Halloween 2011



Best Sibling Pic I could get...Owen would not cooperate!

This year for Halloween, Ellie wanted to be a monkey...she had been talking about being a monkey for months! I thought for sure she would change her mind when we went shopping and she saw all the pink girlie costumes, but she did not. Ellie still picked out a monkey costume and wore it a gazillion times at home before the big day.


Ellie the Monkey



Owen was a Lion for Halloween. The poor guy had this costume passed down to him from the last two years that Ellie wore it. I secretly hope that he wants to be a monkey next year :) Owen the Lion was not a happy Lion...he did not want to put the hood (lion mane) up on his head...he would not cooperate for pictures...and he just wasn't feeling the whole idea of Trick or Treating.

Owen the Crabby Lion

Aunt Julie came over to go Trick or Treating with us...Ellie was ecstatic! Owen on the other hand didn't want to go, he wanted to stay home with Daddy and Josh and watch football. I tried over and over to encourage him to join us, but he just wasn't having it. Besides, why should he walk around the neighborhood to get candy when he can fill his bucket up with the candy from home!




 Ellie, Julie and I went to 15-20 houses pulling Ellie in the wagon until she eventually said she wanted to go home. A lot of the houses had "scary" noises playing on their porches, or bowls with hands that grabbed you and Ellie wasn't really all that fond of that.



Once Ellie and I got home, she was happy to share her candy with Owen. And of course Jeremy and I got to eat anything that had peanut butter in it after the kids went to bed (we both LOVE peanut butter!) The night seemed to be a success for all!



Happy Halloween!



Carving Pumpkins for the first time!

 Carving Pumpkins 2011

Jeremy helped the kids carve our pumpkins we got from Goodlove Farms tonight. Ellie had so much fun carving the pumpkins, she was daddy's little helper throughout the entire process. The dug out the goo, helped draw the faces, and enjoyed seeing the finished product.

So Cool!

Helping Daddy

Owen on the other hand wasn't so sure about carving pumpkins, he doesn't like to have to sit still for too long, and he hates to get his hands dirty. Owen decided to bounce back and forth between helping mommy bake pumpking bars and helping daddy carve pumpkins. He also ate his weight in snacks throughout the process :)

Icky!

Such a good helper!

Finished

Goodlove Farm

Today after work/daycare we deiceided to head out to Goodlove Farm to pick out some pumkins. Goodlove Farm is very low-key  farm and FREE...which we love. They may not have the hoopla surrounding pumpkin patches, but they are kind hard-working people and I was happy to give them our business.

Halloween shirts on and ready to go!

 Ellie and Owen loved it! We grabbed a wagon, and pulled it around to put our favorite pumpkins in to purchase. The kids were also entertained by some kittens that Mrs. Goodlove let them help feed!

Feeding the kittens

Hugs

Goodlove Farms 2011

Smaller pumpkins they picked out

No More Snore!

Owen had his tonsils and adenoids taken out on Friday, October 7th. It was a sad rough day, but we know the benefits are worth it in the long run. We had to be at the hospital with him at 6:30 in the morning, he was very upset about missing his oatmeal, and asked for it over and over. Surgery started at 7:30 and his Doctor came out to chat with us around 8:15. He reassured us that surgery went well, the Dr also stated that his adenoids were some of the biggest he has seen in a kid...that comment solidified that we did the right thing removing them. Owen's breathing problems have been an ongoing battle for us. Owen's previous pediatrician blamed it all on allergies and refused to think it could be anything else. I was adamant that something was wrong and decided to move Owen to a different pediatrician. We love her! She listened to us, referred us to the proper specialist and helped to solve all breathing/snoring problems!

Owen had a difficult time coming out of surgery, his oxygen levels kept dipping low and so he was in recovery for a few hours. Once we mad it back up to his room he had to have oxygen on him for the first 8 hours or so to keep his oxygen levels up. I will never forget how happy he was to see us for the first time once out of recovery. He had a huge smile on his face...but about 2 hours later he woke up from a nap and was not happy! He was awful for about 3 hours, screaming, crying, hitting...nothing made him happy! I slept in bed with him in the hospital and he seemed to wake up feeling a little bit better.

Watching Elmo

One sad little boy!

Relaxing with Dad



Once we got home he was a BEAR for about 5 days after surgery and started to come around by the following Thursday. Owen was so mad that he could not eat certain foods, or do certain things, but most of all I think he was just in pain.

Bye bye Hospital!

It was so sad to see him this way and now he did not understand why he felt so awful, but it was all worth it! Ellie said it best when she explained to a teacher at daycare that: "Owen has to have surgery to get rid of his snore" :)

Surgery was a success as we now have NO MORE SNORE!

Owen's 2nd Birthday Party

Family Picture 2011

Birthday Decorations

This year we had Owen's birthday party one week early because of his surgery the next week. The theme was a little bit of Elmo, mixed with dinosaurs. He seemed to be so excited and really enjoyed all the attention his guests gave him. He took his sweet time opening his gifts and saying his thank yous. It really was a treat to help him open his presents, he stayed very attentive and seemed interested in everything...I can't wait until Christmas! Owen made out like a bandit, but I do think that his ultimate favorite gift was his tool bench set from Papa and Yaya! He was so mad when he had to go to bed and stop playing.

New Shoes!

What is in the box?



Owen and Mommy



He loves this truck!

Ripping through the tissue paper

We bought him a cookie cake, because he is the official cookie monster! He LOVES cookies and gets mad when we don't have and homemade cookies in the house. His cake was decorated with dinosaurs. The look on his face when we sang him Happy Birthday was priceless. He looked so proud that everyone was singing to him. Once the song was over Ellie had a fit of excitement and blew out his candle...considering he is only 2 and had no clue what just happened we let it slide :)

Happy Birthday Owen Bug! We love you so much!

Staring down the cake

Like father like son

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

September 17th Jeremy turned 29 years old! He had a very busy weekend, with working nights, playing rugby and attending a baptism in DBQ. We tried to make the best of it, but I know that he was wiped (as was I). Here are some fun pictures with Jeremy and the kids on his birthday! Ellie and Owen were so excited for him to get up and celebrate. I think that Ellie was mostly excited for the cake she loves sweets just like her mommy!

After opening his presents we headed off to the rugby game. The Headhunters played Des Moines and won! We came back home, ate cake and pizza and Jeremy was back off to work.

Go Headhunters!



Happy Birthday to Daddy!



Yum!

On Monday we officially got to celebrate Jeremy's birthday with a nice steak dinner and homemade apple pie! Happy Birthday to the best husband and daddy around! We love you!

Owen's 1st Haircut

Owen's hair had started to take on a life of it's own...so we decided it was time for a haircut. We tried to get it cut on Labor Day, but could not find a salon that was open. So, I decided that I would have to brave the hair salon on my own during the week. I found a cute little place that has animals the kids can sit on, and movies to watch. The stylist, Miss Toni, was so nice and is the only one in the salon who cuts kids hair. You can tell she really enjoys it and Owen seemed to feel comfortable with her. Owen wasn't sure at first, he held onto his pig tight, and reached for mom a few times, but all in all did a great job. Once I gave him a sucker he was good to go! I saved some of his hair in a little baggie, and he got a balloon for being such a good boy. He looks so much older now that he had is haircut, and yes it is still curly! We love it!


In a daze watching Elmo clinging to his pig :)



Better now tha he has a sucker

Happy Big Boy with a new hair-do