One of Owen’s books has photo booth strips on the back cover and tonight we talked about what that was. I have an app for that, so he got to see how they were taken!
Category Archives: Owen
Mom, I’m Indiana Jones.
Another surprise mystery trip!
Much closer to home this time—the elementary school just down the road. 🙂
Katie’s first slides! I missed her very first one but she kept coming back (though not one right after the other). A few times I thought she’d go down frontward but always flipped over.
She also really liked swinging with me. She’d say “Wheee!” And would swing back and forth a few times then want down. She’d wander off then come back and put her arms up. 🙂
On the way home.
Owen: Mom, that was AWESOME! Thank you so much for taking me to the playground!
🙂
Her favorite seat
This always happens.
I called Owen over to sit with me to take a picture…
And Katie has to get involved—climbing up in my lap with Owen. 🙂
Owen’s cute new ‘do!
He was getting a bit scraggly so it was off for a haircut today. He said he wanted it short like daddy’s but we didn’t go quite that far. I wish I’d thought to do it before school pics last week.
No during photos because I forgot my phone…but he’s amazing now. No complaints, no whining, nothing. I even had to leave for a minute to take Katie out for a diaper change! He even told the lady about his toe!
Belly fun!
When Gramma and Grandpa leave…
Before Gramma and Grandpa left.
Owen: I like when people leave.
Me: Why?
Owen: Because you stay here. 🙂
Not 30 seconds after we wave goodbye.
Owen: [Crying] I miss them and want them to stay here. I worry about them. 🙁
Me: It’s okay, I miss them, too.
Owenisms 29
On the way home from school one day, Owen was telling me about how Joshua went to the doctor and got a shot in his finger (not sure if it was a finger prick or an actual shot) and he kept jumping around to different stories about the day.
Owen: Mama, I’m not done with Josh’s story yet—it has more words.
While Skyping with daddy.
Me: Tell daddy who won the two games today.
Owen: Owen and Owen!
Driving home after school one day he started naming school buses.
Owen: That one’s Holly!
Me: Like Holly from your class?
Owen: YES! All the yellow ones are Holly.
Me: They’re all yellow.
Owen: No, some are blue. Those are named Jazzlyn.
After Katie throws stuff off her high chair tray.
Me: No no Miss Katie.
Owen: That’s not good.
Playing Candyland
One last game of Candyland with Gramma before they leave tomorrow!
Owen tried FIVE new foods today!
I’m thrilled when he tries one new food. Amazed when he tries two in a day. Three is rare. Four is unheard of.
Today he tried five. FIVE!
- Grits with ham and cheese (had two bites!)
- Craisin and white chocolate scone (didn’t like)
- Ham and string cheese wrap (loved!)
- Lemonade (didn’t like)
- Hush puppy (said he liked but didn’t finish a second one)
GO, OWEN!
Birthday Bowling + A Toe Tragedy
Today we had a birthday party at a bowling alley for one of Owen’s classmates.
He had great fun using up his allotted tokens:
And I played one game for him and won over 100 tickets! He liked feeding them into the counting machine! (I thought we were done at this point which is why I turned them in so early. By the time the day was done, I had three redemption slips!)
Then it was time for pizza, cake, and opening presents. Overall it wasn’t too bad, but the party room was SUPER tiny for all the kids and let me just ask: If you were having a birthday party at a bowling alley on a limited time schedule with little kids with a short attention span, why on earth would you bring ALL your personal presents (at least 10-12)? Bring maybe 2-3 from mom and dad (if any at all) and open the rest at home. But anyway.
Owen was really very patient, and finally it was time for bowling. He wasn’t thrilled with the shoes but I told him he had to wear them. The first few frames went pretty well (they had the bumpers up) but honestly, trying to corral ten or so ~5-year-olds into bowling is like trying to herd cats. Kids running here, running there, between lanes, down the lanes while others are bowling, not waiting their turns, wanting to punch all the buttons on the display… And the noise level? Eeesh. Owen started complaining that the shoes hurt his feet and even though they felt fine, I let him take them off. I bowled in socks as a kid and so could he.
Here was his first go at it!
Then they brought out the helper stands—which made a HUGE difference in the success of each turn.
So it was only Owen and another kid on the last lane. This kid seemed to be a little older and a little bit of a brat—and I have NO idea who his mother was/parents were because no one was ever once close to him the whole time I was there. Well, in about frame six, this kid grabs a ball off the ball return and I guess was trying to be nice and bring Owen a ball for his turn… And just as I’m realizing this could go horribly wrong…yep, bowling ball to the toe. Screaming, wailing, tears, and a little boy sobbing in my lap.
A few moms and kids came over to see if he was okay (he was, he just had to cry a bit and settle down) and one offered to get some ice (oh, yeah, that would be good—I was so concerned with calming him down I had completely zoned on getting ice). Anyway, that was the end of the fun and he just kept saying he wanted to go home. I said we could but we had to leave the ice on for a bit first. The other kid never apologized (I’m sure he didn’t think anything of it) and whoever was there with him never came over (I recognized the few moms that did come over) so that was kind of annoying.
We did have to stop and redeem his tickets on the way out. He had picked out what he wanted earlier and of course they were out of that item. But the guy said we could pick ANYTHING in the case! (I mean it’s all cheap crap, but Owen was excited!) So he picked handcuffs! 🙂 Then it was a slow hobble to the car (I obviously can’t carry him) and he really was a trooper for as painful as I know it was. On the way home I tried to get his mind off it it and had him smiling and laughing. And since he can take pills now, I stopped at Walgreens to get some children’s Advil.
Of course he couldn’t wait to get home to tell Gramma and Grandpa about it and show them. We asked him if he knew the kid and he said no, but he always drops the bowling ball on his foot. 🙂
Grandparents and Grandkids
About 15 shots and not one with everyone looking at the camera with their eyes open…so these are the two best ones. 🙂
Of course, I took two quick shots with mom’s camera and got a better one!
Sibling Play
Caught by Gramma Jean!
Pig in the Mud
This was farm week at school.
First School Picture Day!
I can’t wait to see how his first professional pictures turn out…even though he’s used to being photographed, I tried to coach him on smiling nice for the photographer since he won’t take 40 shots like I do. I hope the photog had better luck than I did this morning. We’ll find out in 2-3 weeks.
Surprise mystery trip to the beach!
Gramma Jean wanted to go to the ocean and take the kids, so we picked Owen up from school and headed out! I knew Owen hadn’t eaten much lunch (the menu for the day was mostly stuff he wouldn’t eat) so he ate turkey rolls and cheese on the way. We were going to the beach on base since we were already part of the way there from picking Owen up. So, it occurred to me to call the commissary and find out if they had fresh lobsters (the last time mom was here and we wanted them, no place had them). And they did! So we stopped off there first—and what should have been a 10 minute or less stop turned into at least a half hour since no one was in the meat department to help me, no one was answering the buzzer, the sushi guy went off to find him, and then it still took a good 10 minutes for him to come back, then he had to catch the wily critters. Then the traffic was pretty bad (even though we were going the opposite direction)…so we finally got to the beach about 4:00 (we picked Owen up at 2:30!). GRRR.
But all was well because Owen was very excited:
Owen: Where’s my suit? Can I get my suit on?!
Me: I didn’t bring your suit. It’s too cold to swim—but you can get wet because I brought a change of clothes.
Owen: OKAY!
Off and running! No looking back!
Okay, maybe a little looking back. 🙂
The weather and water were actually pretty nice for it being November—both were warmer than we had in Myrtle Beach in March!
Katie had NO fear of the water and went right for it. Unfortunately…the ocean got the better of her…a few times. She just lost her footing and was rolling around in the water and then would get up and fall over again. The water wasn’t deep and she wasn’t in any danger and never once made a peep! Mom and I were both recording her, but mom’s video is better:
So, we weren’t at the beach for more than five minutes before she was completely soaked. 🙂
She loved grabbing handsful of sand and carrying them around and giving them to grandma!
We were only there about a half hour before we needed to call it quits—damn time change has it getting dark at 4:30 plus the kids were both wet and sandy.
Unfortunately, we then had a looooooooong ride home in after-work base traffic so we all got to experience what Tom goes through every day. One hour and 15 minutes to drive 26 miles (but really one hour to drive 15 miles because the last 15 minutes was smooth sailing).
But both kids had a great time and before we even got home Owen was asking to go back!
First Sibling Bath
A week or so ago, Owen asked to take a bath with Katie. She’s old enough now to sit up herself without me having to constantly monitor her, so I agreed…but I did want to wait until Gramma Jean was around to help just in case. 🙂
“Katie! It’s time for your bath!” Just like Owen, she heads right up the stairs!
Cute jams!
Owen is 4 years 9 months old today!
/hangs head in shame
I actually forgot again on the day—this time with Owen. 🙁 I thought I had fixed my screwed up calendar, but I had forgotten to add alarms… Hoo boy. So technically Owen is 4 years 9 months 2 days. 😐
Me, too! Me, too!
I asked Owen to go sit on the couch so I could take his monthly picture…and before I could get the camera turned on, Katie was climbing up next to him. 🙂
Gramma Jean asked Katie “Where is Owen?” and she was pointing to him. 🙂
Fun with the chiropractor’s toys
Owen had a so much fun with the toys at the chiropractor today that he didn’t want to leave. This is what he had set up—matching (colors) bad guys for each plane lying in wait of the tiger.
Mama is it okay?
Owen: Mama, is it okay to go outside and play?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Cool. Is it okay to wear my Crocs?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Cool. Mama, is it okay to take Gramma Jean outside?
Me: Laughing. Well I think you need to ask her.
Grandpa: Just wait until we get her harness. 🙂
Playing guns with Gramma:
Gramma put a pair of Katie’s old socks on her hands—and she loved it!
Sibling love.
Playing ball with Owen
Gramma wanted to see just how good Owen really was at hitting the ball. She was impressed!
Owen could even hit the balls like this!
Waiting. Finally.
He started asking me about 6:30am if he could wait on the porch for Gramma Jean… I had them call from five minutes down the road so he could go out.
Why is Gramma Jean coming?
Owen: Why is Gramma Jean coming?
Me: Why is she? I told you. [I had a conversation with him today about how they were coming for a vacation.]
Owen: She’s coming to have fun with me!
🙂
Today he wanted a green bath.
Yes, I’ve created a monster. 🙂 I have warned him he won’t be having a colored bath every time…
Putting toys away by song
This is what they sing at school. 🙂
Baseball Day 8: The End of the Season
After raining all night, the field was pretty much underwater so the game was held indoors at the rec center gymnasium.
They wanted the kids to sign eight baseballs as gifts… Owen did one and was done. 🙂
We had a special guest in attendance today —Reggie Sanders of the World Series Champions Arizona Diamondbacks (2001). (Of course not being a sports person, I had absolutely zero idea who he was, but everyone seemed excited and I know it was a big deal.) He started the Reggie Sanders Foundation in 1992; his younger brother was diagnosed with autism.
He would help some of the really little kids bat and handed Owen his bat.
Getting his gold medal, autograph, and signed baseball:
Then enjoying pizza and cake!
There was also press there from the local paper. I know they took a picture of Katie and they asked for her name (and our information) so who knows if her picture will be included or not.
I was amazed at how fast the eight weeks went by. At the start, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to do it and eight weeks seemed like FOREVER…but before we knew it it was over. The best part, of course, is how much Owen enjoyed it!!
Noodle Fun
Then Owen wanted me to take a picture of him since I was taking one of Katie. 🙂
Owen wanted to go for a walk…
So off we went. He put on his new fast shoes so he could run…but then didn’t do too much running because he said his legs hurt. I asked where and he pointed to his shins. I’m wondering if he’s having growing pains…? I think I was a bit older, but I remember my legs hurting and my parents telling me my bones were growing… So I told him his bones are probably growing. Of course he asked why and I told him that’s how he gets taller. Ohhhhh! I told him not everyone can feel their bones grow so he’s special…just like mama. 🙂
Then he wanted to push Katie. Needless to say we had to wait until we were back on our less-travelled street because he cannot manage anything resembling a straight line. Of course he’s hamming it up doing circles in the video, but it’s not too far off. Then he even had to stop to put oil on the wheels (using his sunglasses that he found in the stroller pocket). Unfortunately I didn’t get that in the video.
