The New 2 year-old

Hayden is such and big boy now. He is two!!!! I can't believe our baby is growing up so fast. His speech is expanding and he is getting a little smarter about how he gets away with things. You will be pleased to know I finally updated pictures! There are now 39 new pictures available on flickr and one new video of Hayden dancing on the youtube video bar.

Hayden had 3 great birthday parties. Jon and I are thinking the kid is going to think every day of December and now January is either his birthday or Christmas. Lets just say he is getting really good at opening presents. His favorite gifts were the school bus tent from Auntie Lisa, his trucks and tractors big and small from Nana and Papa and Allison, and his Cars tricycle from Joe, Sueann, and the girls. When he is not playing in his tent with his toys he is riding his bike all over the apartment. We are finally ready for a house.

I haven't found my address book yet. I am hoping it is not packed away, so we can get out Christmas cards with our new address on them. If I don't, expect a Christmas card to come after Christmas. Well I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. Miss and love you all!
Also much thanks to everyone for the wonderful gifts for Hayden's birthday!

"Santa is coming"

Since we are moving our Christmas we haven't been emphasizing Santa for the sake of Hayden, but Hayden is really into Santa right now. He loves the Christmas movies and reindeer and Santa. Today he kept saying "Santa comin" and "ere reindeer," so Santa is coming and where are the reindeer. Every time we see a Santa decorations he gets very excited. I just hope we can make it through traveling on Christmas day and Santa can find us wherever we are. As of now Hayden and I (Amanda) are still flying out Christmas day while Jon drives later. The date is yet to be determined, but we are hopeful he will start the drive the day after Christmas. We are so excited about being in our new home soon.

P.s. I didn't get a chance to get invitations out for Hayden's birthday, since I have been so busy with finals for school, but his birthday party is Sunday at 2:00 at Chuck E Cheese. I know no one can probably make it, since I think the Christmas party is going on at the same time, but maybe we can coordinate a phone call. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Happy Holidays

Well, things have been moving very fast.

The movers are scheduled to pack up the apartment on the 21st and load everything on the 22nd. Then they start the drive to Indy and we should have everything on by the 31st of December (holidays make it longer). Feels weird to know that everything will be moved in less than 2 weeks, even more strange to not box anything up.

We are scheduled to close on the house on the 23rd. So, fingers crossed, everything keeps moving smoothly for that to happen. I still don't know when my last day will be, but I do know my start date in Indiana is the 4th of January.

After weeks of discussion, we decided to fly Hayden and Amanda to Milwaukee on Christmas Day. The more I thought of driving 47 hours in a car with someone that cannot sit still for 2 minutes made my hair start falling out...add to that a 2 year old that talks non-stop and it would be a very "fun" drive. (Just kidding, Amanda =] )

It looks like "Papa" will be flying out to make the drive with me. Looking forward to spending time with him. It has been 3+ years since I first moved away, we have lots to catch up on. It will be a long drive, but a stop in Vegas makes it do-able.

As for the little man, he loved St. Nick. He woke us up and wanted cereal, when he saw the stockings by the fireplace...all you heard was "ooooooo" "oooooo". He did have a hard time understanding that all 3 stockings were not for him...Amanda was about to fight him for the chocolate covered cherries St. Nick left for her.

We will try to update a little more often until we move, but with everything that is going on, please forgive us if we don't get a chance to.

(Also, since out holidays are all screwed up with the move, we have decided to move our Christmas to the 24th of January. This way we at least get to enjoy the day and decorate a little. Hayden is young enough that it won't make a difference to him, so we figured, why not? If you would like to join us, let me know via e-mail. We will be treating the 23rd as Christmas Eve and Amanda will be making her traditional dinner.)

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

So much to do...so little time

As the time ticks down on our time in Washington, we decided to make a list of things we still want to see/visit before we move.

Last weekend we went to Pikes Market for, presumably, the last time for awhile. It was a little cold, but we had a great time. There is this awesome pasta stand that we had been talking about for 2 years...finally bought some. We also bought a piece of street art to go in the "new house", home-made doughnuts, and of course we had to get drinks from the original Starbucks. We took Hayden out to lunch on the pier, he got excited since "football" was on during lunch.

This weekend, unfortunately, we did not get to do much. I have pneumonia and Hayden has a little cold. So, we started packing/labeling boxes...you know, the fun stuff. Next weekend will be better.

Hayden has been speaking a lot more clearly lately. Sentences are flying out of his mouth. This week if I started coughing, he would come up and ask me "daddy ok?". If I was sleeping "daddy seeping", if bugging him "no-no daddy stop it". There is also "please mommy more chips now" and "i love you daddy/mommy" is stating to come out uncoaxed. Almost everything that we say he tries to mimic.

When he does something he is excited about, he proudly states "I did it!" to which he usually gets a big smile and a hug. His toys are starting to occupy more of his time. He lines them up and even drives/moves his cars around. Most of the cars have names..."Mack"..."Queen"...you know, right out of "Cars".

OK, we will post more as time permits...hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!!

Movin' on

It is official, we are moving to Indiana. I flew out on Tuesday, interviewed/toured the area on Wednesday, and flew back to Washington on Thursday night. We are looking at houses in a town called Fishers right now...seems to be out best option.

Realistically, this is somewhat bittersweet. We have established a nice life in Washington. The views are incredible, the ocean is only an hour away, there is tons to do/see, and we have meet some wonderful people and feel like part of the community in Tumwater.

We will also be leaving Hayden's first home, he has lived here his entire life. This is also where Amanda and I first started our family. I sit on the Tumwater parks board and have been pretty involved in community activities. The people I work with are incredible and as an Administrator, I couldn't ask for a better staff.

I understand that we will meet many new and wonderful people and have the same experiences, but is always hard to say good-bye.

Now we have less than 30 days to get packed up and out of Washington.

Halloween

Saturday we took Hayden Trick-or-treating. We worked with him for about a month to wear his horse costume and didn't think he would wear it. So, we took a back-up costume for him just in case. Earlier in the day, we stopped and bought him a cowboy hat. That is what sold him on the costume. So he was a cowboy on a horse for Halloween this year.

The first couple of houses he wanted to go inside. People would open the door and in would go Hayden. He got better at waiting outside and getting candy. He got "trick-or-treat" down and he would hold his bag out. Some people were silly enough to let him pick out of the bowl. 3-4 pieces of candy later he was happy. Then, there was the guy that answered the door with his dog. Lets just say Hayden thought he was getting a dog from him. Hayden wasn't happy when he found out he just got some tootsie rolls.

Hayden has also gotten a lot better with his speech and communication. Sentences are getting a lot more clear and he has no problem telling you "daddy stop now" or "mama sit down" or say "my mama" and throw himself on top of Amanda. On the word "now". It has been added to almost everything; "all done now"...etc. Also, he is able to say his name. (That started a couple weeks ago, but we forgot to mention it.) He loves to go on the computer and talk to "Daby", (Gabi) "nana", "papa", and "Haiee" (Hailee).

Well, thats all the time I have, will update more later...there is so much new happening it is hard to tell everything. Hope everyone has a great week!!!

New Hayden Moments

First of all we are trying to update the blog as much as possible. Midterms have begun to work their way into my schedule. Which means less leisure time (not that I had much before) and extra study time. Jon has been a great help, taking Hayden to the park in the evenings and helping with other things around the apartment.

Hayden has been pretty good with everything. He has been at play school more this term then the last. So he is being a good sport about everything. His new words now are I love you which sounds like olive. Also when he watches Cars, after the tractor tipping scene he wants more tractors. He looks at you with the most sweetest face and will ask for more tractors until he gets more tractors. I have decided that he gets that look from Jon. You know he is trouble but he is too cute to resist.

Anyway, this weekend we are going trick-or-treating. Hayden is going to be a little cowboy with a horse, well if he wears it. I will take lots of pictures and hopefully post again soon. Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Side Note for the Day

So this morning Hayden clearly said two new words. First it was applesauce. Which he use to call just apples, this morning he reached into the fridge and pointed and said applesauce. The second word happened on the way to play school. Every day we look for buses, trucks, and tractors, while we are driving in the car. This morning I saw a bus and pointed it out to Hayden. I said look Hayden here comes a bus. Once the bus passed he said "scoolbus." He distinguished the difference between a transit bus and a yellow school bus. I was so excited I said yes that is a school bus. From then on he just kept repeating "scoolbus, bye bye scoolbus, mor scoolbus." It was the best moment of the day. Thought I would share with everyone else!

Taking a Sick Day

Well... Hayden has a little cold so we are out of school today. Which gives me time to finally update the blog and and flickr. So I have uploaded about 25 pictures to flickr, from the State Fair the first part of September, to our trip to Wisconsin, and finally this last weekends pictures of the pumpkin patch.

Hayden is getting a little more fluent with his speech. He still struggles sometimes when he is trying to tell us what he wants, but this morning he did pat his head and told me "hoz" which means hot. So that is defiantly a plus that he can finally tell us what is wrong.

He has a little peoples dump truck that goes everywhere with him. Every time we leave the house he has to take his "tuck." We found his new favorite movie is "rarr" or Madagascar II. We have tried to get him to watch other movies, but Bolt is now out of the picture, although he still watches Barney occasionally.

Anyway Jon and I are doing well. We are both extremely busy, me with school and Jon with work and helping me with Hayden. Everything is going great and we will try to keep you all more up to date.

Almost October?

It has been a busy couple of weeks.

2 weekends ago, we took Hayden to the Puyallup fair (the Washington state fair). Of course, he loved all of the animals. We took him on three rides and he wanted "more" of each of them. The little guy made it pretty much all day. He even took an hour nap in the hobby barn.

Then early last week, we made a last minute trip to Wisconsin. We took a red-eye Thursday night and got into Wisconsin at about 10:30 in the morning. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, Hayden slept the majority of the flight. He did wake up in Houston and had breakfast with us. Even ate a breakfast burrito and watched the buses. Our time in Wisconsin flew by; not the best circumstances, but it was nice. We got back into Washington on Tuesday night about 8:00. Again, Hayden slept most of the flight. We got our seats upgraded which was extremely nice, plenty of extra room.

This weekend was great. We did n-o-t-h-i-n-g. Relaxed at home and did some errands. Little man is doing new things by the day; his vocabulary is expanding and so is his attitude. He takes after his mother. The leaves are starting to change so next weekend we are probably going to take a drive though the mountains and go apple-picking. Nothing like some fresh Washington apples.

I think we will leave Hayden at home.

Road Trip - Ollmann Style

Amanda and I decided last Tuesday that we were going to take a road trip with Hayden. We have been talking about how we both wanted to check out the Redwoods. So we called around, rented a cabin for labor day weekend and took off after work on Friday. We knew it was going to be a challenge keeping little man occupied for the proposed 8+ hour car ride.

When I got home from work I saw that Amanda had packed up the entire place. There were 2 suitcases filled with clothes, 2 laundry baskets filled with odds and ends and of course, Hayden's entire toy box. The term "everything but the kitchen sink" comes to mind. But then I looked in one of the suitcases and she packed the sink too. (Amanda: It wasn't that much stuff. I just wanted to make sure we had everything we needed.)

Friday night since we didn't take off until 6:00, we decided to stop at Grandma Melissa's for the night. It worked out great, plus she had this shampoo called "Big Sexy Hair". Let me tell you, it works! On Saturday morning we headed out on the 5 hour trip to Port Orford, Oregon. We stopped there to see a friend and took US 101 along the coast. What a beautiful drive. If anyone has not driven the Oregon coast, I would recommend it. After a couple hours visiting with Shelia, we said our good-byes and finished the final hour and a half drive to Crescent City, California.

We stayed at a KOA campground and rented a cabin that had a full size bed and a bunk bed. Seriously, that was it. It was about 15x20 and we had to bring our own bedding. Simple, yet just what we needed.

The campsite was surrounded by small Redwoods, walking paths, and of course a playground. There were berries growing all over. Some nice fellow campers showed us where huckleberries were growing as well as a ton of blackberries. After Hayden ate half a bush of blackberries, we took him to the swing to go "wee". That night, we cooked hot dogs and marshmallows on the fire.

After we put Hayden to bed, I taught Amanda how to play Rummy 500. Of course, I won every game, and now she is hooked. We didn't get to sit by the fire very long, it started raining. Luckily there was a large porch on our 15x20 cabin.

On Sunday we went to the Trees of Mystery. There were three paths all under a mile and some monster trees. It was humbling to look up at some of those 350ft trees and realize just how small you are in this world. Hayden had a great time, running in the woods. Amanda also had a great time chasing him down the paths. I got some great pictures of that.

Monday morning we headed home. It was a quick trip, but well worth it. I forgot how much fun camping is, and it was really neat to see how much fun Hayden was having. Amanda is putting up a bunch of pictures on Flickr, so check them out. There are some great scenery ones.

Quick Hayden updates:
- He loves Disney's "Bolt". Watched it almost 13 times in the car, kept Amanda and I sane.
- All the boy needs is berries and a forest to have fun. Add some puddles he can jump in and he will have the time of his life.
- The ocean in northern California is cold, but Hayden will still run into it.
- He is talking in consistent 2 word sentences. Most common one so far is "nono dada".
- He is extremely good at putting puzzles together. Kind of scary, really. Some seem way too hard for a 20 month old.
- He ate dirt this weekend. Evens out the puzzles...think "not as smart as advertised".
- This is a really fun age, seeing him react to new things in the world just make me smile.

OK, well that was our redwoods weekend. I would recommend to anyone reading to go see time if you haven't. Breathtaking/humbling/awe-inspiring are really the only way to describe the views we saw.

This weekend Grandma Melissa is coming to visit and we are all going to the Washington State Fair. Should be a good time as long as Hayden doesn't eat any of the brown "dirt" there. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

September Already

I can't believe it is already September. Where does time go? Both Jon and I have been busy with work and trying to get our apartment arranged so we have more room and less clutter. We bought a new Samsung 40 inch tv. A great buy considering our other tv kept buzzing every time we watched tv. It was rather annoying. So that meant that we needed a new entertainment center plus we had to rearrange our living room to fit the new entertainment. But we finally have everything the way we want it.

Hayden news!!!! We the kid his talking more than ever. However you still cannot understand him. He is doing puzzles like crazy and without help. It is unbelievable! He can sing his ABC's well, you can kind of understand him. This week daycare is out so they can go to conference so it is Mommy and Hayden time all week.

For Labor day weekend we are taking off to see the Oregon Coast and heading down to spend a couple days camping in the Redwoods. We will let you know how it goes, 12 hours in the car may drive us crazy! Hope everyone else has a great Labor Day weekend.

Back from Vacation

Well we are back from vacation although not back into our old routine. I still have to upload pictures all 300 of them so please be patient with me.

We all had a great time. Hayden and I went out to Wisconsin a few days before Jon did so we could spend more time with Grandma and Grandpa Ollmann, Auntie Haliee and Auntie Lisa. We were even able to do a play date with Brooklynn and Ruchell. Hayden's favorite thing was playing with "Woof" or Codee. They were like the best of friends. Hayden wasn't intimidated at all by the dog. During vacation I did put up a video on our youtube bar showing Hayden playing fetch with Codee. It is a really cute video you will have to check it out sometime.

Saturday July 25 we left for Rhinelander. Hayden rode with Grandma and Grandpa, while Jon and I headed to Madison to the Nitty Gritty and to view the city. We had a good time and best of all with didn't have to entertain the little man for a 5 hour car ride. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

Vacation in Rhinelander was relaxing. The weather wasn't the greatest so we spent most of the time fishing, playing cards, and relaxing. We were able to ski on Friday the nicest day of the week, and if you can believe I actually got up this year. I guess it paid off getting a gym membership.

It was sad when we had to leave, but we were able to have dinner and a bonfire with Nick, Ruchell, Brooklynn, Mike and Mel on Saturday. On Sunday we were heading to Ben's birthday party. We had no idea the family set it up so it was also a surprise party for Hayden as well. Thanks everyone for doing that, we had such and great time. Special thanks to Ben for sharing his birthday party with Hayden. We know it must have been hard to do since Hayden loves being the center of attention. As we know if he isn't he will run out into the street....

Monday Hayden and I met Estelle at breakfast. Then went to see the grandparents at the nursing home. It was a very busy vacation. Jon headed home Monday and then Hayden and I followed Wednesday. Tuesday Aunt Nancy took us to the Racine Zoo. It was fantastic, Hayden loved the lion and tiger. At the zoo you get really close to the animals it was pretty cool. Plus the lion was roaring what a cool added bonus.

Well thanks to everyone that made vacation so special. We miss you all! I will post pictures and update our blog photo tomorrow.

Our 4th of July Weekend Update

Well, I already posted our 4th of July Weekend pictures, but I am sure everyone wants to know how our weekend went. On Saturday morning we went to the parade that started at 11. Jon was already there because he judges certain entries and has to help official the parade. So, Hayden and I packed our cooler parked a mile away, and hiked to Dairy Queen to enjoy the parade (same spot as last year). Only problem was I forgot they remodeled the Dairy Queen aka no more shade. We then found Jon and set up camp over by where he was patrolling the parade.

The parade this year was quite long: 2 hours. There were parts Hayden loved: motorcycles, horses, helicopter, and of course the loud cannon, and there were parts that Hayden wasn't too fond of: the loud cars and the sirens from the firetrucks and police cars. I am not sure why they bothered him so much. We were going to have a picnic after the parade but our little man was pretty tired which means he was starting to get fussy. He went down for a 3 hour nap! We couldn't believe it.

After he got up from his nap we went to the park to swing ("weeee" as Hayden calls it). You wouldn't believe it until you look at the pictures, but the kid actually hangs on and you can push him pretty high. The higher the better according to him. After the park we went to the festival, but only lasted maybe 20 minutes. He isn't quite old enough for the bouncy floats they had there, and was upset when Jon and I were playing the bean bag game because even though he had his own bean bags we weren't paying enough attention to him.

At dinner, Hayden practically ate out the restaurant. Well not literally, but close enough. He ate off Jon and my plates from the salad bar and also his dinner. Two mini grilled cheese sandwiches and apples. We didn't think he could put anything else in there. Then after he was done it all came out. His face turned red and he grunted.... Jon asked if he was pooping and Hayden actually replied "yeh" and nodded his head. It was pretty funny. At dinner Hayden learned how to do a big smile and how to bat his eye lashes (all I am thinking is great now he really knows how to work me over).

Hayden went to bed early as usual but we woke him up for the fireworks ("boom booms"). He loved them! We sat on top of our hill and watched them and about 30 yards away a house was setting off the great big ones and he just watched in awe. Only problem was they kept setting them off until 1 in the morning and Hayden was wide awake every 20-30 minutes wanting to go watch.

Sunday we went to our friends house for a BBQ. Hayden had a blast. The girls have this bright pink guitar that plays different songs (What a girl wants, Survivor, etc). Anyway Hayden loved it, he wouldn't let it out of his sight nor reach. Jon was thinking great my son loves hot pink and girly music! It was pretty funny to watch his reaction. Hayden had such a great time, the kid didn't stop running until we got in the car to go home. At the end of the night the two girls were exhausted from playing with him, Jon and I just had to giggle because they are 9 and 12, too young to be worn out in 3 hours of play time.

Anyway, now that I have blabbed on and on I guess that comes to the end of our weekend. This week the only thing that is new with Hayden are his new words. He can say cookie... although you can't tell it is cookie, and he is starting to use Thank You. We are also working on Lisa and Hailee since we will be seeing you two very soon! Well I hope everyone has a good weekend and miss you all very much!

Happy 4th of July!

I know it is no quite the 4th yet, but I figured we could tell everyone Happy 4th of July early. We have been keeping pretty busy since our last post. My mom (Grandma Melissa) came down last week and Hayden went to his very first movie. During the summer Regal is putting on a Family Film Festival, and Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10 there are free movies. Well we thought we would give it a try, since the kid can't stay still to save his life, and that way we would have spent 6 bucks on a movie we wouldn't sit through. Well he lasted 30 mins, and that is only because we had popcorn (His new favorite treat)! I don't have any pictures because they are on Grandma's camera, but they were super cute. He was double fisting.

Last Saturday we went to the coast. There were to festivals going on: The Pirates Festival and the Sandcastle and Wood Sculpting Festival. It was hard to pick which one to go to since we went to both last year, but we ended up going to the Sandcastle one because there was beach access where Hayden could run around. The wood carvings weren't as good as last year, but there was a super cool car made out of sand that you could stand in and get your picture taken in (pictures are on Flickr). When we got to the beach, there were huge kites being flown. Hayden thought they were balloons and kept calling them "boons." Once we got onto the sand we took Hayden's sandals off so he could run and play. Wow did he not want to be put down. At first he hated the sand and didn't want anything to do with it. However, once we got down by the water and showed him how to splash and stomp on the water, that was enough to convince him the sand was okay.

Hayden got soaked! I was smart this year and brought an extra pair of clothes, blanket, a wet wash cloth, and plastic bags. But, apparently I wasn't smart enough to bring them to the beach (I left them in the car), so Hayden ended up wrapped in my coat while we finished looking at the sandcastles. Amazingly enough the semi-pro sandcastles were ten times better than the pros. All in all we had a great time. Hayden is starting to talk up a storm, in words: flower (bower), chocolate (kacolat - I think that is how he says it), swing (wee), and a if you ask him to say a some words he can mimic you a little.

Anyway, this weekend we plan on going to the parade tomorrow. Hayden I am sure will like all of the sirens this year. Then tomorrow night we plan on going to the festival that Tumwater is putting on. Hopefully this year Hayden can play in the big blow up balloons they will have. We aren't going to keep Hayden up for the fireworks, because the kid has to have his sleep. We are probably going to do what we did last year: grab him from his crib, drive to the top of our hill and watch from the car. So Hayden may or may not get to watch them this year!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a great Father's Day! We went to an air show, which was just down the road from us. We figured Hayden would have a great time because, every time he sees a plane in the sky he yells "bye bye" at the top of his lungs like he thinks the air plane is going to hear him. He also points and says "pain" or plane.

At the air show it was no different. It was "hi," "pain," and "bye bye" all day long. He got to sit in a transporting army helicopter, and he thought that was pretty cool. In a couple of the pictures on flickr you can see him in the drivers seat and also getting buckled in. However, after he did get buckled in he shook his head no and wanted out! After that he was very intent to watch the officer buckle the other kids in, he then wanted to figure out how to buckle himself in. He wasn't too happy when we took him out of the helicopter, but has quickly distracted by the flying air planes.

We saw a helicopter drop an SUV from probably 300 yards up and it just completely flattened. That was pretty cool! Jon had a good day, I was able to surprise him with his gift this year (The first time I was ever able to keep it away from him!). Anyway, we had a good weekend now we are just waiting for vacation to come. It couldn't come soon enough for either of us!

YAH... It's Summer!

The title says it all... It is finally summer and today was my last class, well until summer school starts June 22, but hey at least I get a little of a break. The summer weather has also kicked in, the last two days it has been 90 here, way to hot for no AC. Also I uploaded some cute pictures of Hayden eating watermelon (his new favorite food), they are too cute you have to check out the juice catcher picture.

Anyway, Hayden is starting to flourish with speaking. He is starting to mimic words a little if you ask him to say something and in the morning when he wakes up, he seems to be talking to his panda. We will try and get it on video. He can also tell you what a cow says, what a kangaroo does, what an alligator does, and what a monkey does and sounds like. We tired to get that on video but it didn't go quite as we planned.

Hayden is starting to hit the tantrum age as well. A couple of days ago he learned how to put the key in the car door. Well he tried putting the same key in our front door. I tried to explain to him that he needed to use another key and showed him which one, well he didn't like that too much and right there he laid down kicked his legs and screamed. It took all of me just not to laugh. Anyway I got him inside and let him finish while I made him dinner. Once he got a whiff of the food, he forgot all about the key.

I can't wait for vacation and a 4 hour plane ride... telling Hayden he can't move for that long period may just drive me and everyone around me crazy. We plan on buying a portable DVD player to play his Barney (the only thing the kid will watch), bring his puzzles, and books which he loves, but if anyone else has any suggestions for a 4 hour plane ride I would love to hear them. Less than 2 months to go! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Mariner's Game and Memorial Weekend

Finally... I have loaded new pictures and videos.

It has been a crazy month. Hayden is as active as ever, never stopping unless he is asleep. Now that it is nice out we have been spending more time outside. A couple of weekends ago we went to the Mariner's game. We were 8 rows up from the first base side. It was a great game (well the parts we saw). Hayden had a good time too. Jon and I both got beers and when I wasn't looking Hayden grabbed my beer and was tipping it to have a drink. Don't worry I caught him in time, but the couple behind us got a good laugh out of it. Hayden lasted 8 innings, but he was so tired that as soon as we got in the car he was out. When we got home, we got Dairy Queen. He ate his own bowl of ice cream, not well but he got the majority of it down.

This weekend, Hayden went to Grandma Melissa's house. I had to work and Jon ended up cleaning the apartment, since we didn't have a little man to "help" us clean. Sunday we checked out houses just for something to do, the houses were absolutely gorgeous, but they had no yards and if anyone knows Hayden, we need a huge yard. Yesterday we went to pick up Hayden from grandma's and we were able to stop at the Nike employee store and check it out. It was pretty cool too, we got some good deals on shoes. After we got home we went to a friends house for a Barbecue. Overall we had a great weekend.

Hayden slept through the night last night, and we came to the conclusion that Hayden needs a house, a huge yard, and a dog, because then I am pretty sure the kid would sleep through the night every night.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Sorry about slacking on the updates

I am sure everyone is wondering how Hayden is doing. The little guy is fine. Last Tuesday he started acting more like himself. In one day our apartment went from spotless to a disaster. It is like everything is new again to him and he has to learn "no" all over again. Hence very busy mom and dad. I still have no idea where the camera cord is to add the hide-n-seek pictures or video, so you will have to be patient for a little longer.

School is getting crazy right now with only 4 weeks left, and for some reason work has me scheduled to work every day I have free. Jon has been at a conference all week in Vancouver. So needless to say it has been a crazy household these past weeks.

One other thing Hayden likes to do at night is cry and get up every hour or so, which means physically exhausted parents. Jon and I know we have to start over with a sleep program, only problem is his cries are not the same as when we was a baby. He now wails at the top of his lungs. You would think we are killing him. Anyway, before we can just let him cry in the middle of the night we have to warn the people above us in the apartments so they don't call the cops on us. I was thinking of getting her something (besides ear-plugs) to kind of show how sorry we are. Any ideas?

I know this weekend is Mother's Day and Lisa's birthday, so Happy early Mother's Day and Birthday (Grandma's and Lisa). We will talk to you all soon.

P.s. I will look for the camera cord this weekend.

Pictures and Videos

Posted Easter pictures and Spring Fair pictures. I also posted his Easter candy video. I have some hide and seek pictures and video to post yet. Hopefully I will get those on the computer soon. Miss you all and hope everyone had a good weekend!

Month from h _ _ _

What a month.

The weekend before Easter, Hayden started getting sick. Runny nose, drainage from his eye, fever of as high as 104…etc. We took him to the doctor and they put him on Amoxicillin thinking it was a virus. The next morning he woke up with red splotches all over his back and butt. Needless to say, we found out he is allergic to Amoxicillin. They put him on Azrithomycin for three days and we thought that he was feeling better. The Saturday before Easter he was doing better and we took him to the Easter Egg Hunt in Tumwater. Hayden even picked up his own eggs this year and held his basket. He likes candy.

Everything was good the next week, fever seemed to be going down and he was getting back to himself. On Sunday, we went to the spring festival in Puyallup. He loved all the animals, and we even got to hold a crocodile. There was an arts and crafts section where we made him a Frisbee which turned out pretty cool if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, we had to cut our visit a little short, Hayden felt a little warm. That night, his temperature hit 104 again.

The next morning, Amanda had to take him in for a blood draw. The following day, he was back to the doctor for the results. The blood results looked good, just a high white blood cell count…which means an infection. Just to be sure, they took a chest x-ray…sure enough…pneumonia. In both lungs. They put him on some more antibiotics and we hoped he would start feeling better. Friday night, after he went down for the night, he woke up screaming. You could tell he was struggling to breathe. His chest was heaving, when he inhaled it sounded like he was barking, and he was kicking his legs as he tried to get air in. So we took him to the ER again. The doctor there said…Croup. They gave him an anti-inflammatory with some steroids in it and sent us on our way after a 3 hour visit. If it happens again, they told us to take him right back to the ER, otherwise to make an appointment with his doctor on Monday. So…that is where we are at right now. Tomorrow he has his follow-up appointment with Dr. Duncan.

Stats for April (so far): 6 - Visits to the Doctor, 2 – ER visits, 2 – Nights of sleeping through the night.

He needs to get to feeling better…for all our sakes…and sanity.

Play school

The last two days have been pretty big days for our little man. Since I started school during the day Hayden has to be in day care. Monday we went to visit to get him use to the teachers and children, and it didn't go to well. I left the room for 15 minutes and I could hear him crying down the hall. Lets just say I was very scared to drop him off yesterday.

Monday night I even told Jon that I didn't know if I would be able to leave him if I heard him cry, then of course I started to cry on my own. Well, Tuesday came and the little guy surprised me. He handled me leaving very well, waving at me as I left the room. No tears were shed all day long, and he didn't even use his nuk for 3/4's of the day. I stopped in about 11:30 between classes to see if he was doing alright. Turns out he looked like he belonged there, which just broke my heart. I know it should have relieved me, but I was upset because I felt he didn't need me anymore. Even though I know that isn't true.

Today going to class was much easier, and of course he was a perfect angel. Anyway I just thought you all would like to know he can sleep without his world being cut off. Good news for vacation this summer!!!!

Mama's little helper

Today was a major cleaning day in the Ollmann household since I will be working Saturday morning when Jon and I usually do our cleaning. Hayden was a big help. He was helping me with the dishes and putting away his toys. I have pictures of him running around with the silverware holder on his arm like a purse. He was cracking me up. He would take it out of the dish rack and then walk to the silverware drawer and want to put the invisible silverware away.

Later in the afternoon I made chocolate chip cookies. Jon and I have been working on the oven being hot, even when it is not on. I don't know where Hayden got the idea, but he thought he could help with the oven too, taking the cookies in and out. I didn't realize but he had an oven mitt on his hand just like me. It was great to see he is already thinking about his safety! Afterwards he got to eat the cookies. Lets just say he got a little messy. Enjoy the rest of the pictures on flickr!

15 month check up

Today we had Hayden's 15 month check up. He got 2 shots: his MMR and the first chicken pox shot. He didn't like them very much, but I managed to take the tears away. Well, if I didn't put him down - which was difficult while trying to dress him. Hayden is 31 inches and 23 lbs 7 oz. For height he is in the 50th percentile, while for weight he is under in the 30th percentile. So now we have to watch his weight to see if there is anything going on the doctor needs to know.

It was surprising to find out your son has a weight problem in the opposite direction. Specially since the kid eats non-stop! Sometimes Hayden eats more than Jon or I in a single setting and yet the kid is underweight. The doctor also pointed out he is very active (he wouldn't stay still for the doctor). So he could just be burning all of the calories he is eating. None the less, we have to go back in a couple of months for a weigh-in.

On the positive side, Hayden now holds my hand when he walks outside. I think he figured out I will let him walk to the car and outside, when not at a park, if he holds my hand. Since we live in an apartment complex I get so nervous that he will take off and get hit by a car. So I have been carrying him to and from the car. Not anymore thank goodness. He is such a big boy. He can go up the steps (no more crawling up) with help from the railing and he can crawl into the car and get in his car seat. It helps out so much now he can do more stuff on his own.

He is growing up so fast! Anyway I hope the weather is going well for everyone else, we are still waiting for the sunshine to come out. Miss everyone and wish everyone was here with us!

Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa Ollmann has been here 4 days, and we have been busy going and doing fun things. Thursday we went to the zoo and had a good time doing all the fun things watching the walrus talk and do tricks, see the sharks out and about, and play in the kids zone. We also got to touch some starfish, well everyone did but me. I was helping Hayden use one finger to touch gently. Last time we went with Grandma Ollmann and Auntie Lisa, it had started to rain and we were unable to let Hayden play in the kid's zone. Good news both Grandpa and Hayden had a good time, specially on the spider web.

On Friday we went to Snoqualmie Falls, which is about one hour north of us, just east of Seattle. The falls is taller than Niagara Falls, and absolutely amazing. We got some great pictures, plus we took a hike to the lower observance deck. Of course Jon has to go out of his way to take some great pictures. Here is a look. They are standing on a tree stump that is about 10 feet high. Yes they both had to climb to the top to pose.

Today was a little less exciting. I had to work around noon, so we took it easy and decided spending a couple hours in the car with Hayden wasn't something we wanted to do again. Tonight for dinner we had bacon wrapped sirloins, twice-baked potatoes, and green beans. Hayden even wanted to help feed me with my own fork. It is pretty cute and we got it on video, so check out the video bar. Then after dinner the boys finger painted. We got some great pictures, and everyone had a good time.

This is mostly the end results, but they had a blast and Hayden got pretty messy. I will put the rest of the pictures on flickr. In the mean time don't forget to check out the 3 new videos. Hope everyone's weekend is going as well as ours. Wishing everyone was here!

End of the Week

Well it is the end of the week and I finally found the camera cord. Who would have thought we would have put it in the Wii box, but then again we have an organizer that likes to put things away and who knows where they will end up. Yesterday I found an old sippy in the back of the cupboard, it appeared to have yogurt in it, so I am guessing that the sippy had been put there a few days ago. Again I am not surprised. I have found puzzle pieces in the dishwasher, nuks in the fridge, and books in the cupboards as well.


Since I last blogged, Hayden has started saying a few more words (well that we can make out). Hot is "ha ha" and he does this when his food is too hot while pulling the food out and putting it back on the plate. Also a new work is "caca" or "kaka" and we still have no idea what that means. He started saying it on Sunday and we tried to figure out what it meant and still have no clue. I don't know if he is learning his c's or his k's, or if it is an actual word he is trying to say. This morning he said it when he wanted his nuk from Jon, but who knows if we will ever find out.


Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend! Miss you all. P.s. I uploaded pictures to flickr.

New favorite play zones

The weather in Washington has been a little nicer this past week, and because of the sunshine and 50 degree weather Hayden and I have been going to the park in the afternoon. I have some great pictures, but for some reason the camera cord I have is the wrong one and I will have to hunt down the other cord to post the pictures.

This last weekend Jon and I got a night away and went to the Alderbrook resort and spa. We had a great time! We did a wine tasting package that included a bottle of our choice of wine and a dinner credit. We choose the Riesling. The resort was beautiful right on the water with the mountains in the background.

My mom watched Hayden and they had a blast together. They went to MacDonald's and played in the play area and also spent some time at the park. When we got back they were both exhausted. The only bad thing was Hayden woke up Monday morning with an infection in his eye and a little congested. I took him to the doctor and he is fine, I have been giving him his eye drops (well the best I can considering he won't hold still to save his life) and it has almost cleared up!

Jon is at a conference for the first part of the week, so Hayden and I are managing on our own. We are trying to keep the apartment picked up so when Grandpa gets here next week, it won't be too messy. Hayden is starting to help me put things away (although it usually is not in the right place, but it is the thought that counts). Well, that is all for now we will blog soon!

Dedicated to the man on the mountain taken out by Amanda

Has it really been 19 days since our last post? Wow, where does the time go. Well...where to start...work has been really crazy...so has Amanda...and Hayden...oh Hayden. The little man has definitely been finding his voice lately. It is amazing how much he is trying to communicate. It all started with him pointing at things and grunting. His vocabulary consists of mama, dada, nanana (banana), buh buh (bye bye), daga (dog), izzy (kitty), num num (any food), nigh nigh (nite nite), blah blah blah and other sounds he decides to make at any given time. The other night he actually told me "nigh nigh-dada". I just said goodnight and walked out. Didn't hit me till I left the room that he made a pseudo-sentence.

He knows that if he reclines the recliner and pulls down on the back, he can get at the cat. Hayden also figured out that he can push his ottoman around to climb up on things. Now we really have to watch out for him crawling up on the recliner and rocking it. Also have to watch out for him jumping from his ottoman to anything near him. Still hasn't tried climbing out of the crib yet though; which is good.

Today for Amanda's birthday we let him have some ice cream cake. Lets just say he did laps around the living room, into the kitchen while shaking his head and saying dadadada..blah blah...etc. I tried to get it on video but as soon as I took the camera out he stopped.

Amanda and I did the skiing thing 2 weeks ago. She told us last year when we tried snowboarding that she would be tearing up the mountain if she was on ski's. So we rented skis and drove to the mountains. We got all dressed up and went to put on our ski's. Two seconds later Amanda was on the ground. OK, figured maybe she was a little rusty, so I helped her get up and a second later...she was on the ground again. Seriously this was without even actually moving anywhere. She forgot to mention that it has been over 10 years since she went skiing. We took it slow and eventually she had enough courage to try a little more challenging hill. Bad idea. Some poor guy standing on the hill was unfortunate enough to get taken out by my beautiful wife. Man I wish I had the camera on her. I was standing towards the top of the hill watching the entire thing happen. I laughed. Hard.

This past weekend we drove down to Portland and checked out some boutiques...bought nothing. Seriously..120 for a guys dress shirt you can see through?

OK, well hopefully life slows down a bit and we have a chance to blog a little more often. If not please forgive us. Hope everyone enjoyed Fat Tuesday!!!

The Ollmann Clan Update

I am sorry it took so long to update. Even though I have been at my mom's last week, I came back a day early because both Hayden and I missed being away. Hayden is more interesting then ever now. The last few days at my mom's Hayden thought the dog needed to be fed some tuna. If you look at the flickr pictures I uploaded you can see a bunch of tuna cans in the dog kennel. I am not sure why but Hayden thought those belonged there. He also learned how to use the bike tire pump and thought it was great because he could make noise when he pushed the lever down (also see flickr pictures). I also got some great videos of Hayden dancing and doing something new. His new thing is he has to put the spoon back for you or he won't allow you to feed him. It is too cute. He won't feed himself yet, but he is getting closer. If we put something on the spoon he tries to put it in his mouth, but other than that he hasn't yet accomplished the task of feeding himself with a spoon, fingers are just easier.

We can't believe how much Hayden is beginning to communicate. Well using his pointer finger rather than words, but hey at least he can convey a little to what he wants. He still gets frustrated when he can't communicate, but it is getting better. His two new words are "daga" or doggie and "itts" or kitty. I only know this because he only says this when he is pointing at a dog or our cat.

Some big news regarding Hayden is, in the last 4 nights he has slept through 2 of those nights and woke up once in the other 2. When I got back from my mom's house, Jon and I decided that I would stop nursing him before bed, since that was the only nursing left to do away with. Well it seems to be working and thank goodness too, I thought I was going to be a walking zombie all through Hayden's childhood. I should have stop nursing sooner!

Well I know everyone reads this site just to hear about Hayden, but I do have some good news about another family member. Jon passed his test, and is now an official Nursing Home Administrator, well at least when he gets his certificate in 3 to 4 weeks. We are all doing good, and glad to be home. We miss everyone and hope everyone has had a good week! Check out the new videos and pictures!

5 days to go

Well, Hayden and I are working on night 2 away for Jon. It is hard being away and for Hayden everything is new and big at grandma Melissa's. Today he spent most of the day rearranging the cupboards, playing in the dirt from the plants, and throwing things at the dog (Mr. Tumnus). The dog tolerates him because Hayden gives him food, which is one of Hayden's favorite things to do when he is in his high chair. He throws food on the floor and then watches the dog eat it. I don't know who gets more food Hayden or Tumnus.

I have also found the Wii remotes and TV remotes in the cupboards along with his milk. Today Hayden found raisins in one of the cupboards. He took the lid off and would take a handful and eat it. Then put them back and shut the cupboard door. I couldn't figure out what he was eating until I found the raisins. I am still not sure how many handfuls he got before I found them. He is one smart cookie, when he takes something out of a certain cupboard, he puts it back. It may not be in the same spot but I think he likes the idea of placing things where they should go.

After Hayden got a handful of dirt on the floor and some in his mouth, it was time to vacuum. He knew where the vacuum went after I was done and opened and shut the door for me. It is amazing how much he wants to help. Watching him grow up into a little boy is so wonderful, yet I know he is growing too fast and at night I can't help but watch him sleep knowing someday he will be all grown up and probably be locking Jon and I out of his room.

Well it is time for me to get to bed, but I hope that this brings smiles to everyone reading.

Jon - (We miss you sweetie and will see you soon! Don't worry I gave Hayden lots of kisses for you!)

Week of catch-up

This week was really nothing special. Amanda and I have both been fighting colds so haven't been up to very much. We checked out a couple athletic clubs for the whole family. The one we like has everything we need, plus some great classes for Hayden. The only problem is that the classes do not come with the membership. Needless to say it is pretty expensive.

On a Hayden note: since he figured out that he can get the cat off of the recliner by reclining it and then pulling the back down he has been terrorizing the cat. Now he chases the cat around and throws random things at him...shoes, plastic balls and even his 3 pound rolling ball. Of course we are telling him "no", but secretly I think it hilarious. The cat gets revenge by swatting at Hayden as he runs by.

Hayden has also started to do this forced laugh thing. He gets this huge cheesy smile, puts his arms out like is flexing his muscles and laughs. We will try to get it on camera soon. He is also starting to try to communicate more. He waves when he wants to leave or go to a different room, he points at things he wants, he gets on his little car and lifts his legs up when he wants you to push him across the room.

There are some other things, but I can't think of them right now. Maybe later.

boy oh boy

Wow. What a week, that is all I can say.

We did end up evacuating Riverside again this year. We started moving residents out of the facility at 1000 and finished getting everyone out at about 0245 the next day. All 87 residents were taken to other facilities; mine was only able to accommodate 2 since we are so full. On Monday morning we will be sending everyone back. For the second year in a row we moved everyone out, but no water got in the facility.

On a quick work note I got a visit from the chair of the nursing home administrators board on Friday. Now all that stands in the way of my license is the exam, 120 questions of fun. I should be taking the test within the next two weeks.

This weekend we left Hayden with Grandma Melissa and drove to Seattle to meet up with Clint and some of his friends. We went to Pikes Place Market and took a tour of the Seattle underground. I had no idea that there was an old "Seattle" underneath. It was interesting to see, but I think it was a one time only tour.

Hayden has been Hayden lately. He will stick his tongue out at you now every once in a while; and still will kiss anyone that asks for one. He is also starting to push the limits. Things that he knows he should not be doing, he is trying again. You know, the fun stuff. Hitting things on the table, screeching, turing the tv off, playing in the blinds, pulling the cats tail, climbing up the gates, standing on his rocking chair, climbing on the couch, playing with the wii, pulling on the dvd player. Like I said, the fun stuff. Needless to say there have been a lot of "no's", "shhh's" and whispering to him.

Well I had better get the little angel off to bed, he is starting to rub his eyes and tell me "ni-ni". He is even walking towards his bedroom door.

Hope everyone has a great week and for those back in Wisconsin, enjoy the subzero weather and snow!!!!

Flooding Ahead

Well it is now the time of year for flooding and unfortunately the building Jon use to work at is in the flood plane and he is down helping evacuate the building. Hopefully I-5 won't flood again so my mom can come up and watch Hayden this weekend! Jon and I both need a break from our vocal son.

Hayden has found his voice, and since he can't communicate the way he wants, he screams at us. Plus the teething monster may be visiting him because he chews on his hands constantly. The good news is Hayden said a new word on Monday, banana, or his way of saying it "Na nana."

Another thing Hayden found was his wee willie winkie in the tub last night. Who needs bath toys when there are more interesting things to play with in the tub... hahaha

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope that everyone is recovering OK after last night. We had a nice evening at home.

Little man tried sooooo hard to stay up until midnight last night...but...he only made it to 8:00. Maybe next year. Surprisingly enough Amanda and I did make it past the New Year. We were both thinking that it wouldn't happen. Anyway, Amanda made lobster and steak for dinner and we rented a movie. I think Amanda did not want a repeat of Christmas day (she had one of Uncle Bob's migraine's) so we only had a couple choice beverages. Today we are going to head into the mountains for some fun and maybe even a little mini-golf.

We wish everyone a great 2009 and that all your resolutions come true!!