelon

For Father's Day we went to Jacob's grandparents to have eat dinner with the family.  I didn't get a picture but we all pitched in and bought Jacob's dad a basketball goal for the new house.  They are really exciting about teaching Ollie their "skills".

Before dinner Ollie, Jacob, his grandfather and I rode the gator (Ollie LOVES the gator) to the watermelon patch.  They let Ollie plant a seed and now he was going to take a picture with his watermelon.  He was so cute and excited about seeing the watermelons!  He never would look at me and smile but I still managed to get a few pictures.

Nothing better than watermelon in the Summertime!!

Happy happy Father's Day to ALL of the wonderful Fathers and a special HAPPY to Jacob!!!  There is no denying that our little boys LOVES you so very much!!

Summer BBQ

To kick off this HOT HOT summer Jacob and I decided to have some friends over for a BBQ.  Now that we have a child it seems harder and harder to find time to get together with friends so we thought we would invite  everyone over to our house for some much needed quality time.

We invited a handful of friends and neighbors and their kids.  We had sidewalk chalk, crayons and of course the playground for the kids.  I was afraid that the kids would be bored and ready to leave after 30 minutes but they actually all had a blast playing with Ollie's toys.

Oliver went to bed at 7:00 and I was a little worried that with all the noise of the people and kids running around everywhere that it would interfere with his sleep but of course he slept through it all!!  Woohoo!

Jacob was quite the chef.  He made twice-baked potatoes and BBQ chicken and steaks for everyone.  I made a pasta salad that was quite the hit.  Jacob insisted that we serve baked beans.  I am not a fan of baked beans and thought that we would probably end up with a pit full of them at the end of the night and I was RIGHT...HA!

Ollie and the Chef 

 Our little family!

 Hanging out outside while the chef prepared the food.

Savannah and B playing with Ollie's toys 

 Lily having fun

After a long night of playing Logan was ready to make the "long" walk home!!

The BBQ was a huge success!  We had so much fun spending time with everyone and we hope to do again soon.  I have realized that during the first year of your child's life it can be difficult to keep a social calendar but making time for family and friends is so important!  Thanks for coming and we LOVE you all!!

Ollie Airlines!

Oliver's Birthday Party Post is HERE!!

Ollie's birthday party was on Saturday May 28th at our house.  We set the time for Noon because at the time he was still taking two naps (one at 10 and one at 2) and I did not want to risk having a not so happy birthday boy.  So we decided on Noon and of course that also meant we had to serve FOOD FOOD!!

Thanks to our wonderful family helpers we had quite the spread.  Ollie's great grandpa made a brisket.  Gammy bought a ham.  We set up a sandwich station with 3 different types of mustard and mayo for everyone to make their own sandwiches.  We also had potato salad, coleslaw and fruit.  We served sweet tea and watermelon punch for drinks.

Ollie woke up just in time for his party!!

 Cake station!!

Laura made the cake and it turned out PERFECT as always!!

Baggage check station for ALL the gifts!

Ollie's Auntie M made all the cute signs and painted frames and letters for the party!

Party favor station!

Auntie M decorated airplane sugar cookies and we put them in clear bags with a party tag!  The tag said Thanks for flying on Ollie Arlines!! TOO CUTE!!

Fun letters spelling out the birthday boys name!



Ollie's party napkins

I love a party napkin!!

Centerpiece on our dining room table

(picture on the left is Jacobs one year and on the right is Olivers 

and they are both in the same outfit)

 Of course the magnet board in the dining room has to go with the theme of the party...

my new little tradition!

 Ollie eating some yummy birthday food!!

 Ollie's Great Gran feeding him one of his LAST bottles and wishing he was still a baby!! HA

After Ollie ate he began making his rounds and playing with everyone!!

Ollie and Tutu!

 Ollie and Pop

Ollie and Gam

Mandy and Aaden

We were SUPER excited the Crows came in town!!

PLAY TIME WITH FRIENDS!!

For Ollie's birthday his Gammy and Paw got him a PLAYGROUND....really it is huge and has to swings, a rocking horse, a slide, a two seater swing and a hamock like swing that is VERY popular with Ollie!!

"B" having fun on the playground!

Ollie and Aaden relaxing in the hammock!!  So precious!

 Next with some cousin time in the hammock with Elizabeth!

Aaden and Elizabeth flirting with each other!!

Aaden decided it was his birthday ...Ha

 Birthday boy enjoying ALL the attention!

CAKE SMASH TIME!!!

We decided to set this up outside for clean up reasons!

 Ollie enjoyed his chocolate cake so much that he had to get a quick bath before he opened his presents.

 Oliver's 1st birthday party was a huge success!!  So many wonderful friends and family came to celebrate such a special little boys first year.  It has been an amazing year that has gone by too fast.  We have watched precious little baby grow into an energetic and happy toddler!!  I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

We LOVE you Oliver James!!