Friday...HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

The day began as others with an early morning, but Owen got to meet two more cousins! My cousin Loretta brought her three boys to parade, picnic, and play. Owen had only met Elijah last December, but Isaac and Kenneth were two new faces.

Soon after their arrival we went to see a parade, collect candy, and see "marching bands" (as Owen loves to recall). We headed back to the Larsen house to have a great picnic and swim in the Larsen pool.

All boys had loads of fun...

Yes, Owen's shirt says "I'd rather be naked"...

More evidence of a good time had! Thanks for coming out to see us Loretta, Kenneth, Isaac, and Elijah! We love you!

SATURDAY...THE DAY WE LEFT...

Owen woke up and had a great breakfast with gramma momma because grampa phil and momma went golfing. They played and had lots of fun...

When we got back to the house, Owen was having lots of fun. We went swimming some more and played in the sandbox some more...then...I decided to forego the nap and let Owen stay up and play with Grampa as long as he was having fun.
Two hours later and lots of fun later...Owen and I left for our 5 1/2 hour journey home. Within a mile of leaving, Owen was asleep and slept for 3 hours! The rest of the drive was quite pleasant and he was quite sleepy as we pulled in. He went right to bed and woke up the next morning ready to play with his toys that he hadn't seen in 4 days. They were all like new! What a wonderful trip and lots of memories forever stamped on both of our hearts!

The other day we went out to meet my friend Catie for "coffee" and to chat. Owen brought his bag of toys with! Gramma Mimi made him this bag for his Birthday and we love it!Yesterday was an exciting milestone: Owen went peepee on the potty! It all started with Owen hanging out naked after pool time. He was asking for a cookie and I said no...he got mad at me, gave me the look, and started to pee on the floor in front of me. I said, "stop!" and he did. We went to the bathroom and put a stool in front of the potty and I said, "okay, go peepee in the potty!" And he did! So fun! :-) I guess there is something to say about letting your kids run around naked!

Last weekend was a time of having fun with Auntie Emmy! We did so much and had so much fun together. Gee, we sure do miss her...

We swang (is that a word???)

We smiled and giggled lots!

And we even saw "Big Guy"!!!

Eating toast and drinking milk in my new pajamas!!! Thanks Granny Nanny and Papa Steve!
Cheese! I wore this new outfit to the zoo today! Thanks Gramma Momma and Grampa Phil!

Last Saturday was Owen big CELEBRATION DAY! On Saturday morning we went to Gramma Mimi's for breakfast and went to the park to play!Owen climbed...
Played Basketball with Grampa...
Owen played with his new golf clubs that he will have to grow into...
And...helped Gramma Mimi water her flowers!

Saturday AFTERNOON we went to a penny carnival at church!

Daddy and Owen ate popcorn...
Owen paid 2 pennies to throw the bean bag through the hole...don' t worry, he did back up and throw with all his might too!
He even got to jump in the bounce house with his cousins!
Dunking Jeff in the tank was tons of fun! Owen paid a few pennies for three balls but he took the liberty to go pick up each ball and proceed to throw at least 18 times!
Luke was so wonderful to let Owen move the ball closer to the hole and then work on Owen's technique. :-)

Saturday NIGHT we headed to Granny Nanny and Grampa Steve's house for a party! About 20 people came and ate, played, talked, and more!

Owen Blew some bubbles...

Got excited about cake...

Blew out candles...

Got really messy eating a WHOLE PIECE of ice cream cake...

Over all it was a great Birthday celebration. Thanks to all who wished Owen a happy one and may another year bring so much fun!

Last weekend Owen's Birthday continued to be celebrated in style. On Friday was a parade taht he was in last year but slept though the whole thing. this year was so much fun!!

Here he stood still long enough for the marching band to go by!
There was a float that spewed fire and so he was a little frightened. No worries! Momma was there!
At first Owen wasn't quick enough to get any candy before the other kids got it, but after awhile, he learned to be quite quick and to get momma the good stuff!
Lollipops were he favorite!
He shared so nicely! Only one piece of candy actually made it to his mouth. A red and white peppermint that made him reconsider...

:-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! This morning we went to the park to meet cousins cali, emmi, and maely for a picnic! We had so much fun and left around 11:45...Owen was asleep within 10 minutes of leaving. He's napping a bit early today just so he can party more later! :-)
We had so much fun climbing, sliding, throwing balls, playing with chalk, swinging, eating, and more! Fun times had by all on this beautiful sunshiny day!

(If you want to see Owen's adorable 2-year-old pictures, go to Melissalouise.com website, proofing, password Reger. So Wonderful, Birthday boy!)

Daddy and Mommy always find some reason to "celebrate" and to go get a treat. I got to have one too this time! I did share a few bites, but I sure made a mess along the way!
Seeeeee???!!!!!!
Hmmmmmm...this sure is good! I wonder if I get more! :-) (always asking for more)

Little boy and his momma. Owen is learning so much about being a good boy, using nice words, and asking for things politely. However, sometimes he forgets and screams and whines and throws things. Don't we all, in some sort of way though? :-) He listens to reminders and "time out" is working wonders. We had 2-year-old pictures done last week and he was such a "model" kid. He did what he was asked, smiled, and even giggled for us a few times. Okay...so she blew bubbles and gave him jelly bellies, but whatever it takes, hey? I have three more days left of work and my first full day off is Owen's Birthday! I will have to plan a very special day for my little boy. Last week the lady in the nursery at church was so impressed because Owen knew all of his colors. He just loves to learn and works hard at talking. I see so much of Roger in him, but I can't help but see some of me too. Can you see it too???

Last week we got Owen his first haircut...well, first professional haircut. I have been cutting it and I think I do okay, but we have pictures next week and I didn't trust myself. :-) I had to hold him while he ate snacks so this picture is afterwards: he's sitting on the floor eating more of his snack. :-)

Good times with mama! Last weekend gramma mama and grampa phil came up to play and swim and hide from storms and grill out steak and just have fun...oh yeah...we also celebrated rog's 27th Birthday! Whew! It was fun, but all together too quick. Here we are saying cheese!
On Sunday it was Rog's idea to change his clothes to dress like Owen. They looked just darling!
By the time we had cake, though, Owen had to change his shirt. Oh well. Boys will be boys.
Owen always has a good time with his cousins: Maely (left), Cali (middle bottom) and emmi (standing behind Cali). Good times and even better memories!

I'll say the weather is getting nicer, spring has finally sprung, and summer is just around the corner. We've been busy and the computer with all my pictures on it has crashed (I think)...either way, it is not working so I am finally getting around to catching up a few blog entries. :-)

I'm so glad for our deck because every time owen gets the bug to go outside, he can; even though we live in a town home and we don't have a backyard.

It's tiring playing so hard! Water is a welcome snack these days. Speaking of backyards...we cancelled the offer on that house we talked about before. There was just too much damage from the winter and water leaking. Oh well. We are happy to be out looking again!
Balls! A boy cannot have too many! :-)

We have been busy! We aren't in a hurry to move, but when we started looking, we found a great find. We are waiting for the bank to de-winterize so we can get an inspection and that is taking a long time. We still aren't in a hurry, but it would be nice to know!
EVERYDAY Owen wants to go to the park. He is learning to climb and slide and play in the dirt or sand! So much fun!
Last weekend we took a trip to Wisconsin. On Saturday Owen went to the zoo while we exercised (thanks gramma mama and mimi and grampa phil!). His favorite animal was either the rhino or the peacock. Or maybe they are both just fun for him to say. :-) Then we all had Applebees. Owen fell asleep soon after so everyone but gramma mama toured the Sprecher brewery. It was lots of run and free samples at the end! (they make 9 different kinds of soda too!)
We were there for Mother's Day so we had an amazing brunch after church with the family. It would have been a perfect day, but we had to drive 5 1/2 hours back home. If Owen wasn't sleeping or eating, he was unhappy. The DVD player stopped working so there was little we could do. He was amused when gramma mimi tossed the ball with him! The next day he even said, "mimi's ball!" when we got in the car. memories!

Today I had a wonderful surprise on my phone! Carrie sent me this picture of Owen having fun with his friend Ryan. Owen went down the big slide and had so much fun, Carrie thought that he would never want to leave the park. :-) Owen's daycare is right behind my school so when I took a class out to read, I kept watching to see if I would see the little group going to or from the park. Shucks! I missed them! I am so glad Owen has so much fun everyday and is in a place where he is so loved...and the favorite! :-)