Holiday Lookback, Ranch Edition

Hmm... where to begin...?  We took a 2-week sojourn back to the motherland, Texas, for the holidays, stayed in three different locales, saw tons of family and friends, and crossed off nearly all of our major food groups that are lacking in the mountain-northwest.  Might have to do this in multiple posts, since there's so much and some of the photos are on a computer that's not in my possession currently.


Owen was a great traveler, all things considered (3+ hour drive to airport, parking and tram/baggage check/security/waiting at the airport gate, 3 hour flight, and more driving on the other end).  He loved rolling his bag along behind him like all of the other people he saw!  (It was filled with in-flight trucks and books.)  Luckily, we had extra time to walk at a toddler's pace from security to the gate.

We actually had to pay for his seat this time, now that's he's of legal age.  :)  He did pretty well on the plane, sleeping 1/3-1/2 the time, reading, eating and looking out the window ("Cars!" were spotted upon landing).  He didn't have to get out of his seat the whole flight, though he was definitely ready to by the end.

We can't go to Texas without spending a little time in Austin.  We met up with friends and had a little playgroup with Owen's old buddies, Maria and James, who had already departed when we decided to do a group photo.

Then it was on to Christmas at the ranch.  Lots of family, food, and presents.  Owen finally met all of his cousins.

Seeking protection with Uncle Ken from the evil remote controlled fire truck.

Watching Cars2 with his cousins Katie and Hannah.  He sat there for the whole movie!

Sharing books with cousins Kristine and Evalynn.

Riding on the RV with Grandad!  It was raining nearly the whole visit, so this was a rare opportunity to get outside.

Then we spent a week in Houston (post to follow), returning to the ranch for a couple of days before heading to Austin to catch our flight back.  I broke out some of my old toys for him.  I think they were a hit!

Checking the pasture for cows.

Throwing a fit on a sandy trail.  He's developed a penchant for lying down on the floor in a (usually) silent protest.  This has manifested itself at the airport security line, gate waiting area, public bathrooms (ew!), library story time, neighbor's driveway, and just about anywhere he feels inclined.  I can't wait for this phase to pass!  :)

Whoa!  Grandad has an actual tractor!  Owen was so excited to see it and literally kick the tires.  Of course, he had to get a closer look behind the wheel, but he would not get anywhere near it once it was turned on!  Scary!

The obsession with "driving" wheeled things extended to our rent car.

Last pic before getting in the car!

Birthday Celebrations

It really is more fun when a child starts to understand things like how to open gifts or that their friends are coming over.  The excitement for nearly everything is contagious!  Balloons, cupcakes, juice, balloons...  And we haven't even gotten to the gifts yet!  Thanks to all who shared their presence/gifts/thoughts on his special day.


Since it was a Thursday, we just did a small family gift giving.  Thanks for the boots and tractor (and other presents), Oma and Grandpa!

It was slow going, so we broke out the pièce de résistance a little early in the progression in order to make it to bed at a reasonable time.  Train table!

We continued unwrapping gifts on Friday, including a backpack on wheels for the savvy traveler

And a fun racetrack from Granna and Grandad.

Finally on Saturday, we had his actual birthday party.  We did a joint party with a friend who was turning 3 just a few days later than Owen and rented out a gym for an hour and a half. Everyone was having a great time in the foam pit, trampolines, bouncy floor, and slides... 

Until 10 minutes in, Owen went down the slide and bounced back from the foam pit right  back into the bottom of the slide.  On his forehead.  Ouch.  Top of the slide before.

Giant goose egg on the head after.

But he eventually recovered and had a little more cautious fun.  Then we moved on to singing and cupcakes!  He liked both very much.   Fishy cupcakes.

Kenzie, the birthday girl

The birthday song

Owen, the birthday boy, enjoying his cupcake

Dessert time!  (Owen is demanding a second cupcake with The Point.)

And then even more gifts.  After 3 days in a row of opening presents, I was beginning to worry that he might think this had become the new routine and be spoiled.  But, I'm happy to report that he was pretty good about sharing his new toys with his friends, and I think it gave him some valuable practice just in time for Christmas.

Happy holidays everyone!

2 years old!

Happy birthday dear Owen!  We made it another year!  I must say that this is an alternately charming and frustrating age.  I think he's already been in the terrible twos for a while.  His favorite word is still "no", but he uses it emphatically and pretty frequently now, even in talking to himself.  But he's picking up words all the time by mimicking and gives the sweetest crinkly-face smiles (not shown below).

One of my favorites of his new words is "Key-Q" - thank you.  It is still surprising and heart-melting when he says it, and he always uses it appropriately!  This will probably be the last list of new words, since they are starting to accumulate too quickly to keep track:

• "apples"
• "bear"
• "Bo" - his pillow lovey
• "I get it"
• "down"
• "up"
• "Sata" - Santa
• "yes" - finally!
• "sheep"
• "soup"
• "wokit" - get up off the couch and walk with me
• "coat"
• "goves" - gloves
• "jacket"
• "crab"
• "anemenem" - anemone
• "bane" - plane
• "cab"
• "dut" - dirt
• "snow"
• "pay" - play
• "muk" - milk

This month he has been enamored by the Christmas lights he can see out the window and by lighting our Christmas tree every night.  No breakable ornaments were placed on the tree this year, and that's worked out pretty well.  I did leave some soft ornaments down at his level, and he likes to circle the tree and talk about them.


His attachment to Bo has really peaked, and they're never separated for long.  Here's our interpretation of a fireside chat with Owen and Bo.  (He was rocking by the fire, sucking his thumb, holding Bo.  Life is good!)

He has added energetic head nodding when we finally clue in to what he's asking for.  Usually, it's crackers or chips!  I think he'd live on those things and milk, if he could.


He reads to himself and actually gets some of the words right now.  He also likes to talk on the phone (at least for pretend calls)...

Lastly, unfortunately, we've had recent bouts with the croup and the stomach flu.  Both have seemed to affect his appetite, general mood, and food pickiness.  Hopefully these regressions are very temporary!


Pictures to come later from his party and stats from his check-up...

Two-year Portraits

Well, we attempted to get 2-year portraits done a little early.  120+ pictures, and he's only smiling in a handful of them!  And those were the ones where I was tickling him while he was lying down.  He was in a great mood, but was very focused on what the photographer was doing and what he could get into rather than sitting by himself and smiling like a camera ham.  One of these days, he will hopefully 'click' with the whole picture-taking thing!  Grandparents, if you think any of these are frame-worthy, let me know and I'll send them to you.

Goofing Around

Wow!  It's December already.  The last few weeks have been a blur.  So here's a quick post to get you up to December at least.  :)  Mostly, we've been goofing around at the house, since Owen was sick for a week and the cold temps outdoors have really kicked in.

We had to take the cats to the vet, and Owen thought their cat carrier was so interesting.  He climbed in and out of it several times, checking space allocation and ease of entry.  I think he wanted one.  :)

Classic kid-in-adult's-shoes picture.  These are my house shoes, and he calls all shoes "shu-was", which is pretty fun to imitate!

Running with the halo mentioned before

Talking on a play phone.  All phones are called "allo" (hello).

This call was for the cat apparently.

Very attentively watching Elmo ("Almo"), which he got hooked on during the house-arrest week.