Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Spring Break in Scottsdale, AZ

We were able to go back to Scottsdale, Arizona for Ben's spring break this year.
What a treat!  An entire week of relaxation with Mary & Doug (as well as Stephenie, Jason & Brayden) with beautiful scenery & great food.
 
Mary's sign in #20 pretty-much sums it up.
 
 
Making the 700-mile journey.
2 of the Dow boys

 
 Early one morning...
 
 
(We were 2 hours ahead of Amarillo time, which translated to an extra early run with the first hour being in the dark.)  As much as I have enjoyed-- and dreaded-- some of these LONG distance runs, I am glad the St. Louis marathon is only a few weeks away and I can put this crazy mileage behind me.
 
 
During our stay in Scottsdale, we were able to visit with Stephenie & Brayden
on two different occasions.
We attempted to get a decent picture of the three cousins, but this was the best that we could come up with.
 
playing "pool man" at Stephenie's house
 
 
more pool time...
 
During our stay, I got to go shopping to a few of my favorite stores/shops: Trader Joe's, Lululemon, etc... and Owen was a good buddy to hang out with.  I also plowed through TWO novels during the week.  Ben played golf on three different days and attend a couple of Trading meetings with Doug, which made the trip spectacular for him.

The Ben Dow family relaxing in the "hot pool" at Las Villas.

the two messes after a bath
 
Us leaving town. 
So incredibly beautiful.
(Sad sigh)
 
Maybe again this summer...
 


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Owen is 15-Months Old!

Owen at his 15-month appointment
·         Dr. Fletcher report:  You are 31 ½” long (75th percentile) and weigh 20 ½ pounds (just under 10th percentile).  You seem to  be following the same growth curve, which is about the same as Kaden’s at that age.  He told us to, “Keep doing what we’re doing… because you are physically perfect.”  Yahoo!
·         You started walking a few weeks ago (14 ½ months) and are good!  You basically went from creeping along the furniture to strolling across the room in a span a weekend.  On Friday night you sat in the middle of the floor, pushed yourself into a forward fold and then a stand, found your balance, and took off.
o   Your walking has made my life better!  Let me rephrase… Your walking is great for my arms and back!  I think it has made you much happier too.
·         We’re not gonna lie: You’ve been hard to live with lately and it’s mainly due to your piercing scream.  It is the loudest, most penetrating, horrible screech that we’ve ever heard and you do it all of the time—when you’re mad or frustrated about something.
o   We’re not sure if this is your new personality (Lord, we hope not!) or if you don’t get to be outside as much as the last few months have been cold.
o   I’m also hoping this is not the beginning of temper fits that go along with the “terrible twos” because this seems WAY too early!
·         You’ve started getting pickier about your food.  You don’t really like vegetables unless they are puréed in smoothie form and unrecognizable.  The same is true for many fruits.  
You also don’t seem to be allergic to anything.  I know that we were supposed to hold off from giving your peanut butter until you turned 2 (recommended by pediatrician), but we have found Kaden giving your peanut butter crackers, pieces his peanut butter & jelly, and various other peanut items over the course of the past few months and it hasn’t caused a negative reaction. 
·         You sleep well once we get you down for a nap and for the night. 
You typically still take one big nap during the middle of the day. 
We normally put you to bed around 7:30 pm and you sleep for about 12 hours. 
·         Like your brother, you seem to be a climber too.  Before you started walking, we witnessed you push the Lego™  container to the living room chair in order to boost yourself up. I know this is something you have seen Kaden do for the past year.
·         You enjoy being around people—at the Townclub, at Kaden’s school, at church; I’ve never seen you cry if a stranger wants to talk to you or hold you.
·         You say a few words, but babble in your own language.  You also mimic tones—talking and singing. 
·         You still seem to like music and dance.  The funny part is that you also seem to have RHYTHM!
·         You have beautiful, expressive eyes but I still can’t tell what color they are.
They are BOTH blue and brown.
·         I’m not sure if you have a favorite toy.  Anything good always seems to get seized by your older brother.  Grrrr…  You do, however, love your cheetah animal print blanket that grandma got for you at Christmas.
·         You’ve begun to tease.  You offer a piece of your food, only to snatch it away at the last second while giggling in delight.
Yep, that's you munching a fresh tortilla in the back seat.
We LOVE you, Owen Dow!


Friday, March 1, 2013

Caught in the Crossfire


Have you ever witnessed a toddler in the throes of temper fit? 
You know the kind where the kid lets out a piercing scream that is accompanied by an arched back and flailing arms & legs?
A kid who obviously belongs to parents who don't know how to control their children.

I guess we obviously don't know how to control Owen anymore.
Picture taken within about 4 hours of "the incident"
 
Yes, this was inflicted by our sweet baby Owen.
I'm still not really sure how it happened either.  Ben handed Owen to me, something made him mad, and he proceeded with a temper fit of the calabur mentioned above, slamming the back of his head into cheek bone/eye socket.
 
Yes, a horrible picture.
 
BUT this one clearly depicts the bruising & yellowing that happened after a few days.
AND it also shows the "lines" that Kaden was innocently inquiring about during breakfast this week.
It's been a rough week for the ole self-esteem.
Next week will be better...

Monday, February 25, 2013

Blizzard 2013

We never get hyped up about a "big snow" because that means a big wave of moisture moving through the TX panhandle and that just doesn't happen often. Period.
AND people usually get hyped up over a 1-3" weather forecast, so are just wait-and-see people.
 
While we were in Taos, we heard that they were going to get hit with another big snow so we wanted to get out of town before it hit.  Low & behold, Amarillo was due for it's own big snow as I came to find out upon checking my phone for the weather.
And guess what?!?  We seriously got hit. And it was incredible!
 
Kaden heading out at the end of the day, after a good 14 hours of blowing snow.
From walking around the backyard, there were spots ranging from 12" to 3 FEET!
Posing on the north side of our house where the biggest drifts were!


Sunday, February 24, 2013

Skiing in Taos, New Mexico

Two weeks ago we planned a ski trip with Dan & Heather with the idea of putting Kaden & Danni in ski school for the first time and our families making a weekend in Taos, New Mexico.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't aware of our plans and there was a blizzard on top of the mountain. As hard as it was, we made the logigal "adult" decision to postpone our trip for two weeks and try again. 
 
So on Friday morning our bags were packed (with Schatzi & Owen packed for a weekend at Nonnie & Papa's), the car was loaded with books, music, snacks & pre-schooler entertainment, and we were ready to hit the open road...  When suddenly I got a panicked call from Heather around 9:45, literally minutes before we were all set to walk out the door. 
Danni was running a fever for 101°F...
So we had to make another agonizing decision... To go, or not to go...
It almost seemed as if we weren't supposed to go.
 
I think Heather & I silently shed a few tears during our phone conversation but we (the Dows) decided to go ahead & go.  After all, we had been talking to Kaden about it for weeks and Ben & I hadn't been skiing for the past two years.
And it was a good thing they stayed behind because Danni ended up having strep throat!
 
Scenery from the car... from my phone... so you can imagine what it really looked like!
 
The first thing we did after arriving in town was drive up the mountain to rent our books & skis and get Kaden enrolled in ski school. 
 
It was snowing like crazy up there-- big, fat, beautiful flakes that clung to Kaden's long lashes.
 
 We went out to dinner at Taos Pizza Out Back...
One of the BEST hole-in-the-wall restaurants in town (maybe even the best, period)!
YUM!
 
We were a little nervous for Kaden- going to ski school for the day without Danni or us. 
He was a little concerned at first, but once we were outside in the snow, he seemed to forget about being worried.
 
The previous night it snowed 6" and we got to ski in the best conditions we've ever experienced!  Fresh powder everywhere!  No wind.  Breathtakingly beautiful scenery in every direction.
 
 
 
 Ben coming down
Kaden had a good day at ski school.  We spied on some of the 3-year-olds as they worked on "the zipper" which looked like a walkalator that led up to a slight incline that lasted maybe 20 yards...
The kids stood & rode it to the top and then practiced (staying upright) skiing straight, snowplowing/stopping, and making slight turns.
We were able to talk to the instructor at the end of the day and he told us that Kaden was athletic and did well getting the hang of it. 
 
Yes, we were all sad that the Richards couldn't come along this weekend, but we are so glad that we still decided to come and ski on our own.  Kaden got to learn a new skill AND Ben & I got to spend the day skiing together.
This is definitely something I'd like to take the boys to do every year.
 
Owen ended up having a great weekend with Nonnie & Papa (his FIRST overnighter and time away from us), sleeping through the nights and content throughout. 
 
  


Friday, February 15, 2013

Happy Valentine's

Happy Valentine's Day
cookies for Kaden's Valentine's party
batch of sugar scrubs we made for Kaden's teachers, etc.
Kaden doing one of his favorite QUIET activities while Owen took a nap.
Owen enjoying himself in the middle of Kaden's preschool room during their Valentine's "party"
Reading a library book at home with daddy... at least one of them is paying close attention.
 


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Big Snow

Proof again that it SNOWS here in the Texas panhandle (for all of you Missouri folks).
We got at least 6" in our backyard by the time school let out. 
Kaden insisted on playing outside so I got a few items together and wondered how long he would last... I couldn't believe it when he was still out there playing 45 minutes later!
Do you like my "boots" mom made?
Here you can get a little better look at how much snow we got... Enough to fill up the wagon.
Enjoying the outdoors