Happy Halloween

 Getting ready to go trick-or-treating in Nonnie & Papa's neighborhood.

 

 Kaden, the bat.

 

After weeks of prepping (yes, weeks), we finally got Kaden to put on his costume for Halloween. 

I know that some kids wear costumes all the time and love to play dress-up.  Not mine.  I can barely get mine to wear clothes, much less dress-up ones.  For the past two weeks he would point to his costume & smile, but flat out refuse to try it on.  Tonight, I finally had to lay down the law and tell Kaden that we wouldn't be able to go out trick-or-treating unless he wore his costume.  In the end, candy won.  He put it on and even put the hoodie up.

 

 Hitting the neighborhood with daddy!

 We stopped at Darryl & Patti's house (I taught school with Patti). 

Their dog, Sally. was even dressed up in a cheerleader costume.  Ha!

Happy Halloween

2012



Sonlight Halloween Party

Kaden's first party.

Owen and I went to Kaden's preschool on Tuesday afternoon for their Halloween party.  His teacher, Ms. Billie, taught the class a poem and they all said a line.  It was really cute to watch.

 5 Little Pumpkins sitting on a gate...

(and that is about the only line of the poem that I can recall)

 Everyone sitting around the tables, enjoying a few snacks.

 Owen thought he should crawl over, pull up, and check out the situation.

 I finally got to see/meet the infamous Caroline that Kaden talks to much about...

I think that Caroline is Kaden's best friend at school.

 

Owen, the preschool party crasher.



Carving & Coloring Pumpkins

Angie called me this afternoon to invite Kaden over "to do pumpkins" with Jace. 

Since all of us are friends, Ben and Owen tagged along and we spent the afternoon over at the Bressler's house coloring and carving pumpkins.

Jace and Kaden are best-frienemies

(best friends one minute, making each other cry the next)

 while Kaylee and Owen are only about 4 months apart in age.

 

Angie & I met at Zumba several years ago after I had Kaden and we have been friends ever since.

Within the last year, Stefan and Ben have started hanging out- hitting the golf course & playing poker together.

 

  Kaden working intently at coloring the pumpkin he picked at Maxwell's last weekend.

 

 Curious Owen 

Somehow I was assigned the task of breaking into the pumpkin and scooping out the insides.

 

Kaylee was the only brave one who actually wanted to feel the pumpkin innerds.

 

Angie & Stefan Bressler

 

 

 

Breathing Treatments

Yuck.

 

For the past week we have been doing breathing treatments with the boys. 

Owen contracted some type of upper-respiratory virus and after a week of him suffering through, Kaden seemed to get the same thing.  The only scary thing was that there were a couple of nights where Kaden was having a really hard time catching his breath and breathing...

to the point where we thought he was having an asthma attack and were worried about what to do next (and of course this would happen at night on a weekend).

I even spent one night on the  (hardwood) floor next to Kaden's bed because I was so worried about him.

 

Owen sporting the fire-breathing dragon mask as he does his Albuterol breathing treatment. 

True to Owen form, he sat there and took it without much fuss- even laughed a few times.

 

After two visits to Dr. Fletcher's office this past week, I think we are over the worst of it & are on the mend.

 



Maxwell's Pumpkin Farm

Family fun weekend continued with a visit to Maxwell's on Saturday morning.

This marks the 3^rd year in a row that we have made the trip out to Maxwell's Pumpkin Farm.
 

 Me & the boys waiting for the tractor to take us around the pumpkin patch.

 After walking around for a bit, Kaden decided that THIS was the one.

 Climbing to the top.

 Owen with his concerned look.

 We attempted to feed the rabbits...

 ... but the goat was a little more enthusiastic about it.

 Kaden took a ride by himself.

 I absolutely LOVE this picture and how Kaden is looking up at his daddy.

 Going down the giant slide by himself.

Poor Owen! 

He sure didn't let out a peep the whole morning, but from this picture he looks absolutely miserable.  He had a rough week with an upper-respiratory virus and was worn out by lunch time.

Up In The Air

A few hot air balloons came to Amarillo from last weekend's annual balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We made the 5-minute drive over to the Discovery Center to see all of the balloons for a family night of fun.

 Kaden really wanted to push Owen in his jogging stroller.

 We were able to watch the balloon pilots and crews inflate and fire their burners to watch the balloons glow in the dusk/dark.

 

photos taken with Instagram

 Jack-in-the-Box

Madame butterfly

enjoying the glow

picture with mommy (and Owen in his stroller)

Owen was feeling a little under the weather this week with a nasty cold. 

He still seemed to enjoy being outside and riding in his stroller.

walking back to the car with daddy

 According to Kaden, "It was a good night!"



Owen is 9 ½ Months Old!

 Owen David, Opening Day at Hitt Records!

 

·         Dr. Fletcher report: At this last visit you weighed 18 lbs, 11 oz (5^th percentile) and were 29 inches long (50^th percentile).  I may have been alarmed in the past, but this seems to be the exact same growth pattern that your brother followed—long & lean.

 

·         You are still the happiest person I’ve ever been around.
 

·         You are still crazy-ticklish!
 

·         I love your smile with your gapped-tooth grin.  Your two top teeth are spread considerably far apart… and I love it!  You have 4 teeth with two more top teeth on the brink of breaking through within the next few weeks.

 

waking up

 

·    You have very expressive eyes.  You often knit your eyebrows together and look up at us like we're all crazy.  I think you look an awful lot like your papa (David) Dow.

 

·         You are a good eater!  Your pincer grasp has come along and you have been feeding yourself in your high chair for the past month or so.  I have made some baby food for you, but we quickly started feeding you whatever we have been eating for lunch/dinner.  You haven’t turned away from spicy food either (jalapeño cornbread, tamales, chili beans, etc.)
 

·         You still nurse ~3 times in a 24-hour period.  I have to make sure it is a quiet time now because any little distraction causes you to squirm away and see what’s going on.

·         After our Missouri trip, you have really come along with your sippy cup (thank you grandma!)
 

·         You are a dream child to put to bed.  I can typically lay you down at night, turn on your fan, put a blanket over you and that’s it.  I say “goodnight, sweet baby” and walk out of the room.  That’s it.
 

·         I hate to admit it (out loud) but you’ve been sleeping through the night consistently.  (Through the night, meaning 10+ hours.)  A few times I’ve found you standing and crying in the night, but lately we’ve been able to get you back to sleep without nursing. 

·         You typically go to bed around 8:30 p.m. and get up sometime around 7:00 a.m.
 

·         You moved from army crawling to up on your hands & knees at about 8 ½ months, which means you can really cover some ground FAST. 

 

·         You just may have learned your lesson with the stairs; you are very cautious when you approach them & dangle your arms over the edge without attempting to descend them anymore.  On the other hand, you’ve climbed the two from the den to the living room without much hesitation.
 

·         You seem to like Schatzi, our 65 lb Boxer.  You like to crawl up to her and pat her.
 

·         You still love to be outside.  You can be crying and when we set you outside, it seems to soothe you.

·         You’ve never been one to demand to be held, so (sadly) I don’t really hold you that much, but when we do, you like to be faced out to see the world around you.  
 

·         After we take Kaden to pre-school on Tuesdays & Thursdays, you & I run errands together.  You like to ride in the grocery cart and watch people. You always seem to smile at people when we are out & about.

 

·         You have the CRAZIEST, loudest high-pitch squeal.  It hurts our ears.  You do it when you’re content in the back seat or in your high chair… and then smile. It. Is. AWFUL.   Kaden usually yells at you, saying, “Owen! That is a HORRIBLE sound!”  (Wonder where he heard that?!)

 

·         You love the bath.  You do a lot of kicking and flapping, which splashes the water around… which drives your brother crazy.
 

 

·         You’ve begun pulling up on EVERYTHING and will sometimes just hold on with one hand. 

·         I haven’t been able to keep shoes on you since you always pull them off and chew on them, but I feel better knowing that it’s better for you to learn how to walk without them.  .

 

·        You still love your "Johnny Jump Up" jumper that is fixed in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.  You have been known to entertain yourself in it for an hour... and even fall asleep mid-bounce.

 

 

·         And I think you just said your first real word: “Ma-ma!”  YES!

Owen, you bring pure joy to our lives. 

We love you more than you will ever know!

 

September in Missouri

I think that mid-late September is the best possible time to be in Missouri; cool air moves in, the humidity is significantly lower, the bugs die out.  It just feels good to be in the mid-west in September.

I felt like we did a TON on this particular trip-- or at least I was busy & not getting much sleep.

On of my main reasons for coming home was for the annual Cook reunion



St. Louis Zoo

I think that the St. Louis zoo just might be my favorite zoo that we've visited thus far (and we've been to at least 4 zoos in the past 3 years... Well, 3 ½ with the Amarillo zoo being the ½.)

The admission to the St. Louis zoo is absolutely free, and we parked on the street so we didn't even have to pay for parking.  Free!   

Mom & I ended up splurging by buying a $10 wrist band that allowed us access to all of the extras at the zoo: the train, the carousel, the stingray cove as well as several other attractions. 

 Posing with Owen in the stroller we borrowed from Jennifer for the day.

 Kaden, Owen & grandma

 

Fall might be the perfect time to go to the zoo as most kids are back in school, making everything extremely accessible and easy to view. The weather was also perfect—hovering around 65°.

 

 excited to see the tiger pacing back & forth

Holding Owen's hand while riding the train

wide-eyed through the dark tunnel

 

The Penguin & Puffin coast ranked high among my most-favorite attractions.

 

Kaden taking a look at the penguins outside.

 As we strolled inside the building, there was a definite drop in temperature to mimic a penguin's true climate.

Owen enjoying himself with his new cozy Mizzou tiger hat.

 Mommy & the boys: Kaden (3 years old) & Owen (9 months)

 Last year when we went to the Butterfly House, Kaden wanted to ride the carousel but once we got on and it started, he quickly became terrified and wanted to jump off. 

This year, he seemed excited at the sight of the ride and immediately said that he wanted to ride the tiger!  I think it may have been a little scary at first but he had a good time.

 Owen and grandma relaxing on the bench seat.

 

I think our favorite attraction of the day was the Stingray cove.  For me, this alone was worth the $10 wristband as we got to leisurely walk around the shallow pool and pet the stingrays & baby hammerhead sharks.

 The only thing we had to do before entering was wash our hands and remove any/all jewelry as to not harm the stingrays in any way. 

Telling Kaden what to do...

Basically, all you had to do was flatten your hand near the surface of the water and wait for a stingray to glide up, underneath your hand... similar to how a cat will rub up against you and essentially get petted.  It was SO neat!

 Owen chillin' off to the side.

smooth & rubbery

   View into the stingray pool.

Lovin it!

 

Our final destination of the day was the Children’s Petting Farm area and the goat pen.

 Owen taking a closer look. 

Kaden brushing the goats.

Getting acquainted with my new friends.

 

 Walking back to the car with grandma.

 

I wish that Ben could have experienced the zoo with us, but then again someone had to stay back and make some money.  We had an awesome day at the St. Louis zoo!