Two Years Old - The Party

Today was Owen’s birthday party. I guess it’s official now – Owen is two!

I took a lot of pictures during the party and it is too hard for me to pick a handful for the blog, so here is a link to the whole album:

Owen's Second

The party was great. A lot of Owen’s family and friends were there to celebrate with him. We had a face painter who was very eager to start painting faces, but only a couple kids were “into it.” I got my face painted to try and encourage the rest of the guests to follow! The food was yummy (of course it was, Nana made it all!) The kids all had a great time playing with Owen’s train set and new toys. Owen received some great gifts (even though Mom had to open them all because he was having too much fun playing with his friends and didn’t want to stop!) After everyone went home, we really felt fortunate to have such wonderful family and friends. Owen is a lucky boy!

I have to say, I’m very proud of how his choo-choo cake turned out. Owen recognized it immediately as a choo-choo cake and that was all I needed. It was pretty fun to do – I liked the fact that it had so many extra details like the cookie wheels and cookie tracks, ice cream cone funnel and cotton candy steam, pretzel car connectors, and even coconut grass! Not sure if I’m ever going to attempt a cake like this again, but now I can say I once made a cute choo-choo cake!

Just for history sake, here is a list of all the folks who helped Owen celebrate his big day!

• Nana
• Great Aunt Debi and Grace
• Joe and Nancy
• Kelly and Finn
• Katie, Eden, Hunter, Mac, Walter and Grady
• Kari
• Allison, Ryan, Elena and Preston
• Meika, Ross and Anika
• Rebecca and Azzie
• Tracy, Jim, Nic and Adeline

Not Yet Two

Today was Owen's birthday party and it was a major success (I think.) However, since I am still in denial that Owen has turned two - I decided to post the video I made a couple weeks ago to record some of Owen's PRE-TWO milestones.

Included, singing his ABC's...counting to twenty...my current favorite word Owen says, "strawberries" and lots of other quality Owen moments.

Enjoy!

Two Years Old - The Check-Up

Whew...What comes with being two? Hating the doctor, I guess!

Poor Owen had a traumatic day at the doctor. I think he's finally figured out that the doctor means shots. When we arrived, the receptionist gave me the usual clipboard of forms to fill out. I sat down and Owen grabbed the clipboard from me and ran it back up to the receptionist trying to give it back yelling, "Away! Away! Outside! Outside!" When I explained to him that we were staying, the tears started flowing.

Once they called us back into the doctor's office, Owen continued his pleas of “Outside? Outside?” We got him undressed and off to the scale and that pushed him over the edge.

Once the doctor came in, Owen was over it. The doctor asked about his vocabulary development. I tried to tell him that he was using 3 and 4 word sentences, that he knew his ABC’s, he could count to 20 and he knows most colors. He also knew most of his body parts including things like “forehead” and “elbow” vs the standard head, shoulders, knees and toes. The doctor was impressed but I’m not sure how much he believed since all he heard from Owen while we were there was, “AWAY!” “NO!” “AWAY!” “NO!”

The doctor was actually surprised at how upset Owen was. He is usually pretty happy at the doctor, but remembering shots combined with an increased stranger anxiety meant that Owen was not in his happy place. The fact that he got another shot and one flu mist spray means that the doctor may never be Owen’s happy place again.

The main information we got out of this visit was that Owen has been and continues to be tall. The doctor guessed he would be between 6’1” and 6’3” if he continues this growth rate. I came home and did an online growth estimator and it also predicted (with 90% accuracy) that Owen will be 6’2” at 18 years old!

Here are the final numbers:

• Head Circumference: 49.5cm (72nd percentile)
• Weight: 30lbs (79th percentile)
• Height: 37.25in (98th percentile)

Two Years Old - The Official Day

August 24, 2010 - Owen turns 2!

I can’t believe my little boy is two. I thought the first year went fast, but the last 12 months seem like a blip. I wanted to make sure that Owen had a great birthday – especially since he is at an age now where experiences like presents and cake are not only enjoyable but also exciting.

The night before Owen’s birthday, Steve arrived after working a LONG day. He had to wake up at 4am EST (1am PST) - work the day – commute home – join us for Owen’s evening routine (dinner, bath, play, books, etc.) and then after Owen was in bed, birthday chores. I wanted Owen to wake up and have all his news toys ready for him to play with – meaning: out of the box and put together. Steve was a trooper. As soon as Owen’s head hit the pillow (Owen doesn’t use a pillow, but go with it) Steve and I jumped into birthday action.

I went into the kitchen to make his birthday cake – a choo-choo cake – which was a practice run for his party on Saturday. I wanted to see if I was even capable of making this thing resemble a train and thought I could make the train engine for his real birthday and if it worked, I’d make the engine again plus 3 or 4 cars for his birthday party. The engine was by far the hardest part of the cake, so if that turned out ok – I was confident I could do the rest.

While I was cake making – Steve went into the toy room and started putting together all of Owen’s gifts. This was no easy task because one of his gifts was a train table that required assembly of the table with two drawers as well as a very involved track system. We were able to get it all finished by 11pm and we headed off to bed – Steve put in a 22 hour day when all was said and done.

The morning of his birthday, Owen got to walk down the stairs straight into his train set. I love watching that little boy’s eyes light up when he sees something he likes. It’s probably a good thing that Steve and I aren’t millionaires or he would be seriously spoiled. We played with that for a long time until Nana arrived and we opened even more gifts. Owen got so much great stuff this year. He got a Radio Flyer My First Scooter and Big Flyer (big wheel), a garbage truck, a LeapFrog Laptop, a fire truck and a Play-Doh set from Mom and Dad. Nana gave him a play tent, a helicopter, a roller bag/backpack in the shape of an airplane and an activity table with chairs. Uncle Michael, Aunt Kelly and Cousin Audrey gave him a choo-choo video all about real trains.

Owen was in heaven. He loved (and continues to love) all his gifts. It was hard to pull him away, but we piled in the car and headed up to Remlinger Farms to celebrate Owen's big day.

This was our 3rd trip there (Nana's 1st) so Owen pretty much knows the drill, but we were still able to incorporate a couple new experiences into the day. We did the old standby’s – the mini steam train which is probably Owen’s favorite thing at the park.

The pedal cars (sitting on Dad’s lap) are always fun. Playing in the old fire engine and school bus never gets old – Nana even snuck a kiss in through the window of the fire truck!

Driving the antique cars is probably Owen’s 2nd favorite part, however the park was busier this day than it usually is when we go so we weren’t able to ride them over and over (Owen was sad about that.)

For a change of pace, Owen rode the spring horses for the first time – he seemed to like them! Dad rode the pumpkin ride with him (think Dumbo ride at Disneyland, but pumpkins.) Mom rode the barrel ride (think teacups, but barrels) and this ride was probably Owen’s least favorite (Mom’s too.) Barf-o-rama. Thankfully, Owen only wanted to ride that one once!

As you can see, Owen had a great day. A little sun and a lot of fun makes Bubba a tired boy. He took his “nap” in the car on the way home. When we arrived he was energized enough to blow out his candles on his choo-choo cake (and eat a good sized piece too.)

Happy Birthday, Owen! We love you!!!!

Snoqualmie Choo Choo Days

Sometimes having a dad as a pilot means that mom has to step in and cultivate a boy's interest even if it means she might be the odd man (or woman) out.

This weekend was Snoqualmie Railroad Days and Steve was working.  So Owen and I drove up to check out some major choo-choo action. 

Snoqualmie is a cute little mountain town east of Seattle.  There is an old train that runs from Snoqualmie to North Bend.  Owen (as we know) is in a major choo-choo phase.  My thought was that at this event, there would be lots of trains for Owen to look at.  Turns out, there is only one train and that train was taking trips back and forth to North Bend all day.  So if you wanted to see the choo-choo, you really need to be riding it.

Owen and I bought tickets and waited for the next ride.  While we waited, we got to experience another first for Owen - a parade!  He thought it was pretty interesting (especially the little cheerleaders) until a fire truck came by with a bunch of pirates riding it setting off a cannon every 2 minutes that was EXTREMELY LOUD.  Owen was not a fan and I had a hard time explaining what the heck pirates had to do with fire trucks. 

After the parade, it was our turn for the train ride.  I was a little concerned that Owen would get bored 2 minutes after we departed (it's a 45 minute ride) but he loved every second of it.  He was stoked he got to sit in his own chair.  He was glued to the window on the lookout for "ding dings" (railroad crossing signals which are his favorite part about trains.)  When there was a lull in the action, he met a little girl who was sitting in front of him and they had fun playing peek-a-boo over the seat.

After the train ride, we headed home.  Owen made it to Issaquah before he crashed (about 5 minutes away.)  Even though I was the only "single" mom there - I'm so glad we went.  He loved it and he continues to talk about it even weeks later.  "Ride choo-choo with Mama?" 



Look, Ma! No High Chair!

Owen got a new booster seat today.  I think he likes it!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream

Owen is a little like his mom in the sweets department.  Likes them, but isn't ruled by them (although lately, I have found myself back in the sweet saddle.)  However, we have found his sweet kryptonite.  Ice cream!  Owen loves him some ice cream.  Nana came over for dinner a few weeks ago and as a treat, we decided to take Owen to Baskin Robbins for dessert. 

Nana said it was "her treat" so I didn't even take the diaper bag (foreshadowing) and we jumped in the car and headed out.  We got there and the place didn't have any high chairs.  Turns out, ice cream keeps Owen sitting in a big boy chair until the very last lick!

We got him one of the clown cones which is actually kind of gross, but it was frozen so hard, it was easier for Owen to eat.  He was definitely a dainty eater -- he never really went in for the kill.  We had to teach him how to lick the cone and even then, he took baby little licks.  He ate so slowly that eventually all the ice cream started melting...and dripping...and falling.  Right about this time was when I realized I didn't bring the diaper bag which means I didn't bring any wipes to clean up.  Have you ever been to a Baskin Robbins?  Do you know the teensy tiny little napkins they have there?  Like barbie doll size?  This is what I had to use to mop up all the drippy melty ice cream.  They didn't have a bathroom either, so lesson learned on this one.

Anyway, first ice cream cone -- first big boy chair -- great day!

Child Labor

What are the laws around child labor? We are trying to save money, so we are considering letting our lawn care guy go and replacing him with Owen. Today we held try-outs. He did fairly well considering this was his first try. I'd like to see his edging and pruning improve, but you get what you pay for, I suppose.

Instead of paying him in cash, we pay in water activites.  He seems pleased.

Hot, Hot, Hot

What do you do on a 95 degree day?  You go swimming at an actual pool!  Steve and Owen went swimming yesterday while I was stuck at work.  I miss all the fun!

So what do you do on a 93 degree day?  You go wading in your BRAND NEW INFLATABLE POOL!  Ahhhhh...cool ankles.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Another year, another holiday where we get to see how much Owen has changed over the last 12 months.  Last year, I remember celebrating the 4th of July at Nana's house with the whole Collis family.  Owen wasn't walking yet, he was still taking 2 naps a day (and I ended up driving him around Gig Harbor for his 2nd nap since he was not good at sleeping in foreign beds.)  There were no fireworks and Owen enjoyed being the center of attention.

This year, we started the day by taking Nana out to a birthday breakfast at Wild Wheat in Kent.  This was Owen's first breakfast at a restaurant and we found out that he likes eggs and he loves fruit (we already knew these facts, but now I have a better idea of what to order at our next breakfast dining experience.)  My omelette was pretty good too and Nana said her Challa French Toast was excellent.  We chose this restaurant because A: it was one of the few places open on the 4th and B: there are train tracks that run right next to the building and I knew it would be a great distraction for Owen.  Unfortunately, no trains came while we were eating but we took a short stroll through the nearby park and right when we were calling it quits and walking back to the car, we got to watch 2 trains zoom by.  Starting off our day with yummy food and choo-choos was the right way to get things moving.

After breakfast, we headed down to Tacoma to Kelly and Tim Mulligan's house.  They were nice enough to invite us over for the big Tacoma air show which is directly in front of their house.  They have the most beautiful view of the Port of Tacoma and the planes flew by us at eye level for 2 hours.  I wasn't sure how long they would hold Owen's attention, but it turns out - they held his attention for 2 hours (he would have sat there all day if the show hadn't ended.)  He LOVED it.  Like all air shows, they started off with the smaller planes doing lots of acrobatics.  Owen learned how to say "upside down" and shocked me by recreating the plane's path with his hands.  It looks a little Tai Chi-ish, but he was very deliberate in using his hands to reenact the acrobatics. 

After the smaller planes, came the LOUD planes.  A couple fighter jets were included in the show and I have to confess, they were the reason I love air shows.  I love the fast and the loud so I was determined to make sure that Owen thought they were cool and not scary.  I didn't have anything to worry about...I think he was intrigued by how excited everyone else was about the planes, but when the loud engines roared across our heads he looked at me - I shouted YAY! - and he clapped.  This turned into every time the jet passed in front of us, he would clap and look at everyone else to make sure they were clapping.  He did make me laugh by needing to be sitting in the plastic green chair whenever the jet came close.  He would get down and someone would say, "Look!  It's coming!"  and Owen would say, "sit? sit? sit?" and he would run to the chair like it was game of musical chairs and he would be "out" if the plane came and he wasn't sitting. 

The end of the show closed with a C-17 doing slow flybys which Owen decided was tame enough for him to eat a little watermelon snack while he watched (there was definitely no time to eat during the jets!)  It is always a great time with the Boyd/Mulligan family, but the addition of the airplanes was a big time bonus for Owen.  We also were able to get the first picture of Owen and cutie-pie Finn together!  It's only taken 10 months, so hopefully we'll beat our record the next time. 

After the air show, it was time for Owen's nap so while he slept - Nana went to the store to buy groceries for dinner.  Yes, on Nana's birthday she shopped for her birthday dinner, bought her own birthday cake, cooked her own birthday dinner and did all the dishes.  I do feel a little guilty but I also know that my laziness due to new mommy-ness is temporary.  I would have happily ordered takeout!!!

The perfect end to the perfect day was that Steve made a surprise appearance home.  He was supposed to come home 2 days later, but was able to come home for just that evening to help us celebrate.  He was happy to get a 4th of July burger and to experience Owen's first fireworks.  Unfortunately, the fireworks were kind of a bust.  Owen could care less about them.  Maybe they weren't big enough????

Planes, Trains and Birthday Cake.  All in all, a busy but great day.  Happy Birthday, Nana!

Fathers Day Part Deux

This year, Steve's Father's Day gift was a gently used bike trailer. Unfortunately, the weather in Seattle has been unusually cold and wet, so we didn't get to try it until a week later. My two concerns were either Owen would hate being by himself and want out or he would hate the helmet. Turns out, he doesn't mind the helmet & really enjoyed his first ride! We've had limited success since, sometimes he's in the mood to ride and sometimes he's not. But I think the more he rides with Dad, the more he will start to love it!

Father's Day 2010

I realize it has been quite some time since I last posted anything to this blog. I have no good excuse, so to make myself feel better I made a movie of our Father's Day adventure at Remlinger Farms.  This was our annual visit (meaning: 2nd visit) and it was such a different experience this year versus last year.  Owen is a year older and is much more aware of his surroundings, interested in most of the activities: the rides, the animals and of course the TRAIN!

Ok, this was my major mistake of the day.  I filmed nearly everything except the train and it was probably the coolest part.  It's an actual mini-steam train and we sat in the very front row behind the engine.  Owen was a little nervous at the beginning, so he sat on my lap (hence the difficulty in video taping) but once he understood it wasn't going to hurt him, he got into it.  Each time the whistle sounded, Owen would mimic it.  There was a tunnel and after we came out, he wanted "mo."  Actually, he wanted "mo" of everything he rode on.  Last year, he could care less about the rides and really had no idea what was going on.  This year, he cared very much for the rides but didn't understand that you couldn't stay on each one all day.  The great part about the day was, it was gloomy and drizzling so the park was nearly empty.  Because nobody was in line for any of the rides, Owen got to ride them two or three times in a row without getting off.  Maybe next year he will understand that when you get off a ride, it is just a temporary situation until you get on the NEXT ride. 

So about the movie....It was hard to put a 4 hour day into 5 minutes, so the video is actually over 6 minutes long.  But, that is what the fast forward button was invented for, right?  Also, since it is so long - it is too large to post directly to the blog, but it will live on forever in the Google web albums.  It is also better quality if you click on the "View HQ video" link in the upper right corner above the video.  I don't know why I can't just link to the High Quality video, but whatever.  So.....Enjoy!

The Santoki Father's Day 2010 Movie

Pee-Pee Teepee

I received a box of Peepee Teepee's when Owen was born.  I have to say, I never really used them because it was just faster to quickly change the diaper! We haven't had a pee 'incident' since he was a baby. However, last night during his midnight diaper change (I have to change him at midnight or he leaks through is diaper by morning) the aforementioned teepee would have come in handy.

Picture this: Owen on the changing table and still asleep – pajamas unzipped – diaper off. I turn to throw away the dirty diaper and hear the sound of water hitting something hard. I look back and there is a stream of pee shooting straight into his face and he is still half asleep but trying to block the stream with his hands.

What do you do when that happens in the middle of the night? I undressed him, wiped him off as best I could with baby wipes (hair, neck, face, hands, stomach, etc.,) put on new pajamas and put him back in bed! Gross. Tonight, we try the teepees.

Sesame Street LIVE!

It’s taken me a few days to get this post up. Somehow, I haven’t found time (or prioritized time) for extending blogging. But this was a big deal and I knew I couldn’t let it go undocumented!

To celebrate Cinco De Mayo (just kidding – the date was a coincidence) Owen attended his first big concert “event” at the Tacoma Dome. 1-2-3 Imagine! With Elmo & Friends – A Sesame Street LIVE production.

You might remember Owen’s first mini-concert back in December – it didn’t go so well. I was hoping that Elmo might hold his attention better than Lisa and Linda.

Owen invited Mom, Dad and Nana to be his special guests at the concert. Luckily, Mom was on the ball and ordered the pre-sale tickets so we had some pretty darn good seats for the show. We got there about 15 minutes before the concert started which was plenty of time to shop for souvenirs.

Owen picked out an Elmo light-up spinny thing that Nana would have NEVER bought for her kids back in the day (the phrase “R.O.” – abbreviation for ‘rip-off’ - came flooding back into my head when I saw the $15 price tag) but she gladly bought one for her grandson as well as the original cast recording CD. I think 90% of the kids in the audience had the Elmo spinner, so apparently it wasn’t as overpriced as I thought. This turned out to be a great distracter during the down times in our seats.

Once the show started, Owen was at attention. Mom and Nana were total dorks and started crying when Big Bird came out on stage and Owen was looking at him like he couldn’t believe his eyes. Whatever, we cry at the Disneyland Parades too, so how is this any different? I don’t think Owen completely understood what was going on, but he really liked seeing these huge real life Sesame Street characters! He definitely enjoyed hearing songs he recognized more than the newer ones. We made it through the first 45 minutes without too many problems – a little squirmy, but not bad.

During the 15 minute intermission, the “moment” happened. There was a little boy sitting behind us. He was probably about 4 years old and came dressed in a full-blown Elmo costume. We got up to stretch our legs and Owen spotted him and made a bee-line over to him. He was busy playing with his Elmo spinner while Owen slowly got closer and closer and *closer* to him (an attempt at a hug.) I think the little boy thought Owen was going for his toy, because the closer Owen got to it, the more his back turned towards Owen. Finally, the boy’s mom said, “Braden, HUG that little boy!” So, with a slight roll of the eyes, he put down his toy and gave Owen a huge hug. It was ADORABLE. When he let go, Owen went back in for another hug. I think he hugged this poor little boy about 5 times, but each time the boy put down his toy and gave Owen a sincere hug. This was worth the price of the tickets!

We made it through about 20 minutes of the 2nd half when Owen decided he wasn’t too interested in the show anymore. This was ok, because it was an awful long time for a 1 year old to sit still and pay attention. We left (along with quite a few other parents of little ones) and finished off our morning with lunch at a Mexican restaurant (because it was Cinco De Mayo!) All in all, a great first “real” concert!

A Blizzard In May

Guess who tried his first Blizzard today?  Also, guess who learned how to say the word, "more" along with signing it?  Coincidence?  I think not.

"more?"  "peese?"  "more?"  "peese?"  "more?"  "peese?"  "more?"  "peese?"  "more?"  "peese?"  "more?"  "peese?"

First Pair Of Favorite Shoes

Owen got some new water shoes the other day.  Apparently, these are now our FAVORITE shoes.  A couple nights ago, Owen found them after his bath and wanted to put them on over his pajamas.  Then, he never wanted to take them off.  He wanted to wear them during story time.  And yes, he wanted to wear them to bed.  I tried to take them off and he cried and pleaded with me to let him wear them.  It was the saddest, most desperate cry I have heard yet.  It's hard to convey in writing, but it sounded something like, "MAMA, SHOES? PEESE? SHOES? MAMA! MAMA! SHOOOOES! PEEEEEEESE! MAAAAAMA! SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!"  All with big tears and puppy dog eyes. 

Yes, he slept with the shoes on that night (until midnight when I went in and took them off.)

No Room At The Inn

This is the current state of Owen's bed.  It's gettting a little ridiculous, but he loves them all.

Here is the official inventory:

• Elmo
• Ernie
• Bert
• Oscar
• Grover
• Cookie
• Woof Woof 1
• Woof Woof 2
• La-La Lion
• Owen the Pig
• Owen the Hippo
• Mzee the Turtle
• Teddy Bear
• Easter Bunny
• Upstairs Bunny
• Blankie
• Pound Puppy

Nine Fish

Oh, tonight was another one of those perfect nights where I wish I could replay it over and over.  It started out routine enough...Owen spent the day at Tracy's today and will be there again tomorrow.  Monday nights are fairly hectic when Steve is gone.  We get home at dinnertime and then it's run - run - run until bedtime.  Hurry and eat, hurry and clean up, hurry and take out the trash because it's garbage day tomorrow, hurry up and pack for Tracy's tomorrow, hurry up and go to bed, etc.

After dinner and before bed, we had enough time to sit down for 10 minutes and play.  He was saying his numbers (one, two, five) and I started saying the rest when I realized, he could probably say "nine" if he really wanted to.  I said, "Owen, can you say NINE?"  He looked at me and said, "Nigh?"  I screamed and hugged him saying, "YAYYYY!  GOOD JOB!  NINE!"  He laughed and said, "Nigh!" and then cheered for himself and hugged me. 

Then we were reading a book about fish and I showed Owen how to sign the word "fish" with his hands.  We've tried this for months, but he's never picked it up.  Something about tonight though, he copied the sign right away.  I screamed again and hugged him and he loved it.

The rest of the night, we said "nine" then screamed and hugged...followed by signing "fish" with more screaming and hugging...nine - scream - hug...fish - scream - hug...repeat, repeat.  I was so proud of him but the best part was, he was really proud of himself. 

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

Another first for Bubba...Ducks!  Since we are currently in a bird phase, it was sort of fate that during our picnic in the park a pair of ducks decided to join our party.  The best part was, they were obviously used to getting fed by humans because they let Owen chase them all over the park for a full 20 minutes without flying away.  They actually would have stayed longer, but Owen got tired.  There are not many things cuter than watching a toddler chase ducks. 

For any Marine Biologists who might be reading this, yes, we did feed them little bits of our tortillas - and that is probably against the wildlife rules - but we figured they needed some kind of reward for entertaining Owen.  He had a hard time feeding them, because he would throw the piece 2 inches from his feet in mid-sprint.  The ducks couldn't be tempted enough to backtrack into the line of fire.  But once he got tired enough, he did manage to throw one piece far enough for the little girl duck to get it.  First time feeding a duck - 20 months.

Steve managed to take a cell video of the chase.  Again, these video file converters online are causing me major damage.  This time, instead of a watermark, it's twice the speed.  But, it actually made me laugh this way, so I'm posting it.  Plus, you get to see the whole thing in half the time instead of me editing it!