Annika Hope

You turn one tomorrow. How is that possible? I know it's a cliche to ask, "where did the past year go?" But that's exactly what I'm asking tonight. I can clearly remember that day in the hospital one year ago. The feelings of anxiety. The hard work that led up to the beautiful moment of you being put in my arms...of course it was ALL worth it.

Annika - 2 weeks

Daddy and I didn't have a name. We had a few finalists, but nothing decided. The first 30 minutes while I held you and smelled you and fell in love we talked it over. Annika Hope. My how you've grown into that name perfectly.

Your big brother called you Spicy all through the pregnancy. At first you did NOT fit that stereotype. You were laid back, such a good sleeper and so stoic. (I thought I would never win a smile from you.) Nursing was a challenge the first few weeks, but once that was figured out you were such a good baby. So much easier than Owen was. :)

Annika - 3 months

Oh but you love your big brother. He was the first one to make you laugh. (Such a funny sound that at first your dad and I thought you were crying.) He can still make you laugh harder than anyone. And he LOVES his baby. I can't wait to see how you two grow together.

Annika - 6 months

Your brother was early to sit, crawl, get teeth, eat solids. It seemed to take you forever, but when you turned 9 months it all sped up. You started crawling. You got your first tooth. One month later you had 4 teeth and took your first steps. At 11 months you had 8 teeth and were practically running down the hallway. In fact "running" from your daddy is one of your favorite games.

Annika - 9 months

Speaking of daddy - he is already wrapped around your finger. You light up whenever he comes home and HAVE to be held by him immediately. You love to "wrestle" with him on the bed and whenever he tells you "No" it simply breaks your heart.

You're going to be a handful. That Spicy side is coming out! You're into EVERYTHING - pulling things out of drawers and cabinets your brother never touched - and it all goes into your mouth. I do not understand what your fixation is with dog food.

Baby girl, it's been a wonderful year. You are too busy to be a cuddler, but since you were a newborn you and I have been nap buddies. You slept in our bed exclusively until you were almost 6 months old. Your cheeks are ridiculously kissable and I'm so thankful I've been able to nurse you for the whole year. I cherish these special times with you - I know they'll be over too soon.

I love seeing your personality blossom and can't wait to see the girl and woman you'll become. Happy Birthday Annika Hope!

The Terriffic Twos

I hate to do this, but this will probably be the only post chronicling Owen's 2nd year.

In my defense I did put together an 80 page photo book that covers most of it in detail, so we'll be able to look back at the highlights.

So here's year two - the speed version.

At his 2 year check up he weighed 34 lbs 10 oz and was 37 and 7/8 inches tall - off the charts on both counts.

This has truly been the year of planes, trains and automobiles - Owen loves anything that moves and can spot an airplane way before his dad or I can see it or a bus from blocks away. So of course his two year old birthday party had to have a transportation theme.  The boys had a blast playing with train whistles, flying airplanes and decorating their own race cars. The monster truck pinata was also a big hit.

Another new-found love of Owens is anything and everything to do with sports. He's gone through three sets of golf clubs this year alone - his dad finally bought him a "real" set and they go to the driving range most weekends and we always have to take his golf clubs and basketball to the park when we go. Because I'm his mom, I have to brag a little - Owen can throw his football in a spiral, has hit a ball at the driving range for 75 yards and can hit the rim at the 10 foot basketball goal at the park. I foresee many hours of sitting at sporting activities in my future. :)

Some other of Owen's favorites are:
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and Super Why (Super Readers to Owen)
Curious George and Berenstain Bear books
Firetrucks! (It's all he wanted for Christmas)
Helping Dad with his tools
Angry Birds on the ipad

Owen is also one of the most verbal 2 year olds I know. (Yes I know I'm his mom - but we've had a lot of strangers comment on this too!) He is constantly talking and has really good grammar and enunciation for his age as well.

There are a few words he doesn't say perfectly - and I love them. I'll try and spell them phonetically.
Lem-ba-bade - Lemmonade
Hel-a-top-ter - Helicopter
Rest-ran-ant - Restaraunt
Pummus - Hummus
Com-py - Comfy
Grill - Girl

His favorite question is "Why" and he will ask it repeatedly.
Owen: Mom, is it getting dark?
Mom: yes
Owen: Why?
Mom: because the sun is going down
Owen: Why?
Mom: because the sun comes up in the morning and goes down at night
Owen: why
Mom: because the earth moves around the sun
Owen: why
Mom: because God made it that way
Owen: why
...and it goes on, and on, an on

Owen had a few "firsts" this year
First time getting stitches - or actually staples - for a huge cut on his head
First time in swimming lessons
First time climbing a mountain all by himself!
First time riding a tricycle
First time helping Dad drive the boat and the car

He is NOT potty trained and this has been a frustrating issue this year. We did try back in September and it went so horribly (on day three he went 16 hours without peeing) that we haven't pushed him again. I'm sure he'll let us know when he's ready. Right now whenever we ask him he says "I'll go potty when I get bigger."

He also still sleeps with his paci, a blanket and bear - but I do love these last little parts of his babyhood. He's getting to look much more like a little boy than a toddler and moved into his big-boy room this month.

His little sister will be arriving in a few days and I'll have to change the banner on the blog yet again. We still haven't settled on a name for her yet. Owen started calling her "Spicy" after her 20 week ultrasound and that's been her nickname ever since. Heaven only know what kind of personality she's going to have. :)

I have loved being this little boy's mommy for the past almost-three years. He is so sweet and affectionate and happy almost all the time. He's such a good boy and really the light of his dad's and my life. We know he's going to be an amazing big brother and can't wait for the next step in our adventure as parents!

* At his three year check up he was 42 pounds and 41.5 inches tall - that's a lot of growth in one year! The Dr. commented that he was in the 50% for a five year old!

Winter trip to San Diego

This past January Eric attended a conference on Coronado Island near San Diego. This is actually a very respected conference and he'll probably get to attend every year...which works out great for us!

We had a blast hanging out with family in the few days before the conference started. We went to the wild animal park, beach and Owen and his cousin Brynn had a blast at a huge indoor  bounce house.

And even more exciting we got to meet baby Blake for the first time!

Later in the week Eric and I went down to his conference and enjoyed some time just the two of us. The resort and weather were amazing. Everyone joined us that Friday and we had fun swimming and playing for the rest of the weekend. You can't beat hanging out by the pool in January!

In other news, this was about the time that Owen really started talking in complete sentences. The first time he strung several sentences together was in the week after we got back from California. This boy loves his play-dough. We were all sitting around the table playing with it and Owen spoke up, "No momma, don't touch. I do it. I push hard!"

Eric and I both stared at each other amazed. Our baby boy was definitely growing up!

Christmas ... 2011

Yes this blog is woefully behind - almost a year behind. I'm going to do my best to quickly update it with the major events from the past year.

First up - Christmas 2011 - our first Christmas just the three of us at home. We tried to start a few family traditions we'll hopefully be able to keep in the years to come.

Christmas Eve night we had a yummy dinner of raspberry chipotle pork loin, roasted butternut squash and green beans. Then we went out to look at Christmas lights. There are a few displays in town where you can get out and walk among them. Owen really enjoyed his up-close look!

Once we got home we got in our Christmas PJs (at least Owen did) and opened gifts from family. Owen got a tool set and Dr. kit that he loved!

The next morning things did not go as planned. Eric got called out at 6am (he did psyc evals at hospitals) and didn't get home until 1pm. Needless to say I was not happy to be spending Christmas morning alone.

One good thing about Owen's age is that he doesn't know Santa comes on Christmas morning. So Santa came after his nap instead. (He was a little grumpy after his nap.)

That night we had the Texas traditional tamales - even Californian Eric enjoyed them and agreed it should be a tradition!

A few days later we headed to Amarillo to celebrate with the extended Burns family. On our designated Christmas morning Owen woke up to ANOTHER stocking. This one had lots of goodies - his favorites were some toy planes and sidewalk chalk!

But his favorite even of the morning was putting snow on the Christmas tree.

Later that night we opened gifts, but Owen just wanted to throw tissue paper in the air.

Owen did really enjoy loving on his cousin Graham. I love these two pictures of the boys.

The holiday did have a sad ending. Right before new years my mom got a phone call that her dad had passed away suddenly. I was so thankful that the whole family was there when she got the news. We were able to take all the Christmas stuff down in a few hours and then Owen and I drove with my parents to Oklahoma for the funeral.

My PaPa was a Colonel in the Army and was buried with full military honors, including an 18 gun salute. I'm thankful he got to meet Owen (Thanksgiving 2010) before he passed away.

Faith like a Child

This spring we've been blessed to see the truly precious and innocent way a child begins to interact with God.

It started with our prayers. We pray not only at bedtime, but I also say a quick prayer with Owen before we leave the car each morning at school. One morning earlier this year, Owen interrupted me and said his first prayer - or at least repeated after me. Talk about bringing tears to your eyes. His quiet little voice saying "Dear God" was amazing. Owen is adding more and more requests to his prayers now - and all his school and church friends get prayed over regularly. :)

We've also started playing praise music at home and in the car on the way to school. The first time Owen heard "God is so Good" he asked for it again and again. He then proclaimed it a pretty song and wanted us to sing it together. I never get tired of singing with my baby boy. His favorite song this month is, in his words, "Children of the World" :)

Owen also loves going to worship with Eric and I before we take him to the nursery on Sunday. This is one of my favorite times of the week. I hold him close while we sing and pray that one day he'll love the Lord with his whole heart. One Sunday, to Eric's and my amazement, Owen lifted his hands during a song. No one around us was doing that at the time and it just felt like Owen knew he was worshiping God.

Being a mom makes me even more appreciative of how my own parents introduced me to God. I am in awe of how Owen is already starting to know Him.

Thanksgiving in Boston!

For Thanksgiving we met Mimi and Papa in Boston to visit Kirsten, Mike, Margaret and Brendan. Brendan was born the day before Owen turned one and we hadn't had a chance to meet him yet!

The first day we were there was clear and cool, but gorgeous!  We took a walk through Boston Common and the public gardens. It was such a beautiful fall day!

After lunch, the kids headed back to the house for naps and Papa, Mike and I kept walking the freedom trail. I had walked it back when I was in college, but still really appreciated all the history.
I grabbed some quick shots on my iphone - gotta love technology. :) And again, this was the most perfect autumn day ever!

The next day was not so perfect. Highs were in the 30s, but we bundled the big kids up and went to the zoo. Most of the animals were hiding and trying to stay warm, but we did see an amazing gorilla exhibit and Margaret and Owen had a blast.

Later that day, the adults headed off for the minute men museum and took a look at Walden Pond. We got there just as the sun was setting. (Although the sun sets around 4pm in Boston during the winter!)

 We took several other little trips over the next week. We visited Harvard and an amazing art museum. During one of our jaunts Kirsten stayed home with the kids and sent me this video. Owen loves to dance and was having so much fun with Margaret!

It was a wonderful trip. It was so good to see Eric's sister and her family and enjoy Thanksgiving somewhere it actually feels like fall!

What a BIG cow you are... and more fall fun

Owen was a cow for Halloween. I bought a 2T-4T costume for my 18 month old. He would not try it on - it terrified him. Finally a week away from Halloween, Mimi and Daddy were able to bribe him to put it on with m&ms. It was a little small. Ok, maybe a lot small - the ankles were around his knees and the sleeves were almost to his elbows and there was no way we were getting it fastened around the neck.

Owen was a trouper although the costume came off after he posed for pictures. He helped hand out candy in his diaper. :)

While Mimi and Papa Oslund were here, we had a lot of fun.

We visited a pumpkin patch

Owen helped Daddy and Papa rebuild our deck - it's now twice as big! And the perfect place to play with bubbles.

We also made a trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival - Owen rode an elephant. He did not enjoy it.

Thanks for the fun memories Mimi and Papa!