Eighteen Month Report

I took Owen for his 18 month well baby visit yesterday. He has had a bit of a growth spurt, which we had expected due to his short pants! He is still a light weight at 22 lbs 6 oz (10%) but has shot up to 32 1/8 inches (45%). He is still holding onto his 90% head circumference. Other than that, we talked about development. The doctor said that Owen is doing great and is quite a talker with over a hundred words. We are so proud of this sweet little boy. Owen, you have enriched our lives so much, and we are so thankful for you. We pray God's blessings on you as you continue to grow.

Wonderful Weekend

We took a trip to Atlanta this past weekend to go to one of my college roommate's (Jenny Rutherford Ostenson) wedding. We stayed with the Brown's and had a wonderful trip. Nathan and Taylor were nice enough to keep the boys for us Friday night while we went to the beautiful wedding. It was a real treat to see my former supper club friends and to have a date with Matt. I could write an entire post about the gorgeous wedding details: fabulous food, beautiful flowers, a fun band, but the wedding ceremony was my favorite part. It was so nice to worship with Jenny and Jon. I love when the officiator gives a clear message of what the commitment of marriage means and that the marriage vows are extremely serious and not to be taken lightly (it is better for a man to not make a vow than to make one and break it).

The rest of the weekend was filled with fun. We went to the park on Saturday and had a picnic with friends. While we were there, Taylor took some pictures of us (I had asked her if she would try to get maybe one good shot, and she ended up getting hundreds! Thank you, Taylor for the priceless gift of family photos.) You can view some of them on her blog by clicking here. We always have such a relaxing time when we visit: no real agenda, lots of good food, and plenty of hang out time. Taylor also showered us with so many wonderful gifts. The boys will be sporting their new halloween pj's this week, and Owen is loving his new sippy cup by Boon. I am still eating the best birthday cake I have ever had (from a place called Piece of Cake in Atlanta) and enjoying the sweet smell of a pear basil candle from William Sonoma.

Upcoming Events

I thought I would do a little post to say we are about to embark on a busy few weeks and may be absent from the blog world. We are headed out of town to Atlanta today to see our dear friends, the Browns, and to go to another friend's wedding. I am hoping to post pictures early next week of what I know is going to be a wonderful weekend. We are looking forward to seeing so many friends. Also, our friends, Jamie, Sam and Riley Costello will be coming next week for an extended stay. If you remember from earlier Jamie's husband, Drew, is in Iraq. After two months, they are ready for a change. Please pray with us that the stay will be a break in routine for them, that they will find rest and comfort here, that the children will cooperate on the long drive down, that the Lord will grant us strength, keep us from exhaustion, and give us (Jamie and me) unbelievable patience. We are so excited to have them here with us. I wanted to post a couple of pictures from the early days, mainly for Jamie. The first two are of Sam and Micah at 4 and 6 months respectively. I think this was sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2005. And the later ones I think are from January 06.

Zoo Trip

On Friday, after dropping Micah at school, Owen and I went to the zoo. He is just at the age where he loves to see the animals. He had fun pointing at all of them. I thought it was cute that he would get so excited when he spotted them, look at them for a minute or so, then say "bye bye badeez" "Badeez" is his made up word for pretty much anything that he isn't sure how to pronounce. After saying bye bye, he would hop in the wagon and be ready for the next exhibit. He also loved using his many animal noises. I think his favorite was the petting zoo. They had the goats out roaming around, and Owen thought they were great. I was a little concerned that he would be too rough, but he complied with the "gentle, nice pets" rule.

Some of Owen's Favorites

This has been a tough week for Owen. He has all four molars coming in (a side note: my boys have a really hard time teething. These same four teeth have been giving him trouble for about a month with blisters, swelling, bleeding, resealing, etc. Now, finally all but one are officially through the gums.) On top of that, he has picked up a cold. He has been tired from coughing all night, and cranky from all the nose sucking and wiping (I HATE snotty noses. It really grosses me out, especially when they wipe it all over the back of their hand and then touch something else. I have been walking around with a tissue and bottle of Clorox anywhere to combat the germs) He has also been just generally discontent. He will ask for a snack and upon receiving his cracker, he will crush it and feed it to Ellie. Or he will ask for his drink and then tip it over and shake it everywhere. If I say no more snacks and drinks, he cries and cries. I want to scream! I have a hard time when my kids are sick because I really want to fix it, and I can't. So in an attempt to be positive, I have decided to post about some of Owen's favorite things, and some of the things he does that just make me smile.

-He says "ma mo" every time I say "I love you Owen" (this is how he says "I love you Mama")

-He lately wants to lay on the guest bed in his room when I tuck him in at night. He lays down and puts my hand on his back so that I can rub it while I sing him songs. He then points to my eyes, nose, cheeks, ears and, my favorite, "belbow." He laughs every time.

-He wants our whole family to be together when we are all home. Anytime one person walks out of the room, he will follow calling their name in such desperation in order to get them to come back.

-He calls Micah "di da" even though he can say m's perfectly fine.

- He won't let us shut the door for prayers at night until "E-E" has made her way up the stairs and to her spot on the floor.

-He adores flowers. He points to everyone of them while we take walks in another favorite, the "wa wa" (wagon). We got two big mums for the porch and as we walk downstairs, he says "fa wa" with a huge smile.

-He loves his stuffed animals. He has them all in a row at the end of his crib: Lion, Elephant, Rabbit, Dog-Dog, and a soft lamb that he actually sleeps on top of. Sometimes I see him talking to them in their respective animal noises.

-He sings along to the songs we have on CD in the car. After the first note of "All Creatures of Our God and King" he sings "Yuuuuuuuu Yaaaaaaaa" (alleluia) with all his might.

-He says "Bweez" for please.

-He loves to follow the directions that I give to Micah, who has a really hard time focusing on directions. He will often appear with Micah's shoes or go flush the toilet after I tell Micah to do it. I guess Micah will appreciate that as he gets older!

-He loves taking baths. He will often get in the bath tub to play a couple of times a day. He loves to fill a cup with the steam of cold water and pour it on his belly. He will say "oooohhhhhh" because it is so cold.

-He hates anything hot. He will dramatically say "HAAAAAAAA" anytime he sees me preparing food. I must let his rest on the counter until it is practically cold before he will even touch it.

He really just makes my day often. Even when he doesn't feel well, I often find myself smiling at my sweet little boy, snotty nose and all. I have also found myself being so thankful this week. Even though I have had a complaining spirit and wanted to be less exhausted, I remember these verses:

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. -Isaiah 40:28-31

and I am so encouraged. Praise the Lord that he does not poop out on us, or grow weary when we are not at our best. Forgive me, Owen and family for getting frustrated. How blessed are we that the Lord will renew our strength and do good things even when we are weary!

I took this picture a little over a week ago. He found these floaties and insisted on wearing them. He also has his toothbrush in hand. He loves to brush his teeth and always gives the lion on the brush and big kiss "ni ni."

Spaghetti Night and Sleepover

Last Thursday night we were privileged to have Oliver spend the night.  He is such a delight to have.  I can tell these boys are going to be long time buddies.  We had spaghetti for dinner, and I couldn't resist posting the pictures.  They loved it, obviously!   

Jumping Fun

In an attempt to come up with something creative and fun for the boys, I blew up an air mattress that I found under our guest bed. Our boys LOVE to jump. I thought I would give them something large that they could jump on or jump onto off our storage ottomans in the play room. It has been a big hit. They love it, especially Owen. Jumping is a new skill for him so he is thoroughly entertained by practicing multiple times a day. He will climb onto the ottoman, count to three, and jump (really fall) off onto the mattress. He laughs and starts over. Micah is a jumping pro and just laughs at Owen's attempts. The funny faces are what the boys come up with when I get out the camera. I guess it is their best attempt at a smile.

Nature Walk

First I wanted to give a preschool update. Micah LOVES preschool. I cannot tell you how happy that makes us. We really thought that going to preschool would be good for Micah, but it would have been really hard to keep it up if he wasn't into it. He is always so happy to go, and talks about it off and on throughout the week. The school we have chosen for him is such a blessing. He is learning some of the same songs, Bible verses, and catechism questions that we have taught him at home. Being taught these things by different people in a different setting is such a wonderful reinforcement that these things are indeed true! I have been enjoying spending time with just Owen. Today we went on a nature walk on the trail around our neighborhood. It felt wonderful to be outside in this amazing weather. I got nostalgic dressing Owen this morning. It is the first time he has worn Micah's old fall clothes. I got so many memories of chasing "my bubs" outside when he was 18 months. I thought I would post a comparison picture of the boys in the same outfit at exactly the same age-17 1/2 months.

They certainly have their own look, but it's clear they are definitely brothers. It is funny how they are so similar in size and coloring. Owen is also pictured above in utero, circa 20 weeks.