Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

Sincerely,
Owen

Fall Fun!

We took Owen to Old Main Hill on the USU Campus so he could play in all the crunchy fall leaves.  If you don't already know this about me...I love crunching leaves!  It was so fun to share this little thing that brings me joy with my little boy.

I mean, he's adorable, right?  Look at that face!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We planned our family-themed costumes around a fantastic costume that we found Owen.  Jon is the snorkeler, Owen is an OCTOPUS (heehee), and I'm a jellyfish!  I realize that we won't be able to get away with family-themed costumes for too long, so I'm taking advantage of it while I can!  I love Halloween!

Owen with his "haul"...we only went trick-or-treating to a few of our neighbors.  He was so excited about his candy though!  He was rolling around and trying to hold all the pieces at once.  I love this octopus!  Neither of these pictures really do his costume justice, however.  

Owen's First Trip to the Zoo and the Witchie-poo Party!

It has taken us all summer and half of the fall to work out everybody's schedules, but we finally took Owen to the Hogle Zoo!  He loved watching the animals, although, I'm sure we had more fun than him.  We got to go with his Aunt Whitney, Grandma Larsen, Jane and Grant, and Aunt Charlene!  Thanks Aunt Charlene for taking us to the zoo!

 Grandma Larsen and Owen checkin out the scary Grizzly Bears!  We didn't get to see the Polar Bear swim, and we were pretty sad about that--but we got to see lots of other fun things.  And, of course, Owen's binkie is ever-present!

 Owen and his Daddy...and a giraffe!

Owen and his gorgeous Aunt Whitney looking at the monkeys!

We had a full day of family...but that's what happens when we drive down for the weekend.  We have to fit as much family time in as we can!  Grandma Jan (Barker) does a Witchie-poo party every October.  She plans lots of fun Halloween activities for the grand-kids.  Owen can't do many of them yet, but he did have fun as a mummy!  These pictures make me smile!

Meet Minerva

I got Jon a kitten for our anniversary/his golden birthday.  Since it was my idea though, I got to choose the kitten and also name her...so of course I named her Minerva McGonagall Larsen.  I must say that this little cat has grown on me.  I never thought I was a cat person, but I admit that I was wrong!  She and Oscar play really well together and they already love each other.

She used to like to climb on top of a pile of stuff on one of the kitchen chairs and fall asleep.  (I finally got around to putting that stuff away.)  I think that she felt safe up there cuz she knew Oscar couldn't get to her!

See what I mean?  Best friends.

Minerva and Oscar

It's fun to be ONE!

I can hardly believe that Owen is one year old today!  It seems like just the other day that I was pregnant with him, and yet I can't imagine life without our little sunshine.  Owen is such a happy boy!  He loves to laugh, and his giggle is so contagious! He is our silly little dude.  He still doesn't have any teeth, but I actually love his gummy smile!  He's all grown up drinking whole milk now, eating real food at every meal, communicating with his baby sign language and that pointer finger...he points at everything! 

 He loves to flip the light switch, climb the stairs,

 press his face against the netting of the pack-n-play, honk peoples' noses, play with Oscar, watch the neighborhood dogs play (he thinks it's hilarious!) and splash in the water in the bathtub!  He is so much fun!  We feel so blessed to have Owen in our life.  He brightens up the life of everyone that knows him.  Happy Birthday Owen Peter!

Newborn

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Twelve Months...ONE YEAR!

Happy Birthday Owen!

Summer Swim Fun

Jon had the day off of work yesterday, so we took Owen to the park and to the Aquatic Center.  He had so much fun and was so funny, that I just had to share some of the fun!

Look at him clapping!  I love him!  Owen was so proud of himself for figuring out how to crawl in the shallow end of the kiddie pool!  He's so big!

I absolutely LOVE this picture of Jon and Owen last time we went swimming,  I love Owen and his daddy playing in the pool!

We love our little guy.  It's so fun to expose him to different experiences like swimming and grass and sand and bubbles.  Yay for summer!!

And they lived happily ever after...

Pardon me while I take a trip down memory lane for a moment...

Thank you Jon for making me feel priceless and special, for being the love of my life, the father of my child and my best friend.  I love you!

Loved you once,

Love you still. 

Always have,

Always will.

This really happened today...

I was sitting on the bed in our room reading, Owen crawling around on the floor.  As I listened for any sounds of trouble making, I heard the sound of Owen playing with Oscar's kennel door, open...slam...open...slam...  He does this any chance he gets.  I'm only hearing happy sounds, so I know he hasn't managed to shut his fingers in the door yet.  Then I hear this sort of whimper...not a cry or other sound of real distress...just a little voice...so I look over the edge of the bed and this is what I saw:

Once I started laughing, Owen thought it was funny too (naturally), so, after I helped him get out, I had to close the door and lock it.  Funny little boy!  Is this a foreshadowing of things to come?  Do I have my very own Luke Dunphy on my hands?

Our Family Summer Adventures

Jon had the opportunity to go to Switzerland this summer for the month of June.  We missed him A LOT!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from his trip...

The Castle of Chillon

The Materhorn

Owen and I had some fun of our own while he was gone, though!

Owen went on his first airplane flight when we flew to Iowa to visit our friends!

My Heathers and me with our babies!

Owen with his two friends Ellie Allred and Liam Bowles.  It was so fun to see our babies play together!

Owen also got to visit the barn with his Grandpa John for the first time!  He thought the cows were so funny!

Then there was swimming with the cousins in Grandpa John and Grandma Jan's backyard, of course!

Owen learned a lot while his dad was gone...

We are so happy to have him back home with us, but we are glad that he had the opportunity to go.  Once Jon got home, we were able to spend some time with our families.  First, we went to a cabin in Oakley, Utah with the Larsens!  

With the help of his dad and Grandpa Larsen, Owen got to splash in the water at the reservoir for the first time! 

Next, we spent some time in Island Park, ID and Yellowstone with the Barkers!

Owen with his twin cousins Spencer and Azalea and Grandpa John

Owen's cousins on the Barker side

Yay for summertime!