Someone is getting more talkative!
Like brother, like sister. (Owen has taken to putting his fingers in his mouth like this…but he started before she was born so she’s not the bad influence!)
Category Archives: Owen
The pain begins.
So this morning, as usual, I found Owen in his bathroom drinking water and spitting—so I put away his cup. I also put away his toothpaste and his animal flossing strips (because he thinks they’re toys and I really don’t want him losing them around the house—which would happen in about 14 seconds). I told him that we only got out the toothpaste, cup, and flossers when it was time to brush his teeth.
Fast forward 20 minutes or so when I hear the bathroom sink on full blast AGAIN. I go in there and he is…BRUSHING HIS TEETH! That little shit. I couldn’t yell at him because he was doing something good—on his own and something I had just mentioned—but it was still frustrating because I had told him not to play in there.
So, what was the first thing I did? Tell him not to move (because I had to run and get the camera, of course!). 😆
Then I noticed all the toothpaste. In the sink and on his toothbrush and on his face and—WAIT. Where did he get toothpaste—I had put it away!? Did he climb up and get it out of the medicine cabinet??? No…I checked and that one was still there. So he obviously found another one somewhere (from our recent trip to the dentist, I’m guessing—but I don’t even know where it was!) AND managed to twist off the screw top (which, ironically, he can NEVER do when we ASK him to do it), and fill the sink with strips of toothpaste (which you can’t see in the picture). I also wondered what the bowl was doing there…and I didn’t have to wait long to find out: he was using it to drink from since I had taken his cup away.
I flossed his teeth, sent him on his way, and cleaned up the sink. AND PUT EVERYTHING AWAY AGAIN. Yes, it was a bit of a mess…but yes, I know it could have been A LOT worse.
So the pain is starting. He’s turning into a mischievous little boy with a mind of his own. Part of me loves it because it means he’s growing up, getting smarter, and thinking about things. But on the other hand, it’s a shit ton more work keeping an eye on him because you never know what he’s going to get into.
A spitting fool
We taught Owen to spit so he can use regular (toddler) toothpaste…so of course all he wants to do now is stand at the sink, drink water, and spit. If we can’t find him or haven’t seen him in awhile, chances are he’s in one of the bathrooms…with the door shut so we don’t see him (he’s smart, too).
I know it doesn’t sound too bad, but he gets soaked in the process—along with the sink and the floor (usually). And he sometimes does it outside the bathroom as well…
BOYS!
Escape artist…just like her brother!
Also: SUPERBABY!!
Happy 39th!
My birthday started out wonderful…I got to sleep in until 9:30 (thanks to Katie getting me up at 5 to eat and “wish me happy birthday!”), Owen said “Happy Birthday Mama!” all on his own (I wonder how much instruction that took!), Tom made waffles for breakfast, and I had a Facebook wall full of birthday wishes from friends and family waiting for me!
After a nice lazy day of hanging around the house with the fam (and publishing my updated blog!), my day was topped off with a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday from my niece and nephew (Gabrielle and Robert), reading my entire wall of Facebook birthday wishes, and CLEAN SHEET NIGHT! I’m a lucky girl! 🙂
Look at all the cupcakes!
It started slowly. First just a handful of K-cups. Then a few more trips. Setting them up all nice.
“Mama! Look at all the cupcakes!”
Then I walked into the kitchen and saw he had completely emptied the drawer. 🙂
Parenting Tip #53
Never schedule a doctors appointment for the day after you get back from a vacation.
I was still so apparently out of it that I forgot to pack extra underwear for Owen at daycare (though he did have pull-ups) and I forgot an extra bottle for Katie (though I did grab the bottle with the leftover 2oz from her last feeding). Then I wasn’t really paying attention to the time and I left about 15 minutes too early (not the end of the world, but why sit in a doctor’s office with a baby any longer than necessary?).
It all worked out okay in the end (Owen didn’t need the extra undies and Katie was happy with the 2oz) but it could have just as easily gone south.
Pooping
Oh, the things you talk and write about when you’re a parent. 😯
You should see the size of Owen’s poops, which are about every 3-4 days (which is why they’re so big). 😯
They are ALWAYS too big to flush—we joke that it’s the size of a sweet potato but it’s not quite that big—but it always needs to be broken up into pieces. /gag/ I have no idea how he can, um, contain that much OR get rid of it without pain (he’s usually whining when he poops, but it’s not a pain cry and he never says it hurts).
So anyway, not only will Owen NOT poop on the potty until it’s dire….now he apparently has the poop dribbles. Like diarrhea consistency but not quantity. Lovely. So I Google and…he’s just, um, FULL. So the liquid parts are coming out around the solids.
I had asked friends for advice and, unfortunately, most of their suggestions were for different foods—which, if you know Owen, is NOT going to happen. However, they did remind me that we’ve been traveling (not really conducive to drinking a lot OR being on a regular schedule OR being able to run around all day to get things moving). And of course he’s JUST potty training so it’s still new and probably scary (even though when he DOES poop he seems very excited and promises to do it again). So we have been promoting as much liquid of whatever kind he wants…
We were on our way to getting really worried and were about a half day away from taking matters into our own hands (with a bit of Miralax in the morning) when he finally did poop tonight. Phew! BUT! We are now going to be watching his diet more closely—adding more of things he already likes (like nuts and Fiber One granola bars) and adding more stuff he doesn’t even realize he’s eating (like flax seed in his peanut butter).
Isn’t this fun?! 😐
Another lovely hotel night with the kids.
Katie was up at 1. Maggie was noisy. Owen was up at 1:30 tossing and turning and turned his turtle night light on. I was up listening (in case he had to go potty) and saw his light go off 45m later. It came on two more times (I know because I was up and saw it). Then Katie was up at 5:30. And then Owen had to pee.
GOOD MORNING!
😐
Use a flashlight!
Prompted, I’m sure, by us seeing a bunch of rainbows over the past day or two…
Owen: I want to see a rainbow.
Me: You can’t see rainbows in the dark.
Owen: Use a flashlight!
Katie, stop crying!
Katie is crying in the car. Owen says “Katie, stop crying. We’ll be at the hotel soon. Right over there.”
A few moments later: “Katie, it’s okay. The hotel is right over there….just a few seconds. Stop crying!”
Road Trip Rule #43
As soon as one kid falls asleep, the other one wakes up.
Owen barely ever sleeps in the car…so of course, not five minutes after he fell asleep, Katie wakes up SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER because, oh, you know, she’s STARVING after just having eaten 4oz 30 minutes prior.
Potty Break
Turnpike potty break…and ice cream break since the potty break was successful!
Destruction!
Owen’s skeleton’s arm came apart and he took it to Tom to fix it.
Tom: “Owen, what happened?”
Owen: “Destruction!”
Neither of us have any idea where that came from!
Reading with Grauntie Marge
Grauntie Marge wanted Owen to see where she lived, so we took a quick trip over to her house. She then gave Owen a present of a new book, which she then read to him.
Mama and Katie at rest
Potty Charts
Owen did really, really well with going potty on vacation. He only had a few accidents (only on an overnight or a nap!) but overall we were both really impressed. He even made it all the way to Michigan—two days and 18 hours in the car—without an accident!
He filled out two of these sheets while we were gone—one star for each potty, with him being able to pick a treat when each line was completed. He LOVED picking out the sticker and LOVED putting it on the star. He even tried to negotiate by saying “Two stars?”
A chocolate mess!
Grandma Jean was making brownies and let Owen lick the spatula. We made him stay in the kitchen (no carpet) but he still managed to get chocolate on the sliding glass door, the floor, and of course himself.
The end of a long day
We spent the day with Grandma Marsha in Kalkaska and had a nice picnic get-together with Tom’s friends and family. Owen got to play with a lot of kids his age (though, honestly, he didn’t really play WITH them) and he missed his nap. When we finally got back to Grayling, he crawled up onto the couch with his B…
Earlier, between rain showers, daddy and Owen attempted bubbles (this also averted a meltdown, of which I can’t even remember the problem).
And Grandma with Katie…
Smart kid, indeed.
Me: Owen, you’re a smart kid.
Owen: Yes, I’m a smart kid!
Front seat rider!
We only had to travel about two miles down back roads so we were going to let Owen sit in the front seat. He has never even sat in the front seat alone (even just parked in the driveway). He was GIDDY with excitement, which you can sort of see here.
And here, he’s pointing to everything on the center console saying “Check! Check! Check!” 🙂
We never did end up driving with him in the front seat… But the scary part? Look at how perfectly he fits? The seatbelt is in the correct spot!!!
Snow = clapping
Grandma said it was 38 degrees. I said it might snow. Owen claps his hands excitedly (SO not my kid!) and sticks his tongue out (as if he was catching a snowflake in his tongue) and says “Like this?” 🙂
Game Day at Grandma’s!
We spent the day at Grandma Marsha’s place, and it just happened to be MSU game day! We all had our jerserys—and the boys played football and hot potato! I love Owen’s guffaw.
I caught Owen catching the football!
And I got to take a little nap with Maggie…
Happy (belated) birthday, Grannie Lin!
Oops! We were a day late…and we felt bad because we had actually been with Grannie on her birthday…but it was a busy morning as that’s when we were packing up to head back to Grayling.
Feeding the fish!
Tom and Grandma Marsha took Owen to the fish hatchery—and he seemed to enjoy it a little more than he did last year.
Playing on Gramma Jean
Be careful when you lay on the floor with a little boy around…
Beginning and end of day.
Getting ready to leave Papa and Grannie’s house, squatting by papa’s hand print and Owen’s name. (Be sure to ask them the story if you ever see them!)
Cuddling with daddy after the long drive back to Gramma Jean’s house…
Under the table
I’m not sure why he likes playing under things like this…but he often does it at home, too. And he ALWAYS hides under the bed when playing hide-and-seek.
Captain America!
So when we were passing through Troy on the way to Grayling, we stopped at Costco for some formula (we hadn’t brought enough). Along the path to the formula, I saw the same Halloween costumes like we had in North Carolina, except they had a bigger selection…so I grabbed a Captain America for Owen. We didn’t show it to him right away, but saved it as a “poop reward” in case we needed the leverage.
Well, we brought it to the U.P. with us and he saw it. My dad saw it, too, and REALLY wanted Owen to wear it. Except…I had already deemed it a poop reward and things in that area were NOT. GOING. WELL. so it was seeming fairly unlikely that he was going to earn the costume while we were there (we have cleaned more than our fair share of poopy underwear in the few days we’ve been here). And Tom and I DO NOT go back on our word with Owen, so he HAD to poop in the potty to get it. I think my dad was more heartbroken than Owen was. 🙂
Well, long story short, he had a tiny poop that made it in the toilet (though, honestly, I think it might have been stuck between his cheeks and it just FELL into the toilet) but I really wanted to get Owen excited about pooping—and let my dad see Owen in the costume—so I counted it! Owen was GIDDY with excitement about the costume, and of course he had to put it on and parade around in it for everyone (he loves an audience).
And then with papa’s swim goggles (which came home with us—thanks, papa!)
Lots of family photos!
Grannie Lin with the kids
Papa with the kids
I wanted to get all our blue eyes in a photo, but I settled for three of them. 🙂 I’m really happy we all have my dad’s eyes. ♥
Linda’s mom and dad, aunt and uncle, and a family friend all came over for dinner tonight. They all LOVED holding Katie and all threatened to steal her. 🙂
