Recent Shots

These were taken for a post about St. Patrick's Day, but since that has come and gone, they are just shots of us playing one day in his crib.  We have all had a cold or allergies or whatever you want to call it the last week or so.

Yard Work

I have been working in the yard the last few afternoons.  We have a horrible problem with weeds in our swamp of a backyard and it takes a tremendous amt of money energy to keep it under control.  Since it's Spring, it isn't looking great yet.  Come Summer, it will be much nicer...after I've dropped a load of cash on Scott's.

Owen was at my parents house the first afternoon, but yesterday he lent daddy a hand...

...and played t-ball with mommy in the much more cooperative front yard.

Potty Progress

You may remember this post about Owen's potty.  Since then, we have continued to take a very laid back approach.  We have not been pushing him, but rather asking every night if he would like to try.  He always tries and is successful about half the time.

About two weeks ago, he went 3 or 4 nights in a row.  We noted this change and thought he might be really ready for this.  We decided to keep plugging along until the weather got warmer.  We figured it would be easier and he would be more cooperative if he was running around in a tee and a pull-up. 

Then on Sunday, I was changing his diaper and asked him if he had to go and would like to try.  He said yes and he went.  A few hours later I asked again, he said yes again, and he went.  This was right before nap time.  When he got up from his nap, I immediately asked again.  Sure enough, he went again.  You can see where this is going. 

He was very cooperative each time, until it was time to put on a new pull-up.  He thought it was funny to run down the hall sans undergarment.  I had to hold him down two separate times to get the darn things back on.  I quickly realized the pull-ups would now reside in his bathroom so they could be replaced as soon as the deed was done. 

Yesterday he went to Sarah's, and today he went to school, so we are back to our weekly routine.  I don't want to put this on Sarah or his teachers, especially since we won't be carrying his potty with us when we leave.  I think using the potty at home and away are very different and might make our progress go haywire.  For now, we are just going to keep asking and see what happens.

For the record, he was not dry in between sessions on Sunday.  We aren't that far yet.

75 and sunny

The temps since his party (grrrr...see previous post) have been climbing. Tuesday was awesome so after I got home from work we headed to the park.

Some other folks had the same idea and this particular park was more crowded than usual.

Owen is very interested in balls lately so we took one with us. Big mistake! He abandoned it early on and some of the other kids took possession of the ball. I had every intention of getting it back on our way to the car...but this one kid was hacking up a lung all over it so we left it with him. It was $1.00 at Party City and I think Owen will survive. I really bought it, along with another one, for the party. I just forgot to take them out of the bag and blow them up.

2nd birthday party

Owen's "construction" themed party was this past Saturday. The temp was pretty good until about halfway through. Once the sun went behind the trees it got cold quickly.

I failed to take any pics of the party atmosphere/decor. Not that it matters since half of the decorations blew down due to the wind. We even had to tie the tablecloths to the tables so they wouldn't blow away.

Here is his cake, designed and created by Brig:


And this is him right after singing and blowing out the candles:


We bought this scene so the kids could all have their picture taken...


And then John decided to show them all how it's done...


I don't think we'll be having his party outside next time. I jokingly said next year his party would be held during a warmer month.

Owen turns two

This is slightly delayed, but let me explain. It's hard to find the time to post at home. Believe it or not, I have more free time while at work. Brig had to work Tuesday (O's actual bday), so I took the day off. When I came back yesterday I was swamped, so that's why I'm just getting around to posting this.

I took Owen to school that morning and ran some errands while he was there. Brig made Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes for his class and also for us to have later that night. His teachers reported that all the kids wanted Elmo and nobody wanted Cookie. They sang Happy Birthday before they ate them and during music.


Once we came home from school, we all had lunch together and Owen went down for his nap. While he was asleep I installed new under cabinet lights in the kitchen. Several of them had blown in recent months and we couldn't take it any more. So much for my day off!

When he woke up, Grammie and Papa came over for pizza, cupcakes and ice cream. Among his presents were a blower with goggles (safety first!), a new flashlight, pajamas and movies.


Since his party is on Saturday and it's a construction theme, we went with Sesame Street for his low-key party at home.

This is the invite, designed by me. This version is not as crisp or clear as the printed one, but you get the idea. Fingers (and everything else) crossed that the weather is decent that day.