Terrible Twos

Today, I came home from work and took Owen to the store with me. Though I try to do this errand solo, he is usually pretty well behaved with me when I do take him. Things changed today. He had not taken a nap earlier in the day and I had to wake him from his 5 minute nap in the car so I could get my shopping done. Bad move. He slept on my shoulder in the store for a few minutes before opening his eyes and perked up enough to point and say "Owen want that!" That is how the rest of the shopping trip went. WHINE was not on my list, but I sure got it anyway! A fellow shopper in Trader Joe's looked at me with a tired face, no smile and a monotone voice and said; "I have three of them.....fun." His comment made me laugh at least. I got through the rest of the store with one promise of a fruit leather strip when we were done. I hate to bribe, but I was desperate.

One store down, one to go. I wanted to go to Whole Foods, but didn't want to be there close to 5:00 with Owen acting the way he was, so I drove to our local Von's instead. When we walked through the double doors he whined about wanting every thing he put his big blue eyes on. This is how it all went down:

"Owen want this Mommy" to "want this, want this, want this, want this, waaaaaant thiiiis!" to "GRRRRRR, OWEN WAAAAANNNNNNT THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS!!!!"

Meanwhile, I am pushing him around in a faulty cart with a bad wheel, whispering and talking calmly to get him to stop. Not happening. I cut my list in half and grabbed only the things I needed for Easter morning and got in line. He grabbed a Snickers Bar and I put it back, then he laid eyes on a big yellow package of peanut M&M's that he couldn't quite reach. It then went to yelling for "CANDY!!!!" over and over and over and over (you get the point) again. Once he realized he wasn't going to get what he wanted he let out a shrill, high pitched, top of his lungs, scream. It was the sort of scream that force people to mutter nasty things under their breath. The sort of scream that raises shoulders to the ears and makes the eyes squint. That is when I unbuckled him, ditched the cart in line and left my groceries that were already on the conveyor belt and put him in the car to head home.

He didn't say a word the whole way home, and neither did I. I tried to take the long way home to get him to nap, but of course, he was over it by then. He had one more major melt down when we got home over unloading the groceries, and a few mini ones that he got over fairly fast before bed time. Fingers crossed he naps tomorrow.

Rattlesnake Canyon Trail

Today was my day off. I spent the first part of the day having blood taken for the last time (hopefully) during this pregnancy. I came home to a husband suffering from a cold and a toddler who is a little stuffy and hard to motivate, but has the same amount of energy as always. I, however, was healthy and dying to get outside. Neither of my guys wanted to come with me.

After a few hours, we coaxed Owen into taking his pj's off and putting on play clothes. Finally, we got him to agree to get in the car to go somewhere (anywhere) fun with Mommy. Before we got two miles down the road, he was out cold in his car seat. I brought a book just in case this happened. I took a nice drive downtown and ended up in the mountains. Owen woke up just as I parked the car and was ready to go! We parked at Skofield Park and walked to Rattlesnake trail for a little hike.

I am glad we did it, though it will probably be the last time I do it without Adam while I am pregnant. It was a little tricky getting over the creek bed and not getting wet. I picked up Owen and hopped a couple of rocks and the rest was a cake walk. Phew! He had a great time throwing rocks and sticks into the running water. I finally convinced him to start walking so we could find more rocks up above. We walked until he mentioned he wanted his snack (a sentence I hear several times an hour typically). We found a perfect little spot on a rock for him to sit and eat. He owned it and did not want to leave.
I finally got to see my wildflowers everywhere! So pretty. This was one of the areas that was burned in one of the recent fires, so it was pretty cool to see so much overgrown greenery amongst charred black tree branches.

When we got home, we got a package from Aunt Joanie and Grandmom for Easter. It was the cutest little bunny. You pull the tail back and he hops around in a circle. Owen LOVED it and cracked up every time! We also got the most darling pair of pink and black Mary Jane newborn socks for the baby. Thank you!! xo

Fun with Friends

Last week we had the pleasure of spending a few hours with good friends on their fruitful property. We let the kids run around, enjoyed blood orange margaritas (I had a sip or two of Adam's and it was amazing!), and picked lots of avocados, tangerines and oranges to take home. It was a perfect evening full of laughter.

Kristen was teaching the kids how to blow bubbles. There really is technique to this art, and they almost have it! It's pretty cute watching them try.Owen had a pretty big fall. He played so hard, he left their house with two skinned knees, two scraped hands, scratches on his face from low tree branches and lots of dirt all over his body. Nothing slowed him down! I think his "owies" hurt me more than him!Owen and Cyanne playing on the steps. Adam is getting his baby girl holding practice in. This is just before Lucky, their black lab licked Gwendolyn's face! Daddy's girl, Maritt. Owen and Laith exploring on our way to visit the chickens. These hens were clucking like crazy when we got to see them.Filling up Daddy's bag with oranges.These trees were LOADED with fruit. It was nice to take some home. Owen has been in orange heaven!The next morning, Owen asked me to take his picture while on the trampoline. This smile and energy is what fresh orange juice will do to you!

Drum Day/ Surprise party

Saturday was a big day for Owen. I have been excited to attend "Drum Day" for the past few weeks, knowing that Owen would LOVE something like this. Basically, it's an organized event where anyone can come and bring a drum of some sort and just play. I have walked past these types of drum circles in the past, and just love feeling the energy of it all. This time it was our turn to be a part of it.

We started our afternoon at the harbor and took a water taxi (called, Lil' Toot) to the pier. From there, we walked across the street to Chase Palm Park where the drumming awaited us. It was hot, Owen was getting pretty tired, and Adam was tired from carrying him most of the way (we forgot to bring the stroller!) but I was ready to drum! We only stayed for about 1/2 an hour, I would have LOVED to have stayed longer, but Owen was over it and we had a surprise birthday party to attend at Steven's Park.
I love the slogan "I Came. I Rode. I Tooted...." Owen talks about his "toots" all day long. He names them all and thinks this is hilarious! There is the "kiss toot" where he kisses you while he toots, or the "poop toot," "running toot," the "helicopter toot" (don't ask, I have no idea where he gets this stuff? Certainly not from me!) So this sticker was quite fitting for him to wear!Once we got to the park for our friend Alelia's 30th Birthday party, we saw another group who was having a party as well. This group had a bouncy house, and were kind enough to let Owen crash their party and jump to his hearts content! He got his second wind and once again, played hard.

This is what he looked like after 3 minutes on the road on our way home.

Steven's Park

Before we left for our hike, I saw the most colorful sweet humming bird just hanging out in our backyard for ages. He sat there and let me get close and take pictures of him for at least 5 minutes! He was still just sitting there before I said good bye and went inside.My azalea plant is blooming like crazy right now. The flowers look so beautiful, I had to share and take a picture of our spring backyard.Last week I was dying to see some wildflowers, which I understand are all in full bloom right now in the mountains. However, most of the trails I wanted to hit were a bit of a drive, so we decided to check out Steven's Park (It's a good easy trail for kids and has a park with a play structure at the trail head) instead. It was a beautiful day out. We stopped at Whole Foods Market and grabbed some sandwiches for a little picnic before our hike. Owen was in heaven! Eating outside, playing at the park, and throwing sticks into the creek simultaneously is the perfect day for my little man.
The hike was lovely. It was mostly shaded and beautiful along the running creek. Owen was starting to run out of steam, as it was close to nap time, so poor Adam had to carry him quite a bit towards the end there. But not before his little legs buckled under him while running downhill too fast. His fall left a nice red scrape down his tummy. : ( His bumps and bruises seem to be getting a little more frequent these days. I guess that's what I should expect with a very active little boy! He was excited about finding a huge piece of wood on the ground. He was pretty filthy by the time we headed home.

Just Because

I came home from work to a surprisingly quiet house. I didn't hear "MOMMY!!" as I usually do when I walk in the door. Adam had dropped off Owen at my Mom's and packed a picnic for us on the cliffs above the beach by our house. He thought of EVERYTHING, and carried it all! It is a short hike, but we had a blanket, tray table, two beach chairs, wine, a small vase with flowers, smoked salmon, bruschetta w/ kalamata olive bread, cheese, crackers, water, lobster sushi rolls, chilled mango soup (that he made from scratch!), AND a present and a thoughtfully written card for me.

I hope I am not forgetting anything! It was not an anniversary, a birthday, Mother's day, or any other day of significance, just an amazing way to say that he "appreciates me." What wife could ask for more?

We found our spot, set up "camp" and I got to open my present; A book of "Cool Names For Babies" : ) So, we got to relax, eat, and go over baby girl names together as we watched the sun retire for the day. Such a wonderful afternoon. Such a wonderful husband! I am so grateful for having married someone who knows how to slow down a busy life, even if it's just for an afternoon, and enjoy it.

Beach Day

After working 7 straight days in a row, I finally had a break today and went to the beach with Adam and Owen in Summerland. Ahhh, it was so nice to feel the warm sand on my toes, a cool breeze on my face and watch Owen happily put sand in his bucket without whining about anything. It was a good day. Here are the pictures of our little Saturday adventure.

25 weeks with baby #2!I love those wet sandy feet! Owen is unstoppable these days. He just goes and goes...and goes...and goes...., until we march him on into bed around 7:30 or 8:00. The only times he has taken a nap since we got rid of the pacifier (yes, I am STILL bringing this up!) is either in the car.. IF he's tired enough, or last week when he had a fever for about 24 hours (he's fine now and back to his energized sleepless self), that's it! Isn't 2 1/2 too young to give up naps? It thought it wouldn't be until 4 years old before he quit taking naps. Oh well, gotta love him anyway!

After we got home and had lunch, Nanna stopped by to say hi in between running errands. I brought up the idea of getting some frozen yogurt together, which made Owen SUPER happy! He didn't say a word while he was enjoying picking out his blueberries and mini M&M's out of his cup. He didn't care for the yogurt as much as the toppings. When he decided he was done, he just ran himself ragged in the courtyard of the shopping center. By the 100th time I had said "On your mark, get set go!" he was winding down and running much slower, like a car that just ran out of gas. Once we got home, he wanted to put his pajamas on and go to bed. It was 5:30! I can't put him down that early, so we played quietly and read books for a while until closer to 6:30 and he was finally asleep by 7:00. I wish I had a quarter of that kid's energy! I am convinced he is solar powered.