Jabber Jaw…

Over the past few weeks, Syd has just taken off with her speech! 

She has become quite expressive (well, she always has been, but not so much in words…more so with SCREAMING)….and now she will tell you whether she’s scared or shy or happy….

The other day, Grandma was going  watch her and i told her about it earlier in the day and she said…Gama, sigh…took me a while to figure it out, but she was saying she was going to be shy around grandma….such a little stinker….

Last night, we were in the basement and she spotted the giant rubbermaid box (which for reasons of sheer laziness, has not gotten stashed back in its proper place of storage) sitting out in the living room….she was very concerned about it and kept telling me she was scared of the Christmas tree in the box. Then she’d come up by me and bury her head in my shoulder…but she was more acting than anything, i wasn’t feeling like she was genuinely ‘scared’ – it was just so cute!

So, we went upstairs and she had to tell papa all about it and that she was scared because it was so big…she was so sweet and kept leaning into him to bury her head in his shoulder…and i had to run and get the video camera to try to catch it…so by the time i did record it, she was kind of over it….and we went a little overboard with our questioning to try to get her to say what she had been saying before (so disregard our madness)…but we managed to catch some cuteness and I just had to share…..

My favorite parts:

• when she covers her cheeks because she was ‘scared’
• when papa was asking her if the tree was ‘big’ and she started ‘signing’ the word ‘book’ – again we were a little overindulgent with the questioning and confused the poor little babe…
• the end when she runs down the hallway yelling ‘ah, tubber’

Snow Day

Friday, the kiddos and I got to stay home together for the day – since we all had a snow day!  Daycare was closed and so was my work. Yipee!

Owen started his day out right – he decided he wanted to dress up in his new fireman boots and put on his fireman costume.

We also took some beads out and tried some sorting….he was VERY into it!  and as a side note….all this fun was by 7:30 am! :)

We got syd up a bit after that and had some pb and j toasts and fruit for breakfast…then Syd decided she wanted to dress up too!  she had a little train conductor hat on with her bandana…but quickly traded that for her minnie ears….she just looks so grown up here!

Here O-Yo, ears too!

Owen with his train whistle

‘cheese’

All decked out!

 

We needed some milk and a few other things, so we thought we’d brave the weather and head around the corner to the sore for some supplies…Syd insisted on wearing her minnie ears…and had to put on her rubber boots too, to be like her bro….Owen also wore his firefighter getup to the store – we were quite the sight but the kids LOVED it, so fine by me! :) 

       

Once we got home and all situated, we played ‘bozo’s bucket bonanza’ and got out a ton of different sized balls and buckets and the kids tried to make baskets (sorry no pics!)

then we got out the painters tape and had some fun – seriously best.invention.ever for kid fun! :)

I’d tear pieces and put the around the end table or footstool and when the kids were ready, they’d grab a new piece! It kept them busy for at least 45 minutes – and then we even picked back up with it after nap time!  quite a hit….

Owen even tried to make a little sweat band out of the tape! :)

syd and her haphazard taping scheme….later I helped her make a ‘road’ out of the tape and she thought that was pretty cool!

check out the precision here….this kid just blows me away with his meticulousness!  so cute!   

So we finished our morning with some lunch and then naps – and just had a lazy afternoon…

What a fun day…it was a great (and welcomed) change in routine for all of us! 

…An Apple A Day

 

So the other night – Owen and Syd wanted a snack and Owen requested an apple….normally he always likes it sliced and with the skin peeled off, so when he asked for it ‘not cut up’ – I couldn’t argue….Little miss Syd also thought it was a pretty great snack – and the two of them munched on it together for a good 20 minutes…and he didn’t even mind sharing a bit…it was pretty cute!

She would get so impatient while he took his bites and would wait there with her mouth wide open…

then when he was ready, he’d let her have some…

And in case you’re wondering, she has her ‘blankie’ tied around her neck…usually she wants to drag it around with her and I’d rather not have it dragging all over the floor, so i started tying it around her neck and calling her ‘granny syd’ with her little shawl…now she’ll come up to me and say “gaah-nee sit”….

she was so excited about this apple, she’d follow him all over trying to get another bite….

Eventually, they ended up curled up on the footstool…and finishing their snack….

Happy Valentine’s Day

Owen had fun this Valentine’s Day…He helped make his own valentines for the kids in preschool…he took his work very seriously….he helped glue papers together and even signed EVERY valentine himself!

In his preschool class, there are 11 girls and Owen  - so he had fun giving them cute little butterfly clips for their hair….what a little ladies man!  Here is the finished product

Then on Friday, he had a Valentines party with the friends from his daycare…I got to come and celebrate with them; Owen had a fun time handing out his valentines and going through ones from all his friends!

These are the days….

…They might be a little unpredictable, crazy…and more often than not, a little unmanageable…but these are also the days of memories and fun and being together…

hm…when left with nothing to do on a snowy afternoon…throw your kid in a basket! lol..he was so excited to jump right in – and he actually fit!  see how he compares to the first pic at just a few months old! 

poor little miss sydney…she had a rough night! this is how i found her pjs one morning…

…this little guy is still my baby!

cuddly little miss syd!

and even more cuddling…On-Rhee and Do-Retta are both trying to give owen a hug….so cute! 

gotta do something constructive with our time too….so we try to jam in as much crafting as we can on a limited schedule….this project was great, because it was already started for us at school, they mixed the dough and we just had to put their little hands in and bake then pain it!

and of course, I try to get some crafting in too – here are my latest creations…

sweet little owl hats

and cute little crocheted flower barrettes for syd…

and there’s nothing like a dance party to end a night right!  jammin to some john denver, beatles, elvis, third day, commodores, and lots more! the kids each had microphones and guitars and a drum and we had a great time dancing and just being goofy one night before bed! 

dancin with papa!

and since snow has been limited – we took advantage a few weeks ago for some sledding time…syd made herself right at home laying down in the sled

sliding down the hill by herself to grappy@

blocking owen’s face after plowing into a pile of snow…

the flying sledders!  so stinkin cute! :) 

and owen had to give his old baby sled a try too!  (lightning mcqueen needed a break! )

a few weekends ago, the guys had an ice fishing weekend so Al, Em and i all got together with the kiddos…it was a crazy but fun time with them! :) 

O with little buddy brian….

that sunday, we got snowed in and decided to skip church cuz the weather was insanely nasty, so we had some fun playing dress up – syd was snow white

and owen was the huntsman…(or maybe a construction worker??? or maybe one of the village people? lol) they had a fun time pretending…. 

lots of fun to be had even though we’d rather be sitting in the summer sun fishing and enjoying the water… :) 

...and nothing like a sweet ‘oh-yo’ (that’s what his little sis calls him)  to end this post….

 

42

My little man is 42 months old!!! (That’s three and a half for those who don’t like math)

Wow, how exactly did that happen?

So what has he been up to lately?

Well – its impossible to capture his essence in blog post, but here are a few things that make Owen himself…

He loves to cuddle and he loves to be just like mama or papa…

here he is with his hat on just like papa and they are both playing on their laptops…

Here he is cuddling with cousin ‘D’

He loves his sleep too – although lately he has learned how to stall at bedtime and will come out of his room more times that i can count for no reason (well other than he needs more water, he cant find his frog, or he needs to be recovered up) but once he’s out, he’s out – and ever since he’s been a wee little babe, i’ve snuck in his room while he was sleeping to take pics of him at night…in fact i have a whole post in the works with some of the pics i’ve gotten of him sleeping….here’s a little teaser….

what a sweet peaceful little guy!

even though he is quite the little devious one when it comes to staying in his room or trying to get what he wants from mama and papa, he really is a sweet sweet boy! and (most of the time) he treats syd so sweet and takes care of her so well…the other day before nap, he insisted on giving her some milk before her nap….this pic is so so so stinking cute….i love the look on his face – so concentrate (whils she just looks like she’s not so sure about the whole thing).

that picture reminded me of this pic – from when ‘baby synee’ first came home….he’s got that same little look on his face….

Playing ‘computer’ with syd…

He also helps us interpret Syd’s language….The other day syd kept saying something "pa..." and we could NOT figure out what she was saying until all of a sudden in a very annoyed tone, owen shouts out "she wants a pillow!"

Along with his sweetness – the other night I was laying with him in bed reading a book and he says: "mama do you want a blanket, or you don't have to if you don't want to; mama do you want to take your socks off? you might get warm"He really does care so much about everyone, so proud of that little guy!

He’s such a little goof ball – always dancing around or singing….

He loves music - will sit and strum on his guitar forever. He recognizes piano (or ‘com-piano’ as he calls it) music on the radio all the time – he is obsessed with the bongos at church and always has to get us to go up front afterwards and look at them

‘country roads’ is somehow his favorite song.....’take me home...to the place....where i belong.....west virginia...'mountin ma-ma'...take me home, country roads’....he knows ALL the words!

And he has a memory like a steel trap…i mean its kind of amazingly scary! here are a few exampls: We pull in the parking lot at Christ Memorial to play on the indoor playground...he says: "hey this is the place we went with grandma" (which was over a year ago)

We were were driving down eighth street the other day and all of a sudden when we passed the Outpost, owen says: "thats where we saw that scary guy, and we could see his belly button" - i was very confused, but scott remembered exactly what he was talking about - during the summer we were downtown for the street performers and there was a guy on stilts all dressed up (and kind of looked scary and you could see his belly button) and we saw him – where? yup, right in front of the Outpost!

Over Christmas Break – We pulled into Deannas playhouse…Owen says: "hey this is where we went for kenzie's birthday party" (over seven months ago)

He’s so curious and observant…papa is helping out teaching a metal stamping class and i told owen he was teaching one night when he asked where he was...later that night, just out of the blue, he was in the car and totally off topic, he goes " did he dress like a teacher? He is a teacher, is he a boy or a girl?" then when scott got home he had to ask him if he wore what he had on to teach.....interesting!

At bedtime, lately he has to make a 'cave' around himself in his bed by making his blankets surround him or even by using his stuffed animals...he'll do it on the couch sometimes too by using toys...who knows where he came up with the idea but its pretty cute! :)

But don’t let all that sweetness and fun fool you – he’s three and a half and as much as I was so afraid of the terrible twos – they came and went and I was so relieved, as I never really felt like we went through much of that type of a phase with him…well – I spoke too fast – because its here – the ‘threes’ are WAY worse! He has this Dr. Jekel / Mr. Hyde thing going on sometimes, I swear!!! :) i think he’s really just starting to realize that he has control over himself and to the extent, the outcome of certain situations, depending on how he acts – so he isREALLY starting to test his limits…he’s also so stinkin’ smart that he really plays scott and i against eachother somtimes…little goober! but we’ve really been working with him lately and i think we’re making some progress..and i just can’t help but love him despite his typical toddler/preschooler behavior!!! : )

He's about 40 lbs (maybe 42? lol) and is wearing size 10 shoe and size 4T clothes. He can count to 18ish and can write his own name. He recognizes just about every letter of the alphabet - capital and lowercase and could probably tell you what just about any word starts with (along with the zoo phonics animal that goes along with it) he loves preschool and gets so excited to do his homework....

He’s just getting so big and so grown up and lately - I feel like he’s gone through a major growth spurt – he’s just not a little boy anymore!!!

He is also getting so much more independent and is willing to go do things on his own more and more – which is nice because he will somewhat dress himself on his own or go to the bathroom on his own and I can totally count on him to do ‘chores’ for me when I ask him. He even went to sunday school on his own without mama or papa goingwith him for the first time today!

So in the spirit of tradition here is my big boy with his froggy buddy….

Love you so much and we’re so proud of the little boy you’ve become, Owen! :)