Finally, some Christmas photos

Well, now that it's been over a month since Christmas, I thought I'd post a few pictures from Christmas. We spent a week in South Bend, where Owen really enjoyed spending time with family. He loved playing with his cousins and with Nana and Papa.

Owen learned about, and was pretty fascinated with cats, the accordion, and building fires. But nothing excited him more than the model train. He loved to watch and operate it, even figuring out that when it stopped that meant he had to walk around and see where the train went off the track and then pick it up to try and put back on the track. He associated the train with Papa, often just going over to the train and saying, "Papa! On!"

Shootin' Hoops

Thanks, Mimi & Popop, for the basketball set. We set it up and only showed Owen one time how to put the ball in the basket. He loves it!

Owen and Mommy

Adorable...

Thanksgiving in Knoxville

We were lucky to spend Thanksgiving in Knoxville this year. Owen had a great time, loved being around the family, and got to experience many new things. He really enjoyed kicking leaves, going on walks, and seeing a giant model train that had been constructed at the University of Tennessee trial gardens. I wish I'd had my video camera at that because he loved it.

Here are a few clips from the visit...

Push and pull

Sometimes it seems like it's the bigger the better when it comes to things Owen can push and pull around. He loves pulling around my suitcase. On our recent trip, he was pulling it around in the airport - and it was full! He was very determined to still pull that thing around even though it weighed much more than it usually does when he pulls it around the house. He got a lot of fun looks at the airport. Maybe soon we can just have him carry our luggage :=)

Chatty

In addition to being extremely active, Owen is usually a pretty chatty guy, too. His favorite word by a LONG shot is "Dat?" as he points at EVERYTHING and wants to know what "that" is. So, he uses that one all day long every day. Other than that, he's developing a good set of words. He loves saying "hi" and "bye." As you can see in this video, we have a little window next to our front door at his height, so he likes to look out and see neighbors coming and going.

Happy Halloween

Owen was a little more into Halloween this year than last. First, they dressed up the kids at daycare using objects they had on hand:
Not sure what he was supposed to be with the sunglasses and wrap thing, but he seems to be taking it pretty seriously.

Then, we dressed him up as a chicken for actual Halloween:
He was really fired up about it, as you can see. He actually did get into it, especially observing the trick or treat transaction that happened at our door. We took him to a few houses mostly so he could see the other kids and our neighbors.