Happy Halloween!

The evening was filled with all things festive: pumpkin carving, mulled cider on the stove, a nice hearty bowl of soup with the family....

Lion and Bunny practiced their new line ("Trick or Treat!") over and over...



Finally, we headed out into the night...



After 30 minutes or so of knocking on doors and looking out for goblins (thank goodness cousin Nora knew the trick to keeping them away...), The Dude proclaimed that he was done. He was ready to go home.



So that is that. Another occasion of build-up and release...*sigh*

Busy Busy....

It's been hard to get video of Owen lately. Between his fascination with the video camera (and all it's buttons), and his inclination to clam up as soon as it's pointed at him, it's been a while since we've shared The Dude "in full".

The audio on this clip isn't that great. You can't really hear what he's going on and on about, but that's not really the point. The point of this video is to give you a rough idea of just how busy he is.... and how much he babbles. On his second birthday a switch was hit, and he talks....All. Day. Long.

And, he is on the move. He's got things to do. Trucks to drive. Rocks to move.

He's busy.




And this one is just for all you Lovers of Owen, snot and all.....

Pumpkin Patch

No fall season is complete without a trip to our local 'original' pumpkin patch. Especially now that The Dude is starting to put all this Halloween business in perspective. He is learning all about Jack-O-Lanterns, costumes, wacky spiderweb decorations (thanks to almost all of our neighbors), and trick-or-treating.

The Pumpkin Patch is a quaint little farm that gets pummeled this time of year. They have a tractor drawn hay ride to the pumpkin fields, an animal barn (complete with mini-horse!), a farm store, Big Red Barn for hoe-downs and mud. Lots of mud.

It's a hoot. And we think we got the best pumpkins of the bunch this year...

And now... He is 2!

We can't believe it's come and gone... we can't believe how well he did... and we can't believe he's TWO!!

What an awesome day for our Little Dude. It began like this:



7:30am - helping Mama to ice the requested Spice Cake. How could we deny him a little morning sugar jolt? It was his birthday, for crying out loud.

He awoke to decorations and high anticipation of his Birthday Party. Oh - and presents! Mama and Papa gave him his gift first thing...



...a pint-sized back-pack to carry all his "stuff". Recently, he has been asking for a little bag to carry all of his things in when we leave the house. He always has to bring something with him on our journeys (whether that is to the grocery store or to Grandpa's house, he's got to go prepared). So we decided to get him his very first pack. It's Dude-Sized, it's got lots of pockets, and he looks so darn cute carrying it around.

After a little breakfast and some book reading with Nonna, it was party time! The guests began to arrive and the little house quickly became filled with people. Luckily, it was a clear (but chilly) day, so the kids could run around out in the backyard and play in the fort.

Owen was amazing. He mingled. He played with his friends. He kept up with the bigger girls and held his own. He didn't seem at all phased that there were 20 people in his house, all for him...

When it was cake time, he was ready. And very excited....



Surrounded by all that love him, he was in total heaven. Didn't skip a beat. He acted like we have birthday parties for him every day.



Little Dude, Happy Birthday. We love you more than we ever thought possible. You are an amazing little being and so much fun to be around. You've changed us forever, and we couldn't be more grateful. Here's to our many next adventures!

Change is coming...

This morning we woke to the heaters blaring in our little house... fall is definitely upon us. The air is down-right chilly and it smells like fall outside. Gone are the days of no socks and "naked baby" afternoons on the backyard deck. No more turtle sprinkler or kiddy pool. No more early morning trips to the zoo "before it gets too hot". (The above photo was one from our trip to visit the new lion exhibit at our beloved zoo...)

Nope. Summer is gone. And with it, goes our little one year old. Owen will very soon (one week exactly) be TWO.

We're not ready.

We mumbled something to each other earlier today about a "discipline plan" - we haven't had those types of conversations yet. How do we respond when the cup is hurled across the room because it doesn't have the right contents in it? What do we say when we are confronted with that look of, "Oh, you said No? Well, than I'll do THIS!"...

It's not that we think that at the stroke of midnight on his birthday he'll turn into a monster... it's more that he is beginning to test his boundaries, and he is paying very close attention to how we respond. This is where the real parenting fears show up, people. It's show time.

We've seen the sneak preview to TWO and we are definitely not ready.

So, for this week, we'll enjoy the 1 and 11/12th's year old and think about the discipline later. Because TWO will be here soon enough.

Photo by Papa

This photo was rescued from Papa's flash card in his camera.... taken in June (thankfully of this year). Mama loves it, so thought we would share.

It tells a lot about Owen's personality. His determination, his focus. No doubt when this photo was taken, he was on a mission.

He had big plans.