Beeeeeeeeeee!

My mom, Owen's Bee, came up this past week. She spent part of Monday and all day Tuesday w/ Owen and I and then all day Wednesday and Thursday and part of Friday w/ Owen all by herself so Kyle and I could get away for a couple of days. I think everyone had a great time and Owen definitely got some official grandma-spoilage out of the deal.

She bought him his first couple of trains (Thomas, Percy, etc.) with a little track that is a huge hit. He was already obsessed with them and loves playing with David's as well as watching train videos on the computer. (When he sees Kyle or I at the computer he comes in and says Choo Choo or Nay meaning he wants to watch a train or horse video.) Also, she took him to McDonald's for a soft-serve ice cream cone (his first), and no surprise this was a big hit too. Apparently there were quite a few spectators there...

They also spent a LOT of time outside and at the park--I'm so thankful she had him during fairly nice weather. Owen loves loves to go down the big boy slides all by himself now!

He can even swing in the big boy swings if we help. He also really likes to pick up rocks and put them in the bucket and them put them (or throw them) other places. (In hindsight, I think the rock-throwing at the waterfall on our hike may not have been the best idea.)

I am so thankful they had a good time since moving back means we'll have the opportunity for a lot more of these extended playdates w/ Bee. Oh, I didn't mention that he totally knows who she is and says her name (very long--Beeeeeee!) and points. So fun! Maybe it was learning her name that finally made him make the connection that I have a name too (other than Dadda), so he's FINALLY calling me Mama! It still doesn't come as easy as Dada, but he's getting there. :)

His talking is coming so far and seemingly so fast. More and more animal noises and now he can say "more" (as well as sign-it, he does it together) and a very clear "bye bye" and "nigh night", "baow" (ball) , "doh" (dog) ,and moon, also he knows that Christal and Phil's baby is "Nay Nay" (Nathan). I ask him to try to say something and he totally does. Words/phrases like "breakfast" and "I love you" are hard, but he's getting the sounds right even if there are consonants missing, etc. It's so amazing to literally almost be able to see the wheels in his head turning as he figures this stuff out. It's evident his comprehension is ahead of his ability to actually speak what he knows (which must be frustrating!) but it's still amazing! Oh, and he knows the letter "O" and points to it in things.

Anyways, Kyle is back to working days this week so we should have a pretty regular one...

I almost forgot--this may be one of the funniest videos we have of Owen to-date. We discovered a new "game" w/ Owen and he was quite proud of himself (as you can see). Oh, the little "hop" at the end is Owen jumping--which is a new favorite activity. If he actually does get off the ground he usually lands on his rear, so it's usually just a forceful deep-knee bend. :)

Oh, and (praise the Lord!) we have had a good 4-day stretch of good naps! (We've been struggling for a while w/ the transition from 2 naps to 1 in the afternoon.) Some days he'd just take one in the morning (bad) and other days I'd try to keep him up until after lunch and he would almost be in hysterics. Anyways, w/ some advice from the Bible Study girls/moms and Bee there to help, I think (cross my fingers) that Owen has settled into a 1-nap routine. He's going down after lunch around 1 and sleeping from 1.5 to 2 hours which is totally acceptable. So, yea!

March

Just a few photos from well, recently. We keep getting little spurts of spring which is nice but it definitely hasn't stuck yet.

Last week Kyle had a day off (actually he had quite a few, but we'll pay for it the next few weeks) so we went to Hanging Rock to hike around a bit. Owen weighs a lot more in The Backpack than the last time we went hiking with him, but he also cries a lot less, so it's a good trade-off! The highlight of the trip was Kyle letting him throw pebbles into the pond/waterful and getting to see real live Cows ("Moo") and a Horse ("Nay"). After seeing the Nay, Owen just repeated that over and over and over again, as if asking when are we going to see another?

My mom commented that this picture makes it look like Owen wears a curly kid toupe. I don't disagree...

Not sure what He and Lauren ("La") are looking at but I think this picture is funny--like they're some old couple just hanging out in the front lawn--the Mr. pushing the wheelbarrow around and the Mrs. wearing a moomoo. :)

He and David ("Day") having a good old time on the way to or from the park.

Owen LOVES to walk around in big shoes--he especially likes Kyle's big sheepskin slippers, but he'll try to walk in anything including my flip flops. He's at least figured out how to turn them the right way in order to get his feet in w/ them facing the right direction which means he doesn't get frustrated as easily. It's pretty funny to see/hear him scooting around the house like this.

SNOW DAY!

Monday was snow day here in Winston-Salem. A solid 4-6 inches of nice powder fell Sunday night--how's that for the beginning of March! Kyle was off on Monday which worked perfectly because it definitely took both of us to get/keep him "geared" in all his (borrowed) snow clothes and pick him up from face plants, pull the sled, and take pictures.



Here's our house.





Here are our dear friends David, Ann and Lauren. David--thanks for lending Owen your old snow shoes and letting us play with your sled!

Momma (or as Owen calls me still, Dadda) and Owen after our family walk to the park w/ him in his backpack. Yes, those are Kyle's mittens. Hey, they work.

Owen and the real Dadda after something fun.

One of Owen's favorite ways to play in the snow was to scoot down the hill in front of our house or on the side of the Ketch's house on his rear. Very cautious.

The Ketch's slide was a really big hit. We were out early enough that the snow on the street was still powdery too so the sled course went from the top of our hill, across the street, into the Ketch yard and down their side hill.

We ended up putting Owen's jacket over Kyle's mittens (pulled up to almost his shoulders) which meant he sort of resembled Ralphy's little brother. I'm not sure exactly what he was doing here but I know he kept trying to put his little mits in my face.

Dadda taught him how to suck on ice sickles. That'll definitely come in handy some day.

And now for the videos. This one is right after Owen did some rear-end scooting.

Here is Owen's first sled ride on the short course.

It really was a great day. The perfect way to (hopefully) end our seemingly endless winter here. There's still snow on the ground this morning but it should warm up some this weekend which we're looking forard to. All the while we hear its been nice and warm in Texas. Sounds wonderful...until you think about what that means for August!

First Big Boy Haircut

As I mentioned in the last past, we took Owen to get his first haircut by an actual barber. It was time, the fro/mane was out of control. His locks are still curly and in tact, just a little more manageable. He was such a trooper. Here he is on Kyle's lap holding his blanky with Mr. Greg snipping away.