Mostly Owen: February 2011

Monday, February 21, 2011

Summer on my mind.

Sarah’s Thoughts:

My house is in a constant state of clutter. I’ve been making an effort to have Owen pick up after himself, but it seems like that barely makes a dent. Although it seems like I’m always straightening up, there are toys and diapers and clothes and food and cups strewn all over the house. Last night, the living room was in its usual state of disarray, a mound of dirty dishes sat in the kitchen, unmade bed in our room and I wanted to cry. My sweet husband hugged me and told me to close my eyes. Then he took me on a virtual vacation where I dug my toes in the hot sand, swam in the ocean, road a moped in my sarong and flip flops and read books while sun bathing. It was lovely. When I opened my eyes, I felt a little more relaxed and I think maybe even a little bit tanner.

Luke Update:

Luke has been at his electrical apprenticeship for 2 1/2 months and the vocabulary at our house has changed. Now we talk about “J boxes”, “conduit”, “strut straps” and “hot wires”. I use to pride myself in being able to carry on a pretty decent conversation about hunting or fishing. Because of Luke I know about Boon and Crockett and nicknames for steelhead. I wonder if, in the next few years, I’ll find myself casually chatting about wire nuts and breaker boxes?

Owen Update:

Our boy has endless energy, a limitless imagination, and expectations for everyone around him to operate on the same level of intensity. He’s still in love with his baby sister and as she grows and does new things, he is wanting to re-live his baby days. Because of her early bedtime, I often give Annabelle baths in the kitchen sink, so yesterday, Owen also had a bath in the kitchen sink. Sometimes I create a little play pen for Annie in laundry baskets. Thus, Owen also wants a little play center in neighboring laundry basket. Maybe this demand for constant ever-changing entertainment is part of the reason I cannot keep my house clean. At three and a half, can you still tell yourself, “This is a phase and it too will pass”?

Annabelle Update:

Its been a busy week. Annabelle had her very first experience in the swimming pool, and did quite well. She has started rolling over from her back to her tummy. She’s scooting herself around a little during tummy time. She’s not sitting up yet, but that too is not far off. Luke likes to tease me because I always say things like, “I think she might be teething,” but I really think her first tooth isn’t far away. Our baby is going to be crawling before we know it and then 13 is right around the corner!

we've got Annie!

sledding fun!

sink bath

mama's little tin man

laundry basket play pen buddies

getting snowy

family

cold proof

boy and his dog

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Won't you be mine?

Sarah’s Thoughts:

When we filled out the paperwork at the hospital after our girl was born, I hadn’t thought much about how to spell her name. I’ve never gotten excited about normal names with off-the-wall spellings (like “Aimey” instead of “Amy”) and thought I was spelling her name the normal way, “Annabell”. After we’d been home a few days, in true younger brother form, Christian called me up and said, “Why did you spell her name like that? You spelled it like a bell that you ring instead of being the name ‘belle’.” I tried to convenience him (and myself) that I meant to spell it like a ringing bell... but after that conversation, I had an uneasy feeling. Every time I wrote her name, I felt like it was missing an “e”. After several failed attempts of trying to come to peace with the spelling, I called Alaska Vital Statistics and explained the situation. They said all I have to do is fill out a form, have it noterized, pay $25 and voila! “Annabell” becomes “Annabelle”.

Luke Update:

Luke is chipping away at his electrical apprenticeship. He has to log 8000 hours before he becomes a journeyman, which works out to be 4-5 years and feels like a very long way away. Prior to the finish line, however, there are several milestones and that you reach, mostly rewarded by pay increases. The very first milestone at 390 hours however, comes in the way of insurance for the entire family. I am happy to say that before the week’s end Luke will have enough hours to qualify for insurance! Because we’ve been purchasing private insurance, this will mean huge savings for us. Bring on the doctor’s appointments! :)

Owen Update:

One of Owen’s very favorite things while eating lunch, riding in the car, or sitting in his stroller is, “Mommy, tell me about Dolly when she was a puppy,” or “Tell me about Cing-rella (Cinderella)”. I don’t know why he’s latched onto those two subjects, but without fail, he requests to hear about them again.... and again. And again and again and again. If I ask HIM to tell ME these stories, he gets upset and claims that he can’t. If I suggest that we talk about something else, again, upset. Lately when he makes his request, we’ve struck a deal that one bite of food earns him one piece of the tale. Someday, I’m sure this phase will be over, but until then, if you come over for lunch, you just may hear, “We were visiting Yia Yia and Grandpa Roger when we saw an ad in the paper that said, ‘Puppies for sale!’ ”

Annabelle Update:

Our little lady is getting stronger every day. She strains to sit up and lunges at things of interest. While laying on her stomach, she has been pushing her bottom up in the air as if getting ready to crawl. In the last week, Annabelle has been very interested in her feet. Whenever its time to change her diaper, she grabs onto those feeties and starts sucking on her toes. I know this is classic baby behavior, but I don’t remember Owen doing that. I feel sort of bad covering those feeties up with socks, but our house is so chilly, I quickly get over the guilt. We are constantly in awe at what a sweet girl God has given us... she’s storing up for the teen years, isn’t she?