Birthday fun!

I still haven't figured out how to rearrange the order of the pictures that I upload so this story is very out of order. Bear with me and enjoy the massive amount of pictures I added to this post. Owen turned the big 1 last Wednesday. We had a little cake after dinner on Wednesday to celebrate and then had his party on Saturday. He pretty much had a weeklong birthday celebration...but you only turn 1 once...so it's ok. Looking back I realize that we bought 5 cakes....1 big one and 1 little one (for Owen) on Wednesday....another big one and 1 little one for his party...and another cake for his birthday photo shoot Saturday morning. We're all "caked out" for the time being! Had I been able to rearrange the photos in the correct order this first picture would have been last. Again, bear with me and I'll try to put the story in the right order. Here it goes....

Obviously...Owen loved the cakes!

A few shots of his birthday celebration.....

Owen was so nice to share his new toys with his buddy Hudson. I conveniently left out the picture where Owen smacked Hudson in the head with his new ball....they're still working out the whole playing together thing.
Owen got lots of great gifts for his birthday. Amazingly for the kid who has everything...he didn't get a single toy that he already has and there were no duplicate gifts. He truly loves each and every new toy that he got. He's been a busy boy playing with all of them. Chris and I especially love his new piano and try to sneak in some playing time for ourselves.
Owen got some great outdoor toys for his birthday as well. He really loves his new sand and water table. He can see it from the kitchen and bangs on the door when he wants to go out and play in the sand.

Owen was a little unsure of the cake at first..............
he took a taste and then looked at me for confirmation........
decided that was pretty good and dug in!
The sugar rushed through his system all at once and he started laughing and laughing!
His new swingset came the day before his birthday (thanks Grammy and Papa!)

trying out the mini rock climb up to slide........

he hasn't quite figured out that once you slide down you have to walk around and climb back up
Owen had to have a little hair styling before his big day...his hair was starting to look like a mad scientist! We were holding out to see if he'd have some cute curls in the back but unfortunately he inherited hair that is straight as a board so a little grooming was necessary!

Owen had a great birthday and we all enjoyed spending time with Grammy, Papa, and Ashleigh (and Miguel). Owen goes for his 12 month well baby visit this Thursday so stay tuned for an update on his development. We're already taking bets on what his weight is now. We've also got a Fourth of July Fireworks show to go to that night so I'll be sure to post some pictures this weekend of our fun this week. Stay tuned......

Owen's latest antics

It's been awhile since I've been able to post anything. We misplaced our camera (still haven't found it!) so I borrowed Melissa's to take some photos of Owen's latest antics. I'm doing two posts today....one of random things Owen has gotten into lately and then another post of his birthday fun. Hope you all enjoy!


For those who don't know....Annabelle (my parent's dog) has been living with us while they are displaced (a new word I've taken to using today!). Owen loves having a captive audience at snack time and the dogs love snack time b/c Owen is a good sharer (if that's even a word!).
We now refer to this area of our living room as "the club". Owen spends a lot of time in "the club" just doing random things. He takes toys, sippee cups, paper, etc. into the club. Other times he just sits there like he is doing here. He'll sit there for long periods of time and when you look at him he just smiles. I know what you must be thinking...but he's not sittiing there filling his diaper. He just likes to sit and look out at his empire! Notice that he's removed the cushion from the dog bed for additional seating....in case friends come over!

It just cracks us up when he goes in there!
Now that he's getting taller we're having to re-babyproof the house. We are starting to worry that he thinks he's a dog. He loves to bark, play with dog toys, lay on the dog bed, and really has a thing for dog food. This trash can in the laundry room has the dog food in it and he spends a lot of time over there fishing it out. The biggest tantrum that he has thrown thus far has been when we've gotten him out of the dog food. Notice how he's standing on his tip toes to reach in.....scary!
All I ever hear is how much Owen looks like Chris and I'm fine with that...I'm a little sweet on Chris myself...I've got good taste! However, there are moments when Owen makes annoyed or exasperated faces that he is 100% me.
A couple in our Sunday School class makes these great little chairs and Owen got one for his birthday. He hasn't quite figured out that he's supposed to sit in it. He generally prefers sitting beside it and hitting toys on it. So, we're working on it. It's such a cute little chair and it's the perfect size for his little booty!

Owen has long enjoyed playing in the potty water so we always closed the lid and that solved the problem. Unfortunately he's figured out how to open the lid and put things inside so we're having to close the bathroom door now. Once he figures out how to open the door we're all in trouble. One day I found Batman floating in the water. With the high temperatures we've experienced lately, Owen decided Batman was a little too warm in the batsuit so he decided to let him take a swim to cool off.
As I mentioned earlier, Owen is incredibly taken with anything to do with the dogs. He really loves to carry the leashes around and even takes the leashes to the dogs or over to the door to let us know it's time for our evening walk.
Owen has gotten to be such a big boy these days. It's hard to believe a whole year has gone by already. He's not a sweet cuddly baby anymore...he's definitely the definition of "active toddler". I think we're going to stick with that label until the day the doctor confirms the ADHD that we're all a little concerned about! Here's a rare moment of Owen standing still.............................................................................
and he's off!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Never a dull moment these days!