Adventures in Babysitting

I am the best sister in the world! When my sister April asked if I could watch her 3 kids so she could go on a cruise, of course I said yes! And a few weeks later when my sister Laura asked if I could watch HER kids so she could travel to Mexico, of course I said yes! A few weeks later I finally remembered to put the dates on the calendar and realized that these were back-to-back trips! We had one day in-between to do laundry, and that was it. But we loved it and Owen wishes he had lots of siblings to play with him (don't worry bud, we wish you did too!) ;)

Also, let me clarify that thankfully my babysitting adventures in no way resembled the classic 80's movie, "Just a pooool of icky goo!" Ha!

We started out with the Jorgenites and I love those kids AND brand new gorgeous house. Us basement dwellers appreciate anything that's, well, NOT in a basement. And somehow I didn't get a picture of the "party shower." Seriously - it's the biggest shower in the world with all sorts of nozzles spraying from all directions. I let Owen in there and he was in HEAVEN. 

Spaghetti dinner! Zack spent the week teaching us about bacteria. It was awesome.

TOYS! Owen was SO happy to get a change of scenery and some new toys
to play around with. He is obsessed with helping me in the kitchen, so no
surprise that he loved this thing. (And can you believe that my bro-in-law
MADE this? Oh to be so talented.)

Cute Kate playing with her cuz! Owen was beside himself that they have an
entire room dedicated to just toys!

We didn't tell Dad about the pink stroller. Owen, your secret is safe with me!

The awesome "pose" war at McDonalds.

Seriously. Cousins are the best!

Is it bad that when I look at this picture Owen is not the first thing I see? It's
the beautiful floors. And that kitchen is awesome!

Now we're with the Meganites. The kids were gearing up
to attack Uncle Dan with balls. Sadly, this is the only
picture I got of Megan. She is a BUSY girl!

We got SNOW while we were with Laura's kids. Thankfully we had good
weather for round 2. We spent LOTS of time at parks. And since Owen is
a boy, he loves sticks.

Did I mention that Owen cut 2 molars during our adventures? Bless this lawn mower
that gave me an hour of rest from the whines.

I had a picture of Owen bathing with his cousin. They both loved it! But since I'm not sure if posting that kind of stuff is legal these days, I figured I better be on the safe side (it was modest, I promise!)

Again, yay for new toys and for being outside!

Sam's like, "How long do I have to drive this baby around? It's exhausting!"
Kidding. These 2 were good buds by the end of the week and I fear that Owen
is an adrenaline junky because he giggled the loudest when Sam went fast.

Dan thinks Owen and Max look a lot alike. They're both stinkin cute, so
I'll take it!

Owen's entertainment while I put dinner together.

Thanks to a busy church calling, we only saw Dan a couple of times throughout
all of this. Yes, I was the single mother of 4 (it was fun!)

We even inherited this awesome McQueen couch when we left. We all came home and
slept for 2 hours. Apparently what my sisters do everyday is exhausting! :)

A Night as a Gilmore

This post is for my Gilmore Girls-obsessed sisters, cousins, and roommates. For the rest of you who haven't seen it, shame on you! ;)

Husband took me on a date a couple of weeks ago to the BYU Alumni Traditions ball. It was fancy, flirty, and fun . . . and the best part? I felt like I was at a Gilmore party! It had everything minus Emily's infamous salmon puffs (and alcohol of course). Side note - why have I never had a salmon puff? It's going on the bucket list. There was a majorly awesome live band, delicious hors d'oeuvres, and guests in tuxedos and fancy dresses (we definitely felt under-dressed). There was also some live entertainment (improv comedy) and when the band needed a break, a couple from the ballroom dance team would perform (they were INCREDIBLE). It was fun to have a night out with the man and Jon & Rach.

Some of the delicious hors d'oeuvres. For lots of
years I had no idea that "hors d'oeuvres"was how 
you spelled hors d'oeuvres. Whenever I read it
I pronounced it phonetically in my head, which
was extremely awkward.

Out in the foyer there was live background music
on this piano. This chick was AMAZING.
I could have listened to her play all night. And
she was probably just site reading everything.
Totally jealous of her talent.

Aren't we cute? These Ditto boys with their beards . . .
apparently whenever Jon has a beard he gets stopped
in airport security because they think he is Arab. Ha!

See, we're totally cool!

These 2 were SO GOOD!

The live band. Sometimes they brought in someone to
sing. She was so good!

You should be looking at the face is Jon is making - it's classic!
And no, I'm not pregnant. :)

People mingling.

Aww, cute!!

I told you this was a Gilmore night - there was even a Gazebo to dance in!!

Apparently I had a hard time trusting that Dan wouldn't let me fall.

Even Cosmo dressed up for the occasion.

Dan's parents joined us at the end. Go Cougars!

This has nothing to do with my Gilmore night. This kid's first time trying root beer
and he LOVED it. I thought his eyes would water from the carbonation, but not so.
He just wanted more!

Easter and Stuff

The 3 Owens! Dan's middle name (Owen) comes from his great
Uncle Owen (on the left) which is where our little Owen's name
comes from.

Hooray for the sun!!

We live in the best neighborhood ever! One of the neighbors
throws an Easter egg hunt each year so we don't have to bother
going to the city parks to fight the crowds. And I'm pretty sure you
won't find a city that also offers train rides before the hunt begins.
Owen loved it, he just forgot to tell his face.

My cute boys!

Owen was completely clueless when it came to the hunt. But
he was smart enough to spot this snickers bar. He opened it on
his own in under 2.5 seconds and was chowing down as fast as
his little chompers would go. It was like he knew it would get
taken away at any moment, so he had to hurry and enjoy it as
quickly as he could. Ha!

He might still be a little small for his 3-piece suit,
but we figured Easter was the perfect time to pull it out.
I can't get enough of him in it. He looks like a
little missionary!

Yep, still loves door knobs.

Can you tell he LOVES his cousins? They are the best.

Summer and Owen are going to get along really well. He is at
his happiest when he's outside.

More cousin time! Maybe one day we'll get them to
play a real duet together.

I promise they were having fun.

Watching BYU basketball. Dad is making sure Owen understands
the finer points of how to be a man.

This kid adores his dad and wants to do everything
his daddy does. Including the brushing of the teeth.

This kid is ALL muscle!

Sometimes we meet dad for lunch at Sam's Club. Lunch consists
of eating as many free samples as possible before they run out.
We have no shame.

  

His face here KILLS me! He would have stayed in that cart
all day if I had let him.

Creepy!
And sometimes he plays in his crib for an hour before he
falls asleep. It's quite entertaining!

Exhausted after playing at the library (they have
the coolest play area). He is super social and always
tries to say hi to the other kids. The problem is
he's a little behind in the speaking department, so his
"hi" consists of screaming in their face in a high-
pitched voice. It's hilarious. Somehow he still
manages to win over one or two kids to play with.

The end!!

One Year!

We recently passed 2 milestones: the first big one was of course Owen's birthday (January 11th), and the second was the anniversary of him coming home from the hospital (February 13th). We celebrated his coming home anniversary with a trip to the pool (which he, of course, LOVED.)

We had our own celebration with our little family
before everyone arrived for cake & ice cream

Let's pause for a moment and make sure proper attention is given to that cake. I had a friend teach me how to do fondant frosting, and was super proud of my first real fondant cake. It was fun (and delish) and I definitely want to make more in the future.

Owen loves animals. In case you can't tell, it's a lion, a monkey
and a giraffe. There was supposed to be an elephant as well,
but I ran out of room. Oops!

I finally put together all of Owen's monthly pictures. I took his 1-month and his 1-year on the same blanket, so you can get an idea for how much he's grown. And one secret - his 1-month picture was actually taken a few days after the real 1-month mark because he was STILL IN THE HOSPITAL when he hit one month. (Sigh.)

And because I have more pictures to post, I will!! These are all from a photoshoot we had done a couple of days before his birthday. I can't believe how much he's changed already since these were taken. Speaking of being grown-up, this kid is walking EVERYWHERE these days. Which also means he's falling everywhere. It might be a while before his head is bruise-less. His walk is hilarious (picture a drunken, bow-legged cowboy and you've just about got it!)

Holy handsome boys batman!

Miss that Lydia girl!

Yep, we still love each other.

This guy never holds still. The jeans he was wearing here (my all-
time favorite ones!) now have holes in both knees. Someone
who is creative should tell me how I should re-purpose them
so I don't have to throw them away (weep!)