Mike is a musician (when he’s not working with Benjamin on video production stuff). He plays a ton of instruments. Owen and I have taken a weekly music class since he was 8 or 9 months old, and he plays a ton of instruments too. Clearly, they are soulmates.
Since Mike lives in New York yet works with Benjamin a lot, he often spends the night at our house when they have an early shoot.
You should see the love in Owen’s eyes when he hears that Mike is in our house.
Last night, Owen and Mike had some quality time playing the sax together. It’s pretty much the sweetest thing. Owen was in heaven.
I adore how Owen looks up to Mike and pretty much worships the ground he walks on.
We’ve known for a long time that Owen is a ham. He will perform for anyone and loves to be the center of attention. Often this is very cute, sometimes it is downright embarrassing (like the time he ran over and blew out his friend’s birthday candles). As a fellow attention hog, I get it. I totally do.
One of his favorite things in the world is to watch videos of himself. I know, I know, I’m feeding his natural toddler narcissism. I’m hoping Baby #2 helps Owen realize he’s not always the center of the universe at all times. On the flip side, he’s gained quite a bit of confidence and a huge personality being the star for so long. He glows in the spotlight, my friends.
Over the weekend we had an empty cardboard box sitting around and we came up with lots and lots of hilarious games to play with it. Owen’s favorite game quickly became “pretend you’re going shopping to buy a box and then – surprise! – there’s a little boy in it!”. He played the game so many times that Benjamin and I thought it would be funny to videotape it. Unfortunately the minute we turned the camera on, he decided to sing really loudly instead of playing it the same way. So what you see here is an incredibly abbreviated version of the game, but it’s still funny.
Not pictured: Usually after he popped out of the box, we would say, “Oh! There’s a little boy in here! What is your name, little boy?” and he would shout out names like, “Bob!” and then laugh hysterically at his own joke.
My favorite part is how he pops up out of the box to finish our sentences (a la this post). Once you play it one way, you apparently have to play it the very same way, every single time. So much for improv.
This, friends. THIS is why I love living in New England.
Last winter we barely got any of this fluffy white stuff. This year looks like it may be similar, except that we got a nice 6+” dump last Saturday night. Owen was as thrilled as I was to go play in it.
We grabbed our sled from last year (which he is almost growing out of now) and headed out for a walk. The streets had already been plowed by Sunday morning, so we had to search out snow so I could drag the sled.
We quickly realized that we live a very short block away from one of the best little kid sledding hills in our town.
Well, I really have no idea if it’s really the best, but it certainly was crowded (and convenient), so it worked for us.
As soon as Owen watched “the big boys” sliding down the hill, he wanted to try it. The little daredevil didn’t blink an eye at being pushed down a HUGE hill without much direction.
In fact, he LOVED it. He loved it so much that once he got to the bottom, he bailed out of the sled face first, grabbed his sled (just like “the big boys”) and hiked his tiny little legs back up the hill shouting, “I WANNA DO IT ‘GAIN!”.
He could have done it all day.
It was AWESOME. I didn’t get to go down the hill myself this time (I figured even though it’s a relatively small hill, sledding probably isn’t the safest activity while pregnant), but watching the joy in Owen’s face as the wind turned his little cheeks pink was enough for me.
I was so proud to watch him, so tiny, holding his own on the sledding hill with kids much older than him. He even stopped at the bottom and chatted with some of the other kids before pulling his sled back up. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the idea of him stopping to have a conversation with another kid just cracks me up.
Phew, friends. This has been a busy illness-ridden and family-filled holiday week. For many of you, too, I’m sure. If you missed our annual holiday video I posted earlier this week, you can watch it here!
After I posted the video, I got a lot of questions like “How did you get Owen to do that?” or “How long did that take?” or “How do you get it to look so good?”. My response to the last question is that it doesn’t hurt to be married to a professional videographer! Benjamin and I love working on this project together every year, and he even sends it out to clients as a holiday greeting, so yes, we go a bit “over the top”.
As for the first question, I gotta say, despite shooting the day between Owen’s stomach bug and respiratory illness, he was a total star. We always knew he had a flare for the dramatic, but he went far above and beyond our expectations this year. In preparation, we talked a lot about what each scene would entail and made “rehearsing” into a game. He didn’t really care for rehearsing at all, but when those cameras switched on, he did exactly what we asked… and more. So the answer to “how did we get him to do that” is mostly that he is a natural in front of the camera (though I like to say it’s because of my mad directing skillz).
Well. Yeah. That and the promise of M&Ms. At first I hesitated to turn this into a bribery situation, but after a few takes, Benjamin gave me that look that I know from experience means, “Kate, you’re nuts. Just give him a freaking M&M.”. He was so right. We were asking a lot of Owen, and he was easily satisfied with one M&M per request from us. As I said before, they are powerful motivators in our house!
For those who’d like to see a more behind-the-scenes look, we put together a quick collection of the funniest outtakes from our day of shooting.
This year’s video is such a gem that we’re already thinking about how to top it next year.
Thankfully we have a secret weapon in the works.
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A NEW CAST MEMBER!
Wanna see?
Uh huh. I’m 11.5 weeks (and counting somewhat nervously until I get past the point where I miscarried back in July) and due July 16th, a week prior to Owen’s 3rd birthday. I’ve been totally rocked by exhaustion, hence the sporadic blog posts, but aside from feeling particularly emotional (have you noticed how many times I’ve mentioned sentimental crying over the last 9 weeks, even though I’m generally not a crier?), I have felt pretty great.
We feel so, so fortunate that I got pregnant again so quickly and naturally.
Operation: Hide The Swingset was in full swing on Halloween night. Thankfully we got Owen in the house without seeing it (you can see the tower over our fence, and his eagle eyes would have noticed it in a heartbeat) and when we returned from trick-or-treating it was hidden by the darkness. Success!
When I picked Owen up from school yesterday I told him we had a surprise for him. He guessed tons of hilarious things that it could be. The best: he was CONVINCED the surprise was a granola bar (???), and started crying when I told him it wasn’t something he could eat. I tried to console him by telling him it was BETTER than a snack, but apparently a granola bar was the best thing he could ever imagine.
I think his little mind was blown when he finally saw what it was.
To those who have asked what kind we ended up with: After much researching, many phone calls, and stalking our friends’ swingsets, we finally decided that Creative Playthings was the way to go. Benjamin and I stopped by our local store last week because they were having a sale, and it turned out to be an AMAZING sale and we bought the set on the spot. The best part? The sale included delivery and assembly, and they could do it as soon as the next week! Unbelievable. Swingsets are a serious investment (aka super expensive), but I am so glad to have gotten such a great deal from such a reputable company. Our family will play on this for MANY years.
I am a serious eye-roller when it comes to weather predictions and drama-filled news stories like “THE END OF THE WORLD IS UPON US! GO GET A MILLION LOAVES OF BREAD AND HUNKER DOWN IN YOUR BASEMENT FOR THE NEXT WEEK! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!”. More often than not, I’m right. Still, though, you never know when those predictions might actually be right. So despite my blase attitude, I still had candles out, flashlights with extra batteries ready and water stockpiled for Hurricane Sandy that blasted the East Coast the last two days. Thankfully, though Sandy pummeled us pretty well and we were without power for a little while, we were in the minority who fared very well throughout the storm (I am writing this now from my house, with power, while Owen plays happily at school, which is open). I know others were not as fortunate.
Entertaining an astonishingly active toddler, fighting through painful teething, who can’t get out of the house for 2 days was almost more exhausting than worrying about the storm itself. So thankful my mom could be here with us to keep us company while Benjamin was traveling this weekend. I might have lost my mind doing this one alone. She came up for just a short visit, which got extended thanks to the hurricane, so she’s here until Thursday!
Benjamin’s flight home was also cancelled, but he opted to rent a car and brave the roads from Buffalo, NY to Boston on Monday — NOT happy that he was out driving while the storm was ramping up, but I was so happy to have him home safe and sound Monday night when it got really bad!
We pretty much played with every toy we own, and I dug deep into my craft supplies and into the depths of my babysitter/camp counselor brain to think of some new activities to keep him occupied.
We danced and bounced. (Dudes, check out his ballet routine at :30. It rocks.)
We baked up delicious gluten free pumpkin rolls and homemade granola. Not bad things to have on hand if you can’t open the refrigerator for a few days, eh?
We played playdoh. And, thanks to my mom, the activity lasted longer than it ever has before (like, 30 minutes, rather than 2 or 3) because she taught Owen all kinds of new skills like rolling snakes and using cookie cutters. Grandmas (or RahRahs, in our case) are the absolute best.
We played all of our CD’s, played all of our instruments and danced around the house some more. Owen digs the “wandering minstrel” thing, and sashayed through the house singing songs with various instruments (ukelele, djembe drum, maracas, etc.).
And we decorated our pumpkins, toddler-style.
Owen was a basket case by the end of 2 days in the house. Ahem. We all were. We spend most of our time OUT of the house (at music class, going for walks, running errands, on the playground, at the dog park, on the playground some more…), so we were not used to having so much time to fill at home.
So thankful that we have power today and that Owen’s school was open. Hooray for small miracles. Thinking about everyone else who was not as fortunate through this storm — hang in there!
Did Sandy affect you? How did you pass the time with your kid(s)?
Ever since I started asking Owen what he wants to be for Halloween this year, we’ve been talking about the impending holiday. He has been especially interested in all of the Halloween decorations popping up around our neighborhood and asks about every scarecrow, ghost and goblin.
Side note: I find it amazing that kids this young know what they are supposed to be afraid of. We were in Home Depot a few weeks ago and there was a scary witch decoration. Owen got very nervous and ran away saying, “I don’t like her!” in a clearly scared voice I’ve never heard him use before. Why are witches inherently scary? How does he even know what scared feels like? He looks at monsters in books and has never gotten the idea that they might not be nice monsters, so what clues did he get from that witch that made him realize she is supposed to be scary? I find it all very interesting. Needless to say, we’re beginning to talk about being scared, and scary things, and how decorations are not real, for the first time. Thanks a lot, Home Depot.
In addition to the decorations, we’ve been talking a lot about trick or treating. Owen really has no idea what that means. Last year we took him to our two neighbor-friends’ houses and showed off his costume. I think they each gave him a piece of candy that I promptly removed from his view and he never thought twice about it. He loved opening our door for other trick or treaters and seeing their costumes, but I don’t think he really understood what they were doing.
This year, though, I think he will REALLY dig the concept. Especially since he has had a few pieces of candy now and knows what the fuss is all about! The other day when I was out getting fabric for his costume, I picked up a little pumpkin bucket for him to take trick or treating. He asked what it was as soon as I came home, and after I explained it, a new game was born.
I present, “Playing Halloween”.
Oh, you don’t know how to play? Owen will show you. He’s a pro.
A few months ago Owen and I were taking a walk when a kid a little bit older than him zoomed by us on the sidewalk in this crazy thing called a PlasmaCar (again, NOT being paid for this — wish I was!). It looked like a little scooter, but is propelled by turning the steering wheel back and forth. Owen immediately scrambled out of his stroller and ran after the kid, hoping to have a turn. Luckily the little dude was happy to share his toy and he let Owen take it for a spin. After only seeing the other kid ride it for a few seconds, Owen knew exactly what to do. It’s the iPhone of scooters, apparently.
When we saw it in our local toy store and I watched Owen grin as he turned it in circles and figured out how to steer it, I knew he would love one of his own. And for his 2nd birthday, he got his wish! It has actually been an awesome tool for teaching Owen how to steer a bike/scooter/car. Previously when I pushed him on his tricycle, he didn’t really understand the concept of steering it left or right. I would get annoyed as I had to push the bike back onto the sidewalk constantly. But after about 1 minute on the PlasmaCar, he had totally figured it out. Now he zooms around our house like a pro.
How cute is his face in the video? He rolls around our house in circles while I’m making dinner, shouting “WHERE’S OWEN GOIN’?”.
Owen had his first unofficial tennis lesson while we were visiting my dad last weekend.
You see, my dad adores tennis. He started teaching my siblings and I to play when we were Owen’s age, or even younger. We always joked that his life’s mission was to raise a tennis star.
It didn’t work out that way for any of us, but maybe Owen will be the future Federer in the family.
My Dad even still had the teeny tiny tennis racquet that I learned to play on. Just waiting for the grandkids.
Owen’s tennis playing style mimics my own. A lot of silliness; a lot less contact with the ball.
What he lacked in skill, he sure made up for with enthusiasm!
You know, for the first 5 minutes. Until he got bored of everyone trying to get him to do something that he wasn’t quite good at yet. (I know that feeling well!).
So then he became the ball boy. He was a GREAT ball boy. We even got to play a little while he ran around the court chasing balls.
Check out my little tennis player in action! (The way he spread his feet and gets into position is my favorite part).
*And a shout out to Allie for the title of this post. She is so confident in Owen’s tennis playing abilities that she reserved a couple seats in his private box when he gets famous.
