A great spring weekend. Warm weather and some fun times at the beach. Also some more firsts... first hike with Tessa, first surf with Owen. Well we gave it a go - Owen and I did some belly riding - he did well until the big one wiped us out (big one = 6 inches).
Another little milestone this weekend….1 kind of sad… Owen’s time directing my mowing (riding in the back pack - this is an old pic) is over. He is finally a bit too big. But the other milestone is that Tessa is starting to have enough head control to go in the Bjorn. Which means a bit more exploring to do things like going on hikes….or doing the dishes.
Some pics are up at flickr from the trip back east. All and all it was a great trip. Kim went back to Erie with both Tessa and Owen - By herself !! Tessa and Owen did great on the planes. Owen got to enjoy some late season snow back in Erie and had plenty of fun down in Philly with his cousins.
Warm weather greeted us this weekend... Warm enough to fill up the pool and to spend a lot of time outside.
Sorry - we are behind on uploading pictures from the trip back east... one of the many things we were going to do this weekend but the good weather was our excuse not to get much done.
We (or Kim) has been going around to all the preschools in our little town to figure out which one will be the best for Owen. Here is a pick from a pre-preschool type of class. It is one day a week and goes for a few weeks. We started Owen in it this past week. At first he was kind of hesitant and shy but apparently they have dinosaurs!! so all was well. Although, he did tell me that they sing... and he didn't want to sing with the other boys and girls. Actually, probably a good thing b/c odds are against him that he will have any kind of singing voice (blame that on mom and dad). In fact, any time we start singing in the house... Owen interrupts and says, "please stop singing."
Click on Flickr for some more pictures that we took of tessa... trying to find some that we will do in prints. We have one of Owen like this (at around her age) and they look almost exactly a like.
Owen’s first time seeing the snow (that he can remember) and Tessa’s first trip. We had a great ride up, Tessa fell asleep leaving Pacifica and woke up when we pulled into the parking lot in Squaw. Owen also caught some shuteye on the ride up too… it was probably the most uninterrupted time that Kim and I had to talk to one another in… well… a long time. It got to the point where I felt like we were just making up stuff to talk about just to take advantage of it.
The place we stayed was great – right in the new little village at Squaw, walking distance from the lifts. We put Owen in Squaw Cubs – a daycare/ski school. They take the kids out for two sessions on the slopes. Owen didn’t want to do the first session but with Mom’s coaxing he took part in the second session. Apparently, he wanted to ski the first session but wasn’t too sure about the ski boots. However, the second session mom helped put the boots on and he was ready for some serious X Games action. Owen did well on the ‘magic carpet ride’ (the little conveyer belt that totes the tikes up the hill) and gave skiing a go. Check out the video. Owen did great for his first time on skis – the same can’t be said for Dad’s first run of the year – but nothing clears the head like a little concussion.
The next day we hit the slopes again but this time on a sled… all and all a great first family ski trip. Hopefully, there will be many more to come.
Well... we are in to day 3 and its definitely a different experience the second time around. We are home now and Owen is adjusting well as a new big brother. On Tuesday, after the birth I drove home to get Owen. When I picked him up from Mimi’s he was definitely excited to see me but the first thing he asked was if we were going to go see mom and baby Tessa. When we got there Owen saw Tessa nursing and asked “Is that Baby Tessa...” I said, “I hope so.”
Owen was a bit timid – he didn’t want to hold her or get to close but he asked if he could sing her a song... he sang her his rendition of Twinkle Twinkle little star.
Tessa definitely has some lungs on her... even the nurses were surprised at how loud she could cry.
Tomorrow is day number four – and Rupert comes home from Pet Camp... the house will be full!
We are still waiting for Ms. Tessa to arrive.... its been pretty long and now getting really tough for Kim.
I haven't had a chance to post some pictures from Owen's adventure to see Walking with the Dinosaurs. What a great experience it was for both of us. The dinosaurs looked so real and the whole experience captivated Owen. We have been to a couple of movies at the theater and it will be only a matter of 20 - 30 minutes before O gets bored and ready to explore the lobby... but not this time. Owen didn't flinch - he was totally mesmerized. At the intermission, I could not coax him at all to take a bathroom break. I tried offering ice cream, candy - nothing...
A big Saturday, this past weekend with Owen getting to meet Santa Claus (several times). Once at the mall, where he was all business: told Santa exactly what he wanted (dinosaurs and cars) then sat on his lap for the photo opp. Owen was more nervous than anything else. Then it was off to see really cool video images of his baby sister (some pics on Flickr) and then down to Burlingame to see Caltrain's Santa Train (a train that stops at the train station all decked out in lights, with carolers, Rudolph, and Santa climbing out of the cars to greet everyone. And then afterwards, as we were walking down Broadway, we ran into Santa again - sitting in front of the Fire Truck.
I think it is safe to say Owen knows who Santa Claus is now.
It was a weird weekend (WVU blowing their chance at the national title by losing to Pitt, slashed tires at the Festival of the Lights in HMB and some cold weather)… but we did get to the beach to draw in the sand, test ride the new bike (see below) and we “decked the halls.”
Here is Owen demonstrating his Birthday gift. For the last 3 years he has got some sort of "transportation" - 1st birthday was the battery powered four wheeler (it took a year for him to really learn it) The 2nd birthday was the tricycle (again it took a year to master it) And now the two wheeler (with training wheels)... But as you can see I think we are off to a good start. (Hopefully, this trend ends b/c at this rate he will need a car by his 5th birthday).
Spending a nice evening at Cardiff by the Sea. Owen is having a fun week down here in San Diego and has got to spend time with Pop Pop and Mom Mom over the weekend.
Owen broke into the 30 pound wait class, tipping the scales at 31 pounds and breaking the 3 foot high mark (37 inches) for his 3 year check up. When the doctor came in Owen told him, "I am kind of shy." But O did a great job and was bribed with dinosaur stickers. The real test came from the two shots... but it was a quick and minor trauma. Although, he did fall right asleep during the car ride home.
A fun long weekend with a visit from Grandpop starting with Halloween. This year O was a dinosaur for Halloween (shocker as right now it is all about dinosaurs). Friday we spent the afternoon at the Zoo and Saturday O supervised our paint job in the kitchen.
When ever Owen hasn’t played with something in awhile – it’s like it is a brand new toy or activity… and O gets fixated on it for a few days. This weekend it was watercolors and finger painting. Here is some video of O finger painting (don’t worry – it is set in fast motion… )
We had a great long weekend in Colorado visiting Uncle Bryan, Aunt Dana. Nana and Joe made the trip and got to spend quality time with Owen, including babysitting for us while we went to Rummel’s wedding. (of course we forgot to bring our camera to the wedding so we will have to get some pics from some of the other folks who went). But there are some other pictures of the Owen’s time in Colorado on flickr (click on the banner to the right) – including a “Pre” Birthday party.
We all are enjoying the new lawn. Click on flickr for some more pictures. Off to Colorado this coming weekend to visit Uncle Bryan, Nana and for Rummel's wedding.
O made some "big" progress this weekend on the road to being diaper free. I believe Owen describe it as a "big brown anaconda." A big chocolate and oreo cookie milkshake was the extra special treat.
Dad did some babysitting this weekend practicing for 2. We got a new "big swing" that Owen is now riding. He has gone from the Rocket (just to the right) where he use to sit in our laps or in the bjorn and swing with us, to the baby swing and now to the big swing.
Fun time this past weekend down at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Classic old school rides from Ferris wheel to wooden roller coaster. Owen had no fear of any of the rides - including his first roller coaster ride (not the big one but none the less it was pretty fast for a little guy).
Despite taking a pit stop on the-5 (after a tire blow out on the highway) the trip to San Diego to visit Aunt Kathy and Uncle Don was great. This year Owen’s cousins (Grace, Evelyn and Amelia) came along with Uncle Rob and Aunt Kathy (two aunt kathys got to be confusing for O) as well as Dee Dee. There was a visit to Sea World and a couple of trips to the beach as well as Owen’s first boat ride. Lots of quality time for Owen to play with his cousins.
Well... we made it through the first weekend with Owen's new bed. The crib is gone and the new bed is here... so is a time period of O getting up in the middle of the night and coming into our room.
Owen's first ride on the "big" train. (not to be confused with the small train at the zoo... or with Thomas).
Last week was the ferry ride - this weekend we went down to Burlingame on the train (15 minute ride). Had some milkshakes and did some shopping.
O was very excited about the ride, a little scared when the train pulled up - but as soon as he got inside he had his face smack up against the window to look outside.
After several days of cold, gray, foggy weather the sun came out early on the last day of the three day weekend and stayed out all day. We broke out the pool and partied all day (well O did – Mom and Dad did some yard work but managed to get cool every once in awhile with O)
It (the sun) was quite liberating for Owen… nice warm weather meant no need for clothes! So O pretty much had a diaper free (and clothes free) day.
There are some other pics on Flickr and a video (from a few weeks back) is below.
Here is the vacation video – it is broken up in to two parts. Click on the links below... it will take you to videoegg... then, hit back button to come back and watch the other part.
What a fun day to spend the last day… doing nothing. In fact it rained. And it was warm and fun. The first part of the day was spent right out front at the beach here at the villas… Owen met his friend Mateo… Mateo and Owen were “Bros” for the rest of the day. They played on the beach and then went over to the pools by the hotel while Dad tried to sneak one last session in. The rain started to come down but that didn’t stop O and Mateo from running around, chasing birds and throwing rocks at the ocean. Dad got out of the water and ordered a couple of Mai Thais for Mom and him (Mai Thai Cliffy… Mai Thai). After a few Mai Thais, some nice hot tub sessions and cool rain the family returned home to the villa – O made it for about 15 minutes before he passed out in front of the flat screen filled with more sea life. What a great way to wind down.
Dad went back to Ehukai for some more fun surf in the morning. More pool time. Today Owen was a lot more excited to be in the pool – the last two days he was very reserved but not today. We then went down to the reefs along the beach where Owen spotted some crabs – of course Mr Fixation couldn’t just keep walking and we spent awhile searching for the crabs hiding in the tunnels. For dinner we made our way down to Bonzai Sushi in Haliewa. Some amazing sushi – but O was distracted by the chickens running around in the parking lot. (on the news that night we saw there was an event like Ride A Wave – at Haliewa that day… Our friend “Jack” was there… but we got to meet the guest of honor the day later… Isaiah )
Dad started off the day checking out some of the North Shore surf spots – surf was on the smaller side for the North Shore (which was more than adequate). After checking out a few spots – Ehukai seemed to be the right call. Here is some video (not of me but happen to be shot the same day that I was surfing here). O and Mom hung out by the pool and then the three of us went for a nice long stroll along beach trails – ending up about a mile away at Turtle Bay Lagoon. A good place for a nap and just relaxing. Dad caught one last sunset session at Turtle Bay and then we warmed up in the hot tub that evening.
Chilling out by the hotel. A nice kick back day at the hotel playing in the pool – dad managed to grab some fun waves in front of the hotel and then we checked into our Villa (still part of the Turtle Bay resort). It was a nice change from the hotel room - a small studio apartment with very modern accommodations (read – large flat HDTV – “Finding Nemo” works better on this vs the computer screen). Click flickr for some pics
We left the north shore for a day trip down to Sea Life Park – sort of mini Sea World. Mom got to swim with the dolphins and Owen remained fixated on the sea turtles. We continued on to Waikiki for a little stroll around the town and some dinner at “Dukes.” - don't worry we will post some video/pics of mom getting kisses from the dolphins
