Merry Christmas Terry, Joe, and Oliver!

As Oliver's Guardian (or Fairy Godmother as I like to be called), I decided to make at least one wish come true. Terry has been mentioning for months that she wishes she had time to create a blog for Oliver. And Terry, the hardest part about starting a blog is deciding WHERE to start! 

So I started your blog the day you and Joe returned from your Hawaii visit before you even knew you were pregnant. October 27, 2005. Yes, I have saved every single e-mail you have written to me since that day. You were writing such great updates on your pregnancy journey with Oliver that I saved them so one day I could make him an album with all your entries. But this is even better, thanks to technology! 

To take the 2 year journey chronologically, in the right hand column you will see "BLOG ARCHIVE". Click the 2005 carrot. Click October (1) carrot. Click "Before Terry even knew she was Pregnant Post Hawaii". After reading the first entry, click "NEWER POST" in the bottom Left Hand corner (Below POST A COMMENT). Continue clicking "newer post" to read each entry in order.

So now the ball is in your court to update this blog with wonderful pictures and stories weekly. I had such a great time reminiscing Oliver's journey with this blog! It blows me away how fast the time goes and how much Little Man has grown! We love you guys!

See you later Gator

FLASHBACK! OLIVER'S FIRST HALLOWEEN! 

Did you have big Halloween fun? Parker held his annual Halloween fest for the kiddos with a potluck and then we visited a select few neighbors with the cute little costumed kiddos. Oliver was a 'gator. I'll get some photos to you one way or another. I don't really want to get into the trick-or-treating ritual, but it was really great spending time with a lot of other parents and kiddos 3 and under.

Am writing to you on a new MacBook Pro as my old systems were entering obsolescence and no longer upgradable. Joe insisted we use W's 'stimulus' rebate to buy a 'puter. We watched the first 2 CSI's last night on it and I was completely blown away at the clarity of the picture. Guess we'll plod along and see where the season goes...

Colorado BLISSard

So we have been hanging out in Colorado at about 9200 ft. above sea level since the 8th with our very dear friends Hal and Vicki. Have been incommunicado as they don't have (a need for) high speed internet and we've just had the cell phones off so we could enjoy each other and life at a different pace. It was a great and much-needed vacation. Weather was all over the map per usual fall in the rockies. We hiked, explored, soaked up the sun, played in the snow, had massages, ate good food and a lot of snow (Oliver), drank wine, ogled the architecture, shopped, museumed, saw my family for a couple of days, and either caught up to ourselves or, probably more accurately, slowed down to reconnect.

Ol' Mac Bertie had a farm

Oliver, Nora, Parker, Ro, just wrapped up a 6-wk session Music Together By the Bay session and it was fun. I can totally seeing you filling the scarves/steel drum void in waimea [or anywhere else] for little kiddos. Some mornings I am running in the arboretum with HIS music class music playing on the 'player' in my head. Too funny. And am trying to do so much to yard [at once] here. Oliver and I hang out for hours in the garden. weeding. planting. moving the elephants to shade under the zucchini, eating berries, and he gets to 'prune' now, hiding in the bamboo [i want to make tunnels]. Burrell is building us a nice sound/privacy fence 'uphill'. If only we didn't need to sleep.

Family Fun Run

Rolly Polly Tumble Bumble!

Where did the Airplane go? It went to San Juan Island!

Walking in Tide Pools, Visiting the Mausoleum, Reading books with Aunt Jettica, and Building Stick TeePee's on the beach...all on San Juan Island

Otter's New Bike

Happy 2nd Birthday Oliver!

Warning, Aunt Jettika held the camera sideways in the beginning, but it will correct itself halfway through the birthday song! 

Marshmallows, Gitty Gitty Anemones, and Wine Oh My!

I think we should throw a party for Berto while Aunti Jess and Uncle Alex are here. I see fish. I see champagne. I see cupcakes. There is a minus tide opportunity at the coast for O's first camping experience from the 16-22 and you should be there. Is there an opening in the schedule Julie Stubing? I see marshmallows and burnt graham crackers and creepy crawly bugs and gitty gitty anemones. I see wine.

Botanical Latin names for Plant species Scrabble anyone?

I am thinking a mellow (train ride to the city-ish) for his Big Two - And a train with track, and a construction site set with a crane. Also a balancing cactus. He is very into balancing things. We should do a trike or bike soon. Trek makes one we totally love. Ro has a two-wheeler and Layton a two-wheeler ON the arboretum trail - neither of them has training wheels! We don't do a lot of toys, but he is at a pretty pivotal and wonderful stage in his intellectual and physical development, so a good time to introduce some more engaging and challenging toys. We need to get the carnivorous bog planed - you can't imagine how many different types of plants he can identify and some even in their botanical Latin names. His room is almost done and he naps there, but still sleeps with me/Joe/us in our room until we are ready to move him (gulp).

We just celebrated MD (Mothers Day!) by planting a lot of things and ridding ourselves of some more lawn-grass. We turned over a couple of 4x4 ft areas to plant chokes and I went in to count the plants I had started from seed - 16!!! Can you envision how much grass we will be removing to put in a dozen carchiofe?! I love it! Am trying to move away from 'landscaping' and toward edibles behind the fence. Courtyard. I want to garden in my pajamas with a big cup or glass of something...Must be the parallel universes you and I dwell within as I told a neighbor the other day that I have started to think of our yard as our farm and I feel a lot better about it now. And Woodbury Farm has a nice ring to it. Woodbury Acres sounds like Mayberry ha!

The Burrelly-Mon is beginning our fence - wahooo! Is going to be pretty swell with privacy and arbors and peek-a-boos, and gates. Will be the best to worry a little less about O. getting into (being seen from) the street. He knows and understands, but has very occasional lapse of memory (when chasing poor wendy around the yard for instance).

Bertos first dining room set

Oliver asks for the Moki pic daily. He is magnifique. We brought home his first dining room set yesterday. Color needs work, but he's ahead of his madré in terms of domestic acquisitions. It's sunny. We have more yellow groove bamboo to plant on the pagan/christian border.

Rad Rob was here last week (Oliver was beyond ecstatic to have a digger for 2 days - it's genetic. sorry) producing a parking pad for us. Civilized. The rock sucks (dk crushed rock), but we'll weebeo (wheelbarrow per Oliver) it for patios and walkways and dump something pretty on it when we drop the supply a bit. Okay, must go. Tempest Fugit.