my firstborn...

it seems that since i stopped doing the monthly updates on little owey i have taken way fewer pictures and not blogged nearly enough about how freaking cute he is. i know you are all DYING to know what he's been up to, so without further ado, the owey update... owen :

• is talking like crazy (mostly jibberish, but some real words like bottle, bath, shoes, banana, dad, eyes, sauce... you know... the important things)
• has given up on walking and gone straight to running. oh, and dancing. the boy loves to dance and it is the cutest thing ever. he's mastered quite a few different moves including the bounce, the stomp, the head bop, and the spin. he starts dancing every time he hears music - unless it's slow music - then he waves his arms like he is leading the music. Then, if the music is followed by applause then he claps too.
  
• loves, loves, loves the movie cars. he would watch it all day long if i would let him. i do give in every so often to be able to finish a project, do the dishes, blog (yeah - it's totally on as we speak) or to trick him into cuddling with me.
• loves talking on the phone. and he actually talks which i think is hilarious. most kids listen intently and stare at the phone, but he is sure to babble right back. come to think of it, he picks up just about anything electronic (and sometimes other random things), holds it to his ear and starts talking.
  
• gets into everything! including kitchen drawers, boxes and baskets, etc. lately his favorite thing emptying out a toy basket, climbing inside of it, and reading his books while all snug inside. spaz.
• is part italian. this boy loves his pasta and it is my favorite way to get some good vegetables in him that normally would gross him out. (what, you don't know about my secret sauce? sooooo good!)
• is super social, but like his dad. he loves being around other people and gets so excited to go to play group and see his friends (we're talking about owen here, not clint) but he is an observer most of the time. he plays, but is mostly silent and hasn't quite figured out how to play with other kids. but he sure is happy to be around someone else besides boring old mom. most of the other kids moms are surprised to ever hear him talk (which is nuts since he never stops at home!) the reason i say that he's like his dad is that clint really enjoys being in social situations, but doesn't really seek them out and sometimes sits back and soaks it all in until he's really comfortable.
• just can't seem to stay healthy. it seems that is the price that comes from having friends... we have had one cold after another around here, and now that things are looking better around here, we'll just keep our fingers crossed.
• is a champion block-stacker. he surprised me and clint when he started stacking blocks on his own and i will often find little mini towers (some 5 blocks high!) all over the family room.
• is starting to learn animal noises and body parts. so far he can growl like a tiger (so funny) and moo like a cow and successfully identifies eyes, nose, mouth and belly.
• does the motions to "if you're happy and you know it" and "the wheels on the bus". my favorite is when the mama's on the bus go "shhh. shhh. shhh." so funny to see him stick his little finger up to his lips!

we are trying to teach him to say "love you" and "luke" (baby bro's name) but we're still working on it. we love our little boy sooo much and are soo grateful for his daily dose of cuteness.

these pictures are really old (like from 4th of july) but i just had to share... every time i look at them i can't help but laugh out loud. (seriously... click on it. ) that's my boy!