fall, fall, fall

Marcus did an impression of me the other night and it sounded like this, "I love fall, pumpkins, pumpkins, fall, fall, I love October, Owen's birthday is in October, pumpkin spice frappuccino, pumpkins, fall..." I started thinking about fall stuff on Labor Day weekend, but promised him I would wait until October to start decorating.  I made it until September 27.  I did wait until October 2 to dress Owen in his personalized pumpkin shirt for daycare. Fall makes me so happy.  I love the excitement of all the upcoming holidays, the changing colors outside, and the cooler weather.

 I made this wreath and for a less than crafty person, I thought it turned out pretty well.

 I found this cute banner in the dollar section at Target.

Marcus picked up these gourds as a little surprise for me. : )

Almost 2!

Owen is officially 23 months old! We've had  a fun month.  We celebrated Marcus's birthday, went to Arkansas to visit our families, celebrated Owen's friend Reagan's first birthday, and have made many trips to the library and park.  Favorite foods this month include cheese quesadillas, green beans, applesauce, and any kind of noodles.  He also tried some eel at a sushi restaurant and preferred it to the chicken dish we ordered for him!  He is sleeping really well (usually from around 8pm-7am) and he takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon.  He is now using many 3 word phrases and surprises us with new words he knows every day.  Yesterday, he told Marcus, "Wanna go to the park".  His favorite books this month are definitely "Charlie the Ranch Dog" by the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond and "Go Dog Go". He loves dogs almost as much as he loves cars!  He plays with them during about 85% of his playtime.  Sometimes, he will be playing cars and laugh and say "that's funny".  It makes me wonder what he is imagining is happening.  He also likes to sit in the drivers seat of my car and gets so mad when I pry him out.   He started saying "I love you Daddy" and "I love you Mommy" when he gives us bedtime kisses.  He is just the sweetest little boy. His birthday party is one month from today. We finally decided on a theme, but I still have a lot of planning to do.  Looking forward to a fun fall with my precious boy!

 He loves Heinz.  Heinz tolerates him and is so patient-even when O pulls his tail.

 Decorating Daddy's birthday card

 Riding with his big cousin, John Mark

 Aunt Ashleigh made homemade ice cream sandwiches.

Watching the neighbors do yard work. He immediately goes to the window if he hears a lawnmower.  

22 Months

Owen is now 22 months and 5 days.  After he turns 2, it seems weird to say he's so many months old.  I'm trying to enjoy my month counting time.  We haven't been to the doctor since May, but Owen seems much taller to me this month.He is kind of between sizes in clothes and shoes right now. Many of his 24 month shirts are getting too short.  He is wearing 24 month and a few 2T clothes.  He is wearing some size 5 shoes and some size 6 shoes.  He is talking alot!!  He can label several colors and can count to 10 with a little help. He is using alot of 2 word combinations and says new words everyday.  He has started calling for me when he wakes up instead of crying.  He loves to dance, play with cars, and play in his tent.  His favorite book right now is "Goodnight Moon".   He also likes his children's Bible.  He points to baby Jesus and Jesus with the children.  He also likes to say "amen" after our dinner prayer and at church. He climbed out of his crib during naptime a couple weeks ago and scared me to death.  Thankfully, he was ok.  We lowered the crib to the last notch (it had been on the second to last one and I never dreamed he could climb out).  He has a great memory and will talk about things that happened days or sometimes weeks ago.  He is amazing! : )

 Daddy let him shave with a spoon. 

 He spends a lot of time with his cars.

 Calling the hogs is a daily event.

 Eating breakfast while we got ready for church. I love this picture.

 Trying on Mom's shoes after a walk

He looks so grown up in this one!

Splash pad and park

We visited a new (to us) splash pad and park that's close to our house this morning.  Owen wasn't so sure about the splash pad, but he liked watching the other kids.  He had a lot of fun playing at the park. He's getting to the age now where I feel like I need to have some kind of activity planned on days that I'm home with him and this was perfect.

 I don't know about this, Mom.

Hmm, those kids seem to be having fun.

This is the most fun I've had all day!

My wonderful husband

I'm always talking about Owen and he IS the most amazing baby ever, but I want to brag a bit on Marcus too.  Tuesday night, after working all day and taking care of Owen while I worked late, he made a delicious dinner that included Mahi-mahi, potatoes, a cucumber tomato salad, and homemade peach ice cream.  He also brought me these.

He is so thoughtful and always makes me feel special.  He works so hard for our family and is a wonderful dad. I'm so thankful for him!

21 Months

Time is continuing to fly by!  I can't believe Owen will be two in three more months.  He's learning so many new things every day. Of course, I have to tell you about his language skills-I'm slightly obsessed... He is using more and more two combinations and just understands so much. He is really into using the possessive "s".  He points to items all around the house and says, "Mama's", "Dada's", and "Owen's". My favorite was when he pointed to bug spray and said "Mama's".  Apparently, I'm the bug killer of our house. He loves to play with his cars and is good about sharing them.  If he wants me to come with him to look at something, he takes my hand and says "walk".  He has started saying "love you" and gives great hugs and kisses.  He makes me so happy every day!!!

 When the pool is out, there is more pouring than swimming, but he loves it!  He looks like a little surfer, so blonde and tan.

He finally got in!

 Eating cereal like a big boy

Summer fun and a visit from Nana and Pawpaw

 Everyone loves spaghetti night!

 His first taste of watermelon this summer

 He's the sweetest boy in the world! This is the 4th of July outfit from Crackerbarrel.

 Reading with Pawpaw

 He will play cars all day!  

Hanging out with Nana.  He loves all of his grandparents so much!