Category Archives: Oliver

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah, Travel

Road Trip, Day 2

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We left the Day’s Inn bright and early and headed west across Montana. We found a wonderful campsite in the Langohr Campground in Gallatin National Forest south of Bozeman. It was an ideal day without too much driving. We arrived early enough to set up camp, cook a delicious dinner (pasta with sausages), and get to bed on time. We pitched our tents next to a turbulent brook that cooled the air and made it especially easy to sleep.

Griffin befriended a neighboring camper from North Carolina who was an avid fisher. He and Griffin spent a lot of time in the evening and morning fishing, whether wading in the brook, standing on the bridge, or walking along the bank. Although they didn’t manage to catch any fish, they had a great time trying. (Griffin points out that they didn’t have any worms, which may have had something to do with it.)

Thrilled to find a beautiful campground.
Oliver happy to be at his first camp site ever.
Rushing river made the best white noise ever.
Our site’s personal wading area!
Cool rock face across the river.
Slept like a rock in his first night in the tent.
Portable crib worked great.
Maggie and Griffin slept in their own tent for the first time ever.
Toasty warm.
Daddy sleeping in.
Mama with Griffin
Maggie and her brother.
Mama with Maggie
Coffee
Loved this site.
Glendive to the campground, south of Bozeman
Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah, Travel

Road Trip, Day 1

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This is the first post in a series about our summer road trip from Minnesota to Washington and Oregon, passing through the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Starting odometer: 144,354

We aimed to depart at 9:00 AM and were under way by 9:45—this was amazingly good timing for us. With young kids in the car, our general goal was to drive for only six-ish hours per day, leaving room for plenty of pit stops, slow starts, and time in the evening to set up camp and explore before bed. On the first day, however, we decided to shoot for Theodore Roosevelt National Park, a little over eight hours away. We loved camping at this relatively obscure park during our 2014 road trip to California, and we figured that we could push hard on our first day.

Imagine our surprise when we rolled into the park to discover that the campground, largely empty in 2014, was entirely booked! Not only that, but every nearby campground was also booked. Apparently there was a wildly popular vintage car show going on over the weekend. Doh! [Note for our next road trip: camping reservations are a good idea.]

We looked ahead on the map and found Makoshika State Park in Montana. This would get us a few hours ahead and the park looked incredible. We went for it, racing to get there before sunset. The park was as beautiful as advertised and the campgrounds were fantastic. Campsites were spread out around gorgeous canyons with plenty of privacy. Alas, even this 11,000 acre park was fully occupied. We enjoyed watching the magnificent sunset from the bluffs and then accepted defeat, tucking our tails between our legs and “camping” at the Days Inn in Glendive. Dinner consisted of granola bars since we couldn’t use our camp stove to cook a proper meal.

It was not the best start. On the bright side, all three kids were awesome in the car for a very long driving day. Admittedly, the older two watched movies for most of the day, but Oliver was surprisingly easy going about being strapped into his carseat for 10+ hours. The driving felt relatively easy, even though it ran long and ended in disappointment.

A few innovations we implemented for this trip:

  • We gave the kids their snacks each morning and let them decide when to eat them throughout the day. Seems like such a simple thing, but on past trips we would centrally manage the food and it was a constant source of conflict. This time they each had a labeled ziplock with all of their options. Sarah even organized things so that they could refill the bag each morning from the big food bin in the rear. They had a list of things that they should put in (e.g., 2 Lara bars, 1 popcorn, 2 trail mixes, etc.). They loved it and we avoided all of the arguments and cries of imminent starvation.
  • Sarah purchased small items as daily gifts. Each was wrapped and the kids looked forward to receiving them. Examples included fidget spinners, card games, activity books, etc. (Technically, Sarah came up with this idea for the 2014 trip and we continued it this time.)
  • Storage baskets for Griffin and Maggie mounted on the seats in front of them. They held books, art supplies, etc. (Despite this, however, the back seats were usually an appalling mess by the end of the day.)
Kids are ready to go!
Kitchen supplies ready!
Custom activity baskets will never look this neat again.
Oliver, road trip champion.
The whole gang on the open road.
Making the best of our first “camp.”
Griffin’s message to Sarah using his secret decoder.
Day one route; note that we intended to stop before Montana, but the campgrounds were all full.

 

Griffin, Maggie, Oliver

Bedtime Routine

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Sarah wrote this up for our first non-family babysitter for Oliver. It sums up where our bedtime routine stands now. We’re loving it–short, simply, and successful.

Oliver

Oliver’s bedtime is anywhere between 6-7:30pm, depending on how tired he seems. Signs that he’s ready for bed include crankiness, rubbing his eyes, heavy eyelids, general discontent, arching his back, etc. Once it’s clear he’s ready for bed, here’s what we do:

  • Make a bottle to take upstairs. We usually make a 6 oz bottle, which is 6 oz of water mixed with 3 scoops of formula.
  • Change diaper
  • Get into PJs (we’ve left some out for you)
  • Read him a book (I Like It When is my standby) and give him the bottle, if he’ll take it. We usually lay together on our big bed. If he’s really eating a lot, you can read him more stories. I’m sure Griffin and Maggie can find some to read. Sometimes we skip this part if it’s clear he’s ready and doesn’t need any milk.
  • Once he’s done eating and you’re done reading a story, we say goodnight to Maggie and Griffin, and enter their room. We say goodnight to objects in the room (“Night night, clock! Night night closet! Night night, alphabet! Night night, Maggie’s bed! Night night, Griffin’s bed!”)
  • Lay him down and give him his lovie.
  • Say, “Night night, sleep tight! I’m right outside! I love you!”
  • Leave the room, closing the door.
  • If he cries, please set a timer for 5 minutes. Crying is continuous crying, not whimpers, moments of silence, whimper for a bit, silence for a bit. If he cries hard for 5 minutes, enter the room again, give him his lovie if it’s out of reach, and repeat, “Night night, sleep tight! I’m right outside! I love you!” Please don’t pick him up. He’s used to this routine now, and we’ve only had one or two times of really hard crying. He’s learning to soothe himself to sleep, and he’s gotten very good at it!

Maggie & Griffin

Bedtime for these guys is 7:30pm, unless Oliver is still falling asleep. We try to put Oliver down before they’re ready for bed, but sometimes it doesn’t work that way. We start them getting ready for bed around 7 or 7:15pm. Their jobs are:

  • Get into PJs
  • Put dirty clothes down the chute
  • Brush teeth for 2 minutes
  • Go to bed

Their routine sometimes includes time for read aloud, but if you are busy putting Oliver to bed, I would encourage them to get into their PJs, brush their teeth, and take a little quiet reading time on our bed, if it’s available, or the back bedroom. They are sometimes really amped before bed and goof off in their beds, which sometimes wakes Oliver. Please remind them that it’s silent time once they’re in their room!

Andrew, Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo, Sarah

Memorial Day at the Cabin

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We enjoyed a few days with away from the end-of-school rush at the cabin over Memorial Day weekend. Our friends Jess, Murray, and Olive joined us. (Sadly, Kevin couldn’t make it this year.)

The trip included a number of notable events:

  • Oliver’s first trip to the cabin, including relatively long drives, unfamiliar sleeping arrangements, and a wacky schedule. He was quite flexible, though he did complain that we were letting him freeze during the first night (temps dropped steeply after dark). We nailed it on the second night.
  • Oliver’s first kayak trip.
  • Maggie’s first time paddling the canoe and sitting on a proper bench.
  • Griffin and Murray’s first time being largely independent in the kayaks. This was not exactly our intent, but they got them in the water before the rest of us were ready and before we knew it they were across the lake, exploring the island. (Definitely wearing life jackets!)
  • Griffin caught a frog.
  • Relatively close encounter with a pileated woodpecker on a birch by the cabin. The photos, at the end of the set below, are blurry phone pics, but this sucker was huge.
  • Two new eggs in the loon nest. We weren’t sure if they would use the same nest site for a second year running. Last year one egg did not hatch. We’ll be checking back on the nest at our next visit.
  • Thunderstorms and hail kept us inside on Sunday afternoon, which allowed for a smashing D&D game. (Griffin’s elf wizard was nearly killed by an evil skeleton, but Maggie gave him one of her healing potions.)
Oliver enjoying the view from the porch.
Oliver’s first time out in a kayak.
Maggie’s first time paddling (occasionally) the canoe.
Griffin and Murray zipped all over the lake.
Two fresh loon eggs in the same nest that we found last summer.
Oliver working on some teething issues (and boosting his immune system).
Bedtime reading with Jess.
Pileated woodpecker is on the trunk of the tree above the cluster of green leaves. (This was the maximum zoom with my phone… alas I didn’t have time to get the telephoto on my camera.)
Profile of the pileated woodpecker on the large branch to the left.
Oliver

That was so last week…

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This morning, at 4:44 AM, after giving up on the whole sleeping thing.

Oliver must have read last week’s post about how we would just put him in his crib and he would magically sleep through the night.

Boring!

This week he’s trying out a new thing: having a harder time falling asleep and waking up crying every 30-minutes or so starting at 3-ish. Fun times.

Oliver, Photo

Beds, Bikes, & Bottles

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Change is afoot in Oliver’s world.

Beds

Oliver is falling asleep in his crib (foreground) while Andrew reads “The Hobbit” to the kids under the loft.

First, as mentioned on Monday, Oliver is now sleeping in his new crib in the kids’ bedroom. We were planning on a more gradual transition, but Griffin and Maggie were so excited to have him move in that we went for it. It’s been pretty miraculous so far. Every night this week, they’ve all gone to bed at the same time, with no special rituals for Oliver. We generally hang out near the crib for a little bit while he falls asleep, but it’s pretty quick. Honestly, the whole thing is a bit spooky; he just lies down and falls asleep. Crazy!

Bikes

Our newest cyclist.

Oliver has been out on a couple of bike rides now in the iBert seat on Sarah’s bike. He loves it, and we love the fact that we have a new way of getting around town with him. The older kids enjoy riding their bikes, too, so this increases the whole family’s range of car-free transit. It’s hard to believe that this little guy will be riding his own bike in a few years.

Bottles

Hands in action.

This one might be better titled “Grasping” or “Manual Dexterity,” but they don’t have the same alliterative pizazz. Oliver has been getting better at using his little hands over the past month. He reaches for things intentionally, grasps objects we put in his hands, and likes to touch things within reach. (I like to walk around with him and let him touch different things—the bark of a tree, a smooth stone, a fuzzy towel—and watch him react to the different textures. On a more practical note, he can hold his bottle when he’s in his bouncy chair. He drops it frequently, but he loves trying to hold it and it gives us just a bit more leeway when we’re prepping a meal or trying to accomplish other tasks that require our hands.

Griffin, Maggie, Oliver, Photo

Happy Third Day on Earth

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Jeff and Pam suggested to the kids that they might want to make a welcome home banner for us when we returned from the hospital. Griffin immediately took charge, finding all the necessary art supplies and making, with Maggie’s help, multiple banners.

The first one was across the doorway when we entered:

Welcome home Mom and Dad!
Welcome home Mom and Dad!

The second, my favorite, was across the sideboard in the dining room:

20161127_161202_003_edited-1
Happy Third Day on Earth Oliver!

The third, not pictured, was an “I Spy” picture with a list of things to find, including 15 goldbugs (à la Richard Scarry). It was especially challenging due to the fact that many items on the list had been subsequently scribbled over. Maggie thought that this was especially clever, “Under here is a tree!”

As indicated by these banners, Maggie and Griffin are, thus far, extremely excited about Oliver’s arrival. We had a lovely afternoon, playing games, letting them hold Oliver, and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. (Sarah and I have been jonesing at the hospital for the past few days. Though we did have the pies delivered. Duh.)

Below are a few more pictures from our first day at home.

Griffin reading Dora
Tucking Oliver in
Making him more comfy
Bliss
Holding the baby
Love