Owen is in Baseball & Liam is into EVERYTHING!

Owen started Lil Sluggers a few weeks ago. This week, he went for the second time (we missed last week due to the stomach virus). His biggest fan is this little cutie watching from the "dugout".
Owen (and I) got to be the third base(people) during field practice. After the first turn, he wouldn't throw the ball to the coach, so I had to go to home plate for him to throw it to me. But, the next time...he did it. Its so fun to watch! That's Parker (and his mom) at shortstop ;-)

But, Owen's favorite part so far is batting practice. He is actually quite good.

Once he gets his grip right. He holds the bat like a lefty, but insists on standing on the right side of the tee. So, he has to check his grip pretty often to get his left hand on the bottom. Its funny, because I can already say "hands" to him, and he stops to check his grip and get it the right way around (most of the time).

The best part as far as all of the little sluggers are concerned is the cheer at the end and the "tattoos" the coach gives them. This does, however, make for a sad bath time. Owen hates for his stamps to go away.

Owen has really started conversing more. Conversations with him are hilarious. I have already forgotten what it was like before he could talk. But, this kid makes me laugh like no body's business. I wish I could remember all of the ones I hoped to document on the blog (so that I can later refer back here and finish his baby book). But, I have since forgotten most of them. One of the ones that was the sweetest to me was this:

Me: Owen, let's get in the car so we can go {I don't remember where we were going}.

Owen: Mama! I need shoes!

Me: (since we had just all three come downstairs, I quickly decided I should just run back up with Liam and grab Owen's shoes) Okay. Mama will go get them for you.

Owen: Mama needs shoes, too.

Me: I do. I will get yours and then come back and get mine.

Owen: Mama, Owen will get Mama's shoes.

Me: Okay. (I run upstairs and see Owen head to my closet. I then return downstairs and Owen is still gone, so I wait for a few seconds.)

Owen: (coming into the living room with my Uggs) "Here go, Mama. Boots."

Seriously. The kid went into the closet and got a pair of matching shoes for me to wear. So sweet, huh? They didn't "go" with my outfit; but, I wore them anyway since he'd gone to the trouble, and all.

Now...onto Liam. Boy, this boy has just catapulted from a sitting baby last Sunday, to a crawling, getting into everything, singing, talking, busy boy. I L.O.V.E. it!

He is still slow; but, he cover some ground and get himself into whatever his little heart desires. So far, his favorite things to crawl to happen to be whatever Owen is most interested in at the moment. I have a feeling that might never change.

And, yesterday in the car, he started "talking." I heard "Da, da, da, da, da, da" and "La, la, la, la, oooooh," coming from the backseat....and it wasn't Owen!

Now that he is covering ground, he has just snowballed into other fun developments. He is starting to pull up on things to see what is up higher and/or inside. Once he gets hold of the basket of toys, he pulls it over, dumps everything out, and has a ball!

I took Owen to the potty yesterday and when we returned, Liam was crawling across the playroom. Owen went up to him and said "Where goin', baby" then followed him to the trains. Owen said "Baby, want to play trains?...Okay...Not that one...That's Owen's....{picks out another train and hands it to Liam}...Here you go." Hmmmm...not perfect, but a better attitude than I thought Owen might have when Liam dug into the trains. Not a bad start ;-)

The one thing that does get to Owen a bit, is when Liam knocks Cranky over....that makes Owen a little, well, cranky. There is something about that one that Liam LOVES. ;-)

Yesterday, we all ventured to the grocery store. Liam sat in the cart reaching and grabbing for everything that came within a foot of him. Meanwhile, Owen pushed his own cart and filled it with HIS stuff. Half way through the trip, I turn around and see that Owen has stopped and is pulling the things out of his cart and putting them on the floor. Geez. The butcher is watching and laughing. I smile kindly to the laughing butcher and kneel next to Owen. I assum that he has changed his mind about something in his cart, so I ask him what he doesn't want anymore hoping that I can identify the offending grocery, get it in my cart, and scurry away from the scene. The butcher stops me and says that he thinks Owen is just re-arranging...he'd been watching the process while I was mulling over which pork to buy. So, I watch Owen. Darn it if that laughing butcher wasn't right. Owen starts putting everything back in the cart in a very organized fashion. Ha!

When he isn't mulling over his own purchase, or talking to a fellow shopper, he just follows me and sings songs to himself. That kid really has some personality. Hilarious.

After the store, as we were driving home, I spotted a hot air balloon and pointed it out to Owen. As we drove, Owen kept spotting it. Just when I was turning into our street, Owen asked for "more hot air balloon." So, I backed the car up and we just drove and followed the balloon until it landed. Afterward, it was all Owen could talk about (today, too, for that matter).

I downloaded and printed hot air balloon coloring pages and we were coloring and drawing hot air balloons when Liam crawled over and grabbed a marker.

Owen: "Baby, you want to draw hot air balloon"

Liam: hanging on tight to the marker

Owen: "Okay, baby. Here go." Owen opened the marker for him.

Liam: just swung the marker around in the air.

Owen: Looking a little frustrated that Liam wasn't drawing a hot air balloon, said "Baby, like this." and then Owen drew one.

Liam: still not drawing.

Owen: Decides that Liam must not have just the color he wants, so he trades it out for another, different marker, and opens it for him.

Liam: swings the new marker around.

Owen: frustration mounting.

Me: Owen, it is so nice of you to share and to show Liam how to draw. But, I think he just wants to watch you for now.

Fun stuff, I tell ya!

Here Comes Trouble!

I have so much to blog about, that I don't even know where to start. So, I won't. I will just post this one picture to give you a little hint of the fun going on here, and go on to bed.

Nighty Night.

Just Another *Lazy* Monday.

Grammie and Pa came to visit this weekend and gave Gerard and I a night off from kid duty! Sa-weet! Thank you, both!!

Liam thinks Pa is one funny guy! When they were last here, I posted a picture where Liam is laughing at Pa. This time...I have video. So funny. He sounds a little bit like a squawking bird when he really gets going.

Owen has had a couple of pajama days. After being sick last week, the wind has been knocked from his sails. He has had too much t.v. and lots and lots of coloring (those red spots on his feet are from a red marker) and puzzle time. Caught another funny "relaxin'" shot today. He looks so comfy, doesn't he?

This evening, he fit in a few minutes of water coloring. He gets so serious when he starts working on his artwork!

This piece is "mixed-media"; he asked me for a baby wipe and used it to dab a bit of excess paint off the paper here and there. So creative ;-)

Hope you had a good, lazy Monday, too!

Maxin' and Relaxin'

Liam took a long afternoon nap yesterday. The weather was awesome! So, Owen and I made the most of it and enjoyed a lot of time in the backyard. It was fun to play baseball with him, watch him shoot hoops, and drag out all of his outdoor toys for the first time in ages!
Later, he watched Dora. I thought this was too funny! Owen loves this big chair that Grammie got him for Christmas when he was 1. He sits in it to watch t.v. all of the time. But, this was a new way of relaxing that made be giggle.

Happy Friday!

The Professor & Mr. Mischief

This shot is from last Friday, in the snow. Owen's teacher at MDO calls him "Professor." I see it.
His expression speaks volumes....this is what he really thinks of the snow.

I asked him once we were indoors what his favorite part about having snow was. He replied, "snacks." I don't blame him...double stuffed oreos are darn good.

The one Valentine's Day picture where they were both looking up. Not at the floor. Not behind them. Not rolling over and falling out of the picture. This one won a spot on the blog, simply because you can see their faces. When will I ever get a shot of both of them looking toward the camera and smiling?!?!?

Liam's favorite things to do these days:

1. He makes a sound that is kind of like a hum, kind of like a howl, and kind of like an "ooooh". AND, he makes it really, really loudly. He gets a kick out of it.

2. Petting his big brother on the head.

3. Crawling around on the floor...he is covering a bit of ground, now.

4. Blowing raspberries.

I broke my 50mm lens. Dropped it on the floor at Owen's school Valentine Party. Darn it. So, all of these images are shot with my 80mm. I am having to get used to it. Took it up to the playroom yesterday and practiced a little bit.

The depth of field in this shot of Liam is really neat. Only his nose and mouth are in focus. Wow-wee.

Just happened to capture one of Owen smiling and looking at the camera. What a pleasant surprise for me.

And look at this charmer. I just want to eat him up. A laugh that says happiness, chubby-yummy cheeks, and eyes that scream "mischief is just around the corner."

Love 'em like crazy!

This has little to do with Valentine's Day...

We had a great Valentine's Day. Daddy Q and I went out for dinner last night. We got to enjoy live music, good food, and a kid-free evening. I gave him his gift. He loved it. Today, we went to church. Tried to get a cute picture of the boys dressed up for church. They wouldn't look at the camera at the same time. Finally, they did. The battery died. Oh well. Had lunch. Napped. Woke up. Had dinner. I got my gift today. I loved it. The kids got their gifts. Loved them. Went grocery shopping. Got kids in bed. Blogged.

Since the camera went caput during our valentine's photo shoot, I have no pictures from today to post. But, I do have something that I think is even more fun to entertain you on this Happy Heart Day....

The loves of my life at about seven months old--both of 'em. You see, sometimes, when I snap a photo of Liam, I feel like I have seen something very similar to it before. There are so many moments when Liam's facial expression reminds me of one that Owen made (or makes). Times when I see Liam's face screw up into a pout and am taken back 18 months to Owen doing the same thing (in the same outfit). I went back tonight and found some examples to share...both boys are six or seven months in these photos.

Well...that was fun.

What Up, Snow-Homey.

It is snowing today. For 12 hours, it has been snowing. Lots and lots of snow. The news just reported 6.2 inches--only a little more and it will be an all-time record for D-FW. Wowzers.

Owen's school didn't cancel, so off he went today. We enjoyed the Valentine's Party; but, I think the best part of their day was the snow ball fight the teachers let them have. I had a good feeling about this "school" since I signed Owen up. But, hearing today that Owen's teachers took the kids out in the snow and then, further, brought it in in bowls and let them have a snowball fight in their classroom was beyond awesome in my books! Now, I KNOW that I love that place! I am so hoping that their enrollment for Owen's room stays small so that they can try Liam in there next year (he will be a few months too young, but if the class is small enough, they may let me bring him).

The teachers reported that Owen had a BLAST having the snowball fight. And, I believe them. It was the first thing he wanted to do when we got outdoors. But, then he started to slip on the sidewalk and changed his mind. I think he would like it better if I could get him on flat ground...he is nervous of falling.

Liam, on the other hand, is fascinated with this stuff. He was leaning over in the Bumbo to get a closer look. He is so bundled, that he struggled to move around. Poor little guy.

I decided to make the boys a snowman. But, I don't have much practice AND I had two young boys out in the snow all by myself...so, time was limited.

I set to work, and then Owen and I went inside to get stuff for the eyes, nose, mouth, etc. I got some Oreos for the eyes, a crayon for the nose, and chocolate/butterscotch chips for the mouth.

Owen reminded me that colors are for paper, only. He wouldn't let me put it on the snow man. So, I molded a nose out of snow. Once we looked at our finished product, I got so tickled. He looks like he is wearing sunglasses and has a couple of gold teeth. So...meet our Snow-Homey!

What up?

Owen was ready to get inside. And color and snack and watch Diego. BTW...the shirt he is wearing was made by him at school. Cute, huh?
I let him take in a snowball and throw it at me, Liam, and Bubba. But, we stopped at one. I do have wood floors and freshly cleaned carpet to think about, too.

Not as much fun as I had hoped....

Owen's class at mother's day out has their Valentine's Day party tomorrow (weather permitting--we have snow in the forecast, again).

So, this afternoon, he worked on his Valentines.
It wasn't as easy as I hoped to keep him focused. The cards have monsters on them and come with stickers to decorate each monster. Owen kept "decorating" by peeling off the stickers and, you know, sticking them places (like--on the table--see?). The idea that they are intended to go "un-used" to his friends was a little beyond him.

In the end, we got one picked out for each kid in the class. I then asked if he wanted to give 1 to Noble, 1 to Jackson, and 1 to Abby, etc....to his other friends. He said yes, and then picked up a stack of 5 and said they were for Austin. And, then just handed a whole group to "baby." Oy. Because my nerves were getting a little frazzled the closer we got to naptime, we stopped after we labeled the ones for his class. We'll re-visit the project sometime before V-day to get the ones he wants to give to all of his other friends straight.

Liam was happy to be included in the project...can you tell? He seems to enjoy watching the exchanges between me and his big brother.

Watching and learning. Could be good, could be bad. Only time will tell ;-)

Random Weekend Stuff

Liam hosted his very first play date--you see, Rider is the first friend to come over just for Liam! Rider (or Baby Byron as Owen called him...random) is a mover and a shaker. He is one busy boy and both of my boys really enjoyed having him over. I am so sad that they aren't our neighbors anymore and that playdates like this won't happen all that often. But, I sure hope we can do it again next time you guys are in Dallas!

Daddy Q got my Christmas gift for me on Saturday!!! A new bike with a trailer for the boys!! Owen couldn't wait to ride. So, I took him around the block. But, it wasn't complete without Liam. So, we bundled the little fella up and he joined in the fun. When it was time to get out, Mr. Owen didn't want to. Looks like we will be riding around town soon--just need the weather to get a wee bit warmer...what did that Groundhog decide earlier this week? Spring or winter?!?
Grammie and Pa came to visit this weekend. We road-tripped to the lake on Saturday. A fun day ended with a great catfish dinner. Yummmmm.

I love taking pictures in diners. I am sure the locals thought I was nuts. But, there is something about the red-checker table cloth, the people all around, and the fun stuff on the walls that I just love.

But, my favorite shot is this one--just cause I know what's happening. I was too close to get the whole thing captured. That is Pa's hand coming toward Liam like a "spider." Liam just cringes and laughs the whole time Pa walks his hand over in anticipation of the tickle. So cute.

Man, Owen ate a lot.
Daddy Q loved this place. I think he looks like he could weekend at the lake on a regular basis. Don't you agree?

Liam thought the table was the perfect teether.

Guess who got to have the Senior discount at the lake? That's right. This was a first for both of them...the "seniors" don't have to be too "senior" here. Pa was happy. Grammie...not so much. But, it saved $4.00.

Tonight, Owen got his Emma fix. Emma's parents hosted a SuperBowl party and Owen got to go to Emma's house. He has been wanting to go over to play with her for 2 weeks. This afternoon, he was so excited that he even asked me to wake Liam from his nap so that we could head on over. I think he is smitten.