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Tonight Owen had his first real experience with commercials... they work...(he is so use to watching PBS Sprout and other shows without the typical commercial breaks or if he does... they are TiVo'd and we skip by them for him) But tonight - he was watching Nick and had some good exposure to commercials.... so far he needs apple juice - "You can just go to the store and get it dad." And "Chocolate breakfast cereal b/c the crazy bird told me."

Fun weekend

1st hike in backpack
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

We survived (we being, Tess, Owen, Rupert, Bailey and Dad) while mom took a much needed break. We hit the zoo, did a nature hike, ate pizza and burritos.... good stuff.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Its been just over a year since we went down to the boardwalk at Santa Cruz - this time we decided to stay over night - nothing fancy a Super 8 - (as compared to where Kim is staying this weekend :-) But it was actually super clean and just a few blocks away from the boardwalk, so it worked out great. Some pics of are up at flickr - but the highlight was the dinner at Kianti's Pizza & Pasta bar - check out the video, they put on a little show - the pizza tossing was impressive. Maybe this is something we should have done at Sal's.

This past week was the first time that Tessa started babbling... we'll try to catch some on video.

pasta twirling

owen practicing twirling pasta





the beneficiary of the practice

Tessa's version of River Dance

The 4th in San Diego

We have made a few trips down to San Diego for the 4th of July - and have been lucky to have family come visit us each trip. This year it was Nana and Joe. The road trip down this year was a lot smoother than last year - we thought it would be a good idea to drive through the night because O and Tessa would sleep... they did but when we arrived at 4am - they stayed awake. Owen did well making friends at the different beaches we went to... he had fun digging up sand crabs in Del Mar and throwing rocks in Cardiff but this year he was a lot more tentative when it came to playing in the water. The trip home was probably the smoothest yet - it pays to leave a day early to beat the traffic.

Thinking inside the box

peeking in
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

at least someone had some fun with the new lamp (well at least the box from it)

O and the other blondes at the beach

O and the other blondes at the beach
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

75 degrees at 8:30 pm in Pacifica.... doesn't happen very often, a nice bday gift for mom

Happy bday mom

Happy bday mom
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

A Happy Hour and Happy Birthday for Kim at da beach

the butterfly project

the butterfly project
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Our little science project worked. We ordered caterpillars via mail and watched them go through their complete metamorphosis - all survived and then were set free in the backyard.

Owen's Directorial Debut

Here is a "movie" as told and directed by Owen.

Sweet Potatoes and double joggers

A fun memorial day weekend- pretty relaxing, a nice family stroll down to the beach at low tide looking for starfish, crabs and other creatures in the tide pools. A successful stroll in the double jogger (the younger one did better than the older one). BBQ over a friends (which probably kept Tess out too long and had mom and dad paying the consequences the next day). But all-in-all a good weekend. Also did some first experiments with food for Tessa - Sweet Potatoes, the first taste. Owen usually ate everything the first time - check out the video for Tessa's reaction.

Tessa first laughs

So far.... Tessa is definitely a morning girl. Pretty much every time she wakes up in the morning and from most naps she is very happy, smiling, giggling and trying to chat. Although, there are some short naps that she is not so cheery. Here is a video with
some of Tessa's first laughs and other other fun.

Heat Wave!

Heat Wave!
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Tessa enjoying a very rare 90 degree day here in Pacifica

Summer Time Digs

Summer Time Digs
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Welcome warm weather (at least until June Gloom)

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Grey and Foggy Weekend

Grey and Foggy Weekend - not much to do but Owen learn to play to some computer games at PBS Kids website - Clifford Puzzle and Photo Safari - see video below

Computer Games

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Sun and fun.

First Hike with Tessa
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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).

Back Packs

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.

Tessa's first trip back east.

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.

3 months old 2day

3 months old

Pool Time

Pool Time
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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.

Helping DeeDee Look for Spring Flowers

Meeting of the Minds

Happy easter xo

Pre-Preschool

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."

Photo Shoot

Smiles
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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.

Tahoe - First Family Ski Trip

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.

Some Pics

Been kind of slow on getting new pics up of Tessa. Partly b/c of a broken computer... but definitely b/c this two children thing is tough :-)

Click on the link - Pics at Flickr

More pics to come from Dee Dee and Aunt Kathy's visit.

Getting use to the new colors in the laundry

pics of first bath

pics of first bath
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Owen watching Nana give Tessa her first Bath (Nanna gave O his first bath too!)

Click this link to go to flickr for more pics

First day at home

First day at home
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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!

Tessa weight 8.8

Walking with the Dinosaurs

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...

There are some more pictures on flickr.

Christmas Morning

Before the presents were opened

Chillaxing

Chillaxing
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Santa Everywhere

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.

Click this link for some grainy video shot from the camphone

Not the ideal way to start off the holidays...

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.”

The two wheeler (with some help)

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).

mom and O at cardiff

mom and O at cardiff
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Owen at Cardiff

cardiff
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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.

3 year check up

3 year check up
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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 visit from grandpop

Owen watching the rhino with GP
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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.

Inspired

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… )

Three is a Magic Number

A little video from Owen's 3 birthday parties to celebrate turning 3.

Number 3

fun in the tub

fun in the tub
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Uncle Bryan and O

Uncle Bryan and O
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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.

Here is a picture of Owen and Uncle Bryan up in Estes Park, Colorado. Owen has definitely been to some playgrounds with nice views this year – here is another one.

Some good grass...

back of house
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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.

Owen with his surfer girls

Owen with his surfer girls
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Special Treat

treat
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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 actually had most of it.

Owen will be a big brother to a little...

A few weeks behind on the posts… It’s been busy, from trip back to Erie to the “big news…”

On the road to 757

Tonight Barry Bonds hit 756. Owen is well on his way. (well maybe)

new shoes

new shoes
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Finally, after 3 months of sitting in the closet... Owen agrees to where his new shoes

Ky and O

Ky and O
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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.

Look out Snoopy

Look out Snoopy
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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).

The annual trip down to San Diego

Happy 4th of July
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

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.

More pictures at flickr