Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween 2009

This afternoon we decided to get out and enjoy the balmy weather. We packed a picnic and headed to one of our favorite wineries, Chrysalis. It was Halloween day, so of course we had to take advantage of another opportunity to put Owen in his Pooh costume! Hey, he's not going to be this little forever! :)

After we got home and the little man took a nap, it was off to Greg & Erica's Halloween par-tay! Luckily we arrived just in time to see Andy & Maureen's 8-week old baby Adam. I got to hold the little guy before he headed home where Grandma and Grandpa were there to babysit so his mommy and daddy could enjoy the party. The men, in costume. Don't ask me what Ben is supposed to be. Steph and Scott arrived soon after that, with their little Love Bug in tow. Sarah Catherine was so adorable in red and black and Owen was so happy to see his little playmate. Now he had someone to drum up trouble with, especially since they're both walking now! Erica and I pose for a picture in costume: The girls ~ Erica was busy in the kitchen ~ she cooked up two fabulous homemade mac & cheese dishes, along with special meatballs and fresh salad. Everything was amazing. For dessert Ben baked a pumpkin cheesecake. Everyone was stuffed by the end of the night. We peeled the costumes off our little babies and let them run around while we caught up. It was such a fun night!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween parade

Today was Owen's daycare Halloween parade. I sent him in this morning with his costume and was instructed to show up at 4pm to get a good spot to watch the parade. Ben was able to leave work a little early to be there too!

We got a quick glimpse of him as they came out the front door...



We then waited patiently at our post for Owen to come around. He was being pulled in a red wagon by one of his teachers, Miss Kate, and his friend Samantha was riding with him. He was still a little overwhelmed with all of the attention.

JEEZ ~ you would think we were tourturing the kid.

I think he does this for attention...

He really does like Miss Kate...maybe it's her costume???

Once his Daddy picked him up, all was right again in the world.

Then it was frosted cookie time!





I think our little Pooh bear enjoyed his first "school" Halloween party. :)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Water

We have fun during bathtime. Tonight I started filling one of his fish toys with water and was showing him how it flowed out of the fish's mouth. He loved trying to grab the water as it trickled out.



I wonder: How do you explain to a baby that they can't "hold" water???

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Chicago ~ day 3 ~ heading home

The weekend concluded with a brunch at Aunt Sue & Uncle Greg's house. We played some badmitten in the backyard since the weather was so gorgeous ~ 65 degrees and sunny! The aunts took some pictures on the deck before we got ready to head home.

We left Greg & Sue's in plenty of time to make it to the airport, return the rental car, and check in for our flight. The only delay was a shorted circuit on the plane, so right after we had boarded, we had to get off the plane for 20 minutes while they fixed it. Then we got back on board and took off, landing back in VA around 7pm. Owen slept pretty much the entire flight. It was a long day of travel, but definitely worth it. It was such a fun weekend!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Chicago ~ Lizzie's Bat Mitzvah ~ day 2

Today was Lizzie's big day! The ceremony was beautiful. Lizzie did a great job with her Torah portion reading. Owen enjoyed the songs and even sang along a little. During the second half of the ceremony he took a little nap. But he woke up in time to wish Lizzie Mazel Tov! :)

Then it was on to the celebration. The theme was "Legally Lizzie" ~ hot pink and black. The food was incredible (Maggiano's), and between courses we jumped into the photo booth to take fun pictures! The DJ played all the top songs of the moment, including (of course) Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA! Owen got into it:



The table decorations were so cute:


Owen was a little sleepy during the party since it was his nap time:


Ben's cousins Callie, Lizzie, and Aunt Sue and Uncle Greg:


I wish I would have taken more pictures, but we were having too much fun!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Chicago ~ Lizzie's Bat Mitzvah ~ day 1

This morning we got up before the sun to fly to Chicago for Ben's cousin Lizzie's Bat Mitzvah. We underestimated the time we needed to get to the airport and through security (my fault - I'm so used to being dropped off at the airport and forgot to account for parking time), so we missed our original flight. But not to worry! There were 5 more flights out to Chicago that day and we were lucky enough to get on the one right after the one we missed, so it was okay in the end.

We landed in Chicago around 11am and once we picked up the rental car and Ben installed the car seat, we were off to check out the windy city!

Grandpa Marshall had the perfect lunch spot picked out - Lou Mitchell's diner. There were donut holes waiting for us when we walked in! We had a really nice brunch (Owen LOVED his Mickey Mouse pancakes) and then headed over to the Shedd Aquarium.





Unfortunately for us, when we got to the aquarium the line for tickets was out the door. It was a 50 minute wait just to get to the ticket booth. So in lieu of the actual aquarium, we toured the gift shop! :) Grandma and Grandpa Marshall got Owen a new bib, two books and a wind-up scuba guy for the bathtub.

We checked into the hotel around 5pm and freshened up before heading over to Ben's Aunt Sue & Uncle Greg's house for dinner. We had a great time catching up with everyone and Owen got tons of love and attention. He lasted until about 8pm, when we went back to the hotel to put him down for the night. I was a little worried about the crib situation, since the hotel provided a Pack 'N Play, but it only had the paper-thin mattress it comes with (they didn't have the additional mattress for it that you purchase separately). So I improvised and used the cushions from the sofa in our room - I squished them into the crib and we called the front desk for an extra sheet which I folded around the cushions. It worked out so well! He slept through the night without a peep! I'm sure it was because he didn't really nap much during the day, but I like to think it had a little something to do with a softer make-shift mattress. :)

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Fall afternoon

After Owen woke up from his nap this afternoon, we went outside to play. The weather was gorgeous! Owen had fun walking around in the backyard and chasing bubbles.



(If you listen closely, you can hear him saying "da" as he walks towards our neighbor's fence. Their dog, Riggo, was out in their yard.)





Lunch with baby Gribble

Today we met up with Maureen and baby Adam for lunch at Coastal Flats in Tyson's mall. It was so nice to catch up with the new mommy and her little angel slept almost the entire time! Owen was intrigued and kept standing up in his highchair to catch a glimpse of Adam sleeping in his carseat which we wedged into the booth. I'm looking forward to holding Adam next time we get to see them.


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

First words

Just this week I've been noticing that Owen is trying to say real words. When we're in the car driving by a truck, which is often since there is a construction site near our house, I am always pointing them out to him. These past few days he is constantly pointing out the window saying, "Tra! Tra!" (He hasn't quite gotten the "uck" part yet.)

When Ben got home from work tonight he said "Dada" with a little prompting from me.

Tonight when Ben and I were on a walk with him in the stroller, whenever we would pass trees and point them out he would repeat "tree" and "treese". It's so exciting!

My camera battery had died today, so you'll just have to be patient while it re-charges and I work on getting some footage of this baby talk I'm bragging about. :) In the meantime, here's a look back at Owen's early babble.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sunday football with the Matteos

Claudia and Justin invited us over to watch football today. It was our first time meeting baby Jaxon and he is just adorable! The kids had fun playing together while the moms and dads caught up and ate great food. We had a great time and look forward to getting together with them again soon.


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Pumpkin patch with my buddies

Since Kel was off for Columbus Day, we decided to get the kiddos together and went to a pumpkin patch. My friend Kamber and her son Cooper joined us too! Despite the cold weather (50 degrees!), the kids had a great time seeing the animals, bouncing around in the moonbounce, and taking a hayride. It was a fun morning and Owen was pooped by the time we got home to have lunch. He napped for 2 hours. I have to admit, I was hoping for 3, but 2 was good enough.