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Swinging at Grandma & Boppa's

Update on the "Mommy" situation: The day I posted MOMMY!, it was basically a fluke. He did not say it again for a while, but he is really starting to catch on now, though he doesn't say "Mommy" he says "Mama". He still will point to my chest a lot when he says it, but he will say it other times too. One reason I know he is catching on is that when he finds something that is mine, like my phone, he says, "Mama!" He does this with Ryan's stuff (only says "Daddy", of course) and when we are at my parents house and he finds the remote, he says, "Boppa!" and takes it to my dad. So the Mama thing is really coming along!

He's also adding a few more words. In the last week or so he's added "uh-oh", "buh-bye" and "buh-bo" (bubble). Sometimes it's hard to know what he's saying because "bah", "buh-bo", and "buh-bye" (ball, bubble and bye-bye) all sound very similar, especially when he says "bah-bah". Does that mean "ball, ball," or "bye-bye" or "bubble"? Or sometimes it even sounds like he could be saying "Boppa" (my dad). But most of the time you can tell what he means just by what he is doing or what's going on around him. Like in this cute video:



I think it's pretty safe to say he is saying "bubble"!
Right at the end, after he says "buh-bo" a couple of times, he starts to throw a fit because I put the wand back in the bubbles. He LOVES bubbles!

He also started making this "Oh my gosh!" face. I don't really know what else to call it, but his eyes get big and he drops his jaw, like, "Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!" Sometimes he does it just at random times, but it's even funnier when he does it at "appropriate" times. He's such a goof ball. I tried to get a picture, but haven't been able to yet.

A couple of facts about Owen:

*His favorite toy is any ball he can get his hands on, but I think bubbles are coming in at a close second.
*His favorite word lately has been "puppy". He says it ALL the time and likes to find pictures of them in his books so he can say it over and over and over again.
*He makes the sign for milk with both hands when he wants it. It's really cute.
*He loves shoes, and really likes his new Crocs because he can put them on by himself. He even managed to get one of his velcro tennis shoes on by himself the other day. On the correct foot and everything!
*He walks around with Ryan or my shoes on, too. It's pretty funny when he picks my high heels!
*His snack of choice on Easter was baby carrot sticks...plain.
*He loves watching videos of himself, especially the one where he is playing Peek a Boo.
*AND, he's the cutest, best little boy ever in the world. :)

Happy Easter!

For Easter this year, we celebrated down in Muscatine with Ryan's family. We went down on Saturday afternoon and had our "Adult Party" in Ryan's uncle's new basement bar that night. All the kids had crashed before we went over there, except Owen and his cousin Lexi, so they got some quality time together.

The weather has been pretty crappy the last week, but thankfully we got a fairly nice day on Sunday for the big Easter egg hunt.

Four of Owen's cousins were there as well (all of them are 5 and under), so the Easter egg hunt was a BIG deal. After grilling out for lunch, all the kids went upstairs to play in Hayden's room while we went out and "hid" over 100 plastic eggs. Most of the eggs we just scattered in the yard (which is huge), but there were a few that were a little more challenging to find.

When we were finished, all the kids had to come down and put on their shoes and jackets, and line up at the door to get their bags. Owen obviously had no idea what was going on, just kept waving and saying "Buh bye", thinking we were leaving. When we got outside, all the kids took off running, and since I hid a lot of the eggs, I knew where to take Owen. Once I pointed out the first egg to him and showed him to put it in the bag I was carrying, he knew what to do from there. It helped that he was calling the eggs 'balls' because he LOVES balls, so he wanted to pick up as many as he could find. Here are a few videos:



It probably would've been easier without the cracker in his hand, but he wouldn't give that up!









Owen had a blast running around outside again finally, and it's nice because most of their backyard is fenced in, so we didn't have to keep running after him all day. He found a couple of balls to occupy his time and the picture on the right is a "cheese" face.






After the egg hunt, the kids were a little tuckered out, so I pulled them around for awhile in the wagon. I told them all to look at me and say, "Cheese!", but this is what I got. Like I said, they were tuckered out.

Just Lexi said, "Cheese!"

 Owen got another ride, too!

By mid-afternoon, Owen was so tired, but he was a REALLY good boy all weekend. I knew we wouldn't get far in the car before Owen was sleeping, but I didn't know Daddy would join him!

Owen made out like a bandit this Easter, too. He got a t-ball set from my parents, a bubble-blowing lawn mower from Ryan's parents, a water ball and bubbles from his "Aunt" Megan and "Uncle" Chris, a stuffed tiger from Ryan's Grandma, a basket of goodies from my Grandma, and a basket of goodies from his daycare lady, Johnna. PLUS all the goodies that were in all the Easter eggs he found, which included $2! Oh yeah, and Ryan and I got him some Easter shoes: a pair of blue Crocs. They are SO cute! (You can kind of see them in the videos.)

HOPPY EASTER!!

MOMMY!

Owen is a smart little boy. He understands a LOT of what we say to him. He can point to noses, eyes, ears, toes, bellies and yes, his "weewee". He will get a diaper from his room when you ask. He will bend his elbow and hold his arm up so his hand is by his face face to ask, "Where?". He strings noises together that sounds like "waz-ziz-ih?" to ask (at least in my mind he is asking), "What is it?". He tries to say "balloon" but its too hard so he just make a "ll" sound. He has been saying "Daddy" (da-daddy), "light" (yigh), "Boppa" (my dad), and "puppy" for a while now, and just added "ball" (bah).

BUT HE JUST CAN'T GET DOWN THE CONCEPT OF "MOMMY"! I don't know what it is, he just doesn't get that I am Mommy. I talk in third person to him (which I don't know if that's good or bad), I say "Mommy" and point to myself to him all the time, but it just won't sink in. Lately, if someone asks, "Where's Mommy?" he will point to my chest at the bottom of my neck because that is where I point to on myself when I say, "Mommy". So we are getting closer.

The weird thing is, he does the same thing with my mom. He knows Boppa, no problem, but Grandma won't sink in. Even if we tell him to "Throw the ball to Grandma", he'll turn and throw it at my dad instead. Weird.


BUT TODAY, AFTER MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS, when I walked into his room today to get him up, he looked at me and said, "Mommy." What an awesome way to start my day!! I just hope it wasn't a fluke! I'm excited to pick him up from daycare to see if he will continue to call me "Mommy". I just loved hearing it.

Let the Pros Do the Work!

We finally went and got Owen's 1 year pictures done...only 2 months late! But hey, he's still only 1. :) Here are a few of my favorites.

And we also took a couple of  family pictures.

We didn't order all them, but we have a ton, so anyone who wants one, PLEASE let me know. We want to get rid of them!

Owen Loves....

....to dance!





....to ride his tractor!

It's really cute to watch him ride around on this. The best part: he can do it all on his own! I don't have to help him on, he walks around on his own, and knows how to turn it and back up. He also has learned to use it has a step stool, which is no good, because he gets into things he shouldn't, and it tips pretty easily. Little stinker!







....to ride his bike!


He ABSOLUTELY LOVES this bike but, unlike the tractor, he can't do it himself. It's hard to get onto and off of (he's taken many spills on it already), it's a little too tall for him to be able to walk with it, he can't steer it or pedal himself....YET! I expect all of that to come way too soon! But he loves to have Mommy or Daddy push him all around the house on it, laughing the whole time. He knows to put his hands on the handles and his feet on the peddles, though (even though he's not really doing either in the picture). 






....to take baths!

 His favorite part of the day is bath time. No matter what he is doing, when I ask, "Do you want to take a bath?", he will drop everything and run to the bathroom. When we get in there, I can't get the tub ready or his clothes off fast enough. Also, he is starting to get pretty good at helping me get his clothes off (which is not always a good thing), so I get his socks off over his heel and he will pull them off and throw them on the floor, and I pull his pants down over his butt and he will sit down on the floor and pull them the rest of the way off. It's really cute! When he's naked, he tries to climb in the tub himself, he has has accomplished one time when there was no water in there, but I don't let him climb in there himself. He goes head first.




....to give kisses, even if it's just a picture of Daddy!


Ryan was out of town for a week to go to Arizona, and Owen really missed him! He will give real people kisses too, but he's pretty stingy about them. It's awesome to get one, though!


....to play basketball!

Ryan got this Nerf basketball hoop for himself and hung it on the door, but the ball quickly turned into Owen's go-to toy, so we move the hoop to the stove. If he's cranky or getting into things he shouldn't, I distract him by asking, "Where's your ball?" He is a little smarty-pants, and I think he understands 90% of the things I say to him, maybe more. So anyway, then he looks around for it and if he doesn't see it he babbles something that sounds like, "Ayazah?" It's like Owen-speak for a cross between, "I don't know" and "Where is it?" He loves to throw the ball and put it in the hoop.

We are really starting to think Owen will be left handed, or maybe even ambidextrous. In the picture, he is using his right hand, but a lot of the time he throws and eats with his left. So who knows, but I think it would be cool if he was ambidextrous - that would be really useful for sports!


....to play in his tent!

He got this tent for Christmas from Grandma Angie and Grandpa Dan, and he loves going crazy in it. If he's cranky, this is one of my go-tos. I love it because it folds up flat and he loves to watch it pop open :)

(and being NAKED!)

....and remotes!

 He's learned the difference between phones and remotes. He knows to hold phones up to his ear and talk into them, and he know to point remotes at the TV and push buttons. Smarty pants!

Owen hates....

anything that makes him sit still, except for eating. But try to change his diaper (even if he hits the front of it to tell you it's poopy), change his clothes, put on his coat, or put him in the car seat? FORGET IT! He's just too busy and active for stuff like that! :) 


He's actually still pretty good about car rides, and he's an all around good, happy little guy, but he's strong, and puts up a good fight!

Merry Christmas!

Hey- I'm only a month behind!

This year - 1 year, 10 days old

First Christmas - 9 days old

Hands down, this Christmas was my favorite Christmas that I can remember, and it's all because of Owen. I was SO excited to see how he would react to all his presents and if he would open them on his own or not. Also, I am always excited to hang out with family and, of course, show of my handsome little man! This Christmas was very busy, and is the first one in a few years that we were able to get all of our Christmases done in one weekend.

Christmas with Ryan's side


On Christmas Eve, Ryan, Owen, and I packed up and headed down to Muscatine to celebrate with Ryan's side of the family. That night was just hanging out with his mom, stepdad, sister, nieces and uncle at his mom's. We had a blast. There was food, drinks, laughing and lots of DANCING! Owen has liked to dance for a while now, but it was always in short bursts and was mostly just bobbing his head around. That night was like a dance lesson for him. Now he shakes his whole body and stomps his feet and really gets into it. More about that later.

Owen with Dad at Grandma Angie's

We spent the night at his aunt and uncles house, and woke up bright and early on Christmas morning so they and their two kids could open presents. It was fun to watch them because their kids are 2 and 5 and really get into it. After that, we headed back to Ryan's mom's and opened presents. Owen got a pop-up tent, a bike, a toy, an activity table and some clothes, and Ryan and I both got Vikings jackets, and I got a bracelet. There might be things I'm forgetting, too!

Then it was time to head over to Ryan's Grandma's house, where all the family was gathering. Lots of food, drinks and laughing there, too! We opened presents in the early afternoon - Owen got a stocking cap, a little puppy that walks and swims (which it turns out, he's pretty terrified of!!) clothes, and I can't remember what else! Ryan and I each got a North Face sweater, and I also got a charm for my bracelet. After we got our loot, it was time to head to Elkader!

Christmas with my side


When we got to Elkader, it was time to eat, and then more presents! Ryan and I had to frantically do some AWFUL last minute wrapping with whatever wrapping paper we could find before we took our family picture.

Then it was on to open! My nephew Ian was given the job of handing out the presents, which he did an excellent job at! :) Owen (and everyone else!) got lots of great stuff: a cell phone (which he grabbed out of my hands as soon as I opened it), books (some in Spanish! Yay!) a barn with animals and a farmer, a See-n-Say, an activity table (number 2), and some stuff in his stocking. He wasn't into opening the presents by himself, or maybe I just didn't give him enough time, so I opened them for him. I'm sure next year I'll have to be holding him back! He was actually more into playing with stuff I got in my stocking than opening presents!

I got a new pea coat, scarf, and gloves, and Ryan got an array of Vikings stuff! He joked that since the Vikings weren't good this year, he should switch teams, but now he can't because he got A LOT of Vikings stuff for Christmas! 

The next day was Christmas at my Grandma's with extended family. As always, we had delicious food, played fun games, and then it was present time. Owen got a tractor with a farmer and animals that makes noise. He loves to push the noise buttons on it and throw the animals and farmer around. He spent most of the day playing with a balloon my grandma had left over from her birthday party.

All in all, we had a really good weekend with family. We got the pop-up tent out when we were at my parents' house, which took 5 people and about 20 minutes to try to figure out how to fold it back up, but we finally got it! We were pretty packed into our car on the way home - lots of new stuff, plus our luggage, our dogs and ourselves! It was nice to get back home and get most of Owen's presents out of their packages and set up. Now if we only had more room in our house!

Owen's First Birthday Party

Eager to open presents!

For Owen's birthday party, we met up with some family at the Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque. My parents came, as well as Ryan's mom, stepdad, sister, nieces, uncles, aunt and a few cousins. Needless to say, there were 6 kids 5 and under there, so thank goodness we picked the place for its water park! The water park is very kid friendly, and there is one slide that is completely dark and fast that was really fun for the adults. We took Owen swimming in a regular pool one time, and he's been in a couple of baby pools, but he was never a big fan. On the other hand, he LOVES to take baths, so we were curious to see how he would react to the baby pool. His first reaction: Still not a fan. The water in the baby pool was a little colder than I expected, and I think that is the problem for him, because I took him over to the hot tub (which I was thinking might be too hot, but it really wasn't) and he was fine in there. Eventually, we went back to the baby pool, and I set him down and walked away a little bit. He wasn't too happy, but I just kept backing away from him when he would try to walk to me, and eventually, he figured out that the pool is fun! He started walking around, splashing, and even crawled through the really shallow end. There were a couple of times that he fell while walking and dunked himself, which was a little scary to me, and I thought he would have a fit, but it didn't really seem to bother him very much. There was even a little kid slide that I took him down a few times, and he really liked that. I was very happy that he had a good time, and I think everyone else did too.

After the water park, it was time for some pizza and snacks, and then on to the presents! The little kids all gathered around, of course, but they were pretty good about not taking over the presents. Here are just a few pictures showing what he got:

A rocking chair with his name on it from Grandma Angie and Grandpa Dan,

The Night Before Christmas with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dan's voice recorded reading it,

blocks and Weeble Wobbles from Great-Grandma Nancy,

and a cell phone in the shape of a dump truck from Great-Grandma Kuehl (which was the winner for the night).

Plus, he got bath toys, pjs, a football shaped pillow with a sleeping bag inside, a new car seat, and I can't even remember what else. He got a lot of great stuff, though!

After presents, it was time for cake. He got his own small cake, and instead of a candle on top, there was a Frosty the Snowman topper that plays music. He was a little hesitant about the cake at first, but eventually, he started in on it. I thought he'd get a lot messier than he did. 

 

Everyone else enjoyed a football cupcake-cake (a cake made from a bunch of cupcakes) and we hung out for a while and the kids played with Owen's new toys, while he was pretty occupied with the balloons my parents brought and his new cell phone.

The next morning we headed back down to the water park for about an hour before packing our car up to the brim with new stuff, grabbing some food at Wendy's with Ryan's family, and heading home.