Halloween Fun

It was a fun Halloween with Owen, even if he didn't really understand what the excitement was all about! He enjoyed being dressed in his Dalmatian costume (which made the costume a winner for me!) and seeing the other kids, but he doesn't understand the whole "candy" part of Halloween yet (no rush on that!). In part, perhaps, because he's really never had candy. He has "treats" occasionally - but that is usually a bite of dessert or cookie (and he knows his cookies - as you'll see in the photo below!).

Our Halloween weekend started with a party at Brian's work, where the kids could trick-or-treat around the offices, and then end up in the conference room for some treats & goodies. Owen is in the toddler stage of enjoying to put things back (love it!), and during the trick-or-treating, someone would hold out a basket of candy. Curious, he'd take one. Maybe shake it. And then nicely put it back. Such a sweetie, and so fun to watch! We know these days are numbered, though. I'm sure year he'll be ripping into the candy!

On Halloween itself we headed over to a local outdoor shopping mall where they had a festival for the kids. It was fun to see all the kids (and adults!) in costumes. For the evening, instead of trick-or-treating this year Owen enjoyed helping hand out candy to the neighborhood kids as they came by. It was a great weekend, and a fun kick-off to the holiday season!

Not sure what he's looking at - but I love the look of surprise (or shock? or excitement?) on his face!

Couldn't resist including this photo. Makes a mommy's heart melt!

Such a sweet little kiss - I just wish you could see his precious face!

And for fun...a couple of pictures from last year, Owen's first Halloween!

October Fun

Owen is now 18 months....officially a year & a half! Owen's language skills are developing rapidly. He's adding new words to his vocabulary daily, and trying diligently to copy what we say. We give him lots of praise for his efforts, even if he only gets the first sound or syllable. Owen's favorite toys are his cars/trucks. He has an ambulance which makes a high pitch siren noise (awesome) that he loves in particular. Owen loves to take things out and put them back...or put them in a creative new place. We find his cars in all sorts of hidden locations around the house! And it's fun to watch him work at this. We can watch his little mind turning as he thinks...where should I put this one? He loves to stack - and has moved beyond just his blocks to incorporate all of his toys. Books at the base, then blocks, then cars. Or maybe his fire truck at the base, then cars, and hey - why don't the blocks want to stack on the cars? Great learning and problem solving opportunities - it's amazing to watch him learn through his experiences right before our eyes!

October was full of many fun play & family moments. And thanks to some beautiful fall weather, we've been able to spend a good deal of time outside enjoying this autumn season!

picking out the perfect pumpkin

We celebrated Brian's birthday (and he shares the day with his Uncle Rick) with a big family dinner at our place!

3 Generations

Silliness with Grandma Julie


Running & playing with cousin Remy

(we also were able to celebrate Remy's 2nd birthday this month at her fun puppy-themed party!)



Getting ready to take my first ride on "Max" - the public transportation metro train

Waiting so patiently

Eagerly watching all the sites go by. Such a big boy!

Our community hosts an annual fall festival called the Pumpkin Regatta. The 3 of us strolled down (so nice to be within waking distance!) to see all the activity!

The highlight event has people competing while paddling around the little lake in actual pumpkins!

And a yummy fall cookie for the walk home!

So proud of my stacking accomplishment!

This lovely October brought lots of opportunities to admire and play in all the beautiful changing leaves!

Outside our house. Makes me think of a future "first day of school" photo!

Happy Halloween

We are long overdue for a blog posting, and have many fun October photos and highlights to share. I promise to try and get those up on the blog this week! In the meantime, I couldn't resist sharing one quick Halloween photo...from our little Dalmatian! We were at a festival at a local outdoor shopping center, and Owen is awe-struck by all the kids (and adults!) in costumes. Such fun! Hoping you all had a wonderful and safe Halloween!

17 Months

Owen is 17 months...and busier than ever! He loves climbing, especially on the furniture in our house. And he's so proud of himself each time he gets on top of a chair or couch without assistance (we're proud of him too!). Owen loves to play outside, and thankfully the fall has given us some beautiful weather to enjoy. We started swim lessons this month, which has been a fun (& important) new activity. Owen loves to play with cars, play under a pretend fort, look at books, and stack his blocks (he can stack them 6+ high, which seems pretty good!). Owen gets excited whenever he sees balloons, as well as airplanes and trains. He has many new words & sounds, and he continues to mimic our behaviors more & more - including putting an oven mitt on his hand and standing in front of the oven! Owen (like most toddlers?) likes to throw things - which is a bit of a challenge as we attempt to teach when it's okay to throw (ie: a ball outside) and when it's not ok to throw (ie: his wooden cars in the living room, and his food from his high chair tray). We've enjoyed many play-dates with local friends (photos for a future blog post!) and several special family birthday celebrations. It's been a great month!

Owen & cousin Remy celebrating birthday's for Grandpa Jim & Uncle Greg

A hot fall day brings one last backyard swim

Being silly with great-grandma Marion

"Go Huskys" - saying goodbye to dad & Grandpa Clark as they head to Seattle for the UW football game

Climbed on the recliner myself - so proud!

Mimicking the faces in the book

Farm Visit

Yesterday we enjoyed a beautiful fall day (is it really fall already?)...80 degree weather and bright blue sky! We took the opportunity to head to a local farm for opening day of their "harvest festival", and surprisingly we were some of the only people there! No doubt as we get into October farms such as these will be full of visitors, but in the meantime we enjoyed the treat of a farm nearly to ourselves!

Oh look...an airplane! Owen always stops in excitement at the sound of an airplane or train. We love to experience the world through Owens’s eyes!

"Hello Llama" (Notice the wave. I love it!)

Our little runner smiles as if to dare "can you catch me?"

Our little farm boy

And what could be better at a farm than playing in the dirt!

Wow...this tractor is MUCH bigger than my toy trucks & tractors at home!

Look!...another airplane!

What better way to end our visit than by enjoying a homemade pumpkin donut from the little farm store! Yum! (and you bet - Brian and I both had one too...how could we resist?!)