Owen,
You are such an easy child to fall in love with. You feel life fully! That means you LOVE fully and are such an affectionate, sweet child. That also means you feel your frustrations fully too and can throw loud and dramatic fits. I am told that's how I was as a child too! :) I'll never forget the tantrum in Market Street over the cookies I had refused to buy. My first true public humiliation as a parent. I need to be humbled though. But the way in which you express your happiness just as grandly as you do your unhappiness makes up for any of the negative. You smile and laugh and kind of wiggle all over when you walk or run. You give the BEST hugs--wrap your arms around my neck kind of hugs. They fill my heart with so much happiness and JOY, just plain joy. When you stare in my eyes and then give me a kiss--well, it's pretty much the best thing ever.
You are such a verbal child! You have hundreds of words and are stringing together all kinds of sentences. You also love to sing! We hear you singing to yourself all the time…whatever song is in your head at the moment. You have a stronger will than Harper, but you do love to please us too. I think we will always get more out of you with praise. But you are learning as we start to discipline you more now, and I know you will learn to do what we ask of you. I love how you reach for my hand at mealtimes when it's time to pray. I love how you wave and call out loudly, "Bye Mommy, Bye Daddy. See you soon!" when we drop you off at the nursery--not nursery anymore, though--you are in the big two-year-old class now! And your goodbyes are just as loud and enthusiastic to your teachers when we come to pick you up.
I love that Harper has already taught you the formula for how a knock-knock joke works. You will go along with that formula with Harper over and over as she makes up jokes, and you will even originate your own jokes. You know the lyrics for several Frozen songs, thanks to your big sister. She will quiz you and will start a line and then stop so you can finish it. You almost always know it too! I will never forget hearing you wander around the house quoting, "Go away, Ana! Okay, bye."
You like watching Curious George, Sesame Street and the Karen Henley DVDs we watch. You hate having your diaper changed or getting your teeth brushed. When you see me holding the brush in my hand, you run the opposite direction! When I brush your hair you will say, "Ow, ow ow!" -- even though you never have a single tangle in your hair. Did I mention a touch dramatic? :)
We still need to work on using a spoon well--a fistful of mashed potatoes seems perfectly acceptable to you! You love being tossed around. If you don't like something, we will hear about it…in full sentences! You will say, "I don't like that." I would still consider you to be a good eater, but you have gotten pickier in the past few months. If it's something you haven't been exposed to before, chances are good that you won't want to try it You are a good sleeper. You go to sleep between 7 and 8 and wake up between 7 and 8. You are not insistent in the morning if we don't immediately come to your crib. You will call for us, "Mommy, come here. Daddy, come here." "Mommy, where are you?"
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| Your good pal Hannah |
But if we don't go in right away, you will usually just start entertaining yourself in your crib. You love your blue puppy and stuffed elephant (Eddie), and you like for us to cover you with a blanket before we say goodbye for nap or night time. You still play with your hair when you are tired. I love it when you are having a cuddly night before bed, and I will rock you and sing to you, and you will lay your head on my shoulder.
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| Pretending you are going to sleep in Harper's bed |
You are quick to use the polite words we are teaching you. You love being a helper and shutting the dishwasher door for me. You have also learned, "No, that's mine!" So we are definitely beginning the long road of learning to share. :)
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| Playing dress up with Harper |
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| And more dress up in a museum in Korea |
You love books and can busy yourself in a pile of books. You like small figures, whether they be people or animals, and you also love to play with cars. You have started saying, "Mommy, play cars with me." Or, "Mommy, do puzzles with me." These full sentences expressing exactly what you want still take me back, and I can't help but stop what I am doing and honor that little request. You like to play with whatever Harper is playing with. Another thing you love is for me to hold you, especially when I am trying to cook. When you walk up to me with your arms up and say, "Mommy, hold you," how could I do anything but? Although I am going to miss your sister terribly this year and feel sad about those hours we won't be spending together making memories as a family unit, I am happy I get to spend this whole year with you, everyday, no exceptions. I will not take that for granted.
My beautiful boy, I'm excited to watch you grow and mature even more this year as a two-year-old. You are such a blessing to our family, Owen, and God has given you many gifts.
We celebrated Christmas 2013 with our immediate family a little early this year because we spent Christmas Eve driving out to Destin, Florida with Brent's family. We opened up our presents on Christmas Eve morning, had a big breakfast and then headed out on the drive. Harper got her first set of Magformers (we have continued to love this toy and hope to add more sets someday), a science experiment kit and some bunny slippers. Owen got a tool bench (actually a hand-me-down, but it was new to him!), a puppy guitar and some books.
We caravanned with Mimi and T-Pa, which was fun! We made it most of the way to Destin (minus a few hours), spent Christmas Eve in a hotel, and then finished the drive on Christmas Day. The condo we stayed in belonged to Amy (Kathy's daughter), and her husband Patrick and cousins Wesley and Caroline. Brian and Jenevieve and their family were also there!
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| Harper got her cast off on December 23rd, the day before we left for the beach. Perfect timing! |
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| Matching Elves! :) |
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| In Destin on Christmas Day -- Owen is 16 months |
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| Wesley buried Harper and Caroline in the sand. |
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| Making sand angels |
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| Owen was NOT a fan of the sand! Despite all our efforts, it never clicked for him. Oh well. It sure was easy to keep track of him, though. He wouldn't dare stray off the beach towel, which made our job as parents much more relaxing! :) |
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| "I'm happy if you will just carry me!" |
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| We did Christmas as a family on the morning of the 26th. Before we were ready to get started, the kids were allowed to watch a little show. Harper is cheering here as Tinker Bell came on the TV--too funny. :) |
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| Girl cousin pile-up |
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| Owen looking a little sleepy during the gift exchange |
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| Addy made Harper a card! |
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| It was not too chilly, unless you were all wet! The younger kids started out playing in the sand in clothes with the hopes that they might just get their feet wet in the water with their rolled up pants. Um...didn't happen! Who can resist ocean and waves, even if the water is cold? Pretty soon they were all soaking wet with water logged pants, so we gave up and just let them shiver in their swim suits. They had a blast! |
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| Before getting all wet |
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| Aunt Jenevieve and Holton |
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| And then with their swim suits on! |
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| Uncle Brian walked with the kids out to a shallow sand bar. |
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| Best cousins! |
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| My mom got Harper these kid binoculars for Christmas, and they were a big hit with all the kids. They also continue to be a bit hit! |
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| Stopping to eat a sandwich and warm up in a towel--the birds were very interested in our food! |
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| Evening on the beach, post dinner |
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| Expert dismount! :) The kids played on the playground, while Owen stood frozen in one spot because he didn't want to take any steps in the sand! |
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| Traditional Christmas dinner |
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| Addy sweetly reading with Owen |
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| Mimi read an ongoing chapter book to Wesley and Caroline and this time Harper and Addy listened too. |
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| Another playground--Aunt Jenevieve helped Owen down the slide. |
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| "Look! A pinecone!" |
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| There was a hole in this rubber bridge. Brent was sticking his finger through the hole, and Owen would laugh and laugh. |
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| Our last morning was a little cloudy and misty, but we took one more opportunity to play in the sand and walk (carry Owen) along the beach. |
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| Harper looking for shells with T-Pa |
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| Brent and Owen |
On our drive back home, we stopped in New Orleans for lunch. Mimi and T-Pa headed back after lunch, but we decided to stay for a few more hours and listen to some live music in the streets and walk around. It worked out great because we ended up leaving in the evening, ate sandwiches in the car and then both kids fell asleep for the entire drive home from New Orleans! It was six hours of breezy driving, just chatting with Brent and listening to radio shows together.
The only sad part of the day was that we lost Harper's two sleep friends as we walked around in New Orleans. They were in the bottom of the stroller and fell out somehow along the way. Luckily Harper has an extra set of both, but she was so sad! Brent back tracked (running) through all the places we had walked as we waited in the car, but they didn't turn up. We talked about how some little girl in New Orleans probably found them, and she will love them now and give them a good home! Harper asked tearfully, "Next time we come to New Orleans, can we knock on everybody's door in the whole city and see if we can find them?"
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| Lunch at Pierre Maspero's in New Orleans |
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| Stopping to rest as we walked around |
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| Harper, in particular, really enjoyed the music! Sometimes when there would be a crowd in the street, she would weave and duck her way through the crowd to get a front row spot to listen. |
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| Running off some energy! |
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| I melt at those smiles and laughs! |
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| Riding on Daddy's shoulders in Jackson Square |
Brent made two videos from our trip--Florida and our afternoon in New Orleans. I LOVE that Brent does this for our family. He really has a talent for taking the raw footage and cutting it down to a length that can be easily watched, in such a wonderful way. We love going back and re-watching all the old videos Brent has put together!
Beach Trip from
Brent Hughes on
Vimeo.
New Orleans from
Brent Hughes on
Vimeo.
