11 months and some change

Owen turned 11 months old.

A week ago.

Sorry!

But, I thought I'd better get to my monthly pictures of my lil' Boy.
Here are some basic facts about our boy:

• He goes to bed around 6:30 every night and is woken up at 5:45 am. He goes to bed with a story, a cuddling, a prayer and then thumbtime with his blankie.
  
  
• The blankie of choice is a blankie made of the same material as thermal-undies. We only had one. We were worried. We searched high and low and finally found 2 more blankies of the same material. He loves his blankies for night-night time.
  
  
• When boogers are going down his face, he hates having his nose wiped. But, he loves his side rubbed--Loves IT!
  
  
• Diaper changes are a nightmare. Yup...It...Ain't...Happening...Without...A....FIGHT!!!!! I've learned to change diapers on an upside-down baby. Yeah, I am that talented.
  
  
• But, baths are AMAZING. He actually tries to climb into the tub. Once in the tub, he won't sit down anymore. That makes me nervous. I can't wait until we are over that stage.
  
  
• He loves his sister's kitchen. And taking toys out of the toy box--one--at--a--time. Opening and closing the toy box repeatedly is also a pretty amusing pastime.
  
  
• Owen cruises. A lot.
  
  
• He falls. Occasionally. He's got a black eyelid currently. Ouch!
  
  
• He gets pushed down a lot by his sister. He doesn't care, though. He'll cry, get back up and let it be known that he's not a going anywhere.
  
  
• He was a picky baby-food-eater, turning down foods semi-often.
  
  
• He hasn't turned down any table food so far. There are some favorites over others (ahem, pizza). But he is great at trying new foods, even motivating Bethany to be more adventurous!
  
  
• He is a shy guy. Doesn't smile for strangers. Doesn't always go to other family members. He loves his Mama and Daddy!
  
  
• He knows what the word "No" means. Just doesn't always obey.
  
  
• He can say 3 words. Mama--his first word, Dada and Ab-ba (All done).
  
  
• He knows how to wave, blow kisses, and I think 2 signs. But he won't do them when you want him to. No matter how much you prompt him and look like a fool. This kid will do it on his time only!
  
  
• He loves to be chased. While you are crawling. He will run(crawl) away. Pause. Look at you with a sheepish, yet daring smile. Then he'll start crawling away again. He's too cute!
  
  
• He loves, I mean, LOVES to play peek-a-boo. LOVES IT! Just cover him with a blankie and watch the fun times begin.
  
  
• When Owen laughs, it is a deep, hardy laugh that stems from the very tippy-bottom of his toes. I LOVE HIS LAUGH! It is one of the bestest laughs out there!

Our Owen is pretty amazing. It is hard to remember life without him. I remember our last weekend before he was born. I was a little sad that it was the last weekend with it just being Bethany. But Why? Owen has enriched our lives so much!!!

Even Bethany loves him. A lot! She introduced him to our friend tonight as, "This is Owen, my sweet little boy." Usually she calls him Bubba. Or Boy.

She is pretty good to him and wants to do things like he does.
You know...like holding signs with your age on it.

It is for sure. God has blessed us with two amazing babies. They are the greatest kiddos around. I don't always feel worthy of having these two beautiful kids in my life, but, man, I do feel so honored to be their mother!

Out and About

It is so nice to have pleasant weather once again. These two can't get enough of being outside.

Couldn't you just gooble them all up!?!?!?!

An Easter Puzzle

So how do you explain the meaning of Easter to a two-year-old?

Do you mention the Bunny and the Candy?

Do you talking about the pretty dresses and bonnets?
Do you give gifts of chocolate bunnies, peeps, Bibles and stuffed animals?

Do you just tell her to cuddle her Daddy for a quick photo?

Perhaps the meaning of Easter can be made clear by giving her a basket and...


have her search high and...

low for the eggs that resting in the foliage all around?
Do you just give her lil' brother eggs to roll about?

But I really don't see how any of that all matters. What does it all have to do with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus?

So, readers, answer me this...What do you tell the lil' girl with the wide-eyes about the real meaning of Easter?

Once I figure that out...I will then try to figure out how the Bunny and Egg Hunt ties into the whole shebang!

Reason #45839

Reason #45,839 of Why I love my Bethany!

Because she says things like this:

"Mama! I've got a great idea. How about I give you a flower."

Then she bends down and picks me a dandilion! That IS a GREAT idea, Sweetie!!!!

Priceless...

Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

Owen has been cruising for the past month or so. Along with his cruising came a plethora bruises, bumps and even a couple scratches.

But the Boy has one thing going for him....

He

Doesn't

Give

Up!

Magic at the Magic House!

Bethany got invited to a birthday party at the Magic House. It was her first time there. She had an absolute blast. The Magic House surely lives up to their name!

She missed her friends from the sitter's and she couldn't get over the fact she was hanging out with her friends again!

The party was a lot of fun. They got to decorate Princess Crowns.
They each made lil' magic wands. If you are in close proximity to the wand, you better watch out or you might be turned in to a cat, dog or even a Bethany.

To top off the party, they got to decorate their own cupcakes! Oddly, only a couple kids ate the cupcakes after they were all done. I guess they didn't want to disrupt all their hard work!

After the party was over, the kids explored the Magic House. I am telling you what, we were their in the house for about 90 minutes and we didn't even explore half of the exhibits. The lil' girls were in love with the Water Room. Seriously, if I installed a large water table in our house, she'd never go bored!

We did manage to pry them out of the Water Room long enough to play a little in the pretend house. They loved cooking lunch for everyone and getting to play with the fridge and oven...you know...all the things that they'd never get to do in real life.

I had to pry a crying Bethany out when the Magic House closed. We are for sure going to have to go back...soon!

All Caged Up!

Our spring break is coming to a close. We had a great time just relaxing at home and hanging out with the kids. They are so much fun! Yesterday we all went to the zoo.

They both had an absolute blast! Owen hardly looked at the animals. He was more fixated on the people all around him than any of the animals.

Bethany wanted to see the Lions and Tigers so badly. Then as soon as we got there, she became pretty frightened and clingy. Crazy Girl!

Not all the animals were caged up. We saw a bunch of birds on the run. The boys decided to chase after them to get a closer look!

Funny thing is, the animals aren't the only thing caged up. Thanks to our handy-dandy gates we can have our lil' animals all locked up too!

Although, I do think this lil' monkey is cuter than the ones we've seen at the zoo!

Catching the Light!

Want some tips to help pass the time. Well, look no further. Owen has all the entertainment advice you'll ever need.

Just look around the house for any light peeping in through the slots of the blinds. Then try to grab the light beams. Come on and try it!

See the light....

All you have to do is grab it and put it in your pocket and you'll have it for a rainy day!!!

You'll thank Owen some day. I know it! This is one of his favorite things to do...and it will be yours too some day soon!!!

10 Months!

Owen is officially 10 months old.

Yeah...Okay...He's been ten months old for a whole week now. But seriously folks, we are busy people. Those students of ours demand quality lessons and graded papers. So we do what we can! ;O)

Anyway...back to Owen. He is 10 months old. He is standing, cruising, and crawling like crazy. He is too busy to hold my sign for me. Instead...he must stand for a while.

After being given the sign...he will hold it on his terms only; which evidently is upside down.

So wanna know more about our boy? Okay. Well....he goes by Owen, Boy and Bubba. He has the patience of a saint as he is often pulled, pushed, and neglected by his sister. Occasionally, his toys are snatched away or his ears are bitten.
Owen is a great kiddo. Still pretty mellow! He loves attention (like who doesn't). He enjoys table food immensely and will eat anything so far. He can really pack away the food. He has figured out to stand, cruise, crawl and climb the stairs. He hasn't really considered the possibility of trying to walk yet...after all, crawling is so much faster.

Although, he hasn't said his first official word yet; Owen does know two signs. He will sign "eat" and "more". Cory is the first to witness the "more" sign and we've seen the "eat" sign for a while now...but are now just putting it together that is what he's been saying. Perhaps, we are a bit slow.

Owen does not like being left alone and will be very upset if you leave the room. I am sure that whole thing is related to the whole, he loves attention thing. But oddly, he goes to bed remarkably well. Give him his blankie and in goes the thumb. He'll go down with out a fight. He'll talk to himself for a while...perhaps discussing the events of the day. He'll rip down the animals from the mobile and give them a go for a while and eventually he'll fall a sleep.

The weirdest thing about Owen is that he likes to be upside down. Seriously. He. Loves. It.

See the picture above, that is how he wanted his bottle...so his head was hanging down. But usually he likes it when he is drastically upside down. But you know....whatever floats his boat!

In a few words...Owen is Awesome! It is hard to believe he is 10 months already. Soon the bottles will be gone and a toddler will emerge. But we've got a couple more months to enjoy our baby before he becomes an official big-boy...and I am not rushing it at all!

Rockin' N' Rollin'

What a glorious day! The weather is so perfect that is it is all but impossible to stay inside. Bethany enjoys every second we spend outside playing. To make the time even more enjoyable, one of the neighbors gave Bethany a lil' scooter....as two of their kids out-grow it and the third already has another one.

Well, SHE LOVES IT!!!!!
Look at that smile. She can't get enough of the "skateboard."

She doesn't do too bad on it. She's figuring out the whole scooting on the scooter thing and isn't just standing on it idly.

Look at her go....although...I question what she can look at with the ill-fitting helmet! :o)

I can't wait for more beautiful spring-like days to come. We've been cooped up in the house so long...we NEED this time outside! It will be even better when Owen gets to run around and play outside, too!!! I have a feeling this scooter will be gaining quite a few miles this spring/summer! I think for sure, it is her new found love!

5 Reasons I am Ok with Being Thirty!

Top 5 Reasons I am Okay with Being Thirty:

5) We've never looked better nor have we been healthier. See for yourself!

Not every 30 year-old can say that they are in better shape now than when they were when they got married.

4) I live in a great house, I have a great job and a couple of degrees!

3) I have 2 of the most awesome children out there! Seriously. They. Are. Awesome!

2) I've gotten to marry my Best Friend. He is my rock. He is the best thing ever to happen to me. I couldn't ask for a better Husband!
(sheesh...that was pretty ewwy-gooey...sorry I won't let that happen again!)

1) God has blessed me in more ways than I know. I know that He has a lot in store for me. And like Bethany told me Saturday, "God made you special, Mama." With all these blessing surrounding me, how could I not believe her?