Hilton Head 2009

What a fantastic trip to Hilton Head! Daddy, Owen, Grandma and I all left Baltimore, Friday evening June 26th, facing the first 6+ hours of our trip. Owen was very good in the car, even though he didn't sleep a wink! We drove until 12:30 am, and finally checked into the hotel, not a moment too soon. We all crashed and woke up about 8am, got some breakfast, and headed back onto the road. We arrived in Hilton Head, after our 11 hour journey and were so excited to see what a gorgeous home we would be staying in. The ride was long, but after seeing the beauty of Hilton Head, we were convinced this would be one cool place to vacation. The house was huge and very nicely decorated. We had 5 bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, a gourmet kitchen, a large deck and huge patio with a pool. We were 3 or 4 rows back from the beach, but once we figured out how to get there, it was well worth the trek. I would definitely stay at this same house again!

Steve, Lisa, Taylor & Sienna arrived late night on Saturday, so after everyone finally got settled into bed much later than normal, but very excited about heading to the beach in the morning. Sunday we decided to head to the public beach, where we could drive there, park, and then take all our stuff to the beach. Sounded good, but the downside was the crowd! It was so crowded there, it was hard to even find a spot to put our stuff down. We made the best of it, but definitely decided we needed to figure out how to get everyone to the private beach that was near our home.

The kids really enjoyed the pool at our house too. Owen LOVED having a pool in his back yard. He swam so well, it was amazing how quickly he had picked up kicking his feet to motor where he wanted to go. He was swimming like a little fish by the end of the first day. So independent!

Once we decided the public beach was for the birds, we set out the second day for the private beach. Then we really got to enjoy the luxurious side of Hilton Head. We had the beach almost to our selves. It was so great, because the kids could play and have fun and we didn't have to be worried about them lost in the crowd. It was also so incredible watching Owen braving the waves, and having a blast in the ocean. Last year in Ocean City, he wouldn't even put his feet in the sand, much less a big toe in the ocean! How much he has grown!

The crabs on the beach were definitely a sight. I haven't seen anything like them ever! They were everywhere! They crawled into your bag, over the beach blankets, they were kinda gross. The kids didn't mind them, but Grandma - batted down everyone that got near her! One even found it's way into my beach bag, and we found it in our room under the night stand. EWWW! Fortunately, they started to disappear by the end of the week.

The cousins got a long great. They had their little tiffs, but Owen loved being around them. Every morning, he would wake up and say - where are the cousins? It was so neat for them to get to spend such good quality time together, since they live so far apart! Oh, and the grownups had fun too!!!

One of the highlights of the trip was definitely Greg Russell. He plays in a place called Harbor Town, under a huge oak tree. Has been singing there for over 30 years, and he invites all the kids up on stage, sings songs, tells funny stories, invites the kids to sing along. It was so good, we went back a second time. Owen is still singing the Green Alligator Song. So adorable!

We had dinners in, dinners out, and even some carry out. We had a terrific (but very late) dinner at the Crazy Crab, Uncle Steve & Aunt Lisa took us all out to dinner at Red Fish, we also went to the Salty Dog Harbor, and a few other places. It was nice to get out and explore such a neat place.

After years and years of vacationing in Ocean City, Maryland, we now fully understand why people drive 10+ hours to the South Carolina beaches, year after year. It was wonderful, and a very memorable trip that we will remember for a long time. We decided to make the drive all the way home without stopping at the hotel. We were so tired after the long drive home, but so happy to be home rather than still facing a few hours in the car on Sunday. Grandma was also super happy to get back to our house on Saturday, because that meant that she could drive home Sunday morning. It had been such a long car ride, but Owen was so amazing, we were so proud of him!

We got home on the 4th of July about 8pm, just in time for Daddy to get ready to light off the fireworks he had bought in South Carolina! What a way to end our trip!

Funtime, Summertime

It's been another fun and busy month! And we're getting ready to leave for Hilton Head tomorrow! After 3 months of waiting, our vacation is finally here. Owen is so excited to go to the beach! He's all ready to play in the sand and swim in the pool with his cousins!


As usual, we've been pretty busy! We went to a few carnivals, had several pool days (in between many, many very rainy days). We also took a trip to Hershey for Grandma's birthday, and went to the bay house to celebrate Father's Day.
Father's Day was very relaxing and Owen was such a good boy, he had so much fun playing with everyone, and always wanted to be where the action was. He's grown up so much!


Our neighbor broke ground on a new pool, and Owen has been loving the construction. He actually think it's HIS pool. Maybe the neighbors will be nice enough to let us take a dip every once in a while. But Owen has been enjoying going to the pool that we joined this summer. There is a HUGE little kid pool that is about 18 inches deep with fountains and sprinklers, and recently he started going into the big pool, wearing his swim vest. He loves jumping in from the side of the pool, and using his water guns. We're really happy that we joined the pool this summer, and it is so nice that it is only 5 minutes from our house. Owen loves going!


He also has a small baby pool that we fill up in our back yard. He just really enjoys the water, and it's so fun to watch him entertain himself and play!


This month was also Owen's final Gymnastics class until the fall. He really enjoys gymnastics, and he keeps asking to go, but we decided to take the summer off, and go back in the fall after the weather cools down (and the pool closes).



We passed the Baby Cradle that was given to me by Mom-Mom, to Justin and Samantha, who are expecting Baby Jackson to arrive any day now. We decided to make the cradle for all of Mom-Mom's great grand children, and had a plaque made and Owen's name put on the cradle as the first user. Hard to believe that Owen slept in this tiny cradle. And when Baby Jackson is done with it, his Mommy & Daddy will add his name and birthday to the cradle and pass it on to the next Great-Grandchild... Owen wanted to sleep in it again... :)

Another highlight that I remember from this month was going to Tyler's birthday party. Tyler turned 4 earlier this month, and he had a birthday party at a Karate Studio near our house. Owen was a little shy at first, because he was tired and a lot of the kids were older, but he stepped right up to the teacher when it came time to break the boards. He was so proud of himself when he broke it with his foot! He took it to Daddy and said - "I kicked it really hard!" We were very impressed! (I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures of this).


We also went bowling with Tyler and Candace in Timonium. We were supposed to go to the zoo, but it ended up raining, but we had a blast. Owen and Tyler are getting along so nicely, it's so cute to see them play together. So cute!


So we're off to Hilton Head tomorrow, and while I'm dreading the drive, I can hardly wait to get there and let the kids relax and play.

May Videos

Owen at Miami Beach in Middle River, MD - this year he loves the sand...

Owen singing - Rain Rain Go Away:

Laughter is the best medicine - (One day when Owen was home sick... but starting to feel better):

Owen doing the Trapeze at Gymnastics (after months of being afraid of this, he loves it now):

Spring has Sprung... Lots of Fun!

Wow, May is over already! But what a fun month we’ve had! The weather is getting warmer, and that allowed us to have a lot of fun times outside. It also rained…A LOT… so we also had to find some fun activities inside too… We had a very active month with a bunch of activities, and I’m wracking my brain trying to remember all the stuff we did. We had visits to Pop at the bay house, Granny for lunch, a visit from Grandma (and she also came down for a visit too), and even dinner with Great Mom-Mom, and a trip to visit Grandpa and Grandma Bev. A bouncy play date & lunch with Melissa and Alik, a dinner play date with Robyn, Jaime and Sofia and so many other fun activities, it’s hard to remember them all.

I think it’s fair to say that we’re really going to enjoy this summer. Owen is enjoying every minute we get to play outside and enjoying all the warm weather activities – bikes, playground, sand box, pool and baby pool, watering flowers, all the good stuff! Last summer was so consumed with moving that we didn’t enjoy it nearly as much… This summer is going to be different, I can tell…

We bought Owen a sandbox last month, due to his overwhelming fear of being messy and he HATED the sand last year, so with Hilton Head fast approaching, I wanted to get him used to the sand. It took about 6 weeks to desensitize him (it wouldn’t have taken so long had we not had so much rain). But not we will completely immerse himself in the sand, cover his feet and allow the sand to stick to him. So after doing it in the sandbox, I rewarded him with a trip to “Miami” Beach in Middle River. It’s on the bay, and he had a blast! He put his feet in the water, and loved running around the beach. It’s nice to feel that we won’t have to battle the sand when we go on vacation in June, that he’ll enjoy it and have fun playing!

May also included a wonderful Mother’s Day. It was my 3rd Mother’s Day, and it sure was special, since Owen can actually say, Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy and give kisses and understand. It made it very special. We had a lovely brunch, and it was so great! I loved especially that we were home from brunch relatively early, and had plenty of time to relax. Something I so rarely get to do these days…

Memorial Day we went over to Pop’s house on the bay, and had a big BBQ with everyone. Owen didn’t have a nap that day (we’ve been letting him skip a nap once in a while (when it’s not a school night) so that we can do things during the afternoon, and he’s been doing remarkably well when he does skip.

All in all, a fantastic and wonderful month. We are very blessed as a family.

New Video

Here are 2 recent videos of Owen... I got a Flip Video Camera for my birthday, and have loved snapping videos of Owen. It makes it so easy to share videos, because there is no DVD involved, just download to computer and go! So COOL! Can you tell I LOVE IT!

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.