Katie helped me eat leftover massaman curry and coconut rice for lunch. Owen even tried two bites of rice. Yay!
Category Archives: Owen
Daddy Dolls
We decided to get the kids Daddy Dolls and this morning was the deployment, so-to-speak. I thought Owen would be THRILLED…but as you can see, he was LESS than thrilled…even asking for another surprise.
However, he eventually did like it…
And even co-opted Katie’s doll…
Throughout the day, he kept going back to his doll, saying he was “going to go get his surprise.” 🙂
Katie, of course, chewed daddy’s face—since everything goes in her mouth (I didn’t get a good picture of it), but she did play with it later in the day.
Owen is definitely a smart—kid.
So, let’s just say there was a MAJOR poop incident tonight that should NOT have happened because he’s old enough and smart enough to know better. As he was in the bath and we were talking about it and discussing future punishments if it happened again…it went like this:
Me: If this happens again, we will take away your Legos for a week.
Owen: And if you take them away again…it would be…subtraction.
I was stunned into momentarily silence because that was NOT what I was expecting him to say but he WAS technically right. Stinker. I tried to keep from laughing but I did chuckle.
Me: You’re absolutely right. That would be subtraction.
Owen: 🙂
Afghanistan is looming…
Well, the time is drawing near…we’re down to about 2–3 weeks. The original departure date was around August 1–5 but Tom has said that it might be a few days later. As far as I’m concerned, they can just as easily say it will be a few days earlier so I take every piece of news with a grain of salt.
That said, right now, the plan is for Tom to be gone about eight months. I still can’t believe I have two kids this time around. Looking back, 13 months by myself was a piece of cake compared to what I have in front of me this time (believe me, even though I’m glad it’s only eight and not 12 or 13 months…it will still feel like a LOOOONG time). Of course there is a SLIGHT chance he could be home earlier—but he’ll have no idea until after he gets there and things start moving along. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he’ll be home by Owen’s fifth birthday (February 2) but of course (!) I don’t plan on it. There’s that grain of salt thing again. (Also, return dates as early as December have been tossed around but I have ZERO hope of those happening. I take that one with a salt shaker’s worth of salt.)
Owen still seems to be doing okay. Every once in awhile he’ll say he doesn’t want daddy to go away and that he’ll miss him. I tell him I will miss him, too—and that daddy will definitely miss us. I asked if he wanted to see on a map where daddy would be and he said yes—but didn’t really seem that interested (though I’m really thinking he just couldn’t comprehend it). We’ll keep trying. We also have a big calendar to X off each day—since you can’t really expect him to understand MONTHS of time.
I do have Tom’s actual address already and will be emailing it to family but will post it on the Afghanistan Info page (linked in the static menu bar above) once he actually arrives there. There is also a new Goodies page and a USPS Shipping page linked as well.
I wanna see out there!
As soon as you open the blinds, she’s RIGHT THERE trying to climb up and over the couch to see outside. Especially if her brother is out there!
Me, too! Me, too!
And a great picture of her mis-matched jammies. It’s what happens when you have three-piece sets (one top, shorts, and pants)—you end up with odd pieces for a night here and there!
He doesn’t get yesterday.
At dinner, I asked Owen what his favorite part of yesterday was. He tells me when he was in the other room playing with R2D2. No, we tell him, that was just a little while ago before dinner. We tell him yesterday was the party—and ask again what his favorite part of the day was. He stops and thinks.
Owen: The big white slide that goes around to the water.
Us: ??? [Thinking…]
Me: Owen, that was the water slide on vacation two weeks ago.
We explain that yesterday was the big party when Miss Virginia was here and he played with the kids and in the pool and had cake and ice cream.
Me: Owen, what did you like best about yesterday?
Owen: Playing in the pool.
Well, finally there’s the answer.
Deckwarming & Katie’s Third First Birthday
Today was the big day of our Deckwarming party (and Tom’s going away party) as well as a mini celebration of Katie’s first birthday (technically her third first birthday as we already celebrated in Michigan, then she had her actual birthday on the 10th, and then today’s gathering). It was a long, hot, tiring—yet fun—day.
Party-prep is so much work—it never seems like stuff will take that long…but it always does. I was VERY thankful to have hired Virginia to come watch the kids while we did the prep because then I didn’t have to listen to Katie screaming because I wasn’t paying attention to her…and I was actually able to get stuff done! I loved what Virginia posted on Facebook—it’s classic Owen:
As usual, we had too much food (or maybe just not enough people?!) but then, I’m a Len and we apparently don’t know how to cook for less than 40 people (or are paranoid about not having enough food regardless of the number of people). 🙂 But everything was delicious.
The weather actually held out—it was touch and go for awhile with intermittent thunderstorms pretty much all morning and early afternoon—but it cleared up about 4 and was sunny and gorgeous (though the humidity was right at about 99%).
We had a good blend of old (Mitchells and Trimbles) and new friends (from my mommy group) and the kids had a blast in the playroom and in the pool.
Then it was time for the birthday cake. I had wanted to do something special for Katie so she didn’t fall into that “second kid gets squat compared to the first kid” thing PLUS after Owen’s Lego cake debacle I had decided I was never attempting to bake a cake again…so I asked our friend Ursula to make a cake. She has recently started making and decorating cakes and she’s ABSOLUTELY AMAZING (as opposed to my first attempt—see above Lego debacle post). Here’s the picture I sent her (that I found on Pinterest) along with her version on the right (I asked for the 1 on top instead of the ladybug and only two layers):
Amazing, right?
Also a big thanks to mommy-group friend Jacqueline who helped with my last-minute ice cream request (Doh! How could we have forgotten ice cream on our three trips to town?!) and pre-party kitchen cleanup (she arrived during the last 15-minute rush to get everything done, saw I was a bit overwhelmed, and jumped in to wash the sink full of dishes).
Some of the kids playing dress up:
Having a blast in the pool:
Wandering:
She made such a mess that we had to hose off the deck (thanks, Roger!) and give her a quick bath in the sink with Dawn detergent (I hadn’t planned ahead to have baby soap downstairs). Here she is somewhat cleaned up, back with Virginia again.
Since Owen was having so much fun in the pool and with the kids, we let him stay up late. This is about 9:30 right before he finally went to bed.
Thanks to everyone who shared the day with me and Tom!! And you can tell we’re all getting older…everyone had gone home by 10:15!! 🙂
Owen is getting better about trying new foods.
Amazingly Owen has been trying new foods! It’s still been VERY basic stuff…but we’ll take what we can get!
The other night I made a hamburger/tater tot casserole…and he tried both (separately) and liked them! We made hamburgers tonight and he ate maybe 1/3 of one! (We still have to bribe him—he couldn’t have more tater tots until he ate more hamburger.) And he likes things dipped it ketchup…AND yogurt…at the same time. (Barf.)
He tried chicken fingers—but he deemed them too spicy. (And honestly, they are a bit on the spicy side.)
He tried a peach and gave it a no. Even though he loves peach yogurt and eats the peach bits.
He even wanted to try gum (there were gum balls in one of his toys)—so Tom broke off about 1/4 of a piece—and Owen barely touched his tongue to it before saying “No thank you.” We made him actually put it in his mouth and start chewing—which he did…for about three seconds before spitting it out.
What a kid.
Owenisms 21
Me: If you’d like, your milk is in the fridge.
Owen: [Thumbs up.]
Owen: Mama, you watch your TV. I’m going to go play with my Legos.
Owen: Mama, can I have my dessert? I was a good boy sleeping long.
Me: No. You haven’t even had breakfast yet.
Owen: OH DANGIT!
It took me awhile to figure out what he meant because he was up at 7. But then he hopped into bed and cuddled with me while I slept to 7:30. 🙂
Owen: Mama, I need a new B.
Me: Why?
Owen: Because I lost my next one for good.
Owen: Holding up a Lego trident.Mom, what’s this gold thing?
Before I can answer—
Owen: It’s a trident. Who’s the underwater king?
Me: King Neptune.
Owen: Mom, thanks for saying King Neptune.
As I’m lifting Katie up onto the couch…
Owen: I want to hold my sister.
Me: Okay, on your lap?
Owen: NO!
Me: ???
Owen: I’m done [with dinner].
Tom: Let me stick a fork in you.
Owen: No! I don’t want to get little holes because I don’t like it and I’d be sad.
Trying to put his scabbard in his underwear and finding it difficult.
Owen: Mama! I need pants!
Sword Play
Just Owen being Owen.
Before & After
Every month or so we gather all the Legos, put all the correct pieces together, and see what’s missing. (I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before.)
Well, this month it was a net loss. We found four pieces that had been missing, about six of the same pieces were still missing, but then there were about eight new missing pieces. Ugh.
BEFORE
AFTER
DISFIGURED LEGOS
Jumping in the pool
At first it was the same old same old…putting his face under water and generally being a ham.
An underwater picture of Spongebob floating face down. It’s confusing because the sky was completely cloudy.
And then daddy came out and joined us once he put Katie to bed.
And then things got a little crazier.
His “Superman” jump!
She loves laying on her brother.
Happy first birthday, Katie!
First outfit of the day…a white onesie (with design that could be covered up by the sticker) from Gramma Jean. I didn’t put her in the matching pants because they clashed with the sticker. 🙂
Here you can see the actual onesie. She started ripping the sticker off after the first 100 photos. 🙂 This is also where she loves to play—the coat rack. I’m not sure what she’ll do when we finally get hooks attached to the bottom level for their coats!
Post-nap outfit change! This one is from Grauntie Sue! It’s scary because it’s size 18mo and fits pretty well.
So, this happened on the 10-minute ride to dinner.
Our own wavy tube man!
Owen LOVES this tunnel…and he came up with this ALL on his own.
Then repeating it for me so I could record it. 🙂
Dual Trance
I think Sesame Street was on and they were both in a trance. Since Katie still wasn’t feeling well, I was just happy she was calm and content for a few minutes (instead of screamy, sneezy, and snotty).
Busy Brother
Katie was up—and screaming—so I asked Owen to go in and keep her company for a few minutes while I took a quick shower. This is what I walked in to see (though in the pic I’d already grabbed her from the crib):
He had dragged his big bear AND his turtle into her room…and was reading from her books (well, reading in so much as it’s a picture book that has “one star, two cats, three balls, etc.” in pictures on each page).
Then when I got her out of the crib…I saw his two other bears in there!
What a busy brother he’d been during my five-minute-or-less shower!
More pool fun with the kids
Daddy and Owen went in the pool tonight…and after awhile, Katie peeked behind the curtains and saw them out there…and went CRAZY so I took her out, too.
Now, he LOVES going under water!
Katie butt!
It only took about 25 shots to get this one!
Chicken x 2!
Owen tried BBQ chicken the other night. Holy cow. He liked the chicken but didn’t like the sauce, so we rinsed off a bite and he ate it! So TWO bites!
So we ate a quick lunch at Costco today after shopping—Owen had pizza, but Tom and I shared a chicken bake and he tried a piece of the chicken from it! And said he liked it!
Of course I don’t expect him to make a full meal out of it anytime soon…but baby steps.
A big thank you to Daniel Tiger’s Neigjborhood that has an episode where they try new foods. I can never remember the jingle so I make something up and Owen always corrects me by singing it himself!
Here’s the full song (not the best quality since it’s not direct from the show):
How Owen helps at Costco
The urge to throttle a child.
Ugh.
We had a birthday party at a gymnastics club today for one of the kids in the mom’s group. It was scheduled for 1–2:30—perfect timing since Owen no longer naps. I was excited because Tom was going to stay home with Katie so it would just be me and Owen.
So what happens?
Owen falls asleep at 11:30. I gently start waking him up at 12:30 and it’s not happening. I get ready…keep checking on him…and finally he’s up, but he’s a HOT MESS. Whining, pouting, being grumpy and obstinate. After many rounds of “Do you want to go play with kids [his FAVORITE thing] or go to your room to take a nap [well, finish it]” he wouldn’t stop crying so I just sent him to his room.
Yes, technically it’s my fault since I woke him up but still. He RARELY naps. What the hell?!?
So I was pissed because I was REALLY looking forward to getting out without Katie AND seeing how Owen liked the gymnastics stuff to determine if we should get him in a class. And of course Katie was waking up from her nap and screaming during the middle of all this. And Tom was outside working…and didn’t really seem to care that she was up and I should have been leaving.
Tom tried to talk to Owen to get him to come downstairs but that didn’t happen, either. So there I sat. Pissed. And dealing with the screaming baby that I had hoped to get away from for two hours. Isn’t parenting fun?!
Fast forward an hour…
Owen wakes up and wants to put his shoes on to go to the party.
“Sorry, buddy, the party’s over. You missed it because you were whining and wouldn’t put your shoes on.” (Technically it wasn’t over yet, but by the time we would have gotten in the car and driven there, there would have been about 15 minutes left.)
More whining. More asking to put his shoes on. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Fast forward again…
Owen: I missed the party because I wouldn’t put my shoes on.
Me: That’s right.
Owen: Why?
So we had a discussion about how parties are scheduled for certain times so you have to be there AT that time—you can’t just decide when you want to go and think the party will still be there.
Owen: I’m sad.
Me: Why?
Owen: I missed the party.
Me: Yes, I’m sad we missed the party, too.
Owen: I’ll put my shoes on the next time.
We’ll see if he remembers.
Owen advances in the pool!
So Owen and I went in the pool when Katie went down for her morning nap. I worked with him on sticking his nose under to blow bubbles…which he eventually did. I really tried to get him to stick his whole face under—even tried getting him to plug his nose to do so—but he was having NONE of it. Okay, fine, I was content with what we had achieved.
Fast forward to Katie going to bed for the night and all three of us get in the pool. I had gotten a new waterproof camera so I wanted to test it out.
I told him to stick his face under—and you can see he barely got his chin and the very tip of his nose.
So then I told him to show daddy what he learned with me today—and imagine my surprise when we witnessed this:
WHAT?! He went under JUST like that! Like he’d been doing it all summer or something. The stinker!
Testing the stop-action setting with splashing!
And Photoshopped to adjust the colors (though it washes out the rest of the picture—I’m sure it could be done better, but I’m NOT a Photoshop wiz):
Photoshop version:
Macro Nap
Using the new camera’s macro setting…not quite what the macro setting is for but I liked the shot. 🙂
July 4th Party
We were invited to a BBQ today…and Owen had a blast since they had not one but TWO waterslides there! He spent the first part of the day on the little slide and was just having a ball running around with the other kids and playing on this slide.
We asked, but he didn’t want anything to do with the big slide…but then when I came back outside after saying goodbye to Tom and Katie (he took her home for a nap) I couldn’t find Owen anywhere. Turns out he was on the big slide!
And he played. And played. And played. And played. We got there at 3 and he went straight to the slide…and he was pretty much going non-stop until we left at 7. (He did take about a 10-minute break to have a snack of graham crackers and milk and then maybe a 5-minute-total break to have a few bites of chocolate cake but that was IT. He didn’t even take a potty break, even though I asked every half hour or so.)
A closer up look at that happy face!
He did take a brief break from the big slide to hit the small pool—which he enjoyed flopping over the edge to make a big splash!
And then it was back to the big slide…with a gun!
And then a few more trips down the little slide before it got put away.
On the ride home, Owen admitted he was tired. We got home and I was exhausted. From simply sitting around at an outdoor party. SITTING. (Well, there was some walking around and eating, but it was mostly sitting.) And it was warm but actually okay in the shade and there was a breeze.
Even though Owen is actually old enough that we could let him run around without actually having to keep an eye on him 100% of the time, I didn’t get to visit with everyone as much as I’d hoped. But it was wonderful being able to just sit and watch him play and have soooo much fun WITHOUT having to worry about watching Katie at the same time.
All in all, a very good day!
STAY TUNED FOR VIDEO UPLOADS.
The Deployment Talk
So I had been DREADING this talk. We all know how much Owen loves his daddy and misses him when he’s just at work for the day…
We ordered the Sesame Street Deployment video (Elmo’s daddy goes away to help people, Elmo’s mommy stays home) and watched it ahead of time—and I couldn’t make it through without crying (but then, the last month is the most emotional for me).
So at breakfast, we finally told Owen about Tom leaving and Owen’s immediate response was “But I don’t want you to go. I will miss you.” Tom assured him that he would miss him, too. We told him it was like when daddy had to go to school before and was gone for a lot of days, but this time he was going farther away and wouldn’t be able to come home on the weekends. Owen told Tom that he would go to school, too. 🙂
Then we showed him the Sesame Street video…and he seems okay so far. It just seemed like any other Sesame Street episode to him. But now out of nowhere he’ll say “Elmo’s mommy stays home.” And I reassure him yes, Elmo’s mommy stays home—just like I will be here with him and Katie. I also repeat “Grown ups come back” (which is from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood when Daniel Tiger doesn’t want his parents to go out for the night—the babysitter tells him that grown ups always come back).
I’m sure there will be worse times…but for now—when I’M still fragile—I’ll take his nonchalance.
Left to their own devices…
This is what happens.
Owen is 4 years 5 months today!
Backwards Shirt Boy
Owen has gotten REALLY good at getting himself dressed…but sometimes, it does go wrong. Hilariously wrong in this case, as the way he was standing just cracked us up. You can see a little of it in this picture. 🙂
Owen really spoiled me.
Most of the time when Owen woke up in the morning or after a nap, he’d just play happily in his crib. For a long time if you let him. And when you finally went in to get him, he was all smiles and giggles.
So of course I expected Katie to do the same.
Ha.
HA HA.
She starts screaming within two minutes of waking up.
Every.
Single.
Time.
😐
And sometimes doesn’t even stop after you pick her up. Or stops, but starts again when you lay her down to change her diaper.
It gets old…fast. It’s a good thing she’s cute.