Branson

I have done such a bad job of keeping my blog up, that rather than try to update the last month, I've decided just to start from this past weekend. I didn't even get pictures at Thanksgiving...I am slacking.

We took a small family vacation to the hot spot of Branson, MO this past weekend. We wanted to start the family tradition of seeing the Christmas lights at Silver Dollar City, and hitting the outlet mall, of course. To make the trip a tad more memorable, the weather took it's first dive south...it was in the 20s the evening we were in Silver Dollar City. I was a little concerned about it being too cold for Owen, but he ended up being the warmest of us all. He rode in my Moby under my ginormous coat. It was a little touch and go with Ethan for awhile - he was awakened from his nap early to go, and he was NOT feeling it. But once we got on the Christmas Train, all was well. The lights were amazing, and the big tree was gorgeous. I think what made the trip the most memorable, though, was meeting an older man named Gordon. We sat next to him at dinner and started talking to him. His wife died four years earlier and he has since made the trip to SDC every Christmas to reminisce about her and their times together. He showed us pictures of her, told us how they met, how she passed away, and all about their children. He told us to enjoy the time we have together because it goes so quickly. I was in tears pretty much the whole time. On our way to Branson, we'd prayed that we'd be able to love on whomever we met. I think we were able to love on Gordon a bit, but he really ministered to us more than anything. Suddenly, all the things that were robbing us enjoying the night as a family seemed really insignificant.

The next day we hit the Tanger Outlet Mall (a little piece of heaven for Chris!). We knocked out quite a bit of our Christmas shopping. The boys were troopers - they ingested their weight in snacks to keep them happy!

I think we'll try and go earlier in the year next season in hopes for warmer weather, but all in all it was the perfect beginning to a new family tradition.

Halloween Pictures

Ethan got to go trick-or-treating three different times this year. The first time out, I forgot to clarify that you don't actually go into the house after ringing the door bell and saying "trick or treat!". He ended up in three different people's homes...ready to chat it up with them. He received WAY too much candy, but I have been helping him out with it...

Brothers

I was going through our Halloween pictures, and I had to compare the boys both wearing the same costumes at roughly the same age. I don't think they look anything alike. They both wear their food on their face quite nicely, though. Apparently I need to do a better job of wiping them off after dinner...

Stillwater

Last week we spent in Stillwater with my family while Chris was out of town. The boys and I had a blast hanging out with Mimi and Papi. Katie, Jon, Jack and Claire even came for a day to play. Jack and Ethan spent the afternoon fighting the "bad guys", while Claire and Owen were in their own little world. My mom took the Jack and Ethan to pick out some fun pajamas while we were there, and they were both VERY excited about them. The time together really made me excited about Christmas...

Bedtime

Ethan likes picking out his pajamas. I like to encourage his independence and creativity. But for some reason, mismatched pjs really drive me bonkers. I have had to let it go though, because I decided it's really not a battle worth fighting. Here is one fun set he put together. It's a wonder he can sleep with these on!

Owen's nightly ritual before he gets his (matching) pajamas on is sitting in his favorite chair. It must be hard work sitting in the chair because his tongue sticks out the whole time like he's concentrating or something. I took about 15 pictures and there wasn't one without his tongue out!

8 Months

I fall more and more in love with this little guy everyday! He never ceases to crack me up. As I was trying to take some pictures of him, every time he'd see the camera's red light, he opened his mouth to smile. I couldn't get one picture where his mouth wasn't open...

He's continuing to show signs of being VERY independent, and there have been some incidences of him showing a stubborn little spirit lately too. He's never been a huge nurser, so when we introduced "solid" foods, he took to it very quickly. But now that he's realizing he can start feeding himself, he yells the whole time we try to feed him. Once there is food for him to feed himself, he's happy as a clam. With his continued mobility, I have started having to tell him "no, no" to some things. It's amazing that he knows exactly what that means...he'll stop, look at me, and yell very loudly to let me know he doesn't agree. Toddler hood is going to be fun!

Swinging at the Park

My friend, Lynne, took these pictures of Owen at the park yesterday. They made me smile, so I thought I would share. For some reason the swing tasted really good...

7 Months Old

It's been weird how fast the last seven months have gone. Somehow I thought with having a second child that all the milestones wouldn't be that big of a deal because there wouldn't as much time to pay attention to them... And there isn't as much time, but I think it makes them almost more exciting. With Ethan, I was anticipating new accomplishments weeks before it happened, but with Owen it seems like all of a sudden he's doing something new. Like when we were at Panera a few weeks ago and it just hit me that he could sit in a high chair! It was almost more exciting for me than it was him. Even riding in the seat of the Target cart seemed like a huge deal to me! I am also experiencing some major differences between Ethan and Owen... I never once strapped Ethan in to a high chair, his stroller or any sort of grocery cart. He just stayed put. Owen, however, has shown me just how important those straps are! Within the first two minutes in the maiden voyage of the Target cart, he almost climbed out. He never sits still.

He's officially mastered the "belly scoot". Between rolling and pushing off with his feet, he's all over the place. It's taken me off guard as I have had to start the baby proofing process sooner than I was ready to. And EVERYTHING goes in his mouth. This has been a new experience for me because Ethan was not oral at all, but Owen can manage to find the smallest toy or piece of paper in a large room to put into his mouth.

Miscellaneous other things: We also had his first tooth pop in on the bottom. We knew something had to be going on because the normally laid back Owen was very cranky. Naps are finally starting to become regular. And he LOVES eating solids...so much so, that I think he'd wean himself completely if I'd let him. I am not ready for that yet!