You Can't Always Get What You Want

...But sometimes people stop you from breaking their sunglasses.


Life is good in the sun.


Dang Dad - look how far out I can spread your sunglasses. Crazy!


No fair, I wanted to break those.

Christmas Cheer

Since it was a low-key Christmas around the Wilhelme household, we decided we would try to have as good of a time as we could, even if that meant delving into the realm of wackiness. The only person who would be the wiser is a baby, who, incidentally, was having just as much fun as we were.

We had a ham for Christmas dinner. How was the ham, you ask. I'll show you:


I thought it was tasty, Owen thought it was funny.

Owen wasn't quite getting the mouse on his new laptop.


I told him not to worry because Scotty made the same mistake in Star Trek IV and he was a Starfleet engineer.


Then there was the Wiggle Racer:

Carrie loved the Wiggle Racer.


Ed loved the Wiggle Racer.


Ed not loving the Wiggle Racer anymore.


Owen showing surprising aptitude on the Wiggle Racer considering inherited Wiggle Racing skill. (See above.)


We all missed being around friends and family, but we also very much enjoyed spending quality time together. Merry (late) Christmas everyone! We love and miss you all.

Filler Photo... For Trina

I know, I know... we are behind on putting up on Christmas photos. For the past couple days we have been doing as little as possible. Our days have consisted of family naps, eating, playing outside and watching movies. It's been wonderful. I wanted to quickly toss this picture up though because it made me think of Trina. Owen is standing on the step stool she got him a year ago and wearing some of Tejas' hand-me-downs. (Thanks Trina!)



I'm going to nudge Ed off the couch and have him put up a clever, Christmas filled post. Should be up soon.

Daycare Christmas 2009

Owen had his daycare Christmas party yesterday and we had planned on taking pictures. Unfortunately the kids weren't having it. Oh my goodness. Five kids, all around the same age, opening presents at the same time causes all heck to break loose. Owen and Miles (the other little boy at the daycare) both got toy block trains, the SAME toy block trains mind you, but you wouldn't know it by the fight that broke out trying to steal each others toy train. So no photos because the parents were busy playing referee.

Dawn did give us a couple photos she has been taking of the kids. I especially love this one and had to share. Dawn had been trying to get a group shot but was having trouble getting them to all look at the camera so she decided to trick them. Her living room is usually blocked off with a baby gate. She has the Christmas tree in there with a train that goes around the tree. She doesn't turn the train on when the kids are there because it drives them crazy that they can't play with it. Well for this photo, she jumped over the baby gate and turned the train on and sure enough, five little kids were hanging onto the baby gate to see the train, so she snapped the picture. Clever woman.


L to R: Miles, Owen, Ashlynn, Niah, and Kira

We love all these kids. It's fun watching them grow up and get to be friends. Well, Owen and Miles are still working on the friends part but they're getting there.

Cheeky Good Time

The kid does own toys but you wouldn't know it. He has tons of blocks but he always goes for the stuff in the pantry instead.


Owen, with his diaper wedgie, looking for something to play with.


We were very impressed until it dawned on us the bottles were made of glass.


Boxes replaced glass. Cans stayed. Actual toy building blocks remained untouched. There's nothing like a kids imagination.

Special Days With Grandma

Owen got an opportunity to bond with his Grandma Bennett over the weekend. The hardest part of living out of state is having these moments be so sparse. But, as we all know, it's quality not quantity, and on those terms this was a very rich trip. This is especially true when you consider Christmas made a special visit to our house a few days early to celebrate this mini-reunion.


Owen senses Grandma is a very good person to get to know better.


She brings remote controlled cars and packing peanuts, both equally entertaining.


Carrie was also pretty excited Christmas swung by our house. See if you can guess what's inside (don't peek at the next picture).


It's a pot! We were all so happy we decided to commemorate the moment by planting an Owen tree. No new Owens yet, but we keep watering it.


These are the moments that are treasured no matter how often you see each other. I'm so happy I was around to share, let alone capture, such a special moment.

Uncle Nick Rolls Into Town

We had a surprise visit on Thursday night from Nick. He was rolling through town on his way from Louisiana to LA and stopped by. Robyn, who is also in town right now, made a nice home cooked meal. Nick in particular was happy about this, having been deprived of them for the time he was out on location.


People seem to like Nick a lot. I guess that goes for nephews too.


At first Owen was a little intimated by Nick. Owen soon realized having a tall uncle had some fun perks, though.


Something tells me Nick made quite an impression. Owen's new goal: to be as tall as Uncle Nick.

Owen Picks Out A Tree

This weekend the Wilhelme family went and picked out a Christmas tree. This is Owen's first semi-cognitive Christmas and we thought he should be included in the decision making process. In case you were wondering, letting a toddler help pick things out takes a little bit longer than usual, but it is totally worth the time.

Walk! Walk!

Now that Owen has taken his first step, he can't get enough of walking. He is still at the point where he needs help to walk but we are incredibly happy with his progress. He even knows the word "walk" and uses it pretty much all the time.


We have now entered the new stage of parenthood: sore backs from bending over helping him walk, being the slow people in the store as our child "walks" through the aisles, and avoiding restaurants since who would want to sit when you can walk!


Today is also Grandparent Withdrawl Day. A day filled with an angry baby who is not getting the attention he knows he deserves. No McDonald Happy Meals, no walking up and down the outside curb whenever he demands it, and no one constantly holding him. Life is rough on Grandparent Withdrawl Day. Luckily, we're bringing in another Grandparent mid-week, so Owen will get the undivided attention he's become so accustomed to.