Owen's Getting an Aunt Sarah!

Congratulations on your engagement Drew and Sarah Elizabeth!  Owen has graciously volunteered to style all of the groomsmen for the wedding, and I think they'll be in good hands.  Who else could pull off wearing a striped polo with camouflage shorts so dashingly? 

Scott Math

11th Hole

3 Par

149 Yards

8 Iron

1 Stroke

Congrats Scottie!!!

Everyday Owen: Hoodies

Two cute guys and one very sad palm tree.  It wintered in our pantry next to the water heater (so the cats wouldn't assault it), but I think lack of sunlight + natural gas fumes may have done it in.  

Everyday Owen: Botanical Gardens

This seemed like an appropriate post for Earth Day.  And except for the fact that I now have a man-voice from all the pollen, it was a great outing.  Owen most appreciated the Japanese gardens for their liberal use of rocks in all shapes and sizes.

Some off-topic info:  We finally admitted that Owen's hair is too thick for towel drying anymore and broke out the Conair 1875 Watt Ionic Turbo Styler (more fun than just saying hair dryer).

Ahem...privacy, please

Over the past month, Owen has developed a curious habit of disappearing right in the very room in which we are both standing.  For instance, one morning we went to the kitchen for a snack.  I grabbed the cereal bar (or cracker or whatever it was) from the counter with Owen nipping at my heels chattering 'nack, 'nack, 'nack and headed back toward the living room.  Next thing I knew I was alone.  Silence.  

I turned and glanced behind me, but Owen wasn't there.  I walked back into the kitchen, and he wasn't there either.  I briefly considered the possibility that he'd made a daring escape through the cat door.  Then I saw him tucked into the corner between the wall and the stove.  His shoulders were slightly rounded, arms straight, hands resting on his thighs, knees bent in a squat.  Thinking I was getting in on the game, I called "Gotcha!"  But he just glanced up at me with a look that was one part shyness, two parts annoyance and started backpedaling in place like he was hoping the walls would cocoon around him.  I was confused.  

But what my mind couldn't solve, my nose did.

So this past weekend when the three of us were in our bedroom putting up clothes and I saw Owen slink to the back of Scott's closet, I did the polite thing.  I waited until he was finished and then took a picture.

Everyday Owen: Gut

Overheard at lunch today...

"Owen sweetie, slice cheese tastes better when you unwrap it first."

"Hun, the french fry is food too.  Stop licking it like it's just a ketchup lollipop."

"No, no.  Cats don't eat grapes."

Taken at a Samford baseball game two weeks ago.

Part Deux

Can you see it?  I dyed a half-dozen eggs yellow and then hand sketched the Masters logo on them.  Hide them in azalea bushes, whack them with a golf club after you find them, and you've got the perfect marriage of Masters Sunday and Easter Sunday.

Check out the mid-air egg in this last photo. Nice camera work Scottie!

Easter Recap Part I

I left our camera battery at Scott's parents' house, so I can't upload the pics from this afternoon.  Come back tomorrow (I hope!) for Part II to see how we combined our Easter and Masters celebrations!

This first video is from the Dawson Egg Hunt last week.  I'm pretty sure Owen is trying to catch the bubbles in his mouth at the beginning of the clip.

Owen swayed in the saddle like he'd been riding horses all his life.  We joked that it had something to do with the Wranglers he was wearing.

The next two videos are from an egg hunt we went to yesterday.  Thanks for having us Rowan and Sheila!  We had so much fun, but I think we owe you some new plants.

Everyday Owen: Happy Easter!

I'll try to sit down this evening and post a slideshow of all the Easter fun we've had!

Mullet-ectomy

When I imagined Owen's first haircut, I thought he'd be sitting on top of phone books and covered in a big cape.  But when the cape came out, his bottom lip went into an Eeyore-like droop. Just before the tears started, we aborted Plan A in favor of a towel.  What do you suppose he thought was going to happen to him in that cape?

Our friend Jennifer did the honors, while Owen went on to recover from his initial fright and shed that mullet like a champ.

Here's video of the first snip.  It's not much because I got confused when my duties as videographer and hair collector collided.  And just because it would have bugged me not to know, I'll explain that Scott's hair is wet because he'd just gotten a haircut too.  (And, yes, he did wear the cape.)    

Newsflash

Owen is going in for a mullet-ectomy today at 4:30 PM.

Tune in tomorrow for the full scoop on this "first"!

Congrats Uncle Joe!

17.

I've decided to alter tradition and allow Owen to stand for his monthly mug shot.  Things went so well that I couldn't choose just one.  

A lady stopped me today and told me Owen has "heaven hair", which I think is just a kind way of saying he looks like he's got the same hairdresser as Beaker (who happens to be my favorite Muppet).  

*Note:  While I've been working on this post, Owen has been sitting near me on the floor playing with (what I thought were) random objects.  I just realized that he took his magnetized farm house off of the refrigerator, collected a few metal objects, and has been performing his own little polarity experiment.  Should I be proud or scared? 

Mr. Independent

It's not that Owen doesn't like yogurt.  He just doesn't like being fed yogurt.  Short arms and unrefined motor skills aside, he thinks he can do a much better job of getting the spoon to his mouth than either Scott or I.  Kudos to Scott for letting Owen make the attempt.  I don't think I would have been willing to suffer a lapful of Peach YoBaby.

And did you catch his new I'm-very-dissatisfied-with-this-situation face?  It's almost like he's hissing.  Apparently he's been taking notes during his Greta encounters.

Everyday Owen: So... like... yeah dude, totally

Everyday Owen: Bluebonnets

Upchuck & a Duck

Howdy from Texas. Owen and I have been here since Tuesday, but most of our clothes still lay neatly packed in our suitcase. I just brushed my teeth for the first time since arriving, and I have yet to enjoy a glass of DD's sweet tea. What?

We've been S-I-C-K.

And I have been humbled by how much better my 16-month-old has handled it than I have. He lost his lunch once and one time only and seemed to say, "There, that feels much better. Now on with the fun." But me? Six hours into the great sickness and I was literally out of my mind with dehydration. I wept. I moaned. I proclaimed my impending death. I got carried to the car by my sweet parents and taken to the emergency room. Phenergan saved my life. I'm tempted to go online and order a stockpile of it from Mexico just in case the evil virus strikes again.

But I'll leave you with a happier image than one that involves my head and a toilet. Yesterday, DD and Coach (the heroes of this story) took Owen to feed the ducks while I watched punily from the car. He had a blast, alternately chasing the ducks with crackers and eating the crackers himself.

Spring Break '09!!! Can I get a "woohoo"?

Everyday Owen: More & Climbing

Everyday Owen: Dad's helper

How many Stevens' does it take to change a light bulb?

Everyday Owen: Cheeeeese (grilled)

Don't worry Aunt Jenny, that's food going in, not coming out.

16.

Ha!  I bet you thought I forgot.  I didn't.  It just took a good half a day (and Daddy coming home this evening) to finally get the money shot.

And just in case you're thinking, "That's the money shot?" here's a sampling from the remaining 35 :

Snowee Owee

This isn't old footage; it really snowed here today!  I love the sound of it crunching under Owen's feet.

Everyday Owen: Chores

Stats & Facts: 15 mos

Weight: 21 lbs 11 oz  (15th percentile)

Height: 32 3/4 in (85th percentile)

Mobility: Walks well, starting to run, can take side and back steps, likes to climb - if only so he can climb back down

Other motor skills: Gives high fives, hugs (love them!), kisses (a little sloppy), opens:  doors, jars with screw tops, drawers

Guide to Owen-speak

doe....................... n. anything that opens, closes or otherwise makes a loud noise

muh muh muh....... adj. request for increase in supply of desired item (usually food) or continuation of desired action (usually reading books)  

                              *Not to be confused with the similar-sounding term of endearment he SHOULD be using by now to refer to the nice lady who birthed him.

die-dee................. n. pacifier

nine nine.............. n. clementine

Nuh no?...............  phrase  conveys his understanding that an object or action is forbidden while simultaneously communicating that he really feels you 

                                should reconsider and so intends to do what he wants to do anyway

uh-oh................... interj.  frequently heard about 5 seconds after the above phrase

meh-na-nen......... n. Motrin, Tylenol, teething tablets, etc.

teet-thhh.............. n. toothbrush

rye-rye................. n. stroller (ride-ride, get it?)

dowt-died............ prep. where we are when we open the "doe" and go for a walk in the "rye-rye"

In summary, Owen is a tall, skinny kid who moves fast and talks a lot.