While Momma is away...

It was a big weekend for the Mezger family. First a praise: we have a house in Austin! My mom and I literally combed every street in the greater central Austin area for 2 days (with the help of MLS listings, craigslist, etc.), and well, our options were slim. We didn't expect it to be so hard--you would think that in this (down) market it would be easy to find plenty of rental properties. And there ARE plenty of rental properties, but very very few in the price range we wanted, in one of the areas we wanted, with the space we needed. But on the 3rd (and last) full day of my trip, a new house came on the MLS and it was pretty much perfect. Not exactly where we wanted, but close enough. Plenty of space, nice yard, and well within our budget. It was a photo-finish to get the paperwork in (we knew there was competition) but we got it! The house was actually built in 1966 and has had 1 owner, never rented. It's a really sweet "old lady house" that will be just perfect for us for the next year or two while we get settled. So, yea!

Before I left, Owen had been battling a fever. No other symptoms really, just a decently high fever (103ish) which made him tired and fussy. I felt bad leaving Kyle all alone w/ him, but they prevailed...as the progression in these photos/videos will attest to.

This video is almost mean...but Kyle did go put him right to bed after taking it.



Looking pretty pitiful with his pedialyte.


He started feeling a lot better by Sunday, so they went to Tanglewood Park (where the nays and choo choo are). There is also a big lake/pond with ducks. Here is Owen in hot pursuit of a duck (notice he's carrying his blankie). (We have another video where Owen gets a little too close for the duck's comfort and the duck starts hissing at him.)

Lunch on the choo choo. He'll actually leave his hat on for 10-15 minutes now!

The other news we have is sort of a bummer: Owen had an appointment Tuesday with a peds allergist and they confirmed that he does have a peanut allergy. Kyle took him (I was flying back to NC) so he got to ask lots of questions. For now, we're just going to keep peanuts, peanut butter and ethic (specifically Thai) food out of his diet. If we need to get more extreme (and we hope not) we will, but we're going to try to not go overboard with restricting his diet. We will, however, be prepared at all times w/ an Epi pin (1-dose syringe/needle w/ epinephrine) in case of emergencies. Once we get settled in Austin, he'll get tested for tree nuts as well. There is a 20% chance he'll grow out of the peanut allergy, but we're not getting our hopes up. The good news is that 1) he was also tested for strawberries (because his bad reaction was to a PB&J w/ strawberry jelly) and he's not allergic to them, and 2) peanut oil doesn't have the protein that causes the allergic reaction so we can still eat at Chick-fil-A! :)

Overall, a very productive weekend!

Nana and the Zoo

So, we had a great weekend last weekend--Owen's Nana (Kyle's mom) came to visit. Somehow he managed to keep straight the difference between his two Nanas (grandma and banana). We pretty much just hung around the house and played, except for one big outing to the NC Zoo in Ashboro which was a major hit. Here are some pics from the weekend...

Peekaboo from behind our big tree in the backyard.

We're trying not to encourage this, but Owen's ability to climb has started to speed up. Here he is on the picnic table w/ one of his trucks.

Here they are reading "boootz" together. Nana said that Owen's attention span was sometimes longer than hers! Also, he prefers to read rather than be read to--this means he wants to turn the pages and point out all the things he knows, whether it is an animal, letter (out of a repertoire of 6 or 7), or an action like someone going nigh-nigh or draaaaw(ing).

Okay, here we are at the zoo. I think Nana and Owen are both mooing at something in this photo--something that was most definitely not a cow but looked like one from far away.

I think Kyle was trying to get Owen to pay attention to the giraffes ("raffs") in the distance. Owen's favorite were probably the zebras (Naaaays) and flamingos (ming-mos).

One highlight of the weekend was Nana teaching Owen what a flashlight was (from one of his books). So we brought out an old (huge) mag light for them to play with. When you adjust the bulb a certain way there is a little crescent shaped shadow at the center that looks like a tiny moon surrounded by light. Owen went crazy over this and every time he went into (or near) Nana's room he would ask to see the moon.

Here are a few photos from the week before Nana's visit. Owen just rolled over on his back and started to "read". Doesn't look very comfortable to me, but then again, he wasn't there very long.

I was fixing lunch as quickly as humanly possible but he just couldn't make it...(I think his other leg is underneath him.)

Playing outside w/ Dada and the hose.

Owen's verbal skills continue to amaze us. He's starting to put 2 words together a lot, like "miwk peeeese" and "nigh nigh dada" and he's also learned to ask for help "hep" which is, well, helpful and say excuse me (meeuu me) which is just cute!

He's also making good use of "No" to the point where we need to start being careful what we say around him...tonight before bedtime I said, "Owen, do you want to go take a bath?" to which he responded "No". Okay, so I know not to ask a toddler a question you're not prepared to accept the answer to (even if it's no) but quite honeslty I didn't think he really would understand that. He's smarter than I think! Kyle and I were both laughing about it so to test his understanding (mistake #2) Kyle said, "Owen, do you want some ice cream?" to which Owen responded "peese, peese, peese!". Okay, he understands. We (hopefully) won't make that mistake again.

Oooh--this is big--he's telling us when he poops! (If you have/had kids, you understand what a big deal this is.) He says "boop" and pats his bottom after he goes. It's awesome!

FYI: I'm headed to Austin this weekend to find us a (rent) house and Kyle and Owen will be here having some quality father-son time. You can pray for us all! :)

Fun times in North Carolina

We've been busy trying to enjoy our friends in NC as much as possible these last few weeks. Here are some photos/videos.

Here is Owen playing with the Ketch kids (David and Lauren). I have said it a thousand times and I don't mind repeating myself--we are going to miss these dear neighbors more than we can really say.

Lauren "Miss Feisty" is putting Owen in his place. (Notice that he's riding her pink/purple toy and she's on his red firetruck.)

Love this pic of Owen and Dada. Kyle was sitting on the sidewalk and was being attacked from behind by Owen and from the front by Lauren.

Last weekend we spent some time in Raleigh/Durham. We had dinner w/ Tanya and Lee (Vandy friends) and Owen showed off all his tricks, which, as impressive as they are, did not convince them to start having children. :)

Then we spent Saturday w/ Cary and Jason (also Vandy friends). They have a lake behind their house--don't worry, very shallow and perfectly still. They have 2 kayaks and Owen LOVED going out with them (these are the same friends who have the lake house in southern Virginia where Owen gets to ride in the ski boat--seems they're bent on turning Owen into a lake bum.)

Jason has his kayak rigged w/ floaty things (the technical name) so that he can stand up in it and fish. Here is Kyle w/ Owen in the kayak showing off a fish Jason just caught from shore. Owen was a fan.

Here is Owen in the Kayak with Cary. What a treat.

This one is back at home. Owen can say his name now--"Own". He loves to point to pictures throughout the house (or mirrors) and point out Mama, Dada and Own--even as a baby! It's really fun.

Another Owen tidbit: Kyle has a new game where he counts to three and sort of shoots Owen up into the air while Owen "jumps"--Owen knows to bend his knees to get ready and now has started saying "Two...two..."--it's clearly his favorite number. TTFN.

18 month appointment

We went to Owen's pediatrician today for his 18 month check up (and the last immunization shot--yea!). He is 29 lbs and 5 oz and 34 in tall (both 75-90th %tile). Everything is good except that he has to go see a peds allergy specialist to get tested for peanut and strawberry allergies b/c he had a bad (e.g. hives and edema) reaction to a pb&j sandwich a few weeks ago. I'm hoping it was an anomaly or strawberries rather than peanuts b/c that's a pretty big deal. Otherwise, we're thankful for a healthy, rambuctious todler.

2 for 1 post

I have 3 things to say about this one: 1) Anyone remember the movie Parnethood w/ Steve Martin"? 2) This was unprompted--he decided to put the trashcan on his head and walk around all by himself. A new game (usually minus the crying). 3) Yes, the trashcan is clean.

This is what happens when Kyle is sweet to me and lets me sleep in or go back to sleep. Such a bad influence...

Happy (belated) Easter and Owen update

Happy Easter! We had a great day celebrating. We slept in (rather, Kyle let me sleep in--sweet guy), went to late church, took some pictures out in the SUN! and went to our annual Bible Study potluck dinner. Here are some photos.

It's getting harder and harder to get the little guy to 1) sit still for a photo, and 2) smile at the same time. You understand.

Nice slobbery Easter kiss for Momma. (Incidentally, I thought Owen looked so cute in his little sweater vest and shorts that I wanted to eat him--like a little blue Eater Peep.) And yes, there's a glimpse at my 22-week prego belly. Nice.

After a few photos it was lunch and nap time. After his nap (still in his sleep sack w/ blankie in tow--our little Silas) he got his Easter basket. Two little tubes filled with a variety of small plastic animals were/are a HUGE hit. The Nay and the Moo are definitely his favorite, but he has a sound/name for almost all of them. He likes taking them out of their new home (a plastic zip-lock) and putting them back in. Over and over again. He also got some of those little capsules that you soak in water and they "magically turn into" sponges in various animal shapes. Not such a big hit b/c he just wants to splash around in their water and isn't patient enough to wait the minute until they're done. Maybe next year.

Here we are back outside. He's in the middle of saying "a ball" which comes with very animated facial expressions like most of his words.

He's in the middle of saying something else here too...tree or bee or something. Here he is inspecting an egg that was hanging from a tree at Bible Study. They are (as are all things round-ish) "a ball".
Okay, totally unrelated to Easter. A few weeks ago we went out to eat at our favorite sushi/hibachi grille. Owen LOVED the chopsticks, both to drum on the table with before the food arrived and to poke all the food with (he was persistent in his attempt to try to eat by just stabbing what he wanted with one chopstick). He was a huge fan of the creamy sauce that came w/ my hibachi chicken dinner (but he wanted nothing to do w/ the chicken--he just dipped his chopstick in over and over again) and the (*cooked*) sushi! That night he was definitely in an adventurous mood (compared w/ the days when it seems like all he wants to eat are "nanas" and "rais" (raisins). Another new food thing...begging. It's unfortunatley really cute. After he's eaten, if we're still eating, he'll come over from playing, mouth agape, saying nothing, and just stand at your feet waiting for you to put something into his mouth. Even if it was something he didn't want to eat off of his own plate a few minutes ago. Like a little confused, but adorable puppy dog.

Other updates:

The weather has continued to be rainy a lot, but we've been trying to go to the park whenever we can. He's become quite the pro at getting up to and coming down the big kid slides all by himself. Sometimes it takes him a while because he gets distracted looked at all the big kids (people watcher like his Momma and Bee?).

One of my favorite parts of our day is when Kyle comes home (not for obvious reasons) but b/c we can see him drive up through the glass doors off the kitchen and all I have to do is point and say "Owen look" and he runs up to the door and starts stomping and yelling Dada Dada!...it's truly priceless.

He's consistently taking 1 nap, which is good, but its still a struggle to keep him "happy" during those late morning hours. Nighttime continues to be a breeze. And lately, Owen has started "helping" with the bedtime routine by telling us what's next. After his bath and saying goodnight to whichever parent is not putting him to bed, we go upstairs and he says "bank" and "boooootz" (blankie and books--it's reading time), and when we finish with that he says "tee" for brushing his teeth, then when we're done we go back into his room and he says "sohn" for songs and then its night night time. So sweet.

Speaking of happy...when he is, he is, and boy when he's not, he's really not. Kyle and I have been talking about this a lot recently. Our friends Katie/Joel put a post on their blog about their daughter Emmy (a few months younger than Owen) who is seriously testing limits and showing her little rebellious spirit. Owen shows his in a different way. We think overall (for his age of course) he's really good about responding to No. He understands what is off limits and doesn't generally test us/them. In fact, he walks around the house sometimes pointing to certain things and saying "No" because he knows there is a no-no associated with them (like the elliptical trainer, or our bookshelf--he can't pull the books off), etc. HOWEVER, (and it's a big one) he may not be a limit-tester (yet/now) but he is a SERIOUS fit-thrower/whiner. Boy howdie. It seems like a big part of my day with him these days is dealing with little tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants, whether its 1) to draw with a sharpie instead of a crayon, 2) to eat his weight in raisins right before dinner, 3) to take his ride-on fire-truck on an errand...you get the idea. I sure hope this is a phase. I'm praying that the more he is able to communicate (and understand us), the better he'll be able to cope w/ not getting what he wants all the time. It's a lesson we all have to learn I guess. (This hasn't been the case w/ "More" because now that he can clearly say it, he often gets frustrated that the need/want isn't always met right away or at all...like, hey--I told you what I wanted, what's the hold-up?). Same goes for "my".

And speaking of communication...again, we are parents in awe. Just how quickly he (they--we realize he's probably not a genius, but its still amazing) picks things up. The limiting factor is definitely his verbal ability to actually pronounce things. It seems there is NO limit to the amount of words he can absorb. Kyle or I can tell him a few times what something is and then later ask him where it is or to point it out in a book and he can do it. One of Kyle's pet teaching projects is to start working on the alphabet with him (ambitious, yes). He can recognize and say O, E, I, A and B. Preschool here we come! :) Kyle has also taught Owen how to do "nuckles" or "fist pump" to add to his repetoire of greetings (hug, kiss, high five, wave). How very urban hip of him.

Can't think of much else. Choochoos, animals and balls continue to be the favorites. And bowls. He loves to have everything in bowls--his snack, bath toys, rocks. He's happiest if he has a bowl to put things in. Go figure.

As Owen says..."Byeeeeeeeee". (This is now umprompted--we don't have to tell him to say bye bye anymore. Also, he likes to say it to things--like when I put a box of crackers back in the pantry, or when he flushes the toilet (not htat he's potty trained, he just likes to flush the toilet--he waves at the water and says byeeee.) Okay, enough rambling...byeeeeee.

SOLD!

We SOLD our house today! Wooohooo! Praise the Lord!!!

It's been quite a learning experience and lots of work, but everything really turned out well and we're super glad to not have to keep the house "perfect" and plan our weekends around showings. Hopefully we won't do this again for a while!

We will really miss this house--it's been a great home for us and we have sooooo many memories here--all of Owen's firsts. But, it's all a part of the plan, so we're thankful.

We close June 10th so most likely Owen and I will move to AUSTIN(!) the weekend before and Kyle will follow at the end of the month.

We'll keep you posted. :)