Owen had his first day of "school" this past Tuesday--something I've been looking forward to a lot, especially after the Open House and meeting his teacher, etc. In short, he did great. He was so engrossed in his room (new toys, new friends--what's not to love?) that he would hardly say goodbye to me (and Kyle and Bee and Rebecca--dropping him off was a family outing). There are 5 other kiddos in his class (2 boys and 3 girls) that we're really excited about getting to know better. I am the "helping parent" for class this coming Tuesday so it will be a real treat to get to observe him (and then) in their new environment. Here are a few photos his wonderful teacher took that day.
Owen says "shool day!" and talks non-stop about one little friend in his class (that I hardly think he has played with, but he likes to talk about by name when asked about his day).
Today was his cousin Bailey's birthday party along with her friend Abby (who shares the birthday). The park was rained out so we were at Luke/Mel's house where the Sesame Street theme was in full force, including some expertly decorated character cupcakes...Owen thoroughly enjoyed eating Grover (isn't that the green one?).
Here is Rebecca sleeping at the party. She is sporting an adorable little outfit that is on loan from cousin Bailey--so sweet!
Here is Owen playing in the yard w/ the hose (again, I know--you'll think it's all we do here). Kyle had the cooler outside to rinse it and Owen decided it was fun to fill up the little cup holders and drink out of them. "Water, cold, ummmm--dood!"
Here is Dada with sleeping (how else?) Rebecca. We have pictures almost identical to these with Owen. They're (O & R) starting to look more alike to me...what do you think?
Here is Owen just chilling in Rebecca's carseat. He really has adjusted well to having her around. He likes to list her among the things he likes...It goes like this: he lists as quickly as he can spit it out the things he likes--"I like buses, I like cars, I like Bee, I like baby, I like milk, I like swim..." it can go on for minutes and often ends with him just naming things around the room. Owen also likes to play "baby game" where I ask him where her fill in the body part is and he points to it and says "right here/there"!
Here's Owen w/Kyle sitting on one of the iconic Arboretum cows...an Austin must-see attraction. He actually wasn't such a big fan at first, saying "Up too high. Ont down now." He didn't mind the Amy's ice cream that followed the cows as part of our little outing.
Another Austin classic--town lake. Bee and I took Owen and Rebecca on their first big-time walk in the double Bob. We even packed a little lunch for Owen (to help him get used to eating out of his very own lunch box like they do at school--at 10:45!). We saw boats, ducks, and lots of bikes and dogs. We'll try to make a habit out of this, but will avoid going at 11:00 on yet another 100 degree day.
This is the "garden" that Owen built with Bee in our backyard. Looks like he shares her green thumb.
Here is Owen's "after" shot from his most recent haircut (actually, more like during)...she took a lot off in preparation for his first day of school. I was a little taken-aback by the loss of the curls, but a week later they're already coming back, whew.
Here is his "before" shot...yowza!
We have it as almost a daily goal to take pictures of Rebecca (and especially of them together--challenge!) but we're pretty much failing on that end. She's such a sweet, content baby and the squeaky wheel (aka Owen) get the grease, as they say...so.Kyle and I have stopped asking "where did he learn that?" or "did you teach him that" because Owen picks things up from everywhere seemingly all the time...He is our little parrot (repeats everything). He's added a lot more verbs to his vocabulary--I ride, hide, find, swim, chase, eat, drink, want, etc. He's also saying things like "too heavy" and "go real fast". He's also started using a lot of "my" and "yur"--sometimes in a nasty toddler not sharing way, and other times in a cute way, like when he says "my Bee" or "my Nana" when telling them to "no go bye bye"--talk about melting the grandmothers' hearts. It's also handy for taking turns which is proving an effective way to encourage sharing!
Owen has a few new favorite games: hide and seek (several versions)--1) he "hides" in plain sight like in the corner of the room or behind a tree and covers his eyes and laughs hysterically when you find him, 2) he tells Dada to "sit right here," Kyle covers his eyes and Owen tackles him. Not sure why version 2 is called hide and seek, but it is. There is a variation of the latter called "Eat Dada" where Owen "pins" Kyle to the floor and pretends to eat him.
Okay, I think that's about it. Oh..the title of the post: This morning Owen was watching "Wonder Pets" (a top choice on Noggin, behind favorites Diego with his "jawaaaar" and Dora and Boots!) and he told us that the baby animal being saved with a "chipmonkey" (chipmonk). Love it.
