Sunday in Our Jammies

Getting a breakfast bar added to our kitchen has been wonderful. Owen had no real eating routine while all our renovation was going on, but now he has his own chair at the bar to eat all his meals. He's so fun to watch eat (it must be a mommy thing) and I have been even more pleased that he doesn't protest about wearing a bib again.

Owen's new thing has been to grab your hand and drag you all over the house to show you what he wants. This time it happened to be his choo-choo train that he wanted turned on.

I have been tickled to death that Owen has finally been into reading books. He even pulled me over to the bookshelf and asked for books today...a first! I was all too happy to oblige. He's still not that interested in stories with plots. He is more excited about pointing out things in the books he knows..."truck", "kitty cat", "choo-choo", etc.

Kitty & Puppy

Owen has two stuffed animals that he has a growing attachment to. They are creatively named Kitty and Puppy. He goes to sleep every night with one of them tucked under each arm. He sometimes actually seems excited to go "nighty night" with them.
Isn't his devotion to them so cute?

Revival of the Sunglasses!

You may remember that we tortured Owen with a pair of little sunglasses when he was only a few months old. Well, those sunglasses have a whole new life again as Owen found them and finds it funny to put them on. Who's the cool looking dude, now?

Mr. Builder

Owen has been really into legos/blocks. He gets in a serious building mode and concentrates on his creation. Most of his endeavors are just stacking the blocks has high as he can. It has been a new development that he is selective about which size block he wants to use. My little engineer in training!!!

Vacuum Boy

Owen has always loved the vacuum...and now he had finally gotten big enough to actually use it. Just wait until it becomes a weekly chore!

Choo Choo fun!

A friend of mine gave us this amazing train table with tons of track, cars, and other pieces because her boys had outgrown it. It is the most awesome thing, and Owen just loves it. Right now we just have a track set up around the perimeter of the table, and he loves to get the train going. A battery operated engine is so exciting for him...and he adds cars on as it moves around the table. Even Daddy likes to get in on the fun before heading out to work!!!

22 months

Owen's days are action packed, as our little boy grows bigger and more independent. He runs from place to place in the house, going from activity to activity. I'm always amazed at how much energy he has for such a small, little guy. I love to hear the pitter patter of his feet as he's running from here to there (and he's always running). Everything about this little man is so fun and exciting. Each day he amazes me with something new he’s figured out. And I love watching his personality emerge more and more. He's figuring out the art of communication and we are figuring out how to understand what he wants!

22 Month Milestones

• Does word pairing like, "Let's Go", "Big Truck", "Bye Daddy"
• Is beginning to be social with other children. Instead of parallel playing, I see him interacting with other children more when he plays. On Christmas Eve we had his friend, Danilla over, and the boys were really playing together for the first time. It was so cute to watch!
• Owen has begun imaginary play more than I've ever seen. He'll pretend to talk on the phone, make noises and build with his train set, and plays with his stuffed animals.
• Says "No" to just about every question. Occasionally I'll get a nod of the head for a yes, but that's not terribly often.
• Is learning different animal noises. His favorites being the snake, "SSSSSsss" lion (or Bengal tiger) "Ro00aaarrrr" or puppy "Ruff" (but kind of sounds like his word for truck as well, hehehe).
• Grabs my hand to drag me around the house to show me what he wants. This is his way of communicating right now, which I'm starting to figure out.
• He's pleased when he's successful and frustrated when he's not.
• Has really gotten into putting puzzles together. He's recognizing where pieces go and learning to manipulate them to get them in place.
• Lately he's added a handful of new words to his vocabulary each day.
  

Nature Center

Uncle Mike and Aunt Leslie invited us to a Nature Center for a little planetarium show for toddlers. There were other fun things at the center to explore as well.

Uncle Mike put on a puppet show.

And there were lots of reptiles to check out, which much to my detest, Owen absolutely loved. The snakes were a big hit with him. A guy came out with one wrapped around his neck, but Owen was a little too timid to touch it. He did come away from the experience with knowing the sound that snakes make..."SSSSsssssss". We need to work on some other animal sounds!

Fire Truck!!!

Grandma and Grandpa's neighbor had a little mishap with his fireplace, so firemen had showed up. Grandpa took Owen to see the truck up close. I'm sure he was in heaven!