I just decided to record our conversation. These happen every day.
Category Archives: Owen
How can he look so old?
They need more toys.
Owen loves to dump out all the boxes on Katie…then leave. I think they need more toys, don’t you?
These are definitely our kids.
Both enjoying the iPad together…
Owen liked his long hair!
Having fun while I wait for the doctor*.
(*Nothing worrisome. I was just getting a refill of Nexium and having her look at my “poop knee.” She prescribed an anti-inflammatory.)
Hanging around
Much to my surprise, I looked out and Owen was swinging on the bars!
Tennis shoes!
Owen wanted to go outside so I told him he had to get his shoes on. Of course, I expected his Crocs, flip flops, or sandals. I did NOT expect what I saw:
TENNIS SHOES! Without socks and with the tongue all bunched up…but otherwise completely successful! He was SO proud of himself—as was I, as he usually has a mini meltdown when we ask him to TRY to put them on! Apparently he just needs the proper motivation!
Comfy Katie
Owen stacked up all the stuffed animals from his room and all the pillows and blankets from downstairs…
Can you see what I see?
Here, let me crop it for you. 🙂
Then Owen joined her.
And he loves playing with and tickling her…
Playset success!
So he was out playing on the playset while I was working in the kitchen. I looked out to see him on the swings—which was happily surprising since he’s not really ever liked swings. The next time I look up, he’s yelling at me saying”Mama! Mama! I’m swinging!” 🙂
Fast forward a little bit and I look out and don’t see him. Then I see his head pop up in the tower above the rock wall—which means he climbed up it himself! Which is amazing since he has only gone up it twice—both times of which he asked for help. So I’m silently screaming because I’m so excited…when I see him come running across the yard screeching “Mama! Mama! Come see what I can do!” Of course I didn’t tell him I’d seen him…
He was just SO damn proud of himself! I was, too…especially since I think the rock wall is a bit treacherous (it goes STRAIGHT up when I think it should have a bit of a slant to it). But he did it no problem!
Eagle eyes. Or owl eyes.
I swear Owen has eagle eyes. We were waiting for Tom when he says “Mom! Look! An owl!”
Huh? Owl?
See it?
By Jove, there was. It’s fake, but still.
And we have a playset!
We weren’t really planning on getting a big playset, but once I saw Owen playing on his little Step 2 playset and saw that he had really outgrown it…I looked on the local Yard Sales board and found exactly what we wanted, emailed the lady, and made plans to go look at it (it was 45 minutes away). I was excited because most of these types of sets are SUPER expensive and have too many things that Owen wouldn’t really use, but this one was actually quite reasonable and had things Owen would like (towers, ladders, a rock wall, and a tunnel!). We looked at it, Owen played on it and loved it, so we left a deposit last weekend and made plans to get it this weekend (Tom was in the field all last week).
I thought the process would take ALL day, possibly requiring two trips (and since it was 45m one way, two trips would have been dreadful)—even with our friend’s big trailer—because Tom had no one able to help him. But thankfully at the last minute I managed to get a friend’s husband to help (the ones buying our old playset!) and then one of our best friends was also able to help…and he also offered his big truck (which ended up being critical) and the whole thing was done in like two hours, not counting drive time! They had it apart and loaded on the trailer and truck in under an hour (the lady texted me to tell me and we were both amazed) and I think it took about the same to unload and put it together. YAY!
“Mom! The number one!”
“Mom! Look! It’s the letter A!”
Testing out the bench.
He had to run and get some cars…
Are you done screwing the slide in so I can use it?
Wheeee!
Tunnel!!
Uncle Tom! (A great picture that I’m ticked ended up blurry! I had an in-focus one but you couldn’t see Owen’s face.)
The workers!
Katie’s first swing!
Also, as a bonus, we didn’t have to use any money from the savings account for the cost of the thing (which was not inconsequential). We had our stash of Craigslist/LejeuneYardSales cash from a few recent sales for the deposit last weekend, then I sold a bunch of stuff this week to finish out the rest of the payment. YAY!
I’m relaxing!
What a difference eight months makes…
So Owen was playing outside in his underwear and it reminded me of when he started potty training and was wearing underwear for the first time… So wow—look at the difference between then (September 1, 2012) and now (April 30, 2013):
Smart kid.
I was just reading a sad story and crying. Owen asked why I was crying and I told him. He said “You need to read a happy story!”
Smart kid.
Mismatched Legos
This is what Owen LOVES to do with his Lego minifigures.
Owen is 4 years 3 months old today!
Thankfully we’re past the “I refuse to sit still for a photo” age and now he does exactly what I tell him and it’s over in a minute. 🙂
15,146 views…?!?!
I happened to check my YouTube Analytics this morning, and saw that this video has the most views—to the tune of 15,146. WHAT THE? REALLY? WHY? I’m intrigued.
Even the number of times other videos have been watched amazed me…the top ones have 400+ views. WHY!?! Who the hell is watching my videos? Not that I care, it just really interests me!
Spoiled, crying Katie
So, since I’m a single parent this week, bath time was challenging (obviously one of us stays with Katie while Owen gets his bath but that wasn’t possible). I do leave her alone for a few minutes, but didn’t want to leave her alone for his entire bath…so the only safe place for her to go was in her crib. Which we never do unless it’s sleepy time. She’s never even been stuck in a pack-n-play except to sleep… In other words…SPOILED.
Needless to say she WAS. NOT. HAPPY. This is a compilation of about two minutes of the entire 15 minutes worth of screaming. I thought she might not mind as much if I was in with her, so kept running back and forth between checking on Owen and cleaning/organizing her room. Nope. She screamed whether I was in there or not.
But at least she doesn’t hold a grudge. This is minutes afterwards. It’s enough to balance out the earlier screaming…right?
In the elevator!
Owen was busy setting up Lego figures and them he says “Mom! Look! They’re all in the elevator going to Gramma Jean’s!”
Me and the kidlets
I had a feeling…
I had a feeling if I left him alone while I ran upstairs for a few minutes this would happen…
I don’t always make him take a daily nap anymore (so he’ll be more likely to fall asleep quicker at night) but he still obviously could use some rest. 🙂
Peek!
We didn’t see Katie then all of a sudden she pops up!
Owen always surprises me.
This morning he wanted to go outside and I told him he had to get shoes on. Usually he puts his Crocs on since they’re easier (although we’ve been trying to teach him his Velcro sandals)…but he came back with the sandals! And on correctly! (He usually gets the Velcro on way too loose—like foot falling out loose.) I was impressed.
You can now tell him to go to his room and get an outfit and he’ll bring one down. Most times he can get dressed, too!!
I made a frozen pizza for dinner. I was sure he wouldn’t like it so I had one of his ready for backup. He takes one look at mine and says “Where’s MY pizza?” I tell him we only have pepperoni (knowing he doesn’t like pepperoni) and he says “YES! Pepperoni! I like pepperoni!” Hmm. Okay. So he somehow THINKS he likes pepperoni? So he gets it and lets it cool and…big surprise…he doesn’t like it. We pick off all the pepperoni and…nope. (Of course, Katie ate both.)
Then, I was giving Katie some freeze-dried corn (same stuff that Owen LOVED at that age but hasn’t eaten since) and he just up and asked to try some. And liked it. And asked for more. WHAT?!?! Okay, cool. Then he asked for dried bananas (which he has eaten lately—but I’m still amazed he asked).
He’s growing up…
Sniff.
Papa’s Bracelet
Owen got this out today and wanted to wear it. I asked if he remembered who made it for him…and of course he remembered. 🙂
Can I ask you a question?
Owen asks this about 20 times a day. Most times it’s in relation to something he’s doing/watching/eating, and I don’t think he’s always wanting an answer. 🙂
Owen: Can I ask you a question? What’s your favorite color?
Me: Hmmm. Purple. What’s your favorite color?
Owen: Blue. What’s Katie’s favorite color?
Me: I don’t know.
Owen: Pink!
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you get ninjas?
Me: How do YOU get ninjas?
Owen: You use your energies!
Owen: Mama, can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Can I have some popcorn please?
Me: Mimics handing him popcorn.
Owen: Mmm, thanks! I really needed some popcorn.
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you get the number 10?
Me: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Mmm hmm.
Owen: How do you play Indiana Jones game?
Me: You know how to play!
Owen: Laughs. YES I DO!
Owen: Mama, can I ask you a new question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you eat cereal?
Me: How do YOU eat cereal?
Owen: With your spoon!
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you get popcorn? Brief pause. Can I ask you another question? How do you get the elephant?
Owen: Mama, can I ask you a question?
Me: What?
Owen: How do you get popcorn?
Owen: May I ask you a question? About that thing?
Me: What thing?
Owen: The chocolate pudding.
Me: What’s your question?
Owen: How do you get it?
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you feel?
Me: I’m happy.
Owen: Me, too!!
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: What?
Owen: How do you get the pool ready?
Me: You saw how daddy got it ready. What did he do?
Owen: He got water.
Me: What else?
Owen: The rototiller.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Watching Cars is a riot.
First, he DOES NOT WANT to watch Cars—but as soon as it starts, he’s dancing around and getting out all the matching cars as they come on the screen.
Here, he’s crashing the cars as they crash on TV:
Then I had to pause Cars 2 when Crabby comes on the screen because Owen NEEDS to get his own Crabby—but it’s out of his reach and I’m feeding Katie and can’t get it.
I get Crabby AND Siddely (to prepare for later in the movie) and then it’s okay to start the movie again.
And on and on.
Little Masseuse
Owen’s Storytelling
Okay, everyone sit down and listen to my story.
Once upon a time there was a boy. His name was King Owen. There was a dragon and he fought him. And everyone was happy. The End.
The pool is officially open!
Owen has been bugging me to go in the pool ever since the first day’s brief splashing, but I haven’t been able to let him since the salt levels were too high. Today I finally over-filled the pool by about 2″ hoping it would be enough…and it was! I warned him it was going to be cold but he didn’t care…until he got in.
“EEK! IT’S COLD!”
Happy, happy boy!
Then I had him empty some of the water. It’s easier (and more fun) for him to do it!
Then he wanted balls. And water guns. And his AquaZooka. And then…
Owen: Mama, I want the fish.
Me: What fish?
Owen: The floaty fish!
Me: We don’t have a floaty fish.
Owen: Yes! In the shed!
I go to the shed and look around. I don’t see a fish.
Me: Owen, I don’t see a fish. Where is it?
Owen: Behind the wagon.
And damn if it wasn’t there, buried UNDERNEATH a hose. He must have seen it last weekend when Tom had everything out.
Then I noticed the sky looked like this:
So I kept an eye on the weather, but the clouds just moved right over us. Katie was enjoying watching her brother.
Then, strangely enough, AFTER the clouds passed, THEN it started to sprinkle, so I got Owen out of the pool:
And he decided to give Katie some love:
And then post-pool Lego play—of course in the kitchen where things easily get bumped or knocked off. But, to his credit, he said “But it’s out of reach [for Katie]!” which is exactly what I told him he had to do.
Unfortunately, when I went out later to fix the skimmer (that Owen had knocked apart), the pump started beeping at me that the salt was too high again. I have NO idea how that could happen, so I get to try again tomorrow…
Ninjas and Legos
So Owen and I were playing with ninjas and Legos. Owen turned the headdress around (of the Aztec Warrior) so the face was hidden and says “Whoa! Who turned out the lights?!”
Just another saying we have NO idea where it came from.
And him playing.
