Katie’s new stroller
We got Katie a doll stroller for her birthday…and this is what we found this morning. 🙂
Elmo with Grauntie Marge
Back to the city park
We couldn’t stay as long as we’d planned last night after Dairy Queen, so we took the kids back today. Of course, Katie was THRILLED to be swinging: “Look Owee! I’m swinging!”
Owen was playing Frozen with two older girls until they left…then he looked bummed and I asked what was wrong. “I need the two girls to be my archers!” Here, he’s “just resting.” 🙂
It took some convincing, but we got him up there.
Then of course Katie wanted up as well.
Owenisms 49
Owen: Mama, I want to go to the new house.
A minute goes by.
Owen: Mama, I want to play with my toys.
A minute goes by.
Owen: Mama, I really want to go to school.
Owen had plumbers crack while building Legos. Tom went and tickled him. Owen jumped.
Owen: HEY!!! STOOOOP!
Tom: I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it.
Owen: WELL HELP IT!
Me: Owen, what do you want for breakfast? A sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit?
Owen: Yes, and an oval chicken thing.
Me: Huh? Oh, that’s a hash brown. It’s potato, not chicken.
Owen: Yes!
Gramma Jean was putting Owen to bed and they were talking.
Owen: Tomorrow is going to be a big day.
GJ: What’s going on?
Owen: Don’t say the F word…
GJ wonders why he’s talking about the F word.
Owen: FIREWORKS!
Me: Owen, would you like gramma to do your hair?
Owen: No! I’m not a baby girl!
Going with Gramma to a neighbor/friends house.
Owen: I’m going to be bashful here.
And then proceeded to talk the whole time.
There was a beeping noise in the bedroom and Tom turned it off.
Owen: Thank you for solving the problem.
Owen was showing someone his new water gun.
Friend: That can hold a lot of water.
Owen: Yes!
Friend: You could really get your dad wet with that!
Owen: If he has his suit on!
Tom: Owen, do you want to wear your sunglasses?
Owen: Yes, I want to look fancy.
Guys Gone Shootin’
I forgot to post this on the 15th.
David, Tom, Rob, and Papa went shooting today before Katie’s party. Tom wanted to test out his new gun, David is always game to go, Rob was eager to join, and my dad thought it sounded good, too! I wasn’t going so I made sure Tom took a few pictures! 🙂
Tom’s target:
DQ Kids
Meeting Papa and Grannie at DQ…
Teaching Katie about mirrors.
Katie had just gotten up from her nap and was cuddling with Grannie Lin while Gramma Jean curled her hair. She was very intrigued by the mirror—especially when she realized she could see Papa and Owen behind her if the mirror was put in a certain place.
Papa + the iPad, matching outfits, a ball, and Star Wars
Owen showing Papa ABCMouse on the iPad.
The boys in matching outfits courtesy of Grannie Lin. 🙂
Kicking the ball around.
Showing Papa his Lego Star Wars book. Owen saw me with the camera and immediately gave me a good smile. I love that he’s somewhat trained. 🙂
Then we had to have Papa look up for a good picture, too!
Outside with Grannie Lin
Matching Girls
Grannie Lin showed up in the same basic outfit as Katie—so of course we had to get a picture!
Trying to get her cute new outfit
It took awhile to get her to sit pretty so I could get a picture of her cute new bumblebee outfit from Gramma Jean.
Hair, Story, Pouting, and Sewing
Gramma was reading a Finding Nemo book and Katie kept saying “Nemo!” and “Just keep swimming!” You think we’ve watched that movie a few times?
Katie’s pool and pizza birthday party.
Unfortunately, Gramma Jean was sick so she didn’t make it to the party—and we didn’t get a group picture—but Grandpa David, Grauntie Marge, Grandma Marsha, Uncle Rob, Grannie Lin, and Papa were all there! Even our dear friend Paul stopped by!
He bonked his nose diving in the shallow water.
Katie was having a blast splashing EVERYONE. We kept trying to redirect her to splash Owen but she kept coming back to us.
Tom turned the water on and she stuck her foot right in!
She has no fear—she jumped right into Tom’s arms!
She loved daddy pushing her around the pool!
Owen was not comfortable in the big pool and stuck to the steps and the side of the pool. He would NOT go out any farther, even though we showed him it wasn’t any deeper AND Grannie promised to hold him tight. Eventually, after maybe 30 minutes, he FINALLY let go…and of course had fun racing with daddy and Katie!
And then it was time for the party! Grannie Lin and Papa bought all the plates/decorations, the cake and cupcakes, and the pizza—and brought Burger King crowns for both kids!
Grandpa David would put a cheeze ball on Tom’s beer and Katie would eat it off. We did this a handful of times.
Papa and Grannie had bought this scooter for Owen for his birthday but then they weren’t able to come visit…so they brought it now, but he’s just a bit over the recommended weight limit so it went to Katie instead. You can see she liked being pushed on it. 🙂
But then we let Owen try it, just to see if he’d like it and would maybe want a bigger scooter for himself. He did like it, and Katie took to running in front of him saying “WATCH OUT! WATCH OUT!” to clear his path. 🙂
Then it was back to the house where it wasn’t long before the kids were ready to crash. A good day!
Superhero Owen
Grauntie Marge got Owen a superhero cape and mask (that also come with a book) for our belated Len Christmas and he wanted to wear it this morning!
A Wet Day in Kalkaska
We took the kids to the Kalkaska Kaliseum for open swim. Owen was there last year (and I wasn’t) so this year we ALL went. 🙂 Grandma Marsha came to watch and Uncle Rob came with us in the afternoon (as did Papa and Grannie, who happened to be in Kalkaska meeting people for dinner).
Katie had no fear of the water and kept wanting to go into the 3′ deep section (which is, of course, over her head). She’d hang on to the edge or bounce up and down to keep her head above water. Or Tom would hold her and she’d do this. 🙂
Owen likes to float (he’s about two inches above the bottom here).
Back to Grandma Marsha’s for lunch…and a nap before the next open swim time.
Grannie and Papa were arriving and the kids were excited to see them!
Len Christmas in July
The family decided to have Christmas in July this year and the Besons hosted. It was a GORGEOUS Michigan summer day on the river spent with our AMAZING family! Timmy supplied about 32 different types of brats (okay, maybe only about 12) and we stuffed ourselves silly on them plus all the other good food everyone brought. A good time was had by all and I think we may officially be moving our holiday celebration to the summer from now on!
Owen was a bit shy at first, so he and Katie were both in Nick’s room playing by themselves.
Katie loved the boat. LOVED. LOVED!! She would have sat out there all day if we let her and kept wanting to go back.
Finally Owen wanted to play!
Owen is six months younger than Aubrey. I know, right?
Cousins Katie 2, Owen 5, Aubrey 6, Gracie 8, Nick 10, Alex 12, and Jess 15. We never actually got Owen back-to-back with Nick, but I think they were within a fraction of an inch of each other (with a five-year age difference). And Katie seems to be pretty close to Aubrey, who is four years older. I guess we really DO grow them big. 🙂
Last year:
Lisa B. made these AWESOME ladybug cupcakes for Katie’s birthday.
And these for Greg’s birthday. (I missed a pic of the ones for Aubrey’s birthday, but they were Frozen-themed.)
We did pretty good keeping track of Katie all day (when there’s so many people around, there’s always someone half watching) and then we failed right at the end. People were running around cleaning up and putting things away…and before I know it, Tom is carrying Katie back from the front yard. Apparently Katie was wandering down the driveway and Greg caught her and brought her back. Phew.
And before we knew it, it was time to head out. Katie didn’t make it to the end of the road before she fell asleep, and Owen lasted about 15 minutes.
Games with Papa
Pool and playset time at the hotel!l!
Papa and Grannie are staying at the Ramada so we took the kids over to play today!
And then it was time for the playset! She has NO fear—she climbed right up! She was a little wobbly and didn’t make it all the way to the top before daddy rushed in. 🙂
And someone was NOT tired and did NOT want to take a rest. We MADE him lay down…and this happened.
iPad fun and trying to take a picture!
Trying to take a picture. 🙂
Wrapped in B
Slip & Slide & Corn & Fish
We bought the kids a $6 Slip & Slide and finally got it out today. The water from the hose here is COLD so it took a bit for Owen to actually get into it and get wet. And Gramma was peeling corn for dinner and Katie wanted some so she was wandering around eating raw corn on the cob and LOVING it. 🙂
Daddy cooked Owen’s fish and Owen even tried a bite! He was SO proud of his fish!!
Fish hatchery and fishing!
We wanted to introduce Katie to the fish hatchery—and I wanted to see Owen enjoy it (since I didn’t go last year when Tom and Marsha took him)…so our big group came in and asked if we could all get in on the free family admission coupon my mom had…and the guy joked that we were a circus and I said YOU HAVE NO IDEA. 🙂 He let us all in for free, so we bought five bags of food and planned to take Owen fishing…
Katie was fascinated and REALLY wanted to go in the water—so someone had to keep a hand on her most of the time. Owen had fun, too, but couldn’t wait to go fishing!
Owen loved fishing—but who wouldn’t, when it only takes a matter of seconds to catch one! We let him catch five (you pay by the inch) and he had fun with each one!
Katie thought she wanted to see the fish…until she saw them and then that was it.
Owen thought he wanted to hold one…until Tom held one out. 🙂
The family—and Owen with his catch!
Katie’s first painted toes!
I was painting my toenails so decided to do Katie’s, too, while she was sitting with Gramma getting her hair in pig tails. She sat fairly still (except the very first toe I did, where she jerked as soon as I touched her). Afterwards, she was VERY enthralled with it. 🙂
Katie went bump in the night.
So the kids were in bed, David was in the bedroom, and mom, Tom, and I were just sitting in the living room visiting and whatnot…when we heard a loud CRASH BOOM BANG. Mom thought David had fallen—but then we heard crying. Oh no! Katie had fallen out of bed!! (She did just fine the first night and during her nap, but she obviously was more of a wiggle worm tonight. We hadn’t taken any precautions because, well, we forgot, and because she HAD already done just fine.)
Tom sprinted down the hall and came out carrying a whimpering Katie. He said he found her laying on the floor with her legs against the closet. We figured she must have gone over the edge head first, flipping over so her legs hit the closet (which would account for the thuds and bangs we heard). Poor Katie. While Tom was comforting her, I was putting rolled up blankets in her bed (under the sheets) as bumpers and then he stayed in there with her for a good half hour. Other than being scared, she was no worse for the wear…thankfully.
Owen’s first fireworks!
We have been wanting to try some low-key fireworks with Owen for awhile now and just haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve had sparklers for a year now—planning on using them on July 4th or after a party or something—but again, we just never got around to it. Until now.
We went to the local fireworks outlet and asked for the kiddie section and they were having a B1G1 free sale so we ended up with a bunch of little stuff.
And Owen LOVED it. LOVED IT. And everyone loved watching him! We only used half of the stuff tonight so we have one more night’s worth coming up. (And when I say a night’s worth, I mean about 10-15 minutes max, which includes sparkler time.) We made sure Katie was in bed so we could concentrate fully on Owen and not have to worry about Katie… She’ll be out for the second night.
The lady said the ones we got would go “telephone pole height” at most. She was right. 🙂
And I found my pooping dog! I had seen it on Facebook and loved it—and thought the kids would, too. I was thrilled they had it at the store! (And yes, Owen LOVED it.)
Happy 2nd Birthday, Katie—Part 2
We had planned to have Katie’s birthday party at the hotel like we did last year, but as it turned out, we could have had the party today since everyone was at the house! We will still have the pizza/pool party, but Gramma Jean still made a cake to celebrate her actual birthday!
This is the look we got after I stopped her from picking a chocolate chip off the cake before we all sat down.
Stripped down because she was covered in chocolate!
Fun in Gramma’s Back Yard
Potty break when dripping wet = going in the woods!
Excited to see Papa!
When we hit home from the movie, Papa and Grannie were waiting. Papa met us outside and Owen was super excited!
We helped save the Rialto!
We donated to the Restore the Rialto Kickstarter campaign and used our two free tickets today to take Owen to see How to Train Your Dragon 2.
The first thing Owen said when he sat down is “Where do I set my drink?” Spoiled kid, used to newfangled seats with attached cup holders. 🙂
