Happy New Years

We had a wonderful evening ringing in the New Year with the Kuder-Jaeger-Menges-Aunt Barbara clan!

Playtime with Grandpa

Who looks like they are having the most fun here?

Getting spoiled by Grandma

 Grandma and Grandpa sure know how to make a 3 year old happy. Lots of presents and yummy food. Owen was in heaven!

The Liaos

Our time in Cleveland happened to overlap that of our friends from San Francisco, the Liaos. Brian and Wilson have been friends since they were kids so it was nice to reconnect with his family. We finally got to meet Wilson and Hae-Won's son, Ethan, who crashed before this photo got taken. But we enjoyed seeing them all.

Kuder Daycare

Grandma Kuder takes care of cousin Elizabeth and Julianna one day a week, and we happened to be there visiting for one of those such days. The kids had a great time together. Owen and Elizabeth are immediate best buddies whenever they get together.

Christmas Day 2011

 Someone must have been a good boy because Santa sure had lots of gifts that he left. Owen wasted no time with the unwrapping.

The excitement for each gift was so much fun to watch. Owen loved it all. This year was filled with lots of Superhero toys, hotwheels tracks and cars as well as monster trucks.

The gift opening seemed to last most of the day, but the enthusiasm never ended.

Hotwheels tracks were new and exciting for the boys. I'm not sure who was more excited...Owen, Marcus or Daddy!!!

The boys were into helping Mommy and Daddy open their gifts as well!

 It was a wonderful Christmas. We had lots of fun playing, eating and enjoying time together. We spent a majority of the day in our pajamas, but it's that what Christmas is all about anyways?

Oh yeah, Owen had to show off his new outfit!

Cookies for Santa

Owen made sure that Santa had a snack waiting for him.

Gingerbread Happiness

Elizabeth brought over a gingerbread house for us to decorate again this year. Owen and I were excited to get it all decked out. We spent a little time each evening decorating (and tasting the candy as well).

Owen was excited with how the whole thing turned out.

Cutout Cookie Tradition

 One of our Christmas traditions is to make cutout cookies. The boys were thrilled to jump in on the whole project.

Owen was quite the expert at rolling out the dough. I think all the play-doh time is paying off. I was so proud of how helpful he was. He also loved picking out which designs to use. And of course the icing of the cookies was a good messy fun.

The Perfect Christmas Tree

 We went to a local farm to pick out our Christmas tree. Owen was very passionate about the search.

 And he loved making sure Daddy was cutting it down properly.

 Then there was the patient waiting while we waited...

 and waited...

 for the tractor ride that took us and our perfect tree back to our car.

At home, it was a fun challenge to help Daddy get the tree down from the car, in the tree stand, and in the house.

 Then decorating was was lots of fun where Owen insisted that he get to put the star on top.

All in a day's work!

Santa Comes to Lexington

 Tonight we went to Lexington Center to greet Santa. He made a grand entrance in a firetruck.

The boys loved seeing Santa, the big Christmas tree in the Center lit up, and all the excitement.

Wiped Out

Fridays are pajama days at our house since the boys just like to hang out at home with Mommy. I think I misjudged how tired Owen was this afternoon. I put Marcus up for his nap only to find that Owen was ready for his as well!

Christmas Excitement

We order a Christmas gift for Grandma Kuder that came in the mail today. Owen immediately insisted that we wrap it. It was quite the job to get one box wrapped with two overly excited boys who wanted to help every step of the way!

Mr. Cool

Owen is ready for the winter in his coat, hat and sunglass getup.

Little Techie

Owen is becoming quite sufficient at using the iPad and iPhone. He loves playing games, typing messages to Aunt Cat or watching movies. I don't know how parents survived without them!

Happy Thanksgiving

Grandma and Grandpa Wade were here visiting for Thanksgiving. Owen had a wonderful time playing with his grandparents.

Betime Routine

Owen's bedtime routine consists of bath with Marcus, a little tv, then books with Mommy or Daddy. We have learned that we have to limit it to three books every night, and usually Owen makes the selections. Then it is off to sleep (hopefully).

Neighbor Friend

Owen has become good friends with our neighbor across the street, Cavia. She is a little more than a year older and just started kindergarden this fall, but the two of them get along great. They enjoy running around the yard and making all kinds of messes. It is so nice to have neighborhood playmates.

Fall Fun

 There is nothing like a little leaf jumping!

Storm Cleanup

We had a huge snow storm this past week (all the snow quickly melted) but it caused a ton of damage to our trees, who still had all their leaves on them. We spent our weekend doing a lot of cleanup, and Owen was quite the helper.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Owen loves birthdays...especially everything to do with the cake. Making it, blowing out the candles and ESPECIALLY eating it.

True Fit Halloween Party

True Fit hosted a Halloween Party for their staff and employees. Owen was thrilled to get dressed up as Spiderman again and join everyone for the fun.

They had this game where the kids were trying to eat a doughnut tied on a string without using their hands. Owen loves his doughnuts, so this game was right up his alley. I found this photo to be hilarous as I caught Marcus trying to eat Owen during the competition.

Brian has a group of wonderful colleagues at True Fit.

Pumpkin Carving

Owen was quite a helper with pumpkin carving this year. He was not a fan of the stuff inside the pumpkin, but he loved the carving aspect.
Due to a heavy snow storm, we were without electricity, so we had to run to get our carving done during daylight hours in a chilly house.
The finished masterpieces turned out pretty cool.

Halloween Parade

Our local preschool network holds a Halloween parade every year on the Lexington Battle Green. The little tikes get dressed up and march around with their noise makers. The Kuder boys decided that a wagon pulled by Daddy was more enjoyable than walking on their own.
Owen's buddy, Danya, also came and joined in on the festivities. It may have been cold, but it sure was a lot of fun.

Fire Station Open House

Owen continues he adoration of firetrucks and everything about firemen. When our local fire station had an open house, we knew Owen would love it. Not only did he get to climb all over the trucks, but he got to shoot water with a fire hose.