Happy Halloween!

Tonight we went trick or treating at Nanna and Pappy's neighborhood. We hit about 4 or 5 houses before we headed in to snack on some of the goodies. Owen didn't quite understand that we put the candy in the bucket and we eat it when we get home. He is sort of an instant gratification kinda kid if you know what I mean! He had a bite size Butterfinger, some M&M's, lots of grapes (natures candy : ) and a Tootsie pop.
It was a mellow evening. We watched a bit of Dumbo when we came home and put him to bed just before 9:00.
Adam had to work tonight, like he does on most Halloweens. He was a cowboy tonight, he looked great! Halloween is one of his favorite holidays and he is so creative with his costumes. He doesn't spend weeks or days thinking about what he is going to be, he usually decides a day before or the day of and always pulls it off well. I, on the other hand am not as creative and swear that "next year I will be prepared!" Well lets hope so, we'll see next year! ; )

In Loving Memory of Jessica Keenan Jimenez

I found out last night that a dear friend of mine passed away after a long battle of breast cancer. I met Jessica in 1998 while getting my hair cut. We really hit it off. We laughed and talked the whole time and found that we had a lot in common. On top of being so fun loving, she was a great stylist too and became my #1 hair dresser after one visit. We exchanged info and started to become friends quickly.

A year later I moved to NY, and she moved to Florida. We reconnected when we both moved back to Santa Barbara years later. It was as if no time had passed at all, we just picked up right where we left off. We started regularly trading massages for hair cuts which kept us both happy and still left us with money in our pockets.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and seemed to have won that battle. Two years later the cancer returned in her bones. She has been in and out of treatments, had lost her hair more than once from chemotherapy and tried everything she could possibly do to beat this horrible disease. She went through all of this with a smile and grace. I never knew how bad things were because she was always so positive and happy. She taught me a lot about the power of positive thinking.

Her love life turned around on New Years Eve 2007 when she met Kurt Jimenez. He has a great sense of humor and always kept her laughing when she was feeling down. He has been a great support for her from day one. After about a year of dating, Kurt proposed mid flight on their way down to Los Angeles for another cancer treatment.

Adam and I were lucky enough to attend their magnificent dream wedding that was put on by the Dream Foundation (grants wishes to terminally ill adults) in January this year. It was absolutely beautiful and exactly what Jessica and Kurt deserved. I am so sad to know that they didn't get to celebrate their one year anniversary.

I just took a continuing education class last week on aging. One of the key notes I took out of it was to "make time for your friends." We all get so busy and sometimes push our friends aside so we can run errands or get the house cleaned, etc.. Those things will always be there, but your friends may not. I wish I had made the time to go see Jessica's new house in Ventura. We talked about the four of us going out one night and getting to stay in her newly decorated guest bedroom instead of driving back to Goleta for the night. That opportunity came and went and I now regret that we didn't put it on the calendar and go.

Though I always told her I loved her when we got off the phone, or saw her in person, her passing has made me aware of how important that is because you never know how short life will be. I hope that you will take my lesson and tell your friends and family you love them often too. There is no reason not to. Until now, I had never lost a friend to cancer and I hope I never do again. Jessica was such a beautiful human being inside and out and she will be greatly missed. I love you Jess.

Personality

Just a few cute things Owen has been saying or doing the past few days:

1. He was holding a DVD of Peter Pan (which he has seen once) and saying "watch it, Peanut Butter!"

2. When he is waiting for something like a snack, or a drink, he says "grapes, (or whatever it is he wants) coming right up!"

3. He just learned how to say the word "smoothie" with an exaggerated "s" and and exclamation point!

4. He likes to drink things out of cups and blow bubbles in them (smoothies included)

5. When I make something he likes he tastes it and then looks at me saying "good" while nodding his head. Nothing makes a mamma feel better than that : )

6. He almost always says "thank you mamma" when I give him something he wants.

7. He likes to savor his little treats. For example, sometimes we bribe him with a tic tac to get in his car seat. When he gets it, he doesn't usually eat it right away, he just holds it in his hand or will put it in a bowl later when he gets home. Sometimes he eats it, sometimes it gets stuck on the couch after he just sucked on it for few seconds.

We just started potty training and using M&M's as yet another sweet bribe. He gets one for pee pee and two for poo poo. So far he has only gotten one M&M at a time. But when he gets it, he will make it last and turn it into 4 BITES. I am not kidding. FOUR bites and ONE M&M!

8. He told his Nanna the other day "Daddy said 'no no Nim's Island (his favorite movie), Daddy watching football.'" Owen was busy playing, so Adam turned off his movie to watch a little bit of Sunday's games, and this is how Owen interpreted it....two days later. He does not forget anything!

9. Every time we tell him it's bed time, he says with a whine, "No bedtime, night night (to)morrow"

10. He loves it when Adam and I are both home at the same time. He gets so excited and says "Mommy, Daddy, play toys (with) Owen!"

PEP Halloween!

Last night, a local parent group called PEP (Postpartum Education for Parents) put on a fantastic Halloween event for kids. There were local companies giving out free info, a rockin' kids band called Hot Lava, and lots of gymnastic type stuff for kids to bounce, climb and swing on. Owen got to wear his Halloween costume for the first time. He was a dinosaur, an awfully cute dinosaur if I do say so myself : ) He had to get woken up from his nap to go to this, so he was nice and mellow for the first hour or so.

saying hello to Gwendolyn

I also had fun volunteering at the Gwendolyn Strong SMA awareness booth (http://www.gwendolynstrongfoundation.org/) . If you haven't yet signed the petition, please do so at http://www.petitiontocuresma.com/ AND for those of you who don't know this, you can help fund the cure by any online shopping you do. It's so easy. Just go to http://www.shoptoendsma.com/ and enter the store you want to buy things from (ie. amazon.com, old navy.com, sears.com, etc...etc...there are over 800 stores!) and that's it! A percentage of whatever you buy will go directly to the cure for SMA, without costing you an extra penny!

Boo at the Zoo

Halloween week has officially begun! Tonight we went to "Boo at the Zoo." The zoo was decorated elaborately in a western/ scary theme. The "Zoo Crew" were all dressed up and did a great job! There was a line for trick or treaters, a REAL Mother Goose reading stories, a spooky cemetery with ghosts walking around, music, dancing, and lots of free games and prizes. It was all very well done.

Sadly, I didn't have much time after work to think about getting Owen in a costume or even in cowboy clothes (since it was a western theme this year), so he wore his black and orange Capn' Spooky shirt instead and we headed out. Next year I will plan ahead! There were SO many cute costumes there. We saw a ton of spidermans, farm animals and fairies this year.

First we stopped to get his hair cut since it is starting to get in his eyes. He played with a bucket of toys in his lap while he sucked on a lollipop. It's pretty short, but at least we won't have to go back for a while (that's what I would like to believe anyway). His hair grows so fast and he has so much of it!
We met my Mom and David at the zoo and had a great time! We collected candy and community event info in the Trick or Treat line. My favorite "treats" were the tooth brushes they were handing out : ) I was cringing at some of the candy they were passing out, like taffy and jolly ranchers, both of which could pull out a baby tooth in one bite! I know some of you are thinking, "jeez, just let your kid live a little and have some candy" but I just can't get past "treats" like that. Now don't get me wrong, he still had his share of mini M&M's, and chocolate, and a lollipop when he got his hair cut, I just like to limit what I can WHILE I can, because it won't last forever!

Let's hope this is the ONLY time he is ever in "jail" ; )

Owen stopped to listen to Mother Goose reading for about 30 seconds before he was off to check out the scare crows and then up and down his favorite sliding hill for a while. We finally convinced him to check out the music and let him play some games, like finding penny's under sawdust, and tossing poker chips in cowboy boots. He was getting a little tired by this point, but he got his second wind once the music started getting louder and he couldn't stop dancing! So cute.

Looking for pennies under piles of sawdust.

Dancing with Mommy when he got his second wind!

At last, it was time to go home. On our way out, we stopped to chat with our friends, Daalia, Will and Laith while Pappy was off buying light up necklaces for the boys. The whole way home I kept thinking the police were behind me because of the chasing lights around Owen's neck in my rear view mirror!

Just a few more notes on what Owen is up to:

Santa Claus is now a regular name brought up on a daily basis. While shopping at Costco last week he picked up Bert and Ernie book and wanted it. I said "no, maybe you should ask Santa Claus for the book for Christmas." Well, he hasn't stopped asking Santa for things since then. He mentions the "Bert and Ernie book" every day and has added that he wants a live "gold fish" and goldfish crackers." All doable requests thankfully! It's going to be a long 2 months!

Favorite Books: Good Night Gorilla, Good Night Beach, Good Boy Fergus, and his Spy and Find Animals book. Oh, and just this week he coincidentally dug up a Christmas book that he has never really looked at until now. He just stares at Santa Claus with a big smile, knowing that this is the man who will fulfill his dreams! : )

Beach Babes

Late this afternoon we went to the beach to meet up with Suzanne and Keira after work. The water was warm and it was nice to catch up briefly while getting in some exercise and fresh air. Owen went from shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt to a diaper and a hat pretty quickly! Some big waves were coming in and he didn't quite judge them right on more than one occasion.

Once he was fresh out of dry clothes, we decided to take a walk on the dry pier instead. They had a good time looking over the ledge to see the ocean below, while Suzanne and I had queasy stomachs and a tight grip watching them inch further over the water.

Before we walked back to the cars, I put my sweatshirt on Owen to keep him warm. He looks like such a beach boy in these pictures. Here are some fun pics from out little afternoon adventure!

This is a boy who liked his snack SO much that he decided to stick his whole face in the bowl and eat like a little piggy!

hanging out at the park waiting for Keira

Our beautiful friends, Keira and Suzanne

Things that Owen is doing now:

He likes to stall bed time as long as possible. He achieves this by always asking for not one, but "two more books." He walks slowly to pick one out and stands there for what feels like eons before he returns to the couch to read. When we get close to the end he starts flipping pages backward so it doesn't end.

He drags out his dinner by eating non stop and asking for seconds, even when I am quite certain that he is full. He asks for milk or water before bed.

He will start talking to me as I am walking out the door to his room just to delay sleeping by keeping me in there a little longer. He doesn't want to miss a thing while he's dreaming!

He now says, "Mommy, I wuv you too!"

In the morning, he stands in his crib holding every one of his "friends" (stuffed animals) and his 3 blankets and asks us to put it on the couch so he can get cozy out there. You can barely see his head when he's holding all of these things!

His two favorite stuffed animals right now are a little gorilla called "Gorilla" that he got from Nana at the zoo, and a stuffed sea lion named "Silky" (name taken from the sea lion on his favorite movie, Nim's Island) that Pop Pop gave him from the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.

He makes us laugh hard every day by the random things he says and does. Today he tried to feed his snacks to a shark and Nim on Nim's Island (his favorite movie) through the TV.

His favorite snack right now is frozen peas. Raisins, grapes and cereal being a close second.

He can sweetly sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

He says "Momma, stay home" when I am walking out the door to go to work (breaks my heart).

He says the same thing to Adam when he leaves.

He waters the garden every morning with Daddy........

I guess I should stop there, this blog is getting too long! He is just amazing and I love him so much!

Pied Piper

Before I left for work, we decided to take Owen to Lake Los Carneros and feed the ducks. It's just around the corner from my Mom's house, so it's easy to get to, and Owen always has fun on this little adventure. He loves animals more than anything on this planet. So, getting up close to the ducks is right up his alley.

The ducks marched right up to us waiting for their breakfast. They were NOT shy.

Recharging with some refreshing water!He must have wings, because I get so many shots of him in mid air. He spends half the day flying, running, jumping, and skipping. I can only dream of having THAT much energy!One even ate out of Owen's hand (yes Mom, we washed his hands before his snack)! It was so nice to get outside and run around today.

Puddle Jumper

We got ton of rain today which only means one thing for Owen....jumping in puddles! I told him rain was coming yesterday and he kept looking out the window saying "Rain, come, Owen's house." It came alright, it's still pouring outside! When I got home from work this evening I put him in his rain gear and we headed outside scoping out good puddles! We found the best one's behind our house (thanks to Adam's suggestion).

I think this one is my favorite mid-air shots! I love the reflection in this one. He almost looks like he's levitating!

My two muddy, soaked, yet very happy boys!