Oklahoma City Zoo

Up until about a month ago I had never given any thought to Oklahoma City having a zoo, 

much less a zoo ranked #3 in the nation (thank you Christine!)

When Jessica, Kyle, and I decided to run in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, it was up in the air as to whether or not our families would be coming with us.  Having to nurse Owen pretty much sealed the deal on Ben coming... and since Ben was going, Shannon decided to come with the girls... and since there were already three kids going, why not bring Kaden too?

Poor Kyle.  The dynamics of a trip completely change when you have 4 small children with you AND you're trying to prepare your mind/body to run 26.2/ 13.1 miles. 

No drinking, no heavy eating... That part was easy.

Trying to stay off your feet... That one was a little harder.  I'm not sure how smart it was to walk around the zoo for 3+ hours with a 15lb. baby strapped to me the day before the race, but he didn't let out a peep the whole time.

Overall, we couldn't have asked for better weather on this trip: upper 60's- low 70's with good cloud cover.  Perfect for hitting the zoo for a few hours! 

Ben & Kyle trying to understand the sign explaining "how to view the animals."

 Everyone posing for a picture... Kind of...

with Kaden showing us his back. 

 Uncle Kyle with all the kids!

 everyone fascinated by the bears

 Jessica & Miss Shay (a week shy of 2)

Kyle holding Kaden up to see the elephants

good ole' Shannon 

Double stroller with one on his shoulders AND he's still smiling!

Kaden Sayings

Things we have heard or constantly hear Kaden saying recently.
(in no particular order)

• "Mommy/Daddy, lay by you!"  (as in come here & lay in bed with me)
• "I want to hold you."  (meaning, hold me)
• "Don't get hit by a car... That would be a bad day."
• "I need to watch my show...  I need Seso Street."
• "That's a big giant tower." (when playing with blocks or anything stackable)
• "But I don't like that."  (referring to any new food or dinner in general)
• "There's a park!...  Maybe someday..." (makes me feel like mother of the year because the "maybe someday" is what I've been saying all winter)
• "I want to drive a tractor."  (any tractor we see)
• I _____ (fill in the blank) ALL the TIME!" 
• "I want to go to WalMart!!"
• "There's a dragon in there!" (imagination at work)
• "Mom... mommy... mom... mommy... MOM!" (and when I say, "What?" he keeps going...)
• "I'm getting dressed on." (not clothes on... not dressed)
• "It's too tight!" (referring to most articles of clothing- especially jackets that taper at the wrist or sweatpants that close around the ankle, socks, and shoes)
• "It's too heavy!"  (referring to shoes)
• "No pants!"  (seeing a pattern here?)

And my absolute favorite saying that just started this week:

• "Give me a hug... Give me a kiss..." (in that order when someone is leaving; sometimes he says it TWICE when he's avoiding bedtime... already knows how to work the system melt mommy's heart)

Our hot mess

Owen's 4-Month Report

So far, so good. 

Owen went in to Dr. Fletcher's office and we were told to just keep doing what we've been doing.  At exactly 4 months, he has doubled his weight and is at 14.8 pounds (50^th percentile) and is now 25 inches long (70^th percentile).

• You are almost always happy and have a wonderful disposition.  You only seem to get fussy when you are really hungry or really sleepy. 
• When someone smiles at you, you almost always smile back. 
• Strangers don't seem to bother you.
• You are ticklish.  You giggle when we take your pants off to change your diaper or brush your skin on your belly.
• You are a good sleeper, typically waking up around 4 a.m. to eat and then drifting right back to sleep. You catnap in the morning & late at night with a BIG nap in the middle of the day... around the same time that Kaden takes a nap.  (thank you!)
• I cannot complain about your eating.  You can go up to 4 hours between feedings (longer at night) and you don't waste any time nursing. 
• You don't usually take a pacifier/nuk/binkie and never really have.  You have, however, discovered your fists and have started putting those in your mouth.  I'll give you a pacifier if you are especially cranky after being swaddled... You'll take it for a minute then quickly fall asleep/ spit it out.
• You are very easy-going and have completely rolled with our schedule.
Owen, you are perfect and we are so grateful you have come into our lives!

Around the House

What we've been up to lately:

Kaden Benjamin, 2½

playing with his blocks and making "big, giant" towers

 Kaden working one of his puzzles while Owen relaxes in the rocking chair

 Danni & Kaden fingerpainting in our kitchen

enjoying pizza outside with our new (used) patio furniture; Owen trying out the Bumbo chair

not sure when this stops being "cute"





Easter Weekend 2012

Good Friday:

Heather has earned herself the title of mother/friend of the year as she volunteered her house for Kaden & Danni to decorate Easter eggs.

 Sharing some of the Easter candy that grandma Cook sent in the mail.

Heather showing them how to color them with a crayon before putting them in the dye.

This was the first year that we have attempted egg dying.  It was fun, but the kids got somewhat impatient with the wait time.  Heather & I might have had more fun with this than they did.  This was one of the highlights of growing up with my cousins and visiting the farm at Easter.

Easter Sunday
We went to our normal 9:30 church service at Hillside and I got to see a whole 15 minutes of music and announcements before I decided to take Owen out.  It's not that he was crying or being fussy, he was trying to coo & talk, which seemed distracting to everyone else.  On a normal Sunday I would have just taken him to the nursery BUT since he hadn't been before (until now he typically slept through each service) on top of it being insane down there with it being Easter and all... Owen & I walked and then joined all of the other new mothers in the lounge by the big-screen TV.  All & all, it was still good and I heard most of the message.  Poor Ben enjoyed church alone.

Afterwards we made the 3 minute drive to Nonnie & Papa's house for lunch & Easter egg hunting.

 "I found one!"

 "Another one!"

 Owen & Nonnie

 This Easter was the first time Kaden hunted Easter eggs.  After the first couple he really got into it and went for about 45 minutes!

Owen & Papa

  Over the course of the afternoon, the same 8 eggs kept disappearing out of the basket to be re-hidden. Kaden eventually caught on & eyed me closely whenever I got close to his basket.  I don't think he really cared though because he was having so much fun finding them around the yard.

 trying to smell the flowers

 dining room spread & Owen in his Easter bib

Owen relaxing with daddy as he watched the end of the Masters golf tournament

mommy & the boys
It's wild to think that Owen was only about the size of a peanut this time last year.

The Dow Family
Easter 2012



Family Bed

We don't have a big house by any means, but one of my favorite spots is Ben & my bed.

This seems to be a place where at least half of us congregate at some point of the day.

attempting to relax and read a book

(Kaden's "nest" in the background)

Saturday morning

the Dow brothers during nap time