Redondo Beach, California

We were blessed to get to go to California with Jon's parents last week.  They were kind enough to fly us out so we didn't even have to drive with Owen and a pregnant me.  It was awesome!  Here are some highlights of our trip.

The Daddy in his natural habitat.

Jon showing Owen some sand crabs.

Owen LOVED playing in the sand at the beach!

Owen got to meet the Torrance City firemen in the beach parking lot and see the big fire truck.  He thought it was pretty fabulous!  After a long afternoon at the beach, however, he was one tired little fireman!

Seriously.  He's adorable.

Owen loved the Aquarium of the Pacific!  Especially this part, because the fish swim up and above you.

Grandma and Grandpa Larsen with Owen, enjoying all the sea birds (if you didn't know, Owen is in love with birds!  He thinks they are the coolest things ever...as long as they don't get too close.) and the ocean.

Jon and Owen at the tide pools.

I love this sweet little boy!

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!!