Poor Sandy

Owen loves the dogs.....really he does. "Dog" was his first word, and the first thing Owen does every morning is check on the dogs. Kirby pretty much stays clear of Owen. She's learned that Owen isn't very gentle, yet he does seem to be petting her nicely lately. He also thinks Kirby is playing with him when she runs away from him. He thinks it is hilarious and loves to try to catch her. Sandy on the other hand allows Owen to climb all over her and pull her ears, eyes, mouth, and tail. She seems to love the attention Owen gives her, even if he does inflict some pain. She is SO good with Owen and we're sure they are building a strong relationship. It won't be long before Sandy is pulling Owen around the neighborhood!

We've got a Climber!

I've learned that when the house gets really quiet, Owen is probably getting himself into trouble. That's what happened a few nights ago and this is where I found him. He had climbed onto the bottom level of our photo shelf and then couldn't get down. Notice, he even brought his lawn mower up on the shelf with him! What a silly boy!


Owen likes to get in his chair and read books. So sweet! Here he's even reading one of my childhood favorites, Go Dog Go!

Where's Your Tongue?

Owen has discovered his tongue! We can ask him, "Where is your tongue?" and this is what he does:



Owen carries his golf club around all the time. We think he's preparing for Uncle Brian's visit in March!

More Snow!

We've had non-stop snow for the past several days. We woke up Sunday morning to about 5 inches of snow in our yard (much of which melted during the day). Then this morning we woke up to another few inches! And it's supposed to snow for most of the week!

Owen helped Micah build a giant snowman yesterday. They practically rolled up all the snow in our yard to make it!


Here's Owen, still unsure about the snow.


Owen came down with a fever yesterday afternoon and just wanted to cuddle.



And by the evening, he was feeling much better!

Hiding and Shoes

As you'll see from this video, Owen really likes to hide from us. We've started having little games of hide and seek and he just thinks this is great fun! We are amazed every day at how much Owen understands. We can now tell him to go find his shoes when we're getting ready to leave the house......and he'll actually go get them and bring them to us!



Owen loves a bubble bath!


Please ignore the annoying parents in the background.

Jump N Play

Another fun weekend has come and gone! Saturday morning we participated in Nevada's presidential caucus. It was an interesting process, as we were all divided up by neighborhoods. So it was actually a "meeting" with our neighbors. The meeting room was divided up by all the main candidates.....very different from other primary elections. And of course, Owen was a hit....running around in front making everyone smile.

Today Owen and I met our friends Kristin and Jack at Jump N Play in Reno. It's an indoor play house for kids (and good thing it was indoors because of the snow storm outside). Owen was a bit overwhelmed by all the action and kids, but I think he had a great time!





Owen and Jack were pooped after playing so hard!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Have you ever seen the TV show Extreme Makeover Home Edition? Well they were here all last week building a house in Stagecoach, Nevada, which is about 30 miles east of Carson City. Owen and I went there yesterday to see the family return to their new home for the first time. It was freezing cold outside (literally) and apparently the workers were finishing the house at the very last minute. So after waiting around for about 2 hours, we saw Ty Pennington welcome the family home. It was a very interesting process because everything was caught on camera several times. For example, we screamed Move that Bus about 5 times! This episode is supposed to air on March 30th.

The House


The family arriving home


Ty Pennington moving that bus


Owen and his buddy Ben trying to stay warm

Fun in the Tub

Owen was a crack-up in the bath tub tonight! He was silly and giggly the entire time! And when it was time to get out, he refused by laying down and slurping up the tiny bit of water left. Hilarious!

Barack Obama

Last night Presidential hopeful Barack Obama made an appearance in Carson City - right down the street from our home! We had to wait in line (in the cold) and the community center was completely packed, but somehow we made it inside and had an amazing view right behind all the media cameras! I'm not quite sure how we managed it, but it was exciting to be a part of the event! Neither one of us have decided who we're going to vote for in the election at this point, but Obama was certainly a dynamic speaker......very personable and charismatic. And Owen enjoyed clapping when the crowd cheered! No doubt this is going to be one exciting election!

Running with Frog

Owen loves to run down our hallway with his pull frog (yes, he's practically running now)!

Just a few cute pictures......

Owen has been sick this week with some kind of stomach virus, so we've been laying low. He's feeling better though and I managed to get a few smiles out of him this afternoon.

Look at those eyes!

The Firkin and Fox

Our friends Jim, Gaby and Sofia just opened up a new pub/restaurant here in Carson City. They renovated the space in the historic St. Charles Hotel downtown and did an amazing job with the restoration and decor! It's definitely one of the nicest places to eat in Carson City! So if you live here, go check out the newest-oldest place in town.......you won't be disappointed! Click on the title of this blog for their website/menu.

Owen tested out the bar on Saturday at their friends and family day. The pub officially opened TODAY!

Winter Wonderland

It started snowing last night and hasn't stopped much since. We had about 6 inches of snow at our house this morning, but it's been snowing steadily all afternoon and it's supposed to continue through tomorrow. We're staying warm and catching up on movies.



They don't plow the roads in our neighborhood, so we took Owen sledding around the block.

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.