Family

Family

Sunday, February 23, 2014

4 Year Old Owen

At age 4, Owen is very inquisitive.  The thing that he has started doing the most this year is asking us about street signs.  Every car ride, he asks what the signs mean.  Now he tells us on certain streets that we can't park on those streets because he recognizes the signs.  Or he'll tell us when we are supposed to yield, when the pedestrians can walk, etc. 

He knows his ABC's, and can count to 40 or more by himself, but if he has help with the main larger numbers like 60,70,80, he can do up to 100.  He loves to cut and draw, but doesn't have a lot of patience for writing.  He can write his name, but gets frustrated if we ask him to do it too often.  (Writing out his Valentines for his friends was NOT a fun activity!!!)

He loves to be read to and will sit through 5-6 books at a time.  He recognizes words like stop, exit, no and yes.  He has memorized most of his books and you hear about it if you say a word wrong or skip a page!  He recognizes most of his friend's names when written and is really good at telling us what sounds all the letters make.

He is still an all-around good eater, but fruits and veggies are still his favorite.  Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts and berries still top his list.  He'll try anything and there are very few things that he won't eat. Spaghetti is a favorite, he loves cake and is taking after his daddy with his love for ice cream.

This year he did swimming lessons and ice skating lessons and enjoyed them both.  For whatever reason though, he is telling us that he's not going to ice skate any more until next year.

He can dress himself completely, including his outerwear.  He can do buttons by himself and if he has help with holding the zipper all the way down, he can zip his own coat.  We are working on that right now!  He is getting pretty particular about his clothes and no matter what we pick out, he has something else in mind.

His favorite toys are his Imaginext city and his walkie talkies.  He loves to play "polices" and daddy is always the robber.  We catch him and he has to go sit in jail (dining room table).  He likes to watch Martha Speaks and Fireman Sam on TV and his favorite movie is probably Planes.

Owen is a good sleeper.  He's gone through phases over the years, but his typical schedule right now is going to bed around 7:30 and getting up at 6:20. 

He loves to sing.  It's a rare moment when he's playing or riding in the car and not humming or singing.  I think he gets his love of music from his Papa.

His vocabulary has taken off so much this year!  We giggle when we hear him use words like definitely, probably, disgusting, ridiculous, or especially.  They make him sound so OLD!

Owen has such a huge heart!  He is always telling us that he loves us, snuggling with his bear, and saying kind, encouraging things to his friends.  I love how sweet he is and hope that he keeps that characteristic of his personality forever!

Happy 4th birthday big boy!  You make us proud to be your parents day after day.  We can't wait to see how much you will grow and change in the coming year. :) 

Happy 4th Birthday Owen!

Paul and I catch ourselves so often now commenting on how big Owen is getting.  It used to only be when we were folding his jammies.  They look so long!  Now it's when we see him washing his hands at the sink without needing a stool, when he's using grown-up utensils instead of kiddie sized ones, when we have conversations, see him in photos....the list goes on and on.  It's hard to believe that Owen joined our family and changed our world four years ago!  Where does the time go?

Owen has had a pretty great fourth birthday!  Yesterday, we celebrated with our friends and family, fire fighter style.  Owen loves all things fire fighter and police, so this year's theme was pretty easy.

Stop, Drop and Roll! 
 Fire cupcakes

 My friend Jackie helped me make the cupcake picks and the cute dalmation and fireman.  Aren't they adorable!  Thanks Jack for all of the time you put into helping me!!
 Fire hydrant sippers
 Red, orange and yellow food!  Tried my best to make the food look like fire!
 Michael, Jackie, Hannah, John and Fire Chief Owen
 Neighbors!
 He told me, "Mom, it made me happy when my friends and the mommies and daddies sang to me, so I smiled and smiled."
No girlfriends!  Must be because I told him he isn't allowed to have them. :)

 Owen and his side-kick, Sully

 Owen and Lucy!
 Awww, hugs from Cameron!
 
He had a great time!  Today, after mass, we stopped to get some hot cocoa, which was a special treat.  He loved it!  Then we went to SkyZone and had some fun jumping.  He got to pick where we ate lunch and he chose Olive Garden because he wanted them to sing happy birthday to him.


 Daddy bouncing off the walls!

 He really enjoyed jumping and wants to go back with his buddies Sully and Liam.
 Happy Birthday to You!
 Mmmmmm!
 My 4 year old boy!
 

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Clearwater Aquarium and Winter the Dolphin

If you've seen the movie Dolphin Tale, you'll remember that it takes place at the Clearwater Aquarium and stars Winter the dolphin.  We got to watch Winter perform with and without her prosthetic tail and she was amazing!  We also got to see Holly, a 3 year old dolphin that was found orphaned.

We got to pet sting rays,  or as O called them, Xrays :)
 We saw sea turtles and otters
 We got to watch the trainers play with the dolphins (don't mind the bars, we couldn't get any closer because they don't want cameras to fall into the water).

 The white thing in the water is Winter's prosthetic tail. She just wouldn't stay still long enough for me to take her picture!

Overall, we had a great trip to Florida.  It was very relaxing and so much fun to experience it with Owen.

Busch Gardens

Our condo was an hour and a half from Disney World, so Paul and I were just not convinced that driving all that way and not having a place for O to nap if he needed it was a good idea.  Plus, he still has yet to go on a ride without screaming and crying to get off before the ride starts.  We decided it just wasn't worth it.

Busch Gardens was only about 40 minutes from our condo and it seemed like there would be a lot more to do there, so we gave it a shot.  There was a Sesame Street exhibit there and although Owen's never really watched it or been into the characters, he enjoyed it.  He got to meet Big Bird, Elmo, Grover, Zoe and Cookie Monster and he thought that was pretty cool.  There were a few Sesame themed rides and climbing mazes that he ended up really enjoying.

 Giving Elmo a big hug
 Grover too!

 Big Bird!
He had so much fun waiting for the show to begin, he was dancing up a storm!

 
O's first ride!!!  There was a wonderful, grandmotherly woman working the ride and she let him go sit in a car, just to check it out.  Then she asked if he'd like to go around the circle one time and he could tell her if he wanted to get off.  He reluctantly agreed, but ended up loving it and staying on.  Later in the day, he wanted to go on again, but wouldn't when we go there because a different lady was working the ride.  Baby steps!
 We climbed up a huge tree house and walked across rope bridges to get to this big climbing maze.  He LOVED this!





We spent quite a bit of time riding the train around the grounds, checking out the animals.  It was amazing how close we got to them!

Owen and Daddy with the giraffe bushes
 White Rhino
 Zebras
 Monkey
 Giraffes
Owen and Paul with the kangaroo bush
 Cheese!
 Butterfly bushes
 Tigers

After getting our animal fix, it was time for a little friendly competition between the boys!
First they raced boats
 Then monster trucks

It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun!