Spring is Here!

I can’t believe another month has flown by again. It’s been a hectic month of birthdays, Easter and egg hunts, and lots of fun outside. Owen is continuing to gain his independence, and is doing nearly everything on his own. “I do myself” is his favorite phrase, well, it takes a very close second to “NO MOMMY”. Another thing he's saying lately is - "That's my favorite" everything is his favorite toy, every snack is his favorite snack... so cute.

Daddy had a busy month with a lot of traveling, so many of the weekdays were spent just the two of us. Grandma was here early in the month before leaving for a trip with Uncle Steve, Aunt Lisa, Taylor and Sienna. Owen and I took Grandma to the airport and had a blast watching the planes in the observation area, it was such a nice morning, BWI airport has such a fun place for kids to explore, I’ve never been there before so it was a pleasant surprise.

We also went out for Maggie’s birthday, Daddy was in New Jersey, so Mommy & Owen went solo. It was a great, but long evening. Owen was adorable and had a blast running around and saying hello to everyone. He even helped Aunt Kathy take pictures of everyone.

Then we had Mommy’s birthday. We had such a great day, and Mommy & Daddy got to go out for dinner too. It was a rare evening to have a babysitter, but quite nice to celebrate on the actual day.

The month was also full of Easter celebrations. We had a great time with Granny and Pop at the country club for the petting zoo and egg hunt. It was the first of many egg hunts for the month, we had several at home, the big on Easter, and also one in the neighborhood. Owen really understood the concept of find the eggs and there are treats inside. He really enjoyed it. Easter we went to church, he was so very good in church, it was probably the best he has been in church since he was a baby and would sleep through the whole service. We were VERY proud parents. Then we came home and Owen found his Easter basket and the tricycle that the Easter bunny had left, and also the egg hunt in the basement. He really enjoyed himself had a ball. Then we went down to one of our neighbors houses, who was having a big neighborhood egg hunt for all the kids, and the Easter bunny even made an appearance! It was such a fun time, but really chilly. Granny & Pop, Aunt Jess & Uncle Tom, Aunt Lizzie & Ryan, and Uncle Alex all came over for dinner, and we had a really nice evening.

Other highlights from the month were that Owen has really started using the potty… I’m not officially saying we’re potty training, but we’ve added a few extra potty breaks during the day, and many of them are successful. He definitely has interest in the potty but he rarely tells me that he has to go, any time he sits down however, he goes… So it’s a balance.

We also bought Owen a sand box. He really hated being “messy” with sand at the beach last summer, and since we just booked a vacation to Hilton Head with Uncle Steve and family, we decided Owen needed some “practice” playing in the sand. Owen still doesn’t really want to get into the sandbox, he’ll play from the outside, but we’re making progress, now he’ll play with the sand in his hands, (before he would only use a shovel), and he’ll get inside the box as long as he have flip flops on, and we still have a month or so (assuming it ever stops raining) of play to get him into the sand box. Hopefully he’ll be so excited to play with cousins Taylor and Sienna that he won’t care about the sand at the beach… Our new motto is "It's OK to get messy"... and one day I'll probably regret this but for now, it's OK to get messy, because we can clean it up.

Owen got a chocolate bunny for Easter, and was nearly devastated when Daddy bit the ears off – he kept saying – “It’s OK bunny, Daddy, why did you do that?” He was so upset that Daddy was eating the bunny that we had to put it away. What can I say – my little vegetarian is an animal lover…

We also had some other fun outings this month – Owen and I went duck pin bowling with Ms. Robyn and Sofia. That was a lot of fun, Sofia was so funny, because she didn’t like it when her turn was over… She would have bowled all 10 frames at once. Owen was so cute because he was cheering for everyone. Unlike the other place we had gone duck bowling, this place had a “little kid” ramp that helps the kids send the balls down the alley. Owen really liked the independence of this.

We also went to the bouncing place again, and since we haven’t been in several months, it was neat to see how much growth Owen has had since our last time out. He was so much more independent and interested in playing and bouncing. We also went shopping one day with Granny and Liz and had lunch, we threw pennies in the fountain at Kenilworth. Owen loves to throw pennies. And we went to Chocolate world again. He never tires of those dancing/singing cows.

Owen has also gotten a few new molars and still working on 2 more that are stubbornly waiting to finish coming through. And, yes, he is still very stubborn to try new things to eat… but we’re managing. Life is just too exciting for a 2 year old to slow down and eat a real dinner. But we are ever impressed with his communication skills, and all the things that he says and understands. It’s so incredible!

It was a great month, and very fast. Hopefully may will slow down a little… but I doubt it.

March came in like a lion and out like a lamb...

Wow, what a month! Who would have known that Owen’s surgery early in the month, actually set the stage for a terrific month! He was quite a trooper recovering from the surgery and the flu and recovered very nicely from the surgery. It did take a full 3 days before he was back to himself, but he has really improved, and even fought off a small cold later in the month without developing into a full blown attack. Having the tubes and adenoids done was definitely the right thing to do. We’re so happy with the results, and hope he continues to stay healthy and ear infection free. He really seems to be hearing much better, and that was even confirmed by the doctor who did a repeat hearing test which this time Owen passed with flying colors. We’ve very pleased. He even seems to have more confidence because he can hear better! And boy is he a chatter box. He’s continuing to improve his language skills, creating more and more complex sentences and thoughts, it’s amazing!

Daddy had a lot of travel this month, so Owen and I got to spend lots of quality time together. And Granny even came and spent the night with us a few nights this month when Pop was away. She just LOVED seeing and interacting with Owen. He’s so different lately, and seeing him for long periods of time, let you really see what a wonderful personality he has. Unlike when we take him out to a long dinner at a restaurant when he tends to get bored or cranky… What do you expect though, he’s two! And two year olds don’t do fancy restaurants!

One morning, we had some construction done on our drive way. They brought in a mini bull dozer and Owen was in heaven staring out the window and watching the progress. It was so adorable. He just loves his trucks!

We had a few play dates with Ms. Robyn and Sofia also. Owen gets so excited when they are coming over, he asks all day when is Sofia coming? It’s also so amazing to see how they interact now, and the two of them can actually communicate and have conversations. It’s funny that they don’t always need the “Mommies” to intervene… So adorable!

Owen is just plain silly a lot of the time. He loves to entertain you, and even more, loves when you laugh. And the things he comes up with are just too funny! The other day he had me tie a string around his puppy so he could take it for a walk. Yes, we have a real dog, but he wanted to walk the pretend one. He is one happy, funny kid.

Today while helping to make some pudding, he had to have some "extra eyes" to do it, and put on 3 googly eyes on his forehead. He thought that was just too funny... I never have a dull day with Owen around... He keeps me on my toes, and helps me realize laughter is the best medicine.

In other less exciting news, Owen is still not a huge eater. He's very picky at mealtimes, and very much a typical two year old. He only eats about 15 different foods, and frequently will ask for the same thing over and over and over again. But he does eat pretty well, as long as it's from his list of "favorites". I struggle with this constantly, because I so want him to broaden his food palate, but he is just plain stubborn... hmmm wonder where he gets that from??? I ask Mother's everywhere how they get their picky kids to try new things, but every technique suggested to date has failed. I always get "EEWWW Mommy, Come On..." Great, a sassy talker already. Some days he eats like he might never see another meal and other days I wonder how he survives on such little food. He's still growing, gaining weight and healthy, so I'm not overly concerned, but it is so frustrating at meal times to want him to eat well and enjoy a variety of foods, but he just won't even try. And I too often give into him and give him what I know he will eat, just so I know he's getting something. He's a peanut butter addict, which is good since he still refuses to eat ANY meat, chicken or fish, so at least he gets some good protein each day. What I would do for him to eat chicken nuggets... GRRR... It's very frustrating, but Mommy and Daddy are doing better not forcing meals or making food a battle. We figure he'll come around eventually, we hope... and we always welcome suggestions!

Owen’s so excited to have visitors and he gets excited when you tell him anyone is coming over, he loves visitors now and loves to show off to them. It’s so nice after months and months of shyness. Uncle Alex brought Granny by one day and he was just staring out the window waiting for them to arrive. Alex was great playing with Owen and running up and down the stairs playing with his toy parachute. It’s so funny to see the little things that entertain him.
We had a nice St. Patty’s Day. Granny had spent the night before at our house, so Owen was very excited that she was still there in the morning, and could hardly wait for her to wake up, because he had been wearing the St. Patty’s head band since he woke up and was patiently waiting to say “SURPRISE!” Granny came with us to Gymnastics, and was impressed by what Owen can do, and with the class. Since it was the last class of the session, the kids all got their ribbons and stood on the block and yelled “TADA”. Granny loved that… Then we had a nice lunch and ran some errands at the mall. It was such a nice day, and so great for Owen to spend it with Granny.

We also got to go to the new Perry Hall Library. Owen loves going to the library, and this one is within walking distance of our house, so it’s great to go there and play and get books out. We also finally got to go to our first Story Time. They are always held on days that I work, so we never get to go, but the new library has one story time a month for toddlers that’s held on Thursday. It’s great and we plan to go all the time now.

It’s also so nice that we’re having some spring like days now, and able to enjoy going outside. Owen was very confused with the weather, some days it was near 70, and we’d play outside, other days it was cold and freezing, and we couldn’t play outside. He loves to play outdoors and ride his toys and play with his bubble gun or take a walk to the playground, so it was hard to convince him that some days it was just too cold. Hopefully those days are behind us till next winter and we’ll be able to get outside almost every day now.

But the highlight of the month was clearly the Circus. We took Owen to the Ringling Bros Circus at the Baltimore Arena, for his first performance. We were a little apprehensive, not sure if he would have the attention span to sit through the entire circus. But we got there, about 30 minutes early, and had time to go down to the preshow, where they let you onto the floor and see some of the performers up close, and they had jugglers, and elephants, and a man on stilts, and more. Owen was a little overwhelmed, but he sat on Daddy’s shoulders and took it all in. He was amazed by the elephants; he positively loves elephants and monkeys.

We then went to our seats, after purchasing some lunch and a very expensive $20 light up sword… yes, highway robbery, but Owen loves the sword. Owen was very proud to have his own seat, and he sat there for the entire show. He didn’t even want to get up during intermission because he was afraid he would miss something. Fortunately when he did start to get a little antsy, it was near the end, and there was no one sitting next to us, so Owen was able to stand up and watch. He was just adorable though, clapping for the performers, singing along, and so intent watching. He really enjoyed the motorcycle acts too, they were amazing, circling 7 motorcycles inside that tiny metal ball. It was really amazing! Another section he was amazed by was the men jumping and doing somersaults on these big inner tubes. It was so cool! Of course the elephants and horses, and tigers were also a big fascination for him.

Probably the best activity out we have ever had, Owen was so cooperative, and just a pleasure to take to the circus. I’m so glad he enjoyed it! The show was at 11:30am, and normally Owen naps around 2pm. But it finished about 2, certainly he has stayed up much later than this before. We got in the car, heading home hoping to get him down for his nap…

Our little Owen NEVER sleeps in the car… but this day he did. Poor little guy was so mentally and physically exhausted he zonked out about half way home, and when we got home, he still went down for his nap and slept another 2 hours.

So what started out as a very crazy hectic month with Owen having surgery and all of us having the flu, really ended up being a month of fun.

Funny Kid

Owen is so funny lately! It's hysterical the things he comes up with, and he just make you laugh! Owen has recently decided that breakfast should be eaten on the floor of the kitchen. And Mommy must eat with him there too. So while eating this morning, he was so adorable just sitting against the door to the cabinet, and I asked him - "How did you get so cute?" And he responded with perfect poise - "I'm not sure." I just cracked up... to which he said - "Was that funny Mommy?"

Super Patient

March has gotten off to a very bumpy start. Sunday was such a terrific day, we went to church, and Owen was very good, then we went to Aunt Barb's house for Mom-Mom's 80th birthday party. He was so good at the party, having a blast! It was the first time we've ever gone to a large gathering that Owen had the confidence and fun loving spirit that I know and see every day. Usually he clings to me or Daddy for most of the party and is pretty shy, but he has been coming out of his shell lately and really opening up to people. This party was a perfect example. He had a blast.

Then Monday morning, Owen caught a really nasty bug. At first we thought maybe it was from eating too much junk food the day before at the party, because he had gotten sick all over his crib and then continued to not be able to keep anything down the rest of the day. Mommy took him to do his pre-surgical physical, and the doctor didn't think that Owen had a virus, because he had no other symptoms, so he cleared him for surgery. Unfortunately, the bug continued till Tuesday afternoon, and so we called the Surgeon. They felt it might be an intolerance to the antibiotic, so we should still bring him in the next day and they would evaluate.

Well I woke up Wednesday morning feeling queasy, but just figured it was nerves, and so we all headed off to GBMC. When we got there, the doctors and nurses, and anesthesiologist all evaluated Owen, and weighed the benefits of doing the surgery vs postponing because he had been ill. Since he was not running a fever, and his exam was good, we all decided to go forward. Owen was a little grumpy during the morning, because he was SO THIRSTY. I think he was finally hungry and feeling better, and all the poor little guy wanted was something to drink. His surgery was scheduled for 10:30, so he was up for quite some time not allowed to have anything to drink. He kept asking for different beverages. Saying - How about Milk? How about Orange Juice? How about Apple Juice? How about Grape Juice? It was heart breaking not to be able to give him what he wanted so badly .

I walked Owen back to the operating room, and held him while the anesthesiologist put him to sleep. Then I gave him a kiss and laid him on the operating table. It was really tough to leave him. I met Daddy in the waiting room, and we patiently waited for the doctor to come out. The surgery was about 40 minutes total, and we were then told he did great and that the surgery was definitely warranted, because he had a lot of thick fluid in both ears and his adenoids were very enlarged.

We got to see Owen in the recovery room just a few minutes later. Owen was pretty out of it, just trying to hold his head up, and was crying and coughing, I felt so terrible for him, but they had prepared us for this. They put me in a chair in the recovery room, and put Owen in my lap and a big hot blanket around us to keep him warm. I was holding him for about 15 min waiting for him to come around, and started feeling faint... I told Troy - I'm really hot and I think I'm going to pass out. Daddy went to get me some water, and went to the nurses station, and 4 nurses came flying into the room, took Owen off my lap, gave him to Daddy, and within 2 seconds I was puking my guts up. I was so embarrassed. They gave me scrubs to change into and some ginger ale, and I thought I was was feeling better, but I wasn't. I guess we finally realized Owen definitely had a stomach bug, because I've got it in full swing now.

Daddy took over with Owen while I tried to compose myself and feel better. He did a great job getting him to slowly drink juice and rubbed his back, so sweet. Owen really did great in the recovery room, was so happy to finally get some juice, and watched some Caillou, before they finally let us go. As Daddy was getting Owen dressed to leave I felt another wave of nausea hit me and the nurses again came to my rescue... The finally released us, well, they actually released Owen, and they actually wanted to send me to the ER, but I didn't want to go and went home with Owen. Owen even walked out of the surgical center holding our hands, it was nice to see him up and about.

Since coming home yesterday afternoon, Owen has been doing terrific, he's trying to eat a little, getting some fluids, and also trying to play. We're both still battling the tail end of this stomach bug, so today we pretty much rested and recovered. Hopefully we'll both be much better tomorrow, and hopefully Daddy won't catch the stomach bug...

I'm so proud of how brave Owen was and what a good job he did. I really hope that this gives him some relief and helps avoid any more ear infections this year.

Fast February!

What a quick month! February flew! And as always, it’s been an incredibly busy month. We’ve done a lot of fun activities, had some great weather, some snowy weather, and even got outside and enjoyed the playground, but Owen also battled more ear infections, RSV, and even a ruptured eardrum… and so we finally scheduled his surgery to have the ear tubes put in and his adenoids removed.

Owen continued his déjà vu repeat of last winter, starting with his first ear infection in January, and same as last year, he would end the antibiotic and 24 hours later…boom, another ear infection. Poor kid. He’s been a trooper, but the last ear infection he got this month, actually ruptured his one eardrum, so we moved forward and met with the ENT immediately. The ENT felt that Owen definitely would benefit from the tubes and also we did an x-ray while we were there, and his adenoids were huge, so they should also come out. And we actually scheduled the surgery for next week – March 4th. It’s happening so quickly, but that’s actually good because it will give him relief quickly. While he was sick, so much this month, we tried to do fun & unique things at home. One thing we did was have a carpet picnic for dinner - Owen thought I had lost my mind - he kept saying - Mommy, sit at table? - but after we got it all set up, he loved it watching TV and having a picnic and even pudding for dessert.

So how about some of the fun stuff we did this month… Probably one of the highlights of the month was Valentine’s day. We had such a nice day, after Daddy had been traveling all week, and Owen had been sick with RSV, it was nice to have him back home. Owen was so excited to see him! And we had a great Valentine’s day, Grandma Diane and her friend Sue came down and brought Sam Dog back home too. We had a nice lunch, and Owen was so funny running around and showing off to them. He’s been getting much more social in a group of people, and much less shy, so it’s a nice welcome change, as opposed to him being scared and shy when people come over. Owen also had fun exchanging presents. He thought it was his birthday again, because we had cake and presents… Very cute! Owen got a really nice Fisher-Price DVD player. It’s something he will love taking out with us when we go out to dinner, or when we travel. He loved it immediately! We had a nice Valentine’s dinner, and Owen was so good, it was a blast!

We also had our first family movie night, a tradition I hope continues for years to come. Now that we have our movie theater room set up again, it was very exciting to introduce Owen to full-length movies. We had watched a Bugs Life when Troy was away, but we watched Madagascar 2 and Cars downstairs in the movie room. Owen just loves to watch movies down there, and he knows it’s special, and he’s very attentive and watches almost the whole thing. So cute! Nice that he’s starting to enjoy the same things we love. Other movie’s we watched this month were Wall-E , Nemo, and the Incredibles. I need to join a movie club to purchase some of these! Fortunately some of these we own already, I bought him the Bugs Life movie – which he has watched probably 20 times (he calls it a Bug Movie, and requests it daily).

The other thing that was really fun this month was playing Hungry Hungry Hippos. One of the many trips we made to Target to pick up prescriptions, I picked up the game. I was quite surprised at how poorly the game is manufactured nowadays… Even though it’s a $17 game it is really cheap and the marbles are plastic… but that didn’t seem to bother Owen. He loved it, and keeps asking to play the hippo game. Unlike some of the other games that we have bought, this one he really understood the concept and even cheated to win… too funny.

His new big phrases, are – “Where are you? Mommy, Where are You?” He repeats that over and over and over, till he finds me. “What’s that Mommy, What’s that for Mommy?” Repetitive questions about everything, even things he knows the answers to. “Is that funny?” He wants to make you laugh, so if he does something or says something funny, he’ll ask you… basically saying – hey, why didn’t you laugh? "Watch this, Mommy" - he'll say this probably 100 times per day, usually it's before he does something, sometimes it's when he wants to have me see something on TV, or outside. It's funny and very cute... and he says it constantly.

But generally, you can’t help but laugh at some of the things Owen does… like he enjoys to wear his pajamas…and his snow boots. Or when he makes up the silliest games, but just has a ball occupying himself with it. It’s so funny and enjoyable to watch him. In fact, given that he was sick almost this entire month, you’d never really know it. He’s a trooper!

Owen was also picked as Star Student at School. It was very exciting for Owen, he brought home a bag with a little stuffed monkey, called Mr. Monkey, and a notebook. Every few weeks, a new child is selected as Star Student, and they bring home Mr. Monkey for an adventure. Then Mom and Dad help write up what Mr. Monkey did, and take pictures. The school then reads what Mr. Monkey's adventure was to the class. Owen was so excited, and couldn't wait to get Mr. Monkey out and show him around. He is going to be devistated to return him.

We also had some really nice days, where the temperatures were warm and we took Owen to the playground. We haven’t been since probably October, but it was so amazing to see his excitement and increased independence. Last fall he made me do everything with him, and he just got out of the car and ran into the playground. He had a ball! It makes me very excited for spring to come, so that we can get outside and explore and have lots of fun!

It was a very busy, on the go month, with so many doctor visits and battling illnesses. I’m so grateful for all the fun times we have, even when we are so busy… But I’m hopeful that March will have fewer germs for us, and more outside time. Come on Spring, we’re ready!

A Month of Smiles

Owen is just one of those kids, who constantly has a smile on his face, is happy go lucky, and overall so pleasant. What a great little boy we have! His smile is contagious and his laugh has a way of making everything OK. I'll do anything to hear that chuckle. Even when he didn't feel well this month, he was rarely unhappy, he is just a wonderful happy little kid, I consider myself blessed every day.


Wow, January seemed to fly by. I can’t believe how busy we are! I thought things would slow down now that the holidays and birthday hoopla have passed, but we seem to be busy as usual. Although a few bad weather days and some colds and stuff actually gave us some relaxing home bound days.


Owen is quite a character! He's very dramatic and will tell a story and be so serious, and two minutes later he's very silly. One day he took off his clothes to help with the dishes, and then ran around the house without any clothes on, helping clean and vacuum, and just did not want to get dressed. One night, we were getting him into his jammies, he decided he wanted his shoes back on and so he ran around with just a t-shirt on, and shoes and socks, with his tools, fixing things. He just cracks me up!

Overall, we had a very successful month though. We accomplished quite a few projects on our house, including stairs to the back yard, making it much easier to take out Sam dog, and also completed our home theatre room again. It’s so nice to have it back and use able, we have missed it so much! Owen even really likes the room. I can’t wait to let him watch his first real movie (we’re going to watch – Disney Cars soon). But he sure has been interested in watching the football games.

Owen also had a terrific month at school. He transitioned to the 2 year old classroom, like it was no big deal. In fact, he’s doing better in this classroom than ever before! His new teachers are awesome, we both LOVE them, and they are always so excited to see Owen come through the door. He loves the increased activity and there is more of an emphasis on academics too. It’s been a great transition, and we’re really thrilled with the way things are going at school.


He loved watching the last few Ravens Games, that ended up being on when he wasn’t napping (most of the regular season, Owen napped through the game). But the playoffs were more conducive to Owen watching the game, and we had fun with it too, having Robyn, Jaime & Sofia over, has been a lot of fun! Owen also started wearing his Jersey again. He had worn it for the first few games in September, but then when he had to start wearing a shirt underneath he didn’t want to wear it. But recently, he wants to do everything just like us, so if Mommy and Daddy were wearing their Jersey, Owen also wants to “wear Ravens”. Very cute! And he looks adorable in the jersey too… He was funny running around arms up in the air yelling touchdown, go RAVENS, and defense! My favorite little Ravens fan!


He’s also been so funny this month. As his communication skills continue to increase, he’s putting together more complex sentences and thoughts. But it also means that he can say things that crack me up! He sings songs, and just has a way of making people laugh. He’s really hysterical!

About 2 weeks ago, Owen also came down with a really nasty cold, that turned into a terrible sinus infection, then a double ear infection, then a very nasty cough, and pink eye… Charming! The funny thing was, that I didn’t even see it coming. We were having a great weekend, Owen was happy as can be, and we were preparing to have the Alvarezes over for the Ravens football game against Pittsburgh. We put Owen down for his nap, and he woke up about 90 minutes later just screaming! Very unlike Owen. So I went in, thinking he had a bad dream but to my surprise he had a fever and a runny nose, and was just very unhappy. We had to call the Alvarezes to cancel, and then missed a lot of the game anyway, dealing with Owen who was quite unhappy. I took him to the doctors the next morning, and sure enough, both ears. Got him started on antibiotics, then the pink eye started. Fortunately the doctor didn’t make us come back in, she just prescribed eye drops (not easy to administer to a fighting 2 year old), but that helped. He’s feeling much better, back to his old self. Hopefully we’re over this and not in the same boat as last year with the re-occurring ear infections. And also fortunately this time, he never really lost his appetite, he kept eating fairly well the entire time, which probably helped him get over it faster. But he did manage to pass it on to Daddy, and then to Mommy, so we’ve all suffered from the germ festival this month.


One day when he was sick, we spent nearly an entire day playing “puppy”. Owen had a book about a dog that still had ribbon attached to it. We opened the book, and started reading. About half way through the book, he handed me one end of the long ribbon and said – mommy you be the puppy. And he chased me around the house woofing and galloping the whole time. He still will play the game, he seems to not get tired of it!


He also loves to race. When he’s driving or walking he’ll say FREEZE and hold out his arms and stop dead in his tracks. Then he’ll say – Ready Set Go! And take off. It’s really funny.

When Owen was sick, we did get our first snowfall. I didn’t let Owen go out and play in the snow. He kept calling it “sugar”. I thought that was adorable, but once I explained it was snow, then he wanted to go outside and play in it. With the ear infections and cough, I just couldn’t let him do it. So we had a snow day inside, played in the moon sand, and did some art projects. He just loves to do art projects and is actually very good, and very patient when it comes to painting and gluing and cutting things. I’m still amazed that he can cut with scissors.


Another skill that he picked up this month was stringing beads. At Grandma’s house over thanksgiving he was able to pick up the beads and hand them to me, and I would string them on a string. So I bought him some of his own beads and some gimp, and thought we could make necklaces or key chains. But to my surprise, he wanted to string the beads himself! And because of the gimp, and his excellent fine motor skills he can string the beads. I’m amazed by this ability, if you watch him do it, you wouldn’t believe he’s only 2 years old. It’s amazing!


Owen is increasing his vocabulary daily, and loves to ask questions and questions like – What’s that Mommy, what’s that for, where are we going? It’s exhausting but adorable at the same time. He also loves to talk on the phone, he will chat up a storm, even on his play phone, talking complete conversations, even pausing for “grandma” to respond to him, or who ever he’s called. He also has a much better memory. Like we took him bowling a few weeks ago for the first time, he had a blast, loved it. And then we didn’t talk about it for a few days, and then he said, Mommy, let’s go duck bowling. Very cute!

The potty success tapered off a little when Owen was sick, but he’s started sitting on it again and he’s trying. We’re not forcing the issue at all, but he does love the rewards! And he loves to flush it from the potty down the big toilet. It’s too funny! He says – Bye Bye PEE PEE, every time he hears the toilet flush.


Phew, what a very busy, fun, and productive month.

Proud Mommy

So my new years resolution was to blog less frequently, more like monthly updates, rather than the very time consuming posts I've been doing lately. But I can't help but be a proud Mommy today. Owen has started taking an interest in the potty lately - many thanks to Sofia who is really working on potty training, and she was over last night. Owen went and got his potty, and wanted to sit on it. Nothing happened, but I was proud of him for trying. Today we tried a few times, and after nap, he was successful. We were so proud! He cheered, and clapped his hands, and was so very proud! Not saying that we're really pushing the potty training, but we're a step closer to understanding the whole process.

In other news, it's been a busy new year so far. Owen's begrudgingly giving up sweets, but eating meals much better. In fact he's now weighing over 2 pounds more than he did just 2 weeks ago at his check up. We're quite happy with the progress.

He's also a chatter box, putting very impressive thoughts and complete sentences together. He's transitioned very very well to his new classroom. He loves the new teachers, and I think the new challenges that the new classroom offers.

And he's finally found a desire to really be a Ravens fan. He's had absolutely no interest in wearing his jersey this year. He has a few t-shirts he'll wear, but he hasn't shown interest in wearing the real jersey. Thursday after nap, he pulled it out of his drawer and said - Owen wear Ravens? Of course I let him wear it. He wanted to wear his old jersey from last year to school on Friday. And Saturday morning, I was going to put the same jersey on him, but he said - No, Like Mommy's (I was wearing my jersey). Very cute. Robyn, Jaime and Sofia came over to watch the game, and every time we would cheer, Owen would throw his hands up in the air and jump and yell "SCORE"... Very cute. My little Raven fan...

Overall, we've had an excellent start to 2009, and we sure hope the rest of the year is as wonderful and productive as these first 2 weeks have been.

Happy New Year & GOOD LUCK RAVENS!