Owen's Dancersize class

Owen's Dancersize class had a performance day for parents last week. Joel was able to go and get it on camera.

dancersize

Owen is 4!

Our big boy is another year older! Owen is 4 yrs and very proud of it! He had a great time celebrating his birthday last weekend. He brought treats to school on Friday, had a party on Saturday and a special birthday breakfast on Sunday! He really enjoyed seeing all his friends and family and loved all the great gifts he received. Owen had his 4yr check-up today and his stats are- 42 inches  tall (84%) and 35.2 lbs (41%).     A healthy guy! Both boys have grown and changed so much in the last few months here are some things that they are into-

Owen-
Loves playing "Mom & Dad" or "School" ( basically anything that gives him an opportunity to be in charge of someone else ;) He uses stuffed animals and imaginary friends to carry out lots of scenarios. It has been so sweet watching his empathy develop. He is so thoughtful and caring to his "children" and "students".
Cook with mommy. Owen really likes to help make dinner and does a really good job being safe in the kitchen.
Drawing and writing his name
Anything related to Disney's Car Movie! Playing with the cars, reading the books, watching the movie, role playing the movie, singing/dancing to the soundtrack, etc!
Dancing and taking Dancersize class
Reading and sounding out words. Owen has several sight words and can sound out many 3-4 letter words. Owen also reads familiar books to Gavin.
Picking out his clothes and pajamas. "Mom it is not cool to wear stripes everyday!" Owen would prefer to wear a car on his shirt everyday!
Last but not least Owen loves talking and talking and talking!

Gavin-
Puzzles and blocks
ABC magnets
Trains! Owen may be the car guy, but Gavin is definitely a "Choo, choo" guy
Singing- his favorites are Old Mac Donald, The Zipper song, Twinkle, Twinkle and Rock-a-Bye Baby. It is very common to find him sitting with blocks singing one of these songs to himself. When he is tired he comes up to mom and says "rock-a-bye baby mama" which means take me to the recliner for some snuggles. So sweet!
Curious George, Elmo and Wonder Pets are the characters that Gavin loves!
Counting- he can count 1-11 and then jumps to 18!
Helping- Gavin really likes to help mommy. He likes to bring dishes to the sink after meals, put dirty clothes in the hamper, put on his own boots and hat and clean up toys.
Talking-Gavin is so social, always greeting everyone. His vocabulary is growing and he is using more full sentences.
Hanging with Daddy! Gavin is growing out of his mama's boy stage and really loves rough housing and being silly with Daddy! He no longer cries when mommy has to leave because he gets to "play with Daddy!".


Enjoy the pics! Soon to come a video from Owen's Dancersize class and a new section called "Quotes of the Month".

Winter fun!

                                 

The boys have been enjoying some indoor and outdoor winter fun. Enjoy the photos and videos! We are gearing up for a busy February including Owen's 4th birthday (crazy!). We'll have lots more to share soon.

 

Christmas and New Years!

Well we are finally getting back on track after a busy, but very fun holiday. Both Owen and Gavin got into the whole Santa thing this year. We had fun making him cookies and were excited to see that he ate them all! The boys had so much fun visiting all of their grandparents and other family in Iowa. Gavin loved helping Uncle Daniel with the luminaries, opening gifts "open it!" and wearing everything as a hat. Owen loved opening gifts, helping others open their gifts and decorating the Christmas cookies. He also commented on how fun it was to stay up late each night! They also had their first experience in the Flattery Talent Show. Owen, after a lot of thought, got up the nerve and performed his favorite song "Dynamite" with Grandpa Mike. Both boys did really well with all of the traveling. They have been enjoying their new toys and books. Santa brought them a mini trampoline and sit and spin which have been so helpful in burning off those sillies.

On New Year's Eve we had a sleep over at Uncle Jennon & Aunt Beth's. The boys had a lot of fun playing with cousin Cooper and friends Will and Addy. They enjoyed saying, "Happy New Year", wearing the hats and blowing the noise makers. (Poor Gus!)  We have been slowly getting back into the routine of going back to work, school and daycare. Owen started his first week of Dancersize and had a blast. They sang and did moves about cleaning the house! Gotta love that! Gavin is continuing to work on all 4 eye teeth. One is especially bothersome these days. He has been having a hard time sleeping but making up for it with lots of daytime cuddling.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as well! We are looking forward to another great year!

                                

December fun!

The boys have been gearing up for the holidays and keeping busy. They have been to see Santa, watch the Holidazzle parade, and the Macy's Elf display. Both boys have been having been really into art projects lately and make ornaments and holiday pictures all the time. Owen had his last game of indoor soccer this weekend and loved getting a second medal. He and his buddy Will had a lot of fun being on a team together. Enjoy the pictures. I'll be sure to post many more after Christmas!

                                 

Owen's holiday program

Owen's Holiday Program

Owen's class had their Holiday Program on Tuesday night. It went very well and everyone enjoyed it. We have had one wintery weekend.  Our official snow total was 16.5 inches and now with below zero temps we are continuing to stay inside at home. We are thankful that our snowblower made a full recovery from it's previous issues. The boys have stayed busy playing cars, puzzles, legos, making forts and doing lots of art projects. We did venture out into the backyard yesterday but after making 1 snow angel the boys made it clear that they were done! 

Hope everyone is staying warm, dry and safe!

Thanksgiving and Gavin's now 18 months!

Thanksgiving song (Keep clicking on it. It will play eventually)

Another month has flown by! We can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone and our little guy is now 18 months old! The boys had a fun thanksgiving even though neither of them were too interested in the turkey. They preferred the pumpkin pie and scotcharoos! We had a nice time with all of the Caruth's over the weekend. The cousins enjoyed playing together and having Grandma and Aunt Beth read them lots of books. They also enjoyed playing Cooper's favorite game "Jump on bed!" Owen learned a sweet Thanksgiving song at school which he sang for everyone and you can see in the video above.
Gavin is 18 months and trying to grow up as fast as he can! He loves to help with grown-up jobs like unloading the dishwasher, laundry and putting things away. I am always finding toys and random items shoved in drawers and cupboards from Gavin trying to "help". Gavin is building his vocabulary and starting to put 2 words together. He will say "bye daddy", "sit down" and " up mama". Gavin is one strong little boy!Even Dr McLeod commented on his muscular build at his appointment today. Here were his stats-
Height-34 inches   91%
Weight-26 lbs 11 oz   62%

Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!