Keeping us Smiling

Conversations with a 2 year old:

Driving down the road, in a silent car...
O: Owen like....dinosaurs!
(Where did that come from??)
Me: Dinosaurs? Where do you play with dinosaurs?
O: Um... Bloom School!
(I always wondered what he thought about back in the carseat. Apparently it's dinosaurs.)

Me: Owen, did you play outside at school today?
O: Um... yeah. Owen play OUTside.
Me: What did you do outside?
O: Watering can.
Me: Oh, what did you do with the watering can?
O: Water plants... strawberries!
(I am THRILLED that Owen was able to carry on this long of a conversation in the car, remembering a activity from the day. I can't wait to hear more about his days... in his own words.)

Me: Here's your milk Owen.
O: Sank you Mommy.
Me: You're welcome.
O: I welcome. I WEL-COME!

Apparently Owen entertained daycare last week by telling everyone "Mommy not in garbage can; Daddy not in garbage can."

One of my favorite moments of the weekend: While out to dinner, Owen decides to climb down from the table...
Me: Where are you going Owen?
(pause)
O: Um... Vacation.


We also witnessed a small miracle at dinner tonight. Owen ate corn on the cob, pasta, and 5-6 bites of grilled salmon!! To understand the magnitude of this accomplishment, you have to compare to last night's dinner of...apple sauce; or last week's lunch of... 1/2 a peach; or his favorite lunch lately...absolutely nothing. As I explained to the doctor last week, it's not that he's a picky eater, it's that he just. does. not. eat. Thankfully, the doctor was emphatic that we have nothing to worry about and he's happy with Owen holding steady at 24.5 pounds (10th percentile). I think the lack of eating is especially frustrating for me because I really enjoy cooking and it wears on me to have meal after meal after meal rejected day in and day out. I remind myself not to take it personally, and try to remember that in 10 years, this kid will be hoovering calories faster than I can stock the fridge. Though I have to admit that as Owen ate bite after bite of salmon (that I marinated and Scott grilled beautifully), I turned to Scott and said, "That just warms my heart."

It's amazing the little things that will bring great joy after you become a parent. =)

The Big 2

My baby is TWO! It's amazing how much faster the second year has gone compared to the first, and yet I think Owen has grown and changed just as much in the last 12 months. The second year seems to be more about emotional and intellectual growth, compared to the physical accomplishments of that first year. Of course, as we officially enter the "terrible twos" part of me is longing a little bit for that one year old that was too busy learning how to walk to take time to protest every activity, article of clothing, and food that comes up throughout the day!

I could write a whole post about Owen's (lack of) eating habits, but I think I'll save that until after we get his stats from the doctor. Right now, here are the best parts about having a two year old that can express how he feels:

- Hugs and calls of "night, night Mom!" as Scott takes him upstairs for a bath before bed.

- Expressions of pride when things are going well - after a particularly big jump off the sofa, he yells "Good Job Owen!" and looks around to see if we're watching.

- Calls of "Bless you mom" from the back seat of the car when I sneeze.

- OCCASSIONAL use of please and thank you.

- Recalling of stories about recent events. Of course, Owen is a typical boy, so most of the stories have to do with injuries or recent tumbles. "Owen ouchie forthead, Kaden ouchie nose - fall down stairs" has been a favorite since the birthday party incident.

- "I love you Mom." (It's only happened twice unprompted, but those tears really well up fast when those words come from such a little guy.)

- Real excitement about things we're planning to do. When I told Owen we were going on a field trip last Friday, he actually perked up and gasped with joy.

We also got to see this in full force with the birthday presents. We opened presents with all four grandparents the night before Owen's actual birthday. He was so excited and wanted to immediately play with every single item. Can you blame him?

Games and craft supplies from Nana and Papa Boettcher:

A bike helmet and soccer goal from Grandma and Grandpa Maxwell:

Finally, Scott and I got to reveal the present we've been reluctantly hiding in the garage... an orange Strider bike! Hopefully both Owen and baby #2 will get lots of years of use out of this pedal-less bike (and not too many broken bones!) before the real bikes start crusing the cul-de-sac.

There's just something about a boy and his first bike, isn't there...

Cute Note: We had a birthday party for Owen's friend Will last week and have been talking about Owen's birthday since that time. On the morning of Owen's actual birthday, he woke up at 6:15 and we could hear him on the monitor chatting to himself: "Happy Burfday, Happy Burfday Owen, Owen Happy Burfday." He went to bed that night and woke up the next morning with the same discussion.

4th of July

Bend has a great 4th of July tradition of the Pet Parade. Anyone can participate with any animal (except cats and rabbits that provoke the hunting dogs!). We learned last year that the parade has been happening since the 1930s. For our family, the parade has been happening since 2007, when we were one day away from meeting baby Owen.

Our dog doesn't make the cut, so Grandma and Grandpa joined us as spectators. This year, the weather was again hot, hot hot, so the parade (of 1000+ dogs, a handful of horses, and a slew of stuffed animals) moved really quickly and we were off the pavement and on to the family festival in the park.

We met up with Nana and Papa to lounge in the grass and watch the silly games - sack races, three-legged race, balloon toss, etc. Bend may not be little anymore, but the community really embraces stuff like this that celebrates our small town heritage. I love it! Happy Birthday USA!

We also had a BBQ with all the grandparents and stood at the edge of our cul-de-sac to watch the fireworks off the Butte. It was a great holiday weekend.

Happy Birthday Owen

We celebrated Owen's 2nd birthday on Sunday with what turned out to be a pretty big party with all his playgroup and daycare friends. I thought most people would be out of town for the holiday weekend, but we ended up with 9 toddlers, all their parents, and 4 grandparents at our afternoon celebration.

Kaden and Braedon from daycare showed up first and gathered with Owen to watch Hudson sprint around the yard. It was a picture perfect moment until our gate turned into a "stair surfer" and all three tumbled down the stairs. Screaming and bloody noses welcomed the rest of our guests. Oops.

I took notes from Colleen and had the kids start off by decorating t-shirts. "Fabric Dye Sticks" work just like crayons, but this may have been a bit more interesting for kids a year or two older. At least parents had fun...

These kids were much more excited about spending time in the kiddie pool.
Which gave all of us a good excuse to sit around and relax with a cold beverage on a 95 degree day.
All the kiddos LOVED the pool, except for this guy that realized that the other kids were playing with "My Bucket! My shovel! My pool!"
Parents enjoyed pizza and more cold beverages while the kids wandered circles around the table picking their favorite fruits and snacks off all the other plates. As predicted, Owen S (the one pointing) was the last one at the table hoovering up the leftovers.

And it wouldn't be a party without the cupcakes. In this case berry cupcakes with "add your own" decorations. A wonderfully messy hit - thank goodness for a summer birthday where you can do this stuff outside.

Owen shared a cupcake moment with his lady friends - Piper, Hazel, and Lily.

After all the others had taken off for more playtime, Owen and Hazel stuck it out for a "dessert date" of sprinkles, sprinkles, and more sprinkles.
And finally just one die hard birthday boy stood alone...

Happy Birthday Owen!

P.S. I really think a toddler party should only be undertaken with awesome grandparent help. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa and Nana and Papa! They prepped food, blew up balloons, took all the pictures, served drinks, and had the party cleaned up before we came back inside from saying good-bye to our guests. That's a GREAT party!