I dont' know if all babies do this or if just mine do it...around the same age, Owen and Gabby both grabbed a blanket and wrapped themselves up. Gabby was showing off her athleticism and wrapped herself all the way up like a hot dog! Actually, wouldn't that be, like a corn dog? :-)

These two make me smile!

Can you tell which one is Gabby and which one is Owen???

A few days with Gramma and Grampa (aka "crappa")...in no particular order!

On the way back up to MN we stopped at a wayside so Owen could run around...

In motion...MOMMA, MOMMA, MOMMA!

The Milwaukee Zoo is always a favorite destination when we travel to Gramma's and Grampa's. Owen's "swimming" cousins came to see us there...and the bears put on a show!


We rode the little train around the zoo...one of Owen's favorites! When we were done, he was reluctant to leave because he wanted to go again!

It did sprinkle on us for a bit, and there were times that Owen was more interested in the construction site...too funny...

Grampa helped him peek through the fence...

Owen loved carrying his own umbrella!

The main reason for the trip was to see Auntie Emmy! She did as much squeezing, cuddling, hugging, and loving that one auntie could possibly do...we miss you Auntie Emmy!

Owen's real birthday landed on the same day as the Father Hennepin parade, so we walked to a good sittin' spot and had another great party for Owen.

The Stella's and some other friends joined us while our cousins found a spot down aways. Cami slept through most of the parade, but Owen got enough candy to share...maybe in a few years! :-)
Owen has not developed a fear of clowns...when does that happen anyways??? :-) There's mommy's float! Well, not really, but that is the A-H school district float and that's meaningful!

Grampa and Gabby had their shades well-placed!

Whew! Sure was fun and just long enough...as it was ending, owen turned to me and said, "let's go home." fun stuff!

Just a few special moments...worth sharing...

We love mom!

"mom! I'm going to school!"

um...shouldn't you put pants on first?

Grampa sure worked hard cutting down trees for us...I'm sure glad he could enjoy a moment or two with little pinky! She sure loves her grampa! Yes...strange that my son wanted to have a picnic in the bathroom! Good thing I clean almost every day! :-)
There is one of those nasty trees! Owen did his share of helping...using his new wagon he could haul branches to the pile!

Gabby just hanging out...

Owen's 3rd Birthday has come and gone, but we took time to celebrate!

The week before Owen's birthday we had a party for him with family and enjoyed good food and fun.

Owen is enjoying his new wagon that Grampa gave him and helped him put it together

I helped Owen rip into some really nice gifts! A favorite? The teeball set was a hit...literally. He's been launching balls over our heads ever since! He got some cute clothes and adorable books too! I can't wait til he is big enough to use the golf clubs he got too!
Owen got sloppy with sloppy joes and his cousins.
and...to top it all off?! Roger found him a CARS cake! And...he got to keep the cars for his collection too!
Three years old! Wow! I will say there is such a difference between 2 and 3...I think he is going to grow up so fast! He has always been very intense and I am not seeing that changing any time soon. I do see another similarity between Owen and Rog...when Rog was little, he was so shy around new people (I've been told he would cry when people would come up and talk to him at church). Owen clings and hides behind me when he meets someone new. But...Roger has grown to be quite an extrovert and very outgoing...he'll talk to anybody! So, I'll let Owen hide for now as he learns to meet and greet, but I have no worries about his development into a nice, friendly, wonderful boy!

June 23rd...my precious little girl is 6 months old!
Gabby is giggling at everything so she has a tendancy to make people feel really good about themselves and wrap mommies and daddies and grammas and grampas around her little finger. She wants to reach out and grab things like the skin fold in your neck or stroke your cheek like she wants a kiss. Her sweet temperament will have many fall in love with her. Oh, she is a beauty! Her latest nickname (from Gramma momma) is "Pinky". Butterball and all those other ones never stuck like "Pinky." Okay, so we call her Gabs and Gabby and Babe (with an emphasis on the e as Owen does). When it was just Owen, I didn't know how I was going to spread my love to another. It is not tough...Gabby is truly a gift from God...blessing upon blessing she is! Sovereign God is always good and always knows what He is doing. It is hard to ask for suffering, but that is when we really have to have faith that He is weaving an intricate plan to show Himself to us. Thank God for bringing me on this journey!

They say when you have children, there is something new everyday...

I've got a thumbsucker! I've been quoted saying: "you can take away a pacifier but you can't take away a thumb...so...I didn't think I wanted one...but, she has her own little comfort attached to her ltitle hand in the form of a thumb. She puts herself to sleep and can hold off eating for a few more minutes...in a few years...ask me how it's going. :-)

and...Owen is trying to use tools! :-) He saw me crawling under this thing to figure out how the toy worked...10 minutes later I saw him crawling under it himself with a screwdriver in hand. Oh, how I hope he learns...