A few videos from around Christmas...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Christmas Celebrations...

Exploring the big wide world...

Family dinner are such fun!...

"Smashing" my first gingerbread house...


Enjoying my present from Grandma & Poppa

Daddy teaching me to open presents...

Reading with Mormor...

Showing off my walking style...

The bathroom mohawk...
Hi,
I know that Christmas and New Years have already passed but I've been a little busy so this is my first opportunity to say Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you all. My Mormor and Morfar arrived about 2.5 weeks ago, closely followed by Uncle Erik, so I have been busy keeping them all entertained and showing them around Hanoi.

In anticipation of their arrival, I had been holding back on showing everybody my latest skill - walking by myself without holding onto anything! Everybody was very excited - especially Mormor who takes lots of photos of me! Mummy and Daddy are very proud although they have complained that I do wander off from time to time without telling them where I am going. However, there's a big world out there for me to explore so I'd better get started...

I enjoyed celebrating Christmas although I was a little confused as Mummy wanted to celebrate it on 24 December but Daddy wanted to celebrate it on 25 December. I mean, can't they get their dates right? Either way, there were lots of presents for me so a big thank you to all those who spoiled me!

At least Mummy & Daddy managed to agree on which day to celebrate New Years although I was a little sleepy so didn't see the new year in. Emma and Magnus came round with my friend Elvin, which was all very exciting.

It's my party!!!

Hi,

As you know I've turned one year old and I'm now classified as a big boy! To celebrate, Mummy & Daddy organised a whole lot of my friends to come round and party with me. Hope you enjoy the pics...

Oliver

Aren't balloons fun to play with?...

Sharing toys...

Enjoying being the centre of attention...

I had lots of people to read me stories...

Mummy explaining the cake thing to me...

I have turned ONE!!

I have just had my birthday!!! Before the day arrived I didn't know what a birthday was and wasn't sure what the fuss was about, but now I reckon should have birthdays more often! After breakfast mummy and daddy took me to a huge pile of presents which were all for me! Thank you Mummy and Daddy, Mormor and Morfar, Grandma and Poppa, Uncle Barney, Aunty Sue and Jasper, Aunty Katti, Uncle Matthieu and Alexandra, Charlotte and Ellinor, Emma, Magnus and Elvin, Uncle Murray Aunty Steph, Hannah and Hosea for all the parcels. I had great fun climbing over them and then mummy and daddy showed me it gets better - I could open them and there were things inside!! Of course, I had to play with each toy and read each book before moving on and I'm not very good at removing sellotape (mummy and daddy helped with this), so at nap time I hadn't finished opening - all good as I carried on after lunch... and after my afternoon nap! I feel very spoiled. I decided that as everyone had been so kind I would thank you all by showing off a couple of new skills - standing without holding on to anything and taking my first three steps... as I said, aren't birthdays great!

Here are some pictures from the day...

Love Oliver

Playing with my new truck

I bang here... right

I'm getting the hang of unwrapping parcels

Reading my new book

Daddy and I

I can get anywhere under my own steam now

Unwrapping presents...

Putting my cards up

Climbing over my presents

My new Bible

I didn't know giraffes bounce

Can't you see I'm busy?

Hanoi Adventures

All tired out after a long journey...

James and I sharing our toys...


Do you like my new pinstripes?...

About to call cousin Jasper...

Walking my trolley...

Hi,

Sorry that it's been awhile since my last blog but it seems like I'm hardly ever home now to write to you all... As I informed everybody in my last blog, my standard week now involves going to baby group on Tuesdays and bible study on Wednesdays. I also go into town once a week to have lunch with daddy - just to make sure that he's okay. All of this makes me a busy little boy...

I have noticed that I haven't seen Mackenzie & Georgia for a couple of weeks. Mummy informs me that they are on holiday and will be back soon. I have missed them lots but they did lend me their car (& most importantly to daddy, their driver) so we could still get out and about. So yesterday, I took mummy & daddy along with their friends Will & Fiona and my friend, James to Dong Ky, which is a place east of Hanoi that specialises in making furniture. I was so exhausted once I got there though that I slept through the visit but apparently it was very interesting watching how furniture is made in Vietnam. I do enjoy hanging out with James as he is only a couple of months younger than I am so we're into similar stuff...

The Saturday before we went to Bat Trang, which is a pottery village just outside of Hanoi. It was very exciting that mummy & I had met another Swedish family at the baby group I attend so we invited my new friend, Elvin, & his mummy & daddy - Emma & Magnus to come as well. I must say that it was fun to speak Swedish again...

Since it's been a few weeks since my last blog, I've attached a few videos of my recent developments. I do enjoy rearranging the dining room chairs (for some reason, mummy & daddy always put them by this big flat thing in the dining room) and pushing my high chair around. Daddy thinks that I'm showing impressive technique & that Mike Cron would be proud of me. I hope you enjoy them...

Lots of love,
Oliver...

Swimming with Daddy

Post-swim cuddles with Mummy

Carrot anyone?

My berry face

Walking with my trolley

Check out my top teeth!!

I have advanced taste in reading matter...

Welcome to my room...

Goodness me, life is getting so busy! On Tuesdays I and some other babies meet up so that our mummies (and a couple of daddies) can drink coffee and chat. We meet at a cafe as we have heard that they make great coffee - none of us drink coffee so we haven't checked this out but all the grown-ups seem happy! Wednesdays I go with mummy to meet some other ladies. They do bible study whilst I have a snooze and then I chat to them all and make them smile. They are all very nice to me and Peggy has a cute dog - about the same size as me. We have said hello a few times but mostly we just look at each other. On thursdays we often meet up with auntie Tash. A few weeks ago the three of us went into town and took daddy and uncle Rob out for pho. Both mummy and Aunty Tash were missing Vietnamese food so we guys obliged them! Daddy and Uncle Rob then had to go back to work so the rest of us did some shopping (next time I think I may go back to the office with the boys as I'm usually a big hit with all of daddy's team, and shopping really isn't my favourite passtime... I do like being with mummy and aunty Tash though...especially when Georgia and Mackenzie are around). Two Saturdays ago I went to the Long Bien bridge (built by Eiffel) art festival with Georgia and Mackenzie and all the parents. We were a big hit - not sure how many times we were photographed but mummy and aunty Tash reckon we will have made it into the papers...of course mummy forgot to check...

This weekend just gone I took daddy swimming on both saturday and sunday. Sunday mummy swam too. I really like swimming so its good that we have a pool downstairs. It was still a toasty 26 degrees in the water so hopefully we'll be able to swim for a few weeks yet. Yesterday mummy and I met daddy in town for lunch and then went shopping. I don't undestand it though.. when mummy takes things off the shelf in the shops its Ok, but when I do the same its not!!! We were just leaving to go home when mummy looked in my buggy and found a wooden puzzle there. She told me off for shoplifting and then we had to go all the way back to the shop and return the puzzle... maybe the difference is that mummy often chats to the people by the door before we leave shops, and sometimes I see her giving them some paper. Maybe next time we go out I'll take some paper with me and see if the shop people are happy if I give them that when I take toys off the shelf. Mummy took photos of the 'evidence' using her phone but is still trying to work out how to transfer them to the computer so I'll post them next time.

Love Oliver

We've shifted!!!

Changing a lightbulb - Vietnam style...

Marmite face...

Enjoying walking behind my wheelie box!...


Reading stories in my new room...

Playing with my new block set...

Hi,

Sorry that it's been awhile since my last post but I have been very busy lately shifting apartments. I have my own room which is in the middle between mummy and daddy's room and the study. All three lead straight to the lounge and dining area which is great as it means these areas are an extension of my room when I play. I also have more furniture of my own than in our last apartment. The best things are my shelves which means that my library is within easy reach when I want to chill out with a book. We are on the 17th floor so we have a good view out. Luckily there are these moving boxes outside the apartment which lift you up from ground level because I think 17 flights of stairs would be hard work for mummy when we are going out and daddy is at work.

As part of the shift mummy dug out daddys block set for me so we now have a new game - daddy builds a tower (just like work) and I knock it down. I do wonder who knocks down daddy's buildings at work - if they just get left, surely he will run out of building blocks soon... maybe I should volunteer...

Yesterday I had visitors as Georgia and Mackenzie came to visit with their mummy. It was fun to have friends over to play with - hopefully now that we have friends close by this will become a regular event!

Being a proud and patriotic kiwi I have started eating marmite. I don't understand it but mummy winces every time she spreads it for me and won't touch it, whereas I have to keep my eye on daddy to ensure he doesn't 'share' too much... I think its yummy, and mummy tells me its very good for me! What a bonus! I am also doing well with my weetbix - now up to two weetbix and a banana for breakfast. Apparently this is the same as some adults, but what can I say, us busy boys have to keep our strength up.

I am getting very good at standing up and sitting down, though i still like to be holding on to something for support as my legs are a bit wobbly. I've noticed that some things move when I stand up and lean against them so I have to move my feet to keep up. It's quite good, as in this way, I can get from one place to another without mummy's and daddy's help.

By the way, I was wondering how many of you know how many Vietnamese people it takes to replace a lightbulb? I have recently discovered that it takes 3 - one to screw in the lightbulb, one to supervise & another to hold the chair balanced preciously on two legs on the other chair so the person changing the lightbulb doesn't fall off! Daddy would like to apologise for the slightly funny lighting in the photograph but he couldn't use the camera flash in case it startled them!

Now, I've just realised the time so I'm going to go and have my bath. Until next time...
Love Oliver