How does this work?

I have a question directed to mothers of more than one child. How does it work? When you have another baby? Does your love grow...do you just automatically have more to give or do you have to share the love you have for your first born with the new baby. I just can't fathom loving someone as much as I love Owen. I mean...I REALLY love him. You know the kind of love that makes you want to jump up and down and let out a shriek when you think about them. Or sneak into their room in the middle of the night and wake them up just to say you are so glad you are their mommy. How can I possibly have that for anyone else?

Uncle Troy and da Zoo

This last weekend we went to visit Uncle Troy and spend a day at the San Diego Zoo. It was awesome. Thanks Troy for having us over and tolerating us crazies for a couple of days.What's that? A family picture? Heck yes and you can see my belly...I forgot to instruct the nice man who took the picture for us to get neck up. Too bad Owen's hand is in his mouth. Typical.

There was a helicopter near the Polar Bear Habitat. We waited in line for a photo op. Never really realized how orange my hair looks sometimes.
I should not be allowed to take pictures...I completely missed capturing the huge Jaguar Owen is sitting on.

Bocky and the Fish

4th of July weekend my sister Becky came down for a last minute visit from San Francisco. We had a lot of fun. We went to the Long Beach Aquarium and made Indian food for the first time...turned out way too salty...but I want to try it again next week when she comes to visit. Here are some pics of the Aquarium...

Softball Season

Warm summer nights = visits to Central Park for Daddy's softball games. Sometimes Owen loves to stay and watch the game but mostly he loves to go play on the playground. Mommy loves to "
shoot the breeze" with the other moms, wives and girlfriends. I think on this day we were the only fans for a while...we must have been early.

New Toys and Old Trains

Here are some pictures and a quick video for your viewing pleasure...courtesy of my new toy. We took Owen to Travel Town today... This was the on our way home...Owen started screaming because he wanted to go "night, night in Owen's bed" and he was stuck in his chair.

Driving "Mr. Know-it-All"

As an ambulance passes in front of us with the sirens blaring...

Owen: "Mommy, was dat noise?"
Jess: "That is a fire truck"
Owen: "No, mom, das na a fire truck"
Jess: "Oh, ok, what is it?"
Owen: "Dasa fire enjun, mom."
Jess: "Okay, that's a fire engine."

I think he takes after me a bit...mr. smarty pants. I didn't have the heart to tell him it was actually an ambulance...he probably would have argued with me anyways.

Prayer

I know Owen is still pretty young and has yet to understand that the world doesn't revolve around him, however he never ceases to amaze me. Between temper tantrums and "stop it mommy!", small slivers of what I consider greatness find there way out of his small heart and mouth. If you can't tell already...I'm about to brag about my son...sorry I'm just so proud of him!

My prayer for Owen is that he would be a man of compassion that he would treat others with the importance and value God has created them with. So how do you teach an almost two year old that other people have value? Beats me...I try my best to recognize needs in people we encounter. If we hear a baby crying in the store I say to Owen, "Oh no! Do you hear? That baby is sad. He is crying." We also pray, Owen and I. Well, actually, I do the praying...Owen just shouts a big, "AMEN!" at the end. But last night, it was different. We were laying in my bed together and I was praying out loud for a friend. I finish and hear these small whispers from Owen, "whisper, whisper...Elijah...more whispers...baby Saiah...whispers...AMEN!" He said his own prayer for his very dear friends! I couldn't be more proud of him. So this is how my son will learn compassion for others...by talking to God and watching me talk to God.

You might think that this is a no brainer...that I would have figured this out a long time ago...that the best way to teach my son the things I want him to learn is to SHOW him and introduce him to his Heavenly Father. Well, friends, I didn't. Sorry. I never thought I would learn so much from such a young teacher. Little eyes are always watching and learning. So...I need to be more purposeful about what I am doing.

"dog" has been found

After posting a few posters and placing an ad in the local paper "dog" has been found. He decided to take a nap underneath a box in the garage. Let's just say that Owen is very happy to have his friend...between "dog" and "muni" his hands are full.

"dog"

Growing up I didn't have a special "lovie" or something to that nature that I could not live without. However, my husband was very attached to a certain hideous comforter that he insisted on bringing in to our bed. I know, I know...strange as it sounds I let him until my feet got so tangled up in the shreds around the edges that I could not take it anymore. Because I do the laundry, I just set the nasty, 20-year old blanket in the dirty laundry and never washed it again. I don't know where it is now, probably in the trailer.

This experience with my husband helped me to cope with what we went through with our son this week. Note exhibit A: Carter's Just One Year Spotted Puppy

This little guy made fast friends with my son...he's all of 6 inches big and easy for Owen to cuddle. His name is "dog". We took dog with us to youth camp a couple of weeks ago and since then he is all Owen asks for. On monday...Owen brought dog over to Elijah's house to play and somehow he got away. I didn't think it was too big of a deal until bedtime when Owen was looking for dog. He was so sad and it made me sad too. You see, dog was given to Owen 2 years ago. And there is no chance that Target will sell the same exact blue puppy for $5.99 that they sold 2 years ago. So I ventured online in hopes of finding "dog 2". Well, I sure did...do you know how much this little sucker markets for these days? $20 - $30...yes that's a hefty mark up. I'm definitely in the wrong proffession. I'm just going to buy up all the soft little stuffed animals and in a couple of years put them on Ebay for desperate parents to find. Not only that, they have an entire website designed to help you find lost lovie's to replace. I'm really glad that Owen didn't become attached to this other little blanket/puppy that my mom gave him...it was selling for $40. I think I'm going to buy a "dog 3" & "dog 4" because I'm sure the price will go up as it becomes older.

Oh! So this is why my brain doesn't work anymore...

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child."
- Sofia Loren

Update

I just wanted to clear the air with everyone...My husband is still absolutely wonderful. He did remember to bring home the new hub a few weeks ago and set it up. However our internet is still not working. Ughh!

Owen loves his monkey, George. He calls him his "monee" and for some reason has adopted this affectionate name for all blankets. I have no idea why. But, if you hear my son say "monee", he is not greedy and only thinking about money. He is simly referring to his blanket. Boy needs to learn those k's.

I know I know I know

Sorry, friends, for the lack of posting on Owen's behalf. He's been on my case lately about updating all his friends on the wonderful things he says an does. Although I have many fabulous Ideas for Owen's blog...I have been completely incapacitated by an unfortunate case of a bad modem, router or hub (not really sure which of these it is). Anyways...my absolutely wonderful husband is bringing home (fingers crossed that he remembers) a new thing-a-ma-jig tonight. Which means I should have uninterrupted access to the world wide web by the end of the week and, therefore, a new blog post shortly following.

Some nonsense...

Oh this boy...I don't know whether to laugh or be mad or cry with him sometimes. These past few days Owen's favorite game seems to be how many times can I push the power button on the cable box before I am stopped. At least he thinks it's a game. No matter how many times we "remove him from the area" and say "NO!" he seems to think it's funny. I think at this point, the child has lost all feeling in the top of his chubby little hand. I'm so scared to slap his hand too hard...at what point is it considered child abuse?

Before I had a child I was always so sure of how well-behaved and disciplined my kids were going to be...HA! Don't even get me started on dinner time.

On a lighter note. I love this boy...he brings me so much joy and I feel so blessed to be his caregiver. He's getting better at taking steps. Every day he seems to be less wobbly and more confident. He is also developing quite the personality. I see a lot of Kyle in him. Whether it be a goofy face or a sloppy hug he is always trying to make me laugh. The other night Owen heard me laugh and decided to mock me by throwing his head back and bellowing out a, "bahaha". This in turn made me laugh again and so he repeated. He's a great boy and I pray that he develops a generous and caring heart. That he grows to serve God and follow Him.

Enough with the mush...here's a pic of his latest goofy face.

Pics of the Birthday Boy

One down, seventeen to go

Well, he did it! Owen survived a whole year with us. He's an extremely resilient little boy. We had so much fun celebrating his big day too. It was almost like a surprise party. We were all at the park with everything set up and waiting for him. And in he walks (Owen was actually carried in) with that "deer in the head lights" sort of face, a little shocked from all of the smiling faces. He had a great time visiting with most of his friends and family that love him. Thanks to everyone for being there for Owen. He is one very blessed little boy.

Another highlight of the day is that he took two consecutive steps...HORRAY! I'm really excited to not have to carry him all the time. Not that I don't like being a luggage cart...I'm just tired of having to constantly adjust my clothing from the pulls and stretches of little limbs.

Some things we love about our boy...

1. His hugs especially when he wraps his arms right around your neck and sighs. It just melts your heart.

2. That he has learned to say please.

3. That he is friendly and loves to talk to everyone.

4. That he will go to bed by himself

5. The little blue speck in his right eye (it's perfect)

6. His crazy hair that won't lay down

7. The fact that he is so observant and doesn't miss a beat

8. That he looks just like his daddy.

9. That he is happy and healthy

10. We love that he's ours and he needs us

shrink art & gold fish

We hope that everyone had a great holiday. We sure did. Tonight, "my beth" (that is what Owen calls her) came over and we made shrink art.

Owen is discovering that he can stand all by himself. He loves to listen to music and dance and scream. We are enjoying every day with him. Enough with the talk...here are the photos.

I'm sorry everyone...

I know it's been over a month and I apologize. This blog won't be very long but I stole this pic from my sister, Becky, and wanted to post it. My entire family is visiting from Idaho for Christmas! On Tuesday Owen was able to spend the day with his aunts and uncles and he loved it. They took him to Santa Clarita Park. We're going to have a wonderful week together.

It's been a while

The last couple of weeks have just flown by. I was able to go to a women's retreat this last weekend in Ventura and had such a wonderful time. Kyle was on baby duty and the boys had a great weekend together. Owen just adores his daddy. He's so much fun at this age...I can honestly say that about every age so far. He will be 9 months on Saturday. I love my job, but everyday around 3pm I get so excited to go home and see Owen & Kyle.

Enough about me...here are some updates on Owen's growth and development. The boy does not stay still. Even when you hold him he is constantly turning this way and that to see what's going on around him. He loves watching older kids play and is longing for the day when he can chase after them.

Every day Owen is working on his balance and standing alone...we got him a walker...he uses it backwards sometimes which makes me laugh. I keep trying to get a video of him but everytime I pull out the camera that boy notices and stops whatever he is doing and comes after the camera. He loves the electronics.

We went to dinner last night and the lady at the table next to us taught Owen how to sword fight...with chop sticks, of course.

He spends one day a week with Elijah (16 months old) and "Grandma" Norma. The boys are two peas in a pod. Norma says that they play chase and hide & seek together. Owen learns so much from Elijah. I will get a picture of the two of them together. Elijah is such a good natured little guy, he is always looking out for Owen, bringing him toys and walking him to the car when we leave his house.

mmm...needs salt

A few pictures...

From the last couple of weeks.