Owen's Adventures

Wow.

2009-07-21T21:50:00.002-06:00

I know we've been busy this summer, but didn't realize it has been 2 months of no updates. I'll do a brief recap of events and try to stay on top of the blog the rest of the summer. Cameron had her first nights away from home over Memorial Day weekend while Mike and I went to Indianapolis, we went to Hilton Head, we've been to countless parks and playdates, celebrated 4th of July, and enjoyed all of the All-Star events around town.

Strawberry Fields Forever

2009-05-20T23:26:00.002-06:00

I've had this song stuck in my head all day since we went strawberry picking today. I've been apple picking countless times, but I've never made it over to Eckert's for strawberries. We decided to take the kids over there for the day and I'm so glad we did! We got some yummy strawberries, cute pics, and had a great time. I could have done without the screaming, crying, and screeching from Owen the entire ride home, but that's ok. He's going on a week without naps and I'm hoping this trend doesn't last! He turns into a major crabbypants and any little thing can set him off.

Poor Cam

2009-05-18T00:39:00.001-06:00

This is what happens when daddy's left alone with the baby:

Once Upon a Bash

2009-05-06T12:14:00.000-06:00

We checked out this new place in Maplewood with the kiddos and they had a blast. It's basically a big playroom with different "stations" around the room. Owen, Rylynn, and AJ had a good time destroying the place while the babies spent some time socializing.

Happy 5 Months!

2009-05-05T23:40:00.000-06:00

These past 5 months have completely flown by! It's hard to believe that Cam's already 5 months old, it seems like I was just finding out I was pregnant. She's 15.4 lbs and about 25 inches long. Mommy and Big Bro Owen are definately her favorite people, she loves watching Owen play. She's really into playing with her toys, much more than Owen ever was at that age.

Yum, Ted Drewe's

2009-05-05T22:45:00.000-06:00

We spent the morning at Grant's Farm with some friends, feeding the goats, checking out the animals, the usual fun stuff. As usual, the highlight of the trip was the tram ride. We were able to see some buffalo, deer, and some other animals really up-close and personal. It's probably the closest I've seen them that I can remember. Unfortunately we didn't get any pics. Owen's been so many times and Cam just slept or hung out in the stroller, so not much to photograph. I did however promise Owen a trip to Ted Drewe's and got some cute pics of that. Owen insists on eating his ice cream out of a Cardinals hat now even when we just have ice cream at home. Poor Cameron was just sitting there watching enviously as Owen ate.

Branson

2009-05-03T22:28:00.002-06:00

Carrie and Joe invited us to go to Branson with them for the weekend for a little getaway. We stopped at Arby's in Sullivan, MO and I had my first encounter with an anti-NIP'er. It was pretty humerous actually. A little old lady actually turned her chair around, stopped eating, and gave me the evil eye the entire time I fed Cam. Aside from that and the constant rain, it was a good trip. We went shopping, out to dinner, and Owen got to finally go fishing. He finished off the day with a bubble bath in the big tub.

Plants and Popsicles

2009-04-25T22:17:00.000-06:00

It was a beautiful day today so we headed out to get some flowers and plants for the yard. I was going to plant and Owen and Mike were going to wash the cars. Owen ended up having more fun carrying his little watering can around the yard. His favorite part of the day was the popsicle though. Miss Cam just sat and enjoyed a little fun in the sun. We now have a pretty yard and clean cars (I'm sure that won't last for long though).

Cuteness

2009-04-23T22:04:00.000-06:00

Just some random cuteness of the kids before our walk/bike ride today.

Belated Egg Hunt

2009-04-17T21:57:00.000-06:00

Our meetup group had an egg hunt planned for the week before Easter, but because the weather was so crappy all week, we rescheduled. We ended up doing it the week after Easter, but it was still fun and the kids didn't know the difference.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T22:49:00.000-06:00

My kids are so incredibly spoiled by all of our family! I'm not sure when Easter turned into a mini-Christmas, but Owen and Cameron got a ton of gifts. Owen was actually into the whole Easter bunny thing this year, so we left out some carrots the night before. He was excited to see that the Easter bunny stopped at our house to eat the carrots. We went over to Grandma and Grandpa T's house for lunch and an egg hunt. After that we headed out to the Lee's house for dinner and another egg hunt. It was a long and exhausting, but fun day.

Breaking my heart

2009-04-04T18:07:00.000-06:00

So Owen started running a fever after we left the doctor's office yesterday. He was acting fine at the office and by the time we got home, he was sleepy and feverish. We hung out at home and watched tv, cuddled, and napped on the couch most of the day. He woke up from his nap crying, "Mommy, Owen's belly hurts!" It was breaking my heart hearing him cry. He's never really been sick before, so this is all new to us. So sad.

My poor baby

2009-04-03T14:01:00.000-06:00

I think we probably gave the people at Olive Garden a heart attack today. There were 6 adults and 11 kids (all under the age of 2.5) eating lunch. Poor Paul and Mike did a wonderful job of dealing with all of us and the kids' antics. Miss Cam started screaming in pain and didn't stop until I got her in the car and started driving. After a quick call to the pedi, we were on our way to see the dr. Turns out my poor baby has an ear infection. Looking back, she's probably had it for a while because she's been playing with her ear, but had no other symptoms. Don't I feel like a jerk for not taking her sooner?! 10 days of meds and hopefully we'll have a happy baby again.

She's Rolling!

2009-04-01T23:33:00.002-06:00

Miss Cam decided to finally roll back to tummy today. She's been sooo close for the past couple of weeks, but couldn't quite get it. She was playing on the floor on her back when I left the room and when I came back she was on her tummy. I attempted to get some video of her rolling either way, but all I got was her enjoying some tummy time which is a rarity.

Cam's New Toy

2009-03-24T23:50:00.002-06:00

We decided to get the Exersaucer out of storage for Cam the other day. She got to try it out for the first time tonight, and had some fun while we ate dinner. She was pretty entertained by the spinning ball thing.

Singing in the Rain

2009-03-24T18:36:00.000-06:00

Owen has been obsessed with his rain boots lately and was dying to go play in the rain today. It was cold and rainy all day, not my idea of a fun time. Once Mike got home and it had stopped raining, I took him outside and so he could jump in the puddles. He had such a good time and had a mini-meltdown when it was time to come in for dinner.

Of course he dressed himself, so the beloved brown jacket had to be worn and he threw in the train hat for good measure.

Insanity

2009-03-23T23:07:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday was a little crazy, but today was just insane. We are participating in a diaper study and had to go to a 30 minute meeting child-less. Instead of trying to find babysitters, Mary, Rachel, and I just decided to take turns watching the kids. Ok, it's bad enough when they're all together and their respective parent is present, but we were completely outnumbered and I guess they knew it. They were into the closets, bathtub, sinks, there was biting, hitting, scratching, and a few tears. I think poor AJ had the roughest day though.

I'm not sure how they learn these things so young, but they're already blaming the other kids for things. I asked Owen where he got this flower from and he turns and says, "AJ got it!" Rylynn was throwing clothes from AJ's closet and when I walked in she said, "Owen got them out." It's hilarious and a little scary that they're already doing this.

We tried to get a good picture of the babies together, but took what we could get.

When we were getting Owen ready for his bath tonight, we noticed some marks on his back. He had his first bite experience, but was no worse for the wear.

Happy Birthday Ben!

2009-03-22T23:20:00.001-06:00

Wow, I can't believe that Baby Ben's already turning 1! I guess it's time we stop referring to him as Baby Ben, especially since there are two other babies in the family younger than him now. Owen has been talking about going to Woot (Luke) and Ben's house and was so excited the day of the party. He had such a good time playing on the swingset and running around with the other kids. He was definately in rare form today. Juice boxes, cake, cookies, icing from other people's cookies, suckers, and no naps made for a fun Owen. And a not so fun Owen later that night at home.

Happy Spring

2009-03-20T22:23:00.000-06:00

Supposedly today was the first day of spring, but it sure didn't feel like it! We went to Watson Trails for a "spring fling" and it was chilly! After a quick walk on the trail where I learned that I'm severely out of shape, we headed over to the playground. Unfortunately we had to leave because my child wasn't listening. Shocking, I know. I didn't have the camera, but I'll try and get some pics from Stacey.

3 Kids =

2009-03-19T22:46:00.000-06:00

a little craziness at our house! Rylynn came over for a few hours while Rachel went to an appointment. Overall the kids were great, but it was a little crazy at times. It was a nice day, so Rylynn and Owen played outside while Cam took a nap. There were a few arguments and scratches, but Owen's doing fine now. When Mike got home from work he got the full story from Owen, complete with scratching demo.

Seriously?

2009-03-19T18:48:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how red Cam's hair looks in the pictures that I took this afternoon! Her hair does have a reddish tint to it, but it doesn't look like this in person.

Lunch Date

2009-03-18T23:41:00.000-06:00

After a quick call to Aunt Carrie, we decided to meet up at Jimmy John's for lunch. Owen had been a little crazy at home, so we needed to get out of the house and he loves visiting with Aunt Carrie. After some lunch we headed over to Suson Park, without Carrie who sadly had to get back to work. Owen had been asking to go to the "horsey" park to see the animals. The playground was super crowded because of all the kids on spring break so we checked out the animals first. There was a horse up next to the fence that people were petting so I figured I'd see what Owen would do. Apparently his love for horses is only for those that are not within arm's reach. He wanted nothing to do with petting or feeding the horse. We finally made it up to the playground to play for a while and then home for naps.

Happy St. Patrick's!

2009-03-17T23:15:00.000-06:00

So I had big plans to take the kids to the parade in Dogtown, but apparently it was not to be. I woke up around 3 am with a terrible stomachache and proceeded to throw up every hour until around 10 am. Thankfully Mike was able to stay home from work to take care of the kids because at the time, death seemed like a better option to me. He took them to the park and then later left Cam with me and took Owen to the store. I spent the entire day in bed, but finally managed to drag myself into the living room to make sure that we got pictures of Cam in her St. Pat's outfit. Poor Owen didn't wear any green today because I didn't have the energy nor did I care to tell Mike wear his green stuff was downstairs.

Owen cheesing it up

Our little girlie in her St. Pat's gear and not an ounce of Irish in her

Not sure what to say about this one except maybe they had one too many green beers with Dad

Kickball

2009-03-15T22:48:00.000-06:00

Since it was supposed to be fairly nice out, I decided to take the kids to Mike's kickball game. Owen was upset that we weren't able to go last week because we had to stay home and clean the house for a showing, so I figured we should go.

Owen warmed-up with Mike, but I think he had the most fun throwing the ball for Rover. Cam just hung out in the stroller sleeping most of the time, but decided to wake up to see the end of the games. They won both of their games and are currently undefeated.

Baby C catching a little nap before the game

Owen's ready to go

Miss C

2009-03-11T22:39:00.000-06:00

Poor Cameron doesn't get many pictures taken of her while Owen's around. He either wants me to take pictures of him so he can look at them or I'm chasing him around the house. So while Owen was napping, I got a few pictures of Cam playing. She's smiling a lot and sooo close to rolling from her back to belly.

Operation Toddler Bed

2009-03-10T21:56:00.000-06:00

So Owen's been able to climb out of his crib for a long time now, but rarely did it. Until last night that is. He repeatedly climbed out until I finally gave in and took him to our room. He proceeded to play in the bed until 11 when he finally crashed.

We decided to take the front of the crib off to turn it into the toddler bed. We would have done it sooner, but because we're trying to sell the house, we didn't want to have to store the nursery furniture. After putting him back into the bed a few times, he finally fell asleep. Operation Toddler Bed = Success!

Trip to the zoo

2009-03-06T21:19:00.000-06:00

It was unbelievably warm (a little too warm actually!) today so we decided to take a trip to the zoo. Mike was home from work, so he got to spend the day with us. Owen was happy we were able to ride the train and see the penguins and puffiins. Miss Cam was just happy hanging out in the carrier.

Yes, He's THAT Kid

2009-03-06T10:16:00.001-06:00

Owen has become that child, the one with the leash. I have been a fan of the leash for some time now, but Mike still doesn't like it. He's not the one pushing around the baby and dealing with Owen throwing himself on the ground or running across parking lots. Yes, he ran across a parking lot 2 days in a row which resulted in the purchase of the leash. We headed to Target and I let him pick out which one he wanted. He chose the bear despite my efforts to trick him into picking one of the dogs.

Beautiful (and Windy!) Day

2009-03-05T23:22:00.000-06:00

Today was supposed to be in the 70s, so we decided to head to the park. I think it was poor Cameron's first time being outside aside from running to and from the car and the brief time she was outside when we went to the zoo. Poor winter babies get stuck inside for too long! I don't think she really cared though, she slept the entire time we were there. Anyway, we went to Suson Park to play and were lucky enough to catch a lot of the animals out too. We had to eventually seek shelter from the wind during lunch, but all in all, it was a good time.

3 Months Already!?

2009-03-05T22:30:00.000-06:00

Seriously, where did the time go? I can't believe that I'm already posting Cam's 3 month pictures. It really seems like I was just pregnant, and now my baby's 3 months old. She's getting so big (12 lbs, 8 oz now!) and is developing a little personality. We're getting smiles from her all the time now which of course melts our hearts. Owen is such a good big brother too, he insists on holding Baby C's hand while he falls asleep for his naps, won't go to bed before he gives her a hug and kiss, and is always wanting to help bring her things.

It's Pretzel Time!

2009-03-02T23:53:00.000-06:00

I think that's the name of a pretzel place at the mall here, not nearly as good as Auntie Anne's though. Anyway, it was pretzel time at our house tonight. We made dough yesterday, but never got around to making the pretzels, so we let Owen make them tonight. It was all he talked about all day and he had a great time rolling out the dough. Lack of baking soda kept us from following all of the steps, but they turned out pretty good anyway. An easy and fun project for Owen that we'll definately do again.

Owen loves to "help" in the kitchen, so he was super excited that after pretzels, we let him make his own pizza too.

Ash Wednesday

2009-02-25T11:05:00.000-06:00

I decided to brave it and take both kids to church. Luckily Carrie decided to go too so I wasn't alone. We went to 8:00 mass which is also the all-school mass and I think that really helped things. Owen was somewhat distracted by all of the kids and it was noisier than Sunday mass so his questions and chatting was as noticeable. Owen was very excited about getting his ashes and talked about and showed them to everyone the rest of the day.

Barely there because he was pointing them out so much, but you get the idea:

Family Pics

2009-02-16T22:02:00.005-06:00

Amy came over to take some pictures for us a few weeks ago and we finally got them back. She did a great job and we love them! We will definately be using her again for Cam's 1 year pictures :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T22:07:00.000-06:00

We hope everyone had a great Valentine's day. We spent the morning cleaning the house since we had a showing. After that, we headed out to the mall play area to waste some time. While at the mall, we decided to have Owen's feet measured and found out that the poor kid has been wearing a size too small for a while now. Of all things kid-related, shoe shopping is the one thing I dread the most. I hate it. Thank you Dillard's salesperson for bringing out hideous light-up shoes and telling my child he could have cool race car shoes.

We went to every shoe store and department store in the mall with no luck. We finally found a pair of New Balances at Kohl's that weren't too expensive, too dorky looking, contained no characters or flashing lights and that Owen, Mike and I all liked.

We ended our night with a romantic dinner at Fortel's with both kids followed by Dairy Queen sundaes. Fortel's serve heart-shaped pizzas, but Mike forgot to mention it when ordering, so we had regular pizza. Oh well, tasted good anyway.

Comparison Picture

2009-01-16T23:58:00.003-06:00

I was taking pictures of Cameron the other night and realized that I had a similar picture of Owen from around the same age. They were both swaddled in the same blanket, sleeping. It's crazy how much they look alike and how different they are at the same time.

Convo with Owen

2009-01-16T23:46:00.002-06:00

We were driving home from Old Navy today and Owen was chatting away in the backseat as usual. Here's a little bit of the conversation that went on between Mike and Owen:

Mike: Are you going to take a nap when we get home, Owen?
Owen: Go to sleep on couch.
Mike: You want to take a nap on the couch?
Owen: No! Go to sleep in Rylynn's bed!

Uh-oh. We're in trouble if he wants to sleep over at girls' houses already. We'll have to keep this conversation a secret from Rylynn's dad, I don't think he'd appreciate it.

We were almost home when I turned around to look at Owen in his carseat to discover that he had managed to completely loosen the straps on it! He was leaning forward, hanging on to the driver's seat. It scared the crap out of me that he was able to do that and I have no idea how to keep him from doing it all the time now.

Me: Owen! What are you doing?! You need to sit back!
Owen: No. (giggling)
Me: Mommy and Daddy will get in trouble if someone sees you like that. Do you want us to get in trouble?
Owen: I like that! (laughing at this point)

Frigid Cold Weather =

2009-01-14T21:13:00.000-06:00

a lot of time spent in the house! Since Owen tends to get pretty stir-crazy, I thought we'd bake a little today for something different. We were planning on making some mini-muffins, but we were running low on milk and I was not dragging both kids out, plan changed. Mini-brownies instead! Owen loved baking, although I think he enjoyed licking the spoon the most.

After brownies, he wanted to take a bath with "lots bubbles." I got out all of the bath paints, crayons, colored water things, etc for some extra bath fun. He was in there forever coloring his toys.

And some pictures of Miss Cameron from today, just because she's cute!

Cam's New Friends

2009-01-13T22:11:00.000-06:00

We finally got the activity mat out of Grandma and Grandpa T's house and I set it up for Cam tonight. Owen was obsessed with the blue monkey on that thing, but the purple elephant has caught Cam's attention. She was even reaching for it a little.

Creation Station

2009-01-13T20:32:00.001-06:00

We braved the cold, and made to the Creation Station today. Owen's eyes lit up as soon as we walked in and he spotted the bins and bins full of trains and tracks. I thought he'd spend the whole time there, but he ended up playing with the kitchen most of the time. This probably had something to do with the fact that Rylynn was over there too.

On a sidenote, there are good people left in the world! We stopped at Walmart to get a box of diapers and a few other things on the way home. When I got up to pay, the clerk said that the customer in front of us paid for our stuff. I was in shock and tried to pay her, but she wouldn't accept it. I thanked her profusely and left in complete shock, but feeling good that my kids were able to witness a truly random act of kindness. Now we're off to pay it forward!

Random Cuteness

2009-01-12T22:55:00.000-06:00

Cameron's getting so big, so fast! She's staying awake longer during the day and is sleeping like a champ at night. I'm loving the 6-8 hour stretches of sleep she's giving us, it took Owen 11+ months to get to that point! I also love that she's still immobile so I can take all the pictures of her that I want!

Cheese Baby Sister

2009-01-12T22:47:00.000-06:00

Owen got a camera for Christmas and he loves taking pictures with my little camera. I've been hearing, "cheese baby sister" and "smile baby Cameron!" for days now. It's so cute watching him take his pictures and interact with Cameron. I love that Cameron's his favorite thing to photograph!

Some pictures of the little photographer after he stole my camera:

One Month Old

2009-01-05T17:37:00.002-06:00

Cameron is one month old today, I can't believe how fast it's going! My baby's getting so big! Owen loves his little sister, sometimes a little too much. He's always giving her kisses and hugs. She's currently 8 lbs exactly and 21 inches long (20% and 50%).

Our meetup group finally had an activity scheduled again, so Owen was happy to get out ofthe house. We haven't had many things scheduled with the groups because of the holidays. It was just the mall play area, but anything that distracted him from the fact that Mike was back at work was fine with me. Normally mall trips with him are fairly unpleasant because he hates riding in the stroller, but he was so good most of the day.

The only time he got in trouble was when we went to change diapers. Owen decided it would be fun to lock himself in a stall and not come out. Finally after threatening to not get him a cheeseburger, he decided it would be wise to unlock the door. It's amazing what a little bribery will do!

playing with his beloved trains

One Week Down

2008-12-12T23:53:00.000-06:00

We've been a family of four for a week now, and we've survived! I wasn't really afraid of having two kids, but I figured that was just me being naive. Things have been great so far, granted one of my kiddos are stuck in the pack-n-play except for feedings, but still, it's going well. Poor Cameron is still having her blood drawn everyday because of her jaundice. We have a fantastic nurse (Ellen) that comes to our house daily to weigh and prick her little foot, and as sad as it is to watch, I'm glad they are making sure she's ok. After yesterday's trip to St. John's for the draw, I'm so glad they decided to go ahead and send the bed home with us so the nurses could come to our house, I can't imagine how much of a pain it would have been to drive her out to the hospital everyday.

Some pictures of how poor Cameron's been spending most of her days (except when I keep her out to cuddle with!):

8 Toddlers=Crazy

2008-12-10T19:20:00.001-06:00

Rachel was kind (and crazy) enough to host the Christmas Exchange for the kids today. Get eight toddlers together along with a lot of sugar and presents and it's bound o get a little crazy. We were down in the basement playing with Rylynn's toys and it was hilarious watching the play, fight, destroy the room, etc. There was very little interest shown in the presents, the highlights seemed to be the ball pit, kitchen, and cozy coupe truck. Trying to get all of the kids to pose for a picture was quite the challenge. I'm not sure if anyone actually got a decent picture out of the whole ordeal, there were a lot of tears and yelling.

Owen's secret santa was Jace and he got two books. He really loved the one with the playmat and vehicles. Miss Cameron also had her first outing to attend the party. She was a little anti-social though and hung out in her carseat asleep the entire time. I think she was just happy to have a break from the bililights.

Introducing Miss Cameron

2008-12-05T22:00:00.001-06:00

This little girl has been a bit of a drama queen since the beginning and decided that she'd make her entrance a month early. We went to the hospital Thursday night after talking to the nurse at my dr's office a few times. She said she'd feel more comfortable with me being checked out since the office was closing early Friday for the Christmas party and my contractions were getting more consistent. On the way there we were discussing how we'd probably be sent home again and end up going to my due date. I was checked in the WEU and was 4-5 cm and contracting every 2-3 minutes. Naturally my doctor wasn't on call, so the on call dr wanted to give me yet another shot of terb to try and stop the contractions and then later a second shot since the first didn't work. After all the vomiting, bedrest, rash, etc I just wanted to have this baby by this point and was not happy with the shots.

I was finally moved to L&D where we discussed what would be the next step, which was basically left up to me. I didn't care as long as I didn't have a baby at home or on the way to the hospital so it was decided that they'd break my water (8:26 am) and eventually give a little pitocin to get the contractions stronger. Contractions started to get painful at 2:30 and by the time I got the epi, Dr. Stein (also not my regular dr) was there and we were ready to have a baby. Miss Cameron Alexandra (nameless for several hours) made her appearance at 3:42 pm. She had a head of dark hair, 6 lbs 2 oz, and 20.75 inches long.

Owen was not very interested in meeting his little sister at first. He walked into the room, completely ignoring both the baby and I, and started playing with the phone. He eventually came around and sat on the bed with us and is giving hugs and kisses now. Pictures will be added as soon as we get our computer fixed.

Swim Time

2008-10-30T22:33:00.003-06:00

Thursdays at the Y is swimming day, so I was happy when I got the message that the pool would be closed for some kind of maintenance today. I was not looking forward to getting my pregnant self into a bathing suit for others to see. We got home and had another message saying that swimming was back on, not so happy anymore. We got there and I found out that it wasn't necessary for me to get into the pool with Owen, he could just swim with the teachers unless I wanted to get in.

My child has a love/hate relationship with water. He really enjoys swimming and baths, but doesn't like to be forced in or left by himself. I wasn't entirely sure that he'd get in the pool without me, but again, he surprised me by getting in and having fun. He didn't get far from the steps, but it was a start. No pictures this week, but since I don't have to swim with him, I'll try to bring the camera next week.

Just come cute pictures from today:

Mr. Attitude

2008-10-29T22:31:00.000-06:00

Yes, I just posted yesterday about how the little man has been in such a good mood lately. Not sure what happened today, but he woke up from his nap on the wrong side of the bed! After about 45 minutes of constant crying/whining, he finally settled down and was ok, but he was such a crab before that.

"I Going to Class Today"

2008-10-28T22:17:00.001-06:00

Owen's "Let's Explore" class started today at the Y and he was very excited to be going to class. He talked about it from the time he got up until we got to the Y. I'm pretty sure he had no idea what class was, but he was happy to be going. The description said that parent participation was required, but when we got there, I learned that it was optional. I wasn't sure how Owen would do without me there since he's never really done anything like that before, so I made it our goal to be able to drop him off by the end of the session. He was a little leary and shy at first, but after a few minutes, he was holding the teacher's hand and somewhat listening to instructions. A few more classes and his listening skills will hopefully get better.

After the Y, we went to our meetup group's Halloween party out in Fenton. We were a little late because of the class, so we missed a lot of the party, but Owen was still able to wear his dino costume and see the other kids dressed up. Dr. A was asking us on Monday if we were going to have a hard time in the terrible two's or an easy time. At the time, I said probably somewhere in the middle, but after hanging out with the meetup kids, I think we have it easy. Some of those kids can throw a tantrum! I definately appreciated Owen's attitude and behavior after leaving the party.

He's been so much fun lately, aside from waking up at night because of his molars. He's been in such good moods and we've been doing a lot of fun stuff together, this is why I love being able to stay at home with him.

Hi Dr. Atteberry!

2008-10-27T21:59:00.000-06:00

A nurse from Owen's doctor's office called last week to confirm his appointment for today. Ever since then, Owen's been talking about Dr. Atteberry and going to see him. He'll pretend to call him on the phone and was calling everyone at my dr's office Dr. Atteberry this morning. I guess it's a good thing that he likes his doctor so much, now the nurses are another story.

He had his two year appointment today and was a little uncooperative with the nurse while she was measuring and weighing him. She just guessed at his height and weight, both of which I know are off a little (35 inches which he was at 18 months and 27 or 28 lbs). I've measured him at home (36.5 inches or so) and he stands on the scale all the time (26.6 lbs the other day).

Poor guy had to get two shots today though, his Hep and flu shots. He did very well though. He cried for a minute while he got stuck, but was fine after he saw his band-aids. The rest of the appointment went well. Owen gets to start taking a daily vitamin which he enjoys and thinks is candy.

I had my 30 week appointment today (30 weeks?!) and had to take Owen with me again. He does very well during the appointments though and since they're so short it's not a big deal. Today, Dr. Glass asked if he wanted to sit up next to me while he found the heartbeat. Owen got up for a second then immediately wanted down and proceeded to dump his entire package of granola bites all over the floor. Luckily Dr. Glass has young kids and he understood :)

"Go to Pumpkin Patch Today?"

2008-10-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

Owen knows that his party is going to be at the pumpkin patch, so he gets up every morning asking if we're going to the pumpkin patch today. Finally today, we could tell the poor kid, that yes, we're going to the pumpkin patch!

Family picture

Luckily the temperature was supposed to be nice, but we had some wind to deal with. We battled with tablecloths, had pizza boxes flying, mini-dust storms around us, etc. All in all, it was a great day given it was so late in October and it could have been cold, rainy, or snowing.

Owen and his friends had a great time painting pumpkins and opening all the gifts. He got a lot of great stuff, though I'm not sure where it's all going to go. We're going to have a lot of packing away of old stuff to make some room. Some of his favorites include the giant firetruck, his doctor kit, the tee-ball set, Thomas flashlight, and his jammies.

Getting ready to paint

Present time!

I wasn't sure how he was going to react to everyone singing to him, because he's freaked out before and it wasn't even his birthday. When we told him it was time to sing, he started saying "no sing Happy Birthday Owen!" but ended up sitting still and enjoying it. Because it was so windy, I don't think he actually got to blow out his candles, but he tried.

The dirt cakes

Cookie cake

Enjoying some dirt cake and gummy worms

Since it's the last weekend before Halloween, the place was pretty busy, so we decided not to do the hayride or the inflatable bouncers. I didn't think we'd have time to fit those, plus all of the other party stuff in anyway. Mike, Owen, Grandpa W, Uncle Steve, Aunt Tricia, Luke, Ben, Uncle Chuck and Aunt Erin decided to take a hayride after the party. Apparently throwing the hay was a lot more fun than the actual ride for the boys.

Happy Birthday To You!

2008-10-25T22:32:00.000-06:00

Today's Owen's 2nd birthday, and I can't believe how fast he's growing up! It's amazing how much he's changed in the last year. He's such a little boy now, not a baby :( He's talking like crazy and always cracking us up with the stuff he says. Some of his newest and favorite things to say:

"But I like that!" Usually as we are taking something away from him that he wants.

"Happy Birthday _____!" He wakes up singing Happy Birthday and will sing it all day long, usually to someone new each time.

"I'll beat you!" He's spent way too much time with me yelling at the dog :)

"Bailey, bad dog!" Again, too much time with me and the dog.

He's really into trains, cars/trucks, reading his "big animal book," playing ball, jumping, riding his bike, and playing outside right now.

Owen had a busy birthday, but I think he had a good day. He went to watch Daddy play ball for a while, even though he didn't do much watching. Aunt Carrie and Uncle Joe picked him up and took him to Day Out with Thomas, which I know he loved. That night, Mike and I took him to Incredible Pizza for dinner and some games/rides. He was a little crabby before we left for dinner, so we bribed him with some gifts which made things better!

Don't mind the non-matching pant/shirt combo, he picked the shirt

The Thomas train was a big hit

All Aboard!

2008-10-19T23:02:00.000-06:00

There's a train in Glencoe, MO that is run by retired railroad workers that runs on weekends. Since Owen's in love with trains right now, we decided we'd take him out for a ride before they closed for the season. Uncle Steve, Aunt Tricia, Luke and Ben came out to meet us for a ride before we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa T's house for dinner. The line was pretty long, but the boys did well for being 2 and 3. I think the anticipation of the ride was enough to keep them busy. The ride was 2 miles and lasted about 30 minutes. He didn't say much during the ride, I think he was in awe. When it was time to leave, Owen was asking for "more choo-choo."

The engine

Family picture before the train left

Checking out what's up ahead

Crossing the bridge

Mommy and Owen

Luke

Mr. Ben enjoying the ride

Halloween Preview

2008-10-16T23:37:00.001-06:00

Our first Halloween event of the season was this evening at Grant's Farm. We took the haunted tram (or choo-choo as Owen refers to it) through the park to the festivities. A lot of the animals were out too, so that was an added bonus. The park was decorated and various characters were walking around. Once we got to the Tier Garten (where the free beer is and the dads' favorite part of the night), the kids had fun running around and dancing. Owen was incredibly hyper and would not stay still, he was all over the place.

Dino on the tram ride

His first character encounter
Warming up to the characters
Taking a break from all the dancing for a snack

One final dance before we left

I figured Owen would be exhausted when we left since it was so late, but he was hyped up. He talked the entire way home, but crashed once he hit his bed.

Pumpkin Patch(es!)

2008-10-15T22:02:00.000-06:00

We've been to the pumpkin patch three times already, so I figured I'd just put all the pics in one post. We've been to Eckert's (it was really for apple picking, but there were pumpkins too), Stuckmeyer's and the Farmer's Market in Kirkwood so far. Owen had such a great time at all three, he wakes up every morning asking to go to the pumpkin patch or Monkey Joe's.

I asked Owen to find a pumpkin he liked and this is what he picks out:

One of the few pictures that he's actually looking at the camera
He loved playing in the "Spooky Fort" at Stuckmeyer's
Enjoying a little corn while posing

Very proud of himself for finding the "needle" in the haystack

Welcome Baby Senna!

2008-10-15T19:36:00.003-06:00

Owen's newest cousin was born yesterday. Aunt Anne and Uncle Ces had a little girl yesterday afternoon. Mike and I went up to visit last night, and it put me in freak-out mode a little. I realized how soon we'd be doing the same thing. We have nothing ready for this baby, so I'm a little nervous that it's so soon, but I'm over being pregnant.

Yard Work

2008-10-04T23:11:00.000-06:00

We figured it was time that Owen started earning his keep, so we put him to work this weekend. Little did we know, he'd actually love it :)

Maybe using 3 rakes will speed up the process?

Taking a little break for some fun

Now that the leaves are gone, we can mow

Messy Day

2008-10-03T22:26:00.000-06:00

Rylynn's PAT was having "messy day" this morning and they invited us to go with them. It was so cute and a lot of fun. There were a bunch of different art projects set up and Owen's favorite, spraying sheets with colored water.

Little Picasso working on his painting

Now onto some stamping fun

And the highlight of the activities, spraying the sheets

'After the messy day activities were over, we walked over to the playground to let the kids run around. Owen seems to have overcome his recent fear of swinging and wanted to swing the whole time. If he wasn't on the swing, he spent his time on the merry-go-round. It was an old-school merry-go-round that I hadn't seen in ages, I didn't know those things were still around.

The swing's not that scary

Yeah, this is pretty fun!

Rylynn and Owen on the ghetto merry-go-round

I'm thinking this is some kind of safety hazard

Halloweens

2008-10-01T21:21:00.000-06:00

We pulled out the Halloween jammies since it's October and officially ok to wear now. Owen loved trying on his "halloweens" and wanted us to take pictures of them.

Monkey Joe's

2008-10-01T19:07:00.000-06:00

I told Owen on Sunday that we would be going to Monkey Joe's on Wednesday to see Rylynn and AJ. All day Monday and Tuesday all he would talk about was going to "mon-tee joe's". He was so excited to go see his friends and hang out at Monkey Joe's. It's usually pretty hit or miss when we take him there, some days he'll jump and have a blast, other times he just likes to run around and play with the video games. In the beginning he did a lot of running, but by the end of the day, he was jumping all over.

checking out the games as soon as we got there:

AJ and Owen spent quite a bit of time like this:

Finally jumping:

Birthday Weekend

2008-09-28T18:57:00.000-06:00

We had Jace's and Rylynn's birthday parties to go to this weekend. After a slight detour (or 3) we finally made it to Jace's party, albeit an hour late. The kids had a great time playing on the playground and the train whistle party favor is a big hit with Owen. Now he has one for the house and one he keeps in the car. After all of the drama with getting to the party, I forgot to get my camera out of the car, so no pictures from J's party (sorry Jace!).

Sunday was Rylynn's party at Mastadon State Park. Luckily I knew where that is, so we made it on time. Again, all of the kids had a great time playing. After seeing all the gifts, Mike and I started fearing what will be in our house after Owen's party.

Boy's Weekend

2008-09-22T18:32:00.000-06:00

We've been slacking in the blogging department lately. I've been really bad about uploading pictures to the computer, therefore, no new blog entries. I'm caught up now, and playing catch up.

The weekend of Sept. 19-21, I went to Branson with some friends, so Owen and Mike had a boy's weekend alone. Friday night they went to the Balloon Glow in Forest Park and from the pictures, it looks like they had a lot of fun. The rest of the weekend went well from what I gather.

Hanging Out

2008-08-24T18:57:00.002-06:00

Mike had three kickball games today, so we decided to take Owen out to do something before the games. Mike alsways suggests the Science Center, but we never seem to have time to go on the weekends, so we headed to the Science Center. Unfortunately they open at 11:30 on Sundays, so we went over to the Turtle Park to play until it was open. The Turtle Park's basically a small park with big turtle statues that you can climb on. We didn't have the camera, so you'll have to imagine Owen playing with the turtles.

Mommy and Owen Build a Bike

2008-08-11T22:57:00.001-06:00

Owen's had toys sitting in our basement from his birthday and Christmas that are still unopened. He has way too many toys, so I decided to put some away and go through the "new" stuff. We came across his bike from Papa W and he wouldn't stop talking about it, so I figured building it would be a good project. Owen loved "fixing" everything in the basement while I put the bike together. The rest of the afternoon was spent riding bikes outside.

Checking out Mom's work:

The bell is definately the best part:

Need to work on steering still:

How Can This Be Comfortable?

2008-08-10T22:47:00.000-06:00

I went in to check on Owen during his nap and found him like this. Yes, he managed to fit his head inside of the pillowcase.

Birthday Party Fun

2008-08-10T22:15:00.000-06:00

Today was Liam's party and the start of Owen's party season. With all of his friends being so close in age, we have so many parties to go to, especially in October. I think that we have a party every weekend from the last weekend in Sept until the 2nd weekend in Nov. I guess this is the price we have to pay for having such a popular son. Luckily Owen's friends know how to throw a good party :)

Liam's "Cat in the Hat/Dr. Suess" party was a huge success! Pizza, play-doh, painting, decorating shirts, and cookie cake, can't beat that! The shirts turned out super cute and Michelle's much braver than I am to attempt this with 6 almost 2 year olds and non-washable paints. The end product was definately worth it though.

The birthday boy:

All of the kids hard at work painting:

Owen and his project (which we unfortunately left behind):

How cute are these shirts?!

Our Little Ham

2008-08-09T22:07:00.000-06:00

Owen's really into getting his picture taken lately. Any time he sees the camera out, he grabs it and starts yelling "Cheeeeeese!" I don't know why, but he thinks that all pictures are taken next to the front door. Here are a few pictures from his photo shoot today:

The little ham posing:

Stopping for a little hug for Bailey:

Grant's Farm

2008-08-06T13:32:00.001-06:00

We hadn't been to Grant's Farm since last year, so since the weather was nice, we headed over there for the day. Rachel and Rylynn joined us for a day of fun. The highlight of Owen's day was riding the tram (or the train ride to him). He loved feeding the goats even though a slight attack ensued when we first entered the pen.

The Big Day

2008-08-02T12:22:00.000-06:00

After waiting and planning for over a year, Carrie and Joe's wedding is finally over. The weather was nice (very hot!) and everything looked great. We were all in the wedding, so it was a little crazy the day of getting ready and getting to church on time. Owen started off walking down the aisle great, then turned around and waited for Zachary to walk with him. I think he freaked a little with everyone looking at him. He didn't have a nap at all, but was out on the dance floor until 11. He was nonstop all day. Needless to say, he was completely passed out by the time we left the parking lot.

Rehearsal

2008-07-31T12:51:00.001-06:00

Carrie and Joe's rehearsal dinner was tonight. Owen did an ok job of walking down the aisle, it will definately be interesting to see what happens on Saturday. After the church, Owen had his first casino experience since the dinner was at Lumiere. Despite being in the car for nearly 9 hours, he was completely wound up, but very entertaining.

Home from Hilton Head

2008-07-31T12:38:00.000-06:00

We are very lucky that Grandma and Grandpa T take the entire family to Hilton Head, SC every year for vacation. Owen's has so much fun at the beach playing with his cousins. 12 hours in a car with a toddler wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. He did fairly well, considering. Anyway, we had a ton of fun going out to dinner, swimming, playing at the beach, etc.

Playdate at Papa's

2008-07-17T23:57:00.002-06:00

Everyone was invited over to Grandpa Watson's house for a swimming playdate. Owen was very excited to be spending the day at Papa's house, but he was a little confused as to why Papa wasn't actually there. It was super hot out, so it was a good thing we had the pool. We also brought over Owen's splash pool which seemed to be a big hit with the kids.

Fun in the Sprinkler

2008-07-15T23:45:00.000-06:00

Since it's been so hot lately, I figured we better water the lawn before it died. Owen couldn't wait to get his trunks on to play in the sprinkler.

We finally got him in his swim trunks and in the backyard. He much prefers the hose over his pool. He'd play with the hose all day if we'd let him (and it didn't flood the backyard).

Playdate at AJ's

2008-07-09T23:16:00.000-06:00

We went over to AJ's house for a playdate today. AJ, William, Rylynn, Jace, Kaden, and Dylan were all there for Owen to play with. There was a lot of eating, yelling, crying, and fun had by all!

Our Little Artist

2008-07-08T21:02:00.003-06:00

I decided to go outside and let Owen fingerpaint before he got in the pool. He had a blast, but seemed to paint himself more than the paper.

Swimming Fun

2008-07-06T21:08:00.000-06:00

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa T's house for lunch and a little swimming. Owen got to spend a little time with his cousins Luke and Ben too. Everyone had a good time swimming, Owen especially liked the buckets that Luke brought along. I didn't get any pics of Luke though, he was too busy to stop and pose.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T23:25:00.000-06:00

Happy 4th of July! We had a great day out at the Lee's eating, playing, and watching the fireworks. Owen loved the "boom booms" as he called them. He shocked us by staying up the whole time without freaking out at all.

Yummy! Homemade ice cream

Chillin watching the fireworks

Owen in the sink?

2008-07-03T20:16:00.000-06:00

I was unloading the dishwasher this morning, and O was sitting on the counter watching. I turned around to find him like this:

Museum of Transportation

2008-07-02T20:06:00.000-06:00

We went to the Museum of Transportation this afternoon, and Owen was in "choo-choo" heaven. He's been on a train kick lately, and all he talks about are his "choo-choos."

First stop was the Creation Station for a little play time:

We walked around the trains for a while, but it was pretty hot out, so we didn't stay long.

Casa de Owen

2008-07-01T20:39:00.000-06:00

Owen got a new playhouse for the backyard recently. He loves to run inside of it and look through the door or window at us. He went out and found some furniture for the place since it was looking a little bare.

"Welcome to my pad"

Keeping up with the yard work

Changes

2008-06-30T19:14:00.000-06:00

Owen's going to have some big changes coming up soon. First, our house is currently on the market, so hopefully we'll be moving soon. The big news is that we found out on 4/19 that Owen's going to be a big brother. The baby's due on 1/3, so maybe Santa will bring Owen a baby sister or brother for Christmas. Anyway, big stuff coming up this year!

Zoo

2008-06-29T18:50:00.000-06:00

We went to the zoo last week with some of Owen's buddies. It was Owen's first experience with the goats in the Children's Zoo, but he wasn't too impressed. He liked playing with the rocks or throwing brushed at them more than actually petting the goats.

The new baby leopard:

Owen was fascinated with the naked mole rats:
On the carousel (he was not completely terrified like I expected):

We also went to the Sea Lion show, but not really by choice. It started getting really dark and cloudy out, so we headed for shelter during the downpour. The strollers got soaked, but the kids stayed dry and Rylynn got a little nap in.

Des Peres Park Playdate

2008-06-02T22:49:00.000-06:00

We met up with Rylynn, Caleb, Evan, Liam, and Sean at Des Peres park today. We were finally able to meet baby Sean, even though he didn't really wake up much. He's super cute from what we could see of him inside the wrap.

All of the kids seemed to have a great time at the park. Unfortunately Liam, Sean, Caleb and Evan had to leave pretty early, but Rylynn and Owen had a good time splashing around in the water. Of course once they finally decided they liked playing in the water it turned off for the day.

kickball tournament

2008-06-01T22:37:00.000-06:00

Today was the kickball tournament up at Tower Grove. We had an open house today too, so we had to be out of the house between 1-3 (8 people ended up coming through!). The day did not fare well for Shot to the Balls or Owen. They lost 5-7 in their first game and Owen ended up forehead first on the sidewalk.

On the Farm

2008-05-31T22:30:00.000-06:00

Mike took Owen out to visit his grandparent's farm before it's sold next weekend. I don't think that Owen ever made it out to the farm before this, but he had a blast there. Possibly a future farmer?

Indy

2008-05-25T21:21:00.000-06:00

Mike and I went to Indianapolis this weekend and left Owen with his Aunt Carrie and Joe. It was his first trip away from home and I think he had a good time. Everyone seemed to survive, so that's good.

We had a good time in Indy. On Sunday we went to the 500 which was pretty cool. It's amazing to see how fast the cars are moving in person.

Cupcakes!

2008-05-23T21:05:00.000-06:00

Our neighbor Madeline's birthday was today and she brought a cupcake over for Owen. Since he was heading to Aunt Carrie's house for the weekend, I figured he could get a little sugar high before going over there :)

18 month appt.

2008-04-18T19:12:00.000-06:00

Today was Owen's 18 month appointment with Dr. Atteberry. He's now about 33 inches and 21 lbs 11 ounces, still a skinny minny. He did okay at the appt, but he was a little weary of the nurse when she first tried to measure him. He was definately not a fan of hers after she stuck him three times in the leg!

Poor guy! He ended up having to get three shots in his leg. The first two went well, but he was not happy about the last one. He did get some pretty cool band-aids though :)

Park Picnic

2008-04-16T19:37:00.000-06:00

We went to the park with Rachel and Rylynn for a little picnic and playtime today. The kids had a ton of fun playing and it was such a beautiful day! Owen doesn't listen very well and basically roams the playground, but Rylynn was constantly calling him back to where she was.

How cute are these pictures?!

The shirt

2008-04-15T18:56:00.000-06:00

Owen's shirt basically sums up his attitude the past few days:

I'm guessing (or hoping) that it's his teeth that are coming in that are causing the little man to turn into Mr. Grumpy.

17 Months Old!

2008-03-25T23:04:00.000-06:00

Owen is 17 months old today! I completely forgot about it until tonight, so no pictures. No big deal, he doesn't sit still in the chair anyway.

He's getting so big lately. I'm not sure what his stats are currently, but he's looking so much taller. He's still a skinny minny, but I'm thinking he always will be. His current favorite interest include flushing the toilet, using the couch as a trampoline, talking to his stuffed animals, and running around naked. Seriously, he loves to be naked. These pics are from about a week ago:

Happy Birthday to Rachel too!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T23:05:00.003-06:00

Happy Easter! We had a nice day despite the nasty weather. We went to Grandma and Grandpa T's house for lunch and an egg hunt, then out to the Lee's house for dinner. Owen had a good time and had a lot of great Easter baskets/gifts from everyone. Bubbles seemed to be the gift of choice, so he'll be set this summer!

O's basket from us

Checking out his stuff

Searching for eggs

Another basket

Congratulations to Uncle Ces and Aunt Anne too! They announced their pregnancy today. She is due November 1 and I'm sure Owen can't wait to have another little cousin around.

Happy birthday Uncle Chuck!

Welcome Benjamin!

2008-03-22T21:46:00.000-06:00

Owen's newest cousin was born this morning. He weighed 8 lbs, 4 ounces and was 21.5 inches long! He's very cute with a head of dark hair. Mike and I went up to visit while Josie and Kailey babysat Owen.

Benjamin Joseph:

Ben and his big brother Luke:

Easter Eggs

2008-03-22T20:54:00.000-06:00

Owen had his first experience coloring eggs tonight. He had a lot of fun and made a mess in the process.

Des Peres Park

2008-03-12T22:06:00.000-06:00

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather we were having and headed to the park. Rylynn and Owen had a good time burning off some energy and enjoying the sun!

Upside down

2008-03-06T22:39:00.002-06:00

One of Owen's new favorite things to do is to "go upside down." He was playing in the kitchen one night and was cracking himself (and us) up by dancing and going upside down. The fridge farm and fridge dj are definately some of his favorite things to play with. He loves to turn both of them on at once and dance around the house.

Happy Birthday!

2008-03-04T22:38:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday to Aunt Shari and Aunt Carrie! Today they are 24, hope you have a great day!

Sensitive People

2008-03-01T21:34:00.004-06:00

I didn't realize that some people were so sensitive about the pictures that were posted about the Christmas party. It was brought to my attention that the "fab four" was offensive :)

Here are pictures to show that people were not cropped out of photos:

Owen vs. Beans

2008-02-29T23:59:00.001-06:00

I was making 7-layer dip for scrapbooking and Owen saw the refried beans. I'm not sure if he actually ate anything, but he had fun:

Leap Day!

2008-02-29T23:59:00.000-06:00

Today was Leap Day, woohoo! Owen and I decided to celebrate with a trip to the Mills. I guess we don't really have to be celebrating anything to make a trip out there though. Julie and Baby Abbie met us out there for some shopping fun.

Our shopping trip was fairly boring. We weren't really shopping for anything seeing as we were at the mall yesterday. Owen did end up getting a book that he wouldn't leave alone, but that was it. Abbie cleaned up pretty nicely though. So many cute girl clothes, so little boy stuff.

So we ended up not having to babysit today because the kids were going to Body Works. We get home and since it's nice out, I decide to be nice and take Owen and Bailey for a walk. Sounds simple enough right? I don't think so. We all get ready and of course Jake runs out. So I'm trying to keep Bailey and Owen close to me while wrestling to get Jake back into the house. The cat decides to start hissing at me. I finally get him into the house and we got to take our walk.

Chesterfield

2008-02-28T00:43:00.000-06:00

Why can't the weather get nice out?! I'm so tired of hanging out at the mall play areas or in the house. Owen and I get bored with one another so much if we're cooped up in the house too long, so we planned a trip to Chesterfield Mall with Rachel, Rylynn, Kaden, and Marcey.

Archiver's was supposed to be having a "big" sale, which was the purpose of driving all the way to Chesterfield. It was a major letdown, but we had a fun time anyway.