Pumpkin Carving Festivities...

As promised...a recap of our pumpkin carving fun...The other night we decided we better carve our pumpkins from The Farmers' Market before Halloween passes us by! Also Grandma Kole gave Owen a little pumpkin, so we wanted to carve it for him!! Here are Papa and Owen before carving began...



Little Owen loves his baby pumpkin....



Papa concentrating on the Ziggy Marley (our cat) pumpkin...



We put Owen's swing in the dining room so he could join in...he gave us carving instructions, and provided entertainment! The quality of the video is not the greatest, cuz the lighting in there kinda sucks, but you get the point!...



Owen showing off his pumpkin from Grandma (thanks Grandma!!) - carved to match his little onesie from Aunt Kate & Uncle Mike (Thanks guys!). Notice how he loves to pose? He says, Uncle Paul...I don't mind being a model, I like to work it!!...



And the final product....notice how the baby pumpkin looks as if it is engulfed in flames? nope, just a little tea light inside...



And Owen after the grand event...he was exhausted from all the excitement...

Misc...

Just a lot of miscellaneous to report...

first, check out how big he's getting!



what a little genius (notice the upside-down book!)



This weekend Mom, Owen and Grandma Ruth headed to Fremont (Heidi, aren't you SO proud?) to visit Uncle Nathan! We went up just for a few hours to say hi, since we haven't seen him in FOREVER (Nathan, you gotta keep in touch, and Theresa, you gotta help us not let that happen again!!)...It was so nice to see him and Theresa. Owen loved his Uncle Nathan, he just stared and stared at him and when Nathan wasn't holding him, Owen followed him around with his eyes. (I think Owen recognizes that Nathan looks alot like Grandpa..we have this theory that Owen plays with Grandpa at night, which is why he sleeps so good at night AND why he ends up in a TOTALLY different spot in his crib in the morning than when we put him down - which has been going on since well before he was two months old)....anyway, once we got into the big town of Fremont (actually it wasn't near as small as I thought), we met at Nathan's apartment and headed to see the house (right on the lake) that he'll be renting this winter...Then we all went out to lunch and afterwards said our goodbyes...and since Grandma Ruth is NOT a good photographer, this is the only pic we ended up with!! (I guess I could have intervened)...



When we got home we got to play with the Bumbo that we borrowed from Trisha (thank you!!) Owen did awesome in it, and took rather nicely to its sleek countoured positioning (checkout the pimp lean)





It was Scott's birthday on Friday (Happy Birthday, babe!!) so, we went out to dinner together (sans Owen) to celebrate - Scott picked the Stables for dinner and to my suprise, it wasn't as bad as I thought (Al, next time its an option, we may not have to dismiss the idea so quickly)

This weekend was also Jen's birthday (Scott's sister) - don't you know they are twins?! :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN (I love doing shoutouts on my blog!)

So to celebrate (even more) we all went to the bowling alley for some cosmic psychedelic bowling...sweet mother!!

Here are Scott's mom and I taking in the action...



My sweet little neice, Kenzie and I hangin out...



And Aunt Jen w/ little O...



And of course, what weekend would be complete without some dress up....


This wasn't really dressup - just a cute outfit he had on...plus the added touch of the fancy hat!!



Now presenting, little Owen in his Sweet Pea costume (this is compliments of aunt Barbra thank you!!) Oddly enough, before he was born, we called him 'Sweet Pea' - cuz he looked like a little pea in the ultrasound...and now that he's here we get to dress him up as one!! :)

One year ago today...

It was one year ago today, that we found out that we were expecting our little miracle! To think about how fast that year has flown by is amazing! I remember thinking how it seemed like June 30 (rather July 7) would never get here - and now our little Munchkin is almost four months old!!

Farmers' Market

almost 15 weeks

Today mom, dad, and Owen went to the Farmers' Market with Grandma Ruth...we got some raspberries, avacados, peanut butter, sesame sticks, onions, a giant pumpkin, and two little pumpkins (more pics of the pumpkins to come, once we carve them!)

When asked what he wanted to wear for the day, Owen decided he wanted to go preppy...



and since it was freezing out we also bundled O up in the cutest little winter-wear (compliments of my Aunt Barbara - Thank you!!)

Here he is w/ Grandma...



Cutie pie...



Tired out from Farmers' Market shopping (Dad is too!!)





He's been super tired lately, he has been sleeping most of today (woke up @ 9:15 this am - then fell asleep from 11:30-12:30 then 1:00-2:00, 2:30-3:00 then 3:30-still sleeping!!) Here he is last night, he fell sound asleep while playing w/ his lights and music - then woke up 20 min later, kicked the little guy that starts the music up and played some more...



Tonight, we are going out with some friends for dinner, should be a good time!!

and I think my mom, Owen, and I may go visit my brother tomorrow in F-town (Fremont)...if he ever calls us back!! :)

HR and Gamers

almost 15 weeks

So what happens when you take a group of gamers and HR professionals and put them in the same hotel during their annual conventions?! Well, just a bunch of weirdos!! Us weird HR folks were being hosted at the Hyatt in Dearborn at the same time as the group called Camarilla (they are apparently a group of gamers/role players - an interesting bunch, we saw men in skirts, trolls, vampires and the like. But..this group is also totally down to earth and very giving, their profits all go to a source in need, I heard that last year they donated over $60,000 to charity!!)....needless to say it was a fun past few days in Dearborn. I was attending the annual MI SHRM conference and learned lots of stuff, and met many new people. I did miss my little man a whole lot, but he was safe back at home w/ Dad!! Grandma Ruth also helped out and got Owen to and from daycare each day and Owen had a great time!!

Here is our lttle fam after I got home this evening...I think they missed me too..my men got me two dozen roses, how sweet!!



Owen is holding his head up so well now!!



I was a pumping fool while I was gone - craziness!! I left Wed afternoon from work and was gone through today....I wasn't sure how to store my milk while I was gone, I didn't want to use storage bags, since I didn't want them to tear on ice cubes, and taking a million feeding bottles would just take up too much room...so I decided to just use water bottles and a few reg 8 oz baby bottles...check out my stash!!! EIGHTY ounces (I'm quite proud)!!!



Here are some random pics from earlier this week...Owen soo happy in his swing with his hoodie, sucking his thumb...



Hangin out in his Halloween outfit (Jane...this one was either Andy or Lindsey's - can you believe it?!!)



Here is my little genius reading a book...check out those chubby cheeks (can't beleive the kid can hold his head up with those heavy cheeks weighing his face down!!)

Growing up!

14 weeks

My little man..

*sleeps through the night some nights
*clasps his hands together and gets transfixed while staring at them
*scrunches his nose when eating
*almost rolls over from belly to back
*rotates in his crib a full 180 degrees (and has been for atleast a month)
*loves to talk and sing
*usually eats 5-6 times a day
*enjoys reading books and looting at pictures
*loves to hold on to things
*puts everything in his mouth
*thinks the outdoors is so much fun!!
*is in awe of new environments
*has a favorite toy: his hippo buddy
*takes 3-4 naps a day
*sucks his thumb when hes tired or unhappy
*has the cutest baby pudge
*always puts the bottoms of his feet together
*loves to play dress up - what a trooper
*is three months old already!!


With his froggy buddy....




Trying to fit both the paci and his little frog in his mouth at the same time..




Mama's Little Peanut staring at the elephants in his chair...




Holdin' on tight....

It's Deer Season...

13 weeks

...and for anyone who knows a hunter, you know what that means, many mornings and evenings without your hunting hubby at home!

Though the season has just begun, there have been many days of ritualistic preparation leading up to the main event (opening day) - including religiously checking the trail camera in hopes that a monster buck was frequenting the hunting spot, scaling trees while toting many pounds of metal, then mounting that metal contraption within the most pristine limbs of said tree, and scouting the surrounding area in the search of tracks - among other hunting rituals that I just don't understand.

So on opening day (Wednesday), Scott was more than prepared and did get to venture to his hunting grounds but didn't have any luck. His friend Tim did though, and got a nice six point in his back yard. Scott went over to his house after he was done hunting - to help track it down.

This weekend, Scott is up in Reed City with his hunting buddies, hoping to return with a prize buck. So this weekend was just me and little Owen, we had fun together! We went on a walk with the Sleepy Wrap on Friday and then in the stroller today. Had to get all bundled up though, here is my little man in all of his cuteness...



Owen spent some time with Grandma (my mom) yesterday while Al and I went shopping and then last night we went out to dinner with Emily (a fellow hunting widow) to Red Robin - yummy! Owen was a perfect little gentleman and we had a great time!

Today Owen has been very very talkative - I managed to catch some of it on film...Its amazing to see him try to communicate and watch his face while he does it, he's such a cutie!!



Well, tomorrow starts another week! Blah! Weekends go by way too fast!