Happy Halloween 2010

Today we mainly hung around the house watching football. Owen did really well napping in his big boy bed. We were invited to a neighborhood gathering before Trick-or-Treating, so we went over there for hotdogs and cookies before taking Owen to a few houses for his first Trick-or-Treating experience. It was the third time Owen wore his Halloween costume ~ he was a froggie ~ and Mommy definitely got her $8 worth! (Yes, a consignment sale find!) :)

He had a ball! By the third house he started to get it and would actually say "Trick-or-Treat" then "get some more candy!". One of our neighbors even gave him a remote control jeep that his son used to play with since he knows how much Owen loves Jeeps. That was a big hit.



We're back at home now and have had several rounds of Trick-or-Treaters. We're actually almost out of candy. Good thing, because Owen is about to go to bed and we're going to turn off the porch lights so that we hopefully don't get anymore kiddos ringing the doorbell keeping him up.

Big boy bed

So we were finally ready to put Owen in his toddler bed in his new room. Ben installed our new video monitor and we felt prepared for whatever would go down.

We did bathtime as usual, then headed into his new room for jammies and a few books. Then it was lights out. He has a nightlight and we put a babyproof thingy on the doorknob so that he couldn't open the door. (Yes, I feel a bit like we were locking him up, but it is for his own safety since we don't have a gate at the top of the stairs.)

Ben and I immediately turned on the monitor and watched. He laid in bed for a few minutes, then was up and walked over to the door. He just stood there and looked at the door for a few minutes, then decided to go lay back down. Ten minutes later he was back over at the door, then back in bed. He repeated this about 5 times. Then I realized that I had forgotten our nightly tradition of singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" and I thought that might help him to recognize that it was bedtime. So I went in, sang to him, then said goodnight and closed the door.

That did it. He was such a good boy and slept through the entire night until 7:30 the next morning. Easier than we had thought it would be.

Playground Saturday morning

Owen and I went over to the playground this morning. It was such a beautiful day and Ben had suggested I take him there to wear him out before his nap. He had so much fun running around and he basically had the playground to himself.



We got home and had some lunch before heading up to his big boy room for his first nap in his big boy bed. It took about 45 minutes of crying and banging on the door, but he eventually fell asleep in his bed and took a nap for an hour and 1/2. Not too bad.

Dinnertime

Snapped a couple of pictures of my boys at dinner tonight. They are my cuties. :)

Poop problems

Owen had his second episode of being very constipated. He didn't go at all on Monday or Tuesday. Tuesday evening Ben said he was fussy after dinner trying to produce a poop, so I suggested giving him a PediaLax strip and some water.

I got back from my business trip at midnight last night. This morning after breakfast he was again crying and trying to go, so I gave him another strip and tried to push water and juice. Off to daycare he went.

When I picked him up today at 5pm, I was surprised to hear that he hadn't pooped all day. After those two strips, I thought he would definitely go.

We got home and I gave him a snack of prunes and apple juice. This should definitely work. An hour later, after screaming cries from our little man, I gave him a pediatric enema to help move things along and make him feel better. He immediately passed a hard golf-ball sized poo.

I knew there had to be more in there, so we gave it time. We played in the family room and about an hour later it happened. Owen produced the most massive poop he has ever made. I don't even know how that much poop could have been inside of him. Poor little man.

He's happy again. We hope this doesn't happen again. Both for his sake, and for yours - so you don't have to read about his poop again on the blog. :)

Pumpkin Patch

Daddy is in California with Uncle Mike this weekend at the WOW Convention. (Yes, they are big nerds.) So Owen and I were on our own. We got up bright and early and headed out to a nearby pumpkin patch. In fact, it was the very same one we went to last year. Only last year, Owen was free. This year, he was $13. Fun. Wait until you hear what we got for our $26 admission...

We started off at the farm area to check out the animals. He wasn't very into it, surprisingly. He normally loves seeing the animals at the farm we often visit and the zoo, but today he just was not enjoying it. So we headed over to the little playground which he LOVED of course. It was hard for me to tear him away, but we managed to make it over to the apple stand where we got dixie cups of cider. Owen kept asking for more. I was finally able to tear him away by telling him we'd see a tractor, then he followed me happily.



Once we got to the line for the hayride, he told me he didn't want to ride. So we headed over to another area of the patch where they had a moonbounce slide for little kids in the shape of a fire engine. Thought he might try it, but nope. So back to the playground we went. After awhile we headed back to the apple stand for round two - more cider and an apple for each of us. I didn't think he'd actually want to eat his apple, but he insisted and he actually did great with it! It was the first time he ate a raw apple by biting into it all around instead of having it cut into little pieces for him.



After we ate our apples, we decided to pick out our free pumpkins and take some pictures before going home. It was a fun morning and got me in the Halloween mood. :)

New friends

On Monday Owen had his first day in his new classroom at school. He was moved up to Toddler II which is the 2 & 3-yr old room. He was a little apprehensive at first, even though he had spent two weeks visiting in this classroom in the afternoons to get him ready for the change. He's been clingy and teary when I dropped him off each day this week, but his teachers say that he quickly settles down and starts playing with the other kids.

Tonight at dinner, all of a sudden Owen blurted out, "Victoria!" completely out of the blue. I grabbed the camera to document what he was telling me:



All the girls. Guess he's a bit of a ladies man in Toddler II. :)

The Waterpark at Massanutten

After breakfast we drove over to the waterpark and spent a few hours playing in the warm water, floating down the lazy river, watching the surfers on the wave machine, and warming up in the hot tub. It was a fun way to spend the morning.



Then we headed back to the condo for some lunch and naps all around. I snuck away to the spa for a prenatal massage (which was lovely) and got back right when Owen woke up from his snooze.

Owen and Grandpa's ipad

This weekend we were invited to join Grandma and Grandpa Marshall and Aunt Hillary at Massanutten resort near JMU. We drove down last night and stayed in a beautiful condo with a view of the mountains. The weather was gorgeous - crisp air and sunshine. This morning we woke up and Aunt Hillary make pumpkin pancakes for everyone - delish!

Grandpa had Owen enthralled with "The Wheels on the Bus" game on his ipad.



The occasion for the weekend get-together was to celebrate Curt & Tish's 40th wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary!!!

Big boy cup

Owen's been using a big boy cup at daycare for the past few months, but we were nervous to try it at home. Until this weekend, that is. We are starting to make the transition to all things "big boy", including his big boy room and bed which we're hoping to have him in by the end of the month.

Cotton candy

Tonight after work I had to attend a networking event and they were giving out cotton candy. It's rare that we let Owen have much sugar, but I took one home to share with him since I thought it would be fun to see how he reacted to it. He loved it! Although, I'm hoping he doesn't develop Mommy's sweet tooth - Halloween, here we come! :)

Playing with his Little People Carwash

Evidence of getting better

His 2-yr molars are almost done coming in, thus the drooly face. But you can't beat that smile! Our little man is almost back to normal.

Another day, another hospital

So Owen's been sick all this week. Drippy nose, constant cough, and overall fussiness because he feels so crappy. Since he had been pulling at his ears, I decided to take him in to an Urgent Care place today instead of waiting for the pediatrician to see him tomorrow.

While Ben mowed the lawn, Owen and I headed over to the Urgent Care center. Luckily we didn't have to wait long, especially since he had a meltdown in the waiting room. The nurse took his vitals and soon after, the doctor came in. She said he had some bumps on the back of his throat which could mean strep, so they did a throat culture. After looking in his ears, she said they looked dull, meaning a double-ear infection is pretty much starting. She then listened to his chest and said she wanted to do a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia. He actually did really well during the x-ray. The doctor looked at it and told me they saw a small patch that could be pneumonia, but we'd have to go over to the hospital for their radiologists to look at it and make sure. Just in case, she had the nurse give him a shot of antibiotics to treat both the on-coming ear infections and the possible pneumonia. Poor little man screamed his head off during the shot. This nurse was definitely not as talented with a syringe as the one at the pediatrician's office last week.

By this time it was 12pm and we were both hungry and sick of being in a doctor's office. We had to wait 20 minutes for the meds to get in him so they could make sure he didn't have an allergic reaction. I wasn't looking forward to the wait I was anticipating at the Emergency Room.

We were finally discharged at 12:30 and after calling Ben to ask him to pick up McDonald's for us, we checked in at the hospital at 12:49. We only waited for 5 minutes before being taken back, and as the nurse took his vitals, Ben walked in with lunch. We got to eat and Owen was entertained with his mini-skateboard Happy Meal toy, while we waited for the doctor. He said he didn't see any signs of pneumonia on the x-ray (the Urgent Care place had given me a CD to show him) but that it did look like a double-ear infection was coming on. Armed with a prescription for a Z-pack, we finally drove home around 1:45.

We're all sick of Owen being sick. Hopefully with this medicine, he'll be feeling like himself again within a few days.

Feeling like a really bad mom

Owen and I went shopping this afternoon while Ben watched some football and took a break from Daddying (he had been on Owen-duty all day since I was at a consignment sale volunteering). After Target and DSW, we were ready to head home.

When we got home, I asked Owen if he wanted to check out his new stroller. I had found the exact double stroller I wanted at the consignment sale and Ben had unloaded it from the car into the garage. So we went out to the garage and I opened the garage door to get some fresh air. Owen started walking around the garage, and I began fumbling with the stroller trying to get it open (it was folded and locked). Next thing I know, I look over and Owen is taking off down the driveway in his tricycle.

No, he doesn't know how to ride it yet. And no, he didn't have a helmet on.

I freaked out and started running after him. Screaming my head off.

Luckily, when he reached the bottom of the driveway he turned right and leaned over, falling sideways and scraping his cheek on the sidewalk. I scooped him up and kissed him and tried to calm him down. Poor little man. :( I feel horrible about the whole thing.

We came inside and filled his boo-boo bunny with an ice cube and put it on his cheek. He didn't bleed very much, but he's got one very rosy cheek. And one very sad mommy even though it didn't take him more than 5 minutes to get over it.