Owens Prayer

I know I posted this on facebook, but I thought Id repost.  Im going to save or print out this blog eventually as a sort of scrap book for the boys, so i need to put all the fun things my boys say in it!

i found the boys playing in our closet this morning, and this was the conversation-
owen: bubba, you wanna pray?
caleb- yeah!
owen: thank you God for daddy and mommy and going to Locomotion and my feet and your (calebs) face and socks. in Jesus name,
both: Amen!

Partay

And for the last blog about Owens birthday... Although we had 2 parties with family members, I was starting to feel a bit guilty about not having a "friends" party for O. So, at the last minute, I threw together a quick party for our 2 wonderful neighbor families and a few of Owens favorite babysitters at church!  We reused grandmas Toy Story decorations (thanks!), ordered pizza, and ate more puppy chow. It was short and sweet, and Owen felt very loved. Here are a few pics and a video of us singing him happy birthday.  And yes, I put candles in his cup of puppy chow.  When eggs are not an option, a birthday cake is not an option!  Puppy chow is about the only sweet thing he will eat, so puppy chow is what he got!

Birthday Continued...

Owen had about 4 parties this year for his birthday.  I decided not to plan a big one, but that ended up turning into a number of small ones!  After the party in Florida, Nana and Pop decided to drive up from Denton to spend the day with Owen.  They brought LOTS of presents and took us out for a fun dinner.  Nathans birthday was 2 days later, so he got some goodies as well.  Nana and Pop are always SO good to us; we had a wonderful time!

 

Owen also had a party at school.  He LOVES his school, which is really just 2 days a week for 4 hours, but its so wonderful for him!  His teacher is phenomenal and he loves his friends.  I made puppy chow, his current favorite, and they had a little get together in the middle of the day.  Mrs Leslie also put his picture on the door, and he LOVED it!

Thanksgiving in Florida

I have a lot of catching up to do, so pardon me for posting a number of blogs today!  Both boys are sick and feverish, so its a movie/blog kind of day. We're currently sitting on the couch watching UP while mommy catches up on some emails and blogging!

For Thanksgiving this year, we got to fly out to Florida to see Grandma and Grandpa!  It was a wonderful trip.  We stayed for 4 days, so it didnt feel rushed or busy.  We did lots of shopping, playing, and relaxing.  We took some fun family photos, ate at some fabulous places, had Thanksgiving with some extended family, and then had Owens birthday party to top it off!  He told Grandma in advance that he wanted a Toy Story party, so he got quite the party!  Lots of fun gifts and love all around.  Here are a few pics from our trip and the party.

We always have a wonderful time at Grandma and Grandpas.  Nathan and I got spoiled along with the boys.  It was a great trip!  Next trip coming up- me, my sister, and my mom are headed to New York for a girls weekend in January.  Ive never been and I am VERY excited! Heyo!

Emma Elizabeth

Owen and Caleb just got to meet their first cousin, Emma Elizabeth!  She is Tracy (Nathans sister) and Claudio's sweet baby girl.  Mom and baby are great after delivery and Emma is one week old today.  She is absolutely PRECIOUS. I loved getting to hold and love her.  Owen loved holding her too!  Here are a few pics of the sweet little one-

Halloween Fun

We had a great time this Halloween!  We have fabulous neighbors who invite us to trick or treat and party with them each year.  Here are a few pics to document the good times-

First we had fun at the pumpkin patch-

Then we (daddy) got to carve the pumpkin. It ended up rotting within 2 days and we never even got a good picture of it!-

Next, Owen and I went to a fun party across the street.  He got to paint his pumpkin, play with the kiddos, and eat a fun marshmallow treat that turned his whole mouth black!-

And finally, we went trick or treating!  Caleb wasnt thrilled, but Owen had a great time.  The picture of him sitting in the grass was to capture his routine- after getting candy at every house, he would sit in their grass and relax for a minute. Silly kid.

We had such a wonderful time!  Yoda and Darth Vader were precious, and we cant wait to do it again next year!

Maybe?

Owen is talking more and more and more these days, which makes for humorous conversations :)  Recently, we have taught him to ask for toys from his brother, rather than taking them.  Instead of stealing the toy, we have taught him to say "May I have this please?"  Welp, this phrase has evolved into a special Owen phrase- "Maybe have this please Bubba?" And to top it off, he still doesnt wait for a response, he just takes the toy anyway.  We are trying to correct it, of course, but are laughing in the mean time :)  He sees a toy he wants, runs and grabs it, and shouts "Maybe have this please Bubba?!?!" as he is running away.  Gotta love that kid.

His cuteness continued this morning when we were outside in the backyard.  We were all watching a cricket that had a hurt leg and was wobbling around.  Owen immediately asked if we could get the cricket a bandaid and was a bit confused when I said that we couldnt.  Sweet kid.

Such is Life

Honestly, Ive thought numerous times about posting a new blog, it just doesnt seem like a whole lot is going on!  I missed a call from a friend yesterday, and she said "Yeah, I knew you were either at coffee with a friend or at the park with the boys." She nailed it- thats exactly what my life is!  And I wouldnt have it any other way :)

Both of my boys are just precious lately.  Caleb is the most talkative 16 month old I know.  He says Elmo, Thomas, and Barney, of course.  He also says things like truck, sky, tree, shoes, all done, lets go!, and a ton more.  He will even attempt to imitate words like watermelon or toilet paper.  Hes catching on so much faster than Owen, probably because we talk much more with 2 kiddos running around.  Owen is loving his 2 day a week school and is counting to 20, singing his ABCs, and naming EVERY single toy he has.  It tends to drive you bonkers by the end of the day..."whats his name?! whats his name?! whats his name mommy?!" :)

We are enjoying the cooler weather with at least one trip to the park a day and taking good walks around the neighborhood.  We love our neighbors and our neighborhood in Baurle Ranch!

Speaking of- we are off for a walk to the mail box.  Next time I'll have something more interesting to share!

Weekend in Denton

Our family spent the last weekend in Denton, and we had a wonderful time!!  We went to be part of Aunt Tracy's baby shower; her little Emma is due in the beginning of November.  We are so happy to have a niece and Owen is already talking about "Emma."  We had a great time with Nana and Pop, got to see Adam and Aunt Wibby, had lots of fun on the swings in the yard, and had a fun time with extended family as well!  Both boys were in such good spirits all weekend... guess that's what happens when you get spoiled rotten! Here are a few pics from the fun-

 The entire Sherman family.

 Beautiful pregnant Tracy!

Owen being silly with Aunt Wibby.

Under Construction

Please pay no attention to the craziness that is currently my blog.  Im experimenting with lots of background and ideas, and I have no idea what I am doing :)  Ill finish it soon, I promise!

My Protector

Nathan always takes every chance he can get to encourage the boys to be men. He wants them to understand what it means to love women, to protect them, to be brave, and to have confidence. A bit much for a 2 year old? Nah, Nathan does it in fun ways! For example, Owen gets to kill spiders and bugs for mommy. What a brave guy! Hopefully one my day my boys will be grown men who understand the responsibility God has given them to love, protect, and honor the women that God provides for them. Along those lines...

Our little family was at the park recently, and we decided to take a quick walk through a nature trail. While we were walking, Nathan gave Owen a small stick that he could use to protect mommy. They talked about animals that could be in the woods, and how they would protect me if they needed to. Nathan was showing Owen how to swing his stick in order to fight off any animals :) so cute. After they were done talking, I asked Owen if he would protect me from the scary animals. He smiled and said yes, then ran up to me and started hitting my leg with the stick. I think he is a bit confused about what it means to protect mommy... but we will get there :) ha, it was quite humorous. Love that kid!

Florida Vacay

Have I really not blogged about our trip to Florida? I hate catching up on blogs, but know that I have to! So here, is a quick rundown on our trip...

We drove. Not awful, but pretty close. Nathan drove through the night, from 7 to 7. Isnt that insane? But he did it with ease. I drove the last 5 or 6 hours and he attempted to sleep, though the boys were a tad demanding. We spent a full week in Florida and had so much fun! We did Sea World, the Tampa Zoo, the beach, rode on the boat, and had an all-around good time! I always say that when you have kiddos, vacations arent really vacations any more. You are too concerned with getting the kids to nap, making sure they arent getting themselves hurt, etc. But surprisingly, this trip was pretty relaxing! Probably thanks to all the family hands we had helping us :) The boys were spoiled rotten. Nathan and I even celebrated our 5 year anniversary a bit early and spent an evening out at my uncles beach house. What a fun vacation! We are blessed to have family in such a fun location! Here are a few pics from the adventure.

Awe

Nathan and I have been watching a dvd series by Paul Tripp about parenting. Its been AWESOME. We still have lots to watch, but have really learned a lot so far. One thing that we are really being intentional about is showing our children the awe of God. At this point in our lives, that means talking about God's creativity and love, all in toddler terms, of course. We talked with Owen about God being Creator, and how he made us, the sun, and food. Its funny how Owen has now taken the idea of God and put it into lots of conversations. This is one that happened last night, little booger...

Owen: more apple juice!!
Me: you can have some with dinner, stop asking please.
Owen: God made apple juice.
Me: thats right!
Owen: more apple juice!
Me: stop asking! you can have some with dinner!
Owen: God made apple juice.

and on and on and on.... silly, sweet boy.

whoopsy daisy

After a long drive through the night on Thursday, arriving at home around noon on Friday, Nathan and I decided to do Chilis for dinner. I wasnt cooking and we had a gift card, PERFECT! So, we were sitting at a booth when Owen pointed at a man at the bar and yelled "Noah!" I was a bit confused until I realized that the man at the bar had white hair and a beard. Yup, Owen has a Noah and the Ark toy with a similar looking Noah, and the Noah in our Storybook Bible looks the same. I couldnt punish him, he was just making an observation! However, after saying it a few more times, we had to shut it down :) It may have been one of my favorite parenthood moments so far. Kids do the darndest things :)

Ranger Boys

I love having boys. I have come to the conclusion that my body makes boys, and if we have more children in the future, theyll all be boys. :) I LOVE it. I love the trains, the buzz and woody toys (thanks aunt marla!), and i love the baseball. Nathan is hoping that Owen is left-handed so he can be a baseball lefty. Im thinking soccer for O, but whatever he wants to do is fine!

Caleb is in the 97th percentile for height, so who knows what he'll be doing! He's very active, but hes much more of a mommy's boy than Owen. He will sit in my lap and hang out for an hour, which Owen will only do with daddy.

Both boys love to watch the Rangers and Owen can notice a TEXAS shirt or hat from across the room. Here is a quick pic of the boys hanging out on the couch, watching baseball.



Nathan is going to attempt to take Owen to a minor league baseball game sometime in the next month. I'll let ya know how that goes!