Owen is 18 months old!

Owen turned 18 months old this week and had his well-child checkup with his new doctor here in Olympia. Good news in that the doctor was very impressed with his development and he's above average in all areas (which we already knew!). His motor skills, comprehension skills and problem solving skills are way ahead of the norm (he was taking her light apart and putting it back together), which we knew because he runs, jumps, climbs and shows his fearlessness in just about everything he does. He also understands almost everything we say, even though he's not vocalizing it yet. He is also ahead of the norm on speech, although I know he's saying fewer words than Colin was at this age. Overall, a great checkup and we're very proud of our big O!

His growth was also impressive. He's 32.5 inches long, which puts him in the 60th percentile. He is 25 pounds, 5 ounces, which puts him in the 40th for weight. He is in the 30th percentile for head size. He used to be more "stocky" before - shorter and weighed more than average - but now he's going the other way and we're happy to see it.

Here are some shots of him sporting his "Real Babies Drink Real Ale" shirt we received from our dear friend Jonathan when Colin was young. I started looking for a picture of Colin wearing the same shirt but instead found some others of Colin at this age I thought I'd share. So you can see how much or how little you think the boys look alike. One this is for sure, Colin had more teeth! Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

The boys had a great Easter morning and the Easter Bunny left many fun treats for them. Colin's favorite was the enormous lollipop that looks as big as his head. Owen has fun turning all the candy into a sticky goo that he then spreads all over the house. The kids had candy for breakfast but did actually manage some real food for lunch. With all this candy around it's going to be an interesting week!

Happy Easter!

Egg Hunt!

Our neighbor, Suzanne, hosted an amazing egg hunt for the boys yesterday in her "enchanted woods." She had almost 40 eggs for each of them, stuffed full of chocolate and other easter candy. (Plus 2 solid chocolate bunnies for each of them!) The boys couldn't have been happier and had the best time hunting for eggs! I wasn't sure if Owen would "get it" quite yet - but he definitely did! He was having so much fun throwing the eggs he found into his basket. The boys ate nothing but candy the rest of the evening and have an enormous basket of candy from Suzanne to pawn through for treats. Thanks Suzanne! We love having her for a neighbor! She does such fun things for the boys and she definitely knows how to host a party!

(by the way, Owen's black eye is from a fall at the park the other day. He fell and hit his cheekbone and it's given him a black eye. We hope he looks better before his 18 month checkup on Wednesday!)

Soccer Part 3

We had an amazing day for Colin's 3rd Soccer practice. It was in the 60's and sunny! It hasn't been this warm, let alone sunny, since we moved here in October. Colin was wearing his new soccer cleats and did very well in practice this week!

Scenes from the 'Hood

We've had a rare treat - a few nice days of weather - here in the PNW. We've had glimpses of mountains that have been hiding for months! Here are two shots from our neighborhood, it truly is spectacular scenery around here with the sound and the mountains. This is the Olympic range, just to the northwest of Olympia.

The BOUNCE HOUSE!

I decided to splurge and buy the kids a bounce house to help burn off their energy. With all the rain here it's difficult to get them outside all the time and this provides a great source of entertainment! Colin can "jump" off his energy! It fits (although barely) in their playroom, so we can use it indoors as well as outdoors when the weather allows. It is made very well and will hold up to 500 pounds of kids! So far it's a HUGE hit, as you can see!

Soccer Part 2

Here are some more shots from Colin's soccer practices! We had a second week with NO RAIN, which was a miracle! Figure we better take pictures while we can...

Owen's Mr. Potato Head!

Owen LOVES to play Mr. Potato Head. He always puts as many pairs of eyes as he can on Mr. Potato Head. Here you can see one of his creations. I also got a grimace out of him that lets you see some of his budding teeth!

Colin tries his foot at Soccer!

We signed Colin up for a kids soccer session in the area. He was very excited to go to his first practice last week! Here are some shots of him from the big day.

You can also see the boys playing around with hats again, this time with them on backwards. Owen kept looking at Colin like he was crazy. It was cute!

Shirts & Hats

The boys were trying on Owen's hats the other day. (Colin's old hats from when he was little). They were so cute I had to share. You can also see the boys modeling their new shirts - Big Bro and 'Lil Bro. Colin told me he liked wearing his so much he didn't want me to wash it. Cute.

Colin is also quite the problem-solver. You can see what he "built" to get his markers down from the coat closet. I was out running and Benj was still sleeping. But nothing can stop Colin when he wants to color. I am very glad he didn't fall down! (and he's been told not to do this again!)