#181 - Cousins from Michigan

"Cousins from Michigan" - that's what Owen calls Noah and Grace. On Monday, after he realized that they had gone home, he asked if we would drive him to Michigan to see his "cousins from Michigan." We had a fun, fun time with Tito Mark, Tita Susan, Noah, Grace and Abuela. The week of fun culminated with Sunday's festivities celebrating Benjamin's baptism and Owen's 3rd birthday (next post on that).

But, before the big day, we had a wonderful week filled with lots of love and fun. Lou took Mark and Noah fishing - they caught sharks and stingrays, but still had a great time.

We had lots of downtime at the house, where the Saez boys were loved and adored.

Grace and Noah were so sweet with both of them. They just love Owen and Benjamin! Owen was in pure heaven, playing all day long. He relished being the center of attention. One night, Owen woke up at 3am, and called out for Grace to come play with him. Seriously!

Lou took them to the beach - it was only 100 degrees here in Savannah!

Grace was so cute with Cocoa. The last night she was here she insisted on sleeping on the floor with Cocoa. Not sure who was happier - her or the dog.

They left late on Sunday. The frig is empty and the house is quieter, but we sure do love their visits and miss them already!

#149 - Christmas 2010

With family in two different states which are on opposite ends of the country, we've pretty much perfected the alternating holiday compromise. This year was our "Michigan" year, and we decided to take a big risk, and drive up there. We had about 11 days off work, so plenty of time for the drive. The trip was much easier than we thought (at least on the way up there), and the visit with our Michigan family was as fun as ever. Not only did we get to celebrate Christmas with them, but we got to announce my pregnancy!

It's always a little bittersweet though, as inevitably, we will miss out on something, and this year, it was spending time with the Florida family. We love you!

Michigan was cold and snowy the entire week. The Tylutkis live on an island between Michigan and Canada, and the island is full of deer. We saw many of them during the week:

Owen started calling them reindeer. It was fitting.....

There's nothing like waking up Christmas morning with the entire family there. By some grace of God, Owen actually slept past 6 am that morning, so we were all somewhat rested when we shuffled down the stairs to check out the loot.

Abuela Isa outfitted the boys in matching Detroit Redwing pajama bottoms:

And, Grace had the girls in matching Yorkie pajamas!

Santa was good to all of us. Owen's gifts included some Thomas stuff, some Mickey Mouse stuff, and lots of toys and clothes including a basketball hoop. He loved watching Noah and Grace open their presents too.

Here's Noah displaying a frame of football cards from his Tito Louie.

After presents and a yummy breakfast, we spent the afternoon playing with our new toys and then getting ready for Christmas dinner. We took our obligatory family pictures in the dining room, and I think they turned out really good this year! Owen was hamming it up for the camera!

The picture is priceless - let me explain. During our visit, Owen spent one afternoon making cookies with Abuela Isa. At one point, after the cookies came out of the oven, Owen, thinking nobody was watching him, snuck a piece of cookie off the tray. But, Abuela Isa saw him, and gave him this look out of the corner of her eye. He thought it was hilarious, and for the rest of the week (and since then), he would imitate the way that Abuela looked at him. He turns his head to the side and looks down at you. It's the cutest thing. When this picture was taken, we said, "Owen, how did Abuela Isa look at you when she caught you eating that cookie?" And, here's the look!

From left: Mark, Noah, Susan, Grace, Isabel, Owen, Lou and Katie. And, Cocoa of course! She was the best dog while we were in Michigan. On the ride up there and back, she barely moved from her seat the entire time.

Our (growing) family.

Lou took this picture. I have no idea why Owen was so upset!

Here's hoping that you had a safe and happy holiday season. All our love!

#141 - More Adventures in the Big Boy Bed

I totally know why everyone says don't rush the big boy bed. I really, really wish that we were not forced to move him from the crib, but ultimately, we just had to do it to keep him safe.

Unfortunately, it's been quite a challenge. Evenings really aren't that bad. It's probably because his room is completely dark, and he's usually pretty tired, and he usually falls asleep in about five minutes. Mornings were rough, but have gotten much better. He was waking at 4:00 in the morning and wanting to come into our bed, but I think we've stopped that.

However, nap time is the absolute worst. I don't know if it's because it's the middle of the day and his room is pretty bright, or because he just isn't very tired, but this weekend was really rough. On Saturday, it took me 90 minutes to get him down. Sunday, I turned the reins over to Lou and it took him about 45 minutes. Both days, after numerous negotiations, back rubs, songs, books, and conjoling, we just closed the bed room door and let him cry. Saturday, he cried for about 5 minutes, and Sunday for about 3 minutes. However, both days, after it quieted down in there, we went in and found him like this:

This was Saturday afternoon, sleeping like a pup on the glider in his room. I carefully picked up him and put him in his bed, and had to wake him 3 hours later.

Then, on Sunday, to our surprise, we found him like this:

Sleeping in the same position on the glider. What a cutie pie. Apparently, he likes this spot.

A happier big boy bed story is that Cocoa absolutely LOVES Owen's new bed. :)

#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!

#127 - Feeding the dog

Owen loves to feed Cocoa. Offering up, "do you want to feed Cocoa?" in the midst of a meltdown always works. Too bad we can only use that trick twice a day.

The other morning, I captured this video on my little camera. Pardon the 3 year old wall patches from when Cocoa was a little puppy and ate the walls in the laundry room.

And, one more quick video - this one from the pool on Sunday, enjoying the water fountains.

Counting down until the big day on the 31st....... :)

#120 - Summer's here!

First Communions are done. Graduations are done. Memorial Day is next week. Must mean summer is here!

Yesterday, we loaded up the family and headed out to the beach, Cocoa included. This was the first time that we had gone to the beach since last summer, so Owen probably had no recollection of what it was. On the way there, he kept asking where was the "wa wa", and when we walked over the dune and he saw the expanse of water ahead of him, he started waving and said, "hi wa wa" over and over. He was so excited. We undressed him, applied the second coat of sunscreen and got his bathing suit on. But, as is typical of him, he refused to go play until he could eat a snack, as you can see below.

Then, it was off to the water - he was a little timid and unsure of the ocean's waves, and would stand on the edge of the waterline watching the waves come in and out. Before long, as the water would recede back to the ocean, he'd run forward and wait there. But, once the next wave came forward, he'd turn and run as fast as he could back towards the dry sand, laughing and giggling the entire way. This back and forth into the ocean kept him happy for about an entire hour!

He was also captivated by the driftwood and seaweed, and by the end of the day had collected quite a collection, of which he used to help him draw in the sand.

The cute swim shorts are courtesy of the Fleming boys. We learned the hard way that they are still too big on him, and the water weighed them down, therefore causing our sweet little boy to walk around the beach like a thug.

We truly don't know who had more fun - Owen or Cocoa. Lou let her off the leash a few times, and she ran up and down the beach like a little puppy, thrashing through the waves, and having a blast. Of course, that only made Owen laugh even more.

Pretty soon, we relocated back to the tidal pools, and we got to relax while Owen played with the sand.

It was just the right amount of water for him to splash around in without feeling overwhelmed.

And of course, like a typical little boy, it wasn't long before he was slinging the mud/sand all over the place. By the end of the day, he had dried sand caked in his hair and every fold in his body.

His shorts got so bad (we were pulling them up every 30 seconds or so), that Lou finally suggested that I take the rubber band in my hair and use it to cinch the waistband around the swim trunks. Worked like a charm!

And, to prove to you that he really did inherite his Mommy's wavy/curly hair, this is what it looked like when we got home from the beach!

We had a great time! Both Owen and Cocoa were sound asleep within 60 seconds of us leaving the beach. They were worn out!

#82 - Owen's First Haircut

The little guy got his first haircut this weekend. After weeks and weeks of talking about it, I was a little disappointed how quickly it happened and was over with. But, I like the haircut, and he looks like such a big boy now!

Here's Owen in the special "airship" salon chair. He sat in there and played with the handles, and had quite a good time. No tears for him!

I actually thought they'd wash his hair and style it. Little do I know. I've never seen a boy get a haircut before! Growing up, my mom used to take us to Fantastic Sam's and if we were afraid of the washing sink, they'd wet our hair with a spray bottle. Apparently, "dry cutting" is the way it's done now.

A family picture while the stylist finishes up the back.

Here's the big boy with his new haircut, sitting on top of Cocoa, who was laying on top of Lou.....

Owen has learned how to climb up on the couch. Now, we must teach him how to get back down!

Giving Cocoa hugs.

#74 - Owen's First Sleepover

This past weekend, we drove down to Jacksonville for Owen's first sleepover. Since Nana kindly offered to watch Owen for us, Lou and I enjoyed an adults only night out which consisted of dinner at Hooters (long story), awesome seats at the Kenny Chesney concert and a room at the Hyatt overlooking the St. John's river. Owen had a blast with Nana, Aunt Jenifer and Kaylin. He didn't even realize we were gone. Thank you Mom!!!!

We also got to spend some time with Paw Paw and Chris, and Aunt Pat and Mimi. Seeing their faces light up when they saw their great-grandchildren was priceless.

Owen is completely walking now. He rarely crawls anymore and he hardly ever falls down. The way he waddles when he walks is the cutest thing.

He's about 90% table food now, and almost off the bottle. That's the goal for this week!

Hope you all are doing well!

A short little video of Owen playing with Cocoa.