Family Christmas photos

I had a goal this year to send out Christmas cards with a family photo on them. Well, in a previous post I had shared photos that my friend Stepheni of Mason Jar Photography had taken of just Owen and I because Derek was still working. I knew we needed to get on the ball to order Christmas cards and get them sent out so, today I had my sister grab my little point and shoot Nikon and walk with us down to the river. Josh ended up taking a few really good photos of us while Danielle made Owen smile for him. Here are the best ones from our little session.

I love this with Owen just running around us...

This was an accidental photo... Owen ran out of the shot, but it's great of me and Derek

I ended up choosing this photo for our cards... Owen's face is just too cute!

A Happy Thanksgiving!

Derek and I hosted Thanksgiving this year. Mostly in part because we have the biggest house... although we didn't have to make a ton of stuff which made it a lot easier. Derek and Josh had a "turkey cook-off" and we had two BBQ's going all day today! My mom, Danielle, Josh, Derek's mom, my Uncle Bill, my Aunt Lana and her mom Anne and brother Art all came to dinner. I was fortunate enough to not have to cook a lot...I only made a green bean casserole and some red velvet cake balls (those were AMAZING!) My mom brought mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and 4 pumpkin pies! My sister made some yams and also some pigs in a blanket for appetizers. Grandma Anne brought some tasty homemade bread and Derek's mom brought her yummy cheese cake and a fruit salad. We had quite the spread! We left the house a mess and I woke up to a clean kitchen thanks to Derek... I love him so much! He's not the usual "cleaner" but he sure was at 4 am this morning! I hope everyone had as much fun as we did... I'm so thankful for all of the blessings the Lord has given me!!!

The table set up (yes Owen's at his little table already eating haha!)

The appetizers and pies YUM!

Josh carving his turkey... Derek's is to the right of him (Derek's won in my opinion!)

My creative side

I have been wanting to do an "art" project for Owen's room for some time now. I decided to go ahead and buy the letters of his name and some cute sports balls to put on them. I had some extra paint from when I painted his dresser... so it worked out perfectly! Here's a couple photos of the new stuff!

I think it turned out pretty good...

He started jumping on his bed...

He's such a ham!

I also got this cute sign that I hung above his closet... it matches everything so perfectly!

Just crazy Owen... jumping on his bed.

Camo Cutie

I love these overalls on Owen! They're so cute... especially when paired with his little romeos and a John Deere sweatshirt! He calls them "shisherman pants" haha! I had to take a couple photos of him in them... although he as excited about photo time as I was.

The sweetest thing...

I was just browsing around on the website that hosted some of my old photo slideshows for mypsace and I came across this photo...

I had forgotten that this photo was ever taken, and when I saw it I about cried. I was bored that afternoon and was trying to take pictures of me and Owen together. He and I didn't have a ton because I was always in control of the camera. So, I decided to do some self portraits... and this one came about. Owen was just about 6 months old here and had a little "chunk" on him, so cute!!! I just love how we are embracing each other... both our eyes are closed and Owen's little dimpled hand is on my cheek... oh, I hope I never forget this photo again! (especially when he's acting "2" ;])

Halloween Photos... FINALLY!

On Halloween my camera was busted... so I had to rely on my mom to take some photos of Owen in his costume. She just got them to me today, but better late than never... thank you so much Mom!!! He was dressed as a Fisherman... or as he'd say, "a shisherman". So that night we took him to Derek's parent's house so his mom could see him and she could show him off to the neighbors. That was about all the trick or treating he did besides a trip around the YMCA that morning. He did have a hat (that he wouldn't wear) and a fishing pole that was MIA at this point cause he was eating some dinner... So here are some photos!

He was really tired...

he also had a hard time cooperating for this impromtu photo shoot ;]

I look horrible trying to get him to look at Grammy... ugh!

The new haircut

So, I did it... I chopped my hair! It has been bugging me so much... I had my friend Sheree even out the length a few weeks ago and that didn't help. I have been feeling as if I've had a "mom hairstyle" and I didn't want to wait it out anymore. So I wen to see my friend Dannielle at "A Head of Times" on South Hill. She did such an awesome job! I love that I can tell her an idea of what I have and she goes with it... this is an amazing cut. Thank you so much Dannielle!!!!!

A little dinnertime drumming

Owen usually grabs a spoon or a fork while I'm making dinner... I guess he's just overly excited to eat, I'm not quite sure why he does it. But tonight I had my back to him and he had climbed up onto a chair and was playing drums on my table. It makes all kinds of different noises because of the different tiles... can be a lot of fun for a 2 year old! Then I started thinking... he's always loved to drum. He has a small drum where the drumsticks are attached and he also has an actual drum set (that has gotten a bit destroyed from him), but he's always loved drums. He has a new favorite song that he requests when we get into my car, Miranda Lambert's "Kerosene". He gets so excited and says "Drums Mommy! Do you hear it?!" it's so cute! Looks like we may have the next Steven Adler* on our hands... without the drug problem though! haha!

*For those of you who don't know who Steven Adler is... he's the original drummer for Guns N Roses... he is awesome!

Meet Monster Boy

This is Monster Boy... he is a toy that Owen got out of a machine at the local Mexican restaurant "Los Pinos". After his birthday I would've thought his favorite toys would be the new cars and tractors... nope! This little bendy, smiley-faced toy is! He takes it everywhere... it goes to bed with him, takes a bath with him, goes on walks with him and even makes it into owen's jammies! It's pretty cute really... so here's him with Monster Boy last night in bed.

Here he is sleeping... you can see Monster Boy in his right arm...

*Here's a close up!*

Opinions needed...

I've been trying to grow my hair out for a long time (ok so only about 4 months haha!) I am getting frustrated because it's just taking longer than I want, but of course I want it to be in the middle of my back by now and that would take a miracle! Anyways, I have been thinking about cutting it short again... I loved the style on me and I may just try it. Let me know what you think!

Me with long hair, pre-pregancy

or... me with the shorter look

Date night

It's been a while since Derek and I have had our usual date night and we finally made it a point to schedule some fun for us last night. We took Owen to my mom's house as we usually do on Friday nights and then ventured into Auburn to find a new restaurant to try. We ended up at BB Magraw's... that place is great! We had awesome food, drinks and a huge tv to watch the Denver/Boston game last night! I ended up getting a hold of my good friend Wayne to see what he and his girl were up to and they were gonna go ice skating... well when Derek hear this his ears perked up, wanted the bill and wanted to jet home to grab his skates and head up there haha! So, we did... man oh man that was so much fun! Derek took a few pictures of me skating from his phone... I'm not exactly the most coordinated person and I couldn't even look to the side or behind me when I was skating or I would've taken pictures of him too... afterwards we headed over to Wayne's house and just had an awesome time talking til almost 2am! I was exhausted and I'm kinda paying for it this morning, but it was worth it! Here are 2 shots Derek got of me skating (remember they're cell phone photos, so they aren't the best!)

something's just not right...

Which one doesn't belong?!

Owen all ready in his car seat to leave the hospital 2 years ago...

Or...

This is one of him in his infant car seat tonight... he wanted to sit in it so bad and fit himself in! It cracks me up cause he looked so big before we took him out of it and put him into the convertible car seat. Funny how time flies and how much they grow... but for now I'm gonna enjoy this hilarious photo!

a rough morning for both of us

I woke up this morning when Owen did at 7... although I had a pounding headache and kinda felt sick. I grabbed my pillow and blanket, got Owen out of bed and went downstairs. I curled up on the couch while Owen watched tv and played with his new toys... I'm so thankful that he's at an age where I can doze on the couch for 2 hours and I know he's going to be just fine. Well, I was awake and on the computer when he grabbed his blankie and put it over his head (which he often does) and somehow he fell and hit his cheek on the hardwood floors... he cried and cried and cried. The only thing that could make him feel better was the movie Cars which he calls "race car"... so I thought I'd take a snapshot of his owie...

See the red mark on his cheek?

He took notice that I had the camera and cheesed it up!

Hopefully this isn't a preview to how our whole day will be haha!

Sleepover at Grammy's

Friday night is usually Owen's night with my mom "Grammy", but this Friday she took both Owen and Shea for a sleepover at her house. It was so cute to see them both get so excited for a sleepover. They both had backpacks to take to her house with jammies, clothes for the next day and blankies. I had to get pictures of these cuties all ready to leave for Grammy's house!

Owen all ready for a fun night at Grammy's!

Owen, Shea and Savannah at the door (Savannah stayed home with mom and dad), oh and Shea is doing his sweet Spiderman moves in this photo! :]

And we can't forget Princess Savannah... she wanted her picture taken too!

Owen's Party

The evening of Owen's birthday, we had a small party for him. My mom, my sister Danielle, Josh, Derek's parents and sister, my friend Stephanie and her two kids Shea and Savannah came for some pizza, cake and ice cream. It was so nice to have just a small party this year... last years had over 50 people and it was cramped, loud and just too much. So, this year I decided just grand parents, aunts/uncles and church family (Stephanie's family is considered family to us!).

Before the party, Owen and I headed up to PetsMart to pick up a fishy for his birthday present. We got all the fixin's for the fish and picked out a orange and white goldfish. He got to carry the fish out of the store and while we were driving. This is how the drive went:

Owen: Mommy?!

Me: What?

Owen: Thank You!!!

This continued over and over again until we went to pick up his cake. My high school friend Reka makes cakes and I was very impressed by her work on myspace that I knew I wanted her to make Owen's cake this year. I gave her an idea that Owen likes to go fishing and his favorite movie is Finding Nemo... she took off with it and came up with an awesome cake! So, after we picked up the cake, Owen wanted to carry the cake and that wasn't going to happen! He cried and cried... he kept saying "Happy!!!" which is what he calls cake haha!

Here are a few photos of the night... Owen named his fish "orange" (he's learning his colors... can you tell?!) And I kinda ruined the cake before the party started...

The cake after I dropped the boy into the "water" and his arm fell off...

Owen got embarassed when we were singing to him and burried himself in me... it was too sweet!

Then, it as present time... Owen was all about it until after the first present was opened. He lost interest and wanted to play with the new toy. Miss Savannah was there to help me out though!

Jumpin' Jack and Jills

On the morning of Owen's birthday, we got up ate breakfast and headed out to Jumpin' Jack and Jill's in Sumner. My mom had told me about this place months ago, and it has been my plan to take Owen there for some fun on his birthday. Well, for $6 we got to play for 2 hours... there was a bounce house, a big slide and then an obstacle course with a few things to go over, under, and around and then a HUGE slide to go down. They also had an air hockey table (which Owen loved and kept saying "oh! hockey!!!", a video game and a little area with some toddler toys. Owen had a blast and was super sweatty by the end of our session. Stepheni, Joe and their little guy Brandon met up with us since Owen and Brandon have such a blast together. It was a ton of fun and we can't wait to go back!!!

Derek, has been working nights and he had only had about 2 1/2 hours of sleep when we left... he was such a sport and even went down the slide with Owen! :]

Owen's 2 year check up...

This morning was Owen's 2 year check up... he's hated these for the most part since about 6 months old. It's hard to get him to sit on the table or lay down for that matter. Thank God my sister Danielle came with me this morning! She was a total lifesaver... she gave Owen her strawberry lip gloss to play with and he kept putting it on, it was pretty funny really! We got him in his little gown which was so darn cute! He got weighed and he weighs 27.8 pounds and then he was measured, he is 36 1/2 inches tall. So, he's in the 50th percentile for his weight and over the 95th for his height. He checked out good, even with the kicking and screaming haha! No shots today and the doctor said he looks good and is speaking extremely well... so it was a good morning and thank you Auntie for coming with us!!!!

Happ Birthday Owen!!!

Today is Owen's 2ND birthday! I can't believe it's been 2 years since he stole our hearts! I remember waking up the day he was scheduled to be born.... I was so excited, but so scared because I had no clue what to expect. We went into the hospital at 6am and were admitted into the surgery recovery room. We waited there while the nurses took my vitals and Owen's vitals. At about 7:45am I walked into the operating room... the anesthesiologist did his work and I was prepped and ready for surgery at 8am. Derek didn't walk in until Owen was just about to be born... Owen made his appearance at 8:06 am, weighing a whopping 9 pounds 5 ounces and measuring 19 1/4 inches long. He was everything we hoped for and dreamed of and he exceeds everything we could have imagined still!!!

Owen has always been ahead of the game... I'm not saying it because he's my son, but he's one smart cookie! He was rolling around the house at 4 months, crawling at 6 months, cruising at 7 months and walking at 8 1/2 months! I thought he would be late talker because he excelled in the physical development, but no! He has been talking like crazy for over a year now... he says shorter sentences and is soaking in everything his little mind can! He loves to go on walks, go fishing at the river, ride his bike, play basketball, and watch "shows" (Backyardigans, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Finding Nemo, Madagascar and his new favorite Cars) I love watching him learn and grow each day and I can't wait to see what is to come for my little dude!!!

We love you so much Owen!!!
Love, Daddy and Mommy

The Yogurt Bath

As I stated in a previous post... Owen loves yogurt and usually gets it all over! I thought I'd document this... it didn't go as I thought... well, I guess what I should say is that he didn't get as messy as usual. But here he is chowin' down on some yummy yogurt! Oh and one of his cheesy grin!