Roger and I went to Melissa and Will's beautiful wedding...

and left Owen with Gramma and Grampa.

It was quite small, but, whew! you never saw a barn rock out like that! :-) The party barn was filled with their closest friends and family; things were kept simple, but love filled the air! Meanwhile, Owen was having fun going to Burger King playland, running around the house with his basketball, giggling with visitors (a few cousins and aunts & uncles came to see the little guy on Saturday night!), and sleeping oh so hard after a day of play. I think he missed us though, because when we drove up he and granny nanny were watching out the window. I got a huge hug and lots of little laughter when I came in the house. Tonight Owen was amusing himself in silly ways...we just watch and are so entertained...I thought I'd share some of it with you...

slapping himself silly?...

Checking his bodyfat???...

Tickling momma's toes???? (yes, new jammies too!)

First time eating peanut butter!! Nope-no alergic reactions, but we got real messy. Owen loved it and asked for more in his cute little pointing "sign." :-) More in sign language is touching fingers together, but Owen has morphed it into just poking one hand with the pointer finger of the other hand. I giggle. I hope you appreciate this as much as I do every day!

This weekend we have one more weekend of travelling: my friend Melissa is gettin' hitched! Roger and I are drivin' to Viroqua, WI, and Little O gets to sleep over at granny nanny and papa steve's on Saturday night...you know that means he will go to McDonald's playland...right????

This weekend we were so busy! We drove 4 hours to Great Grampa Howard's house to help him move a bunch of stuff out of his house. He gave my dad a lot of stuff...a lot! Much of it may be tossed, but the real treasure came when Great Grampa Howard brought out three 1st editions of Jonathan Edward's writings. They are beautiful!Owen had just as much fun with the walking stick that Great Grampa Howard made. I guess each walking stick takes 40 hours to make!
Here's the trailer: almost all packed up. No, that is not sweat around Owen's collar from lifting so many boxes (the rest of us did that while gramma momma was on Owen patrol)...it's water that spilled when he tried to take a swig from his momma's refreshment. He also found that if you throw the water bottle off the porch, it rolls down the driveway!
Daddy had to take frequent breaks just so Owen could get his hugs and high-fives from papa!
Nothin' special here...just self inflicted! :-)
Whew! It's exhausing being gramma! Actually, this is when Owen was "trying" to have a temper-tantrum to get more crackers...it didn't work because it was so incredibly fake that we all laughed. He stopped and gramma momma comforted him. He was fine in the end!

Last weekend we added a few hours on to our drive in order to wish Lukey a happy 2nd birthday. What a bash! Owen played...he ate (his own food and other kid's who left their crackers and cheese lying out)...
he learned a thing or two from his older cousin (2nd cousin, I think!)...
he played, with 1 finger like we are trying to teach him, on the old little piano as Josiah watched and joined in the fun...
and he took a turn in the antique rocking chair...
Whew! what a day!

Last weekend was part of our recent whirlwind life...we travelled to Gramma & Grampa's in WI. Owen barely made a peep on Saturday morning and Gramma and Grampa were in his room, swept him up, and gave him all the attention one little boy could get. He didn't even mind! Good thing we studied their pictures on our 5 hour drive that ended up taking 6 hours because of construction!
One big change has left Owen missing his Auntie Emmy a lot: she moved to take a job with Standard Process in WI...she now lives 4 miles from our childhood home on Woodland Wonderland Court. Her cottage is the darndest, most cutest little place ever! Not to mention she has her dream job and gets to have mom and dad over for dinner whenever they'll come! hmpf! She knew we were coming, though, and was over by 8 in the morning. She and Owen sipped some water at his little picnic table; she helped him drink from a big-boy glass...but he wanted to do it all on his own...so she had to take a swig from the sippy cup when he wouldn't share anymore!

BATH TIME WITH OWEN...

I had to capture a little guy having so much fun. I am going to be catching up with a lot of good times here so I thought I'd be simple, but start with this series...

Little mischief...he's a ham and loves to repeat after people...yes, he has begun to say "no, no"
EVERYTHING is going in the mouth...he is eating like a vacuum!
No luck here...the bath toys are very sturdy! He can't manage a bite out of these! :-)

There is so much to catch up on...I went back to work, we've travelled to WI and IL, I got my camera back, and so much more! But, I am exhausted and need my sleep tonight...or else, I get crabby and I am not very likeable! :-) I have one story to tell before I go...

I have been saying for a few months how I see so much of Roger in Owen. The way he's solid as a brick, the way he eats, the way he entertains and gets reactions out of people, etc...One great way I just saw confirmation of this was tonight when Owen fell asleep on the way home. Owen falls asleep in the car often, especially if it is after 8pm, but tonight I forgot his jammies at home so I couldn't have him dressed and ready for bed. I carried him in, tripped on the stairs, got up to his room, put him down, changed his diaper, and changed his whole outfit...without him waking up!!!! Loving Owen...Loving Roger. Not to mention...loving this picture!

Owen and I went to the park yesterday--I try to tire him out by letting him walk as far as he can there and back. He loves to climb all over-especially in the tunnel!

He loves to pick up the gravel and throw them on the slide. They make a fun crackle noise and begin to pile up after awhile. :-)

We walked up the path for some time, but then Owen started to say "up." "Up" also means "on" when he's pointed to a "ttt" (that's light). We keep playing the "on, off" game, but he only says "up." Oh well. When he wants down...he says, "dd". Language...I guess it doesn't come all at once! :-)

Our little family took time out for the great MN get-together: STATE FAIR!

We got stuck in traffic, found how difficult it is to maneuver a stroller, and ate some yummy but bad-for-you food. I guess it is a culture thing to feel obligated to go, but I'm fine with leaving Owen home for the next ten years if ever Roger and I get the craving for Sweet Martha Cookies again. :-) There are tons of people you can't help but run into or over, you can't leave the place feeling clean, and, by the time you leave, you can feel every roll of sweaty skin under layers of dust that settled over your entire body as you eat greasy food off a stick. But...we always find a reason to go! :-)

Owen did have fun once we let him out of the stroller and let him run around. He had fun, but we had to keep our eyes on him, so the fair rushed on around us. Owen got quite sweaty and found woodchips (and other interesting things) to play with. Back in the stroller, a few more crackers and milk to keep him happy, and we pushed on (literally!).We were there for a little over an hour...which I hear is the average for parents who tote along a one-year-old. We got our Sweet Martha bucket of cookies, all you can drink milk for a $1, fried cheese curds, and "fresh-squeezed" lemonade. Nothing on a stick this year!
I attempted to find the education building, but we took a wrong turn and got lost in the throngs of people. We tried to walk through the Miracle of Birth building, but people insisted on standing in our way. We "wiped" owen down and put his jammies on while in the parking lot, and it's a good thing because he was sound asleep soon after we left. My little sweetness...A shower and bed felt oh so good that night! :-)