"Wwwalk"

Owen loves, loves, loves (did I mention loves?) to play in the backyard. He will literally stand at the backdoor saying "wwwalk" over and over again until we take him out. Luckily the weather has warmed up nicely the last few weeks so we can spend an extended period of time outside without freezing. These pictures were from an inpromptu playtime that Brad & Owen had a few weeks ago while it was still cold. Loving the outfit choice that Dad picked for Owen! Oh boy...

(While my fabulous Mom was here for Easter she completely restained the whole swingset and it looks 100x better... Thanks Mom!!)

This Post is Brought to you Today by the Letter O...

Have I mentioned how much Owen absolutely loves Sesame Street?  He can name (in his own Owen language) all of the main characters and also does a mean impression of Cookie Monster smashing cookies all over his face.  It's pretty cute.  Although admitting this may take me down a few notches on the 'Super Mom' rating scale, I will admit that I let him watch it for a bit after breakfast each morning while I catch up on emails, cleaning the house, or attempt anything else that needs to be accomplished without a clingy toddler attached to my legs.

How cute is this?

Oh, and we can't forget all of Owen's friends!  Usually accompanying Owen for his morning show (and just about everything else these days) would be Teddy, Pacy, Elmo, and Horsey.  It get's pretty tricky trying to keep all those friends in his arms, but if one drops they get a few snuggles and then picked back up again! 

18 months young

Today Owen is 18 months old, which means one very exciting thing for church tomorrow-- nursery!  I remember when Owen was 9 months old (and we were spending every waking moment at church walking the halls) thinking, "Only 9 more months until nursery!"  It seemed like an eternity then, but we made it!  One of my callings is doing music time in nursery so I have been taking Owen in with me the last couple weeks, and the boy is more than ready.  He loves it.

At 18 months, Owen is our little charmer.  We had a girls night at Olive Garden last night and there was quite a wait, so while we waited Owen made friends.  He was blowing kisses to people, waving "Hi" and then immediately "Bye".  Everyone thought he was just adorable.  We do too!

Owen still loves to read books.  He has a bin of books in his room and he will "read" each of them to himself each morning while I get ready.  We also always read a couple to him before naptime and bedtime.  I love it when his little mouth is jabbering away, telling quite the story.  I wish I knew what he was saying!

Owen knows when it is time to say prayer.  He always remembers before it's time to eat and before bed.  He will fold his arms, and (unless there's something too tempting on his plate) will usually make it all the way through without sneaking a bite.

Owen loves to talk on the phone.  He has a play phone which he will have conversations on, but he also really loves to use our phones and talk to family members.  Never one to draw out a conversation, he is always the first to say "BYE!"

We have recently started singing songs together, and Owen's favorites are "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Popcorn Popping".  He doesn't sing the words (except for a long drawn out "eeee" when he wants to sing the spider song) but knows all the gestures.  He's my best student during Nursery Singing Time!

The last few weeks, Owen's vocabulary has really grown.  It seems like he is learning a new word almost everyday, and he is starting to know family members names which is really fun too.  He knows about 30 words now, and even put together his first phrase of "BYE DADA" which he emphatically says every morning when Brad leaves for work.

Owen loves all balls, and would spend countless hours throwing them all over my house if I let him.  He also loves trucks (at this point, every moving vehicle is a "kuck") and will stand at the front window yelling and pointing at them.

Owen is a sweet boy and loves to give hugs & kisses which we gladly accept each time.

Happy 18 months Owen!