#137 - Nana Love

This past weekend, Owen and I drove down to Jacksonville and spent the weekend with my mom and my sister. It has been a long time since I've had some girl time with my favorite girls, and Owen got to have lots of playtime with his cousin, Kaylin.

Watching the two of them together is so much fun. Owen is all boy, and Kaylin is all girl, but they get along very well and they had a blast this weekend. They giggled and laughed and chased each other around the house. They got to go swimming together and play in the park together. Owen is still a little bit bigger than Kaylin, and he's used to playing with kids that are older than he is, so we had to remind him to be gentle with Kaylin. A few times he full out tackled her to the ground (too much football watching, I think), but Kaylin hung in there!

Nana kept Owen and Kaylin while Jen and I went to the Gator game in Gainesville, so Owen got lots of "Nana Love"!!!!

On Sunday, after brunch, we took the little ones to a neighborhood park.

Owen has become fearless on the playground. While riding this horse, he kept going "faster and faster, look at me, Mommy!" and before we knew it, the top of the horse hit him in his mouth, busting open his lip. Nice. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad, and it only took about 90 seconds before he was back on the horse, going "faster, faster!".

Finally, I snapped this picture right before we left the park. It reminded me of a picture I took at Kaylin's baptism celebration about a year and a half ago. See below:

September 2010

March 2009

Our babies are growing up.

#136 - Babies and Ponies

Our nanny had her second little boy just a few weeks ago. Owen has been praying for "Mrs. Becca's Baby" for months now, and he was so eager to meet him. So, this weekend, we finally got to officially welcome into the world Baby Oliver. Owen was a little curious, but after about 24 seconds, was disinterested in the infant and all about reuniting with and playing with his friend, Liam. They ran and screamed and wrestled and laughed and giggled, just like life-long buddies, which they are.

Mrs. Becca sure does have her hands full when she comes back to work in a few weeks. We have missed her a lot! We are blessed to have her and Ms. Bobbie taking care of Owen during the day. They both love our son so much, and take very good care of him. We are fortunate to have them both!

We have bought Owen his Halloween costume - Thomas the Train. He loves it and insists on playing "dress up" every day, and wants to wear not only his Thomas the Train costume, but also the bumblebee costume we have. Here's a picture of the little bee (which he'll probably be for Halloween in 2011).

This past weekend, we went to Elsie's 4th birthday party, where they had real, live ponies! Owen talked about it all week, and was thrilled when he could finally ride the pony.

And, finally, two videos for you. This first one is Owen goofing off in our bedroom.

Many of you know that we were without air conditioning for almost an entire week. We strategically placed portable fans throughout the house, and it wasn't long before Owen figured out that his voice sounded really cool when he talked into the rotating blades.

#135 - More Gymnastics

A typical class of Gymnastics consists of walking the balance beam......

Jumping from one mat to the other followed by a forward roll down the second mat.....

Swinging on the low bar by balancing himself on his arms......

Climbing across the horizontal ladder without touching the floor......

Jumping up and down on the trampoline, followed by landing on his behind and saying "I fall down, Daddy!".........

And then a log roll down another mat.....

And, another walk across the balance beam, this time, all by himself.....

And, a jump from the tall block into the soft pit......

And, finally, a hug bye-bye to his friend, Peyton!

Fun times in gymnastics!

And, now that football season is here - here's what Owen does on the weekends......

He plays with his football.......

And, sits on Daddy's shoulder while watching the Gator game! (notice the laptop open streaming a live video of one football game while another game on the big TV).
Owen is the biggest sports boy. He definitely takes after his Daddy!

Love you!

#134 - Boston

In honor of our 4th wedding anniversary and Lou's 39th birthday, we made a quick trip to the beautiful city of Boston, Massachusetts. Lou had been there once before, but it was my first time. Our plans were nearly interrupted by Hurricane Earl who threatened the New England coastline late last week. We were pretty close to cancelling the trip. But, the weather ended up being absolutely beautiful - in the mid 70s during the day and sunny, blue skies. It was so nice to spend some time together, especially on our anniversary! The time flew by, but we sure did miss Owen.

While there, we did some of the typical touristy things like walking the Freedom Trail, checking out the Boston Harbor and even doing a tour of Harvard. We also explored some of the beautiful historic neighborhoods of one of our country's oldest cities, walked along the Charles River and meandered through Cambridge. The history and culture there is remarkable.

At night, we had some great food, including a traditional Italian meal in Little Italy and a great seafood dinner at a wonderful place in the North End.

It was a perfect vacation!

Here's a picture of us in front of the Duck Pond in Boston Common.

A beautiful tree in the Gardens at Boston Common.

Paul Revere's gravestone.

One of the buildings on the Harvard Yard.

One of Harvard's famous landmarks - Memorial Hall, which was built to honor Harvard graduates who fought for the Union in the Civil war - now home to the freshmen dining hall.

Another picture of us - this one taken at Neptune Oyster in the North End.

We were so fortunate to have my Dad and Catherine watch Owen for us while we went to Boston. Grandfather and Grandma and Uncle Robbie kept him busy the entire weekend, and he had tons of fun. When he got home Monday night, he screamed and screamed for them.

While we were in Atlanta, we also celebrated Lou's birthday by lighting 40 candles (one for good luck), and the smoke was pretty impressive!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you so much!

And, finally, one last family picture - Grandma, Grandfather, Owen, Lou and Uncle Robbie. We love you guys, and thanks for taking such good care of our little boy. We truly appreciate it!