Miracle

No, the image of Elvis did not appear on my toast this morning.  Too bad.  That would have been awesome, right?  But this, my friends, is almost as monumental.

January 9, 2014, one month shy of Owen's 2nd birthday.  I dropped him off at daycare and he did not cry.  After nearly five months of HYSTERICS not even one tear rolled down his chubby little cheek.  Way to go, Owen! 

Smart Cookie

One of my distinct memories from childhood is eating animal crackers while grocery shopping. For those of you who know me well, it won't come as any surprise that my earliest memories are food related. Sadly (or perhaps fortunately), I don't think that Owen shares my fondness for eating.

I now understand why my Mom would make a beeline for the cookie aisle as soon as we got to the grocery store. She's one smart cookie! My mistake was waiting until checkout and making an impulse purchase; the result of being frazzled from whining. You can't tell from the contented look on his face but our very own Chicken Little really has "the sky is falling" thing down.

Is it even possible that I was ever so aggravating? Mom, you don't have to answer.

Better Late than Never

I'm a little behind but I finally got around to making a photo book for 2012. 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Homeward Bound

It's impressive how quickly Owen got the hang of Christmas....mainly opening presents. Turns out he's also a big fan of Christmas cookies and the classic tune, Jingle Bells. Which we sang no less than 100 times en route to Providence. Regardless, I'm happy to say that we made it back home safe and sound and mostly sane.

The calm before the storm. Here's a cute snow bunny playing before the long journey home. Our plan to tire Owen out worked. Both he and Johnny were out cold almost immediately.

 

And here's a happy boy during a pit stop...

But don't let these pictures fool you, our trip was hardly all naps and smiles. Owen repeated his first official sentence, "I get out, I get out, I get out" almost incessantly for two days. The kid is a trooper, though, and we were all happy to sleep in our own beds. 

Mostly Nice

My good intention of sending out a physical holiday card has fallen by the wayside. It's been a crazy couple of weeks so a digital greeting will have to suffice.

We three Linkers and Johnny survived the seemingly endless car ride from Providence to Chicago. Note to self, driving 16 hours with a toddler is not fun! Owen spent the better part of two days vacillating between whining, crying hysterically, and asking for the airport. Smart kid. Johnny, on the other hand, gets a gold star for his traveling prowess. 

It's hard to believe it's almost a new year and we have so much to be thankful for. A loving family, a beautiful little boy and the new kid, set to arrive on the scene in early April. 

Happy Holidays to all and here's to a healthy and happy 2014!

Love,
Steve, Sarah and Owen

Almost Paradise

Owen is an early riser.  Truth be told that he goes to bed early too but, you know, I'm greedy.  I want to enjoy a peaceful evening and morning. For the past two weeks or so Owen has been waking up at 5:45 am on the dot (give or take a few minutes). His internal clock is really quite impressive.

We try to keep him in bed with us until at least 6:30 am, a more reasonable breakfast hour, in my opinion.  Since a quiet cuddle or cat nap is pretty much out of the question we've had to get creative with ways to keep Owen still. We've found out that he likes watching music videos. Not sure how we ever survived without the internet. Thank you, Al Gore!

It's taken some trial and error to find what he likes. Nicki Minaj, too risque; Jack Johnson, too chill; The Jackson 5, too vintage. You know Owen is into the video when he pays attention and claps when it's over and says, "Again!" Some favorites....Lazy Song by Bruno Mars, Roar by Katy Perry, and Paradise by Coldplay. The common theme, animals. Naturally.

Paradise also happens to be "Owen's song." It was playing on the radio the day Owen was born and it reminds us of his birth-day. And who doesn't deserve a theme song?

Busy

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgivukkah trip to California. More to come.

We've been busy! Immediately upon our return from sunny California, Owen ended up in the ER with a nasty case of croup cough and I am in the midst of finals. On a positive note, as of 6pm tonight I will be done - DONE - with graduate school. Yippee!!