Owenpalooza!

Sunday, Kev and I dedicated the day to Owen, and dubbed it "Owenpalooza." We felt really guilty that he has been slighted during the move, and the two words he hears most recently are "stop that!"

So we headed off to the park first thing Sunday morning ... well, after stopping for breakfast at BK Lounge ... I know - quality parenting with our superb nutrition choices.



Owen had a blast playing at the park. We had never been there before, so it was fun to see him explore and check everything out. He mostly liked to climb up, and climb down, and not really do much while he was actually ON the equipment. Kev put him in the swing, and his expression was priceless. Soaring up into the air, I don't think he spoke for 3 minutes (very unusual for our chatty charlie).


After about an hour, he was ready to go. We headed home and changed into our swimsuits. Great fun for me ... I'm TOTALLY swimsuit ready. hahaha. We played at the pool for an hour or so, and I think Owen had more fun turning the showers on than he did in the actual pool. Yeah, we're not in a drought or anything ...



Home for a 4 hour nap (yes, 4 HOURS!! hurrah) and then an Owen-inspired dinner of pizza and ice cream. Cause we've only had pizza for 5 out of the past 7 nights with the move and all. Kev hid little mini M&Ms in his ice cream so it was a special surprise when he found them.



Tuckered out, Owen collapsed into bed and slept pretty well, considering all the fresh air (and sucrose) we had pumped into his system throughout the day.

capture: owen funnies

***Because I can't find the time to journal, scrapbook, AND blog, I'm going to use our blog to capture little moments of time and memories that I would like to scrapbook later. I apologize if these little snippets are of no interest to anyone but me ... but it will keep me sane!***



SCENE
Yesterday, driving home from Grandma's house

CONVO
Mom: Owen, what would you like for dinner tonight?
Owen: Parker milk (this is the Horizon Organic milk in individual servings that his cousin Parker drinks).
Mom: Well, you can only have Parker milk if you've been a good boy.
Owen: Good boy.
Mom: Were you a good boy today?
Owen: Ask Grandma.

shine on little buddy

shiner
Originally uploaded by Paula Weigel

Can you see it? Poor little guy fell on the stairs this week and got a nice shiner on his left eye. This comes right when his other forehead boo boo was just starting to heal. Is it somewhat telling that his shirt has a super hero on it???

Have a great weekend everyone ... hope it's safe and fall-free! :)

Saturday Strawberries

We met our friends at Springs Farm this Saturday to pick strawberries for the first time with Owen. We've been meaning to do this for several years ... even before we had O, but never found the time. The boys had a blast, and we got to feel good about ourselves for reducing our carbon footprint, supporting a local business, and being locavores for the day!! Hurrah us!!! :)

mad organizational skills

Check out my son and his penchant for having things in just the right place ... (I should have shot this in aerial view).

After dinner last night he lined up his almond muffin, deconstructed box of raisins, sippy cup, cluster of raisins, and cup of water. All in a row. Anytime I would hand him something else, he needed to line it up with the rest. A boy after my own heart ...

And speaking of organizational tools (a favorite topic of mine), a friend on a forum pointed out this cool new line of office supplies from Staples. Here are a couple of other organizational goodies currently on the wishing list:

• Neat Receipts - who doesn't want one more gadget to organize their life?
• Start Here Adhesive Pockets - cause I have way too many notes tucked in notebooks and in my purse.
• Daily System - I want the whole kit and caboodle!
• Making my keychain a little more organized with these monkeys.
• These would jazz up all my paperwork ... so cute!!

What are your favorite organizational tools? Got any cool websites to share?

TGIM

Thank goodness it's May!! Here's a recap of last week ...

Monday

Worked, did some pottery, took adorable pics of Owen playing in and around his new mountain climber outside (shown here with his favorite toy, Daddy's tape measure).

Tuesday

Flew out at 6pm-ish to Seattle for a business meeting for the "day job." Arrived at the hotel around 10:00 (1 am body clock time).

Wednesday

Up at 4am (7 am body clock time) cause I couldn't sleep. Sinuses start kicking in. Shower, breakfast, meetings all day. Drive past the needle. Down to Pike's Place to check out the market. Dinner at a conveyor-belt sushi joint. To the mall across the street to kill time before the 10:30 pm red-eye flight home.

Thursday

Arrive in Charlotte at 6:30 am. Nose is clogged; sinuses are painful. Home to crash. Wake at 12:30; can't breathe. Work from home for a couple of hours. Back to bed. Fired bisque kiln at night.

Friday

To work. Can't breathe. Coughing like a champ. Delighting my co-workers :)

Home - water main break in the 'hood so we have no water. KW isn't feeling well and it's getting scary. He has chest pains so we take Owen to Grandma's and KW to the Emergency Room. EKG, then Xray, then blood work. All is normal so we're discharged. Back to Grandma's house at midnight; still concerned as to what's up with Kevin's ticker ...

Saturday

Kevin is feeling better and we're hoping it was just stress and Wachovia-overload. At National Scrapbook Day I finish 19 pages and consider it a success. I'm addicted to digital scrapbooking and am turning my sister into the law for being a dealer. A couple of hours later we had dinner at Courtney's BBQ with our friends. Yummy! Opened a great kiln-load (thankfully) full of orders.

Sunday

8:00 Mass at St. Philip. Not Owen's best showing. He took EVERYTHING out of my purse and put it on the floor of the church, factfully stating its name as he did so ... iPod ... wallet ... cookie. Nice. Home to change, then to Target for supplies. Owen is getting very sleepy. We met some friends at Brixx Pizza for a long-overdue lunch, and Owen found it hilarious (read: he's DELIRIOUS) to throw everything on the table, as his new friend Matthew sat nicely and politely in his chair. After lunch, we thought he would crash at home, but alas, no. He played in his crib for an hour and a half before finally snoozing for a couple of hours.

Quick visit to Aunt Kimby and Unca Joel's house to drop off some things (like a very-belated birthday present). After a wholesome dinner of macaroni and cheese and leftover pizza, Owen had his bath and made us chase him around his room ... it was after 8 before he went to bed. He must have sang to himself for over an hour before finally settling to sleep. He kept saying, "Got it?", "Capiche?", "Understand?". I'm not sure if he was talking to puppy or bear, but someone got the message.

About 10:00 last night, I was able to start getting myself together for the week. Prepped supplies for orders to be shipped this week; sewed up fabric samples for Indie Peddler; cut Totally Indie Coupons to be sent out; started making custom stamps for new vases; paid bills; scanned new images; fell into bed totally exhausted around midnight.

Whew ... I'm still recovering! I've been meaning to post snippets and pictures and updates all week, but the time got the best of me. Here's hoping May brings more time, less stress, and more happiness to everyone all around!!!

oh-no uh-oh

turbo-charged weekend + sucrose - nap = mighty boo boo

Happy Birthday Oh-no!!

To my ever so sweet, sometimes sassy, and always adorable Owen:

Today you turn two, and you show us by holding up each index finger right in front of your face. You are such a delight. You have the most amazing vocabulary that surprises me every day. You love to laugh, and you love to hide, and you terrify me with your adventurous whims and stunts. Your ladder and daddy's tape measure are your two favorite things.

You call yourself "Oh-no," which is so ironic since that's probably the phrase you hear the most from mommy and daddy. Your laugh is infectious, and can turn my weary day into one filled with hope and promise.

Each morning, you awake by letting us know you'd like to come out of your crib ... "Mommy ... out crib." Then you play coy when we try to take you out and change your diaper, begging us for tickles. You play with the blinds, saying "morning, morning," and laugh when we tell you to stop ... they can fall down and hurt you silly. You continue to think it's funny.

Downstairs, you like to open the refridgerator and carry condiments to your toy room (ps., pudding DOES stain carpet, just FYI). You "go go daddy truck" to Gram's house each morning, and love playing and keeping Gram on her toes. Your cousin Parker is your favorite friend. You adore Aunt Woo and Aunt Kimby and ask every night on the way home to call Mimi. Just last week you learned that, without the tray on, you can climb all the way into your high chair ALL BY YOURSELF. My heart stops with fear ... and then sinks because I know you're growing up and growing a little more independent every day. {And the water works come as I'm writing this to you ...}

You brush your teeth each night by climbing on "biiiiig ladder," and sit on the potty (sometimes), and then hop into the bath. You love to undress yourself, and would change your own diaper if I would let you (remind me again why I won't let you do that??). After your lotion and Little Noses and pajamas, you ask Daddy to rock you but I sneak in sometimes and do it myself, cause it's my favorite part of the day. You read to us most nights, telling us what word comes next and turning the pages, then asking us to do it again. Before we say our prayers and turn out the light, you throw one of your "friends" (stuffed animals) over the edge of the crib and say its name over and over and over until we cave and get it for you. Then you snuggle with a little "tuck tuck" and fall asleep on the soft puppy Aunt Kimby gave you for Christmas.

And morning comes and we start again ... and I anxiously await each one to see what new delight you will bring to our lives. Just when I think I know exactly what unconditional love is, you do something new, something unexpected, something totally Owen, and I think: NOW, I know what love is. Like when you read the ravioli package to me in the grocery store and point out the words "iiiii loooove you," that aren't even there. Or you lean through the bars in your crib to give me a kiss, and then ask for one again, and again, and again. Sometimes I think my heart may just burst with all the love I have for you. I can't believe you've only been in our world for two years. I can't remember when you weren't with us ... it's as if you've always been.

Happy Second Birthday Oh-no.

All my love, and then some more,

Mommy

Plays With Mud's First Employee!!!

I caught the little man filling out my Art on Main Application a few weeks back ... it seems he's pretty good at writing product descriptions!!

Owen Update ...

O's 22 month b-day came and went without a lot of fanfare ... ok, without ANY fanfare, but we're saving it all up for the 2 year marker. Or so we tell ourselves to hide the guilt. :)

Here's what he's up to:

• Use of the word "self" has precluded use of the word "no" is his vocabulary, as in "I'll do it mySELF." Seriously, it's everything. From walking down the stairs to brushing his teeth, he swats us away when we try to help.


• Gram has taught him "April," so when you ask him when his birthday is, he replies, "April." Now we're teaching him "18." He's a smart one ... he'll get it any day now.


• He counts from 1-10, and dabbles in his teens. He can say his ABCs, but gets a little turned around sometimes. He likes it best when he and Daddy go back and forth with each letter.


• Last night he showed some serious attachment issues. He was clinging to Kevin, and insisted on sitting on his lap while he ate dinner, rather than sitting in his high chair. I tried to get a kiss, he gave me a defiant "NO." So I thought I would be clever, and I asked Daddy for a kiss and that was all it took. The waterworks came HARD. It was pretty sad. He's quite possessive with Daddy's affection, apparently.


• He's a brand junkie (not sure where he gets that from. oh yeah, I name stuff. right). He asks for "Tynol" (Tylenol) by name, says "Croc" when we ask him to get his shoes, etc.


• Ate polynesian sauce from Chic-Fil-A last night ... first foray into actually tasting condiments rather than pretending to dip. Yes, we feed him Chic-Fil-A.


• Still loves his books and loves to read. He can recite most of the key words from his favorite books.


• His favorite things: ladder and measure (the stepstool and the tape measure). Winning combination :)

Cookie Magazine's Top Kid's Books

I've been reading my latest issue of Cookie {love this pub} and they have a great listing of the top 33 best children's books. I've listed them below for my future reference {they're also HERE on their website}. Owen absolutely loves books, so I'm hoping to add to his library with some of these selections (and there are shameless requests below for a select few).

Ages 0-2
Little Fur Family By Margaret Wise Brown
Night and Day by Hervé Tullet
Tails by Matthew Van Fleet
Counting with Wayne Thiebaud by Susan Goldman Rubin

Ages 2-4
Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (ahem - looking to add this one, maybe for his birthday *wink*)
Round Is a Mooncake by Roseanne Thong
Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh (great birthday gift for Owen)
Little 1 by Ann & Paul Rand
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Jenny's Birthday Book by Esther Averill
The Backward Day by Ruth Krauss

Ages 4-6
Crictor by Tomi Ungerer
Amos & Boris by William Steig
The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber
Nimby by Jasper Tomkins
Mole Music by David McPhail
The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton
Miss Esta Maude's Secret* {out of print} by W. T. Cummings
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long
The Rainbow Goblins by Ul de Rico

Ages 6+
The Raft by Jim LaMarche
Animus by Seonna Hong
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron
No Flying in the House by Betty Brock
A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears by Jules Feiffer
By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman
Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins

I will add the following:
I Love You Goodnight by Jon Buller & Susan Schade
Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs! by Sandra Boynton
But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton
{even though I recognize that they're probably very popular & mainstream ... we love them in our house}.

Are there other books you and/or your child can't live without? Others you would add to this list?

Spoons are so 2007

Owen decided it was much more efficient to drink his pudding through a straw, rather than use the spoon he's been practicing with. And yes, there are 3 beverages on his high chair tray {although one is a wooden milk}
:-)

Owen counting

Owen knows what comes after 8 ("nyyyyyne"), and what comes after 9 ("teyen"), and this morning, he counted from 1-6 all by himself. Hurrah!!

Owen 20 month Update

We hope everyone had a safe, healthy, and fun holiday season. I realized it's been a while since I posted any O Show updates, so here goes ...

• Owen mimics everything we do and say. It's precious but we have to be careful sometimes.
• He loves books. Really, he can't get enough of them.
• He reminds us to pray each night before dinner by clasping his hands together and saying PWAY.
• Reminds us of his TEEMET - treatment when his lungs get tight.
• He's quite demanding these days ... tells us to SIT next to him, DRINK when we have a water bottle, RIGHT DERE when he wants something put next to him, etc.
• He says HI to almost everyone he meets, wherever he is. He'll also say BYE, then LATER.
• One of his favorite toys is the bistro set that he got for Christmas. It came with fake food, and he especially loves the mustard bottles. Says BEETOE on the way home to let us know he's ready to play.
• Let's us know when we've left the baby locks open on the cabinet doors ... says LOCK and tries to close it himself, or waits for us to come and lock it back.
• Says HUG when we ask for a kiss.
• Gives us a LUG EW ... love you.
• Must have everything BACK in its place. He's quite adamant about it.
• Favorite word: NO. Thinks it's quite funny to say no to everything we ask for.
• Still loves a good tickle.

Our ritual driving home: we pass various mile markers on the way home each day and Owen narrates for me.

• TOY TOY: mommy, please get me a toy or I'll repeat this all the way home.
• Turn on Barbersville Road: sing our ABC's
• TWO TWO: as we drive past the new housing development, we count the houses). Owen can tell us what comes after seven, eight and nine (he ends with a TE-YEN, YAH! while clapping)
• Drive over train tracks: RAY RAY (one of the landmarks on the side of the road looks like a refridgerator. CHOO CHOO (for train of course)
• BAYBO: (basketball when we pass by the court).
• WEEEE: (when we get to the dip at the top of the hill).
• BOOOOOOSE :(no, not booze. It's caboose for the caboose that sits just outside our neighborhood).
• RAJ DOE: (still, garage door).
• DAAAADYY: for daddy, as we pull up to the house.

And I just had to document this conversation we had the other night on the ride home. Owen thinks it's hilarious to remove his socks and shoes when he's in his car seat. We remind him that he can't walk in the stores (he'll have to ride in the cart) if he doesn't have any shoes on.

Owen: SHOE SHOE.
Me: Leave your shoes on please.
Owen: WALK.
Me: That's right. If you leave your shoes on, you can walk.
Owen: HAND.
Me: Yep, you hold mommy's hand when we walk in the store.
Owen: TARGET.

Oh boy.

the potty

Had its first success today!! Owen was just sitting on the potty, enjoying some Cheerios, when he peed in the pot!! After he finished, he and Gram flushed it down the toilet and waved goodbye. Hurrah!!

owen in the coal hole

Monday morning, Owen decided it would be great fun to climb under my bathroom sink. This is not unusual, as he typically pulls out all the supplies (hair clips, extra lotion, etc.) from the cabinet and plays with it. On this particular morning however, he deemed it necessary to physically CLIMB INTO the cabinet. And he got stuck. As hard as I tried, I couldn't help but laugh (I'm laughing as I write this post), because I can't figure out HOW he got in there. I should have taken a picture (but that's really poor taste, huh?). I have a large basket in that cabinet that holds everything, and somehow he managed to get IN the basket, WITH all the stuff still in it. I couldn't pull the basket out, cause he would bump his head; I couldn't pull him out, cause there wasn't enough space between his head and the top of the cupboard. We finally finagled him out of there (me still laughing). I wonder when he'll try it again.

{oh, and if you're wondering about the title of this post, it's from one of my favorite books "Silas Marner," ~ the main character Eppie gets stuck and hollers out "Eppie in the coal hole."}

monday night

I had to document this. We came home from the grocery store on Monday night. Kev was bringing in the bags from the car, and I was in the kitchen unpacking them. Owen wandered into the hall, and I thought he was headed into his toy room.

Suddenly I hear "git, git" ~ over and over. "Git, git." I walk into the hallway and see our precious little angel, standing at the foot of the stairs, pointing to the open gate that blocks off the staircase. He was letting me know that the "git" was open. He's simply awesome.

O at {almost} 18 months

Be sure to check out our Phanfare site with recent pics of O and his buddies in Chicago.

Currently, O loves to mimic everyone and everything. He repeats words now so we have to be very careful about what we say :-). We're teaching him to sign "please" and "thank you" ~ he does it for the things he really really wants and it's pretty cute. He still loves BALL and points out anything that is round as a ball. He clicks his tongue. He likes to fall down and thinks it's hilarious. He chuckles to himself at night in his crib when he's trying to fall asleep. We are so very blessed to have such a well-balanced and optimistic child!!

Favorite books:

• Dr. Seuss' Mr. Brown Can Moo (calls it PopPop)
• Five Little Monkeys
• Goodnight Moon

Favorite food:

• McDonald's chicken nuggets (he came close to polishing off a 10-piece while at the O'hare airport) ~ I know, once again, we're parents of the year

Favorite toy:

• This one is tough ~ he loves balls so that's usually his first choice. He still loves the little plastic animals from the Gleasons. Recently he discovered the Busy Ball Popper and loves to put his face right over the hole where the balls come out and watch them.
  

15 Month Update

O had his 15 month check up today. While we were in the waiting room, he was walking around (showing off), tilting back his head to drink out of his big-boy sippy cup, when he stumbled and fell, cutting his upper lip. Do you know how much blood comes out of an upper lip???? I had no idea. Just then, the nurse called us in. As the current "Parents of the Year," K & I are frantically trying to stop the bleeding, gather all our belongings, and reassure O that, even though you are gushing blood, you will be ok.

The bleeding did stop (finally), but little O has a big upper lip. It has swollen into the gap between his two front teeth. It's just pitiful. And the little bugger had to get a shot today. I'm sure he was lovin' us by the time it was all said and done.

On a much happier note, I offer his vitals for posterity:
July 23, 2007
24 lbs, 6 oz
31 inches long
head circumference = 18.25

New tricks:

• LOVES to play hide-and-seek in mommy and daddy's closet ~ thinks it's hilarious
• "Hides" from us in his crib in the morning; he buries his head in his mattress and waits for us to tickle him
• Is full-on walking; can stand up from the crawling position without any assistance
• Saw mommy place the tiny toy giraffe on the doorknob one day as a joke; now he hands it to us, reaching up to put it on top of the doorknob
• Ate watermelon for the first time last night
• Ate eggs a couple of weeks ago ~ he loves them and eats too much and gets sick so goodbye eggs
• Is full of cuts, bumps and bruises everyday ~ we sometimes have no idea where they come from
• Will go to the German buffet (where we keep the iPod and the speaker system), hold onto the top and "dance-uh, dance-uh", while laughing
• Jumps up and down in his crip like it's a trampoline
• Will follow along in the books, pointing out "moon" and "balloon"
• Arches his head back during bedtime ritual so you can tickle him (and apparently so all the blood can rush to his head)
• LOVES the pool ~ we've tried the arm floaties, spring float and the swim vest ~ he likes none of them but loves to be in the water
• Kisses the baby whenever he sees him ~ reflection in the refridgerator, the tub, the mirror. Just leans right in to give a smacker
• New words: purple, blueberry (we were in the Teeter last night, I went over to pick up a pint of blueberries, and O goes "boo-bear" ~ we beamed with pride)
• Favorite pasttime: still the bath "BAAAHHHH" ~ you ask him what he wants to do after dinner ~ "BAAAHHHH" ~ he gets so excited
• Is currently cutting at least two very large and painful teeth
  

These boots were made for walking ...

and that's just what O is doing! He started earlier this week, and with K and I both out of town this week, we haven't had a chance to videotape it. He takes about 10-20 steps and then squats down to land on his bum. It's the cutest thing!Check out our albums this weekend for some video (hopefully)!