Newest member of the Oli entourage

Since the loss of Melbourne Bear, there has been considerable shuffling of the toys at bedtime. Caterpillar was popular around the time Melbourne Bear disappeared, so I think he has been discarded due to association. We tried a couple of bears (along with long-time companion, Turtle) to see if they'd stick, and, although he is fond of Pooh Bear and Girl Bear, neither seem to be...right.
This week, I've started to see a new face in the entourage; Pippy. Pippy is a toy made lovingly by hand, especially for Oli, for his second birthday (by someone he calls 'Sona'). I've managed to snap a few pictures of Oli enjoying Pippy's company...

Getting animated while reading with his new friend

Chuckling together about the antics of 'The Cat in the Hat'

Oli, Pippy and Girl Bear at Bedtime

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Just a quick one...

I had to share these pics of the Olimonster walking in Daddy's shoes simply because they are cute covered in cute with cute filling:

Off to a bit of a rocky start...

Doing better, the shoes are facing the right way, at least...

That's our little man :)

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Painting

With all this lovely weather lately (we wont count Melbourne's worst storm in years with golf-ball sized hail), we've been looking for new activities. We recently managed to get our hands on a great deal of non-toxic poster paint (thanks freecycle!), and we decided it was time to get out the oversized paper (thanks to an engineer friend of ours for that too) and get a bit creative and, inevitably, messy.
(As a bonus, I thought I would throw in a few pictures at the bottom of the post which I think show just how much he's grown.) Have a happy Easter :)

Getting right into the action in the middle of the paper

Rainbow feet...

Adding some spots

Getting paint all over Slim Dog's tennis ball

Aerial view

Paintmonster!

Post-bath, looking over the final product

The artist with his work :)

Giggly little man...

Serious little boy...(definitely not a baby any more)

Cheese! - the classic Oli pose

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Goodbye Melbourne Bear

I have been putting off this post for a while now, because every time I try to write anything, I get a bit sad.
Last week, Melbourne Bear fell out of the pram on our travels to the shopping centre. Although we retraced our steps twice and spoke to lost and found at the shopping centre, we haven't managed to find him. Since Oli is rarely without him, he still asks for 'bear' at bedtime. Then, sadly, remembers what happened, and says 'Bear...gone.'
We hope that someone picked him up, and will love him as much as we did. Goodbye Melbourne Bear, we'll miss you...



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First Haircut!

Yes, that's right, the Olimonster had his very first haircut. He was very good, keeping very still for Daddy and babbling away. I had to take some pictures (the first time scissors have ever touched his hair - that's an occasion!), and we'll let you judge for yourself how it turned out. Just for the record, we think he looks very handsome.

Hair combed and wet, he waits for the first snip...

Looking a little dubious at first...

Dad carefully snips away...looking good already!

Voila! All done. It's nice to be able to see his face again :)

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Building Things...

As most Olimonster enthusiasts will know, the little man is a bit of an engineer. He loves building towers with anything, including books, bottles and - his favourite - blocks. He was particularly proud of this creation, so I offered to document it for him. PLUS! Bonus surprise pics at the bottom :)

Fresh From Oli's imagination (with a little help from Mummy)...

The crazy multicoloured tower that barely adheres to the laws of physics!

How is that thing standing up?!*

Beautiful job, Oli! Now, it's demolition time...

Stand back, he's a professional! Smash! Crash!

Almost done, the destruction is nearly complete...

Oops, these two are still standing, can't have that.

Looking pretty pleased with himself.

Music time with Dad on the 'Gar'

Making Dad smile...

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*Mummy's contributions were structural.

Happy Olimonster

I've been getting some pretty strong psychic vibes urging me to post another blog, so I felt almost powerless to stop myself from collecting and presenting the following series of cute pictures. Message received. Enjoy :)

The big boy, eating with a spoon. Doing a great job, too.

The yoghurt beard is very much in style in our house.

Ok, time for a bath little yoghurtmonster...

Very, very pleased to be at the library for Shake, Rattle and Rhyme.

And he's off to explore and make friends with everybody...

til next time
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