All Boy

Need I say anything more?

New Accomplishment

Today Owen managed to climb on top of the coffee table. When he got up there and stood up, he shouted like he was king of the world. A bit scary and funny all at the same time. Please excuse the lack of pants, this happened right after a diaper change!

Kimball Farm

Every summer, Daddy's company has a family outing at Kimball Farm. This year we got to make use of all the fun kid stuff with Owen. He would have been perfectly happy with all the balls they had available to play with...but there was more...
The Bouncy House! At first I thought there was no way he would go in, especially with all the bigger kids jumping like crazy. Recently they had one of these structures at daycare, but the teachers told me that Owen did not want to go jump. But there was an opportunity when no one else was in there, so Owen and I got in and had a blast. Until it started to deflate. Yikes. Brian claims it was because I weighed too much, but I think there might have been something flaky with the air pump since someone came to fix it. I must say that I wasn't too thrilled with an inflatable roof caving in with a crying baby and camera around my neck.

Then there were the pony rides. First off, Owen seems to love animals. He likes pointing at them. He'll get close and watch. But he won't touch at all. This is typical behavior when he sees a dog. So I wasn't surprised that he seemed interested in the pony. But once he got on, he lasted about 10 seconds before this:
Oh well, we tried. At least he was still up for going back in the Bouncy House. He got more and more daring as the evening went on. He was in there with all sorts of kids by the end of the night. He couldn't get enough...we had to drag him away at 7:30 pm which was after his bedtime!

Hiking in the White Mountains

It was a bit hot, but that didn't bother Owen as he rode on Daddy's back along the trail to Glenn Rock Falls. He actually was trying to fall asleep towards the end, but for the most part he loved it.

Owen's new word for the weekend was outside (ou-sigh), which is so awesome to listen to him say. I tried to teach him 'tree' as well, but practically everything I pointed to was a tree, like tree trunks, evergreens, leaves...I think it was confusing him a bit. Oh well, maybe next time!

Pancakes at Polly's

Daddy wanted to take Owen to his favorite pancake house in the White Mountains, Polly's Pancake Parlor. Owen just loves blueberry pancakes, so this was the perfect meal for him.

Mini-Golfing

Daddy wanted to take Owen to play mini-golf...only I thought you could get a plastic kids' club. I seem to remember my baby brother doing this. I guess that hasn't caught on in NH, so Owen was stuck in the stroller watching us play. The few times we let him have a go at it, he just wanted to put the ball in the hole. It didn't matter whether the putter was used or not!

The White Mountains

After the wedding we headed up to the White Mountains for a little weekend get-away. This is one of our favorite places, so it was fun to share it with Owen. On our way up, we stopped at the Basin to take a look at the rushing waters.

Daddy taught Owen how to throw rocks in the water. As you can imagine, that was a big hit!

The Wedding Dancer

Today we headed up to NH for a wedding on Lake Winnipesaukee. It was a picturesque, outdoor wedding for a poker buddy of Brian's. During the ceremony, Owen waited patiently until it was time to blow the bubbles. He brought his own special bubbles just for the occasion.

Since it was an early wedding, Owen got to experience the whole wedding dance scene. To say that he liked it would be putting it mildly. We were shocked at how bold he was getting out on the dance floor. He even figured out how to mimic the other kids' moves. Check out the video that Brian was smart enough to capture on our camera:


All the wedding festivities wore Owen out. Not five minutes after he got in the car, he had passed out:

17 Months

I love his big, toothy smiles. I love the sound of his voice when he's trying to tell me something. I love the hugs. I love the hide-and-seek games. I love to hold his little hand as we walk together. I love his giggles. I love the giggy dance he does. I love the proud look he has when he accomplishes something. I love this little guy with all my heart.

Owen's 17 Month Milestones:

• Words, Words, Words! This has been the month of words. He has so many now, I may have lost count. Some new ones are: milk (mu), more, mine, shoe, water (wa-wa), no, whoa, bubble, plane (bane). The daycare ladies have told me that he said phone and Bobby (a friend) one day, but I am yet to hear him say phone and that isn't from a lack of trying. He is even stringing words together...like 'more milk' which is just awesome.
• Brushing teeth - mostly on his own with little help. Brush, brush, brush, I say to him. I wish there was a little more brushing and a little less sucking on the toothbrush. But he really is doing well.
• Wants to walk up and down stairs.
• Playtime attention span has grown so much. He'll play with the same toy for much longer. He spends more time figuring out how things work and can be entertained by the same thing for a while.
• Moving towards one nap a day. He still takes two on the occasions when he needs to catch up on sleep.
• Fussy about food. I wish he was a better eater, but he's not horrible. Some of his favorites are oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt, blueberries, pears, mac & cheese, peanut butter sandwich, and grilled cheese. Missing from this list is any type of meat. I've been trying to get him to each chicken nuggets for the longest time, and finally tonight he ate two at dinner. I guess he was super hungry!
• Runs - all the time - everywhere.
• Kicks a ball in forward direction like a little soccer player. Grandpa Wade got him doing this, then Owen took it to new levels at the airport when our flight was delayed. I think everyone waiting at the gate probably passed the soccer ball with him at some point.
• Responds to simple directions like "drink your milk" or "find your shoes" really well.
• Feeding himself all the time. Owen continues to make lots of progress in eating with a fork. Using a spoon is an old hat now.
• Blows kisses goodbye...it melts my heart!
  

Fort Building

Daddy and Owen have been busy a lot lately with building forts in our bedroom.
Owen loves to duck under cover and crawl through the "tunnel".
He gets so excited when we try and hunt for him. His giggles are unbelievably cute.

Wagon Love

Owen still loves to get in his wagon and take a cruise around the neighborhood. I enjoy his babbles as we stroll around. Pretty soon he'll be telling me where to go!

Getting Some Hair - Finally!

Check out the hair that Owen has now!

It has a mind of it's own, so it fits his personality perfectly!

Family Visit

We flew in and out of Cleveland for the wedding in Columbus, so we got to visit with the Kuder family as well on this trip. Before our flight home on Sunday, Owen got to spend some time playing with his cousin, Elizabeth. Owen loves any new toys, so he was thrilled to check out all of Elizabeth's goodies.
Then Grandpa Kuder had to get out his riding mower to take Owen for a ride. Owen has been really into tractors, backhoes, bobcats, etc. so seeing this was pretty exciting for him (I think). But when it came time to ride on Grandpa's lap he was not too thrilled.
But then he got on with Daddy and he was super pleased. I actually have fond memories as a child getting tractor rides with my father...so it was cool for Owen to get this experience. I'm sure in a couple of years he'll be begging Grandpa for a ride!

Owen's First Wedding

Today my cousin, Mary, got married so we were in Columbus for the occasion. I was a bridesmaid, so I was a bit occupied. Not a lot of photos in his cute wedding outfit.
But there were lots of cousins/2nd cousins to play with. Owen did pretty well with all the commotion. Daddy was on parent duty most of the time...but Aunt Cat, Grandma & Grandpa were around to give lots of attention as well.