The Road Not Taken

News Worthy

2012-02-08T19:32:00.005-07:00

Short story
Owen and I are leaving the house and he sees part of a newspaper on the ground. He picks it up and states he wants to bring it with him so he can read the newspaper in the car. As we're driving Owen exclaims:"Mama! Grandma and Grandpa are in the newspaper!"

Carrie: "Oh really? Which ones?"

Owen: "Grandma and Grandpa Cooper."

Carrie: "What are they doing?"

Owen: "They're huggin'. Why Grandma and Grandpa in the paper?"

Carrie (now very curious about this newspaper): "Can I see it buddy?"

Owen: "Sure! I'm going to bring it to school and show my teacher."

Carrie: "Huh. How about we just leave this paper in the car?"

Just Add Paint

2012-02-04T14:38:00.002-07:00

We bought a new couch the other day from Costco and in true Costco style, the couch came in a gigantic box. It seemed a waste to just break it down and recycle it so we invited Miles over to help Owen paint a fort.

Started out in an orderly fashion using a paint brush and not mixing colors.

Moved to the inside to paint "furniture"; realized it's fun to fling paint.

Decided paint brushes were totally unnecessary when you have hands. Shortly after this shot, Owen decided his belly was an even better painting tool.

The artist in all his glory.

Owen Didn't Even Need The Edge

2012-01-29T15:06:00.005-07:00

Last night was Monster Jam and Owen had a hugely good time (and so did Dad). We ordered good tickets, but when we got there, we realized how good they were. We were two rows back from front row. All of the trucks parked right in front of us while they were waiting for the other trucks to run the course. To sum it up, it was loud and rad.

This is the scene that greeted us. Incidentally, this is also the scene where I realized we were going to have a fantastic night.

We have a camera that can catch a hummingbird's wing mid-flap with perfect clarity, but it didn't stand a chance with Owen's mid-flap excitement about the show unfolding in front of him.

We were lucky to have Grave Digger at our event. He's pretty much the monster truck top-dog. I guess they have other shows around the country and some of the other popular guys were spread out, but Grave Digger was nice to have because he always puts on a great show.

During the racing (as opposed to the freestyle) portion of the show, we were privy to a serious Lightning McQueen style photo finish ending.

They had it on the Jumbo-tron and said it was a tie and just gave it to one of the trucks. They said (and I would like to fact check this before I go on record as saying) that this was the closest race finish in monster truck history, but the announcers were also shilling cotton candy and Matchbox toys, so I'd take that with a grain of salt. Fun nonetheless.

There were spills.

Huge air.

And huger air.

These trucks articulate like crazy.

To a point. Also, look at how hot the differentials get. You can see them glowing.

Owen even got a kick out of watching them set up for the freestyle course during intermission. It was a really fun night for all (in descending order of Owen, Ed, Carrie).

Time's Flyin' So We Must Be Havin' Fun

2012-01-22T20:48:00.003-07:00

We set up this blog when we were getting ready to welcome Owen into the world so that all of the people who care about us near and far would be able to keep tabs on what was happening with the Wilhelmes in Arizona. We looked at the calendar and discovered that we've been at this thing for four years. That's a pretty decent chunk of time.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the here-and-now, but from time to time we will sit down and browse the blog. I am eternally grateful that we have it. For something that was set up to be inclusive of others, it sure turned out to mean a heck of a lot to us. So, in a sense, we owe a sincere thanks to all of you who follow along with us or we would have much less of an impetus to keep at it. In that spirit, happy blogiversary everyone!

4 years ago - baby cooking. Seems like a long time ago now.

Photo Fun

2012-01-14T09:33:00.002-07:00

Baby Grae (Niah's brother) had his first birthday party last weekend. Wren (their mom) is a great party planner and had a photographer, props, and a make-shift photo booth where you could take fun photos.

Our mustachio family. Is that Owen's look of parental embarrassment?

Photographic proof that you can herd cats. (All the kids in photo are in, or have been through, Dawn's daycare.)

Shoes Make the Outfit

2012-01-09T19:39:00.003-07:00

Owen has mastered the whole pants/shirt dichotomy. Old news for this young man. He's discovered a whole new realm of flair where there are seemingly no rules: shoes. The shoes make the man and he's dabbling in the look and feel that fit him to a tee.

He's got the fish-out-of-water urban-cowboy-hoodie look. Not bad, and it got a good laugh from quite a number of patrons at the restaurant he wore it to.

And we have the street-smart, dice-shootin', slipper wearin', loose canon. The daycare kids liked this one.

Fireside Friends

2012-01-05T21:25:00.003-07:00

Ever since Owen was exposed to s'mores this summer on Blake Island, he's had a pension for campfires. This has only been exacerbated by our own newly purchased fire pit where we roast marshmallows as a family. Since it's not feasible to have campfires as often as Owen would like (read: every night), we got him his own campfire for Christmas, complete with sticks, hot-dogs, and marshmallows. It doesn't put out any heat, but it glows and blows a fan through the fabric flames. It's actually pretty cool and Owen thinks so too.

Owen has gathered all his friends around his campfire and is graciously cooking for them all. Notice Monkey's hot-dog.

The Moments In Between

2011-12-31T22:11:00.004-07:00

Well, there it went. 2011 has come and gone. What a year. New jobs, schools, challenges and adventures. It was a rough one, but we saw that coming when we rang in 2011. We are very optimistic about 2012.

Our blogging, unfortunately, slacked a bit this year. There were a few moments we were going to post about and never did. So to wrap up 2011, here are some moments from the year that, for various reasons, never made it up. Enjoy.

Visiting the La Jolla emergency room for an earache and spending 5 hours in a hospital waiting room rather than hanging out on a beach.

Ed and Owen running the bases at M's spring training with Jason and Jackson.

Celebrating Owen's 3rd birthday.

Looking for, and finding, Easter eggs...again and again and again....

Learning how to drive a boat.

Running in mud and drinking beers at Warrior Dash.

Talking to a parrot at the Santa Monica Pier.

Being a family.

Vanilla Cake

2011-12-28T21:18:00.004-07:00

Today is my father's birthday and being the loyal blog follower that he is, I wanted to send birthday wishes via the blog. It's always hard when I can't be there to celebrate my family's birthdays, sometimes more so than holidays. Maybe it's because birthday celebrations are more personal than holiday celebrations. Large groups come together for holidays but only a select group come together, year after year, to celebrate the day you were born. Whatever the reason, I wish we were there to celebrate.

Happy Birthday dad. Vanilla cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite too.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T21:19:00.002-07:00

Living away from family is felt most around the holidays, but having a small family of our own helps. As does having a loving family who is willing to exchange holiday wishes (and presents) from afar. Speaking to everyone on Christmas was great and here are some photos of our big day. We hope everyone had a lovely holiday season and is ready to have a fabulous 2012.

Not a creature was stirring, not even a slot-car.

This Christmas was by far the longest Owen ever had to delay gratification. I'm hoping it helped build a little character. Not that we need him to be more of a character or anything.

Ever the considerate soul, Owen made and decorated cookies for Santa and left the perfectly logical number of five carrots for Santa's eight reindeer. Notice the Brato cameo - his farewell appearance for the year.

All told, we had a wonderfully relaxed Christmas weekend and we hope everybody got what they wanted this year.

A Very Brato Christmas

2011-12-24T09:07:00.003-07:00

For about 25 days we've had a visitor in our house. Brato (Owen named him) is an elf who gets into mischief but who has a job to do also. His job is to see if Owen has been a good boy or naughty. He then flies up to the North Pole every night and reports to Santa. This is why we can't touch Brato, because, like butterflies, if you touch him, he can't fly (unless, of course, that's a line my parents told me about butterflies, in which case... ha ha [being a science teacher, I should probably figure that out]).

The whole endeavor seemed a little Orwellian at first, but being on the other side of all that monitoring sure gives insight into why monitoring on that level is so appealing. Any time Owen does something wrong he says, "Brato tell Santa about that?" As loving parents, we have tried to very much limit how hard we use this leverage over him, but it's tough because it's so effective.

Moving beyond the morality of the whole situation, we have had fun with Brato in the evenings. He appears in a different spot every morning for Owen to discover. Staging him in 25 different ways has proven a slightly challenging, yet eminently rewarding midnight task. Owen has really enjoyed our guest and since tonight he will be returning home to the North Pole, we thought we'd share some of our favorite 2011 Brato moments.

Bonus: Holiday Owenisms

Why does Santa eat so many cookies? He needs to be careful. He's going to get a tummy ache!

Daddy. I need help. I can't wait till Christmas time.

On Christmas night, Santa will come and I'm going to sleep with one eye open so I can see him.

I'm dirty with Christmas! (Said after playing with artificial snow.)

Momma! We ate all the cookies! We need to make more cookies for Santa.

Surprise Visit

2011-12-14T22:03:00.003-07:00

Santa Claus (aka my dad) stopped by my parents house last Saturday night to say hello to Bella and Owen since they have been such good kids this year.

Owen asked for a race car track from Santa. He was a little confused and upset when Santa didn't immediately produce a race car track. It took a bit of explaining that Santa brings it on Christmas and doesn't pull it out of his red, toy sack when you meet him.

Bella very sweetly asked for a guitar. Then she got the heck away.

Santa and his family. Quite a jolly bunch.

At the party, Santa handed out candy canes to the adults though he missed me. I mentioned to Owen that Santa forgot to give me a candy cane and Owen said, "Santa didn't give you a candy cane because you are mean to people." I, quite shocked asked, "who am I mean to?" Owen says, "You're mean to Owen. You put Owen in the time out chair. Santa doesn't like it when you put Owen in the time out chair so you don't get any presents this year."

Clever little punk.

One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed

2011-12-04T18:44:00.002-07:00

He looks like a little angel when he sleeps...

... and then he wakes up.

Notice the bruising on the middle of his head in the 2nd photo? He ran full speed into a pole at school. Owen told us his friend Blake was chasing him and when pole jumped out in front on him. Owen had a pretty good bump and was sent home from school to rest.

And so it begins...being the parents of a boy. I feel like I should have the doctor's number on speed dial.

Friends-giving

2011-11-27T00:07:00.004-07:00

Kristi and Jeff hosted Thanksgiving this year. A couple of their friends and neighbors, along with the old daycare crew, came over for the day. It was potluck style, low key, and relaxing. It's interesting, and wonderful really, how people who do not have family near them find ways to create a family. Jeff said it best when he gave thanks at dinner: "I feel very thankful to have Miles in my life and am equally thankful for them people who have entered my life because of Miles." This is a good group of people and a nice little Arizona family.

There was an audible sigh of relief from Jeff when Ed offered to make the gravy. Ed was officially dubbed, "the gravy master."

Wren and Kristi aka Niah's and Miles' mom

Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner outside.

The kids working off the big meal.

Nick and Tanya's Wedding

2011-11-20T20:49:00.003-07:00

This past weekend we took a road trip over to LA to see Nick and Tanya get married. It was a beautiful wedding and the food at the reception was incredible. Armenians know how to throw a party!

Owen was the ring bearer. But even though he was bribed with chocolate and transformers, he still got cold feet before the wedding so Carrie walked down the aisle with him. It was a quick trip but it was nice to spend a couple days with family and see two people we care about get married.

Carol looked stunning and Nick looked completely overwhelmed but happy.

It took three adults making faces and jumping around like monkeys to get Owen to smile for the camera. Couldn't get the shirt tucked in but at least we got a smile.

The kids all together. Pretty rare considering they are scattered among three states.

Cutting loose on the dance floor.

Three generations having a good time together.

Owen continues to be smitten by Theresa. He didn't want to leave her side. Can you blame him?

October Catch-Up

2011-11-13T09:44:00.004-07:00

I realized that we needed to play catch-up on our photos. Time is flying by. Do you realize there are only six more weeks till Christmas? And in between that we have a trip to LA for Nick's wedding, Thanksgiving, a trip to Seattle to finally meet Jameson, finals for school, and a visit from Robyn and Arlene. Let the good times roll!

Owen's preschool had "trunk or treat" for Halloween and we volunteered to decorate our car. Ed's penguin costume was a hit as was Owen's race car costume. I can't believe we actually pulled the race car costume off. It's amazing what you can do with foam core and a hot glue gun.

We found this next to the two buck chuck. (Owen finds it hilarious to make a frown face when getting his photo taken. I have quite a few of these shots. Pretty clever.)

Overall a pretty cute outfit he put together.

Look what I encountered about two hours north of Phoenix. We're excited to take Owen up sledding and he's excited to make "balls out of snow."

"Mama. Take my picture cause I look awesome!"

Cars Watching Cars

2011-11-06T21:59:00.002-07:00

We watched Fast and Furious Five the other night. Owen thought his cars would enjoy the movie so he lined them up so they could watch. He was also gracious enough to share his popcorn with them.

I purposely cut the kid out of the photo since he was, as usual, sans pantalones.

Our House

2011-10-30T16:18:00.006-07:00

We finally got our place painted and we are so very happy with the way it's turned out. Having (almost) all of the house painted the way we want has made such a big difference in the way we feel about our place. It finally feels like it's our house. For those of you who enjoy a good before and after, here are the before (and slightly during) pictures.

And the after pictures. We are really happy to have the faux... whatever they were thinking gone. There is still a lot of work to be done, but it feels like we're over the hump.

Da Boys

2011-10-22T08:34:00.004-07:00

Boys ...

...will be...

...boys.

Clever Boy

2011-10-16T08:11:00.004-07:00

Don't let the mittens fool you, Owen is getting clever.

Carrie: Owen, I want you to pick up your cars.

Owen: No, I want to pretend. Mama, you be Owen, I be Daddy.

Carrie: Okay, I'm Owen, you're Daddy. What do you want to play Daddy?

Owen: No play, Owen, I want you to pick up your cars.

P.S. Owen loves to pretend he's me and Carrie is Owen. You'd think he would assign the role of Carrie to me but, alas, I am always the role of bad guy...? It's very interesting to see what his perceptions of how an adult acts are. He's usually pretty close. He really likes to discipline as Daddy, but he's always really fair and gentle. It actually lets us see what he understands about the rules and consequences of the house and what we've found is that he understands them really well.

Scenes from the House

2011-10-15T15:39:00.002-07:00

We're getting the inside of our house painted in two weeks and are very excited. If you've been to our house you know that it's long over due. We *think* we have our paint colors picked out. The overall feel we are going for is Mediterranean Spanish. Of course the color we thought would be neutral, when put on the wall, was not at all what we wanted. And now after playing with the neutral color, we are leaning towards a less neutral color. Paint is so tricky.

Halloween is fast approaching. We get a ton of kids trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Plus Owen's preschool has "Trunk-or-Treat" this Friday which involves trick-or-treating (parents decorate their cars and the kids go trick-or-treating to each car), a chili cook-off and a movie on the lawn. So in preparation we bought 20 lbs of candy. Owen's eye got huge when he saw it all.

Speaking of Halloween, Owen is adamant about being a race car this year. Every time I ask him what he wants to be, he says, "race car." Specifically a green race car. I tried to get him a race car driver costume and when he saw it he said, "that not have tires!" In all honesty, I really didn't have it in me to make a race car costume but my co-workers dropped hints that I was a bad/lazy mom and stated it would be, "soooo easy to make." (In my defense, they are engineers. To them it probably does sound easy.) So this weekend Ed and I are going to attempt to make a race car costume. I'm hoping it's the thought the counts.

Goodbye Work Week; Hello Ice Cream

2011-10-07T19:31:00.004-07:00

Yeah for Fridays! And what a nice Friday it was. Our weather finally cooled off and today was a wonderful 75 degrees. After having the windows closed and living in air conditioning for almost four months, it feels great to be able to open all the windows again. Owen and I decided to enjoy the nice Friday by going out to breakfast before work/preschool.

Quick pit stop before breakfast. Owen's new favorite thing to do is help pump gas. I still had the camera in my car from working a public meeting the night before so I was able to capture Owen in his happy place.

Every Friday after work, Ed picks Owen up from preschool and we meet up at the local ice cream shop in downtown Scottsdale. It's a very nice routine and a good way to end the hectic work week and begin the weekend. We've been doing it for two months now. It's funny how much I look forward to having ice cream with my boys.

Saturday Adventure

2011-10-01T22:19:00.003-07:00

Ed had to take a test today for school so Owen and I decided to get out of the house. Owen has been wanting to go the library to check out some books about bones. We decided to make an adventure out of it and take the bus to the library. Along the way we saw police cars, climbed trees, pretended we were interested in a college fair so we could snag a free balloon, and overall had a fun time exploring our city.

Hands behind his back, with a cheesy grin, in front of a police car is cute when 3 years old. Same scenario when 18 years old is not so cute.

Ever since he saw the skeleton in Ed's classroom, Owen has been obsessed with bones. We hung out at the library for a couple hours reading books about bones, the body, and of course race cars.

Can't go to downtown Scottsdale without playing on the LOVE statute.

Just standin' on the corner, waiting for a bus with the balloon we took from the Princeton table. Score!

Sidenote: Doesn't he look so grown-up in these photos? I can't get over it. Hardly any baby, just little boy.

Line 'Em Up

2011-09-28T22:23:00.005-07:00

The shelf in our cupboard broke so we cleared out all the canned goods so Ed could fix it. Owen got a hold of the cans and pulled a classic Owen "line 'em all up" job. He still lines up his cars too. His preschool teacher made a comment that she can tell if Owen last played with the cars because they would be all lined up.

When he's older, he's going to make some incredible domino lines.

Role Play

2011-09-23T20:11:00.004-07:00

Owen: "Hey mommy. You be Owen and I'll be daddy. Okay?"
Carrie: "Daddy, I want to play in the mud."
Owen: "No. We don't have mud. Too dirty."
Carrie: "Daddy, I want to go outside and I don't want to wear any pants." **
Owen: "Are you going out front or out back?"
Carrie: "Out front!"
Owen: "No. You can't be naked out front. People will see you and the police will get it you."
Carrie: "Ahhh daddy. Please"
Owen: "No. Put on pants. Shoes too."

Owen does a dang good impression of Ed. It's crazy. Now Ed doesn't seem too thrilled about the impression. He thinks he sounds like a jerk. I think he sounds like a parent.

** The "if outside, you must wear pants" argument is a fairly common battle around our house. With Owen of course.

Relaxing Day at the Zoo

2011-09-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

Owen and I had an impromptu zoo trip on Saturday. Kristi and Miles were headed out and wanted to know if we could join. It was a good time. We didn't really go for the animals but more to let the kids play around on big toys and the splash pad while the moms got to chit-chat.

Dawn made the daycare kids hold hands when they went to the zoo. Old daycare habits never die.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Having a good time at the splash pad. Earlier two, female tourists from Japan wanted their picture taken with the cute little American blond boys. Ladies are just drawn to these guys!

Miniature old men at the park.

Wholesome Family Fun

2011-09-11T23:47:00.003-07:00

We headed up to Payson for the day to see the Gila County Fair Demolition Derby. Although it's a little red in those parts of our red state, (and the announcer made no bones about that fact) we still had a very enjoyable day. It was a modest county fair, but we were there for the smashin' and smashin' is what we got.


Owen finally got the one about the horse with the long face.

Let the crashin' begin!

Owen was in his happy place.

September 11 at a demolition derby, need we say more?

Carrie was happy with a successful family outing.

P.S. Not loving the new Blogger format. Sigh.

BBQ, Birthdays and Babies

2011-09-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day everyone. It was very nice to have three days off. This weekend was Dawn's birthday so we hosted a birthday party for her. We had about 25 people over with almost half of them being kids that have gone, or are currently going to Dawn's daycare.

We had a pool party (really, is there any other kind of party in Arizona during the summer?), bbq and sangria. It was a blast. We're fortunate to have met some really great people through daycare and Dawn got a little weepy realizing how many lives she has touched. Most of the families that use Dawn for daycare have no other family in Arizona so she really does become part of the family.

On another fun note, we want to say, "Congratulations!" to C.J., Alexis and Bella on the new addition to their family. Jameson Paul Cooper was born this Thursday, September 1st. He looks tiny and adorable. We can't wait to meet him.

More Owenisms

2011-08-28T16:06:00.003-07:00

Eyes are for seeing. A nose is for smelling. Ears are for hearing things. A tongue is for licking ice cream.

Momma, I love Niah. I want to get her a present. Hmmm... I'll get her a monster truck. She'll like that alot!

Grown-ups like coffee. Except for Grandma [Bennett]. She likes tea. Tea makes her tummy happy.

When I grow-up, I’m going to be a monster truck driver. I’ll have a big truck. I’ll open the door. I’ll sit down. I’ll drive fast and I’ll crush cars!

Remember when I was a baby and I ate mustard? And I squirted mustard everywhere? And it was all over my face? That was silly.

Hey Momma. Niah has a baby brother. Miles has a baby brother. I don’t have a baby brother. That okay. Niah has a dog. Miles has a dog. I don’t have a dog. Will you buy me a dog?

Ed: "Owen! Are you chasing the cat? Be nice to her." Owen: "No daddy – we’re just playing hide-n-seek!"

Owen just got a pair of light-up shoes that he absolutely loves. Carrie just got a painting of John Lennon. Owen is dancing around in his shoes when he stops to ask her who was in the painting. She explains it's John Lennon. Owen proceeds to say, "Do you think John Lennon would like my shoes? Maybe the lights would make him dance!"

Preschool teacher: "Hey Owen - who packs your lunch?" Owen: "My momma does. She's my best friend. I love her." Preschool teacher: "I've never met your mom, only your dad." Owen: "Yeah. My mom is nice. Just like my dad!"

The Trio Reunite

2011-08-21T20:56:00.004-07:00

The three amigos got back together today for a bbq at Niah's house. They were so excited to see each other. When we pulled up, Niah came running out yelling, "Owen!" Shortly after, Miles shows up and Niah and Owen stand at the door chanting, "Miles, Miles!" It's fun to listen to them catch up. "Owen - how you like your school?" "Miles you got any new toys?"

It was also fun for the parents to get together, decompress, and trade tips on how to handle a 3 year old. Toddler war stories were told, sympathetic nods were given, and laughs were had by all. It was nice.

Ladies Man

2011-08-12T19:56:00.003-07:00

Mom: How was preschool today?
Owen:Good. I talked to a girl.
Mom: Oh really?
Owen: Yeah. She smiled at me. So I talked to her.
Mom: Oh my.
Owen: Yeah. But then I had to go poop.

Such the ladies man. Between his smooth pick-up lines and love of spraying himself in the face with a hose, the girls are going to be knocking down our door anytime.

A Very Fine Visit

2011-08-08T20:43:00.004-07:00

I don't know why, but my mom kept on referencing how much she was enjoying retirement and the sun. I can honestly say I think she had a great time hanging out here for a week bonding with Owen and working on her tan. From our end, she was a lifesaver; I guess it worked out for everyone.

Owenism: "Hey Owen, do you like potatoes?"
"No... I love potatoes!"
And so it turns out, Owen loves potatoes.

Owen is "driving" a pieced-together rat-rod of a car at the children's museum. This is literally as happy as he gets. In fact, I'm pretty sure we're looking at two individuals who are about as happy as they get. (My mom loves rat-rods too.)

Owen turned and said "hi" at the lase minute. An invention all his own. He's starting to surprise us with his clever things he says and does.

Preschool Open House

2011-08-07T20:55:00.004-07:00

Owen has officially graduated from Dawn's daycare and is headed to Prince of Peace preschool. Friday was an open house where he got to see his classroom and meet his teachers. We think he's going to like it. The preschool gives off a really good vibe and the grounds are gorgeous.

This inside of his classroom. He likes that everything is Owen sized. Each day of the week he has a different enrichment class for 30 minutes: Mandarin on Mondays, Music on Tuesdays, Yoga on Wednesdays, Art on Thursdays, and Spanish on Fridays.

It took him about 30 seconds to find the cars and surround himself with them. This is where he's going to hone his sharing skills.

The preschool has a garden that the 4 year olds take care of. Last time we saw it, stuff was growing like crazy and there were 4 little bunnies enjoying the harvest. When it's all grown and ready to be picked, they make a big salad out of all the veggies and everyone gets to eat some. Pretty solid stuff, we're excited. Owen is really excited to get started also, I hope he never loses that.

Owen's Seattle Vacation

2011-07-31T07:43:00.003-07:00

Ed and Owen spent July 6-22 in Seattle and I was able to join them for the last week. Since we've been back, Owen has been telling stories about boats, baby birds, worms, baby bunnies, and driving cars. The names "Tejas" and "Bella" roll off of his tongue naturally. I don't think he could have asked for a better vacation.

Throwing rocks with Tejas at Blake Island.

Climbing the big toy with Oliver in Bellingham.

Partying with Bella and celebrating her birthday.

Banging on the "drums" with Claire and Jackson.

Our Sunee Vacation Photos

2011-07-06T11:46:00.006-07:00

We are wrapping up a nice little week with our niece, Sunee, who has been down from Seattle and loving the change in atmosphere. We did a little of everything, seeing Cars, shopping, racing cars, swimming, hanging and celebrating 4th of July and surviving an epic dust storm.

Sunee is a fantastic young lady and it's nice to actually get to spend real time with her. She was coming to Washington while Carrie and I were going, so we really only have vacation visits to base knowledge on. This is similar, but a week of being around her has given Carrie and me a much better understanding of who she is.

Here's some documentation:

Sunee enjoying some pool time. Lots and lots of pool time was had this week.

Owen getting into the act. He loves his swim jacket because it helps him swim faster, we love it because he sinks without it.

Sunee and me gearing up for some serious competition.

Coming down the straight.

Owen likes putting many things on his head. Helmets rank near the top.

The dust storm we had last night was crazy.

Godspeed little doodle.

And one of our favorite shots, Sunee celebrating America with a little fire on a stick!

Parenthood

2011-06-23T20:37:00.002-07:00

Daddy, my finger stinky.

OK.

Daddy, smell my finger.

(Smell) Owen did you stick your finger in your butt?

Yeah.

Wash your hands.

Sweet Red Pepper

2011-06-21T21:03:00.004-07:00

The summer heat is starting to take its toll on our little garden. The peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes are sprouting madly only to be burned by the sun a day later. Somehow this little pepper made it though.

It takes awhile for a pepper to turn red. This guy has been a big, green pepper for a few weeks, just hanging there, taunting Owen to come and pick him. Owen has been surprisingly patient and was very excited to see that the pepper finally turned completely red.

Our lone red pepper. A lot of love, patience and sweat went into that little guy.

We're determined to keep the plants alive in the 110 degree sun. We bought sun shade fabric tonight and Ed put it up so hopefully that will help them get through the summer.

Owen's Parents

2011-06-17T20:22:00.002-07:00

This photo was not posted because of something Owen did. In fact, this is down right a poor picture of the kid. (In his defense, he had just woken up.) But Ed and I are smiling and having a good time so up the photo goes. Cause sometimes, you gotta take one for the team. Thanks Owen.

Mud Time

2011-06-11T14:13:00.003-07:00

It's that time of year again when parents encourage their kids to dive into pools of mud and slide down muddy mountains. Want to dump a bucket of mud on your head? Go for it! The muddier, the better. The daycare gang met up for some Mighty Mud Mania today. This is the 3rd year we've taken Owen but the first time he's really gotten into it.

His favorite part was sliding down mud mountains and "falling" into mud pits.

Baby Grae (Niah's brother) even got into the action.

Nothing says a hot, muddy day like icees and ice cream. After they were adequately sugared up, they tackled the mud again.

Today is Miles' birthday so we are all getting together again to celebrate with frosty drinks, pool time and a slip-n-slide. (Toddlers on a slip-n-slide sound dangerous but not as dangerous as adults with frosty drinks on a slip-n-slide.)

Coming Up For Air

2011-06-08T19:39:00.007-07:00

That's about the best way I can describe the way I feel right now. I feel like a free diver who just went on their deepest dive ever and has reemerged to the surface without... what, death? Yeah, I guess that's good because it felt, to mix metaphors, pretty touch and go there for a while.

I spent Monday and Tuesday cleaning my classroom and getting checked out, so today was my first day that I got to have Owen and spend the day together. It was good. It is reminiscent of the Ed & Owen Show, except both of us are a little different from the people who we were then. I don't want to blather on, so I'll end with... I'm hoping to get back into the blogging; at least before my next dive. These photos have no real significance other than we're having fun with Owen and a little surprised by how big he's getting.

Owen is chipping in around her in that unique way only he can.

No lie, between April 19 and June 1 he grew 1.5 inches. We have it marked on the wall. He's eating everything in sight and complaining of leg and back pain (Jebus, I'll bet).

We'll Be Back

2011-06-01T20:45:00.003-07:00

It's killing me when I think about how bad we have gotten with this blog. We were doing so well with it for so long. Things just got a little too crazy around here and some things had to be put on the back burner. Unfortunately one of which was this blog. I mean, we haven't even put up photos from his 3rd birthday party. And I made a kick-butt cake too that I wanted to show off!

I think the dust is starting to settle though. I'm into my second week at the new job. Ed wraps up his first year of teaching this Friday. We both have a momentary break from school. And our next round of guests arrive in a few weeks. (Hello Suneela! You ready for some sun?!) My point being that we are going to try and ramp up the blogging again. I don't want this to slip; it's so wonderful having all these memories recorded.

Even the simple memories like this one.

Budding Artist

2011-05-28T14:18:00.003-07:00

Owen has hit the stage where he loves to draw AND you can almost tell what it is. He drew this fun little octopus the other morning while we were getting dressed for work. I love that octopus. If he hadn't gone to town shortly after and scribbled all over it, I would have framed it and hung it on the wall.

Becoming Distinguished

2011-05-19T08:33:00.003-07:00

We celebrated Ed's birthday last night with good food, friends and family. Ed, Dick and Ellie, Todd, Patty, Heidi and Staci and Brandon were all in attendance to wish Ed a very happy 32nd birthday. The night was cool and raining, which is always a treat in Arizona, and the pool light shone all night. Overall, I do believe Ed had a very nice birthday.

31 was a little hectic - here's to a calmer 32!

Cucumber Harvest

2011-05-18T09:53:00.002-07:00

We are starting to enjoy the fruits of our harvest. Owen was so excited to pick the vegetables that afterward, he devoured a whole cucumber.

Portrait of Daddy

2011-05-15T10:11:00.002-07:00

So proud - Owen's first drawing where you can actually tell what it is. Now granted, as he was drawing it I believe he mentioned something about 3 chins, one of which was by his knee. But overall, a very fine picture of daddy.

Garbage Truck Time

2011-05-06T09:36:00.002-07:00

It's Owen's favorite day of the week - garbage truck day. He could wait for hours to get a glimpse of that fabulous truck.

How Does Your Garden Grow

2011-05-05T18:48:00.003-07:00

Ours is growing like crazy. Our corn is knee high way before the 4th of July. (Ed loves saying this.) All the plants have flowers blooming. This garden thing is fun.

This picture was taken a month ago. The little transplants look so cute.

Bam! Look at them grow. The pumpkins are a little out of control, to Owen's delight. I *kind of* misread the planting directions and thought it read for them to be planted 4-8 inches apart. I planted them a foot apart. I was instead supposed to plant them 4-8 feet apart. The pumpkin plants are going to be cozy this year.

The first veggie - a cucumber!

Celebrate Good Times

2011-05-01T16:27:00.005-07:00

These past couples weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Georgia, Crystal, Debby and Ron all came into town and at the last minute, Billie Jo and Jerry decided to get out of the 14 inches of snow and head to the sun also. We had a birthday, Easter, anniversary and other celebrations. It went by quickly and it's always hard to say good-bye but we are happy we could celebrate so many things with the people we love. We will post more event specific photos later but until then, here are a few photos to show how we have been spending the last ten or so days.

Visiting with Auntie Georgia.

Celebrating Owen's 3rd birthday.

Finding eggs that the tricky Easter Bunny hid.

Riding the train at the Railroad Park.

And just being with people we love...

Happy 3rd Birthday

2011-04-21T22:22:00.004-07:00

In commemoration of Owen's third birthday, we have decided our little boy is growing up much more quickly than originally anticipated. In light of this, we're writing down and sharing with the world what Owen is like today as well as our favorite "Owenisms" before he grows up any further. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Favorite color: green
Favorite ice cream: mint chocolate chip
Favorite foods: iceberg lettuce, asparagus, popcorn, and cookies
Favorite drink: apple juice
Favorite toy: anything with wheels
Favorite activities: running, playing in mud, going to the park, building forts, hiding in forts, and, of course, fighting dragons

Owenisms - as spoken by a true 3 year old
- My butt hurt. I need to go to the dentist.
- I have chocolate, yes or no?
- I want to hold you. (Translation: Pick me up.)
- The moon is broken!
- I hear crickers.
- Mama, you a princess today? (Asked anytime Carrie wears a dress.)
- You naughty daddy. You need go to timeout.
- Daddy naughty, yes or no?
- Poo coming!
- That guy head big! (Of course stated directly in front of said big-headed guy.)

And finally, a short story.

Owen gets a package in the mail and proceeds to open it. First thing he opens is a toy. He gets excited and starts playing with it. Ed pulls out a second package, it's candy; very fun. Finally, Ed says, "there's more buddy." Owen excitedly opens it, discovers that it's clothes and exclaims, "Daddy, that not more!"

Happy Birthday Owen!

Clean Up

2011-04-19T20:13:00.003-07:00

We have a busy week ahead of us. Georgia and Crystal get in tomorrow and my mom and dad get in on Saturday. We have Owen's 3rd birthday, Easter and our 6 year anniversary. Plus we just found out Robosaurous and Grave Digger are in town so we'll have to squeeze in a monster truck show. The weather is hot, the hammock is out and the pool is warming up. Let the good times roll!

The boys cleaning house in preparation for the weekend festivities.

Kiddie Drum Circle

2011-04-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

An oldie but goodie that was never posted (date: August 2010). As the temperatures start to rise, I start thinking back to last summer. Swimming, sprinklers, naps under the fan, and night-time zoo trips. The night zoo trips are probably unique to Arizona. Too hot to go during the day so the zoo is open at night. This particular night that we went, there was a drum circle for the kids.

Owen got a kick out of it. He banged on that drum for awhile.

I loved this night. Running through the zoo at night, playing in the water, and hanging out at a drum circle. Something to look forward to this summer.

Barbecues And Birthdays

2011-04-17T13:31:00.005-07:00

Yesterday Dawn had a barbecue for all of the daycare parents and because of the proximity to Owen's birthday, everyone brought presents for Owen and considered it a semi-birthday party too. Dawn made carne asada on the grill and it was awesome.

It was good to get together with the families of the kids who our kid knows like family. It makes us realize what a unique situation Owen is in and, to a certain extent, lament the fact he's going to be leaving it soon.

Dawn has been good with it. Owen's "crop" has been the second group of kids to have gone through the daycare and moved on to more grown-up endeavors. It has to be tough for Dawn and for the kids to have this connection severed. I suppose that's part of life.

It was really fun to have everyone together, relaxed and having a great time all because our children spend most of their waking hours together. It was a little serene to know that it's kind of the end of a life chapter.

Playing parachute with Tim and Niah.

Using Russel as a human trampoline.

Sitting at the kid's table is pretty okay at Dawn's house.

I like this shot because it has all of the kids having fun in some way or another. I think Owen's stuck.

Carie made dirt bowls for dessert and the kids enjoyed them. It's crushed up Oreo's, pudding, more Oreo's and gummy worms sticking out. Needless to say, the evening ended with a ton of fun energy and a huge crash. By the way, Dawn has been asked more than once if she runs some sort of an Arian daycare. All the kids are blond and oddly, not one parent is.

Keeping little hands out of the mother-load of sugary goodness was a little tricky, but we managed 'till the party.

Bicycle Built for Two

2011-04-14T22:30:00.003-07:00

It really is the simple things in life that make it so pleasant.

Come home from work and hop on a bike. Just cruise around the neighborhood, say hi to the neighborhoods, maybe stop by the park.

Owen loves it. He points out cars, dogs, oranges on trees. So much to see that you miss riding in a car. Life slows down when you are on a bike. It's very nice. Try it sometime.

Sprouting Dreams

2011-04-07T11:32:00.008-07:00

I have heard that if you have a garden and a library, then you have all you need. We have been working on our library for many years now and decided it was time to work on a garden.

When we bought the house, we thought the mildly frighting, weed infested, abandoned dirt lot that was our side yard would be a perfect spot. (We dream big.)

A few weeks ago, through the edible landscape project and with help from volunteers of the Desert Botanical Garden, we were able to get two truck loads of free dirt that took the side yard from scary to usable.

We're starting small with a couple of raised beds. We planted warm weather crops that like the Arizona sun - peppers, jalapeños, corn, pumpkins, and cucumbers along with herbs like basil, oregano and mint. I'm following the square foot garden method. It's easy for me to understand since I'm a beginner gardener.

I love the little garden. It is my therapy. I enjoy waking up a little extra early to go out and water the plants. The mornings are still cool, the birds are chirping, and I love the smell of the soil. I also love that it is a family thing. Ed is keeping an eye on the plants because he knows I do not have a green thumb and could use some extra help. Owen likes the dirt and checks to see if the vegetables have come yet. He had requested the pumpkins so he's excited for those.

My friend Scott has an incredible backyard garden and he is my inspiration. It's taken him ten years to get where he is and he just expanded a little bit more year after year. That is what I hope to do. Gotta keep dreaming big.

Cooling Down In The Pool

2011-04-02T13:56:00.006-07:00

Well, it's April and you know what that means... winter is over and it's finally time get back in the pool. It was 93 degrees today so a refreshing dip sounded pretty good. Our outside is becoming the center of our home life yet again. With a nearly three year old, life with a pool is much different than it was last year. He jumped off the diving board for the first time today into my arms. We have a water lover on our hands.

Owen really enjoyed the first swim of the year.

Carrie contented herself by relaxing with a book. She's studying up on organic gardening now that we have our side yard in order. We have two raised planters, the best compost on Earth and a variety of vegetables just waiting to occupy the same place at the same time. It's getting there as I type this.

Wishing everyone warm thoughts from your Arizona getaway.

Happy April Fool's Day

2011-04-01T05:00:00.001-07:00

May you not look foolish today - happy Friday!

Amigos and BBQ

2011-03-27T10:55:00.003-07:00

Ed had to work yesterday and Dawn was watching Miles so we decided to do an impromptu daycare date. Wren (mom), Niah (4 yrs), Grae (3 months), Owen (3 yrs), me (mom), Dawn and Miles (3 yrs) piled into Dawn's van and headed downtown to the Arizona BBQ festival. It was gorgeous, with good food, music and games and utterly exhausting.

The three amigos. It's so fun watching these guys grow up together. They now have full on conversations with each other. It's kind of sad because all three will be leaving the daycare by summer and heading off to different preschools. We (the parents) were going to try and keep them together but we all live in different cities so it wasn't realistic.

Miles and Owen act like they are brothers. They like each other one minute and start beating up on each other the next. Right now, they love finding what irritates the other and exploiting that to its fullest. By the end of this trip, I was exhausted just trying to keep peace.

Niah is an incredible little girl. She is this curly haired wild child. She is such a handful but can get away with it because she looks like Shirley Temple. Owen is on a Niah kick right now and talks about her all the time. Niah is good for Owen because she is outgoing yet acts like a bigger sister to him. She was in the bounce house at the bbq festival and Owen was nervous about getting in. So she gets out and says, "What wrong Owen? You need help or something?" and proceeds to pretty much throw him in the bounce house. After which Miles tackled the crap out him. Gotta love friends.

Jen and the Boys

2011-03-21T21:34:00.002-07:00

Jason and Jackson realize that being a snowbird could be nice.

Good food, good company, and a little nap

Playing with the hose in the Arizona sun.

Chheeessse!

Double Trouble

2011-03-20T17:38:00.002-07:00

We haven't even finished posting our photos from our San Diego trip and we have another round of photos we need to throw up. Jason, Jen and Jackson are in town soaking up the sun and enjoying spring training in the desert. It's been wonderful for us having them around though Owen may disagree at times. He loves Jen and Jason but this baby.... well he's not sure about this baby.

Mom! Baby made mess. He in trouble.

Mom! Baby touched toys. He in trouble.

You get the picture. Fortunately Jackson is one cool cat and doesn't take it personally. In fact, he seems to be getting attached to this little man that he calls, "O."

Seeing Grandma & Grandpa At Seaworld: Owen's First Choco-Hooter

2011-03-17T21:27:00.003-07:00

The reason we went to San Diego is because we got last minute word that my Dad and Carol were going to be in town. Carrie and I recognize a choco-hooter when we see one so we jumped in the car and headed west. It was very nice to see everyone we love and it was also great to be back in a city we love.

Owen's getting the run-down from Grandpa. Owen got a chance to spend quite a fair amount of time absorbing Grandpa's pearls of wisdom. I think they both enjoyed that.

The only sad part of this trip was that it had to be over so soon. Everyone was in great spirits and I know we had a wonderful time seeing everyone. A few hours with family is just enough time to remember how much you miss them.

Nick and Tanya made this trip an impromptu family reunion. The think I love about Nick is he lives in the moment. I don't think I've ever known someone who is as up for anything at any given moment. These are two very special people and I am so happy for them and to be a part of their life together.

Watching people in an inner tube get sprayed by people on the sidelines brings smiles to everyone's faces.

Somehow shoulder rides on Uncle Nick's shoulders are more fun. Tough to say why.

Quote of the trip:
Ed: There they are across the street in that playground. Nick, why didn't you see them?

Nick: I'm tall, I don't have X-ray vision.

Speaking of favorite quotes, if you're curious about the post title, it's an Al Bundy quote.

1st Family Road Trip

2011-03-15T20:07:00.003-07:00

Owen's excited; he has no idea that a 6 hour road trip is in store for him. I think the excitement wore off at around hour 4 or so and he didn't care about the beach anymore. All was well when we actually got to the beach though (more on that later).

I'm also excited, despite my knowledge of the time commitment. I had a lot to look forward to: our first road trip as a family, going back to San Diego, my Dad & Carol and Nick & Tanya occupying the same space and time as us, Sea World with Owen & the fam, and lastly, giving our new car a chance to shine (Nice, comfortable road-tripper and 38 mpg round-trip to boot).

Pit stops take on a new dimension when traveling with potty training toddlers, though. To his credit, Owen was by and large a rock star the entire trip, even when he had reason not to be (again, more on that later).

Pit stop!

Street Fair Fun

2011-03-06T14:38:00.003-07:00

We had a very nice weekend. Yep. Very nice indeed. The weather was gorgeous. We got two trucks loads of free dirt (more on that later). We finished our weeding. Finally, we went to the M7 Street Fair and Car Show and happened to run into our favorite Phoenix couple Staci and Brandon.

I absolutely love street fairs. Those and farmer's markets would have to be my happy places. This particular street fair made Owen happy too because it also included a car show.

Checking out the old cars. Owen was bummed he couldn't drive them.

First thing he does when he comes up to car is check out the tires.

Enjoying some food while listening to a band play. We took Owen to Coldstone for the first time last weekend and he is completely hooked on ice cream. He was supposed to share that bowl of ice cream with me but when I asked if I could have a bite he sweetly said, "No ice cream. But you can have daddy's popcorn!"

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem!

2011-02-26T20:02:00.004-07:00

Nobody mentioned anything about no pants.

Stuck!

2011-02-19T14:33:00.006-07:00

My goodness. It rains for one day in Phoenix, forcing us to stay indoors and Owen goes and gets into all kind of mischief.

"Stuck! Stuck!" Owen decided to explore the storage area and finds his old baby gear. Somehow he gets into the walker but could not figure out how to get out. It was tempting to leave him here so I could get some cleaning done.

"Uh-oh mommy. Uh-oh! Stuck!" One minute I see him innocently watching his race car zoom around on the race track and the next minute I hear frantic uh-ohs. For whatever reason, he thought it would be a good idea to have the car race on his head.

I'm sure this is not the last time we will cut something out of his hair.

Old Spice Toddler

2011-02-18T15:00:00.003-07:00

First comes potty training, next comes shaving. They grow up so quickly.

Lazy Sunday

2011-02-06T10:22:00.002-07:00

Owen has been hanging out in the bathtub for over an hour and he shows no sign of wanting out. All he asks is that we periodically refresh the water to keep it warm. He has been fishing, washing his cars, and looking out for sharks.

Who knew a bathtub held such adventures?

Baby It's Cold Outside

2011-02-04T07:41:00.003-07:00

Now I am not complaining. That would make me a pretty big jerk considering what is happening on the east coast. But it's pretty cold down here - a brisk 26 degrees in the morning. It's tourist season in Scottsdale and I've been seeing a lot of disappointed folks from from the mid-west shivering in their shorts. The locals, on the other hand, are enjoying every minute of it knowing in less than 5 months we will be reminiscing about the days it was 26 degrees instead of 126 degrees.

The fountain outside our grocery store.

Bundled up and ready to take on the day.

Our Little Mysterious Gravitational Event

2011-01-31T20:33:00.005-07:00

An odd, inexplicable phenomenon has begun to happen in the Wilhelme household. Gravity seems to be getting stronger near Owen. As if that were not bizarre enough, only certain objects appear to be affected by this nebulous occurrence: namely, toys. It also seems to be directly proportional to the amount of time Owen has been in one area. Very bizarre, indeed.

Owen at five minutes in one location. A low-level gravitational event becomes noticeable.

Owen at fifteen minutes in one location. A significantly stronger gravitational pull has drawn many more toys towards Owen.

Owen at thirty minutes in one location. An exponential increase in the Owen/toy gravitational relationship is clearly evident.

We've got our best minds on the case, but this may very well turn out to be a mystery for the ages; This is especially true considering, when confronted about the piles, Owen seems oblivious to their formation and even their existence, saying, "these not piles, these just toys."

Wonder Where He Heard That

2011-01-29T13:30:00.002-07:00

Me: Owen, come inside. It's time for your nap.

Owen: No mama. Me no night-night.

Me: Owen you look tired. Come take a nap for a little bit.

Owen: Me no nap. Me just drink some coffee.

Ten Little Tidbits

2011-01-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

1. Owen threw up for the first time Friday night. It's funny how when you hear the sound, you know what is happening without seeing it happen. He was a trooper about it. Little scared at first and then became analytical - "It came up my throat. It hurt. Then it made my shirt and pants wet. That wasn't fun. Miles had his throat hurt this week too." Funny enough - our house is 99.5% tile and he managed to throw up on the .5% that is not. And our bed. And his bed. Ugh.

2. If Owen likes something, it becomes his "favorite" thing. That's my favorite car. That's my favorite movie. That's my favorite rock.

3. He can sing the alphabet though he does leave out 'k' every single time. He can also pronounce the alphabet phonetically. Ed works with him every night and it's paying off.

4. We just found out Monster Jam is this weekend. Owen loves monster trucks and though I do not, I should probably be a good mom and take him. He has this horrible dvd about monster trucks that he loves to watch. Plus he has a youtube monster truck addiction. Ed will be out of town so it will be just me and Owen. At Monster Jam!! (insert megaphone voice here)

5. Ed had movie night for his kids Friday night and Owen and I went (before vomiting ensued, of course). We watched Toy Story 3 (Owen's favorite movie) and ate popcorn. Ed is a natural teacher and you can tell his kids respect him. Owen was super shy at first but warmed up when a kid made him a little toy soldier out of tinfoil. Some of Ed's kids are trouble makers but they all have good hearts.

6. Owen has had some funny nights sleep the past few nights. Last night he had a nightmare and woke up really angry saying Miles had taken his sticker. He was still asleep and I was trying to calm him down by saying Miles didn't take his sticker. He was adamant that Miles did so I told him Miles will have to go to timeout. That quieted him down and he went back to sleep.

7. Friday big Ed is retiring. I am very jealous and I have a feeling Carol is very happy. Congratulations Ed! Now you can come down and fix our house. We have a pool light that needs some tweaking. Ha ha!

8. Owen fell into a duck pond a couple weeks ago. It was just me, Owen, and Oro the daycare dog. The edge went out under him and he went in. It was scary at first, seeing him submerged but then I realized how shallow it was. It was more cold and absolutely disgusting. One does not want to swim in a duck pond. I jumped in, dog and all, carried him out and up to the car and immediately to the bathtub. In the past we had problems with him getting to close to the edge that resulted in us leaving the park with an angry toddler. I don't think we'll have that problem anymore.

Owen pre-duck pond swimming.

9. Owen thinks it's hilarious to toot in the bathtub. I do not. "Mama, the toot coming! Here come bubbles!"

10. Last but not least, tomorrow is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday mom! Wish we were there. I love you.

Big Boy Bed

2011-01-17T19:30:00.005-07:00

We finally got enough breathing room here to put together Owen's bed he got for Christmas from my mom and grandma. It went well and Owen got to "help." It's been a couple of days now and so far, so good with him (and us) adapting to life free of bars. He's pretty happy with himself now that he's a big boy. It's actually a big deal to him that he is doing "big boy" stuff now and not doing stuff "for babies." It's funny how we identify ourselves.

Happy as can be.

Story time has moved to Owen's room. This is a good transition because it gets him out of "me sleep in mama's bed?" mode.

Best of all, he's happy sleeping in his big boy bed.

Bad Hair Day?

2011-01-14T07:18:00.002-07:00

As Ed was getting ready this morning and doing his hair, Owen decided he wanted to do his hair. He wanted to put stuff in his hair like dad did. And he wanted to do it. all. by. himself. And do not try to help. And absolutely do not try to fix it.

Maybe this is the cool style at daycare and I'm just getting old.

Later Mama - I'm Sleepin

2011-01-08T09:05:00.003-07:00

Our morning routine has changed. Owen used to be the first one up at 5:30 am. Now he likes to sleep in anywhere between 7:30-8:30 am. This is very nice on the weekends but makes weekday mornings a little tricker. He likes to take his sweet time waking up and if you wake him too quickly, we have a grouchy toddler on our hands.

To start the wake-up process, we move him from his room to ours as we get ready. (Love the hair sticking up!)

Before he leaves for work, Ed tries to fully wake Owen up so that he can say good-bye. There were a few times that Ed didn't say good-bye before he left and Owen was surprisingly upset.

If I'm lucky, I get this when he wakes up. Other times I have a grumpy little boy who doesn't want to get dressed. It's on those days, that by time I have him dressed, fed and at daycare, I feel like I need to go home and take a nap before heading into work.

Me Poop In The Potty

2011-01-06T20:27:00.006-07:00

Oh, how life changes on you. There was a time in life when there was no context in which I would get excited about poo. Well, that's all changed now. Carrie, Owen and I just had a celebration regarding his going to the bathroom in the big-boy potty. Life really does shift focus when you're a parent.

I'm thinking senior year book photo material here.

Christmas 2010 Recap

2011-01-03T20:30:00.001-07:00

Speechless and overwhelmed - that is how we would describe Owen's reaction Christmas morning. He went to bed with no presents under the tree and woke up to a ton of them. He didn't talk and was expressionless for a good ten minutes so we just sat on the couch while he took it all in. Finally, he quietly looked at us and said, "Me touch?" After he got the green light to start opening, the mayhem began.

So this Santa guy, he just leaves candy and toys in a big sock?

Owen's favorite present of the morning. He was absolutely giddy over it.

He has recently become a Dora and Diego fan so he was pretty excited to get the Diego rescue center.

A robot!

Dawn stopped by to exchange presents with Owen and have a cup of coffee with us. After she left, we got dressed and headed over to Dick and Ellie's for Christmas dinner. It was nice to see family at Christmas and as an added bonus, Lori, Mike and Ben were in town.

We met up the next day for a leisurely hike. The kids collected rocks and Ed got attacked by a jumping cholla. (He's lived here for over five years and still hasn't learned to not mess with the pokies, as Owen calls them.) All and all we had a nice and relaxing Christmas. Ed caught up on some much needed rest and we all got to slow down for a few days.

P.S. Ben says "hi" to Uncle Carol and the little man.

Ringing in the New Year...

2010-12-31T20:57:00.004-07:00

... with a little bit of color. Happy New Year!

Ready For The A.M.

2010-12-24T22:10:00.004-07:00

We have the evening all set. Santa's cookie? Check! Santa's Milk? Check! Reindeer carrots? Check! Fat lip, comical belly and beard? Check, check and check. Welcome Santa.

Looks like someone's having a beautiful Christmas.

We anticipate that Owen is going to have a baby cardiac arrest when he sees this in the morning. He went to bed with no presents under the tree. He will wake up to this. It's good to be a little boy.

Holiday Cheer From Arizona

2010-12-24T12:02:00.002-07:00

Christmas is upon us again and that means another trip to the railroad park, where everyone goes out of their way to make things extra Christmasy. Although we didn't sit in Santa's lap (by request of a certain 2 year old in our company), we did say "hi" to him and tell him Merry Christmas. Being in the gifting mood, we also decided it was time to do something about our car that was hit by the golf ball hail and ended up looking not unlike a golf ball itself.

This is the train that welcomes park-goers all year round. It looks decidedly cheerier these days.

There are lots of Christmas lights throughout the park. These guys are fireworks.

Bout to roll on the train around the park. Owen had a very good time and we followed suit. It's tough not to catch the Christmas spirit when you have a 2 year old with you.

Ah yes, our (Carrie's) new car. We are smitten.

Wagons, wagons, we love wagons. We also like 72 degree Christmases!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Take Your Baby To Work Day

2010-12-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

We just realized there are a few blogs we started to post but never did. We probably weren't in a creative mood and felt bad just slapping the pictures up. Since we still don't feel creative, we decided to just slap the photos up anyway. Don't want to waste a cute photo, right?

So I present: Owen hanging at my (Carrie's) office circa November 2009.

In all honesty, I hope he doesn't end up in a job like this (i.e. sitting in front of a computer for 9 hours a day).

This is the face I make when I have someone ask me to write another memo. So many memos in government work and so little time.

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Xmas

2010-12-18T21:36:00.005-07:00

Five more days till Christmas. My goodness times goes by quickly. All and all it's been a nice holiday season for us. Ed is officially on break though he has one more week of his school. All our presents are shipped and we are almost done shopping for Owen. He has asked Santa for a truck and some apples. I think Santa will come through this year. We checked out neighborhood Christmas lights and baked cookies. We just want to go to the Railroad Park and ZooLights and I think we have done everything on our holiday tradition list.

This guy's house was crazy. The lights played to music, there was a bubble machine and a faux snow machine. The side of his house was decorated too and he had a firepit where the kids could roast marshmellows. I guess he goes crazy at Halloween too so we'll have to check it out next year.

It wouldn't be Christmas without Christmas cookies.

Owen was mildly into making cookies. He liked cracking the eggs and playing with the flour. I lost him after that but he jumped back in to help when he saw the frosting and sprinkles come out.

Cutting out the middle man - who needs a cookie when the sprinkles can go straight into your mouth.

Goin' On A Tree Hunt

2010-12-12T12:43:00.003-07:00

What do you get when you have 3 moms, 4 kids, 1 dog and a chainsaw? Why a fun little getaway in Pine, AZ of course. Dawn wanted to cut her own Christmas tree this year. Kristi (Miles' mom) had a friend with a cabin in Pine. Ed had an insane amount of work to do this weekend. So it seemed like a perfect reason to pack up the car and take a road trip up north.

Playing in the cabin. And I use the term "cabin" very loosely. It was a house. A fabulous house. The woman who owns it has it set-up for guests: movies, music, dog food, fire pit, wine - you name it, we had it. It was wonderful and I am very grateful to the woman, who I will probably never meet, that let me sleep in her home.

The boys were in heaven playing pretend in the forest.

Goin' on a bear hunt... we're not scared...

Dawn and her Christmas tree. Pine doesn't exactly have trees fit to be a Christmas tree but we managed to find one that would work. Unfortunately, for her, she did not get to use the chainsaw. The trunk was tiny and it would have been silly. Fun but silly.

Something about a toddler with a saw didn't feel right. But, we needed fire wood and he volunteered.

Only thing not pictured is the large dog on Dawn's lap and the large chainsaw in the trunk. Needless to say, we were cozy but we had a dang good time.

One Reason To Love Arizona

2010-12-06T21:54:00.003-07:00

The sunsets are just amazing. Pictures below snapped from our backyard.

Belated Thanksgiving Post

2010-12-05T14:11:00.003-07:00

We are late posting the Thanksgiving photos but better late than never. (We say that a lot lately.) Thanksgiving was nice and also not so nice this year. Nice because Robyn came down to celebrate with us. Not so nice because Owen and I were sick. But having Robyn around for that reason was also very nice because she could help out with Owen and I could sneak in some extra sleep. Plus she helped Ed grade papers. Probably not the trip she had in mind in terms of fun and craziness but it was a huge help and relief for us. Anyway - onto Thanksgiving fun!

Making mashed potatoes crazy Ed style.

Robyn and the best gravy in the world. The best, we say!

Owen and I were down and out but managed to clean ourselves for some turkey goodness.

Owen and grandma anxiously awaiting pumpkin pie. (It was exactly one year ago on Thanksgiving that Owen took his first step. Seeing how far he has come was one of the main things we were thankful for.)

Owen's Happy Place

2010-11-28T12:06:00.001-07:00

Owen found his happy place at Costco. He startled quite a few people who didn't expect a little boy to be huddled in the tires.

Letting Our Hair Down

2010-11-18T20:45:00.003-07:00

It's not often Carrie and I get a chance to let loose a little, so when we have visitors, we like to have a little fun. We took that opportunity at Staci and Brandon's wedding. We have shown some fun photos of Owen, but here are some fun ones of the rest of us.

Everyone still mostly coherent at the ceremony. Good, wholesome times had by all.

Ron and Debby enjoying the festivities.

A rare siting of Carrie and me in the same photo... dancing, no less.

You'd think from this photo that Carrie had a good time at the reception. And you'd be right.

Like grandma, like grandson.

I Gotta Hang Out With This Guy More

2010-11-14T18:23:00.004-07:00

So, his first baseball game is in box seats with the president of the D-Backs. It stands to reason that his first basketball game would be in box seats then. I gotta get on his good side, maybe he'll get me on the 50 yard line with the Cards or center ice with the Coyotes. I can't wait.

Concierge, can we get some more chicken-fingers in here? Thanks. Oh wait, hey, is everyone down for another round? Yeah, maybe another round of milk too.

Hangin' out with my bro-ha, Myles. Watchin' some hoops. That's just how we roll.

Owen And The Bowns' Big Day

2010-11-11T17:21:00.005-07:00

Carrie was right about our neglecting our posting. In our defense, time has sped up significantly lately, as I'm sure you all have noticed.

Last weekend was the wedding of our longtime friend Staci and our slightly less longtime friend Brandon. It was a beautiful ceremony on a golf course and Staci and Brandon looked as happy as we've ever seen them.

What marriage on a golf course would be complete without the happy bride and groom whisked away to the reception in a golf cart?

Two nice things about a wedding on a golf course: 1) Great scenery, 2) You get to dress up a little. Put those two together and you have a rare toddler photo op indeed. We took advantage of that rare opportunity.

One less nice thing about putting those two things together: Lots of room to run around. A favorite quote of ours was when Owen said "I walk grandpa!" And it was so.

Owen asking for a little help getting up one of the slopes to the green.

Aside from the wedding party, Owen hands down took the best-dressed award for the night. I can't tell you how many compliments he got at the wedding and the reception.

This is one of my favorite shots. He was having so much fun just running around. One of the scariest things about how fast that time is slipping by is the realization that the age of innocence doesn't last forever.

Band Band

2010-11-10T20:02:00.003-07:00

Oh man. We are so behind on blogging. Not necessarily the number of posts (because we have been consistently bad about that for awhile). More the fact we have some good photos - and some great ones - and we have yet to put them up. Operation Post Photos is now in effect.

This photo probably doesn't fall into the great photo category but it's pretty dang cute. When Owen gets even just slightly hurt, he wants a "band band" aka a band-aid.

I'm not too sure what happened with the top of his lip but he absolutely had to put a band band there to fix it.

Herding Cats

2010-11-08T19:33:00.004-07:00

Owen had his first sport class on Saturday. We had signed him up for a six week class through the city. He'll learn soccer, field hockey, and t-ball. As to be expected, teaching toddlers to play an organized sport is like herding cats but it was very cute and Owen seemed to enjoy it.

Listening to the coach.

Learning to kick while grandpa and dad watch.

Goal!

Happy Halloween Part 2

2010-10-31T17:50:00.004-07:00

The "tourist" (Football player and race car driver were not working out because he didn't want anything on his head. So we improvised.)

Did you hear about the new pirate movie? It's rated ARRRRR.

What do you call a penguin in the desert?
Lost.

Happy Halloween (again)!

(Update: Hilarious line from the night was when a family walks up and the mom exclaims, "El Pollo! El Pollo!" while pointing to Ed which means "chicken" in Spanish. Owen called Ed a duck all night. A truck, with a bunch of kids in the back, drove by yelling, "There's the penguin! Hi penguin!" I do think Ed, unofficially, had the best costume in the neighborhood.)

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T14:31:00.002-07:00

Happy Halloween from Arizona!

We carved pumpkins last night and celebrated one of my favorite traditions, baking pumpkin seeds. Owen loved them, which we figured because he tends to like everything I do (which is fun).

Carrie and I are going a a pirate and penguin, respectively, but we're not 100% on Owen's costume yet. We have the option of toddler football player or toddler race car driver. I think that's going to be a game-time decision, but we'll put up some photos however it turns out.

Wishing you all a fun, safe and happy Halloween!

Potty Bear

2010-10-29T09:42:00.003-07:00

Some mornings, when Owen wakes up, we're told Huggy pooped during the night and needs his diaper changed. So we take Huggy and "change" his diaper. Well this morning, Huggy had to go potty but didn't like diapers anymore so he wanted to go on the big boy potty.

Owen is not a fan of the big boy potty and I was hoping this was a sign he was warming up to the idea of using it. But, in an unfortunate turn of events, Lion (Owen's other favorite stuffed animal) also had to go potty but Lion hates the big boy potty so he pooped on the ground.

Hopes were dashed and we instead talked about how we don't potty on the floor. (When Niah was potty training at the daycare, she would sometimes potty on the floor. Dawn taught the kids the mantra, "Don't potty on the floor!" and Owen repeats it, but I fear curiosity might get the better of him one day.)

Trucks and Pumpkins

2010-10-24T15:49:00.007-07:00

This weekend we took a trip to go get a pumpkin or two from the Botanical Gardens. It was pretty crazy packed, so we didn't wait in line for the hay ride to the actual pumpkin patch, but we did enjoy the booths and festivities. We also found an old Chevrolet pickup full of hay and pumpkins that Owen was all too happy to explore.

It was pretty easy to find a pumpkin in the bed of the truck. Owen had a difficult time leaving such a fun place.

Carrie and Owen enjoying one of the many craft booths.

We had each gotten our hands on a good pumpkin.

Owen couldn't decide what he liked more - the pumpkins or the truck. The truck eventually won out (alas pumpkins don't have tires).

That Time of Year Again

2010-10-23T17:24:00.003-07:00

Lego time! My how time flies. Ed, sadly, missed out for the first time because of a TFA workshop. I didn't trust Owen around a moving train and thousands of Legos so Dawn watched him for the day.

We did something new this year and had the kids decide a name for the city and put them in a drawing. Let me introduce you to our wonderful city, "Scottslegodale." Kids are so clever.

The 14th annual lego crew. Unfortunately we lost our funding in the budget cuts for t-shirts. (What? Lego t-shirts aren't mission critical? Says who?) But next year is the big 15th year so we're going to try and track down a sponsor for the shirts. I think we can find someone and the kids will be stoked. We just have to figure out how to navigate the red tape that is city government.

Purple (Flower) Haze

2010-10-19T22:00:00.003-07:00

The Texas Sage is in bloom again. These plants are incredible. They are pretty plain bushes most of the time and then you wake up one morning and - bam - they are covered in gorgeous purple flowers. I'm told they bloom after a good rain or there has been high humidity for a certain amount of days. I tell ya, I've never seen flowers quite as vibrant as the flowers that bloom in the desert.

Owen loves the purple flowers. They are pretty and smell good but, more importantly, they attract bees.

There is a slight buzzing in the air right after the flowers bloom as hundreds of bees busily collect pollen. They seem to be nice little guys given Owen tries to "pet" them and he has yet to be stung.

Plant Mania

2010-10-16T13:10:00.004-07:00

Yesterday we hit up the Desert Botanical Garden's plant sale and I went a little crazy. Then I went to Lowe's to get soil and all their plants were in bloom. Jasmine, hibiscus, and honeysuckle - I could not say no. I love buying plants. It is my weakness. Unfortunately I'm not as good at growing them as I am at buying them so they have a 75% chance of survival. (Up from 50%. I'm getting better.) But plants are my therapy and my sweet husband understands that and does not mock me (much) when I come home with a box full and sadly throw 1 or 2 away 9 months later.

Owen giving mom some planting tips. I think between the two of us, this batch is going to make it.

You Don't Get Jack (Yet)

2010-10-12T18:36:00.006-07:00

On Sunday we went to see one of our favorite musicians, Jack Johnson. It was really nice because a.) Jack always puts on a good show, and b.) it was really nice for both of us to decompress from what has become a very hectic life schedule and feel normal for a few hours. Unfortunately, Owen isn't specialized in helping us decompress, so we made the executive decision to have him stay with Dawn for the night.

We missed him during the concert, especially when Jack was commending all of the parents who brought their little ones to the show. We knew we made the right call, however, when smoke of various origins was surrounding us all night long. Owen didn't seem too shook up though and he had a good time so, all's well...

Huggy bear? Check. Tractor tires? Check. Travel suitcase? Check and check; we're good to go.

Oh wait, we forgot one thing. Now we're ready.

Like Dirt? Will Play.

2010-10-02T14:41:00.003-07:00

Owen and I toured an urban farm in Phoenix today. While there Owen made a new friend named Jack. (In all cuteness, Jack asked me if Owen could be his new friend.) They hit it off instantly when they realized they both like to run, explore where they shouldn't, and play in dirt.

Talking boy talk under the shade of a tree. Cars... bugs... dirt...man stuff...

Nothing is more hilarious to a toddler then pretending to fall over. Not sure the tour guide for the farm appreciated talking over boys giggling madly but I know I much prefer to listen to children laugh over a lecture about pruning trees.

Kids Do Say the Darndest Things

2010-10-01T10:18:00.003-07:00

This morning, Owen wakes up to find he has a sweaty head and therefore, a sweaty pillow....

"Mama - my pillow wet. My head is raining!"

I need to start writing these down. These are the memories that cannot be photographed and I do not want to forget.

Morning at the Garden

2010-09-25T11:44:00.004-07:00

It is still ridiculously hot down here but we are starting to get a little relief in the early mornings. We decided to take advantage of the cool (85 at 9:00 am) weather and head over to the Botanical Gardens for a stroll.

We love the Botanical Garden. It's peaceful, beautiful and about 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the valley. Recently I've been fortunate, through my work, to partner with the Botanical Garden in installing a demonstration front yard vegetable garden in S. Scottsdale. One lucky S. Scottsdale resident is going to have the Botanical Garden design and install a vegetable garden in their front yard - less rock, more vegetables concept. I meet once a week with the Garden's horticulturist, landscape architect, and education manager to plan the project. Since I work for the city, our house isn't eligible (darn!) but it's an incredible learning opportunity that I feel lucky to be a part of.