Football Season

We are a football house. We all enjoy it. But I am amazed that Owen seems to just know that it is approaching football season. Out of nowhere this morning he seeked out his football helmet, put it on and with huge smile ran around saying "I am a football guy." He has also been more interested in throwing his footballs with Daddy, something Omer loves. Then after dinner he put his helmet back on and played football with Daddy. This includes a lot of throwing of balls, running around crazy, falling on the floor, etc. We are planning on taking him to the Redskins practice this Sunday, and can't wait.

Our Running back Playing Football with Daddy
Tackled!

Back up for more football

Redskin Owen

DJ Owen

With Omer's headset as his microphone and his station with stereo Owen acts like a little DJ. He wants the doors to stay half closed and will fix them if I try to open them all the way. He sings and dances along to his music.

Aiden Laughs

Aiden can be such a happy little boy and it always cheers me up when he gives me some good laughs. Owen and I were making noises at him this morning to get laughs.

First Food

Aiden has been watching us all eat since he was born and recently now will follow the food to our mouths and even try to grab it. Hint to Mom: feed me some food. Okay! Tonight at dinner I finally made him some oatmeal and can't explain in words how much he loved it. Had no problem taking it from the spoon and even swallowing it. So I could eat as well, I let him play with the spoon full of food and the spoon made it in his mouth. So begins the first foods for Aiden.

First Bite

Loving It!!!

Playing with the Spoon

Score, got it in his mouth

Oatmeal Face

Give Me More!

Potty Trained

Monday morning I woke up and decided being we had no plans let's start to really potty trained. With no real set plan I played it by ear. We started the day off naked while in the house and in undies while outside. But on Tuesday he really did not want to be naked, so undies all the time it was. I will do a rundown on our days but over all this is what we did: undies all day, undies and pull-up that I really don't think he knew he had on while we were out, pull-up for nap, night time diaper at night (I am just not brave enough for sleep yet). He gets one treat after he goes potty, which he has chosen as Hershey kisses (smart boy). I had planned on doing a timer but just never did instead I tell him the next time we are going potty, so like before lunch we are going to go potty. This way he knows the next time to expect a potty break. I must say it has all gone a lot easier than I ever imagined. Owen has really caught on and is so excited about going on the potty. Some times he doesn't even ask to get a treat, so we are only giving one when he asks now to hopefully stop that at some point. We are very proud of our undie wearing little boy.

Mon: Lots of mess. He would do okay if I could catch him in time.
Tues: Not so bad, a couple wet undies, lots of pee in potty
Wed: Dry all day!!! Poop in undies. He even peed on Luke's potty while we were out. Dry even when we were out in the afternoon.
Thurs: Dry all day!!! Same as Wed and dry after nap
Fri: Dry all day!!! Are you noticing a trend? We did have one accident but more my fault, just too much going on after coming home from pool to make him stay on potty. Really noticed this day he was concentrating on going when needed. Same as Thurs
Sat: Dry all day!!! Even with out in the morning and afternoon. And...get ready....he pooped on the potty all on his own. Major success!
Sun: Once again dry all day! And yes another poop on the potty. WooHoo!!! He even woke this morning and had a dry night diaper (which is usually super full)

So next steps, we need to get him to tell us when he needs to go potty but for now we will maintain a potty time. I will now stop putting pull-up on over his undies while out. Maybe next week some time I will not use pull-ups during nap, but once again scared to mess with sleep. Overall it has been a very positive experience, and just think Owen was truly ready. Very proud of Owen.

Paddle Boat

We went to the Reston Farmer's Market this morning. Owen loves to help pick out produce and we always end up with something we just don't really need. This time was gooseberries, good thing I like them. After that Owen and I ran around in the fountain together and then headed over to sit on a bench and all enjoy some very delicious kettle corn. I had thought about all taking a boat out and planned on bringing the Bjorn to carry Aiden, but of course I forgot it. It just so happens that Virginia's laws on boating are very lenient. You are not required to wear a life vest and there is no age limit. We decided to all go in a paddle boat because there is no chance of tipping over. Aiden is now the youngest ever in a boat on Lake Anne, previously was eight months. :) We only went out for about 20 minutes but it was just enough. Aiden really did not like the vest so I just held it around him (more to show face for passersby). Omer and I paddled, Owen sat in the middle and steered, and Aiden stood on my lap and enjoyed the views. It was a lot of fun. We even went under the mist of the fountain. We will definitely do this again and better planned. The video is pretty bad because it was really hard to hold it out far enough to really see us and of course Omer was paddling at the same time. But here are some snippets of our first boat trip on Lake Anne.

Naked Rolling

Diaper changing has entered the phase of rolling naked baby. Aiden likes to roll right when I am trying to get his clean diaper on. I love seeing his little bare bottom.

Bug Picking

Lots of people right now are enjoying strawberry or blueberry picking. Well for the past week our family has enjoyed bug picking. It all started last Friday when we had the yard sprayed to kill pests which meant many of the bugs sadly bit the dust as well. I did not know the spraying will kill some grasshoppers, lady bugs and beetles. Might rethink that. Okay I digress. So that evening Omer and Owen found lots of bugs in the grass and Owen really loved searching, finding and gathering them. So since that day, we have searched for bugs at least some portion of the day. And many days this has been the majority of our at home play. I honestly find this gross as these bugs are all dead but Owen LOVES it. I am just very adamant about not letting him touch his eyes, nose or mouth and really clean those hands afterwards. I am amazed at the eye Owen has, he finds some very tiny bugs among all that grass and dirt. He collects them in a cup or now his green truck. Then he likes to talk about all of them. His favorite finds are cicada shells, lady bugs and itty-bitty grasshoppers. He knows a lot about bugs.

Picking a Bug

Gathering Bugs

Owen's Ladybug Collection

Taking them on a Drive

Some of Owen's other finds that he left at the doorstep.

Showing me the hornet Daddy and him found yesterday.

Brothers

Owen loves to show and teach Aiden stuff. He also likes when I pretend that Aiden is talking. Owen will speak right to Aiden and gets annoyed if I try to talk. He will say "No, Aiden talks!" Beginning of their play. Love it!

Owen can also be very helpful. Yesterday while we were out I needed to put the Bjorn back on to carry Aiden and there was no good place to lay him down. So I sat him in the fold up chair and asked Owen to hold him. Owen did a great job helping.

And this morning I gave Aiden a sippy cup for the first time. Our doctor wants him to have some prune juice to try to get him to poop more often. He will not take a bottle now, so I figured why not try the cup. Owen took it upon himself to put it in Aiden's mouth to help him. It worked, Aiden actually drank some from the cup.

As for Aiden, of course Owen is his favorite person. And now Owen has someone who always laughs at him when he feels a need to scream. Which I of course find super annoying.

I LOVE seeing the development of their friendship.

Posts Update

So as to keep the posts on the correct date the two birthday party posts have finally been posted, as I posted the video before the picture posts did not want anyone to miss out. So take a look at Owen's birthday celebration posts (there's two).

Happy Birthday Owen

Owen, you are such a sweet and loving child and I will never tire from your hugs and kisses.

The past three years with Owen has been so special. It has been truly amazing to watch our baby grow into a boy. I put together a video of Owen's past three years. Looking back at all the years was so much fun (and of course tearful), I hope you enjoy it as well.

Owen's Family Birthday Party

I figured it would be more fun for Owen and the family if we separated his parties. If his friends were around the family would be ignored and not get much of the Owen birthday celebration. Leyla offered to host at her house, and I am glad I took her up on it. After throwing one the day before I would have never had the energy to host another. It was just both our families and was a lot of fun. Owen was very shy at first, and still have no idea why. He usually bounds in with excitement. We guess maybe after having being woken up from nap and such a busy day before he was just tired. But after awhile he became his normal self, Nicholas helped with that. It was a great celebration of Owen's three years with our families.

Click Here to View Album

Birthday Party with Friends

This year Owen definitely knew his birthday was coming and he was having a party. He'd keep asking when we were going and who was going to be there. I did a ocean theme party with pools and outside activities. It was a lot of work to cook all the food and get the backyard ready with a teething-not-sleeping-well-baby, but we managed and got it all done. It was so worth it. Owen had such a wonderful time.

We didn't talk about it or practice but he blew his candle right out. It was very cute. Luckily he did not see his gifts on the table so we were able to push the gift opening to the next morning. He was so fun opening gifts, he asked every time which friend gave him the gift. It was an absolute wonderful party and so worth all the Owen smiles.

Click Here to View the Album

Posts

So I am finally caught up from missing a week from not having my laptop. In case you do not have the blog on a feed, I didn't want people to miss our trip to the Beach Lake which I finally have finished posting. So take a look http://boysmeetworld.blogspot.com/2009/07/beach-lake.html.

Amazing Aiden

We are in utter shock how fast Aiden is growing. Our almost 5 month old can roll several times to travel, scoots on his belly (he usually gets stuck under the couch), and has started to sit unassisted. I knew when he rolled from belly to back at 7 weeks that he was probably going to be on the speedy train to crawling and walking, but still shocked. I would not be surprised by 6 months he's crawling. Among his physical ability Aiden is at that lovely stage of grabbing everything, EVERYTHING. I really have to be careful now.On top if it all he is also cutting his two first teeth. Owen was an early teether as well so we figure Aiden would be but he's about a month ahead on his brother. The poor guy is in some pain though (read: Mom is getting barely any sleep or break). The first tooth has broken through the gum and the second is on the verge. So soak up all the little baby pictures of Aiden now because soon he will be chasing after Owen. :)

Aiden likes to sit at his gym and gnaw on the bar.

Holding On!
Little Teething Sitter

Beach Lake

When I was a kid growing up in Madison, VA, my parents used to take me to Chris Greene Lake in Charlottesville. It is a lake but with sand surrounding it so to a kid it's like the ocean. I remember it fondly and with us not taking a beach vacation until Sept this year I was thinking of quick weekend trips. And thought of this place. We even have a very good friend in Charlottesville that allowed us to take over his home. Thanks Robb! So here is a "quick" report on our first weekend trip with two kids.

- Two hours in the car with Aiden is too long. He does not sleep well in the car and gets bored of sitting there pretty quickly. But we survived.

- Owen still loves to sleep in the car and is a pretty easy rider. However he has started the "are we there yet?" questions.

- Owen LOVED Robb and we thought it was super cute he called him Mr. Robb the whole time. He wanted to play with him all the time.

-Owen loved his room at Robb's. He even kept wanting to take Mr. Robb up there to play.

- We were pleased that Owen slept so well for nap and bedtime in a strange bed and room.

- Aiden as well did pretty well with the change of bed, but it was very bright in our room so he was awake very early.

Now report on lakes. Sat afternoon we had some thunderstorms but they ended quick so we decided to take the risk and head out but go to one that is closer to Robb's house. It was called Mint Springs and was wonderful. The lake was beautiful and clean and not very crowded. We had to wait 10 minutes when we got there after the thunder, so we had fun digging in the sand. And then when we could Owen ran right in, well to his waist at least. He can be timid with water so we were impressed. The adults all had fun swimming around and the boys jumping off the floating dock. Aiden enjoyed kicking his legs in the water and hanging out with us. Owen's favorite activity was collecting shells. However they were snail shells and some were still living in there. So Omer and him created a little wading pool for Owen to collect the shells and store them there. He took some of the empty ones home and we thought after a good washing they would be fine, but even over night they really smelled. Owen was sad to lose his shells.

Sunday morning we headed to Chris Greene Lake which was disappointing. Once again Owen was beyond excited and for a kid that does not run away from me often, he was sprinting down the hill, kicked off his shoes at the sand and right to the water. This one was not as nice because there was goose poop every where, disgusting. The water and beach were just not as clean. And for Owen there were no shells, the biggest disappointment. So if anyone is interested in going I would go to Mint Springs.

Overall our first overnight trip with two went fairly well. Car ride just rough with Aiden but while there they both did awesome. And we had so much fun at the Lake Beach and look forward to when we go to the real beach.

View the Album for More Pictures

First Dentist Visit

I took Owen to his first dentist appointment. The plan was for me to have my teeth cleaned while he watched and then he would take his turn. But as life does not go as planned sometimes, we only had time before I needed to get back to Aiden for one of us. So up went Owen in the chair. I was shocked how amazing he did. He sat there very well and let the dentist look at all his teeth, brush them and even floss. The horrible news is he has a cavity. OMG!!! I could not believe she said this. I do not allow him to have overly sweet items and not that much in one day. Is juice is very limited and we brush his teeth every day. So what happened? Where did I go wrong that my poor three year old has a cavity? Well the dentist said he has very deep grooved molars that are hereditary, and he is bound to have issues his whole life. [Owen, you can thank your Dad for that one. :)] So we have to go back and get it filled. She is hopeful that he did such an amazing job that they can do it there. So minus the cavity his teeth look great and she said his pacifier use has made his upper teeth come out a little but too horrible yet.

Owen in Dentist Chair

While we waited he had a blast pushing the button for the water cup.

First Teeth Cleaning

Rainforest Walk

There is a wonderful path that runs along a creek about a 10 minute stroller walk from my house. Owen has coined this the rainforest walk. Not sure why, but my guess is one time months ago Owen and I went while it was raining and it was all wet out there.

We love going! And I love that Owen loves going. This morning we headed out, and Owen grabbed one of his buckets so he could collect nuts, seeds and shells. The pups love it too because they get to be off leash for awhile and swim in the creek. Aiden is happy to ride along and then gets to be held while we play in the creek. We have a blast.

I am trying to be better about taking random family videos and try to post them on here as well so I can remember them when I print the blog. So here is a little taste of our time. I miss most of the great times because too hard to record and hold Aiden. Also sorry for the shaky video, but like I said hard to take video and hold Aiden at the same time.

Synopsis of Video:
Owen collecting nuts
Chatty Aiden
Playful Chloe, Chester joins in
Owen finding shells
Aiden stroller
Throwing Rocks (he was having more fun when camera was off)
Tried to get a shot of Aiden and I
Owen splashing and running, Aiden laughing at Owen

Owen Peed!!!

Never thought I would be so proud, but Owen peed on the potty all on his own. Can't tell you how shocked I was by this because he has shown absolutely no interest, actually the opposite and screams if we mention peeing on the potty. We had told him a couple weeks ago that that was his last diaper and he would wear pull-ups until we ran out and then undies. The pull-ups have not really made a difference but he does seem more bothered by poop now.

So here is how it happened. We went for a walk down to the creek where Owen slipped and got all wet. So once we were home, I was changing him while he looked through his new shells. Well as he stood there naked before I could get his pull-up on he ran away. Kids love to be naked! As I called for him to get back over here to get dressed, he told me from the hall "I have to go potty." I though huh, what a weird thing for my hates-anything-that-is-related-to-the-potty kid. By the time I got to the bathroom he is up and proudly screaming "I peed on the potty!" I looked and what do you, he had. I was beyond proud. We did a potty dance and can't tell you how excited Owen was too. Then he got his promised green frog from months ago (this was the item he said he wanted when he went potty). So here we go, I guess we are full on potty training. I am grateful because I have been so worried we'd have to force this so he could go to preschool in Sept. Here's hoping he keeps this excitement.

Proud Potty Owen

Aiden Rolls

Early last week Aiden rolled from his back to belly but I missed it. I was very sad about this, but within a week he now does it consistently. I'll put him on his back and immediately he rolls to his belly. He will also scoot around while on his belly, not a lot but still the beginning of moving. I will not be shocked if he crawls in the next 2 months, because he bends his body so that he scoots forward, but not with bended knees yet.

Smiley Aiden

Getting his Feet

On the Roll

Made it, Got the Monkey

Funny Face Aiden

MEGHAN

I have given in and hired a mother's helper. Don't ask my hesitations about this, but I am very happy that I did. She is great! Meghan is a 13 year old girl that lives up the street and just loves kids. I usually have her come one morning a week to play with Owen while Aiden and I get a lot of home stuff done. I can't put into words how much Owen loves her. At 7:30 am I told him Meghan as coming today and he popped up from our bed and was ready to go downstairs. He asked about every 10 minutes until 9:00, when she arrived, if Meghan was here yet. And after the first time she came, he told Omer that he had a new friend named Meghan. How cute!!!

They play outside most the time and I do not want to disturb their fun with taking pictures so I snapped some from inside. They were collecting nature in buckets and putting them in the water table She was impressed he knew what cicada shells were. The boy knows a lot about bugs! She also told me that Owen is such a polite, smart boy. I would have to agree. :)

Meghan and Owen, new buddies

Collecting Cicada Shells

Reston Zoo

It was calling for rain all day but luckily it did not rain at all....these weathermen. It was 75 and cloudy, so perfect zoo weather. After nap we headed over to the Reston Zoo and let me tell you so happy we went. It was empty, seriously only about 30 of us there. And because it was so cool out the animals were all very active, usually we go and they just lay there. Another perk because it was so empty was we got to pet some of the animals. It was a wonderful time and can't wait to make the trip to the big zoo soon. Owen excitedly ran all over the place to greet the next animal.

Watching the Monkeys Swinging

They were really having fun.

Our Little Sleeping Monkey


Watching the Baby Kangaroo

The girl offered to let us touch him. He was softer than I would had imagined.

Baby Kangaroo

Baby Bunnies

The lady let us pet a bunny, Owen chose the white one.

Feeding the Crazy Goats

This one was really hungry.

Owen thought it was funny.

Owen bent over so he could pet the turtle.

Crocodile was a huge hit and we were once again lucky and he even swam from

one side to the other.

Camels, Zebras and Deer

Mr Emu

Lemur Huddle

Swinging Monkeys

Aiden trying to see the monkeys again.

Back to Lemurs, Owen watched him grabbing the grass.

Lemur, a favorite of Owen's

Aiden the Sheep (good idea, bad picture)

We went on the wagon ride and sadly but Owen did not enjoy it. The lady's spill in the beginning freaked Owen out a little because they really warn that the camels will reach in for any food and bags. The camel actually broke Owen's food cup and after that it was all over. He did not want those camels near him and they follow the wagon so it was pretty bad. Even this morning he told me how the camels are bad and broke his cup.

Looks like the Camel is about to spit
On the wagon ride

Tried to get a picture of me and the boys, but no one wanted to join in.

Feeding the camel, look at Owen trying to get away.

Yes I am annoyed that the camels are back.

Please don't eat my baby!

We made it through the camel attack

Owen and Daddy moved to the middle row.

Oh sweet baby snuggles.

Owen raced after some boys to quack at the geese.

For some reason Owen has been obsessed about owls, so we of course had to go say hi to the owl.

Mr Owl

Owen roaring like a lion.

Riding the lion

Riding in the Jeep

Wow, what is up there?