American Flats

This is what we explored on New Year's Day. These are the ruins of an old silver refinery outside of Virginia City, Nevada (in the middle of no where). It has obviously been abandoned for many years and become more of a playground for locals. The ruins that remain include the feeble skeletons of five main structures, as well as a seemingly endless maze of underground catacombs. It's hard to say what exactly some of these structures were used for......they are so unusual with tunnels and odd cavities everywhere. You have to be very careful when walking around because of all the holes in the ground. But everything is painted and some of the artwork there is incredible.

Where did my baby go?

One day you're cradling a tiny newborn in your arms, all of parenthood stretched out in front of you. Then before you know it, you're living with an all new creature-cuter than ever, but suddenly upright, opinionated, headstrong, and lightning fast. Welcome to toddlerhood!

This is the introduction to a new parenting book I just purchased and it pretty much sums up what we're feeling. Owen's new found individuality has come on strong! He is testing his limits regularly now and we feel like we're constantly telling him "NO!" He's curious (into EVERYTHING), more energetic than ever, and stubborn (he must get that from his dad). Just in the past week we've realized that it's time to start setting limits and using discipline. But how do you discipline a one year old??? We haven't a clue, which is what prompted my shopping trip to Barnes and Noble yesterday. According to the book I'm reading, there are 3 main types of toddler temperaments: easy, cautious, and spirited. Can you guess what Owen is? SPIRITED for sure (also known as intense, active, impulsive, and strong-willed)! I'm not complaining though.....these are all bits of his personality that make Owen so exciting to be around. He's definitely not boring!

I have a few things to report. Owen has really started communicating with us in the past week. He's still not speaking many words, but he's now using sign language more than ever. We've been signing to him for months and it's finally paying off! He's telling us when he's hungry, when he's done eating, when he wants more, and when he wants milk. It's amazing that he is speaking to us with his hands. And he's picking it up really fast so we are going to keep introducing new signs to him and see what happens. Owen has also made the transition to whole cow's milk, and I am happy to report I just packed away my breast pump! WOO-HOO! I am really proud that I was able to provide breast milk to him for a year, but pumping at work was getting old. I'm still nursing him a few times a day (mainly nights and mornings), but he's now taking whole milk like a champ during the day! This was a big milestone for us!

Owen LOVES books! We created a corner in our living room for him to sit and read books anytime.


Here he is playing peek-a-boo in the car with the hood of his sweatshirt.

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2008! We had a pretty low-key evening last night. The three of us went out to dinner, then we came home, put Owen to bed, and Micah and I watched a movie. Funny how things change when you become parents......no more partying it up in a big crowd for New Years! But we did open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate.

It's going to be an incredible year! We have so much to look forward to in Owen's second year of life. We are anxious to watch him grow and advance into a little boy. And it's amazing to see the world through his toddler eyes. Everything is so new and exciting.

This past weekend we had Owen's 12 month pictures taken outside here in Carson City. He wasn't in the best mood so we were surprised the pictures turned out as good as they did. There are so many good pictures, I had a hard time deciding which ones to put on this blog!

Fun in the SNOW!

Micah's family has gone back to Texas and our house is quiet again......or as quiet as it can be with a one year old running around! A few days ago we drove up the mountain to play in the snow. It was really cold up there so Owen was only outside for about 15 minutes. And he was so bundled up he could hardly move. He zoned out the whole time we were outside. We're not sure if he was freezing cold or if he just couldn't move.

Merry Christmas!

We had such a great Christmas this year! Owen had so much fun......and even though he doesn't understand Christmas yet, he loved all his new toys and had a blast playing with his family! Owen's gifts included a red wagon, sports car (that he can drive himself), snow sled, slide, basketball goal, and tons of other great things (is he spoiled or what?)! Many thanks to all his grandparents for making his 2nd Christmas so special. Christmas is definitely more fun with a child around!

2007 XMas Tree

Happy Christmas Eve

Micah's parents and brother Matt are here for Christmas this week! We've been enjoying their company and Owen is loving the extra attention (so are the dogs). Here's Owen playing with his pull frog.....he loves pulling it up and down the hallway......it's one of his favorite birthday gifts.


We took Owen (again) to see Santa hoping for a better outcome, but he was having none of it! The second we placed him in Santa's lap, he screamed. So we got one picture with all of us next to Santa. He's not smiling, but he's not screaming either!


Owen & Mimi


Owen has a new love of books! He loves to see all the pictures!

O Christmas Tree

We finally got our Christmas tree last weekend! It took us a while to get into the Christmas spirit because we've been so focused on Owen's first birthday. But I think we're finally ready for Christmas! Owen had so much fun looking at all the Christmas trees! And now that we have the tree up in our home, he likes to take the ornaments off and play with the wrapped gifts.....he's keeping us on our toes for sure!

Today Owen had his 12 month doctor's appointment and he is 33.5 inches tall (the average size of a 22 month old, according to the doc) and is 23 pounds, 8 ounces (85th percentile). He received 4 shots that he was not thrilled about! And he also has 2 new teeth (on top). So he now has 2 bottom teeth and 4 on top!

Owen's First

Owen's birthday was a bit emotional for us, so we decided to create a video to commemorate his first year. What a year it has been.......

Santa Train

Every December the Nevada State Railroad Museum offers steam train rides with Santa! It's a pretty big event in Carson City and if you don't get there early the wait can be 1-2 hours long. So we arrived at the museum at 9:00 this morning and missed the long lines. However, Owen was NOT impressed with Santa! Maybe in a few years......

Christmas Party

We had a rare evening out last night.....it was Micah's office Christmas Party up in South Lake Tahoe. This was the first time we've had a babysitter come to the house to keep Owen. It was really nice to get away for the night!

Happy 1st Birthday Owen!!

It's hard to believe, but Owen is ONE today! Wow.....where has the year gone??? We've spent a lot of time today remembering what was happening this time last year and just how much our lives have changed since then. Owen has enriched our lives more than we could have ever imagined.....seriously, what did we do before Owen???

Here are some tidbits about Owen, the one year old: he loves baths and swimming, he likes to push chairs (or anything) across the floor, he likes music, his favorite food is the banana, the word he says most often is "dog," he loves to dig in the bathroom drawers, he has an obsession with socks, his new favorite toy is his golf club, he knows how to turn off the computer (especially when we're right in the middle of something), he kisses with his mouth wide open, he LOVES the outdoors, he knows how to crawl out the doggie-door, he has a habit of tackling other kids to the ground, he likes to carry sticks around, he is very ticklish, he loathes his face/nose being cleaned, he enjoys watching the fish, he trys to eat the dog food when the dogs are eating, he's proud of himself when he dances, he runs to the dishwasher when it's open, he likes to play with magnets, he always helps with the laundry and he loves his mommy and daddy!

Owen has received many cards, gifts, phone calls and emails (yes, emails) today for his birthday! Thanks so much for making this day special for us!

Let's Party!

Owen had a fantastic birthday party yesterday! We ended up having a smaller party at our house because a week ago Positive Energy (the place we were supposed to have the party at) caught on fire and had extensive smoke damage. But we had a great time anyways!! Several of Owen's friends came over to help celebrate. And both of Owen's grandmothers and his Uncle Mark flew in from Texas for the weekend! Owen is one special boy! He ate his cake like a champ.....after one taste of the icing he crammed the entire cupcake in his mouth! So funny! He received a ton of gifts......but was scared to death of his Tickle Me Elmo! He's warming up to it some, but still unsure of it. Thanks to everyone for making Owen's First Birthday Party the best ever!!!

Birthday Parties Galore!

Owen is lucky to have so many baby friends the same age! He has 3 friends that were all born within 3 weeks of each other. We have spent the past 3 weekends attending first birthday parties of our friends. They've all been a warm-up for Owen's big day!

Here Owen is stealing birthday cake from Ryder!


Owen still needs to learn how to share.


Here they are at Sofia's party


Owen helping Brock celebrate his first birthday with a little music.