Christmas celebrations #2, #3, and #4

On Christmas Eve, the four of us stayed home and opened Christmas presents from each other. Grandpa Kim gave the boys a wagon, and Owen a digital camera. He loves it! He has probably taken a few hundred pics by now (he takes after me that way!)

Owen also got a policeman costume (as pictured here), and a Backyardigans play-doh pirate ship kit. He was very spoiled this Christmas!

On Christmas morning we headed over to my parents house where we spent the day with Grandma, Grandpa, Big-Papa (my Grandpa), Great-Uncle Peter, Uncle Nathan, Auntie Karitas, Uncle Danny, and Uncle Adam. And once again Owen got spoiled! He got books, musical instruments shaped like jungle animals, more play-doh, a shaving kit for the tub, and some games. 

And we had another yummy turkey dinner with all the works! Owen had a great day and even though he didn't nap, and he ended up going to bed late, he was really well behaved (and had lots and lots of new toys to play with).

On Boxing Day the whole crew came over to our house for lunch and a family game of Rock Band.

We had the Warawa extended-family gathering in Langely on Dec 28th. Owen and I went to that while Papa stayed home with Andy. And that evening we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house and met up with Uncle Dusty and Uncle Jesse (plus the rest of the gang too!) This Christmas season was very busy for us, but we did get to see a lot of 

family, which was awesome!

And again, Owen got extremely spoiled! He got a cowboy costume complete with a horse, a race car track and remote control race cars, and an art easel! What a lucky boy! Now I have to clear out some old toys to be able to fit all the new ones in! :)

On Dec 29th we had the whole gang over to our house again for breakfast and more visiting. Owen had a great time playing with all his Uncles!

And now we are all so exhausted from all the visiting that we are back to napping every afternoon - thank goodness!

Christmas celebration #1

We had our first Christmas celebration last Saturday with the entire extended Lanteigne family. 

Owen had a great time. He loves spending time with Mummo, Ukki, his Auntie's Annelia and Elia, and his cousins Dakota, Jasper, and Nathan - and everyone else too!

And this year Owen was spoiled once more - he got a Thomas train, a Diego doll (or action figure as Gabe would rather I call it), a Little People pirate ship, a pirate ship coloring poster, and a big bucket of play-doh!

He didn't eat much of the meal (even though it was fantastic!), but he did like the ham. 

And to top it all off, Owen got to stay up late (until almost 10pm) watching movies with Dakota. It was a great day!

Owen's new snow suit

Owen LOVES all this snow! We go outside and play just about everyday. And this year I think we're going to have a white Christmas! The snow just keeps falling!

I got Owen his new snow suit and boots the other day and I am so glad I did - the snow might stick around for quite a while, and it is soooooo cold out there!

Santa, tree, and Christmas photos...

Owen likes Santa alright, but has never been one to really want to get up close and personal. For the last 2 years, Owen's picture with Santa has been... interesting. But this year he had to show Andy what a cool big brother he was, so he got somewhat nearer to the big man in red. But he still refused to sit on Santa's lap. Instead, he said I could sit next to Santa and he would sit on my lap. Owen said that Andy could sit on Santa's lap. Way to take one for the team Andy!

And we had another first this year - our Christmas tree. We had a real tree last year for the first time. We even went into the woods and cut it down ourselves too - sort of (tree farm). But this year we got 2 Christmas trees! Not on purpose though. The first one we got was supposed to not shed needles. That is why we got it. That is the only reason we got it. It was ugly as anything! But it dropped just as many needles as other trees, and it fell over... twice! Once completely covered in decorations and lights and all! That is why we got our second Christmas tree. It is a much better tree. 

And this year we did another photo for our Christmas cards (the one above). This year we did a whole shoot though - pictures of just the boys, of the boys by themselves, of the boys with Mama, and the boys with Papa, and all of us together. Now we have a wonderful selection of Christmas photos to shower our family and friends with. Don't worry - you'll get yours soon!

Bribery works!

We got this idea from our friend Keira. How it works is like this: when Owen does one of these 'good things', he gets a sticker. Some of these things are easier to do that others. And when he gets 10 stickers, he gets to pick out a prize from the prize bag (which are all Dollar Store items that he picked out last time we were there - stickers, toys, costume pieces, etc.).

Our main objective with this chart is to get Owen to a) go potty, and b) tell us when he has a huge, stinking, rotten poop in his diaper. 

So far it is working. It has taken 2 months (this is only the latest chart), but Owen now asks to go potty. And guess what?! He is actually going now! Yay!

The other day Owen asked to go potty (the first time ever that he initiated it) and after sitting for a good half an hour, he went pee and poop on the potty! Yay Owen! Way to go!

(his eyes are closed because he hates the flash on my camera)

It's still not an everyday, every time thing, but we are well on our way to being potty trained now. My goal is to have Owen going (and actually going) multiple times a day every day by Owen's 3rd birthday (end of January).

Best friends

If you ask Owen who his best friend is he may answer Grandma or Andy, but most of the time it is Josh. And if you have ever seen them play together you'll know why - they absolutely love each other!

Crafts

Can you guess who in our family these are supposed to be? I helped, but Owen chose what went where on all of these little guys!

Owen's awesome drawing!

Owen's 1st time trick-or-treating

Here are a few pictures of our first time trick-or-treating with our Play Group friends. Owen had a great time!

Owen's first trip to the firehall!

A good day...

We all went for an hour long walk this morning (to Video Tonite and back)... Andy screamed the entire way there but was hgappy and talking on teh way home. We got 3 replacement mopvies for the 3 that we rented last time that didn't work. We got Peter Pan, sop now we can burn it and watch it at Moms house and in the big room. We aleso got a Halloween Toopey and Binu, and the cartoon Robin Hood. Owen is excited for his new movies!

Now we are going to have lunch, Andy is happily playing under his star, and then it is nap time for the boys and shower time for me. Shelby will be here at 3:30 and then Andy and I can go grocery shopping and she and Owen can play outside or go to the park. What a good day!

Playing in the backyard

Piper and Owen at the park

Owen's light sabre!

Very busy day!

Today was a very busy day for all of us!


First of all, Owen went to daycare as a pirate. I don't argue with him anymore about it. Why can't he be a pirate all the time? So off he went in his full costume... with his Peter Pan movie to boot!

Once Owen got home we played, had dinner, and then took some pictures with him and Andy as it is Andy's 2-month birthday today!

It is a constant battle for me to get Owen NOT to poke his brother in the eye. I don;t know what it is about 2 year old and poking babies inthe eye! Sometimes he'll even ask me "Mama, can I poke Baby Andy in the eye now?" No!

And then, before bed, Owen asked to go pee on the potty. He doesn't often ask to do this - or ever - so off we went to the potty with the promise of Cars stickers afterwards. After sitting on the potty for a few minutes and trying to push out farts (and succeding), Owen also pushed out some pee, freaked himself out as he hasn't done that befor, and then he wanted off the potty pronto. He did get 2 Cars stickers though and now we have decided to have a little bit of potty time everyday.

Owen goes to the Airshow!

Gabe took Owen to the Chilliwack Airshow last night from 8-10pm. Owen had a fantastic time even though he was so tired when he came home! He was terribly impressed with the “fire plane” and its pilot who he got to meet! The 'fire plane' had sparks coming out of it, and it had colorful smoke that made a rainbow. He came home and told me all about it!

So we all went this morning (Sunday) as a family. Owen got toshow me all the planes that he saw the night before, and as we were at John's workplace (we saw the show from inside his hanger and it was awesome!), Owen got to show me the parts of airplanes too - the engine, the propellor, etc.

Fun in the pool

It was so hot today so we went to Shelby's house and she swam in the pool with Owen for over an hour and a half. Owen had to wear his life jacket, and he is getting more confident in the pool now. He even had Shelby throw him up in the air a few times and he would fall into the water getting his face wet, and he was OK with that (after coughing and sputtering when he came back up, of course).

They have this duck that is also the thermometer, and Owen just loves it – I don't think he let go of it at all the entire time he was in the pool.

Then they got in some good trampoline time too before we had to go home for lunch. Owen loves to swim! And he sure loves Shelby!

Ogopogo Park

We went to the Ogopogo Park today with Shelby, our summer babysitter. Owen had a fantastic time at the park. It was really hot, so they spent mostof their time under the 'pirate ship' playing and digging in the sand and making sand castles. But first Owen did have to sample every ride!

:)

Stcikers!

Owen had some fun with stickers today and we wanted to show Papa them but he was napping on the couch with Andy (see the sticker Owen put on his nose?)

Our date at the Chilliwack Exhibition

Owen and I had a date today at the Chilliwack Exhibition. Papa stayed home with Andy so Owen and I could go just the two of us. We saw goats, sheep, cows, horses, llamas, chickens,. Roosters, ducks, baby chicks, puppies, rabbits, a train, tractors, a bear mascot and even some rides. We even had pancakes for lunch! But what was Owen's favorite part? The handicapped parking sign just outside the front door! He played on it for over 10 minutes and kept saying “This is so weird” Yes it was! He kept asking me to take his picture with the sign. What a hoot this kid is!

Camping at Cultus

We just got back from camping today. We spend the last four days at Maple Bay at Cultus Lake and had a great time! Mummo, Ukki, Auntie Elia, Celine, Joey, Nathan, John, Auntie Anneli, Uncle Kris, Dakota, Jasper, and all four of us were all there. Grandma and Grandpa even came for a visit every day as well!

Owen had a great time! He and Gabe slept in Grandma's new trailer while Andy and I went home each evening and came back every morning. Owen had a blast playing with all his cousins. He swam in the lake (with his life jacket on) three times and even ventured out on the floaty on the third day. Papa made big waves for him and he loved it! We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, went for walks, saw snails, and puppies, and even chickens! Owen even had a bath in one of his 'boats' and refused to come out even though the water had gotten so cold. He napped well, slept great, and overall had a wonderful time!

Brotherly Love

New haircut!

I missed Owen's June trip to the salon, and I couldn't wait any longer (seeing as his July appointment would have been this week as well), so I cut Owens hair myself. It isn't perfect,but it sure is a lot better than it was!

This is how a puppy would eat a muffin...

I'm glad you're here...

When Gabe put Owen to bed tonight Owen said “I'm glad you're here Papa”, and Gabe said “I'm glad you're here too Owen.” The Owen said “I'm glad Mama and Papa are here.”, so Gabe said “I'm glad Mama, Papa, Owen, and Andy are all here”, to which Owen replied “I'm glad Mama and Papa and Owen are here”.

:)

Phone call

Owen decided he wanted to call someone today. He pressed some buttons and then said “Hi. My name is Owen . I like puppy dogs and kitty cats and hippo's. Can I come and play at your house?” It was so cute!

Big news!

Gabe took Owen to daycare yesterday and Deana (his daycare provider) asked if we had had the baby or not. Gabe turned to Owen and asked him if he had a new brother or sister. Owen replied that he had a new brother. Then Deana asked Owen if he had anoy other news for her (she meant the baby's name or something along those lines). Owen, dressed like the picture above, replied "I have a hat."

Owen and Andy - day 10

Owen loves his little brother Andy! Ans he tells him that all the time. He is full of hugs and kisses for all of us these days. I can tell he really likes having Andy around. He knows there is no longer a baby in Mama's belly, but when I ask him where that baby went, or what happened tio it, Owen says he doesn't know.

Big feet, little feet

Owen and Andy!

Owen has a new little brother - ANDY!

Andy was born last Thursday (June 26th) and Owenis just crazy about him!

I don't know...

I don't know why, but Owen wanted to watch TV like this today. I asked him to put his legs down and he said he didn't want to. He stayed like this for at least 10 minutes.

Breakfast at the Lanteigne household

God is bigger

Tonight Owen choked on a hot dog and threw up at dinner. Yuck. Gabe was home alone with him and quickly called to tell me what had happened,. Needless to say. Owen didn't want anymore dinner after that. But after Gabe got off the phone with me, Owen came up to him and said “God is bigger Papa.” Gabe said “What??” and Owen repeated himself. “God is bigger Papa, right?” “Right” said Gabe. And then Owen said “God is an animal.” Gabe corrected him and said that no, God was not in fact an animal. Then Owen said “Right, God is our friend.” Isn't he such a sweet child?!?!?!

lunch

I am reminded again why we don't take Owen to restaurants. Gabe, Sean, Cari, Owen, and I just came3 back from a pretty unsuccessful lunch at E Young's. Owen refused to eat anything and cried a few times for no apparent reason, while I wolfed down my lunch to appease him. NO more!

Happy Fathers Day!

We had a Veggie Tales Fathers Day this year!

Mid-season ball tournament

This weekend was our ball team's mid-season tournament. Owen and I got to go see 2 of the 4 games. Owen loves to play baseball, and he is getting very good at just sitting and watching (and cheering on) Papa's ball games too!

After each game, Owen gets to play! Here is Owen and Papa playing baseball. Owen scores every time!

My stylin' little man!

Owen got another new haircut yesterday. This was by far our best experience at a hair salon (for Owen's hair cutes at least). We went to First Choice again. And other than getting hair all over us (so we just HAD to buy some new clothes), it was fantastic! We were in and out so quick and I LOVE how she cut his hair! Isn't he so handsome!?!

Elmido Farms

We went to Elmido Farms today (in Sardis) with our friends from Play Group. Kaelen lives there... well, next door to the barns - not really in the barns.

Owen and I really liked seeing the cows! And after the tour, Owen and I got ice cream, cupcakes, stickers, and crayons! It was fantastic!

And today is Josh's birthday too! Happy Birthday Josh! (that is Owen hugging Josh in the pone pic)

Thanks for having us over Kaelen!

Milkshake

Owen loves his milkshakes (milk, berries, and a banana). We have one a week (more if it is warmer weather).

How did you get dirt in your ear?!?

Oh... that's how!

:)

Owen's buddy Hayden came over today and with the weather being so nice they decided to play outside. After an hour of playing on the slide, in the fort (pirate ship), and on the swings, the boys made their way top the sand box. They only had to be in there about 5 minutes before they were both covered (head to toe) with sand. And it was damp too from the recent rain.

So before Owens nap he got a nice cool bath and I cleaned his ears out - they were full of sand!

I'm reading Mama!

Gabe and I woke up from our nap to go into Owens room and find this. We thought he had been sleeping too. Apparently not. He had every book off his shelves and every toy in his room in bed with him. You can only see about half of them here as a lot are under the blankets! Owen was very proud of himself!

Owen's 1st trip to the Zoo!

Owen had his first trip to the Zoo last Saturday. We all had a lot of fun! The three of us met up with a few other families from our Play Group.

This first picture grid is all the great pics of Owen - he loved looking at all the animals!

The second picture grid is a bunch of the cool stuff we saw at the Zoo!