We closed on our new house today!

Owen enjoying a blue "tuh-tur" from the bank.

There's lots of hard work ahead, but we are very excited. The house is on 2.3 acres of woods in Vestavia, and I can just picture a 7-year-old Owen spending long days outside waging battles from his tree fort. And we are less than a mile from 3 of our best couple friends. Can anyone say block party?

Jockey O

Thanks for the shirt Aunt Becky & Uncle Joe!

Boy Owen has worn me out today, and it's barely after lunchtime. To give you some indication of his adventures this morning, I had to give him a bath before nap time to remove oatmeal and ice cream from his hair and bird bath water, blue-tinted bug spray, mud and sweat from the rest of him. Now I think it's a shower and a nap for me too.

Turtle

Scott and Owen discovered this little reptilian refugee in our yard early this morning. I guess all the heavy rains flooded him out of his usual home. I was all prepared to "save" him, but then I found an internet article that pointed out that he didn't need saving anymore than the dozens of birds and squirrels that I see in our yard daily. I did pick him up to check for webbed feet (negative) to verify that he's a land turtle, and then I left him to mosey off into the woods.

Everyday Owen: Zoo Carousel

Everyday Owen: Dut

First Day of School

Okay, so it's really not school, just Mother's Day Out. But when I was packing his lunch in his brand new lunch box last night it sure felt like I was sending him off to school. He wanted to walk in on his own and carry his own bag, and he didn't even cry when I left. No comment on whether I can claim the same!

In the clink

When you're a toddler and you've been given a highchair time-out (for let's say biting your father or intentionally urinating on your mother) and you're all strapped in with nowhere to go, how do you show your parents that they haven't gotten the best of you?

Nothing says, "I will not yield!" like a striptease.

22.

Repeat after me...

Everyday Owen: Grass

It figures

Wouldn't you know? The first time in 2 or 3 weeks that Owen sleeps past eight, leaving me time to eat breakfast peacefully while watching the 1st hour of the Today Show, Edward Kennedy has to go and die and preempt all programming.

Nature boy

It may not look like much, but this post is the result of 30+ hours worth of upload time for these pictures. Any techies out there want to tell me what's the deal?

None-nur

Personal Style

What I selected for Owen to wear today:

What he chose for himself:

Mmmm...corn

#1

Scott almost didn't believe the insurance company rep was serious when she called to schedule the appointment.

"Yes, sir. I know it seems like a strange request for a 1-year-old, but we've done it before. Maybe they can use one of his diapers or something."

But Owen sat right down on the potty and gave his urine sample like it wasn't the weirdest thing we had ever asked him to do. I could just imagine that what he was thinking. Hmmm, so it's not okay to throw a cup, but Mommy and Daddy cheer like lunatics when I pee in one...

If he tests positive for women's fertility drugs I will be so disappointed in him.

Everyday Owen: 1st Refrigerator Art

Oh, and we're trying to sell our house. Go here and search MLS# 436767 to see it. We'd love for a young couple to have it.

Everyday Owen: Name that nursery rhyme

21.

Day late. Dead camera battery.

Off to Texas!

June 2008, by Viv

See you next week!

Everyday Owen: The hop

Duck bite

How cool would Owen be if he was old enough to go to school and show off this battle scar? We went to Star Lake this afternoon, where the ducks & geese are numerous and jaded. They are fed so well and so often that they see little kids as good for only one thing. So when Owen was slow to hand over the baked goodies, one of them took a nip at him.

Have no fear family matriarchs, I googled "Are duck bites dangerous?" and nothing came up.

Want to hear my excuse this time?

Today was the first day this week I didn't have to clean up puke, and that's only because Scott cleaned it up for me instead. Coby has pancreatitis (originally diagnosed as terminal cancer on Monday by an obviously demented emergency veterinarian) so Owen and I spent Sunday through Wednesday going from emergency vet to regular vet to specialist vet back to regular vet. Bottom line on Coby: he pukes a lot and costs us a lot of money but he shouldn't be dying anytime soon.

After our last vet run on Wednesday, I decided to take Owen to McWane Center to make up for all the developmental time he'd been wasting in cat-kitsch-filled waiting rooms. It rained on Wednesday, which meant every summer camp within 3 counties decided to dump their kids (and their germs) off there. By Thursday morning, Owen was puking too.

Where does one shop for some of that sawdust stuff that elementary school janitors use?

Everyday Owen: Blue-eyed Madman

There's no place like home

Owen and I just got back from the shoe store. I'd only planned to stop in and get a quick check of his shoe size, but one foot measured at a 6 and the other at a 5.5, which meant the size 5 shoes he walked in wearing would need to be replaced. And wouldn't you know, these red beauties were on sale 80% off. A deal like that justifies making him walk around looking like Judy Garland.

And on a "my sweet baby is growing up" note, Owen shrugged off my offered hand and walked down the flight of 10 brick steps from the driveway to the house all by himself. A year ago at this time all he could manage was a pitiful G.I. Joe belly crawl.