19 Months Old

Owen hit the 19 month mark yesterday and broke

3 teeth along with it (3 more on their way). What

a big boy we have in the house. He is very passionate

and spirited to say the least. He knows what he wants

and will tell you or show you in order to get it. He has

more words than I can count and is putting several 2 words

combinations together, like "one more" for bedtime

stories. He's recently developed a LOVE for

choo-choo trains. He will hear them off in the distance

in town and stop everything he is doing to announce

"choo choo" with his lips pursed to the likes of a butterfl

fish - very adorable. Jordan turned on a Thomas episode

early one Sunday morning and Owen fell in love. He will

bring us the remote and point to the TV saying "choo choo"

at least 10 times a day. I find myself driving to

downtown Oconomowoc several times during the week

just so we can pass the train tracks 15 times before

getting a glimpse of a real choo choo whizzing by us. The

excitement and look on his face is enough to make me

do everyday for the next 10 years.

Another love of his is 'real' cars. He begs me to

sit in the driver seat anytime he passes my car. He

even knows how to turn my hazards on and off. He continues

to be a complete ham in front of strangers and is

definitely the most entertaining toddler in our

Giggle and Wiggle class. Several moms have commented

that "he is a riot". He will give a kiss and high five

on request and even do a little dance if he's in the

right mood

"Simon says put your hands over your head"

"Choo Choo"

Driving Mommy's Car

Skype-ing

Occasionally Owen will skype with my parents

to say hello. He picked up on it right away and

I wanted to make sure I had it on video for him

someday.

Learning From Sesame Street

Owen watched this episode once and learned

how to go forward and backward...priceless.

Madison Zoo

On 6/30 we headed to Madison with Abby and Katy.

It just happened to be Abby's Birthday that day and Katy's first zoo! We

had a lot of fun together despite the 1 hour delay we had

due to construction on 94. It became the first of our

2 trips together with Abby driving and me in the back

between the 2 carseats inserting nukis and shushing.

Abby was our personal photographer of the day and

took what has become one of my favorite pictures of

Owen and Me

Yeah! More Goats to Feed

Owen loves feeding these goats just as much

as he did at the Milwaukee Zoo

Katy's first trip to the zoo and first experience

in the Baby Bjorn. As you can see she was very

cozy and slept most of the time

Riding on the Carousel

Waiting for the Choo-Choo

Very fitting for my little monkey

Fourth of July, 2010

We headed to Batavia for the fourth this year.

Our little guy missed the fireworks again this year

due to bedtime and the fact that he screamed

"no" every time Daddy set a few off in the yard. We

still had a fun day cooking out and learning to hit

a baseball.

Grandma Yaya showing him how to hit

Putting the ball back on the tee

Papa showing him how to hold the bat

Apples Everywhere

Jordan showing Owen how to pick apples

and throw them in the woods

"Hi Mom"

Walking back to the house with Papa

Cooling off with Great Aunt Cathy

Love the "cheese" face

Poolin with Great Grandpa, Great Aunt Cathy,

and Daddy

Hiding Leaves in the Bird House with 2nd

Cousin Jenna and her boyfriend Steve

"Cheese" with Ice Cream!

One of our many (yeah!) weekends spent

with Abby and Katy

You should always wear a helmet while grass

sledding :)

Owen and Katy's first bath together

A Day With Baby Katy

Abby had to go to a work conference and entrusted

me with the care of Katy-pillar for 1 whole day!

I was so excited to have a baby girl in this house,

but very nervous about handling both Owen and

Katy, so I called in reinforcements : Grandma and

as a bonus Aunt Joan was in town! They came to

spend the night with us before Katy came and then

stayed to play for a while. I was so happy to see

how well Owen handled Katy being in the house. I

learned to include him in many of her activities

(i.e. getting a bottle, diapers, showing her toys)

and he loved it and her. He even had me thinking I

was ready for another one by the end of the day! We

had such a wonderful day together and I ended up

taking about 80 pictures of her beautiful face when

all was said and done.

Playing with Grandma and Aunt Joan

I love this action picture. Owen was throwing

the "ball" to Aunt Joan and it landed perfectly

in her hands. I think we have a little pitcher.

Just hanging out

He had to have a turn too

Pretty Girl Katy-pillar

"Hey, Try This, You'll Like it"

Abby was very sweet (and brave) to let Owen

give Katy her nuki before she left. To my surprise

he was incredibly gentle with her. He slowly brought

the nuki to her mouth and was very patient while she

opened her mouth. As you can see he was very excited

with the final product!

Camping!!!

Well, Jordan did it. He took Owen on his first

camping trip when he was 18 months old. There were

many naysayers (mommy included) who were not

confident in this little excursion, but he proved us

wrong and had FUN doing it!

On a hot July weekend Jordan, Owen, Jonathan and

Carter Flack headed to Lake Kegonsa State Park

for a boys only weekend. They set up tents, went

on bike rides, roasted dinner and smores,

and checked out the stars at night. Unfortunately

the Lake was closed that weekend so it became

a little too hot on Saturday to stay the rest of the

weekend. They came home a day early exhausted

and full of stories.

The daddy's came well equipped with toys

Awwww

Cooking Dinner Over the Fire

Yummy

The boys checking out a Cicada

Monkey See Monkey Do

Owen Napping

A feat only a Daddy could handle!