Owen and his Coyote Friends

34 Month Update

Christmas 2010 has come and gone. Santa was very, very good to Owen this year and brought him exactly what he wanted...Dash and Ferdinand (trains from Thomas the Train). Grandma, Papa, Gramps, Grammo, Nana and MiMi also spoiled our little guy rotten and he loved every moment of it. Thank you to everyone who thought of Owen this Christmas, we are so lucky to have such great family and friends.

Aimee, Dayne and Chad arrived on Christmas Day and are here visiting for 10 days. We are having so much fun. We already went ice skating and skiing twice up at Red Mountain. Unfortunately Darren came down with the flu on Christmas Day and was out for the count and little Owen was also not so lucky and is not feeling so hot tonight. He was laying in the bed and looked up at me with his puppy dog eyes and said, "Mommy I don't like this." I just kissed him and squeezed him even tighter. He definitely is not feeling well because he even passed up chocolate cake tonight after dinner, and those that know him, know that this NEVER happens. We are hoping he feels better because we have lots of other fun things to do before they leave, though I have decided they cannot go home! Dayne and Chad said they will get jobs up at the ski hill so they can ski all winter and I think Aimee is on board with that too!

Owen's new fun game is showcased in the video below. Every night that Darren comes home from work he makes him play the game, "Daddy you go that way, and I go that way" and then says "Go!". They then run through the designated doorway and back to the starting point, all while laughing and giggling. Though Owen refuses to go into the kitchen if the kitchen light is not on, he says, "No I can't go in there it is too 'Booky' or to 'Cary'. So we have to turn the light on so it is not Spooky or Scary for him! Chad also got to take part in the fun game and was designated a particular doorway! He did pretty good! :)

Owen and I were driving in the car the other day and I looked in the rear view mirror to discover Owen going to town digging for gold in his nose. I said, "Owen, don't pick your nose, that's icky." And he told me, "Mom I have to pick my nose, its my lunch." Apparantly his boogers are a tastier treat then force feeding him chicken nuggets, soup or Kraft macaroni and cheese, go figure, I guess I will never win!

I almost peed my pants when the other day Darren who was driving our car yelled out at a car that swerved in front of us, "Asshole, stay in your own lane." Owen immediately chimes in with a true giggle, "Hahaha Dad, you called him an asshole." I swear how does a two and a half year old know how to add a laugh and an appropriate response to a swearword? Ladies and gentleman we have a bright one in our midst.

I have been frequenting the library here in Trail, it is a great resource for new Thomas the Train DVD's and childrens books. It really does get quite trying to have to read the same five books over and over each and every night and watch the same Thomas the Train DVD so much that I know all the words. So Owen and I have been loving our new found entertainment. I bring the books home and tell Owen he needs to be careful with the pages in the book because we are borrowing them and they are not ours. Owen now always warns me with a "Be Careful Mom" when I begin to read him any of the books.

We were at Gramps and Grammo's and Owen picked up some change off the counter and told me that he "Needed this" I asked why would he need money? He told me, "Mom, I need it for parking." Well at least I know we have a responsible son even at the age of two, he understands the concept of having to pay the parking meter so you don't get a ticket!

Hope you enjoyed our update, we definitely love and miss all of you very much!

I go that way, Daddy go that way, Chad go that way

Owen playing

He-Haw Boy Owen and the Snow Horse

Look at how I have improved

33 month update

Watch out Jonathon Toews, Owen McCarthy might possibly be the new Captain in town. Danny bought Owen his first pair of hockey skates and helmet and Darren bought his tiny little hockey gloves. It was hysterical to watch Owen walk with the skates on for the first time, he was like a baby deer being born into the world. He didn't know which way was up and had no control over his little legs. Since the initial purchase we have put the little guy on the ice over 5 times and he is progressing wonderfully! He can now pull himself up from a seated position and can actually move his feet and push himself and the training bar. The actual forward movement is usually followed up with a bribe for Hot Chocolate and french fries from McDonalds after skating is over, but hey...we're not stupid. Our stubborn, strong willed kid is motivated by sugar, so give him the light at the end of the tunnel (hot chocolate) and he magically moves his feet. It is amazing how that works!

Some things never change. It doesn't matter that our usual Dunkin Donut trip is now to Tim Horton's (the local Canadian coffee/donut chain), Owen has developed a bond with the employee Tony, behind the counter. Every Tuesday and Thursday when we drive out to playschool we stop for a large coffee for mom and two Tim-Bits (similar to Munchinkins - but WAY better), one for me and one for O. Owen talks about seeing Tony and making sure I will stop to see Tony every single time we drive to playschool. We pull up and Owen yells out the window, "Hi Tony, can I have donut." Now the love story is not one-way, Tony also lights up when he sees his little buddy and he no longer will give me the bag of Tim-Bits, he leans out through the drive-thru window to personally hand deliver the tasty treats to his smiling little sidekick in the back seat. The other day Owen told me, "Mom, I like Tony, he is a nice boy." (Tony is not a boy, he really is a grown man) and Tony told me that he looks forward to seeing Owen every Tuesday and Thursday.

Owen has become quite the "snuggler" at night. I was putting him to bed last night and he was snuggling with me under the covers and rolled over gave me a kiss and said, "Mommy, I love you". Of course my heart melted. :)

He also is a continuing champ in the potty-going department. He was just in the bathroom and I heard him say to himself, "Pee is for up and Poo is for down, Up is for boys and down is for girls" in reference to what you do with the toilet seat while making a deposit!

It is officially winter in Trail. The snow has slowly crept from the high altitudes down to our peaceful town. The streets are blanketed with snow and it has been really cold and windy the past few days. It is 18 degrees Fahrenheit and -17 Celsius - which sounds A LOT colder out! Owen and I put up the Christmas lights and played in the snow yesterday and made "No-Angels". Owen has been talking about making snow angels since the first sight of the white stuff and finally got to live the dream yesterday, followed by a warm up inside with some hot chocolate!

We are looking forward to Grandma's visit in a few days and celebrating American Thanksgiving with her and Darren's family this weekend! Happy Turkey Day everyone, we miss you lots!

Look at me...on skates

First time on skates

Join the Band

Gi-Gi's Jello

32 Month Update

We are settled into our new home and already have had our first visitors. My mom and dad spent the past 10 days with us and got to take in all of the British Columbia sites around us. We had a great visit and I know my parents really enjoyed their visit as much as we enjoyed them being here. We showed them all around town, Darren was a good tour guide. We ate some nice dinners at Mo and Dan's house and at a few of the local restaurants and I even took them out to the Ainsworth Hot Springs. Which all of us, including Owen, thoroughly enjoyed! We miss them already and can't wait for their return. We are looking forward to Aimee, Dayne and Chad's visit during Christmas!

Owen has adapted quite well to his surroundings. I take him twice a week to his playschool program where he spends his three hour afternoons playing, doing arts and crafts, playing in the gym, story time, singing songs and his favorite time of the day "Nack time" (translation...snack time). The other day Miss Donna was telling the kids that they were going to frost some sugar cookies in the shape of bats, ghosts and pumpkins for Halloween. When Owen caught on that there were cookies in close proximity, he followed the teacher around asking about the cookies for a good 5 minutes!

I read Owen books every night before he goes to bed. He now always tells me that I have to read him "whole hand" worth of books. Whole hand means 5...so I need to read him, "not two mommy, whole hand". But somehow the 5 books turns into 8 or 9. He loves his airport book from his Mi-Mi. Aimee wrote on the front page, "To Owen...Lots of Love Mi-Mi", every time we read the book, he reads to me that part. He also will recite all the people that he misses, "Pa-Pa, Grandma, Rocky, Mi-Mi- Dayne, Chad, Lu-Lu, Gi-Gi, Ashley, Jenna, Uncle Jason, Bruzer, Lu-Lu, Rocky"...for some reason all of the dogs make it twice on the nightly list. It must have been the big wet kisses he always got from all of them!

Owen is also a big hit with our neighbors and Mo and Dan's neighbors. The neighbor across the street was out and Owen said, "Hi, what's your name?" Our neighbor replied, "Ron". He said, "Hi Ron, my name Owen". Ron said, "Hi Owen." My dad and I were standing outside with Owen, so Owen being the polite conversationalist told Ron, "This is my mom and Pa-Pa". Owen is one of the main reasons why we know the majority of the people around us, he is always looking out for us making sure that our neighbors not only know him, but us too! Mo an Dan's neighbor goes out for daily walks and always passes our house. Owen saw him walking the other day and yelled out, "Hi Bob. What cha doing?" Bob said, "Just going for my walk." Owen said, "Oh...come over to my house, I'm playing hockey with my mom." Bob couldn't help but smile. Good thing that Owen didn't tell him that he is playing with his "Hockey Dicks", that is how he currently pronounces Hockey Sticks...he is having some issues with the letter S sound!

We love and miss everyone in Chicago and thank everyone in Trail for their warm and loving hospitality. You have made our move here a happy one!

Hockey Night in Canada

Puzzle Time

Riding the ATV in Casino

Gyro Park

31 Month Update

The moving truck was loaded and Darren and my brother Jason drove 30 hours across the country to our new home. The overall trip went extremely well, and we were able to cross the border with no hassle. Before we left my mom put together a memorable going away party for Darren, Owen and I at my Aunty Sue and Uncle Ken's house. Thank you to my wonderful and thoughtful mom for all your hard work and hours of organizing and thank you to my Aunt and Uncle for letting 50 of our friends and family come wish us a Bon Voyage. We had a great time and it was so nice to be able to give a few last hugs and kisses before we set upon our adventure.

Our new home is great and the scenery cannot be beat. We are surrounded by unbelievable mountains and arrived at the perfect time to catch the fall leaves changing color, painting a even more beautiful backdrop all around us. Darren's parents have been so wonderful and had our rental house cleaned from top to bottom and the fridge and cabinets stocked with everything that we needed when we arrived. Thank you to both Mo and Dan for finding us a great place to live, it is perfect and for all your hard work and time you have given us. Also a big thanks to Aunt Sue and Uncle Rick. They stopped by to say hello when we got to our house and were instead handed box after box from the moving truck to unload! They must have been sore the next day! I know I was!

Owen has adjusted to his new lifestyle and I think really is enjoying himself. He already has a lot of friends and fits right in. Darren's friend Scott threw us a get together BBQ the Saturday we arrived, so we got to see everyone and Owen got to play with 7 new friends!

The bus stop is right outside our living room window. So we grab our bowl of cereal in the morning and watch all the kids waiting for the "ghoul bus" with their "pack-packs". We already made a trip to Christina Lake which is breath-taking. Owen had a blast playing with his new friend Karis. They dragged around big sticks, played in the sand and Owen even took a dip with his dad. He definitely is more like Darren then me, I wouldn't step foot in the water...way toooo cold for my blood!

We love and miss all of our family and friends so much and wish we could tuck you into our suitcase and let you live down the block from us. It definitely has been an adjustment but knowing my mom and dad are coming to visit in 2 weeks and my sister and nephews are coming in Christmas, makes me happier then you could ever imagine! Though we are far away, we are definitely in good hands. Mo and Danny and Darren's family are so wonderful and take good care of us. Hugs and kisses to everyone!

Owen in the bath

Out for a run

We love Marco Island

Darren, Owen and I went to Marco Island for 8 wonderful and relaxing days. My awesome Aunty Sue and Uncle Ken let us stay at their unbelievable condo. We absolutely love Marco Island and had such a great time. We spent the mornings and early afternoon at the pool or the beach, soaking up the sun and the evenings making dinner, watching movies and catching up on family time. We spent a day at the beach in Marco Island, Naples and Captiva Island and had a dinner outside at the famous Snook Inn, Capri Fish House and Bonefish. Thanks again for a great time AS and UK!

Going underwater with my dad

1-2-3

30 Month Update

Our baby is now 2 1/2 years old. Wow how time flies. Owen is definitely becoming more independent and definitely has his own set of rules. He has been testing his limits or shall I say our limits on a daily basis. For some reason his ears do not work as good as they used too. Can you say terrible two's...We are really, really praying that this does not last much longer. I would like my sweet little Owen back. :)

Though he is not always on his best behavior at times, he is still my baby and I love him to death. He is constantly saying funny things that I like to share with you. Owen and I were carrying on a very serious conversation in the car the other day. He told me, "Mom, I am going to go to "gool" (school) and bring my "pack-pack" (back pack). I asked him what he is going to bring in his back pack and he told me, "I am going to bring treats. I am bringing "pancakes, muffins, "mun-kins" (munchkin doughnuts from Dunkin Donuts), cake and "wa-yer" (water). I mean thank god he is bringing some sort of liquid to wash down all the sugar infused tasty treats when he spends his day learning at "gool". At least I taught him something right!

Speaking of "mun-kins" at Dunkin Donuts, Owen and I have a routine. Now I am not sure if this is necessarily a good thing or bad thing quite yet. But mommy likes her medium coffee with skim milk and one splenda and Owen loves himself a beach-ball inspired mun-kin. The beach ball mun-kin is covered in pink and orange sprinkles. We walked in right up to the counter and put his hands under his chin and said, "Hey Al (the Dunkin Donut manager), Can I have donut peese", Al let out a good laugh and handed him his donut.

Darren and I spent a Saturday with the Wagenaars and we took the kids to the Kane County Cougar baseball game in Geneva. The kids had so much fun log-rolling down the hill (see the video below) and I am almost positive they had NO clue that there was an actual baseball game going on. We sat in the lawn seats and they spent their time running up and down the grassy hill, over and over and over while their mom and dad's sipped on some Miller Lites and chased them over and over and over again. I thought baseball was supposed to be a relaxing sport to watch, we were wiped out when it was all said and done. But to end our fun day, the park had an awesome firework display - which the kids and us parents very much enjoyed!

Darren and I were talking about Santa Clause with Owen, trying to bribe him to be a better sleeper, and asked him what is the name of the man who dresses in red, has a long white beard and comes during Christmas to give you lots of presents. Owen said, "Allison". Haha, I guess he is 100% correct, who spilled the beans? After dropping Darren off at the train, Owen and I were driving to Gi-Gi's house and on the side of the road, 5 feet in front of us was a large brown deer, eating some leaves off of a fallen tree branch. Owen yells, "Mom, it's a reindeer". Hmmm, now that is wierd, maybe Santa really does exist!

As you all know by now, Darren got a new job and we are moving to Trail. Owen will get to use his Canadian citizenship card and Darren's friend Scott Wallace said that he will teach Owen and I how to say, "eh" like a true Canadian. It is a great opportunity for us, but we sure are going to miss our family and friends. Not sure how I am going to be able to leave and I pray that you all visit a whole lot! Wish us luck in our newest adventure. We will keep you posted on our progress!

Play Time

We love Barney

Why do little boys love the water spouts at the pool

Log Rolling at the Kane County Cougar Baseball Game

The "FAST" Train

Gooter Riding

29 Month Update

I took Owen in for his 2 year check up yesterday...only 5 months late, oops! But 3 shots and a few tears later, he was checked out with a clean bill of health. Owen stands at 36 3/4 inches tall and 32.5 pounds, allowing him to be part of the 75% club (making him a somewhat tall and stocky 2 1/2 year old). The doctor was pleased with his big boy attitude and congratulated him on being able to go on the potty like a true champion. Actually right before the doctor came in, Owen had to use the washroom. Trust me, she would have been extremely impressed with what came out of him, it was almost the same size as him! I know gross...sorry!

The doctor ran through her checklist and got to the part about inquiring on possible allergic reactions. She asked if Owen has eaten peanut butter and I said, yes. Then she asked if he has eaten any kind of nuts yet, and I said yes. Then Owen sitting in the chair next to me with his hand under his chin and his legs crossed chimes in, "Yeah, I eat peanuts and I eat cashews..." The doctor started to laugh, I just shook my head. :) She also asked if he can put on and take off his own shirt and shorts, I answered back, sort of and then we both watched Owen jump out of the chair next to me and say, "Yeah, see, watch, I can do" and proceeded to take off his Thomas the Train underwear and stand in the buff for all to see. Well she asked the question, and then she got the visual! So doctor, I guess the answer is actually yes!

Darren and I have been taking Owen to the pool on the weekends. He is starting to like the water a lot more. There is not an actual LOVE for the water quite yet, but we re slowly working our way there. He definitely is no fish, compared to Darren as a toddler but Owen will go in the water and splash around, occasionally put his face in, but for the most part spends his time torturing me on wanting to go eat an ice cream cone at the concession stand. It doesn't matter there is a gigantic bathtub in front of him filled with warm water, slides, kids to play with and water spraying and splashing in every direction, the $1.00 ice cream cone is apparently way more important. How awesome is that!

We have been spending a lot of time outside and visiting with friends, both young and old. If Owen talks about the "old" people he calls them "Groaners" which translates to the word grown-ups and he loves to ride on his new "Gooter" or otherwise known as a scooter. We bought him a bike helmet and had to get a kids size 5 because his melon was too large for a kids size 3. Imagine that! The other day we were at Gi-Gi's house and Gi'Gi sneezed but did not cover her mouth. Owen looked at her and said, "No Gi-Gi, you have to do this" and made the motion of sneezing into his elbow. Now if the kid would only practice what he preaches, so many colds would not get passed through our household.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer and are getting the opportunity of cooling off with an ice cream cone or two!

Blah, Blah Blah

Hawks Win

28 Month Update

WOW! We are very happy Chicago-ians that the Chicago Blackhawks took home the Stanley Cup! What an exciting series and Owen was more than pleased to be able to stay up most nights and watch the excitement and yell, “Good Goal” followed by a high five and waving of his red Stanley Cup Playoff Rally Towel he received from his more than happy father, who attended the first playoff game with Mo, Dan and Steve! If you ask Owen who plays for the Blackhawks, he will easily tell you, “Pat Kane, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews”.

We let Owen stay up and watch Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs and by 9:45pm I asked him if he was tired. He said, "No I'm not tired, I'm happy!" I guess that is all that matters. Daddy is happy due to the win of Game 5 and Owen is very happy to still be up at 10pm on a school night!

Along with Owen's banter about the Chicago Blackhawks he is definitely now a full time chatterbox. His repetitive speech is constant and the same sentence is repeated over and over until you acknowledge what he is telling you. I guess that is only fair, right? Geez...pay attention to the kid!

I wanted to share some of the very funny things that have come out of his mouth over the past month or so.

We drop Darren off at the train in the morning and Owen's routine is to make sure that Darren gives me a kiss and a "Big Hug" good bye (that's my boy, always helping to keep the spark alive!) and then to give Owen a kiss, "Big Hug", knuckles and a high five (in that particular order). As Darren walks up the stairs to catch his arriving train, Owen yells rather loudly out the window, "I love you dad. I miss you!" It might be one of the cutest things I have ever witnessed. Other passer-bys think so too!

The other morning he was looking in the mirror and he tells me, "Mommy...I'm boo-a-ful" and I said, "Yes Owen you are definitely beautiful!". I ask him if mommy is beautiful and he tells me, "No mommy, Piper (the babysitter's cat) is boo-a-ful, you just a girl". I guess the beautiful requirements are to be either two years old or to be covered in orange cat fur. Somehow, I don’t think I will be considered to be beautiful anytime soon.

He loves to say, "Get Outta Here" to anyone that is in his way or trying to stop him from doing something. And the phrase, "I see some-tin" is a common occurrence to show you that he wants to do something and do something "By myself." If you say he is a baby, he corrects you immediately, with "No I'm a Big Boy". The other night, Darren gave him a kiss and he screamed, "Ewww" and rubbed the kiss off. I thought we had a few more years before that started! I guess I was wrong. Though as of now, he still thinks his mommy's kisses are A-OK.

I was drinking coffee this morning and he said, "Mom, I want drink coffee". I said, "No Owen, coffee is for mommies". He said, "I drink coffee all day...No, I drink beer". I replied with, "Sorry about your luck but you have another 19 very long years before you will be drinking any beer".

It has been raining quite a bit and Owen loves to run to the door and yell "Go Away Rain". I tell him I don't think that will really work all that well. He then gets a little smarter and sings a rain dance of, "Raining...Poring...Man Flooring...Bumped Head...Went Bed...Get up in Morning" - his rendition of It's Raining, It's Pouring. If that doesn't do the job then he screams, "Rain, Go Away. Come other day. Little Owen wants to play".

Keeping in the spirit of nursery rhymes and the one about Jack and Jill, if Owen takes a spill and falls down he will tell us, "I'm ok. I fell down and broke my crown." I can’t help to laugh every single time that comes out of his cute mouth.

Thanks for checking in on us, and we hope you are enjoying the “Month in the Life of Little, oops sorry, Big Boy Owen McCarthy!”

Go Hawks

The Going to Bed Book

Owen chatting away

Gramps and GrandMo Visit Chicago

Mo and Danny were in for a month long visit! We had such a great time spending time with them. We were of course extremely busy and packed a lot of fun into the time they were here. We spent a few days in Delavan Lake, Wisconsin in a wonderful lake home, bet on the ponies at Arlington Racetrack, Darren, Steve, Mo and Danny got to be part of Chicago history and attended game one of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and they got to spend some quality time with their grand kids Morgan, Jack and Owen! Time always goes by way too fast and we miss them already! Can't wait for the next visit!

Owen was baptised!

We held a very nice baptism service for Owen at the First Presbyterian Church in Itasca. Aimee is Owen's godmother and Steve is his godfather. Owen is very lucky to have such great family. GG said nice words at church in honor of Owen and we had a nice family party at my parents house afterwards. The weather was perfect and our little boy looked like a man in his 5 piece white suit!

Darren is officially a US Citizen!

Darren is officially a US Citizen!

27 Month Update

I was holding my baby, now a big baby, on my lap last night as he dozed off while watching the Detroit v. Phoenix hockey game. (Or wait, was that me that dozed off while watching the hockey game?) Either way, I was holding my baby in my lap and looked down to realize he is really a big boy now. I mean he always tells Darren and I that he is a big boy, but it really hit home last night looking at him sleeping, with his long legs hanging off my arms that cradled him. OK, let me wipe the tear that is coming from my eye. :) But he is a big boy and definitely is smart like a big boy.

Grandma Edwards spent the night last night, because she is wonderful and watches Owen for us 2 days a week :) I was showing Owen and Grandma his baby book. We were looking through the pictures and reading out loud the memories I wrote down and Owen was telling me that the baby in the pictures was indeed Owen. I have one page that has an imprint of his baby hand and foot and we put Owen's hand up to it so I could show him how much he has grown. We flipped through several other pages and then he started to flip back to the imprint page and said, "Mom, I want to measure my hand". He put his 2 year old hand next to the 1 week year old hand and smiled. Seriously, the word measure? I mean...come on! The other day we were driving in the car and we saw a mom pushing her baby in a stroller and Owen said, "Mom, I see a baby". I said, "I see a baby too!" and then Owen says, "He's cute." I said, "No, your cute." and he said, "No your cute, mom". I mean we could banter back and forth all day about how cute the McCarthys/Edwards are, right?

I have started to take Owen to open tumbling class on Monday morning with Papa. Which he absolutely loves. He gets to run, jump, bounce, climb and act like a crazy 2 year old for 2 hours and impress Papa with all his newly acquired tricks. He is getting pretty good at scaling up mats and really has no fear of jumping off them either! Which of course makes mommy nervous.

Yesterday was a big day for the McCarthy household. Darren had his interview for his US Citizenship. He passed with flying colors and probably taught a few Americans a thing or two about American history. He will be sworn in on Wednesday, May 5th. We are very happy that he is now one of us! Congratulations Darren. Owen and I are super proud of you!

The McCarthy's have made it into Chicago, and we are looking forward to spending a lot of time with them. They will be staying for the month of May. Owen can't wait to see his Gramps and Gram-Mo again!

26 Month Update

Owen pees with the big boys now! He is officially potty trained and is performing wonderfully! Darren and I spent an entire weekend of intense potty training. We locked ourselves in the house over the weekend of 3/19 and let the little guy run around naked for 4 days straight. That method seemed to be pleasing to him both for the sake that he probably felt liberated by being allowed to run around with it all hanging out and that it really only took him those 4 weekend days to get the hang of going #1 and #2 in the potty. He no longer wears diapers or pull-ups and makes it without any accidents through nap time and bedtime. Darren and I are sooooooooooo lucky and blessed to have a little champ like O-Dog McCarthy. Good job Owen, Mommy and Daddy are super proud of you and your success of being potty trained at two years and a month. Not a bad record to hold.

The weather is finally adapting to Chicago's springtime. And we are loving and taking advantage of every moment. We spend our evenings after work walking to the park and playing soccer and hitting baseballs off of Owen's awesome automatic tee that Uncle Jim and Carolyn bought him for his birthday! Owen is quite the superstar and can whack the ball pretty far. We let him pee outside the other night because the public bathrooms weren't open yet for the season. So last night Owen told Darren he wanted to "Pee right there" and pointed to the grass in the park. I think we created a monster! We have also started to play tennis and Owen has his own racket. He loves to run around the tennis courts, it is like one huge play pen!

Owen's vocabulary has increased ten-fold. He talks in almost complete sentences and for the most part has turned out to be rather polite. Last night Darren sneezed and Owen yelled out, "Bless You Dad". If you ask him if he has to poo, he will tell you, "No I fart". If he farts he will say, "Cuse Me". Not sure why topic of conversation always relates back to using the washroom but I guess that is what your life consists of when you have a two year old! He also loves to sing songs and will make me repeat Old McDonald twenty thousand times. He loves to sing the E-I-E-I-O part but improvises with "E-O" and tells me "Moo-Cows here and Moo-Cows there".

We spent a great Easter and Aunty Sue Sue's and Uncle Ken's. Owen had a blast playing with Jenna, Ashley, Abbie and Natalie. He also made out quite well at the Easter egg hunt and got a lot of fun toys and candy. Thank you to everyone and hope you all had a Happy Easter!

25 Month Update

A lot of changes have occurred in the McCarthy household since a little someone turned two. Owen is officially sleeping successfully in a BIG BOY BED! We converted his crib into a big boy bed right after his birthday, and Owen has been sleeping in it all by himself ever since. He did wonderful with the adjustment and had very few incidents of trying to escape. Wow - are we lucky!

Score Highlight...Owen (7) and Wet Thomas the Train Big Boy Underwear (4). Owen has had his first intense round in potty training last weekend, and again was a WONDERFUL and willing participant. We basically let him be naked and fancy free for four days straight and only had a few tinkles on the floor (sorry Aimee - I cleaned it up real good!). But overall he is a rock star when it comes to peeing on the potty and is now at the point of telling me when he has to go. I know you all know Owen is a pretty smart kid, but listen to this. When he doesn't want to go to bed or do something I am trying to make him do, he will say, "No Mommy, I go Poo-Poo" so I will stop the horrible thing I am making him do and let him sit on the potty. So of course I let him sit there and he totally doesn't have to go and gives me the evil smirk and laugh resembling a "Ha-Ha Mom, you totally fell for it!" So I have smartened up and try to judge when the little guy is telling the truth or crying wolf...

Owen and I recently got back from a 4 day trip to Marco Island with my parents. We had so much fun and it was nice to spend some quality time with Pa-Pa and Grandma! Though it was chilly for Florida we still managed to dip in the pool one day and make sandcastles down by the beach another day! Thank you again to Grandma and Pa-Pa for letting us tag along on your getaway!

If you haven't done so already check out the videos below!

Owen's Drum Solo

Chasing Seagulls

Owen and Baby Co-Nuts (Coconuts)

Hockey waits for no one. Owen watching Canada vs. USA final game

Hockey isn't my only game...

2 Years Old

2 Years Old!

Our baby went to bed a one year old and woke up a two year old. We threw Owen a Chugga-Chugga Choo Choo Owen is Two party and he had so much fun! To fit the part he was dressed in his train engineer overalls, button down plaid shirt and engineer hat. Though the hat did not make it through most of the party, actually thinking about it, by the end of the party he was running around in his diapers! I guess that means it was a really good party. I know when I go to a party and end up running around in my diapers, I definitely had a good time! Owen got a lot of nice presents and played for a few hours with his friends and family. He did a great job blowing out the candles (check out the video below) and ended the evening with a mean game of shinny with Kaeden and Chad! The shinny mat was from his mom and dad and we also bought him a blow up referee bop bag that is bigger then him. When he woke up on his birthday he came out to the living room and saw this big referee guy looking at him. He told Darren and I, "I'm "cared" mom". Though he was scared initially he ended up really getting into how nice it felt to give the guy a punch or two to the gut. He also ended up naming him Dave. Dave the referee was also a big hit at the party!

We got a really good snowfall last week and Darren and I took advantage of the powder and took Owen sledding a few times. I think Darren and I had a little more fun then Owen considering all he really wanted to do was eat the snow. But of course told him to steer clear of all yellow and brown snow, only eat the white stuff. Owen did brave the snowboard for a few runs and took part in family sled time with all three of us on one sled. What's the saying? A family who sleds together, stays together?

Owen is officially a chatter box and almost complete sentences are not an uncommon thing. We were both sitting on the floor one morning, and he was drinking milk. He looks at me and said, "Mommy cheers". I said, "I don't have anything to cheers with" and he told me, "Mommy go get beer and cheers". I thought, well that is not such a bad idea, except it was 7:00am. But I am sure it was noon somewhere in the world! This afternoon, we had pizza for lunch. Owen goes to Darren, "Daddy Pia? Daddy Good." And Darren said, "Did you have some Pizza Owen" and Owen said, "Yea, I bit it, it was good. I more pia, peese". Now that we have him talking in almost sentences we are working on the potty thing. So far Owen has 8 pees in the potty and 4 poops. Not so bad for a little guy that just turned two!

Thank you to everyone that helped to make Owen's 2nd birthday a smashing success. He receives so much love from around the world and he is growing into a smart young boy because of it. Love you all!