Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas 2011

We also had a fantastic Christmas day. Owen was completely thrilled with his train table and tracks. And he loved opening his presents. He grasped the concept VERY quickly. It was a lot of fun seeing him discover what Santa brought him and open all his gifts from family and friends.
We had a nice phone conversation with Gram and Pappy in the morning. And then Nonnie and Pop flew in from Texas to spend the rest of the day with us.

First thing Christmas morning

Owen discovering his train table



Owen playing trains with his friends/neighbors Jack and Kieran

Christmas dinner picture with our Christmas cracker hats!

Christmas Eve 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve this year. We hung out around the house and just enjoyed our family. We snapped some pictures during the day and read "Twas the Night before Christmas" all together before bed time. Mom and Dad enjoyed a nice dinner (steak and deviled crabs) after the kids went to sleep and then "played" Santa. We stuffed all the stockings and assembled Owen's new train table and tracks.





Santa - Fire Truck - 2011

Santa came by our house on a fire truck again this year. Owen had some interesting conversations with us after we told him that Santa was going to come by our house.

Owen: I don't like Santa
Mommy: You don't? Why not?
Owen: I don't know.

A few minutes later....

Owen: Santa is my friend. He brings me presents.
Mommy: He does bring you presents. You are right.
Owen: I love Santa.

Our neighbors waiting for Santa

Daddy and Owen (with his camera)



Friday, December 9, 2011

Santa 2011

Owen was not a fan of Santa this year. Somehow he managed to smile...but his eyes are filled with tears. Poor guy.



Thursday, December 8, 2011

More pics from Thanksgiving!

Here are some more pictures from Thanksgiving weekend. It was Daddy's birthday too! So we celebrated with his favorite - Red Velvet cake. Owen REALLY wanted to help Daddy blow out the candles. Thanks again to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Karine for taking pictures during their visit!!! We need to get better about remembering to take our camera out!

Avery's first Thanksgiving dinner! She had pumpkin, green beans, pears, mango and peach. (Same as what she has most days....but I was certain to make sure she had pumpkin and beans for that meal) :)

Owen getting golf lessons from Pappy


Avery and Gram

Daddy's birthday cake!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year Uncle Jeff and Aunt Karine drove down from Montreal and Gram and Pappy drove up from Pinehurst to spend time with us. It was a great visit!
Jeff and Karine remembered to take lots of pictures and shared them with us before departing. Thanks guys! Great shots and memories!

Pappy pushing Avery in her first swing at the park!

Daddy, Mommy and Aunt Karine having a rest on the park bench while Owen eats a quick snack.

Owen sliding


Uncle Jeff sliding!

Pappy, Avery, Gram and Owen

Owen "pushing" Avery on the swing set.

Uncle Jeff and Owen after climbing.

Owen, Daddy and Nash leaving the park. Owen has a SWEET ride home!

Avery back at home in her piano

7 months!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Rainbow!

Our neighbor across the street took this picture this morning. Our house is on the left. Dark clouds, but beautiful rainbow!
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Monday, November 14, 2011

Owen making Avery laugh

Yes....she has an unconventional laugh...but you have to admit...it is still cute!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Monday, November 7, 2011

Breakthrough!

Avery has been a bit out of character lately. She has a bit of congestion and a cough (as everyone does in our house right now), but she also has been fussy during her bottles and often does not want to finish them. Daddy discovered tonight that Avery is cutting her first tooth! It appears as though her bottom left tooth is coming in first. We hope that Oraljel will help over the next few days.
Bye bye toothless smile!

Friday, November 4, 2011

More Halloween Pics


Avery (our banana) asleep at the Shady Grove UMC Fall Festival

Owen at the Shady Grove UMC

Avery, Owen, Kieran ("Bat-erina") and Jack (Spider Man)

Avery with all her "classmates" and teacher (Ms Jen) at school on Halloween.

Our Monkey and Banana!


Halloween 2011
Not the best picture....as we were hurrying to get out to trick or treat!!!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Bye bye PACI!

I think it is safe to post now....Owen has officially stopped using his PACI!!! YAHOO! One more BIG milestone in that little boy's life! Two weeks ago Owen went to the dentist for is second cleaning. He was such a good patient and did not cry at all (unlike his first visit in April). He got a little scared when they started moving the chair back so they could look in his mouth. He looked at me with a horrified face and said "Mommy, I'm falling.". Poor thing. But nothing a little reassuring didn't cure. The dentist suspected he used a paci. I told the dentist (the truth) that he only uses it to fall asleep at night and for naps on the weekends (he has not had his paci at school in over 18 months). The dentist said the damage it was doing to his bite was minimal and would probably be reversed, but that we should think about phasing out the paci completely.
We had been talking to Owen about getting rid of his paci for a few months now. We told him that they are for babies and that he should throw his in the trash. Owen's response to that "No no".
So that night, Owen didn't ask for his paci. He went to sleep and awoke at his normal time. GREAT! The next night, he didn't ask for it again. But...he woke up at midnight asking for it. A little pep talk and a pat on the back and he went right back to sleep. He asked for his paci when he woke up that morning too. The third night...Owen asked for his paci. We reassured him that he didn't need it and he went to sleep. Since then, he has only asked for his paci once. It was one night this past weekend when Avery was in his room sucking on her paci while we were getting Owen ready for bed. A little pep talk, a big hug and a request for him to pick out a story before going 'night-nights' distracted him from needing/wanting his paci.
That said....I think it is safe to throw Owen's pacis away! Now....on to potty training!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Pumpkin Patch!

We went to the little pumpkin patch by our church on Wednesday night before the fall festival. Here is a quick picture of Owen.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Where did October go?

There is less than one week left in October. Where did this month go!??!?! TIme is flying by. Avery's half birthday is this Sunday! We cannot believe she will be six months old! She has mastered rolling over both ways, sitting up and making faces. The baby food factory re-opened two weeks ago and we started feeding Avery solid foods two weekends ago. She has tried butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, green beans, peas, mango, peach, apple, pear and papaya. And of course the baby oatmeal. Lots of new flavors! She does not refuse any of them.
Owen is still surprising us everyday with his little conversations that he carries on. He interacts with Avery a little bit more (sometimes good (showing her toys and books) and sometimes bad (scaring her by being loud). He is starting to grasp the concept of Halloween, but we think trick-or-treating on Monday will be an interesting experience.

Here are some pictures we took over the last couple of weeks.

Avery is already showing her love for books. She grabs for just about anything, but seems to have an interest in looking at books already. We'll encourage that any day!

Avery was sitting happily by Owen's elephant, so we tried to get their picture together. Owen was not cooperating and Avery was pulling faces.


We took Owen to a pumpkin patch a few weekends ago and Owen picked out a big bumpy pumpkin. We found a "Cowboy Mr Potato Head" for it. Owen also got to pick out a small pumpkin at patch that they set up at his school. He painted it during craft time one day. Here he is with his pumpkins.

And here is the whole family (picture courtesy of Nonnie and Pop!)

Monday, October 10, 2011

Five months

Avery turned five months ten days ago...so I am a little late on blogging...but life happens!!! I did take her picture (more or less) on time though!