Yardwork Sunday

It was a very pleasant day around these parts today and Carrie and I got a little yard work done. Owen even helped out a little.


It's really fun that he's gotten the concept of help. The guy genuinely enjoys helping us with stuff like carrying a bag of groceries in or raking the yard.


When it's hot and the work's done, playing in the water sure is a nice treat.


And this is for all you lady babies out there...

Monkeys, Cows, and Dirt

Owen's daycare provider has a membership to the Phoenix zoo so she takes the kids there on a fairly regular basis. I only worked half a day on Friday so I was able to join them on their zoo trip. It was a blast until a cow from the petting zoo got loose and they shut the zoo down and booted us out... because of a domesticated cow. Where is a cowboy when you need one?


Dawn is great with the toddler round-up. She has very strong arms.


It was interesting to watch Owen with the other kids. Out of the three, he was definitely the hand full of the group. He just likes to wander off and do his own thing. He was mildly into the playground and the animals, though he did love the monkeys, and he more likes to play in the dirt and climb on trees.

The kids at the daycare recently planted a garden and Owen was really into it. Ed and I decided we are going to nurture the interest in dirt and the outside by starting our own garden and taking Owen camping. Weekend trips in northern Arizona to camp during the summer sounds like a nice, cheap way to get out of the heat.

Big Shoes To Fill

I give it ten years.

Toddler on the Run ... And Happy St Patty's Day

Before work this morning, Ed was taking the garbage out and left the door open. Seeing this, Owen immediately made his escape. Never a dull moment with a toddler around.


Catch me if you can, dad!


Sometimes it's just easier to dress the kid outside.

Today is a gorgeous 80 degree day so we decided to celebrate Saint Patty's Day by drinking green beer and eating a foot long hot dog while watching the Mariner's play a spring training game.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all.

Terrible Twos

Oh man. The terrible twos are upon us and they are exhausting. On one hand, Owen's curiosity is cute and he is learning more and more each day which is fun to watch. But his curiosity comes with a price and that price is our sanity. Just this weekend the following phrases have come out of our mouths:

The cat is not a horse. We don't ride Nala.

Please don't eat the marker/crayon/chalk/bug.

How do you get gum out of hair?

I can't count the number of times we have heard Owen say, "Uh oh! I mess." Which this weekend has meant, the cat food bag was dumped upside down, a picture frame was broken, a glass bowl was broken, and popcorn was thrown around the living room. And of course, there is the always predictable ending to mealtime which is the plate getting chucked across the room.


Look! Mashed potatoes make great shampoo.


He's cute. He knows it. And he's testing to see how far his cuteness will take him. Good times for his parents.

A Little Slice Of Montana

Carrie's cousin Pat from Montana and his girlfriend Erin swung by Phoenix last week to catch a little sun and see how the Wilhelme's were holding up. We had a great time barbecuing and catching up. I think Pat and Erin were pretty thrilled with the novelty of having some outdoor fun in February. We, of course, were pretty thrilled with the novelty of having family down to spend a little time with us.


Erin taking a Chaunce on Pat.


Despite the fact that Pat and Erin were some of the first visitors here to see us more than to see Owen, the little guy reluctantly let a couple of charming moments slip out.

Owen 1.1

Today we got the new and slightly upgraded version of Owen. It's basically a repackaged version of the original Owen, but 1.1 has a patch for some problems he was having with his legs. He's getting used to walking around again, which is unfortunate considering he was just getting comfortable with that, but these should help his posture and make him stronger in the long run. Luckily this new version can still perform the three most important functions we have come to enjoy with the original Owen:


Blowing bubbles...


Eating bubbles...


And reading Cat Fancy to Dad.

Puddles

Rain is a novelty down here. It's equivalent to a snow day in Seattle. And without fail, whenever my mom is in town, it rains. She just can't get away from it. So true to tradition, it rained while she was here. But she and Owen made the best of it and went outside anyway and played in the puddles.


There's nothing like dirty street water to keep a kid entertained for hours.


He likes the rain. He'll do just fine up when he visits Seattle this summer. He evens owns classic Seattle attire - flannel.


Ed and I think we see a glimpse of the man he will become in this photo.


We like what we see.

Much Needed Break

My mom has been in town since late Wednesday night and headed out this evening. This trip flew by. It was great having her in town, not only to see her of course, but she also watched Owen so Ed and I could have a night out on the town. We met up with friends, had adult conversation and drank adult drinks. It was wonderful.


It took a bit for Owen to warm up to her but Grandmas are patient and persistent. After a couple trips to the toy store and playing outside together jumping in puddles, Owen was saying bye bye to me and Ed tonight and trying to get on the plane with her.

Five Quick Tidbits

1. Owen's vocabulary is growing fast and he's starting to form little sentences. His most used words are: car, poop, bird, food, monster (in a monster's voice; I'm looking in your direction, Ed), momocycle, no, more and most recently, mess. His favorite expression is "what happened?" He says it all the time. I love it because it reminds me Fred Willard in the movie A Mighty Wind. If you have a second, check out the video. Owen sounds exactly like him.

2. Ed is watching Transformers the Movie for the first time with Owen, as I type. Owen is fascinated by it which makes Ed a very happy guy. Here's what I'm hearing:


"Uh oh! What happened?"

"All the constructicons merging to form Devastator. The Dinobots are trying to stop him from destroying Autobot City."

My boys.

3. After Owen toots, he says "beep." We have no clue where he picked this one up. We suspect he made it up on his own which makes it even more hilarious.

4. We took away the pacifier. Or as we told Owen, "paci went bye bye." The first couple days were rough but, overall, it was easier than we thought it was going to be. He still occasionally asks for it but we just remind him it went bye bye and he seems okay with that. He still has his blankie so I think that helped the transition.

5. We had a very nice Valentine's Day weekend. The weather was gorgeous so we spent a lot of time outside, barbecuing and fixing up the yard. Nothing lifts the spirits like that first day you can open the doors and windows all day and clean and do yard work. It also doesn't hurt that the whole neighborhood is barbecuing so it smells wonderful. It's been a little hectic around here the last little while and this weekend reminded us why we're working so dang hard.



That's all for now. We'll be seeing quite a few of you very soon and we are so looking forward to it. Love to all.

Saftey First (And Second)

All right world, whatchu got?

What Happens When Dads Help

Carrie: Ed can you do Owen's hair before you guys leave?

Ed: Sure.

Carrie: What's that?


Ed: I asked him if he wanted a Mohawk today, he said yes.


Carrie: You're lucky it looks good on him.

That Had To Hurt

Owen got a nice little goose egg on his head the other night. One minute he was happily playing at the playground and the next minute... bam!... he fell right into a metal bar on the big toy.


It's not that noticeable, right? I mean, you can barely see it.


He was in surprisingly good spirits given the fact he had to have a major headache.


The next morning the swelling went down significantly but a nice bump and bruise remain. Mobile babies are dangerous little things.

Separated At Birth

Sometimes cousins resemble each other so much people mistake them for siblings. Now, Owen and Tejas aren't around each other enough for this phenomenon to happen very often, but I suspect if they hung out together more it would happen all the time.


Eh?


Eh?

What did I tell you? Spitting images of each other.

Keeping Us On Our Toes

What happens when you let your guard down around a toddler?


Fun Happens.