Floor Seats To The Show

Owen got some good seats to the show today as I weed-wacked the back forty. He seemed like he wanted to be out with me, but it was probably for the best that he was safely inside the house. We actually cranked out a bunch of house stuff this weekend and we can proudly say that our house is in the best shape it's been during our ownership.


Owen had seats so close, you could smell the freshly cut grass.


He even got a shout out from a performer.

Dirty Baby Bum

It's that time of year when Phoenix folks can start breathing a sigh of relief. It's still 100 during the day, but when you wake up early in the morning, it is a perfect 75 degrees. Ed took advantage of this cool weather one morning and washed the cars, and Owen was more than willing to help out.


Check out his little bum...


...do you see how dirty it is?


It is very hard to keep the bum of a scooting little boy clean. I can always tell when it is time to mop by the amount of dirt on Owen's bum.

On a different topic all together... Congratulations to Jen and Jason!! Little Jackson was born on September 21st, 2009. He is beautiful and tiny... under 7 lbs! Lucky Jen. We are so happy for them and cannot wait to meet the little guy.

Five on Friday

1. Owen's favorite color is blue and his favorite shape is a star.

2. His vocabulary is growing and he is starting to know what it is he's talking about. Example: He sees an apple, he says apple. Same with a hat. Ask him how his day was and he says "good."

3. Owen loves things that go. We probably have 10 toy cars scattered around the house. He gets excited and points to the sky whenever a helicopter or airplane flies by. When we go on walks, he no longer stares at the ducks but at the street to watch the cars. And I have never seen him more excited than last weekend at the Rail Road Park when he saw the train go by.

4. It used to be that we would lay with Owen, or have him on our laps, until he fell asleep. Well not anymore. Now when it's nap time or bed time we just put him in his crib and walk away. And you know the crazy part? He actually falls asleep. He might cry for a couple of minutes but shortly after, he is out. It is really nice and we must give credit to Daycare Dawn for making it possible. She was the one who got him used to doing this and for that, we are very grateful.

5. Our camera is still out of sorts so I'm milking my Seattle photos for all they are worth. Here is another cute set of Owen and Grandma Cooper.


What kid doesn't love to lick the beaters?


Especially when they have homemade whip cream on them.

Have a great weekend!

Tejas Is Gonna Make Ya...

I know Jason is probably too busy taking care of his very pregnant wife (or by now, spending time with his bundle of joy Jackson) to be checking out our blog. Nonetheless, this one is for him.

Kris Kross is gonna make ya

Jump Jump

Wiggity, wiggity, wiggity, wiggity wack!

Miggity, miggity, miggity, miggity mack!


If you don't get it, you're not missing out on much. Just a little work to get maybe a chuckle out of the couple of people who do.

Lookin' Good in Pants

Owen doesn't often wear pants. He's a shorts wearing, bare foot scootin' type of kid. But when we booked our trip to Seattle, we went out and bought him a couple pair of pants. I must say, we should put him in pants more often because I think he looks dang cute in them.

Cute in pants but still barefoot. Once a laid back sun baby, always a laid back sun baby.

Labor Day Trip

Owen and I took a quick trip up to Seattle for Labor Day weekend. Ed, unfortunately, had to work so he couldn't make it. Owen rocked on the plane ride. I want to thank the little 7 year old girl from Litchfield Park who entertained Owen during the 3 hour trip on the way up, since the little stinker refused to sleep. She fed him pretzels and sang him songs. Luckily, on the trip back, he slept the entire time much to the happiness of the two guys crammed in the aisle with me. It was a short trip, but as always, worth it just to be able to give people a hug and say hi in person.


So this is what grandpa bellies are for.


I think that's around 45 pounds he is holding in his arms. Not too shabby.


I don't know what is sweeter to see: the two cousins playing together or the really happy looking aunt and grandpa in the background.


Always a good time when you are around these two sisters.


Grandma Miller and Owen bonding over Jackson's book.

Bath Buddies

If there's one thing you have to do with related babies, it's toss 'em in a tub together. Well, this long overdue scrubfest finally happened while O-dog and Bella were in the same state for a couple of days this weekend.


Bubbles and babies: two great tastes that taste great together.


She with a crown of bubbles.


I really don't know what was going on here. It feels Japanese, though.


Owen's first memory of crazy uncle CJ.


Nothing attracts a gaggle of middle-aged women stronger than cute naked babies. Nothing.

The Apple Of Our Eye

Yesterday Owen busted out "apple" with unexpected clarity. Since then that's about all he says. I think it might have something to do with the clapping which follows each well annunciated attempt. This morning was more of the same, so we thought we'd share his newfound word with the world (followed by antics I'm sure you all will find amusing).



The other day he said dolphin really well, so I figured it wouldn't be that big of a stretch from there to Dolph Lundgren, which Carrie found significantly less amusing than I did.

Roots and Shoots *

Ed, Owen and I took a field trip to see the Scottsdale Community College community garden. I'm hoping to start a community garden program in Scottsdale and have been researching and meeting with folks who are interested in it also. The community college has had this community garden going since the 1970's. We talked with a couple older gentleman who have been growing vegetables there for 30 years.


Ed, Owen and my community garden partner-in-crime Joanie. Joanie and I are trying to come up with a name for our community garden group and are running out of ideas. (We run it by the husbands first to see if they like it and so far, none have sticked.) For example, we liked Small Wonders but Ed had to point out a creepy little kid robot already had that name. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated!


Owen was paying close attention on how to grow peanuts. Ed was not.


The SCC community garden - not a bad little garden considering it's in the middle of the summer in the desert.

*Super cute name already taken by a kid's garden group.

16 Month Check-Up

Owen had his 16 month check-up today and was given a couple of shots. I think he is starting to remember past doctor visits because he was a scared and sad little boy at today's appointment. When he realized where he was, he wouldn't let go of me. When he saw the doctor, he started crying. Poor guy.

He is now 22 pounds (10th percentile) and 34 inches long (97th percentile). Tall and skinny, lucky kid. We talked about his muscle tone and his physical therapy. She was happy with his progress. Overall, he is a happy and healthy little boy.

I must mention that Owen pulled himself up for the first time this past weekend. We were so proud. Ed and I were in the kitchen and Ed started whispering "Carrie, Carrie... look at Owen!" I look over and sure enough, he had pulled himself up and was standing at the coffee table.

I had a rough week at work and to get me through it, I would picture Owen at the coffee table, his little legs shaking as he tried to hold himself up. It really helped to center me and to remember what mattered in life.


Friendly lookin' kid, wouldn't you say?

How could you not want to hang out with this guy?

Owen's Sanctuary

We all need a place to hang our hat and Owen's is slowly, but steadily coming along. We still have a couple things we want to do (I'm looking in your direction, molding), but we're finally happy with the overall shape. Here are a couple of photos showing Owen enjoying his new digs.


We decided a Starbucks café approach would be a good use of the Ikea table & chairs we just picked up. Owen's going to be a little disappointed when he finds out it doesn't have wi-fi, but he's a baby; he'll get over it.


This is the view you get walking into his room. We're of the mindset that it looks pretty kid-friendly. Which, coincidentally, is the look we we were going for (it was a toss-up between kid-friendly and cat-fancy; I stand by our choice).

Owning a home (more specifically, a fixer- upper) is fun because it lets you be creative, and it provides an excuse for picking up new tools and new furniture, but it all adds up. We're getting to the point where we're happy with the place and it's livable. That's a really nice place to be because it lets you pace the insanity a little.

Mom's Picks

Ed picks the photos of Owen looking like a lush to post (see below). It's my turn to post so I pick the ones where he looks sweet and innocent. Sorry for the lack of variety in our photos/posts. The camera is in the shop so we are using the old one. It just isn't the same.

We Should Probably Just Keep Alcohol Out Of Owen's Diet Alltogether

So I took Owen to the local pub and I have to say, you get a little booze in that guy and he's pretty quick to go one of two ways. This is especially true since we taught him that tapping your chest means I love you. He's always pretty happy when we walk in, but pretty soon it's either "what are you lookin' at" or "I... I love you, man", or, as was the case this time, both.

First Drink:

I love scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly.

Third Drink:

Hey, buddy! You put another Chicago song on and you'll be singin' "Saturday, in the Park, I Think I had a Baby Foot in My Ass!"

Fifth Drink:

Have I ever told you how much I love you, man? I mean, it's cool, but you're like the best.

No Mono-A-No Mano (Best Pun I've Ever Come Up With... Intended)

Hi all, I just wanted to give a quick heads up that Owen does not, in fact, have mono. That makes us very happy and very frustrated at the same time. More happy though. And since all existence must remain in equilibrium, we're pretty sure Owen sprained his wrist last night. I suppose you could say that I sprained his wrist, but since it was unintentional, I'm going to score it as his injury with an assist from Dad.

I was swinging him back and forth by his hands and he was having a fun time until I set him down and he started crying. I thought it was because we stopped, but he grabbed his wrist and didn't use his hand for the rest of the night. This was right before bedtime, so we put him down thinking time would tell how serious this is. Well, he woke up favoring the wrist again and only using his hand in a limited capacity, so we're shlupping him to the doctor again this morning. Let's hope he doesn't come home with a diagnosis of tennis elbow.


Not an actual photo of Owen with his hurt wrist, but he looks like this.

Monkey See Monkey Do

Owen's new thing is to imitate us. It's pretty fascinating seeing what he picks up on. It's stuff you wouldn't expect a baby to notice. Like when he's done playing with my cell phone he will try to put it back into my pocket. He also is pretty fond of wearing our hats. He's beginning to tolerate seeing us in hats, but as a thrill, then once he's taken all he can handle he freaks out a little till we take it off. And repeat.

He really loves to get his hands on one of our flip flops and scoot around the house. We got a clip of him in action. (It was either this or him scooting around with Carrie's purse strapped around his shoulder - we figured we'd spare him this time)