Mostly Owen: In like a lion, out like a lamb

Sarah's Thoughts: Last weekend my dear friend, Sarah G. came to visit (which is why I didn't publish a post. very sorry.). It was so fun for me to have her spend time in my element. She'd only met Luke at our wedding, hadn't seen Owen since he was 4 1/2 months old, and had never met Dolly. Needless to say, Sarah charmed them all- Luke with her guacomole, Dolly with her ear scratching and Owen with her iphone. Sarah and I have been friends since high school. Through the years, I've come to realize that ours is a rare and precious friendship. We are able to instantly reconnect, even when its been a long time, even when we're in very different places in our lives. Overall, our visit was fairly mellow, as my life mainly consists of story reading and snack fixing these days... however, it was just good to be in the same room as my friend- to cook and to drink wine, to reminisce and dream, to remember that we know eachother at the very core of our beings and that will always remain, regardless of the ever changing circumstances of life.

Low- Owen's recent bout with fever and insomenia. Last night he was awake yelling "Mama! Mama!" about 10 minutes after I'd painstakingly sang and rocked him to sleep.

High- Secretly, I love rocking Owen to sleep. There's something about holding my peaceful, snoring baby that brings me back to his newborn days, something about it that makes me think, "This is why I became a mother." Oh yeah, that and a $2560 tax return! Cha-ching!

Luke Update: Luke is project-laden. He has so many ideas that he's excited about, he hardly knows where to start. He told me today that he's feeling a little anxious that summer will arrive before he knows it and he won't be able to finish all his projects. (I don't share in his anxiety if anyone is wondering...) He also pointed out that although we are still getting snow, it is melting faster then its accumulating which means that spring really is on its way. He successfully dug the boat out from its icy barricade this weekend and he's promising Saturday morning trolling excursions before too long. Luke's laminated wooden fishing net is near completion and he's still making bullets from molten led. Besides all of this, he has about 10 other house projects in the hopper just waiting for a little bit of wood, and some fired-up table saw action.

Owen Update: I feel like Owen's little personality has exploded in the past two weeks. He is so verbal lately, its incredible. He points to an object, I tell him its name and then he tries to repeat it. He LOVES saying "bye" to anyone within ear-shot in this really high, sweet boy voice. This week, Owen was introduced to the potty chair and it was love at first site. Although he has yet to christen it, every time I change Owen's diaper, he runs into the bathroom to sit on his plastic throne. In another attempt to encourage the big boy world, I added rails to the twin bed in Owen's room. Once his sleeping routine stabilizes, we might give it a whirl. Owen was showing his strong-willed tendencies this evening when we took Dolly for a walk. He refused to wear anything except his white dino jammies (even though it wasn't bed time) and then insisted on walking (which can make for exhaustingly slow progression). We FINALLY managed to make it to our turn-around spot, almost a mile away from the house, when Owen decided to sit down in the middle of a big, icy mud puddle and splash a little bit. Perfect decision for a boy with a nasty cough who is just recovering from recent feverish, sleepless days.

And now, more pictures to make up for their absence last week...