The Raminator

The 2011 monster truck of the year came to town this weekend.  It weighs an astounding 10,300 lbs and is definitely very large and in charge!  

Yep, it has a Hemi :)

Two-and-a-half

Today Owen is two-and-a-half (or, 30 months as they call it at the pedi clinic)!  He weighs exactly 29 pounds, stands 35.75 inches tall (both right under the 50th percentile) and his head is 20.5 inches round (90th perc).  He is finally able to fill most of his size 2T outfits and is able to wear most of his same Spring/Summer wardrobe from last year.  He fits size 7.5/8 shoes and wears size 5 diapers.

Owen usually starts his day around 8am. When he is awake he is a ball of energy!  He is very curious, mischievous and fast.  When 1pm rolls around he is ready for a nap.  He is an excellent napper and will sleep for 2+ hours if not interrupted.  Bedtime is around 8:45pm and he still wakes up several times during the night. He is still in his crib and that is just fine with me :)

 

He "counts" (1, 2, 1, 2...), recognizes some shapes (mostly heart, star and circle), identifies a few alphabet letters and understands simple opposites such as up/down and in/out.  He has mastered animal sounds including cow, monkey, horse, duck, cat and dog.  While eating a banana and/or climbing furniture he makes a loud monkey noise :)

At his check up Dr Dewbre recommended he start speech therapy. She was pleased with the increase in his single word vocabulary but noticed that he doesn't link two or more words together as much as he should. Some of his newest words include ice, Mema (Emma), guess (yes), poosh (I'd like to push my own stroller), why, yay, ha gog (hotdog), gogur (yogurt), Me Mouse (Mickey Mouse), sigh (outside), mon (c'mon), roll roll roll (roll my tortilla up!), seesa (sister), Dah dahs (McDonalds), Wowen (Owen), Tarda (Target), wok (work), coo (school), uh oh, duce (juice) ca cas (paci), boobahl (football) and, when prompted, I luzz ooo (I love you). He occasionally links two words together when repeating or with posessions (i.e, Mama's bed, Daddy's watch, Gaga's house, etc).

His favorite things right now are playing with his train set, bathtime, gymnastics and being outdoors.  He strongly dislikes shopping, train sounds, Roxie kisses and having to sit still.  During the month of March he seemed to keep some sort of big bright briuse on his forehead.  About the time one would disappear he would manage to get another. 

Owen still eats very little but usually seems to enjoy fish sticks, french fries, waffles, pop corn, yogurt, anything sweet, all beans, tortillas, queso, rice, bananas, broccoli cheese soup, donut holes and peanut butter sandwiches.  He still takes gummy car vitamins and one Pediasure per day.  Potty training looks promising!   He shows lots of interest and seems eager to please.  I plan to get serious after our upcoming move.    Can't believe we are on the downhill slide to THREE!!!

"I'll love you forever; I'll like you for always.
As long as I'm living; My baby you'll be."

Opening day

Emma was so excited to be drafted by the Ladybugs this year!  After much practice and preparation, they played their first game this weekend.  The opening day ceremony was held bright and early on Saturday morning and the game followed later that afternoon.  I also did my concession stand duty (which made me feel like a true sports mom)!  This year there are seven local teams in Emma's bracket (ages 5-7).  Lots of sweet friends play on different teams this season!

She was thrilled to be issued the cute socks and uniform with her chosen number 6.   

Warming up before the big game

Watching from the dugout

Batter up!

In "ready position" while playing catcher during an inning

Here is Emma's littlest fan showing off his 'Ladybug Brother' gameday shirt :)

Chatting with "Seesa" after the game

Hooray for a weekend game so that daddy could come!!

We are SUPER proud of our #6!!!

National Sibling Day

There must be a national day for everything!!  The age gap between Joseph and myself is very close to that of Emma and Owen. 

(Summertime 1984)

(December 1986-ish ~ pretty close to our kids' current ages!)

(October 1989-ish)

(October 2011)

"It was nice growing up with someone like you...someone to lean on,

someone to count on, someone to tell on!" ~Author Unknown

Easter Week 2012

Easter week was filled with lots of EGG-cellent fun!  Luckily because of Good Friday we had daddy all to ourselves for an extra day :)  Thanks to Pinterest, Emma and I enjoyed making tasty Bunny Bait to share with all of her Pre K classmates. 

The kids took turns opening our resurrection eggs.  What a neat idea!  This was a great way to get little ones involved in learning what Easter is all about. 

The Easter bunny made a stop at our house and look what he brought! 

After church we quickly snapped some photos in our Sunday best before our littlest lost his patience and it was time for a nap!

The guys matched in their new seersucker pants :)

 The kids had so much fun hunting Easter eggs!  Emma was a pro and Owen really knew what he was doing this year :)

Of course everything is a competition to our oldest so they counted eggs.  Apparently Emma got a total of 26 while Owen kept counting "one, two, one, two...."

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."  ~Galations 2:20

Carnival

All week the kids watched as the carnival set up in the parking lot of our town's main shopping square.  This weekend we daddy surprised them with a late night visit!  They had a blast, made memories and even slept in past 9am the next morning :)

We were completely unsure of how Owen would handle his first "roller coaster" experience.  We really should have known that he would LOVE it!!  What little boy wouldn't enjoy a fast, high and jostling locomotive?!? 

Both kids had huge grins each time they would pass us by :)

The man taking tickets was super nice.  Since our kids were the lone passengers he even made sure that he moved the ride a few feet forward so that I could get the perfect picture!

Of course I had to share a photo of Emma and her daddy on the spinning strawberry.  It was here that we endured our only meltdown ~ little brother wasn't quite tall enough to ride. 

....so we found his own special buggy ride! 

Last but certainly not least, they took a late night carousel ride.  What a fun time :)

First Comes Love

...then comes marriage! 

One of my best friends in the world is getting married in May.  Mandy was one of my college room mates and is now a nurse in Dallas.  Her fiance, Arron, is great!  He is an Aggie (and of course some really great marriages are made up of an Aggie and a Baylor bear!)  This weekend I attended her bridal shower.

It's incredibly hard to believe that Mandy and I met twelve years ago this summer.  We had both graduated from high school merely days before and our dorm rooms were just a few feet away.  She also lived with our other bestie, Lauren.  Mandy has been by my side through SO much of life since those days.  She traveled all the way up to Oklahoma to visit, she stood by my side the day I married my prince charming, she was the very first non-family member to the hospital after each of our children were born and (despite our separation in mileage) she always makes a point to get together when we can.  I am so honored to share with her in this season of life and to stand by her side in just a few short weeks :)

Julie and Lacey did a fabulous job with the shower.  Mandy's favorite color is pink and there were lots of sweet details!  The petit fours even had her initials on them in pink icing :)

She opened lots of new fun things, including her PINK Kitchenaid mixer!

We gave her the cozy goose down comforter she wanted.  I just might need one too!!

Mandy's sisters and mama:

With her spoiled pug, Oliver (please notice he is wearing a tuxedo). 

Beautiful bride-to-be

With two of my favorite ladies

Love ya Mandy!  Can't wait to celebrate with you next month :)  XOXO