Spring Fling!

cresting the top of one slide!
driving the truck with my friends Cole and Alayna!
this is Owen and Mommy enjoying the day... all smiles!
taking a break from the fun for a drink...
waiting for the OK to slide!
climbing out of the ball pit can be hard work!
the ball pit is the best!
sliding fun!

We all, especially Colin, had a great time this weekend at the annual Spring Fest here in Upper Arlington. Every spring and fall they put on a special event for the kids, including many inflatables the kids can jump and slide on. They also had fire engines, ambulances, bomb squad trucks, street sweepers, diggers, mowers and tractors for the kids to climb on and "drive." The event is free and it's something we look forward to for months. Colin had a blast and here are several shots showing how much fun he had during the day.

A Few Fun Shots

The boys have been having some fun inside this week since the rain just hasn't stopped. We honestly have had one day without rain in the past 6 days... Owen is growing like a weed and is putting everything, I mean everything, into his mouth he can reach. As you can see, he even tried to eat Colin's hair/head! The sunglasses do nothing to hide your identity, Owen. We'll just call it a nice bear hug from the baby brother!

Old McDonald Had a Farm

We are members of a local CSA, Paige's Produce. http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M15746. Every spring and fall they have an open house at the farm where members of the co-op can come visit and see what's going on. Colin enjoyed the chickens last fall and couldn't wait to go back again this spring. The weather was cold and windy, so the festivities were hampered just a little. Fortunately, all the cookies didn't mind the cold weather and Colin got to see the chickens once again.

Some May Fun

Here are some new photos of the boys having fun around the house. Colin is a pro at riding his big wheel bike, but ever since he crashed on his other bike we can't get him to try it. We are both looking forward to him biking up and down the street! Owen continues to grow and prosper and lately has been working on his first tooth. We haven't seen it come through yet but it's causing him some discomfort. Lucky us...

A Visit With Grandma

Last week we had a very special visit from Grandma. The boys had a great time playing with her and we are all looking forward to a return trip sometime soon. Here are some photos of them taking time out from playing to pose for the camera.

Update on the Growing Boys

The boys each had well-child visits this week. Owen is 6 months old tomorrow! Hard to believe, time is flying. Owen had his 6 month checkup this week and is doing very well. He is 17 pounds, 15 ounces now and measures 26.5 inches long. That puts him just above the 50th percentile for height and weight for his age. With all the eating he loves to do something tells me he's going to be moving up that curve over the next few months...

Colin is 3 1/2 now... Colin is 40 inches tall and weighs right about 36 pounds. That puts him in the 70th percentile for both weight and height for his age. We are very happy and pleased with the progress of our growing boys and so was Dr. Messick, their pediatrician!

Another Brewing Saturday

The boys of the house have been busy brewing today, the usual Saturday activity around our house. Owen isn't able to participate yet, but enjoys watching the excitement. Here are a few shots of the boys wearing their "brew" shirts. Colin is very excited to wear his shirt from Magic Hat every Saturday when they are brewing. Today Owen joined in the fun with a brew shirt of his own. Someday Daddy can sit back and watch the boys do all the hard work brewing the beer!

Same Shirt, Different Boy

Colin received a great gift when he was a baby. (Thanks Erin!) It's this shirt that says "Beer is technically a vegetarian meal." Here are two shots, one with Colin wearing the shirt back in Spring 2007 and one with Owen wearing the shirt this Spring. The resemblance is striking! Brothers, no doubt about it. Can you guess who is who?

(Colin is on the right, Owen is on the left)

This Little Piggy

Owen puts everything he can grab into his mouth. And lately he puts his toes into his mouth any chance he gets (when he's not wearing socks). I love it when babies do this and just had to share a snapshot of him doing it. Now if only I could be this flexible!

Spring has Sprung!

We've been enjoying some warmer weather in Ohio lately. Even warm enough to take the exersaucer outside for Owen! The boys are starting to "play" a little bit together, which is fun to see. Colin makes little tents with his blanket that he and Owen can hang out in and Colin and Daddy were pushing Owen around the house in the dump truck the other night.

Owen is doing very well with solid food and has had a variety of foods already. He loves to eat, that's for sure. He seems less interested in mommy's milk now and much more interested in the food from a spoon.

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny was good to Colin this year and it's been a great Easter at our house. Any day that you can start out the day with a mouth full of candy for breakfast can't be bad! Colin got some light sabers and koosh balls from the Easter Bunny as well as plenty of candy to keep him jacked up for weeks. We did an egg hunt in our yard as well, which was great fun. His eye for detail is much more keen than last year this time so we were able to better hide the eggs. Owen slept through the egg hunt but is looking adorable. This shot was taken this morning while Colin was snacking on candy.

Rock Pit Fun

With the warmer weather we've been able to get back to work in the rock pit this season. Colin has a lot of fun digging in the rocks and putting them just about everywhere in the yard. His dexterity has improved greatly since last fall, he is a pro at the scooper this year already. He was loading his wheelbarrow with rocks and dumping them back into the rock pit. Good fun for all.

Owen's First Solid Food

We started giving Owen some solid food. I think it's a rite of passage to show photos of the first food... so here you go. You can see a before food shot and one that includes the mess he was making. He's getting the hang of it, although still spits out a lot of the food onto his bib! Also included is another one that was too cute to not post.

Good Friday, Good Boys, Good Run

Today is a gorgeous Friday in Ohio. We have amazing weather (80 degrees and sunny) and Mommy has the day off work! The daycare is closed and I've been having a lot of fun today with the boys. We packed into the stroller for a nice run this morning and you can see the boys enjoying a little cozy time. It was the first run where they sat shoulder to shoulder so I was curious to see how it would go. They did great, over an hour run and no problems at all. Of course, the portable DVD player helped to keep Colin occupied and not messing with Owen too much!

Owen is Five Months Old!

Owen is officially 5 months old today! And what a day it has been. We woke to over 2 inches of snow this morning - almost unprecedented to have that much snow this late in March. But after the February we just had obviously precedent has nothing to do with this winter! We had been enjoying Spring and even had a visit from some Mallard ducks looking for a nesting spot. They didn't stay long in our yard with the cats prowling around...

Colin has become quite the photographer. He took this picture of Owen and me the other day and it turned out so well I decided to show off his skills!

This week has been a tough one at our house. Colin's monster cold became a household cold and even little Owen caught it. We're hoping we are all feeling better by next week for Easter.

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

Here are some photos of the boys this morning before they headed off to school and the sitter, respectively. They were both decked out in green and looking forward to the fun day!

Owen has officially rolled both front to back and back to front now. He was showing off his skills to us last week! We are excited he is finally starting to get some mobility. We look forward to him being able to crawl around and follow his big brother Colin!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Family Time

Several of you ask for "family pictures" and I'm sad to admit we never take enough of them with all of us together. But here is one from last weekend! Plus a cute shot of Colin and of Owen. The sun is shining and although we're still way below average for this time of year we are hopeful spring is coming!