Christmas 2008

Santa Claus stopped by our house with some goodies for a little boy who was high on the nice list this year!

Santa brought new puzzles, bath tub toys, books, building blocks, and sports equipment...............................................

he even left some bones and a new toy for Emma....

our pathetic looking toddler-proof tree with lots of presents!

Owen was a little apprehensive to come down the hall. He didn't understand why we were standing there staring at him with cameras aimed and ready!

Once he saw toys behind us he came smiling into the living room (and passed right by his pile of old toys and wrapping paper tubes that he's been playing with all week) and giggled the whole way down the hall...too cute!

he immediately stopped to check out his new truck....

and his new sports equipment.......................

he's not even 2 yet and he now has a baseball glove and ball, football, soccer ball, lacrosse equipment, hockey sticks and nets....hope he likes sports!

Chris was playing with his hockey sticks after we finished opening presents and Owen was following him saying "stop, stop!". He wasn't ready to share his toys yet!

checking out the new block set.....

Clip-O...the coolest building system for little ones!

examining the new socks from Grammy and Papa...

opening gifts.....

a fun new xylophone from Aunt Ashleigh........

a Little People farmhouse from Aunt Stacy and Jacob....

playing with the new puzzles....

Owen racked up!

the aftermath!

getting dressed to go to Uncle Mike's for breakfast....

We're off to Nonnie and Papaw's house tonight for another Christmas and more presents.....stay tuned for more pics!

It finally happened!

Owen woke up one day and decided it was time to talk......and he hasn't stopped since! I just love these pictures of him where he looks as if he's saying "what!?!"

Over the Thanksgiving break (bless that baby b/c he waited until we were all home together!), Owen decided it was about time to say something. Don't get me wrong, he still resorts to Japanese monologues when he has a lot to say but he is speaking wonderful English words more and more. The Speech Pathologist in me is jumping for joy....b/c secretly I was starting to worry a little. Owen now says the following words and phrases consistently: stop, mine, see, sit, up, off, dada, mom (not mama or mommy....very funny), thank you (day doo), love you (duh doo), good girl (guh gull), bye, hey, do it (he uses this for anything he wants you to do for him). He still shakes his head no in the most hilariously disapproving way when it suits him. He can follow simple directions and participate in routines (bedtime routine, getting ready to go somewhere routine, clean up, etc.). Our finest accomplishment though is that he can touch his nose on command. That's something we've been working on for what seems like forever!! He's overassimilated that skill though because if you ask him "where's your ears" or anything else for that matter he stops and points to his nose. Still needs a little work on that one!

We're so proud of him and all that he's learning. We're looking forward to Christmas break so that we can have extra time to enjoy him and all his new tricks!

Christmas fun!

We have had an action-packed week of pre-Christmas activities. Owen had breakfast with Santa this morning and as you can see from the picture below....he and Santa are not on good terms this year.


The photographer took a good picture of Owen that I need to scan and upload. He has the worst look on his face. Chris said it looked like Santa had just said "you're not getting anything for Christmas!".

Owen had a great time eating pancakes and sausage and running around with the other kids. Then we were off to a birthday party this afternoon. Owen still thinks it's his responsibility to entertain everyone when we go somewhere like that. So, he ran around running his mouth nonstop and being a ham.

A few days ago we decorated a gingerbread house together. Owen was much more interested in eating the candy than decorating. Once he got going though he was very serious about it. He did not want any help and made that very clear!

Apparently, Owen and I miscommunicated about the finished product because he was not too happy with me when I put him back in the living room.....yes, that's candy in his mouth.

Owen's finished product (with a tiny bit of help from mom and dad)

We have one last week of school before the break. The countdown to Christmas begins!

Turkeys and Tutus

There was heated debate in our house whether these photos should be posted online....of course I won so here they are! They're just too funny not to share!

Here's the backstory: my parents hosted Thanksgiving this year at their new house. There were going to be 20-25 people there including our 3 little cousins (Reece, Missy, and Jessi). So, my mom got out our dress-up trunk that Melissa and I played with when we were kids. It has all my mom's old dance costumes (vintage costumes as we taught the little girls to say!) plus our dance costumes from over the years and a few other things mixed in. The little girls had a great time playing dress up for hours on end. Owen wanted to be right there in the middle of them. I found him in the middle of sequins and ruffles holding up costumes exclaiming "see! see!".

How could I resist!?!

Even covered in sequins and tulle...he's still 100% B-O-Y!

So, these pictures will now be filed away only to return when he hits 16 and tries to test the limits........