Motorcycle Bike

When it finally warmed up enough in March to get rid of the February snow, it was time to get Owen his first two wheel bicycle (not counting the training wheels). He had been practicing on a two wheel bike during the winter, riding in our daycare provider's basement. His winter testing in the basement peaked his desire for a motorcycle bicycle (Owen's words) of his own.

When daylight savings time started, I knew that the after-dinner requests from Owen to play outside and ride bikes would begin. It was time for Owen to have his very own motorcycle bicycle. It was dark by the time I got home with the bike, but Owen insisted that he had to test drive it in the kitchen.

We have been on many trips around the block since then. After the first couple of trips, I decided that I needed to be on my bike also because I was getting tired of sprinting to keep up. Riding behind is an adventure in itself because Owen likes to come to a dead stop at random moments to look at something on the sidewalk or to tell me a random story about his day.

Wildlights Part II

During our November trip to see the Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo we were limited on time and only saw the west portion of the exhibit. Owen was not happy to have his visit cut short and we promised him that we would return again before the end of the exhibit. In the blink of an eye, Christmas was over and we only had a few days left to squeeze in the return visit. Although the weather was a bit colder than in November, it was nice to view the exhibit with some snow on the ground.

View of the lights around the frozen pond just inside of the zoo entrance.

Clara all bundled up.

Owen displaying his rapidly developing "funny guy" personality. It is more fun to make a funny face than to smile.

Clara giving Owen a dirty look for being silly in her photo op.

Finally, a normal smile from the boy!

Better Late Than Never

It has taken a week and a half following Santa's visit to restore some sense of order to our house and I finally have a few moments to post. It seems like we just put the tree up yesterday but now it is at the curb waiting to be turned into mulch.

I suspect that this will be the last year that exhaustion will be able to restrain Owen's excitement past 6:30 AM. This year he figured out that if he got up to go potty frequently enough that he would eventually wake Clara up. Next year I suspect that he will try to conspire with Clara to formulate an early wake up strategy. I am about to receive payback for all those years that my brother and I woke up at 4 AM and tried to provide subtle hints to Mom and Dad that it was time to wake up.

Santa has been here. Let the chaos begin!!

Where do I start? This paper is too pretty to rip.

Santa delivered the one toy that Owen really wanted - the Fisher Price Shake n Go XTREME Speedway. Santa was nice to Mom and Dad and used Amazon's frustration free packaging, but had to add a picture since the contents are not visible on the box.

Ready for the inaugural race! Thanks Santa!

Eating breakfast amongst the clutter.

Pumpkin Carving

Every year I get suckered in by those pumpkin carving books with intricate patterns and special carving tools. What a great idea, I think to myself, until I spend an hour or more scooping pumpkin innards and carving all of the little details. I tried to explain to Owen that when I was a kid jack-o-lanterns had simple triangle eyes and jagged toothed smiles, but he had his heart set on the ghost in the castle pattern. Although Owen in not quite willing to scoop the pumpkin innards, he was certainly by my side to supervise every move and cut. Owen was also true to the code of three year old kids by asking about 5 million questions during the process.

We finished the carving process just before Owen's bedtime, and had to light it up.

A spooky masterpiece!

Unfortunately, we carved the pumpkin too soon and the recent warm weather has taken it's toll. Looks like we'll be doing some more carving before the end of the week.

Soccer - Fall Season

The fall soccer season is almost complete and I have finally found time to post a couple of pictures. During the spring season, Owen was the youngest of the four boys on his team. This season he is the youngest of the seven boys. Owen is as tall as most of the older boys but he is slower and a bit more timid; therefore, he spends most of his time chasing after the pack. When he catches up to the pack, he is not enthusiastic about getting into the middle of the pack of kicking feet. Owen is doing much better in practice this season, but is starting to get frustrated when the older boys score all the goals during the games. The post game parent tunnel and snacks seem to erase any lingering goal scoring envy.

He has the look of a serious soccer star...

...but sometimes gets distracted and needs a friendly reminder to chase after the ball.

Tranquility

Owen has declared that we must see the fish during every visit to the Columbus Zoo. He would stand at the glass watching the fish for hours if we would let him. Even when the zoo is busy, the aquarium offers a peaceful place to rest for a few minutes and cool down (summer visits) or warm up (fall/winter visits). Therefore, Ellen and I are generally happy to oblige Owen's request.

Since we live reasonably close to the zoo and have a membership, we visit the zoo several times each year and try to limit each visit to less than four hours. As such, we visit only a portion of the zoo and the aquarium during each visit. Fortunately, the aquarium is generally in the middle of the zoo, so we do not have to trek to the far reaches of the zoo to see the fish.

Tricycle Ride

Owen and Clara's Nana and Papa were able to spend a couple of days at our house recently following the calling hours and funeral service for my Grandma Rose (Papa's Mom and Owen and Clara's Great Grandma). Since we only get to visit with Nana and Papa a few times each year (they now live in Phoenix), Owen takes full advantage of his opportunities to play with Papa. In the picture below, Owen is showing Papa that he can ride his tricycle all the away around the block.

You can't catch me, Papa!!

VBS, Swim Lessons, and Preschool

We are at the end of the second of three very busy weeks. Two weeks ago, Owen attended a week of Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church from 6:30 to 8:30 in the evening. Since Ellen and I both work full time, we had to rush home to prepare and eat dinner quickly so that Ellen and Owen could get to the church on time. After the first couple of hectic days, our sitter was kind enough to offer to bathe and feed Owen before we picked him up so that we would not have to scramble every evening. Her kids also attended VBS so she just included Owen as part of her preparation routine.

Owen singing during the last night of VBS

Owen had a great time at VBS. Each night he would give me his three year old account of the evenings activities and proudly display his crafts. One night, the Pastor gave Owen a river rock for singing so well and Owen was so proud of his reward that he had to take it to bed with him. Needless to say, the performance by the kids at the end of the week was excellent and we all enjoyed an ice-cream social to celebrate the end of the busy week.

The end of VBS happened to coincide with the All Ohio Bike Festival motorcycle light parade. Since the parade route went right past the church, we set up chairs and waited for the parade to start. Owen passed the time running and rolling down the grass hill with his cousins. Clara was happy to be out of the house and up past her bed time. The procession of motorcycles was shorter than years past, but everyone still enjoyed the show. During the 5 minute car ride from the church to our house, both tired kids passed out in their car seats. Fortunately, I was able to wake Owen up long enough to use the potty and to get a quick washcloth wipe down.

Watching the motorcycle light parade after the last night of VBS

This week, Owen started the first of two weeks of swim lessons from 6 to 6:30 in the evening. So we began two more weeks of rushing home so that we could get to the pool on time. Although Owen was tentative about putting his head completely under water at first, he really enjoys playing as a group with similarly aged peers and has gotten increasingly comfortable with the water each day. It is nice to see him adapt quickly when placed in a group of kids that he has never met.

In addition to swim lessons, Owen started his first year of preschool this week. We have enrolled Owen as a peer model in the preschool run by the County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Each class consists of a mix of kids with developmental delays and "typically developing" peers. Students with delays benefit from interaction with peers that demonstrate age-appropriate social and language skills while the peers benefit by learning that their classmates with delays are more like themselves than different. Owen enjoyed his first day of school and is happy that he finally gets to ride the school bus.

Owen and Nathan (the baby sitter's son) showing off their backpacks before the first day of preschool.

Getting on the bus for the first time!!

The week after next should bring some relief; however we might feel a little lost when we do not have to scramble to get out the door.

Summer Fun at the Playground

During the Fourth of July weekend at Grammy and Grandpa's house, we took advantage of the nice park that is just around the corner to burn some of the always abundant kid energy. Last year, Owen was intimidated by the size of the slides and other fun items on the play set and would not do anything without Mommy or Daddy close by. This year, he was all over the play set and even attempted some of the more difficult ladders. It was hard to tell what Clara enjoyed more, playing or watching her brother play.

Having fun in the tunnel tubes

Here I come Dad!!

The twisty-bumpy slide is my favorite!

Climbing the rock wall

Can you tell that Clara loves to swing?

Soccer Season

Owen's first experience with organized team sports began this spring with soccer. Our expectations are pretty basic - run around and have fun while beginning to learn how to work as part of a team to accomplish a common goal. The added bonus is that he learning to be social with other boys that he has never met before.

At this age (3 and 4 years old), soccer generally consists of a pack of boys chasing the ball with a couple of stragglers trying to keep up. Since Owen is the youngest on his team, he is generally slower than the other boys and is often the straggler. While he wants to kick the ball, he also wants to pretend to be a train, or pay attention to all the people on the sidelines, or watch the cars in the parking lot, or...you get the idea. Owen is also a talker and likes to try to tell the other boys his view on how things should be done as they are running by him. While we try to keep him focused on the task at hand, all that really matters is that he is having fun while getting some exercise.

Kick Off!!

I'm Thirsty!

Is this game over yet?

Yee Haw Partner!

Since Nana only gets to see her grandbabies a couple times a year, she likes to do a little spoiling when she has a chance. During our recent vacation to visit Nana and Papa in Phoenix, we made a quick trip to this store so that Nana could buy a cowboy hat and boots for Owen. See the pictures below.

When we arrived back in Columbus, we were the last people getting off the plane (we have learned that it is easier to wait for everyone else to deplane when travelling with the kids). Owen was walking in front of Ellen and me, pulling his backpack, wearing pj's, sneakers, and his cowboy hat. As he approached the pilots and flight attendants near the cockpit, he took off his hat and gave an enthusiastic, "yee haw partner"! You can imagine their delighted reaction, especially at the end of a long day (11 PM local time due to an hour delay in Chicago). Given their reaction, Owen proceeded to repeat his performance several times in the baggage claim area while I was retrieving the car.

Owen modelling his new cowboy hat and cowboy boots while taking a picture of me taking a picture of him.

Looking cute in his hat during a visit to Tortilla Flat, AZ.

Nana couldn't resist the opportunity for Clara to try on big brothers new boots.

Clara trying on big brothers new cowboy hat.

Don't worry, Nana spoiled Clara too! Here is a picture of Clara's boots.

Is this the same kid??

After Owen has a haircut, we are always amazed how different (and older) he looks. In the interest of full disclosure, Owen made the decision to have all of his curls cut off. When Ellen asked if he was sure, he told her not to be sad because his curls would grow back.

February 2009 - With Curls

March 2009 - Without Curls

Owen the Mighty Golfer

After being trapped inside during the long Ohio winter, Owen took full advantage of the perfect weather in Phoenix during our recent vacation at Nana and Papa's house. Playing golf in the back yard was one of his favorite activities. Looks like I have a golfing buddy.

He has pretty good form for a three year old. The fact that he is left-handed and the clubs were right-handed did not bother him at all.

No Dad!! I want to do it by my own self!

Trick or Treat

Clara the Puppy

Cowboy Owen

Spooky Jack-o-Lantern

These cute kids went out and rustled up piles of good candy for Mommy and Daddy. We live in a neighborhood that is not conducive to through traffic, so we have a lot of visitors that bring their little ones trick-or-treating. For the first hour, the parade of kids is virtually non-stop. With the new daylight savings time schedule, it is nice to be able to see the costumes before darkness falls.