Not so terrible 2s

Life with a very active, imaginative 2 year old has its ups and downs. Some days are tough...like Friday night when we loaded up for a family night of running errands. Forget sitting in a high chair or riding in a buggy...now Owen wants to sit in the booth like a big boy (don't even think about a booster seat either) and he insists upon pushing the shopping cart 100% unassisted. Needless to say, carting him from KMart to Bed Bath and Beyond to Target put us thisclose to having a collective meltdown. To be honest, though, these rough moments are few and far between. Sure, Owen is extremely opinionated on what clothes he wants to wear or what cup he wants to drink out of, for example. But he is really such a good-natured boy. Lately we've been getting a real kick out of all the quirky things he says and does. Here are some recent highlights:

• After reading our bedtime stories, he asked if we could get my phone and call Spiderman. I explained that Spiderman had already gone to bed, so we couldn't call him. He then asked, "Well, can we get Daddy's phone and call Spiderman?" Richie and I figure we might need to work out an arrangement with a friend so that we can call and say "Hi Spiderman" and just have them play along.
  
• Today, Barrett was giving himself a bath and Owen looked over at him and said, "That's nasty, Barrett. Don't lick your booty. Stop that!"
• Each night before dinner, we go check the mailbox and sing the mail song from Blues Clues. Pretty darn cute!

He has recently taken up golfing--yet another sport to add to his repertoire
(and check out that Star Wars shirt)

No make-up and hair's a mess, but he just looks so cute

...and then this happened about 5 minutes later. Sometimes life is just hard.

All decked out in his new Spiderman jammies from Gi Gi and Granddad! He's also wearing a new Spiderman "wartch" on his right wrist. You could say he's a fan.

Fasten your seatbelts!

What a month it has been! Since our last post, we celebrated Father's Day with a trip to the indoor playground at McDonald's for breakfast--okay, that place is awesome! Whoever came up with that idea is genius. We gave Richie a grill, which we have been using at least 4 times a week.

The obligatory Father's Day picture

We closed on our house on June 17 and started moving in immediately. Wouldn't you just know that the entire week of our move, Owen had bad diarrhea and could not go to daycare. Somehow Richie was able to completely unload the storage unit by himself while watching Owen. Talk about Super Dad! We got right to work fixing Owen's room up first. It started out a very bright purple, which we quickly covered over with a nice grey. Since Owen has almost outgrown his toddler bed, we didn't want to paint a color that was too tied to his baby bedding. Owen absolutely loves the new house! The first week or two, he kept running up and down the hall shouting, "This is OUR house! This is OUR houuuusssseee!"

Owen digging through his toy bin...notice all those unfilled racks and shelves. I wasn't kidding when I said the entire house has the most amazing closets ever!

We haven't hung anything on the walls yet, and these pictures were taken at night,
but you get the idea.

The window to the right looks out on a big, beautiful magnolia tree.

We've been spending the bulk of our time at home in the backyard. Our first weekend here, I sat on the back stoop with a cup of coffee, right under the magnolia tree, and watched Owen and Barrett run around the backyard. I have to say, it brought tears to my eyes, seeing Owen so happy with his new home. The next day while O napped, Richie and I set up our portable hammocks underneath the oak trees, read, and just relaxed looking up through a beautiful canopy of branches and leaves. We are so happy with our little home. We both hope to put our gypsy ways behind us and really plant ourselves here for a long time. (Plus, we are freaking TIRED of moving!!!)

Owen's first attempt at tree climbing--the aforementioned magnolia

June also saw birthdays for Gran and Uncle Jeremy! Aunt Gwyn threw a surprise backyard bonfire for Jeremy, which was a lot of fun. I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of O with Uncle Jerm. Owen wore his t-shirt that says, "If you think I'm cute, you should see my uncle!" It was a big hit!

That Uncle Jeremy is such a ham!

The last weekend of June, our friends Craig and Martina (or Greg and Tina, as Owen calls them) babysat Owen so Richie and I could watch Gwyn's bellydance troupe's first full-length show at 12th and Porter. If you haven't clicked on Gwyn's link on the left-hand side of the page, I strongly encourage you to. She is one of those people who excels at anything she tries her hand at, but she has truly found her calling in dance. The night was an emotional one--it is a rare and beautiful treat to see someone you love very much fulfill a dream they have carried for so long.

The graceful and lovely ladies of Bodhicitta Belly Dance troupe
(Aunt Gwyn is second from end on the right)

On July 4th, we went to Holly, Robert and Dylan's for a cookout before heading out to watch the fireworks. Every year, we go to East Park in East Nashville with our friends and watch the humongous riverfront display. Owen was put off by the fireworks at first and complained that they were too loud and hurt his ears. But he was intruiged and sat in Uncle Jeremy's lap during most of the show. Dylan, on the other hand, loved absolutely every second of the fireworks. Every blast and boom thrilled him more than the last. The weather was mild and we were surrounded by so many good friends. I know it sounds corny to be moved by firecrackers, but watching the fireworks and listening to the Nashville Symphony Orchestra with our friends and family close by, I felt so much happiness and thankfulness for the amazing life that we have in Nashville. This city has truly become our home!

Photo came out a little blurry, but this is Holly, Dylan, Owen and
Holly's mom Agnes watching the fireworks display.

So all in all, we have had a wonderful few weeks. We are thrilled to have the move behind us. We still have some furniture that we need to buy (note: selling all your furniture on Craigslist and replacing it with new stuff may sound like a great idea, but it is actually really hard!) But the house is coming together, we are 99% unpacked, and we are just enjoying settling in. Next on the agenda: beach trip with the Griffins at the end of the month! We can't wait to see Gran, Pop, Aunt Mimi, Uncle Minor, and hopefully Katie (Kakey) too.

One last thing...I've added a new link to the Friends and Family section. Please take a look at Chocolate Funny Farm. This is Gi Gi's new chocolate company and it is absolutely adorable! She has put a lot of hard work and creativity into building her site and her business. We are so proud of how awesome it has turned out! Go, Gi Gi!!!

Parting shot of Owen just being adorable :)

A special message to Pop...

To Pop

Love, Owen

Happy Father's Day!

Updates and R.I.P.

Well, we got packed and loaded! We are officially temporarily homeless, but we're really happy that the hard stuff is behind us now. Our friends Nik and Ryan SAVED OUR LIVES by helping us load on Friday. We also owe the Cassells and the Conrans big time for storing some of our stuff that we didn't want to put in the Mobile Attic. Of course, we have to give props to Tom and Ricky for taking care of Barrett for us until we move into the house. What a huge help that has been!

My parents came in town on Friday and kept Owen Friday night and Saturday morning so we could finish up the cleaning and last minute stuff at the Rosebank house. Then after a long shower, I met up with them to go to my cousin Matthew's wedding in Leoma, TN. It was really sweet and it was so nice to meet my cousin Allison's precious daughter, Mary Francis (or maybe Frances, I can't remember the exact spelling...bad cousin, Anna!). We capped off the weekend with a drive by the new house so my parents could check it out, and a stop by the neighborhood playground, where I inadvertantly left our digital camera! Rest in peace, little camera. I hope whoever took it enjoys all of its quirks (knob that won't turn due to an orange juice "cheers" gone too far, the shutter that has to be manually opened...). Thankfully, I had just uploaded all of our pictures onto the computer before we packed it up.

On another note, today marks 10 years since Richie and I started dating! Our wedding anniversary is next week...9 years. It's hard to believe how fast time has gone by! My dad said this weekend that if it felt like the last 10 years went by fast, just wait to see how fast the next 10 go. I can tell he's right. It's a good reminder to enjoy each day and relish each moment.

Tubbies!

One of Owen and Richie's father/son activities is watching Teletubbies on PBS on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I had no idea this was going on until the other day. Richie logged onto PBS.org and found all kinds of interactive games designed for little kids. Owen had so much fun playing all the games, and now he asks us to play Tubbies on the computer. Here he is playing a hide and seek game. He insists on operating the mouse all by himself. The screen is a little hard to make out, but basically you click the mouse on a red brick wall and different Teletubbies pop out, followed by a vacuum cleaner looking creature name Noisy Nunu or Naughty Nunu...we can't really decipher what they're saying. At any rate, Owen shouts "Doodoo!" every time it comes on the screen and bursts out laughing...

A busy month!

It's hard to believe May is almost over! The moving process has taken up all of my free time typically set aside for blogging (ha!) but I figured I could at least do a quick update of our month so far...

Dylan came over to play a couple of weeks ago and got taken out by Owen's weedeater skills. Seriously.

Owen is really into costumes, as you will see in the next two pictures as well. He loves for Richie and me to join in. This particular day, he wouldn't take his cowboy hat off for anything.

He came across my Pink Lady glasses and thought they were so fun! For anyone who witnessed the umbilical hernia days, check out that nice innie!

Mommy's tennis shoes...he didn't make it too far in these. I'm just glad he picked tennis shoes and not high heels!

We've got a hectic week ahead of us. We'll be packing and loading all week and hopefully can spend Saturday morning cleaning before we lock the door behind us forever! We are so excited to get moved into our new place. We'll have a couple of weeks of in between time where we'll be staying in Brentwood until we close on the new house. Our computer will be packed away, so it's unlikely that I'll be able to update Owen's blog much. We're also really excited that Gran and Pop will be coming up next weekend! Hopefully we'll have nice weather so we can go to the zoo.

A couple of quick notes:
Owen's new favorite song: B-i-n-g-o
Favorite food: suckers
Favorite book: Easy Street
New sayings: "Aw, man." "Hi there!"

New House Resolutions

After a loooooong time of looking, two failed offers, and a last minute bidding war, Richie and I have finally secured a contract on a house! The last two times we have bought a home, the process was painless, simple, quick. This time...well, let's just say that hasn't been the case. Thanks to our sweet and savvy Realtor and good friend, Linnet, our offer was accepted on the PERFECT house for us! Now that we have started the packing process, I am faced with the reality of how desperately I need to change some of my domestic habits. I pride myself on being extremely organized and efficient at work. My office is always immaculate and every piece of paper that crosses my desk is meticulously scrutinized and filed in the most appropriate place. Once I get home, all that organization and attention to detail just flies out the window...or gets buried under a hairball. NO MORE! With this move, I want to turn over a new leaf. So with that in mind, here are my New House Resolutions...

1. Learn how to wash clothes with bleach. I know my mother is burying her head in her hands on this one. What can I say...I've always been too intimidated to use bleach. I am going to google it if I have to. Clorox is about to be my new best friend.
2. Don't keep things I don't really need. You know, like the electric bill stubs I still have from 9 years ago, owner's manuals to cell phones from the Zach Morris era, you get the picture.
3. Create a place for every thing. I have gone to our neighborhood Family Dollar and purchased an assortment of plastic totes and my favorite gizmo ever, a label maker! I now have perfectly labeled bins for Owen's art supplies, our office supplies, stationery, photos (that's an organization project I'm not quite ready to tackle), and my sewing gear. Our new house has the most pimped out closets I have ever seen in my life. I intend to utilitze every shelf, rack and drawer to its fullest potential!
4. Start fixing the house up from Day 1. Our last 2 homes, we waited until we were ready to sell to make some last minute improvements. We asked ourselves each time why we waited so long to try these quick and inexpensive projects. Going into this house, I want to make changes that we will appreciate early on rather than right at the bitter end.
5. Decorate in a way that really reflects our taste. We have sold several items on Craigslist and set aside that money for our New Furniture fund. Our decor needs a facelift, and we have decided that by selling what we don't like we will be forced to replace it.
6. Invite our friends and family to come enjoy our new home! The last couple of years, we have felt so uncomfortable having people come over. The ultra narrow kitchen and compartmentalized layout of our rental home make it a weird flow for entertaining. Plus, with all the excess junk we've been toting around, the room we intended to be the guest bedroom wound up being the pet/empty box/clothes that don't fit catch-all room. We are excited to entertain and actually host people in our new house without forcing them to sleep on a futon mattress on the floor.
7. Meet our neighbors. This one sounds really dumb...and that's because it is. We have only had a couple of conversations in passing with the neighbor to our left and we've only even laid eyes on the neighbor on the right about 3 times. With our house in Jackson and our Greenwood Ave house, we were lucky to have really sweet neighbors...the kind that aren't always in your business but are always around if you need a hand. The Carroll's actually left us some homemade moonshine for a welcome present! I doubt we'll ever have neighbors that cool again, but we won't find out unless we go knocking on some doors.

So there we have it...a short list of things I will be thrilled if to accomplish even half of. Once we get moved in and settled, I will have to post a picture of all my beautifully labeled totes. In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures of our new place! We close on June 18th...you're welcome for a visit any ole time!

Front of the house

Isn't this front porch just begging for a WELL SECURED swing?!