Although we have already had a taste of freezing temperatures and are well into fall by now, I decided to do an entry regarding summer highlights.  The reasons are twofold:  one this is blog and I can do what I want, and two I took a hiatus from blogging and seems odd to just start back in at what is going on now - 6 months later.  The main reason for my hiatus is that we moved and decided to try a little social experiment and not have internet.  Apparently, this was a very odd thing to do.  I did not think it was that strange and it was kind of refreshing.  However, it did get a bit annoying going to the library and searching for wi-fi hotspots.  Word also spread of our lack of internet and we succumbed to social pressures.  Thus, we now have internet and I hope to be able to do a better job blogging.  My next step will be to got a new computer as this is Barret's laptop from law school... from which he graduated 8 years ago.  Baby steps...

The first thing to note from this summer is that we bought a new house.  We are now residents of Middleton and loving it.

A few months after moving into our new house, we had friends that found themselves between homes.  They stayed for us with one month - which was great because Owen got a playmate in Finley and Murphy got a playmate with their two gold retrievers.  Murphy got the short end of that stick as he is kind of a grump and only played with the dogs once or twice - which is equal to the number of times that he snapped at them for begging rights when the little ones were eating.

This August we took a trip to NYC.  I would not recommend this destination if you are looking for a relaxing vacation with your toddler.  However, it was great to see a lot of family and Owen loved being in the City.  We went to Central Park often and he adored chasing the birds and listening to the singers.  There was alos an abundance of trucks to scope out when walking along the street.

This summer we took another less exotic trip back to Minnesota.  So I go back to Minnesota every month or two but it is typically for a holiday, wedding, or shower of some variety.  This trip was different in that we went back for just a visit and had an entire week to whatever.

I apparently did not do a very good job taking pictures, but we went to the Minnesota Zoo, Minnehaha Falls, Quarry Days, and Blaine.  Murphy was also along for the journey and got to go to the splash pad

Last highlight of summer - we went to Door County with a group of friends for a 30th birthday celebration.  This was my first trip to Door County and although I did not see any cherries, it was pretty awesome.  Owen also got to have a sleepover with his buddy Avalyn.

We also attended several fun weddings and a long visit from DVS (not sure how I have no pictures of this visit...)

Summer 2014 was very eventful but I am excited that we are now into my favorite season

Where did this toddler come from?

I am uncertain at what age a baby actually becomes a toddler; however, I am pretty certain that Owen has now made that transition.  I have stopped referring to him as a baby.  Although, every now and then an older child calls him "baby" and it warms my heart.  Nonetheless, Owen has unofficially toddlerhood and all of the terrors and joys that come along with that.  Such as playing with plastic bags....

Owen is oddly into organizing things.  I do not always understand what he is trying to accomplish, but he does seem to take his organizing very seriously. 

The diapers have became the latest point of fascination for him.  He will move them from room to room individually and then stack them in some manner.  He then gets very upset when I have to grab one and use it... does not quite understand that is why we actually have the diapers.

No more baby food for this guy!  Raisins and crackers will do just fine.

I am so sick of this cold and never ending polar vortecies (not sure what the plural is for vortex, but pretty sure there should not be a need for plural polar vortex).  We sometimes pretend that Target is a free amusement park and I just let Owen run amok.  The employees love us there.

Gymnastics are another good energy burning avenue.

Free toddler dance parties at public libraries are also great.  It was difficult to capture Owen's moves, but they were amazing.  Hopefully soon he will be able to take these moves outside.

Still Here!

 Back by popular demand (You two people know who you are....).  I took a bit of hiatus from blogging - I wish I could say it was from being busy, but that is simply not true.  I got a little too into the Walking Dead (amazing if you have not seen it) and have generally just been a bit lazy over the winter months.  Anyway, Owen is doing great and continues to make us laugh.

He turned 1 on October 28th.

 Turns out he really likes cake.

 Butter is also tasty.

 We thought it would be fun to try to make Christmas cookies with him.  Turns out, he really likes to eat sugar cookies.  Not so into decorating the cookies.  After he ate 5 or 6 cookies, we gave up and Barret just decorated them himself.

 Christmas was a bit more exciting for Owen this year than last year.  However, probably like most kids his age, he was more into the wrapping paper, bags, and boxes than their content.  Owen got to spend quality time with all of his grandparents over Christmas.

As well as his Uncle Nene.

And his Aunt Holly.  We were missing Uncle David and all of the great grandparents, but will hopefully see them all soon.

Owen's boots:  I never knew that a child could love something as much as Owen loves these boots.  He insists on wearing them daily around the house.  If he is not wearing them, he likes to place them near him.  Yesterday, one boot was misplaced (found in the cabinet with the pots and pans) and I have never seen such a look of glee from Owen than when I found the missing boot.  Owen does not currently have a blanket or stuffed animal that he is attached to and I am hoping that he does not insist on taking his boots into his crib.

Almost There

So I started this blog entry last week and was lauding how amazing it is to have a baby sleep through the night.  Sadly, I had to erase the prior draft and start from scratch.  We had one week of Owen sleeping through the night and thought it was long enough to no longer be considered a fluke.  Then things changed.  We were awoken the other night by what sounded like a seal begging for some food.  Turns out it was Owen and he has croup.  I had never heard of this, but apparently it's fairly common and not too serious.  It is just a horrible sounding cough and disturbs sleep.  I am hoping that it passes soon and we go back to sleeping through the night.

Anyway, it has been an exciting month.  We went to the pumpkin patch and Owen got to go on a wagon ride with his buddy, Mason.

This also happened.

And this....

This past month, Owen was a guest at his first and second wedding.  He was quite the gentleman. His obsession with handbags began around this time.  He has basically been walking around with a little purse or makeup bag ever since.

Owen was my mom's date to one wedding, but didn't quite make it to the dancing portion of the night.

While in Minnesota, we went to Underwater World at the Mall.  Apparently it is named something else now, but I will stick with Underwater World.  It was pretty sweet, especially for an aquarium located at the mall. 

Given Owen's love for water, I decided to sign him up for swimming lessons last week.  I thought it would be a great Monday activity for us.  However, he hates it.  I mean - he really hates it.  He basically cries the entire time.  We are currently on week 2 and he cracked a little smile at the end of the lesson, so I hope it gets better.  He hates it so much because they make him get dunked under water.  Owen has caught on to this little game and starts crying as soon as the instructor starts counting.

We don't get to see my grandparents too often, but we went up for a visit last month.  This picture is kind of amazing to me because my grandma actually picked Owen up to put him in her lap.  My grandma is not in the greatest health and pretty frail, so I was surprised she even attempted, let alone succeeded in picking Owen up.  I was a little fearful for both her and Owen, but it is amazing what joy this little guy brings to our family.  What else is amazing is that Owen is turning 1 next week!

Too Active

So it has been a while since I have provided updates.  Main reason being, when Owen is awake I can accomplish very little, other than making sure he stays alive and vacuuming - that kid loves the vacuum.  Also, he has entered what Google tells me is sleep regression.  For the past couple weeks, he wakes up every two hours.  I thought we had moved past that several months ago, like when he stopped being a newborn, but it is back and somewhat worse than I remember.  According to the parenting expert, Google, this is typically just a phase and should pass in a couple weeks.  However, this brought me to the scary realization that I have not slept through the night in well over a year now.  Owen has slept through the night a handful of times, but I was so accustomed to waking up anyway, no sleep for me.

 Anyway, this month has been full of new adventures and accomplishments for Owen.  The most major being taking his first steps.  Barret and I had been coaxing him to walk into our loving arms, but alas, it was allure of the vacuum that got him.  Yes - his first independent steps were to the vacuum.  I was holding the vacuum, so I am going to consider also as walking towards me.

 Owen has also picked up some dance moves.  They are pretty funny and mostly just uncoordinated bounces up and down - similar to his dad's dance moves.  He has also learned how to give kisses - which is adorable.  Still no words (other than the probable "hi's" several months ago but those are likely coming soon.  Also, I feel like we can wait for some more things to happen.  In addition, he has learned to kick his little soccer ball.  He can only use his right foot though.

 The doggy door is a really fun toy for Owen.  He can throw things out it and watch them roll in the yard.  He also thinks it's really funny when Murphy goes through the door.  Thankfully, Owen has not crawled out of it yet, but am sure he would if left unattended.

Another first was going to Urgent Care.  I got a call from our daycare provider that he had a fever and became convinced that it was an ear infection.  By the time I got to Urgent Care, the fever had broken and one nap later Owen was basically back to normal.  I expected Urgent Care to be a madhouse, but it was actually kind of nice, but am hoping not to be back there any time soon.  Still no first haircut - might make it to age two before that happens - but there are patches of hair coming in.

The last in my series of firsts - leaving Owen for the weekend.  I spent the weekend in the Dells for a bachelorette party.  It was a great time and Barret claims Owen enjoyed the man time.  Up next will be Owen's first wedding, followed by his second wedding.  He is getting ready to show off those dance moves.

3/4 of a year

 Owen is creeping closer to the one year mark.  His 9 month appointment had him weighing in at 20 lbs 11 oz and 29.5 inches long.  He is in the 82nd percentile for height - still not sure where that comes from and waiting for him to normalize.  It would be weird if Owen ended up being like a foot taller than Barret and I.  His head is also still gigantic - in the 86th percentile for that.  They do not measure his feet, but am pretty sure he would be in the 86th percentile for that as well.  He is now of a size where they make footless pajamas - so we have not had to cut the toes out of his pjs to make room for big foot.

Speaking of pjs - these dino ones are pretty awesome.  He also loves getting a hold of my hair binders.  They are one of his treasures, the others are scraps of paper, leaves, and any crumb he can find on the ground.  He does not relinquish these treasures easily.  You can kind of see in this picture, but Owen is vampire baby no longer!  His two front teeth popped through recently.

Owen is very proud of his standing abilities.  Thankfully, he has learned to fall - so we no longer need to fear for his life every time he pulls himself up on something - which is constantly.  He is cruising along furniture and getting a bit too close to walking.  It is just around the corner.

Ah the wander of drawers!  It is so much fun to take the contents of any drawers or cupboards out.  I keep telling Owen that it is equally fun to put the contents back away, but it is falling on deaf ears.

You may not want to use the pillows on the couches at our house.  Murphy continues to be Murphy.

I took Owen to see the Blooming Butterflies at Olbrich last week.  It seemed like the thing to do with young kids; however, Owen was not into it.  He could not have cared less about the butterflies.  He did like looking at the koi pond and fed the koi his teething lamb - sorry workers at Olbrich.  Owen did also like outdoor gardens and pulling on the grass.  He also likes to make sure his teeth are always clean - extra use of the shark toothbrush now that he has 6 teeth to clean.

Grass is very fun!

Kelly Van Stewart, is that you?  I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas 2009 and have finally dusted it off and put it to use.  It took me about 2 hours to figure out how to thread my Singer Simple - not sure what people did before the internet and YouTube.  Eventually, I got it figured it out and have completed two patio cushions.  2 more to go!  I also did some canning this weekend and made blueberry jam.  Super domestic!

Between my sewing and jarring, I do still find time to keep up with my tv shows.  Teen Mom 3 is coming up and looks amazing as usual.  I have also gotten into Below Deck.  At first, I thought this show looked super lame, but Bravo has sucked me in again.  It makes me think that I should charter a yacht soon; however, I am pretty sure it would be like 2 years of my salary to take a 3 day yacht cruise.  Worth it?