A gift for daddy...

We had asked Jake's cousin, Courtney, to watch Owen for us one night...and as a surprise she was able to take this photo of Owen wearing Jake's Marine hat and gave it to Jake as a Christmas gift. What a perfect gift!

Courtney is starting up her business as a photographer...be sure to check her out at http://capturedbycourtneyphotography.blogspot.com/

SNOW!

Our first snowfall of the winter...the snow was heavy and sticky...perfect for making our "snow-family" (complete with our snow dog!).

Bonfire in November

How amazing...the weather was still great for a bonfire on November 7th!

First Train Ride

Super fun! Owen and mommy took their first train ride today with some friends...from Big Lake to Minneapolis (and back again). While in Minneapolis we ate at Pizza Luce. Yum! We are looking forward to taking the train downtown again.

Halloween 2010

Owen seemed to enjoy "trick-or-treating"...this was basically his first year wandering around with his bucket and all. He wasn't always quite sure what to think about it (maybe that had something to do with his mom acting like the paparazzi...who knows), but when he saw the bucket of candy he was usually pretty excited to pick something out. The costume was simple, but cute...our little fireman (or as he calls himself...a "whew-man"). Owen and [second] cousin, Mackenzie.

Carving Pumpkins 2010

The finished product...All lit up!

It's a new fad!

Owen is starting a new trend...upside-down sunglasses!

Outdoor Fun

I just had to share this video...Owen's latest outdoor fun! My little stunt man is "back out!"

Sit-n-Spin

I finally took a video of this...Owen is getting the hang of how to use his "Sit-n-Spin."

Dance - Week 5

Monday, October 11th
Week five of dance was totally focused around what Owen wanted to do...as he was the only one who showed up for class. And since Daddy stayed home, we didn't get any pictures again this week. We have found that Owen participates the best when he gets to dance with a prop...Miss Lauren has introduced a couple of "friends" (stuffed animals) that watch and/or dance with the children. Owen danced around with a penguin this week and also really likes waving around the scarves. Until next week...

Dance - Week 4

Sorry to disappoint but we have no pictures from dance class this week...both Jake and I decided to participate with Owen in class to see if it would help him. During our last two weeks, Owen will suddenly decide that he would like the other parent in class with him. Per the teacher, Miss Lauren, we both joined in. He just wasn't quite into dancing tonight...until Miss Lauren pulled out some fake leaves that we got to dance with...and drop to the ground....spin around...that was a fun activity. Hopefully we can get some pictures next week!

Apple Orchard & Pumpkin Patch 2010

We visited Apple Jack Orchards in Delano on a beautiful, sun-shiny, Sunday morning. We were ready to head out to pick our own apples and look for a small pumpkin.

First, we had to stop and wait for Owen to navigate his way through the maze. He found the middle!Then, it was time to go for a ride on the "cow train" (pulled by a John Deere Gator). Owen was very excited to get in his seat...but as the ride took off he wasn't too happy that mom and dad weren't going along. Maybe next year he will enjoy the ride more.At last...off to pick apples. Unfortunately, due to the irregular weather pattern we have had this year there was a frost in May that destroyed many blooms and the orchard was very bare. Any apples we found were treasures! We still enjoyed walking amongst all of the trees and searching for any good apples. And just like last year...we watched Owen perform the "sit test" on pumpkins! So cute!

At 2 years old...almost 3 feet tall...and showing off our pick from the pumpkin patch.

Dance - Week 3

Another fun week at dance class...in reality, Owen does struggle a little bit...but he has his "favorite" activities. He seems to really enjoy dancing with the scarves, they wave them up and down, and side to side...we twirl around and he even is very good at putting them back in the drawer.

Owen also seems to like the "hand holding" activities...we march across the room, we play ring-around-the-rosy, and other similar circle games.

Overall, we are happy that we have chosen to enroll him in the class and we will continue to bring him. It is my opinion that he might struggle a bit because we rush around after work/daycare to eat dinner and get to class (hey, we are getting better only 5 minutes late to class this week).

# 2

You guessed it...and I'm writing about it!
Let me just back up for a moment to this morning...it was time to change a diaper, so I asked Owen if he would like to sit on the toilet...and he promptly said, "uh-huh" and headed for the bathroom. So exciting! He actually peed [quite a bit] more than last night...he must already be comfortable with this deed and he was very pleased with his results (as am I, if you can't already tell).

On to the "#2 story"...it was time to change a diaper again so I repeated the situation from earlier and asked about using the toilet and again we went to the bathroom. Owen was saying he had to "poo-poo" but I wasn't quite sure...until I actually saw the, well, you know...poop falling into the toilet.
Woo Hoo!
For those of you that have toilet-trained children I am sure you can relate to this feeling of celebration I have. And for those that have yet to experience such a situation, you might just think back to my story someday and understand why I felt the need to blog about this. :) Today marks another great day in the story of Owen's life!
Let's keep this toilet-using momentum going!!!

# 1

Yes, I really am going to write about this miraculous event! :)
Today marks, not only Owen turning 25 months old...but today he went potty on the toilet for the first time! YAY! I know we still have a long road ahead of us, but this gets us one step closer to abandoning diapers. Anyways...please humor me as I go into play-by-play.
Whenever Owen feels like sitting on either the actual toilet or his potty chair (he refers to both as the "pot") we gladly let him. Tonight he sat on the toilet, then his potty chair...then we basically thought he was playing a game delaying the inevitable diaper/jammies/bed, so we told him it was time for his diaper. To which he responded, "No...pot." He sat back down on his potty chair and suddenly started to let it happen! How exciting for us...we cheered and praised him and let him flush it down the toilet!
Cheers to more potty training success!

Dance - Week 2

Owen attended his 2nd week of dance class and it went very well. He is already getting more comfortable with the other children in class. During a "march" across the room, Owen gladly held hands with the little girl standing next to him (last week he wouldn't). The activites for week two were very similar to week one...some stretching (accomplished by asking the kids to tickle down their legs...pretty cute), dancing with scarves, ring around the rosie, and marching across the room. All of the children seem to really enjoy the class.

First night of dance

Owen started his "dance class" tonight for the fall/winter season. The class is just for 2 year olds and right now there are just four children in the group (the class is held on various other days and times as well). The class is called "Jump Starts"...the children will be getting a jump start on their gross motor skills. Parents are encouraged to join in until their child feels comfortable participating alone (Jake and I got to take turns tonight). The teacher said it was a successful first night! There wasn't a whole lot of structure...but there were no tears and no misbehaving children. Below are a couple pictures we were able to get.

MN State Fair

We visited the "Great Minnesota Get-Together" on Friday, September 3rd. The weather was a bit chilly...both windy and overcast, but at least it didn't rain! We ate lots of food and wandered around for almost 8 hours! Here are a few pictures from the day.

Just us!

Here we are...

2-year photos

We love our photographer! Here is a peek at some of Owen's 2-year photos.

Two!

Well, here I am again...catching up to what happened. August was a very busy month for us. I think we only had one weekend day that we didn't have something going on...and of course we took full advantage of that and had a relaxing day at home!

Although we attended many fun events over the month, our hightlight had to be Owen turning 2! We had a fun construction-themed party for him and were very happy to celebrate with those that could attend. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Owen and his "God-siblings"...Dawson and Kylie. Owen's friends were helping him open presents! :)First time sitting on his tractor!And this is how he likes to use the tractor...daily...as he watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! I guess this is more comfortable than the couch.Oh and he loves to "ba-shoom"...he is a little fearful of the real vacuum, but I actually think this is helping.

July 4th, 2010

We had a nice "5-day weekend" over the fourth of July this year...spending Friday, July 2nd as our get ready and pack day...then July 3rd we travelled to Warrens, Wisconsin...and finally travelled home on Tuesday, July 6th. We stayed at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Warrens and were fortunate enough to be able to rent a cabin with our friends. We chose this location because it is about an hour closer than Wisconsin Dells and had heard that it was a fun place to visit.
The cabin...
The kiddos (Owen ,22 months and Tatum, 19 months) did fantastic while travelling...I think we made 2 or 3 stops on the way there...and only 1 on the way home. Here are some pictures of our playtime.