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.