The Brown's

Fall Update!

2011-11-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

So, what has happened since my last post. This is going to be a long one.

Owen started Kindergarten August 22nd. I didn't think I would be as sad as I was but it was really hard that first day when he was gone ALL DAY. Stella and I sure did miss him and we still do everyday. But he is soaking up all that knowledge and making his daddy and I so proud.

We went home in September for Greg (Shaun's best man at our wedding) and Heather's wedding and for cutey putooty Nicholas' baptism.

So cute, aren't they. Awesome reception. They had a photo booth which was the best idea ever.

Poor Nicholas was not too happy about holy water being poured on his head. But he was a trooper through the rest of it.

My little girl pirate

And my big boy pirate.

Then October.

Owen had crazy hair day at school and of course he wanted a Mohawk. I think it only lasted a few hours but at least it worked for a while. This boy has a ton of hair like his momma.

And my little cowgirl. She loves taking over big brother's things.

And of course Halloween

She saw the palm tree in our yard.

For those of you who did not see this on Facebook. Play-by-play of Stella's thought process.

And just some Kiddo updates.

Owen is adding and subtracting like crazy and he is all over reading and spelling. He read his first whole book to us the other day. He loves writing notes to us that usually say:

"Dear (Mommy/Daddy/Stella),

We love (or luve) you (or yuo).

Owen"

There not always perfect but we love them and I keep every single one of them.

And of course there's his art. He's so creative and loves to draw, usually something to do with pirates or skulls, but they are wonderful.

Then we have little miss Stella, or should I say Honey Badger * (please refer to video below), because she is the most fearless animal that ever existed.

She goes through the house dragging things around to make sure every room has stuff all over the floor.
She likes to climb on the kitchen table and the computer desk (along with anything else that is dangerous).
She likes to play in the toilet (YUCK!).
She loves getting puppy kisses on the mouth by Jojo (YUCK! again). When she gets mad she throws things.
When we're in the grocery store she likes to grab whatever she can out of the cart and through it on the floor, while she is saying hi to everyone that walks by. She says it until they are out of her sight (hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, etc.) It's very awkward for me and I'm sure the people she won't stop saying hi to. But it's so dang cute at the same time.
And you better watch out if you don't give her what she wants when she wants it.

I love my little diva but I'm afraid of the teen years.

Oh, and we could also refer to her as a beaver because she has been gnawing on her bed. Through the paint, down to the bare wood. Here are the honey badger videos:

And the uncensored version. WARNING: crude language but it is so hilarious because Stella really doesn't give a s*#t. Shaun is the first to discover the connection between Stella and the Honey Badger.

On another note she is talking up a storm. Words she says:

daddy (her first), O (for Owen), hi, bye, cow, eye, more, papa, dog, Jojo, quack (she says quack for every bird not just ducks), and I think we're getting close to mommy.

And she loves when you read to her. It so sweet to be able to read to her at bedtime now. She loves her stories.

Summer 2011

2011-09-11T16:47:00.001-06:00

So I'm late in posting - again! Let's do some catch up:

We had Owen's birthday party in June.

Then we celebrated Stella 1st Birthday. I can't believe my baby girl is one. This year has gone by so fast. And we still thank God for her and her birthparents, Elena and Mike, everyday. We are truly blessed.

Her morning birthday photo straight out of bed. She's always so happy.

Went to St. Louis the month of July and had another birthday party for the birthday kiddos. It was so fun to see everyone.

Mom and grandpa Niederhoffer

Baby cousin Luci. Don't you just want to give her kisses all over.

Baby cousin Nicholas only a couple weeks old here.

Owen and his uncle Timmy.

Stella and her aunt Emily (10 days shy of having Savanna Lynn)

The main reason we went to St. Louis was to meet my new niece Savanna Lynn - born July 20th (2 days after her due date).

Before

After

We got to see Elena and her family.

My nephew Braedyn. He and Stella were taking turns sitting and posing in my mom's little dogs bed

Ok. Not a lot of writing but lots of pictures. Until next time.

My baby boy turned 5!

2011-06-17T20:41:00.003-06:00

Okay, so he's not such a baby anymore but that's how I still think of him. I can't believe he's 5 and will be starting kindergarten this year. Here are some funny faces he made for the camera when he woke up on his birthday - the first thing out of his mouth when he woke up bright and early "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!"

We got him a new bike and the first picture of him is when he opened his eyes to see it for the first time. I also decided to make his cake this year and he helped. He added the "5th" the heart and the little scribble on his cake.

He wanted Spaghetti for his birthday dinner and he thoroughly enjoyed it as did Stella. But she was over the moon when we gave her cake.

A picture of us before birthday boy went to bed. Unfortunately, daddy went to work before I remembered to get a picture of all of us. Sometimes I'm really bad at that. Okay, all the time. Sorry daddy.

He had a great day and he can't wait to turn 5 two more times. Because he's having two more parties - one with friends and one with family when we go back home to STL. I keep telling him he's not turning 5 again he's just having 3 parties. Where he then tells me he would be 7 if he had 3 parties. Okay Owen. We love you.

Catch up Post

2011-06-06T10:31:00.007-06:00

So I know, I'm way behind on blogging as usual so this is just going to be a catch up one.

Elena came to visit in March for a weekend and Stella wasn't shy at all. She's never really gone through the attachment/stranger phase which has been great. She LOVES attention and smiles at everyone.

We went skiing with our good friends, the Horton's, in April at Snowbird in Sandy, Utah (BEAUTIFUL). It was mine and Owen's first time (unless you count Hidden Valley - our fake ski hill with fake snow in Missouri, which I did when I was like 13). We both took classes and had an awesome time. Owen is way better than I am.

Owen falling down and laughing hysterically.

Little miss Stella stayed in the room pretty much the whole time but we had to at least get a picture of her in the snow.

While we were there I got to take pictures of Alana and Davis. Davis wasn't really into it but Alana was great. They're so cute.

Then there was Easter. Unfortunately, Shaun was in Denver but Grandma Jenny got to come for a visit.

Best picture I could get of the kids. The were not very cooperative.

And Owen just had his last T-ball game this past Saturday. He had an awesome time and did a great job. He's a really good little hitter. It's funny watching all the kids go after the ball. They look like a herd of cattle or a swarm of bees that can't leave each others side. I had to keep telling Owen to not fight over the ball.

Owen's team was the White Sox but there's no way I was going to buy him a White Sox hat so I bought him a black Cardinals hat and Stella cheered for him in her little Cardinal dress.

Stella

2011-03-27T13:54:00.005-06:00

Here's some video of Stella - crawling, climbing, clapping, cruising, etc. It set to music by Mindy Gledhill. She my new obsession (and Owens). We can't get enough of her "Whole Wide World" video. I discovered it on another blog (nieniedialogues.blogspot.com). She has an amazing story and is actually in the video. Anyway, here's the video of Stella

Mindy's for "Whole Wide World"

Finalization and Baptism

2011-03-24T14:42:00.008-06:00

So once again I am behind on my posts but here are some updates. Stella is official a Brown. Whoohoo!!!! We finalized the adoption Jan. 21 in St. Louis. We're so excited, it was such a big moment in our lives.

We also had her baptized while in town in the same church Shaun and I were married in and Owen was baptized in. It almost didn't happen though. We get to the church and there's no one around. We finally found one of the priests who said it was an oversight on the churches part but he was gracious enough to perform the service on a whim. We then headed over to my dads to celebrate afterwards. It was so nice to be able to have the ceremony held in St. Louis so Elena and her family could celebrate with us.

It's hard to see her dress but Elena made it. I thought that was so special and it was beautiful.

Stella's Godparents (Nicole - Shaun's cousin - and her husband Phil)

Elena and her friend Chelsea

While we were in town we had a surprise party for Shaun's 30th even though his birthday is in December but I wanted him to be able to celebrate with the family. And boy was he surprised. He had now idea about it or that I was behind it. Thanks to his aunt Angel it all came together great.

Taking a shot of course.

Terrorizing his son.

Before Shaun's party we visited with Elena and her family. Owen absolutely loves Gabby, Elena's sister, who I think is 15. He's so girl crazy. I was glad they got to have time with her and can't wait for them to see her again. She's changing so much. Since January she started crawling, pulling herself up on everything (even climbing on Owen's art table), and she's cruising along the couch now. She's only 8 months - I'm not ready for her to be a walker yet but I think it's going to be here sooner than later.

Just a pic to show what my sweet little girl was doing today -

Yes, that would be dirt all over her mouth because she was eating it out of the house plant.

Christmas & Polar Express

2011-01-29T10:54:00.010-07:00

We stayed in El Paso this year for Christmas since we were going home to St. Louis in January. It was sad not seeing family but so nice to just relax at home, especially since all of us except Stella had some sort of cold/sickness that week. We just hung out at home and Owen got to play with all his new toys.

Since we were staying in El Paso everyone sent their gifts. After we set all the presents out the night before I told Shaun this was ridiculous. We have such a generous family and it doesn't help that Owen and Stella are the only grandkids on all sides except for my mom's (I have 2 nephews so Stella is the only girl). I just hope the kids don't expect this every year.

This is how we found Stella Christmas morning.

Owen helping his sis open her first present.

One of the presents Owen asked from Santa was a jack-in-the-box. I asked him if he got everything he wanted:

Owen - "Yeah, well, not everything"

Me - "What didn't you get?"

Owen - "A computer and phone."

Me - "You have a computer and phone."

Owen - "No, one like daddy."

4 1/2 years old and he already wants a real laptop and a real cell phone. I told him not before he's 5.

She was more interested in eating the wrapping paper than the presents.

Gift from her aunty Rach and she has on the "Baby's First Christmas" hat that Owen wore for his first Christmas.

The week of Christmas we took a trip up to Durango, CO to take a ride on the Polar Express. We kept it a secret from Owen until we got there - not that Shaun didn't slip up quite a few times. He was so excited but I think we were just as excited.

Waiting for the train.

Here it comes.

Yummy hot chocolate. Owen didn't want his so I drank his too.

Stella's "hot chocolate"

Santa giving Owen the first gift of Christmas . . .

A bell

This was such a fun trip, I think we'll have to do it every year.

3rd Colorado Trip

2011-01-14T13:55:00.010-07:00

So I have some major catching up to do. I'll post about Colorado first then I'll post soon about Christmas.

This will be short but sweet. Back to Colorado it was for Thanksgiving. Our last trip until April. The kids and I are soooo done with the long trips in the car but we definitely had a blast. Some friends of ours were up there too visiting their husband/dad like us so it was fun to hang out with them. Here are the highlights:

At the Butterfly Pavilion. Owen was so excited to hold the tarantula (I don't do spiders).

I can't believe how still he was when the butterfly landed on him and I can't believe I got the shot before it flew away. It hung out for a while on his shirt.

Just before leaving to go to a friends house for Thanksgiving.

Getting ready to do some snowshoeing. Stella in her little sled that was attached to Shaun. She ended up falling a sleep for a while. I think I would too if I was rocking back and forth and all bundled up.

Owen did great with the snowshoes. I was a little nervous but he had no problems. He just got tired after a while and got in the sled with Stella. She loved that.

Here's my little snow bunny on our way home to El Paso from Denver. And we had Shaun with us so it was really nice not to travel by myself with the kids.

2nd Colorado Trip & Elena's visit

2010-12-01T16:03:00.006-07:00

This is way late since we've already been on our 3rd Colorado trip but I'll post about that later. Owen, Stella and I headed back to Denver at the end of October but before we did that Elena, Stella's birthmom, and Elena's mom, Mary Jo, came for a weekend visit. I'm so glad they got to come down and I was super excited for her to see Stella and see how much she's changed. Of course Owen thought they were there just to play with him.

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch on Saturday and went to church and out to dinner on Sunday.

I can't wait to see them again in January when we finalize the adoption and have Stella baptized. I'm so excited because Elena is making Stella's baptismal dress. Can't wait to see it.

We left for Denver the following Wednesday. Another 12 hr drive but it went pretty good. My mom and brother met us there too so we had a lot of fun. We went to the Aquarium and the Zoo.

Owen feeding the string rays.

Owen thought the flamingos were stinky.

We were there for Halloween too. Owen was a scary little vampire and Stella was a cute little kitten. When we went trick-or-treating I put on cat ears to match my little kitten. It was really cold but Owen lasted for quite a while. Stella just sat in her stroller all bundled up and watched all the kids running around.

The ride home to El Paso was not fun. I think we were all done with this long trip but we had one more to go.

1st (of many) Trip to Denver

2010-10-18T16:00:00.008-06:00

The kids and I went to visit Shaun in Denver a week ago and had so much fun. It was so nice for the 4 of us to be together again. Oh, and I LOVE Denver. I might just move there while Shaun finishes his residency. Not really, but it's tempting. We did a lot of exploring and we can't wait to go back. Shaun will be there until the end of November so we have 2 more trips scheduled - over Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I drove with the 2 kids so I was a little nervous about that but it went pretty good. It took us a total of about 12 hrs with stops. We had 2 more stops than planned on the way there but on the way back we only stopped 3 times. Both kids did really well.

We went to Breckenridge and walked around to see all the shops and let Owen play for a little bit. It was a little windy and Stella wasn't too sure about that. It would take her breath away. Can you tell?

We also went to Estes park and the Rocky Mountains to see Bear Lake and drive up to the top. We saw some elk but they were pretty far away. They looked more like a moving spot than elk.

We also went to the Children's Museum. Owen got to use real tools with daddy. He was in heaven.

We also got to see some of our friends. It was so much fun and we can't wait to see them again. That's all for now and here's a pic of Stella at 3 months just because.

HOME Sweet HOME

2010-08-17T09:32:00.010-06:00

So we've been home for a couple of weeks now and are still trying to get in a groove. My mom and sis came down with me to help on the flight with the 2 kiddos and they stayed for a about a week which was really nice. Shaun's dad just left from his visit so now it's time to get into a routine. We have our 1st post-placement visit next Tues. The people who did our home study will be doing the post-placement visits. It's just to make sure we're all adjusting okay. Stella's doing good, she's just having some spitting up issues. Fortunately, I never dealt with this with Owen so I'm trying to determine what's normal and what's excessive. She's sleeping great at night - usually 4 to 5 hr stretches sometimes longer so I'm only really getting up once a night (sometimes twice). She is definitely an eater. This is the view I have most of the day. She's so pretty.

It's been a little crazy here with Shaun working three 24 hr + shifts a week so we only really see him every other night except Saturday's he is off (whoohoo) so we'll get a whole day with the entire family. The past 2 Saturdays we've headed to the farmers market in Las Cruces, NM (a town about 30 min north of us). We got this cute little onsie that totally represents the southwest. Isn't it adorable? It doesn't fit her yet but I'm sure it will soon enough.

September, October, and November Shaun will be in Denver, Colorado for work. BOOOOO!!! Owen, Stella, and I will head up there the last week of September and stay 2 weeks. We can't go the whole time because Owen starts pre-k the beginning of Sept. and we have the 2 dogs - too expensive to kennel them the whole time. Shaun will come back in November for our 2nd post-placement visit and then we'll drive back to Colorado together so we can spend Thanksgiving together and then drive back home together at the end of the month.

Here's Owen playing doctor. Daddy has him trained well.

This use to be Owen's favorite toy. It says a little prayer that I still say to Owen at night.

Stella's first real bath at home. Big brother was there to help. She loves her baths. Owen freaked out at first but not Stella.

She had a dr. appt. Aug. 2 and she was up to 9 lbs. 4 oz. so she's a healthy baby girl. I can't wait to find out what she weighs at her 2 month check-up. Unfortunately, she had to get blood drawn because she had a little blood in her stool and her dr. wanted to make sure there was nothing major going on. There wasn't and no blood since. I had to hold her little arm down. It was torture for both of us but she recovered quickly.

We finally got her furniture and are still working on the decorating. I got this quilt off of etsy.com and just love the colors. I bought some paper lanterns to hang above her crib and changing table so I can't wait to get those and hang them.

I bought these pictures before we were even matched. I love the colors in them.

One of the few shots with her eyes open and looking at me. Don't you just love it.

Well, that's it for now. I'll keep posting when I can.

Baby Stella has arrived

2010-07-09T13:52:00.006-06:00

Stella Grace is here. She was born 7/7 at 8:47p. She's 7 lbs 3 oz and 20 1/4 in long. Elena did really well even though the delivery was long and rough on her. Elena and her family have been great during this whole process and I can't express enough how much we love and are greatful for her. We are so excited. We just brought her home (well, St. Louis home) today and it's so surreal.

Owen was very curious about her little nubby

Daddy seeing her for the first time

Elena (the birthmom)

The Meeting

2010-06-30T08:53:00.003-06:00

So we met with Elena and her parents Tuesday night, along with 2 people from Love Basket. It definitely helps when they are there to get the conversation started. It such an odd situation. What do you talk about? What's appropriate to say? What should I order?, etc. It went really good though. Elena is so sweet and her parents are really nice. Elena gave us a framed ultrasound picture of the baby which was awesome and a really good sign. It's a really good shot of her face. She's all squished in Elena's tummy. We got a picture of the 3 of us (Shaun, Elena, and I) and we also got a picture with her parents.

Elena invited me to her dr's apt. she had Wednesday. She so sweet to think about those things. Everything went good except we're not totally sure on the due date. Originally it was July 4 but they got that from an ultrasound she had at 32 weeks which I know isn't the most accurate but the dr. she saw said there could be a difference of 2 to 3 weeks. Crazy. So I sent Shaun back home and Owen and I will stay her in St. Louis, especially since she wants me in the delivery room. I'm definitely not missing that.

This is so different from last time. Everything is going great. The only hiccup is the birthfather. No one can seem to locate him so he can sign the consent form. So it may take us longer to come home with our baby girl but we are trying to work that out. Hopefully Love Basket can reach him and the whole court process will be uneventful.

Other than that we're just hanging out with family and trying to stay on some sort of schedule. Oh, and I get to see one of my best friends who's in town this week from Colorado. She just had a baby boy, Landon, in December so I can't wait to meet him. Keep us in your prayers and we'll keep up updated.

Round 2

2010-06-22T17:50:00.004-06:00

So we've been MATCHED again and we're so excited. Details, details, details - It's a GIRL (woohoo) and the birthmom (Elena) is due July 4th - yes, it's that quick again and her doctor thinks she will go early, of course. She is in St. Louis, 16 yrs old, and both her parents support the adoption. The birthfather (BF) is 19 or 20 yrs old and is not really in the picture. They were seeing each other behind her parents back so the BF and her parents do not have a good relationship. He has told Elena he is supportive of the adoption and will sign the papers. It sounds like his family is pretty supportive as well. In fact, his grandma knowsa couple who want to adopt and gave Elena their profile but she still decided we were the best fit. We are flying (yes, flying and not driving) out Monday, June 28th and plan on meeting them Tuesday night. I can't wait. I'm not sure of the exact reasons she chose our profile but I do know that her older brother wants to be an Army physician so there is definitely a connection there. We'll keep everyone updated. Keep us all in your prayers.

Here's a pic of Owen at his birthday party with his best friend Alana (or should I say girlfriend) who just moved to Portland, OR. We're sad but happy for them to move onto the next phase of their lives - fellowship. I'm so jealous they're done with residency.

Aren't the little pirates cute?

Our little singer

2010-05-20T19:19:00.003-06:00

So Owen learned a song from school and decided to put on a little show for us. This is a HUGE deal because when we normally ask him what he did at school he says "I don't know" or "I don't feel like talking right now". Here's his song:

Adoption Update - Our first match

2010-04-27T11:17:00.002-06:00

For those of you who don't know, we were match with birth parents April 9 and we found out she was due around April 20. Of course when I got the call Shaun was out of town. He left that morning and wouldn't be back until Sunday the 11th. So we get the call and of course I start crying - I had a lot more emotions than I thought I would have. Shirley from Love Basket gave me all the details including their phone numbers so we could call them since we weren't sure we'd be able to meet them before the birth. I couldn't wait to tell Shaun but knew he was in conferences so I sent him a text. He called when he had like 2 min. to talk to I just said "We've been chosen!" I finally got to talk to him later and we decided we would drive to St. Louis (were the birthparents live and our home town) on Monday so we could meet them before Shaun had to leave for another conference in D.C. on Wednesday.

So we talked to them Sunday - I was so nervous, what do I say, will she like me - all these things were going through my head. We talked for about 5 min because we were both so nervous and knew we would see each other on Tuesday. Shaun had a really good talk with Rodney, the birthfather. He was way more confident than I was.

So we hit the road Monday morning, something we said we would never do again. Oh, and the kicker, we know have 2 good size dogs that were traveling with us. JoJo, our pup we got in January, who is about 40 lbs. and Cody, who we inherited back from Shaun's mom and stepdad, who is over 100 lbs (we're working on a diet plan). So most of our stuff had to go on the roof. It was cramped but we all did good. I think Owen only said "I can't do this anymore" a hand full of times. He's now moved up to "Are we there yet?" which started 20 min after we left the house.

We drive through the night, stopping for about 2 hrs to try and get some sleep - yeah right. I can't sleep in the car for anything. First Owen pees on me b/c he is in front on my lap, then after the clean up we finally get settled again and the pups think it's time to wake up and eat breakfast (it's like 2am). We get them settled down and fall asleep and then comes the garbage truck and of course we're right by the dumpster. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep and Shaun might have gotten an hour or so. We forge on.

We get in to STL about 8:30/9am, unload, take Owen to daycare (Shaun's aunt owns), sleep for about an hour (Shaun got to sleep a couple of hours), get a hair cut, then get ready to go meet the birthparents for dinner with Jo and Shirley from Love Basket. I was so nervous I think I was have panic attacks but dinner went great. We all talked about everything and felt we had a great connection. Brittany, birthmom, told us some of her family, including her mom, was wishy-washy about the situation, which we knew ahead of time. But she told us she felt adoption was the best for the baby.

So here's where everything starts to go down hill. Brittany missed a couple of meetings w/ Love Basket and they can't get a hold of her. Shaun talked to Rodney Saturday night, after he gets in town from D.C. - he tells Shaun Brittany is having a hard time especially with not having support from her family. I talk to Brittany on Sunday and she feels she is being torn in all directions (between her family and Rodney). I let her know she has to be at peace with her decision and to focus on what she thinks is right for her and the baby. There is a lot more but this is the gist of it.

Monday we get the dreaded call (actually Shaun did) that she has decided to parent. She said she really liked us and didn't have any reservations about us but she just wasn't at peace with the decision. Which we were ok with because we know God will bring us the right child at the right time. We decided to stay in STL for the rest of the week to relax and visit family. Then we took off again for El Paso on Friday. This time we decided to stop over night which help a lot. And we also got Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" on audio book (17 1/2 hrs worth) so we listened to that the whole way. So were back home and back on the market. I told Shaun we'd either get matched again next week or in 6 months.

It was a very crazy and emotional trip but totally worth it. I think it would have been much worse to meet them at the hospital for the first time, meet the baby (a boy by the way), and then have her decide to parent. So there you have it - our first major adoption experience. Shaun jokes he feels we deserve twins now. I don't know about that.

The random pics -
- Owen on the way to STL. He still loves his boppy.
- Owens favorite ride at Americas Incredible Pizza (virtual roller coaster)
- Dinner at a hibachi restaurant (Owen's first time)
- Go carts with daddy

Owen and the Dentist

2010-03-01T15:19:00.001-07:00

Owen had his first dentist appt. today. I know, I know, he's 3 1/2 and he just had his first appt. I'm not going to lie - I was scared. Plus Shaun didn't set up dental for us until last summer and we were gone most of last year so it's not entirely my fault. Anyway, he did awesome. Going to the dentist now is not the same as when I was a kid. There's a play area on one side of the waiting room and a movie area on the other side. They have a toy machine (just little toys like bouncy balls) in the room you get your teeth cleaned so when the kids are done they get 2 tokens for the machine. He also got a new toothbrush and his own toothpaste, a gold medal, a balloon, and ice cream. What dentist gives ice cream out? The most awesome dentist in the world - that's who. Owen had to get x-rays and they said he did great. They do it the same way as adults and I don't know about you but when they stick those plastic things in my mouth I want to throw up every time. Not Owen. It didn't seem to phase him at all. He also got his teeth cleaned but not with any sharp, pointy objects. Just the good ol' fashion way with toothpaste and a toothbrush. And while you get your teeth cleaned you get to watch a movie. Cars was the choice of the day. I'm happy to say no cavities were found. Here's a pic taken with my phone:

Tubing, toilet training, and travel (sort of)

2010-02-17T21:11:00.002-07:00

Just a little update about what's been going on lately. On Monday we decided to drive up to Ruidoso, NM - it's about 2 hrs north of us. It's so beautiful there. Shaun actually went skiing there last week - yes, his first time and nothing got broken. So we took Jojo (we finally decided on a name) to a dog park they have there which was awesome. It's a big area fenced in so he was able to run free with the other dogs. We let him do that for about an hour then we went tubing at the Winter Park they have. We had so much fun, although Owen was a little upset that he couldn't go alone and he couldn't go on the hills higher up. But he still had fun.

I'm happy to announce that our 3 1/2 year old is finally . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . pooping on the potty. I haven't been this excited in I don't know how long. It's weird the things you get excited about once you have kids. This was a long and hard battle for Shaun and I. It's been 4 days now and no problems. Whoohoo!!!! Now, we just need to start working on making it through the night dry and we're done with the diapers - at least until the next one comes.

And here are some pictures of Owens trip to San Antonio yesterday, at least that's where he told us he was going. This is his new obsession. How much stuff can I stuff into one place. I think he's just reminiscing about all of our trips last year where the car was stuffed to the brim and we had the roof storage bag. Yes, that is a picnic table on top. We also have a broom, a trampoline cover, a water sprinkler, and who knows what else. I have no idea how he got in there (or out).

And just a little adoption update - we have almost everything in except our training form. We've watched the video and are almost done with the books we have to read. Our home study should be completed this week. Next is our phone interview with Love Basket and then I think we will be on to our profiles. It's crazy how fast this has gone.

Our new addition

2010-02-02T16:42:00.002-07:00

No, not a baby yet - well, not of the human form. We got a puppy, which I totally said we were NOT going to do when we first started talking about dogs. Last Sunday, we went to the Animal Rescue League of El Paso (ARL) and fell in love with Baldwin. A male dog, 5-6 months old, about 25-30 lbs, boxer mix. We think he is mixed with an english pointer. He's so adorable. We first saw him through petfinder.com and read a little about him. ARL saved him on his last day of death row at the pound. Doesn't that just break your heart. So far he has been wonderful. He hasn't had any accidents - not even close calls. He loves his crate - we've tried to make it his sanctuary. We've told Owen "No Kids Allowed" in or around the crate (maybe I should put a sign), "Dogs Only". It's so weird he doesn't inhale his food like a certain lab that I know and he doesn't seem to like the treats we've gotten him. Does he know he's a dog? He's adjusted really well to us. He likes to nibble on things but I know that goes with the puppy phase. Unfortunately, he is off right now getting his manhood cut off but it's for the best. I hope he still loves us tomorrow. We are still debating about the name too. Baldwin is cute but it doesn't really have a nickname (Baldy - no, Winy - no). Owen loves JoJo. Not sure why but that's what he wants to call the puppy. I was trying to think of something relating to El Paso since that's where he is from but came up with nothing (I'm so not creative with names). Then I thought about Rex (as in T-Rex) because Owen loves dinosaurs and I thought Rex was a cute name. Owen liked it for about 20 min and then went back to JoJo. So that name may stick. We'll see. Any suggestions?

Home Study: Check

2010-01-21T12:01:00.004-07:00

Well, we just had our home study yesterday which only took about an hour. We weren't really nervous, which was great, but we weren't quite sure what to expect. Heather, who did our home study, was awesome. She was very comfortable to talk to and helped us with questions. She did a quick sweep of the house to make sure everything was ok but we mainly talked. Owen was, of course, trying to show off by showing her the big rocket he built with his legos. He such a little flirt. Next up, fill out the rest of Love Baskets second application, watch the training video they sent us and Shaun has to get fingerprinted (I was fingerprinted when I helped out at Owen's school last year) as part of the background check. We're getting closer to building our profile and I can't wait. We'll keep you updated. Here's some pictures just because:

Owen the other night after his bath

Christmas 2009

2010-01-10T19:24:00.005-07:00

So, back home to St. Louis it was for Christmas - and we chose to drive. . . again. . . that would be the 2nd time of the year. Yes, we're crazy but thought it would be a little cheaper than paying for 3 of us to fly. We will ALWAYS choose flying over driving 1400+ miles (that's about 20 hrs with stops). Owen had a couple meltdowns but I had my stock of $1 matchbox cars to distract him. Anyway, we had lots of fun and we were totally exhausted. We celebrated Christmas with the usuals -

Christmas Ever with my mom side of the family

Christmas with my dad side and Shaun's side

The day after Christmas (and a wedding - Owen was the entertainment) at my step moms

We got a little snow in before celebrating with Shaun's dad and grandma. It was so great that she got to come up.

We also celebrated Shaun's 29th birthday and my 30th (yes the BIG 3-0) which I have finally excepted. They had a surprise party for me which was awesome. My dad took pics (thanks dad) for me so I'll post them when I get them.

Glad to be home. Here's to a great year.

We're ADOPTING!!!!!

2010-01-07T17:28:00.003-07:00

We're so excited for the whole process. After 2 long years of trying for another child and extensive lab work only to show we're both healthy and have no known infertility, it was either IVF or adoption, so we chose adoption. We've always talked about wanting to adopt and we feel God is calling us to do it now. We chose the agency Love Basket (christian based agency) who's main office is in Hillsboro, MO (not far from our home town) and they also have offices in Kentucky and Minnesota. We got the best feeling from them and we were actually able to drop of the application in person when we went home for Christmas.

We already have our home study set up for Jan. 20 which is a lot sooner than we thought it would happen. The person doing the home study is already flying out (she's coming from Waco, TX) for another couple who is doing an international adoption so it worked out perfectly. We just sent off all our information for the home study today. That is the most paper work I think I have ever done but soooo worth it. We are doing domestic and will probably do international sometime in the future. We're open to any race so we could have a new baby in 6 months to a year which is pretty crazy. Well keep everyone updated on the process.

Chicago Marathon 2009

2009-10-12T20:01:00.008-06:00

Shaun ran his 1st marathon this weekend in Chicago. It was an awesome experience and he ran an awesome race. He ran it in 4 hrs 50 min. Not to shabby for his first time. He had quite the cheering crowd too - Me, Owen, Andrea (Shauns mom), Jenny (my stepmom), Rachel (my sister), & Lisa (my aunt). Here are some pics:

Shaun right before the race began:

Some runners before we saw Shaun - they were running really fast.

Shaun after we saw him between mile 2 & 3

The cheering crowd minus me. It was cold so we had our cheer shirts on over our several layers.

Owen got a little bored waiting for daddy.

Mile 12 - looking good

The Finish line - that's about as much of it as we could see.

Aaarrrggghhh Matey!

2009-09-14T20:06:00.008-06:00

Two weekends ago we went and saw the Pinta and Nina replica ships in Grafton, IL. They were a lot smaller than I thought but they were pretty cool. It was raining that day but there were still a ton of people who came out to see them.

The Pinta

The Nina

My little pirate . . . he was not really welcomed on the ships. The crew let us know that - with a smile. They had fun with it.

My little pirate and his aunty Angel

Random pics

Owens a Kickaroo

2009-08-20T12:50:00.006-06:00

So Owens had 2 soccer practices so far and 2 more to go. He's a Kickaroo and in the Boomers division (3 yr olds). There just lessons to help them get started in the soccer process. He followed directions for the most part. Sometimes he would wonder down the field with his ball but he always came back. Here are some pics:

Here one of the coaches was playing keep away.

A 45 minute session will wear a kid out. He was so tired the first practice he came off the field 5 min. early.

Family Pics 2009

2009-08-05T12:37:00.005-06:00

In June we got family pictures taken in downtown El Paso by a GREAT photographer, Jessica Sandberg. Here are a few of them:

She definitely captured Owen's personality in this one - my nice, sweet, little boy:

Unfortunately, she's decided to close her business so no more family pictures by her.

COLDPLAY!!!

2009-07-27T13:32:00.006-06:00

Coldplay - Friday, July 24th - AWESOME. It was their Viva La Vida tour. I'm not sure I've been to a better concert. They were all about the audience. Twice they went into the crowd - once in the upper seating area and once onto the lawn. We were 3 rows back - I've never been that close - except for maybe at Candlebox. There was a group of people standing right at the stage so I guess technically we were more like 5 or 6 rows back but it was still cool. I only got a few pictures that turned out b/c some girls hand kept getting in my way and the camera kept focusing on her. I told Shaun to push her out of the way but I guess he didn't hear me b/c there was no pushing. Anyway, they gave a free CD out as everyone left. Who does that? Coldplay.

The guy who took our picture had his finger over the flash but better than nothing

Thousands of paper butterfly cutouts were prayed all over the audience. You couldn't see anything but butterflies. Awesome.

Vaca 2009

2009-07-23T13:07:00.009-06:00

Vacation was awesome. We went to Gulf Shores, AL and it was Owens first time seeing the beach. He was a little intimidated at first but he loved the worlds biggest sandbox. He's not much for making sandcastles though. He builds them but only to destroy them. The ride down was long (~ 11 and 1/2 hours) but not as long as the ride from El Paso to St. Louis. Owen was such a trooper being stuck in his carseat the whole time except when we stopped for gas or dinner. The dolphin cruise was "totally wicked" (Incredibles) as I'm sure Owen would say. Here are some pics:

Owens first time seeing the Ocean

My little spiderman's ready to go

His first sparklers for 4th of July

First time eating shrimp. I don't think he was too fond of it.

Racing his Grandma Wild down the beach

Petting a baby shark that our neighbors caught down at the beach.

The kids on vaca (Nicole & Phil, Shaun & I, Erica & Brian).

Well I can't download anymore pics at the moment so I'll have to add more later.

Rain, rain, please don't go away.

2009-07-13T16:18:00.004-06:00

It rained in El Paso, Hallelujah! And it was an all day event. Owen got a kick out of the windshield wipers. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. That's sad when your child is 3 and has never really seen the windshield wipers. He had a blast playing in it. Yes, in the first photo he has no pants or underwear so we put some on so I could get some none X rated shots.

Owen's 3rd Birthday

2009-07-13T12:15:00.005-06:00

So my baby is 3 as of June 15th, 2009. I guess he's not a baby anymore. He's getting so big and learning so much. We had a blast at his birthday party. Lots of people, lots of food, and lots of fun. My mom surprised us at his birthday party. I had no clue she was coming - she just showed up at our door. We also had Grandma & PaPa Wild there to celebrate with us. It was so nice to have family there. We had a bounce house (the best thing ever):

and a pinata with lots of candy:

Owen had a Cars (racecar movie) cupcake cake. It looked like a regular cake on top but was made of 24 cupcakes. It was so yummy - if you couldn't tell from Owens face:

It was fun but a lot of work since we barbequed hamburgers and hotdogs and Shaun made salsa. We also had a fruit and cheese tray, chips, and pretzels. Next year I'm all about ordering pizzas. Less money and less work. Happy Birthday sugar baby!

Vegetable Garden

2009-05-23T15:00:00.000-06:00

So we decided at the beginning of April (4/4/09) to start a vegetable garden. We added tomatoes (regular and cherry), butter lettuce, and two kinds of peppers. We are not really green thumb kind of people but we thought we'd try it out anyway. Shaun dug a trench so we could use some old wood we had to make a border. Then we added soil. Here are some pictures of when we first planted them:

And here are some pictures from a month ago (4/21/09). The original lettuce leaves died off and these are the new ones that have grown in. We have little babies on our cherry tomato plant and a little bud on our poblano pepper plant. I'm so excited.

Pictures from 5/5/09:

Pictures from 5/21/09 & 5/22/09:

Our pepper plants are getting bigger but not quite producing because we have an infestation of ants who seem to be devouring the little buds. I've tried cinnamon, garlic & red pepper spray, cornstarch & sugar but nothing seems to keep them away. Any advice other than pesticides?

Bataan Death March

2009-04-02T12:13:00.005-06:00

Shaun and some of his friends participated in the 20th Annual Bataan Memorial Death March on Sunday, March 29. In 1942, 75,000 American and Filipino soldiers were captured by the Japanese and were forced to march (~60 miles) for days through the Philippine jungles. No food or water was given to them. Thousands died and those who survived became prisoners of war.

This annual march is to remember and honor those who were apart of that march. It is a trail marathon (26.2 miles) on pavement and sand through the desert and mountains. Shaun participated in the individual heavy which is where you carry 35+ lbs of weight in your rucksack. For most though the weight was more like 45+ lbs because they were carrying food and water. This weight did not count towards the total weight because it could be consumed. Shaun and his friends completed it in a little over 9 hrs which is awesome (they didn't cross the start line for about an hour because there were so many people). We are so proud of him and he is already saying he wants to do it next year, only he'll be more prepared next time around. It looked like we were coming into a battle field when people were crossing the finish line. Everyone is limping or lying down. And Shaun had some major blisters to show for it. He's doing a lot better today but he's still limping a little. I can only image the toll it took on their bodies. Some of the remaining survivors came and greeted those who participated. Unfortunately, I didn't see any of them when we got there.

Here are a few pictures:

Pony Rides

2009-03-14T12:34:00.006-06:00

Last week Owen's school, St. Marks, had ponies brought in for the kids to ride and I was fortunate enough to get some shots. Owen was so excited - when he was getting on the pony he was smiling at the handler from ear to ear. They were so cute (the ponies and the kids).

No more Nuks - Woohoo!

2009-03-09T11:59:00.005-06:00

I am happy to report that it has officially been 2 weeks since we got rid of the nuks (pacifiers). I made up my mind one weekend when Shaun was going to be out of town to toss them. We actually made it a big event. I talked to Owen all week about "mailing" them to "the baby" because the baby was going to be here soon and he really needed nuks. I used Shaun's cousin's, Mel, baby. I showed him a picture of her with her cute belly and explained that the baby was in her belly and would be coming soon. On Friday afternoon we put them in a Ziploc back and walked them to the mailbox. He opened the mailbox and put them in himself. The whole week I also explained to him that this meant he would not have them for nap and bedtime anymore, to which he shook his head acknowledging that he understood but I knew it was going in one ear and out the other.

So Friday night came and it was time for bed. We walk upstairs to his room and he begins looking for them in his bed. I explained again that we mailed them to the baby. He was very upset at first but then I was distracting him, changed his clothes, picked out a stuffed animal to sleep with, and he was doing ok until he thought about it and he would start to cry again. It was so sad. But then I explained to him again what we did, to which he said "I a baby". I told him he was a big boy and then we continued our nightly routine, read to him and said a prayer. I told him I would rub his back until he fell asleep and that really helped. He woke up about 3:30am so I just brought him in bed with me. Ever since he has done great even with his naps at school. Every once in a while he'll ask for them but I just tell him we mailed them to the baby and he's good.

This was a big decision for me since this is the only thing I've ever had to wean him off of. I already had a back up plan that if it didn't work that weekend I would wait until spring break when he wasn't in school. I decided to do it now because we will be driving to St. Louis this summer and that is a good 18 hr plus trip, so he would definitely get is nuk in the car which would start a domino effect. Once he gets it outside of his normal use he thinks he can have it anytime and so it would be a constant fight. I'm just glad it went a lot smoother than I thought.

Bye, bye mr. nuk.

New Lens

2009-03-06T13:59:00.005-07:00

I just want to thank everyone who contributed to my Christmas camera lens fund. I was so excited when I finally got it. I got the Canon 50mm 1.4 which is an awesome portrait lens. A friend of mine has the same lens and all her pictures are amazing and that's when I decided that was going to be my next lens. Here are a couple of pictures I've taken with it -

And here are some I took for Valentine's Day -

Can you tell what my favorite subject is?
I LOVE this lens.

Christmas 2008

2009-02-17T08:07:00.004-07:00

Christmas was so much fun this year. I think Shaun was more excited than Owen though. Shaun jumped out of bed and ran to Owen's room to wake him up. Owen was a little dazed but once he got down stairs he saw all the presents. I wrapped everything individually so it took awhile to open all of them but Owen loved it. He got more trains and tracks, books, movies, a guitar, a wiggle racer, and a tool box just like daddy. We spent most of the day playing and then off to dinner at the Johnson's house. It was so fun and yummy. We had all the fixings.

St. Louis Trip - Week of New Years

2009-02-16T20:04:00.006-07:00

Alright, I'm getting closer to being caught up. The week after Christmas we went home to St. Louis to see all the family. Christmas is always a week long event for us. It took Owen a while to realize Christmas isn't really everyday.

First it was Christmas with Grandma Jenny, Aunt Rachel, Nana & Fran. He doesn't quite understand that all gifts are special so anything that wasn't a toy he just threw to the side.

That same day we did Christmas with Grandma Wild (MaMa) and PaPa. I think Owen thought he was in heaven after that day. Two different houses, two sets of presents.

New Year's Eve day we celebrated with Grandpa (Papa) & Grandma (Memaw) Neckermann where Owen got his mustang and everything that could open on it did (doors, trunk, hood). Oh, and he discovered his love for drums - and he can continue to love them at Papa's house. He also had a little sword fight with Papa. I think they did that for 1/2 an hour and Owen was not ready to stop. It sure did wear him out though.

And last but not least was MeMe's (Grandma Kappler) house where he got his very own laptop. Now, he can play with his and not mommy and daddy's. No more missing keyboard keys for us.

Between all the Christmas' we also celebrated our birthdays (Shaun, Jackie, and I), New Year's Eve (not sure what Owen was drinking) and Owen went to his first hockey game (which he was in awe of). I've never seen my child sit so still.

Our Special Child

2009-02-16T10:05:00.003-07:00

Just had to post this picture. It was taken last November but just came across it again. Owen loves being outside and we go out in the morning a lot (as long as it's not too cold). Instead of getting dressed he just throws his rain boots on and once outside gotta put the helmet on. I love my special child.

Halloween 2008

2008-12-22T12:37:00.008-07:00

Halloween was so much fun this year. Owen really got into it. The night before we carved pumpkins. Owen wanted to help but he didn't want to touch the pumpkin "guts". He's a boy, you'd think he'd love it. He didn't even want to touch the seeds because they were sticky. He didn't mind using the ice cream scooper. He was very good at mixing the seeds and "guts. He told daddy he wanted a scary face. No happy faces for him.

He was a little firefighter and he was so cute. I had originally ordered a costume on line but found out a week later that they no longer had it in stock. So this only left me the choice of making a costume (or spending $60 plus shipping - no thanks). Yes, I actually had to make a costume. It turned out pretty good though, I thought. He wore it to school where all the classes went trick or treating to each others room. I passed out the candy for Owen's class so I got to see all the cute little costumes. They were so adorable and so excited. They each got to have a sucker when they were done. You would have thought it was Christmas.

Owen was so excited at all the candy he got. It was hard for him to choose which one he wanted - because he only got one thing that night. He chose skittles. He protected them like they were diamonds. Don't dare try to touch. Daddy did and he was not very happy. What was he thinking.

Then when Shaun got off of work we headed to St. Marks trunk or treat. It was in Sam's parking lot and was all fenced in so we didn't have to worry about walking on the street. There were a bunch of cars that had their trunks decorated really neat. And Owen got really good at holding his bucket out to collect candy. He would say trick or treat but he was so quiet you could hardly hear. Can't wait till next year. Who knows what he'll want to be then. Hopefully I won't have to make it - although I secretly did enjoy it. Reminds me of when I was younger.

San Francisco & Nicole & Phil's Wedding

2008-12-22T11:59:00.008-07:00

Still trying to catch up...

Shaun and I went to San Francisco for a week in October and had a blast. Owen was in St. Louis so it was just the two of us. Shaun had a conference there so in the mornings he attended that but then the rest of the day we would explore. We went to Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Alcatraz, Chinatown, and ton of other districts. We also rode the trolley a couple of times but the lines were crazy to get on so most of the time we did other forms of public transportation.

The only thing we missed was the Ghirardelli Factory and I really wanted me some chocolate. I did see it from afar though.

He also talked me into riding tandem across the Golden Gate Bridge. That sure was an experience. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the ride though because I accidentally erased them. That's so something I would do. Shaun did most of the work of course. I tried to help but my feet were pretty much just moving with the pedals. It was awesome there, expensive, but awesome. Luckily, Shaun's portion of the trip was paid for.

After San Fran we flew to St. Louis for Nicole (Shaun's cousin) & Phil's wedding. All 3 of us were in the wedding and Owen did an awesome job as one of the ring bearers. He walked down the aisle and even bowed at the end. It was so cute. He looked so handsome in his little tux.

Our week with Papa & Memaw

2008-11-12T21:58:00.004-07:00

The last week in August we spent with my dad (papa) and Stephanie (memaw). Owen had such a blast reconnecting with them. We went to the Transportation Museum, Purina Farms, the lake, and spent Labor day with the family.

We were all in Nicole (Shaun's cousin) and Phil's wedding so while we were in STL, we got Owens tux. He's so handsome.

I think Owen was a little in awe at the Transportation Museum at first but he soon got over that and was all over the trains. He loves his choo choos.

We went to the park one day so he could get some energy out. He always loves the park and he had lots of fun with papa.

Then on to Purina Farms. He had a blast especially since he got to sit on the tractor. The driver was really nice. He got to play with tractors too and we drag him away otherwise we would still be there. He also got himself a fat lip when he was running inside and fell. But we got him an ice cream to make it feel better.

We went to the lake where my grandma used to live. We went swimming, he saw a police car (and the policeman turned on his lights for Owen), he "drove" the boat, and he even tried fishing.

We spent Labor day with the family. Owen had a ton of fun. He got to sit on a real motorcycle (my cousins) and he was entertaining everyone with his dancing. Oh, and he ate 3 ears of corn. He loves him some corn.

I'm having trouble loading pictures so I'll load some later.

Owen Goes To School

2008-10-25T17:26:00.003-06:00

Sorry it's been awhile but we have been traveling fools. This first post will be for Owen.

He started school at the end of August and he loves. Well, for the most part. Sometimes I have to pry him from my leg as we enter his class room. That mainly happens when he's tired. He seems to be learning but he's also picking up some bad habits. What are you going to do though. They play outside and inside, they have music, and they usually do some kind of art. In December they have a Christmas program and I bet all the little ones will be so cute and adorable. Although, I could not image trying to coordinate that with a bunch of 2 and 3 years old. I help out there occasionally which is nice because I get to see what really goes on during the day. I don't help in his class though because that could cause problems. I would probably end up hurting a child - whether it be my own or another one picking on my own. JK. I can't wait until after the holidays because that is when they will start the potty training process. We'll see how it goes.

In "The Lou" Part II

2008-08-19T21:35:00.009-06:00

So I'm finally posting about the rest of our trip in St. Louis. Here it goes:

My sister Rachel, my mom and I braved Six Flags with a 2 year old. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be although we didn't even make it to the kiddy rides the first time we went. We spent most of our time in the water park area where Owen loved the lazy river more than anything - that's my boy. He went down the little slide over and over and over again thanks to a girl who was helping all the little ones but he was NOT fond of any waterfalls. Every time he saw one all he would say is "no, no, no, no" until we were past it. He doesn't like to get splashed either. He's a boy - you would think he would like the splashing but apparently not. One ride we did make it to outside the water area was the Colossus (huge Ferris wheel). Owen loved it.

We had a wedding July 26, Erica and Brian. It was in the same church Shaun and I got married in so it brought back some great memories. The reception was fun and Owen had a blast. He was out on the dance floor the whole time we was there, except for the little break to eat - you have to refuel.

We just hung out the rest of the time. Visiting people and taking it easy. It was a long trip especially since we were away from Shaun so long. But we reconnected with him before we left. He was in a friends wedding the first weekend in August, so he flew in Aug. 1 and we came home together Aug. 3. It was a fun trip but I don't think we will be spending that much time apart anymore.

In "The Lou" : Part I

2008-07-14T18:47:00.014-06:00

Just a little (or not quite so little) update since Owen and I have been in St. Louis. We flew in July 1 for the 4th of July and decided to stay the whole month. Between the El Paso heat (100+ degrees), Shaun working late hours, and friends being out of town, Owen and I were going crazy. So here we are. Okay - the break down:

July 3-6 we went to The Lake of the Ozarks with a few Wilds, Wards, and Neckermanns. Went swimming in the pool, fishing in the lake, rode on Greg's boat (friend of Shaun's from high school), shopping (awesome outlet mall), and saw the fireworks. Oh, and we fed the ducks. A LOT. Fun, fun, fun.

July 6 went to my uncle Denis' house for a pool party. My cousin John (on my mom's side) and his family came into town from Oklahoma so we had a little Niederhoffer family reunion. Owen loves his little cousin Bobby.

July 6 evening-9 Owen had a fever so we just had some down time. He then developed a rash July 10 that lasted a few days so we're pretty sure he had Roseola. Something that most little ones get by the age 3. Who knew. My poor baby. First fever he's ever had.

July 7 went to see the big trucks at grandma Wild's work. Loved them but didn't want to touch them. Fever had subsided because of Motrin but we thought it was gone gone.

July 9 went to the St. Louis Mills playarea with grandma Wild where my little boy wore himself out. Then later that evening we met up with his papa, aunt Angel, and uncle Tim at Playtime Party Center where he wore himself out again. (Didn't have my camera)

July 10 we went out to a private lake that my cousin and his family were staying at and hung out with more family and watched my grandpa Niederhoffer fish. Owen had fun with all the kids. Then we met up with Owen's nana, aunt Rachel, uncle Ben and future aunt Kristine for a little birthday celebration dinner. That's when I decided NO more going out to eat with Owen. EVER! I love my son but not in a restaurant.

July 11, Rachel's actual b-day, I went with her and Jenny to see the Sex and the City movie. It was so much fun. Great movie.

July 13 was Rick and Angel's birthday so Andrea had the Ward family over for a birthday celebration. I finally got to met little Steve, Owen's new cousin. Owen had a blast in his little pool.

July 14 the Magic House. An unplanned visit so no camera. I guess we'll just have to go again. Owen had a blast and wore himself out as usual. Meme (my mom) and I were also wore out from following him around as he bounced from one thing to the next. I think he may have a little ADD.

More to come.

Owen's Birthday & Shaun's Graduation

2008-06-20T21:10:00.006-06:00

My baby turned 2 last weekend. Boohoo. It's official. He's a toddler. What happened to that little 7 lb. 1 oz., 20 1/2 inches long, sleeping beauty. How fast they grow. He was not very happy when we were singing Happy Birthday, as you can see from the picture below. But he did have fun with two grandma's in town to celebrate with him. And of course he was lavished with gifts. Thank you to everyone who wasn't there but sent a gift. You will be receiving a thank you card soon. We also had Shaun's intern graduation last weekend. He was awarded "Intern of the Year". We're so proud of him. I'm so grateful that he is so passionate about what he does and he is able to balance both work and family. It has been hard this past month with his long hours and with friends out of town but we're coming home next month so we'll have lots of family to see. Can't wait to see everyone.

Camping with a Toddler

2008-06-02T09:42:00.010-06:00

Little late but here it is - We decided to go on an adventure - camping with a toddler. We were nervous but we're brave people. We thought "we can do this." Shaun took his step 3 boards on Friday - good luck - so we didn't leave until about 4:45p for a 2 to 2 & 1/2 hour trip up to the Gila (pronounced Hee-la) National Forest. We stayed at Cherry Creek campground which is about 20 min. north of Silver City, where my grandpa use to live. We got to the campsite about 7:15p so it was still fairly light out. Owen did pretty good on the ride but he did get antsy. He does not like to be confined for long periods of time.

So we set up camp and of course Owen is ready to venture off and explore new territory so we took turns keeping him close by. It didn't take very long to set up so that was nice. We then decide to build a campfire so we could have s'mores (yummy). We thought this would keep Owen still and mesmorized - the pretty, flickering light from the fire. What were we thinking. He didn't just want to sit there after being stuck in a car for over 2 hours. So we walked around for a little bit, justs around our camp area and decided it was time for bed. By this time it was about 9 - 9:30p. We thought he might go down easy since he only took half his nap earlier in the day. Yeah right. Not with all the new things going on around him. New noises, people talking, kids yelling. I think he finally fell asleep about 10p and he was out.

We had 2 mats, 2 sleeping bags, and 2 heavy blankets since the temps were supposed to be in the 40's at night. The first night was really cold. We opened the sleeping bags up instead of keeping them closed and zipped up around us. But the second night we made sure to keep the sleeping bags closed and we just put Owen in one of ours. That was much better; although, mister wiggle worm didn't stay in them very long. Much warmer and we slept a lot better.

Saturday Shaun got up about 6:45a and he got me up about 7:15a. Owen didn't wake up until about 8a so Shaun and I got to actually have a sit down conversation instead of running after Owen. We cooked breakfast (eggs, bacon, and toast) and then headed off to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Fun but Owen was not happy he had to stay in the hiking pack. We had lunch by the Gila river so Owen and daddy decided to dip their feet in and throw rocks. Headed back to camp and took a hike. Then we headed to Wally World. What's a camping trip if you don't go to Walmart. Since it was freezing the night before Shaun wanted to get a sweatshirt (he forgot to bring one). Owen watched a little Ratatouille, had hot dogs for dinner, s'mores for dessert and off to bed we went. Much better night sleeping.

Headed back home in the morning since we were dirty and out of water. Once we got home it was nothing but couch.

Home Sweet Home

2008-05-19T11:14:00.006-06:00

Aaahhh! Finally home. We had a great (and exhausting) trip to St. Louis but we are glad to be home. We started our journey Monday, May 12th. I got the car loaded and Owen decided to accidentally lock me out of the house. What a great way to start a trip. After about 5 min. I finally got him to open the door. We finally got to the airport and got on the plane fine. The first flight I was a human jungle gym but at least the second flight he passed out. So I was a little battered and bruised by the time we touched down in St. Louis.

The week went good and as usual it was jam packed and unfortunately Owen was off on his naps/bedtimes. Next trip all activities will be scheduled around his schedule.

Couple of lunch dates during the week and Braedyn's (my nephew) 1st birthday on Thursday.

We had a wedding Friday where my little dancing machine found a girlfriend (or should I say a few girlfriends). He had a blast and couldn't stop moving.

Had the Zoo on Saturday - Owen always loves. Dinner that night for my dad's birthday. Owen was sleepy but he had fun.

And then the Cards game (we WON!) on Sunday before we left. Owen was so good but it does also help when you have several people willing to walk around with him. No sitting still (for very long anyway) for mister active.

Owen was all over the place (as usual) on the first flight but passed out before we even got on the second flight - about 9:45p. We got in around 10:45p (11:45p STL time) and finally got to bed about midnight. So needless to say we won't be doing much today. Just napping and relaxing in our pj's. Well, me and Owen anyway. Shaun gets to study.

Packed and Ready to Go

2008-05-11T22:58:00.002-06:00

So it's almost 11pm at night and I'm finally done packing. It can be a challenge with an almost 2 year old (no he is not 2 yet and I'd like to keep it that way). I almost got everything in one suitcase. I could have done it if it weren't for that dang weight limit. We're both really excited. Not about the plane ride - at least I'm not. It's been about 5 months since we've traveled last and I have an even more active little boy (if you can imagine). Hopefully he will take a good long nap on at least one of the flights (we have a layover in Dallas). We can't wait to see everyone.

On another note - Happy Mothers Day! I got to spend mine with my baby. Unfortunately, Shaun is still in San Antonio so we didn't get to celebrate with him but Owen and I had a nice, semi-relaxing day. It was a sunny, 90 degree day. Beautiful. Hope everyone else had a good day.

Don't fly AA

2008-05-08T15:32:00.004-06:00

Well you can do what you want (I guess) but American Airlines is banned from our house. Well, today it is anyway. I've never had any problems as far as actually flying with them but if you want to make any changes to your itinerary they charge outrages fees. So I wanted to move my flight up from this coming Monday to Saturday (or Friday or Sunday) and keep my return flight the same. Buuutttt, they charge you a $100 changing fee. So you have to pay the difference of what the price would be today (for both departure and return flight even if you are not changing both. So that would be $900, yes $900, plus the $100 changing fee. So if I want to come to St. Louis a few days early it would cost me over $700 (because they do subtract what I originally paid - they're so gracious). No thank you. I'm not sure why I am being charged the full price of the return flight when I'm not changing that flight. So the only thing that makes sense to me is being charged the difference of the departure flight. Right? You're charging me because I'm filling one of your seats you haven't filled yet? It's not like I'm canceling. Southwest has NO changing fees. Only the difference of the price and if the price is less than what you paid they refund your money. I don't know if AA does that but who cares. I'm mad at them. Well that's it for now. Thanks for listening.

Weekend Project

2008-05-08T13:00:00.007-06:00

Well it was sad this morning when we dropped Shaun off at the airport. His little boy was not happy at all to see him go (and the fact that he couldn't go with him). It's always hard to drive away with a screaming child in the back. But he recovered quickly. So far so good but we'll have to see how this next week goes without him. I think all the family we'll see in St. Louis will help.

On a happy note, last weekend we decided to add some greenery to the pergola. Shaun built 3 huge planters - he decided to build his own because we had so much wood left over from building the pergola. Then we put Virginia creepers in each one (to grow up the post) and added some bright purple, pink, and red petunias. They turned out so good. Hopefully nothing will die while we are out of town next week. I'm trying to make my own watering device. I'm testing one out now so we'll see how it goes. Keep your fingers crossed. Here are a couple of pictures:

First Post

2008-05-06T09:35:00.000-06:00

Well I've finally taken the leap. My first blog. I hope to keep this updated as much as I can. Although I fear after a few post that I will gradually post less and less. But lets be optimistic.

Owen is taking a nap right now, which is not his normal nap time. He woke up once last night and then decided to get up before 7am. Mommy loves when he does that. Kidding. Anyways, that is why I am able to blog right now. Otherwise he would be trying to type with me. Shaun leaves for C-4, training, Thursday so it will be just Owen and I until Monday when we fly home (St. Louis) for the week. We're so excited. It will be a crazy week though trying to see all the family.