Merry Christmas!

Owen had a great second Christmas. He spent Christmas Eve with the Thierauf Family, Christmas morning with mommy and daddy, then off to Grandpa Watson's house, then out to the Lee house. It was a busy couple of days for him, but he did well, fever and all. He went to bed on the 23rd with a little fever, but woke up around 1 am with a 104 temp! It scared the crap out of me, but we called the exchange and they said as long as he was acting normal not to worry.

We are going to have to move just to house all of Owen's toys! He got so much for Christmas and we're running out of space to put it all. Here's the pile thus far, and he still has another round of presents to go (plus the train table and kitchen set that are already downstairs):

Owen very excited with the night's events:

The classic telephone toy from mom and dad:

Cheesy smile:

Very impressed with the airplane from Aunt Carrie and Joe:

Tickle Tickle

Owen's new favorite game is "tickle, tickle!" Any time he's in our room, he climbs up on our bed, lies down, and waits for tickles. He completely cracks up, it's so funny! Now, any time I saw tickle tickle, he starts giggling and runs to the bed. It's so cute to watch him wait for tickles.

Longest Week Ever

I don't know if this week is dragging because I'm dealing with a tantrum throwing toddler or because of Christmas anticipation. I'm guessing it's because of the tantrums, because I haven't even really thought much about Christmas. Owen's been throwing fits out of frustration so often lately. I feel so bad because I have no idea what he wants and I know he's trying so hard to communicate with us. Anyway, thankfully it's almost the weekend! I'm hoping that all of the Christmas activities will distract him enough to keep him from the tantrums.

Owen's First Snow

Ok, it's technically not his first snow, but it's the first time he was actually able to go outside and play in it. We ended up getting several inches, so we thought it would be fun to take him out and play. After searching a few places for sleds with no success, we figured Owen would have to do without. We bundled him up (think A Christmas Story) and took him out. At first, he was very uninterested in the snow and wanted to play on the steps instead. We took him around to the backyard and he freaked out because it was too deep for him to walk. Mike flattened out a path for him and he quickly warmed up to the idea of snow. He was lying down in it, playing with Bailey, and sliding down his slide into a pile of snow. Bailey and Owen were having a blast playing outside and we had to drag them both back into the house.

Snow!

They had been predicting 2-4 inches of snow, then 4-6, and finally 6-8 by the end of the night. The last time snow and ice was predicted, we didn't get any, so I figured this would be the same. We were planning on going out to dinner for my birthday (a little late) at Westport. Reservations were at 6:30, nothing was happening weather-wise, so we left as planned. It started getting worse and worse as we were driving. By the time we exited the highway, we had seen several cars spin out and others parked along the side of the road. This was definately not looking good for the drive home. We had a nice dinner at Kobe's even though Owen was slightly terrified of the fire.

The drive home was a little crazy and extremely slow. Mike's car is not exactly the best car for snowy weather, but we finally made it home. A drive that normally takes 30 minutes took us over an hour, but we made it back safely.

Cranky Pants!

What a little crab we have today! I don't what the deal is, but Owen is one cranky little man today. Nothing is making him happy at all. He doesn't know what he wants, one minute he's crying for me to pick him up and as soon as I do, he's wiggling out of my arms. This continues over and over until I can somehow manage to distract him for 5 minutes. I'm guessing that part of the problem is the fact that he woke up at 5:13 am this morning and wouldn't go back to bed. Either that or he's tired of being cooped up in the house with me all day! We spent pretty much all week with the exception of Wednesday in the house and he must be getting bored.

St. John's Party

This morning was the Christmas party at St. John's and our last New Mom's Network meeting that we'll probably attend. I thought that maybe seeing all of his friends visit Santa might get Owen to warm up to the idea of sitting on his lap. I was definately wrong! He was worse this time than when we were at the mall. When they called us up there, he didn't even want to go near the guy! It took a while for him to calm down enough to even sit on my lap next to Santa. The photographer said that he got one or two pics of Owen looking at the camera, but I'm not expecting anything very good. I really didn't take any pictures at the party because I was chasing Owen around too much.

We had lunch at West County with Rylynn, Jace, Kaden, and their moms afterwards. The mall was not nearly as crowded as I thought it would be with Christmas so soon. We were on a mission to find Josie and Kailey a birthday present while there. After circling the mall twice, I decided to just get them Starbucks gift cards and some lip gloss. It took nearly 3 hours of shopping, but we finally got it finished, plus I picked up Carrie's gift also. Owen and Rylynn were getting a little sick of being confined to their strollers, so we let them play for a while.

I can't believe that Owen's second Christmas is quickly approaching! It seems like we were planning for his party yesterday. This past year as flown by way too fast. I'm looking forward to celebrating Christmas this year and seeing how Owen will react. It should be a lot of fun since he can actually participate this year. I'm excited to see his reaction to everything.

No More Nursing

Today was day one of not nursing Owen. It's a little sad, but I'm mostly happy to be finished with it. We lasted 13.5 months, which is much longer than I had originally thought we'd make it. I was sick on Sunday and couldn't sleep because Owen wanted to constantly nurse, so I decided then that I was finished and that it would be his last time. He was down to only once in the morning anyway, so it wasn't very hard to do. This morning was a little rough though. He normally wakes up around 5:00 am or so, nurses, then goes back to sleep until 7:00 am. Not today! He woke up and stayed awake! I offered him a sippy of milk and tried rocking him, but he wasn't having it. We ended up just getting up for the day. Hopefully things will get easier.

When I first decided that I was going to breastfeed, I set a goal of 3 months. Once we hit the 3 month mark, I said 6 months. We made it to 6 months with no problems, so I decided to just keep going until Owen wanted to wean himself. Well, my child was slightly attached to nursing, so I don't think he'd ever completely wean himself. He was down to once a day, so I figured now was as good a time as any. It's such a bittersweet thing for some reason. I really didn't think it would be so emotional, but it is. I'm happy that we lasted this long though. Going this long was a big surprise to me and I honestly never imagined we'd do it for this long.

Christmas Get Together

Today was the day we were planning on celebrating Christmas with Owen's playgroup at our house. We started out unsure if the party would actually take place because of some icy weather, but it turned out being fine. Mike and I cleaned up the house and got it ready for guests while Owen hung out and played. We got everything ready so that Mike could leave before everyone was scheduled to arrive. He was not sticking around to party with us and I was instructed to call him once it was safe for him to return.





Everyone made it to our house safely and the party went well. We had a lot of food, presents, fun, and chaos. Our house isn't exactly large, so cramming 7 adults and 7 babies into our basement was interesting. The kids didn't seem to mind though, they had a great time playing with Owen's toys and all of the wrapping paper. We did a secret santa exchange, so that took place today too. Liam drew Owen's name and got him a set of bath toys and a coloring/sticker book. Some of the other gifts that were exchanged included Little People, a FP vacuum cleaner, blocks, books, etc.





I think the highlight of the day was trying to get 7 kids to cooperate for a picture. You would have thought that we were torturing these kids. In the end, we managed to get a few decent pictures out of it.






After the last of the guests left, I called Mike to let him know he was safe to come home. We did a little cleaning up and had to search a little for our remote which was found at the bottom of the trash can.



Other pictures from the day can be seen here HERE

Haircut

Despite the fact that Owen and I were both sick, we ended up accomplishing a lot today. We braved the cold weather and the crowds and went to Toys R Us to return some stuff. On to the bank and to visit Grandpa W at work. Owen loves going to visit Grandpa at work because all the guys there love him! He walks around there like he owns the place.

Since Owen's hair was getting ridiculously long and shaggy, we finally got it cut. Since he's done so well with his haircuts before, Mike figured this one would be easy. I was thinking it was going to get worse since he's more aware of what's going on around him now. I was definately right on this one! Even a Blue's Clues video playing, animal crackers and sitting in a firetruck did nothing for him. He cried most of the time, but it got cut! He looks so much better now too. Some before and after pics:

After Owen went to bed this evening, Mike and I made santa cookies for Owen's Christmas party tomorrow. For some reason, they didn't turn out as well as they usually do, many santas were decapitated. They taste yummy, but not so attractive.

Happy St. Nick's!

Today's Owen's first St. Nick's Day. Technically, it's his second, but we forgot about it last year, so it's the first to him. We got him a Little People Christmas book and a little Curious George stuffed animal, but he's been playing with them for a few weeks, so they're not really new to him. He found them a while ago in our bedroom and played with them every morning, but now they are officially his and he could care less about them, naturally.

Growing up, I thought everyone celebrated St. Nick and didn't know of anyone that didn't. Apparently, I was wrong :) None of Owen's buddies celebrate it, nor do most people across the country. A little more info on the day if anyone's interested can be found HERE

Little Rams Fan

After a little arguing and convincing, we got Grandpa W to take Owen to his first Rams game. He was planning on taking only Mike, but Owen and I managed to go along. He'd promised that he'd take us several other times, so this time I made him :) Anyway, the weather was unseasonably warm when we left (around 60 degrees) so we had a nice walk to the dome. We met up with all my dad's tailgating friends and had "breakfast" at The Feisty Bulldog." After a little tailgating, we headed up to the game.

Since the Rams have had such a dismal season thus far, I wasn't expecting much. And since Owen doesn't enjoy sitting still for any period of time, I figured we wouldn't be watching much of the game. He did surprisingly well. The first half he watched the game, gave high fives and head butts, ate, played with the cell phone, etc. He ended up passing out during half-time and most of the third quarter which was nice :)

The Rams were leading the whole game, but being their normal crappy selves, they tried to lose it in the 4th quarter. I guess Mike, Owen, and I are good luck though! They finally won a game at home and are now 1-5 at home.

We get ready to leave the game and are met with freezing temps and high winds! Quite the change from the morning. Owen was freezing by the time we made it to the car, but enjoyed himself.

No Nap Owen

Normally no nap Owen usually equals disaster, but today was a pleasant surprise! For some reason the kid would not nap. I tried playing his aquarium, rocking, nursing, putting him in the crib, nothing would get him to sleep. Since he wasn't crabby, I decided to just let him play. We played all day and had so much fun! I wish everyday could be like today. I love watching him! He played with his books, his balls, Bailey, his Little People, Jake, his truck, his sippy cups, his spoons, the doors, etc. Anything was entertaining to him.

We went to Walmart to pick up our Christmas cards; happy, smiling Owen. Babysitting; happy as well. He was cracking himself up at the Mullen's. He'd lie down on the floor and just laugh for no apparent reason. Then he'd get up, move to another spot, and do it again. I could listen to his giggles and laughs all day.

Needless to say, this happiness had to come to an end at some point. Unfortunately, Mike had to be the one to deal with it. I was going to a wine tasting with Mandy, so Mike and Owen were home together for the night. Owen did not like seeing his mommy leave, and he turned into a very unhappy little boy. Mike said he calmed down relatively quickly and the rest of the evening went smoothly though. Hopefully he sleeps through the night and maybe even past 7:00 am. Wishful thinking :)

Christmas Picture Completed!

We finally got a decent picture of Owen to use for our Christmas cards! He's been very uncooperative during our photoshoots as of late. It's nearly impossible to keep a toddler posed in one spot for any length of time in case you've never tried. Anyway, we put a Santa hat on him and bubbles on his face while he was in the tub. It wasn't exactly what we originally planned, but it's cute and it's done!

Birthday

Today was my birthday, 26th birthday actually. My mommy friends took me out to lunch at Olive Garden :) It was probably a terrifying sight for the staff at OG to see 5 moms walking in with their 5 babies. I felt bad for our waitress, but she was great putting up with all of us.

Owen got the second part of his flu shot today also. The ped's office has a room set for flu shots, so when we walk in, he knew something was up. He was eyeing up the nurse when she walked in the room. The nurse stuck him on the leg and he had a little bit of a delayed reaction, then his little lip started quivering. He cried for all of 30 seconds when he got his hands on my cell phone which makes everything better. After he got his Ernie sticker, we were off.

Grandma and Grandpa T came over to babysit since we were going out to dinner at J.Buck's for my birthday/Dining Out for Life. Since Shari bailed on us, dinner was just Mike, Tim, Joan, and I. Dinner was good and we had apple bread pudding for dessert! After dinner, Julie brought Abbie over for us to see. She's so tiny! Mike and I were talking about how fast the past year has flown by and how we don't even remember when Owen was that little. They brought over a cookie bouquet from Cookies by Design that were huge and delicious!

Santa

We made the trek over to St. Clair mall in IL to see Santa this morning. We could have gone to South County or Crestwood, but Mike works with the guy that is Santa over there. Owen reacted pretty much the way I thought he would. He was okay with him until he realized that we were going to leave him. Mike had to hold him the whole time, but we got some cute pictures! I didn't want to torture him and get the screaming child picture.





We shopped at the mall for a while to get some more gifts bought. I ended up spending most of my birthday money on clothes which I desperately needed. Mike took Owen for a walk so that I could shop alone. I came out of the store to find them being harassed by some mall workers. Those people that sell stuff for your nails had Mike trapped. It was pretty funny.





After a trip to Toys R Us, we finished all of our shopping! We only have to buy 2 gifts for the rob your neighbor exchange which will be easy. I'm so happy to have it finished and out of the way!





Since Owen had on his Christmas-y clothes, we decided to try taking a few pics for our Christmas cards. Yeah, bad idea. Owen did not cooperate at all! He was not interested in looking at the camera or smiling. All he wanted was his sippy of milk. Needless to say, we will be working on pictures another day.





Here's the picture of Owen (and Mike) with Santa:





Owen in his Steak-N-Shake hat Mike brought home for him:



Owen and his buddy Bailey:

Black Friday

Owen had his first Black Friday shopping experience today. Shari and I were at Crestwood Mall at 5:00 am, but I did not subject O to this! Mike, Owen and I went out to a few places in the afternoon. I didn't go out at all last year since Owen was so young, so I can't really compare, but it didn't seem all that crazy to me. Sure it was busy, but nothing outrageous.

Owen tolerated the shopping and the crowds well. We let him play in the play area at South County Mall, so I think that made him happy. He really loves that place and it makes shopping with him much more pleasant.

After all the shopping was finished, we headed home. Tim, Joan, and Ces came over after Owen went to bed to hang out.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a nice Thanksgiving and hope that everyone else did too. We went to Grandma and Grandpa T's house for lunch and then to the Lee house for dinner. Everything was yummy and Owen had a good time eating all the great food! He wasn't too thrilled about turkey, but ate everything else.

It snowed a little while we were out in Eureka, so it was O's first real snow. It snowed a few times last year, but he was always so bundled up in his carseat to really experience it. Anyway, it wasn't very much, but he thought it was pretty cool.

This year's first snow compared to last year's:

Jealous Boy

This afternoon we met up with Caleb and Melissa for some fun and to bring them a basketball toy. Owen and Caleb had fun playing with one another and it was nice to catch up with Melissa. I can't believe that baby Evan (or maybe Gavin) will be here in March! It's crazy how fast time is going by!

Owen and I finally made it over to see baby Abbie. We've been trying to get over there for almost a week now. She's so cute and tiny! Owen was not too happy when he saw his mommy holding another baby. He was trying to push her away and climb up in my lap. My little jealous boy doesn't want to share his mommy yet.

Owen's 8th tooth finally came through today! I could see it for a while now and I'm guessing that's what has been keeping him up at night. He now has 4 on top and 4 on bottom.

Owen's been growing and changing so much lately, here's a list of new things:
-can sign milk, sleep, more, all finished, and eat.
-can now say eyes, Owen, hello, wee (his word for car), and oh shit
-loves to give Jake hugs
-can throw the ball in the basketball hoop
-can stand up alone w/o pulling up on something
-loves to be tickled
-thinks it's hilarious to feed Bailey
-loves playing in his truck

November Birthdays

We celebrated the November birthdays at Anne's and Ces's house this evening. It was Grandma T's, Aunt Erin's and mommy's birthday dinner. It's funny how you don't realize how nice it is to have a baby proofed house until you spend an afternoon in someone's non baby-friendly home. It was nonstop chasing Owen around and grabbing things from him. I was worn out from all of the running around! It was a good time though and I think everyone had fun.

Owen brought some of his toys along for Luke and him to play with. Luke was very interested in Owen's Thomas train which was fine with Owen. At one point, Owen was playing with it, and Luke wanted it. Luke began to cry, and O walked over and handed the train over. It was so cute that he wanted to share!

Trivia and Crabby Pants

Since Mike let Owen play with Bailey's water bowl and it broke, we needed to get him a new one and we had some other errands to run. Owen's becoming increasingly more difficult to deal with while shopping now. He's definately getting a little bit of an attitude and it shows when he doesn't get his way. Since he's walking now, he doesn't want to sit in the cart at all, but he's completely out of control if he's out! It makes shopping very interesting.

Tonight was trivia night at Vianney for the Dan Riordan Memorial Scholarship Fund. Grandma and Grandpa T came over to babysit tonight and Owen had fun with them. Trivia night was fun even though our table didn't do very well. We had a lot of good food and drinks, so it was fine.

Owen was asleep when we got home around midnight, but woke up at 2:30 am. Mike conveniently sleeps through these middle of the night wakings as of late. O was a little crab when he woke up and was difficult to get back to sleep. He finally fell asleep and proceeded to wake up again at 4:30 am and then around 7:00 am for the day. It was not a fun night and I hope it was only a one time thing.

Cluck-fest

This evening was scrapbooking, and it was my turn to host. Marcey, Mandy, Mary, and Rachel were all over while Mike was forbidden to come downstairs. We were downstairs for about 4 hours or so and Mike said it was the biggest cluck-fest he's ever heard. Anyway, it was a good time sans kiddos.

"Oh Shi!"

Thanks to Rachel, Owen has a new favorite phrase. He walks around the house yelling "Oh Shi." It's pretty funny because he can't pronounce the "t" sound so Mike decided that he's talking about OSHA instead.

I haven't felt like putting new pictures onto the computer, so for now, no new pics of Mr. O.

Cooper Ella

We had a meetup at Cooper Ella today with the New and Expecting Moms group. I love Cooper Ella and so does Owen. It's a cute cafe in Maplewood geared towards parents and kids. It's one of the few places that I don't feel bad about going to eat because of the mess Owen will inevitably make. We always seem to leave a trail of food wherever we go these days and I feel guilty about eating out because of the mess. Anyway, this place welcomes kids and the mess that follows. I also love the fact that there is entertainment for Owen and the other kids. It allows them to play while we socialize a little. Plus they are the only place I've been to that serves whole milk, which makes my leaking sippy cup issues a little easier.

Hanging out with mom

Today was Veteran's Day, so I didn't have to babysit. We didn't have anything planned so Owen and I got to hang out together all day. We played out in the backyard with Bailey for a while in the morning. Owen had fun trying climb up and down the steps and he was semi-interested in his slide. We went to Penzey's Spices to get a shower gift later in the afternoon. Mmmmm, it smelled so yummy in there! Since it started raining and we couldn't play outside anymore, we headed to the mall play area. It's amazing to see how much Owen has changed in just a few weeks. He used to crawl around the play area, now he's walking around playing with the big kids. My baby's a toddler now and it's definately a bittersweet time. I'm having so much fun watching him grow and change, but at the same time it's sad that he's becoming so independent.

"The days are long, but the years are short."

The Greatest Show on Earth

Owen went to his first circus today! We took him to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus at the Scottrade Center with Kaden, Jace, and their parents. It was such a good time, and Owen loved it for the most part. He was dancing, clapping, and bouncing around the seats having a great time! He loved watching the horses and when everyone would come out to sing. They had white tigers, dogs, clowns, motorcycles, a cannon, and tons more. After intermission, O started getting a little restless and was harder to keep entertained. We all had fun though :)

After the circus, we went to the grocery store. It was our first trip since Owen started walking and it was interesting to say the least. He didn't want any part of riding in the cart. The only thing that made him happy was walking/pushing the cart. This definately made the shopping trip a lot longer than usual. As we've entered toddlerhood, we've seen Owen trying to push his limits with us and today was no different. He'd scream and throw mini tantrums if we didn't let him push the cart or walk by himself. Today was his first and possibly last trip to the store for a while.

Chuck E Cheese

We decided to take Owen to Chuck E Cheese this evening for the first time. We had a coupon and Mike wanted to play some games. When we walked in the door it was a zoo! There was a short line to get in and just craziness once you were actually inside. Owen was loving it! Lights, balloons, kids, music, etc. were everywhere for him to watch and hear.

So we wait in line to order our food, then fight the crowd to find a table. We finally got settled and Grandpa W met us there. Mike and Grandpa took Owen on a few rides until the food came since he was getting a little restless. Mike was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the pizza. He apparently wasn't a fan of it as a child. After we ate, it was game/ride time. Owen rode a few rides and watched us play a few games. We went to get our stuff and found that someone had stolen O's balloon off his highchair. They didn't even bother untying it, they just cut it off! We ended up finding another balloon though.

We all came back to our house to play Wii for a while. Everyone's Wii playing has dramatically improved (especially Grandpa W).

Progressive Dinner

Mike and I went to a progressive dinner in Soulard this evening with Tim, Joan, Krissy, and Mary. We dropped O off at Aunt Carrie's house so that she and Joe could watch him for the night. We started out the night with appetizers Juniper Grille. I was surprised that Mike and I both enjoyed the stuffed pasta. It contained goat cheese and crawfish.....we are definately expanding out of our comfort zones! Next was Bastille's for baked potato soup which I didn't care for much. The trolley was right outside of Bastille's, so Krissy decided it would be fun to ride. We took a slight detour, but made it to Joanie's for Black & Blue Steak Cesear salads. They were delicious! Mike was upset that his salad didn't get picked, so he chose frozen SoCo and lime shots for our drink. We all wanted to go to Geyer House for the steak as our main entree. The steak was good, but the service, not so great. Oh well. On to Soulard Coffee Garden for dessert. Krissy and Joan raved about the chocolate gooey butter cake that this place made, so I was waiting all night to try it. Naturally by the time we get there it's gone. I had the original gooey butter cake though, and it was yummy!

It was a fun night out without O and we got to try some good food. We went to places that we probably wouldn't have tried on our own.

Kickball Champs

Shot to the Balls won the Fall Ball Championship this afternoon! Owen and I missed most of the games on Sunday because we were at Kaden's birthday party. I'm a little upset we weren't able to see them defeat Tower Pub, but only for my own selfish reasons. I would have loved to see the reactions TP had after the game. Apparently Mike pitched well all day and everyone played great.

Like I said, Owen and I went to Kaden's birthday party this afternoon. Owen had fun with Kaden and Jace all afternoon. Owen didn't really care about the toys Kaden was getting, he was having fun with the bowl of Halloween candy that was sitting out.

We went back to Tower Grove after the party to watch the remaining games and hang out for a while. Owen had a good time walking (stumbling actually) around and chasing after the dogs.

Funky Monkey

Owen's first "real" Halloween went well. I say his first Halloween because he was only 6 days old last year and didn't have a costume or anything. He absolutely loved wearing his monkey costume! We went up to Aunt Carrie's work to trick-or-treat around the bank in the afternoon. The little ham was walking all over the place, showing off! After that, we went home and got ready for the big night.

We were a little behind this year, so Mike had to carve our pumpkin while I ordered pizza and got Owen back into his costume. While I stayed and waited for trick-or-treaters (who never showed up), Mike and Owen made their way around the neighborhood. For being a little guy, Owen sure cleaned up (lots of candy for mommy and daddy)! Grandma and Grandpa T came over to see Owen in his costume and ate some pizza with us. After that, Mike took Owen over to visit Tim and Joan. Owen was exhausted at the end of the night, but he had a good time!

Pumpkin Prowl

We took O to the zoo this evening for the Pumpkin Prowl. They set up mini haunted houses, pumpkins and other Halloween decor, and had little animal shows. O loved looking at all of the other kids in their costumes. He actually just enjoyed being outside in general. We tried to take his new wagon along, but it had a little accident and was basically out of commission the whole night. Grandpa W came with us to the zoo and we met up with Mandy, Ben, Jace, Mary, Justin, and AJ.

We came home and put Owen to bed so that we could play with the Wii. I think Grandpa W may become addicted to the Wii :) He said he was staying for a few minutes and ended up staying for 2 hours.

Grandpa T's party

Happy birthday to Grandpa T! He turned 75 on October 23rd, and we celebrated his birthday this evening. Everyone went out to Grandma and Grandpa T's house for a yummy dinner, cake, and presents.

This morning Mike got up and went to Target at 5 am to buy a Wii. He ended up getting one, so I'm sure a lot of our time will be spent playing the Wii after Owen goes to bed. It's a good thing he's sleeping through the night now!

Tonight when I was putting Owen to bed, I was watching him twirl his hair. He does his every night as he's falling asleep and it's one of my favorite things! I love it because both Mike and I twirl our hair. It's so cute when he does it and it's something that he got from both of us.

The big day

Finally the day we've been planning for has come! This evening was Owen's birthday party and everything was great. Aside from being a little overwhelmed at times, Owen enjoyed spending time with all of his family and friends.

Dad's first attempt at cake was a success! At least, Owen had no complaints about it. He was pretty careful at first, but ended up making a mess. His white shirt was turned teal and he had blue hair, so I'd say the cake was a success!

We thought since he had such a great time ripping up his gifts at home that Owen would do a good job of opening them at the party. This was not the case at all! I think he was a little overwhelmed with everyone watching and so many gifts because he was not cooperating at all. He was more interested in climbing over things, visiting friends, playing with the new toys, moving gifts around, etc than actually opening any packages. I think he sat through all of one gift before taking off in a thousand directions and leaving me to open the rest. He ended up getting a lot of fun toys that he can't wait to play with.

Owen wanted to thank everyone for celebrating his first birthday with him. He was lucky to have all of his friends and family with him on his special day. Here are some other random pictures from the party:

12 Month Check-up

Owen had his 12 month check-up this afternoon. He is still tall and skinny (which we already knew) at 30.75 inches an 21.2 pounds. That's 90th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. Mike and I decided to delay his MMR shot until 15 months, so we saved him from one shot, but unfortunately he had to get 2 others. He was not very happy about getting them, but quickly calmed down.

After we put Owen to bed, we had a lot of party prep to take care of. Mike and I were up until 1:30 making lasagna, cakes, and cookies. Everything is finally finished and should be ready for tomorrow!

The Big One!

One year ago, our lives were completely changed by a tiny person. I can't believe that it's been a year since Owen's birth; it amazes me how much he's changed! He went from being this completely helpless being to an independent toddler.

Mike took the day off so we could all celebrate his birthday together. Owen decided he wanted to take it easy on his b-day, he napped for almost 3 hours! We ended up running to the mall to get Grandpa T's birthday gift and gave Owen a little time to play in the play area. After the mall, we met Grandma T, Grandpa T, and Grandpa W at Incredible Pizza for dinner. Owen loved the rides, especially the mini-carousel. He rode it so many times that the threw up! It's not a good birthday unless you throw up daddy said, so Owen must have had a great day! He was able to open his gifts from us when we got home that night. He tore into the presents, ripping through the paper to find his Mega-Bloks and Little People Airplane.

The day went well, and I think Owen had a good time. He was able to spend the whole day with his favorite people, his mom and dad. Now we just have to finish some last minute things for his party on Saturday.

Party Time!

Today was the Halloween costume party at St. John's. It was so much fun seeing all the babies dressed up! They were all so cute in their costumes. I think the tiger costume was the definately the most popular. There was another monkey identical to Owen's (but O was cuter), a spider, skunk, lion, pumpkin, superman, yoda, dragons, etc. We took the kids around to trick-or-treat and see the nurses on the floor.

Fun Fall Days at Stuckmeyer's

Since we'd already went to Eckert's earlier this year and weren't too impressed, we decided to try someplace new for pumpkins. A few people recommended Stuckmeyer's Farm, and since it was close, we decided to give it a try. We all had a great time and got 2 nice pumpkins. Owen really enjoyed the complementary wagons the best. He loved being pulled around while he held onto his pumpkins.

Go Owen!

We have a walker finally! Okay, not necessarily a walker, but he's taking steps on his own. Kailey and I were having him practice standing on his own, and I decided to try to entice him to walk with my cell phone. The kid is obsessed with phones and did finally take 2-3 steps towards it. By the end of the day, he had taken 5-6 consecutive steps on his own. He might end up making Mike happy after all and learn to walk by his birthday....we'll see!

Bump on the head

Owen had his first injury that required us to call the doctor today. He was crawling around at the Mullen's house and got a lamp cord stuck on his foot. He continued to crawl and proceeded to pull the lamp off the table, directly on his head. Tears immediately followed, but were quickly gone as soon as I gave him my cell phone. He seemed fine afterwards, but on the drive home, I started freaking out, wondering if he could have a concussion. When I felt his head, he had a large knot on the back, so I decided to call his doctor. She said that as long as he wasn't acting differently then he should be fine. We continued to put (or try to put) ice on it and gave him some Tylenol before bed. I'm guessing the whole incident was much more traumatic for me than it was for him.

Rainy Days

We woke up to a rainy, dreary day today. Not that big of a deal since Owen still isn't feeling great and we had no plans. I decided to run up to the store since there was nothing for lunch. It was Owen's first real experience with rain. He's been out in the rain before obviously, but this is the first hard rain that he's been in for any length of time. Normally my car's in the driveway so we can get him in the carseat pretty quickly. I parked in the street last night, so he was able to "play" in the rain a little. It was pretty cute to watch him. He kept laughing and reaching up to try and catch drops. I think he was a little confused at first, but ended up liking the rain.

We have tornado warnings all night until 6 am, so hopefully the weather doesn't get too bad tonight!

The Focus is Fixed!

My car has been making a rattling noise for about 2 months now. I finally made an appointment to have it looked at after getting yelled at several times by my dad. So Owen and I dropped the car off around 10:30 am. Since the carseat was in my car and I don't know how to move it (yes, something I should learn), Owen and I decided to walk around South County until it was finished. We headed down Lindbergh to K-Mart first. My dad ended up meeting us for lunch at the Chinese Buffet. It was Owen's first Chinese experience and he loved it! He was eating everything, crab rangoon, sesame chicken, vegetable lo mein, fried rice, etc. We then went back to K-Mart for a while. After a trip to Dollar Tree and Babies R Us, we finally got the call that the car was ready. I can now drive without sounding like we're in a go-kart, very exciting.

Mr. Owen is not feeling very well. He is overly crabby and has a runny nose. I'm not sure if he's getting a little cold or maybe he has teeth coming through. He won't let me near his mouth long enough to see if teeth are the problem. Hopefully he starts feeling better soon!

Happy 1st Birthday, Caleb!

Today is Owen's buddy Caleb's birthday. His party was yesterday and Owen had a good time celebrating with him. We hope Caleb had a great 1st birthday!

Mills again

We headed out to the Mills again on Monday. It seems like all we do lately is go out there. We went with Rachel, Rylynn, Mary, and AJ. I ended up getting a few things for Owen's birthday and some pjs for him. On to babysitting after that, nothing too exciting today.

Birthday Weekend

Owen had two birthday parties this weekend, so he was a busy guy! Saturday morning we went to the Magic House's Big Truck Day for Luke's 2nd birthday. Owen wasn't all the interested in the trucks, he had a much better time inside playing. He loves the little ball pits the most I think. We went over to Steve and Tricia's house for lunch, cake, and presents afterwards. Owen had a blast playing with all of Luke's cousins (Mia, Connor, Ellie, and Brendan).

Sunday afternoon was Caleb's 1st birthday party! All of Owen's friends were there so he was happy to hang out with his buddies. Caleb did a great job making a mess with his cake! Owen is definately ready for his big day. He is just as, if not more interested in everyone else's presents.

New Do!

Owen got a haircut today! It's his fourth one and he's done great at each of them. He and I went to GreatClips because they sent us a coupon for a cheap cut! Cool Cuts 4 Kids charges $15.95 to cut his hair, which was a little too much for me to spend on a one year old's hair. Anyway, Mike doesn't like the back of his hair. He says it looks like they put a bowl on his head and cut around it. Apparently, he likes the "tapered" look better. Whatever :)

We spiked his hair after dinner. It looked so cute and he was showing it off. I took some pictures of it, but haven't uploaded them yet. I'll have to add them once I do.

Our Anniversary

Today was our second anniversary. I can't believe that it's been 2 years since our wedding! I was surprised that so many people remembered and called us to wish us a happy anniversary. Grandma, Sue, Zachary, Tim, Carrie, my dad, and Mike's parents all called. Owen spend the evening with Grandma and Grandpa Thierauf so Mike and I could go out. We ended up going to Cunetto's and to the Chocolate Bar. Cunetto's was okay, but the Chocolate Bar was yummy! Mike had never been there, so he wanted to see what the hype was about. He enjoyed his martini, but thought the place was a little too girly for him. We had a good time and Owen enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.

ND Fall Festival

So I decided that we should go to ND's fall festival this year for some reason. I haven't been since I graduated and wanted to check it out. We did a little shopping and then headed up there. Things were definately different than when I was there. There was a band and beer garden set up in the front of the school and in the back they had a blowup jousting area. We were too late for games and such, so I don't know how that was. Coronation started at 6, so we watched a little of that, but left early. No air conditioning in the gym was killing me! Owen had a good time watching all the people and hearing them cheering. I, on the other hand, was not that impressed. I guess you just have to be a student and be caught up in the whole spirit of the event because it was not fun to me. We left before the actual winner was announced, so I'm just assuming the seniors won, as usual.

Party Time!

Today was Rylynn's birthday party at the park. Everything turned out so cute! Rachel and David did a great job getting everything together. We had a good time watching the babies play with one another. Liam was a little bit of a party pooper and slept for half the party, but he woke up in time to watch Rylynn open her gifts! She got a lot of great gifts. Owen was having a great time climbing in and out of her turtle sandbox and just generally getting in the way while she was opening presents. I guess he was jealous and looking forward to his big day! There was a blowup ducky with ice and drinks in it that Owen was drawn to. We would move him away and he would immediately crawl back to it and start splashing in it. He somehow knows exactly what he's not supposed to play with and immediately go for it. He is definately determined and stubborn.

We also had two kickball games before the party. I ended up playing because they were short a few girls. Owen had fun letting Sarah, Krissy, and Dawn watch him while I was in the field. He had a blast playing in the dirt with the sticks. He was a mess when we brought him home, but he had so much fun. We ended up winning both games, so Shot to the Balls is now 10-0.

Busy Weekends

We have sooo much going on this time of year! It's actually a little ridiculous how busy we are. Last weekend was Mandy and Evan's wedding and Jace's birthday party, this weekend was Rylynn's party, next weekend is Caleb's and Luke's parties, then Grandpa T's birthday dinner, then Owen's party, then Kaden's party, then Grandma T's, Erin's and my birthdays! We literally don't have a free weekend until the middle of November and then it's just going to get crazy with the holidays.

Mills Trip

A few of us have decided to get together for a monthly scrapbooking night without babies. Since we're starting next week, we decided we needed to make a trip out to the Mills to go to Archiver's for some supplies. Mike met us for lunch since he got off early. Owen rode on the carousel and enjoyed it. The Mills is becoming my favorite place to shop, too bad it's so far away!

90 Degrees in Oct?

The weather has been absolutely crazy here lately! It's October and it's still 90 degrees outside! We went to Des Peres Park to meet Michelle and Liam and ended up leaving because of the heat. West County Mall's play area was much cooler and they have Cinnabon. Yummy!

Also, we had our Parents As Teachers meeting today. Darlene came over and Owen had a good time. She brought some toy animals for him to play with and we made a book of animals. She was impressed with his ability to throw a ball so well. Apparently it is a 12 month skill that Owen has mastered.

Happy Birthday Rylynn!

Yay! Today's Rylynn's first birthday! Owen is very excited about going to her party on Saturday at the park. I can't believe that we have so many birthday parties coming up and that all our babies are growing up so fast!

Today Owen and I took a walk around the neighborhood. It was beautiful outside, and he had fun looking at everything around him. Grandma Thierauf came to babysit while I played volleyball. He had a good time hanging out with Grandma.

Magic House Fun

We took a trip to the Magic House today with Rylynn, Caleb and their mommies. All of the babies seemed to have a good time, they especially enjoyed the balls. Owen loved climbing up and down the steps which is becoming his new favorite game to play. He loves the fact that he can get up and down on his own without any help. He still scares me going down though, so I have to follow right behind him constantly.

There's also a water room that Rylynn and Owen loved. They had cups, pitchers, fountains, etc. to play and splash in. I didn't realize how wet Owen would actually get and had to change his clothes afterwards. He was soaked, but he had a blast splashing himself.

They should be finished with the construction by summer and the Magic House will double in size then. I'm excited to see the new things that they are adding. It's one of my favorite places to go with Owen and he seems to love everything there.

11 Months Old!

Owen is 11 months old today! He and I just hung out at home together this afternoon. We took the pictures for his birthday invitations and got them put together. They turned out really well! I can't believe that we're already planning his birthday party! It's all very bittersweet. He's growing up so fast, but it's fun to see his personality develop.

Trip to Eckert's

We decided to take a trip to Eckert's on Saturday to go apple picking. The trip turned out to be a bust. We all get there and take the tractor out to the orchards to find out that we can't even pick apples off the trees! Apparently the crop was not very good this year, so all of the available apples were in large bins that you could pick from. The fact that it was almost 90 degrees out didn't help the situation either. Something about picking apples in shorts, t-shirts, and sweat just doesn't seem right. Oh well, at least we got some cute pictures of the kiddos. We also got some apples and were able to see animals at the petting zoo.

Mike had kickball games right afterwards, so the three of us headed to Tower Grove. I ended up having to play the first game because they were short girls. Despite not having played kickball in a year or so, I ended up driving in the winning run. Well, Shot to the Balls are still undefeated so far.

Owen hung out with Grandpa Watson the rest of the night. Mike went on a bus party for Krissy's 25th birthday/going away party and I ran some errands. The house was a mess and I had a few things to get finished for Mandy and Evan's wedding.