Fun in the Sun

Brig and I worked really hard in the yard yesterday, so today we opted to stay close to home instead of going to the beach.

We have lived in this house for over three years now and have never been to the pool. We assume it would be very crowded on the weekend, but we went down right after breakfast and were all alone. Owen has only been in the pool once, last Labor Day, but he was just six months old. We had a great time and got to break in his new crab float. Oh, and we also had "nack" (snacks) while we were there. An hour after we arrived it was Owen's nap time so we drove the 1/4 mile home and he went right to sleep.

Our time there was so quick that we thought about going back after lunch. But then we knew it would be crowded and it is a very small pool. I then called Aunt Sibby, who lives about 2 miles away, to see if we could swim at her house. She said anytime, so we were ready to roll when nap time was over. We joined cousins Connor and Dylan and had more pool fun for over two hours.

We assumed Owen would crash on the short drive home but he did not. He also wasn't interested in going to sleep when I was rocking him. And an hour later, when he was still awake and playing quietly in his crib we decided he wasn't going to get an afternoon nap. He never did act tired until around 7:30. He may not have been tired, but Mommy and Daddy are exhausted.

Picture Pages

Owen has been following simple directions lately such as bringing us his sippy cup instead of throwing it on the floor and putting his shoes in the basket when we take them off. He's also gotten better at understanding what doesn't go in his mouth. So...this morning after breakfast, which explains the crazy hair, we decided to try crayons again. We've tried this a few times at restaurants, but he wasn't interested in anything other than eating the crayons. This time he did great and only tried to eat one once.

Memorial Weekend Wrap-up

We didn't make it to the beach this weekend. The weather was very unpredictable and rainy, so we just stayed close to home. Yesterday we had lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Barker (Grandmama and Grandaddy to Owen) and last night we had dinner with my family. My aunt and uncle are visiting and they haven't seen Owen since he was pretty small.

Owen wants to be outside so bad...in fact he runs for the door when we take the dogs out or if I take the trash out. He gets pretty upset (for about 5 seconds) when we don't take him with us. The weather did hold out long enough for Owen to finally play outside for a few hours.

On a different topic, Owen's vocabulary is rapidly expanding. Just today he said "bib", "help", "get" and "back" in addition to his current favorites including "hat", "milk" and "apple".

R-E-A-C-H

Yep...Believe what you are seeing. Owen can now reach anything close to the edge of the counter. Of course what he wants are his snacks, and the other night he brought us these...


We think it's amazing how smart he is. He will also sit (on command, ha!) and say "please" when he wants more.

Bird's-eye View

I haven't really cared about my birthday in years, but now that we have Owen, it really doesn't matter to me at all. I didn't ask for a thing (even though Brig begged me to come up with something), but anything I would want is not in the budget. A nice digital SLR camera, weekly maid and/or lawn service and a new (even new to me would work) car are things I dream of these days. Alas, I got none of these things. I did get a new weed-eater a few months ago but that was actually a must have. We actually needed a new one last year, but I managed to make it through the season even though it was falling apart. It's amazing what duct tape can do. It finally had enough and quit me and we were forced to buy a replacement. I was excited about the new one, but that excitement has long since worn off. Enough about that...

We went to Gilligan's with my parents on Monday night and it's been so long since we've been there. I completely forgot about the murals covering every inch of the place. We were about half way through dinner when out of nowhere Owen points to a wall and says "bird" just as clear as can be. We were all thrilled, not b/c he said a word or correctly identified an animal, but b/c he has never said "bird" before. I almost forgot about this experience until Brig called me a few minutes ago. Seems Owen was riding the horsey and slid off. He pointed to Brig's glasses and said "eye". Again, we go over these things constantly, but he has never said "eye" before. We finally have proof that all these words are sinking in and he is just filing them away for use at a later date. Things like this make every day special...so no...I don't need anything else than what I already have.

Just Beachy

We ventured out to the beach again this Saturday. We tried a different beach this time with mixed results. Owen confirmed that he is not scared of the water...in fact he wanted to go out further. This beach (IOP) was much more crowded, and our 14.5 month old does not yet understand boundaries. He wanted to mess with other people's belongings and would chase after dogs and girls in bikinis. As you can see, he also enjoyed playing with the reeds and having snacks in our snack tent.

Owen's got a brand new bag

Well...not actually new, but we've recently started using it instead of his diaper bag if we're running an errand or going somewhere for an hour or two. Owen kept pointing at it the other day, so I put it on his back. I thought that would last for about 10 seconds, but he walked around like this for a good 20 minutes until we changed his clothes.

First time at the beach

Brig decided that for Mother's Day she would like to take Owen to the beach for the first time. To those of you who are new parents and have never done this before, be forewarned. It is nothing like your days at the beach before children. There is no relaxing, especially if your child has no fear and runs straight to the water. And eats sand. And attempts to eat a shell.

But it's also totally worth it...to see his excitement at the sight of a seagull or a boat. And it could have been the opposite. We are very lucky to have a child who likes almost anything...including one of our favorite places in the world.

We had planned to leave at a certain time (nap time) so Owen could sleep on the way home, but packed up a few minutes early due to a storm rolling in. We barely made it to the car before the rain started. It was so bad I had to pull over b/c it was hailing. When we got back on the road we hit bad traffic. Turns out a tree was struck by lightning and we had to wait for them to cut it into several pieces and get it off the road. Two hours later we finally made it home and Owen slept the whole time.

Bike Helmets and Crocs

Last Saturday we went to lunch and then were supposed to be shopping for Mother's Day gifts. Well, we never go out and come home without something for Owen. As you can see, he got a bike helmet (two actually) and we finally caved and bought a pair of Crocs. He wants to wear the helmet all the time. We can't wait until we actually use it for it's intended purpose.

Backyard Fun

Yes, this post is way overdue! I have been really busy at work lately and just exhausted by the time Owen goes to sleep at night. I kept telling Brig I was going to post something, but we have a bad habit of falling asleep in the den around 9:00. Hopefully it won't be this long between posts in the future.