Summer Block Party

Today was our annual summer block party.  Though it called for rain all afternoon,

the sky cleared up, we had a perfect day, and a great turn out.

Ryan was in Louisville for the weekend at Mike Holba's bachelor party, which left Owen and I

to brave the block party on our own.  Let me start by saying that it is no secret that Owen is

full of energy and prefers running to walking 99% of the time.  Add an extra large bounce house,

tons of other kids and toys, and an entire street to explore and it leads to an exhausting day

for both of us.  He took two extra long naps in between his block party appearances, and

still crashed without making a peep tonight.  People have joked that it would be funny to

put a pedometer on Owen to see how far he runs in a day, and today of all days would 

have been a great day to do it.  We're talking miles, I'm sure!

 Between his many trips up and down the block, Owen managed to do some driving,

a little relaxing (notice he wasn't sitting long enough for me to even snap a picture),

And LOTS of bouncing.

 It didn't bother him one bit that there were other big kids in the bounce house.  In fact, I think he had more fun when they were in there bouncing right along with him.  He watched them and smiled and tried to bounce along, which meant running as far as he could in between their

bounces before he lost his balance and fell over.

These block parties always amaze me, and today was no exception.  It started around 9:00 AM and has been going strong all day, even up until I am writing this at 8:00 PM.  The food spread 

in itself is impressive.  Everyone brought stuff to share for breakfast, then for lunch there was

pizza for someone's birthday, two huge trays of sushi donated by our neighbors who own

Sen Sushi, a large pan of Pad Thai from those same neighbor's parents who own Mama Thai,

and 100 pieces of fried chicken and some potato salad donated by Chicago's Chicken

and Waffles located at the end of our block.  They also sponsored the bounce house, 

which is an awesome gesture.  Then for dinner....taco truck!

Between all of the eating, the kids had plenty to do to keep them busy.  Aside from the constant

entertainment the bounce house provided, there was a face painting station and a fingernail

painting station.  Plus there were two kids on the block with birthdays, so there were two

separate birthday celebrations, which meant two rounds of cupcakes and an endless supply of 

noise makers which I am still being serenaded with as I sit here.  

I speak for Owen and I (and most likely every other person on this block) when I 

say that we are going to get a good night's sleep tonight.  He spent his day exploring all the 500

block of Scoville had to offer, and I spent my day following his every move.  He's gotten so stinkin quick on his feet that if I turn my head for even a few seconds to talk to someone, he's

halfway down the block.  Needless to say, I was quite happy to come home tonight and have

him snuggle up next to me and watch a movie.  A nice relaxing end to a fun, but tiring day.

  

Weekend Visitors

This past weekend my mom and stepdad came to visit us.  We absolutely LOVE when

they are here and have the best time, even when we're just cruising the aisles of

Costco or Marshall's.  They are great company, love Owen to pieces, and are

some of the easiest house guests you can imagine.  

 

Despite the balmy forecast of 90+ degree weather every day they were here, it turned out to be 

really nice.  We got our fair share of walks in, Ryan and Larry went golfing, and we had 

Ryan's Dad, Gerri, Tim, Val, Ruby and Max over for a BBQ.  

Grandma and Grandpa were going to come to Owen's swim lesson today, but it surprisingly

turned out to be too cold and we thought we would all freeze in the pool.  

So we met Owen's friend Lucas at the new indoor play area that opened in town 

so we could show them how much fun these places are.

Owen kept busy all weekend, but his favorite times of all were when he got to cuddle

with his two very special visitors.

Every time they leave after their visits I kick myself for not getting recent pictures of them with

Owen.  So I made sure to get them together this morning so I could take the perfect

picture with Grandma and "Pa Pa."  Unfortunately Owen did not get the memo.

If you haven't seen it yet, this is Owen's "I am seriously frustrated" face.  He puts his hands up,

closes his eyes, and lets out a high pitch scream. 

Once that started, I made a judgement call and decided to settle for close to perfect.

Two out of three smiles isn't bad.  ;) 

Mom and Larry, I love you both so much and want you to know you are welcome to

visit us anytime.  We love having you and are super excited that we'll see you 

again in just a week and a half in Wausau for the 4th.

 

Happy Father's Day!!

 Happy Father's Day Ryan!!

You continue to amaze me with how sweet and patient you are with Owen.

You are so caring and truly enjoy all the crazy little moments of being a dad.

 

 Owen lights up when you get home from work and gets so excited to see you, which couldn't

make me any happier.  He hears you open the door and immediately runs towards the kitchen

to see you.  Then when he catches a glimpse, he starts running back and forth down the hallway

and occasionally throws in a little dancing spin or two.  But honestly, who wouldn't get excited for

a little cuddle time on the couch with his dad after a long day?

I never thought I could possibly love you any more, but after watching you with Owen it

reminds me how truly lucky I am to call you my husband and partner in crime in this

parenting journey.  Hard to believe in just a few short months the journey is

going to get even crazier.  :)

LOVE YOU and I hope you had a great Father's Day!!

Weekend in MN

This weekend we decided to go visit my older sister Sarah and her family in Blaine, MN.

It's quite a drive, which has always deterred us in the past, but now that Owen loves 

watching movies we figured the car DVD player would be enough of a distraction 

to help us make the trip. Strangely enough, the 6 hour drive seemed to fly by.  

A couple of naps, a lunch break, a movie or two and we were there.  :)

 

Sarah and Stacey live in an awesome neighborhood, full of kids, with a park right out their 

front door.  Needless to say, there was plenty to keep Owen occupied.  His favorite was

probably our trip to the Splash pad and Beach, which is just a few minutes from their house.  The water shooting out was absolutely freezing, but he didn't seem to mind at all.  As soon as he spotted the water he was wiggling to get down out of my arms and ran straight in.

 

 Then we took him down to the beach to let him explore.  He had tons of fun walking in and

out of the water and playing in the tiny water holes the other kids had dug.

 

 

 We all had so much fun spending time together.  Ryan, Stacey, Alex and my Dad spent the mornings golfing, while Sarah and I hung out with the kids.  Then we'd all get together later in the day.  Owen has such a great time with his cousins.  He is so busy and inquisitive that he

primarily sticks to himself exploring everything around him, but you could tell he was truly

entertained by the boys as well.  Whether it was riding in the car, or watching them play 

basketball, or even just eating breakfast you could tell Owen was enjoying the company.

 He even got some quality cuddle time in with Auntie Sarah.  :)

Owen is so lucky to have such an amazing group of cousins.

 

 Thank you so much Barnett's for an awesome weekend!!  We had so much fun and enjoyed ourselves more than we could tell you.  The visit is well worth the 6 hour drive.

This morning before we left we saw the cute little note you left us...

 

And we want you to know that we love you because we had so much fun together 

and loved every minute that we got to spend with you.

Birthday Fun

Today we went to the Mihelich's house for Ava Kate and Charlie's joint birthday party.

There were lots of kids, tons of things to keep Owen occupied and he had an

absolute blast!!  I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

It's no surprise that within 5 minutes of our drive home he was completely passed out.
Thanks for a great party Ava and Charlie!!

Where's Your Belly?

In my opinion, Owen is a very smart little boy.  You can ask him to bring you certain toys,

or do specific tasks, and he normally understands and complies.  It's amazing to me

how much of what we say to him he actually understands.  So you can imagine my frustration

when he refuses to do the one task that you normally try to get little toddlers to do.

Specifically, "Owen, where is your nose?"  

He gives me a blank stare as if to say, "Mom, are you kidding me?"   

I've tried over and over.  I touch my nose, his nose, his stuffed monkey's nose, read it in books...but he wants no part of it.  I finally decided to give up on the nose and move to a body

part that might be a little more fun for him.  His belly!!  I started by asking him where his belly

was and then I would tickle him, or blow kisses on it.  It didn't take long before I would ask

him, "Owen, where is your belly?" and this is the response I would get.

   

He gladly lifts up his shirt with one, or both hands when it isn't preoccupied with a toy, and

waits for me to come tickle him.  Most of the time, he'll drop everything in his hands to give you

a good look at his cute little belly.  Sure it might not be his nose, but I'll take it.  Just another

one of the cute things he does to make him unique in his own way.

Swim Lessons

Today we had Owen's very first swim lesson. 

Just as I expected, as soon as I set him down he made a beeline straight for the water.

He was surprisingly a little more timid once we actually got in.  

He didn't mind the water, but he wanted to be close to me at all times.  There was a motor boat

drill where we are supposed to hold them under their armpits and face them away from us.

 He wasn't completely thrilled with that move.  He would much rather prefer to explore 

the water while firmly attached to my hip.  I'm not worried though.  We have an 

entire month of classes and an entire summer to help him get more

comfortable.  More time practicing in the pool?

Works for me!