Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! It's been forever since my last post, but there's been much going on with Daniel's wedding and getting ready for Christmas. I'm going to keep the post brief this week, sharing some pictures of the snowman (Owen's first) we constructed last night and the Simpsons version of our family, tweaked with a little Photoshop.

You can remake your own family here.

Have a Merry Christmas!

December 7

Happy birthday, Grandpa!


And Auntie Meg!


... from the boy in the nifty new rocketship pajamas.






We love you!

Taking care of his babies

Owen was hilarious last night as he brought the animal-shaped bowling pins originally purchased for our dearly departed bunny Greta, made a bed for them out of a large pouch used to cook potatoes and got them ready for bed. He was very sweet. But I think the best thing for both of us was hearing him say "my babies," which I think delighted us because it was the first time we'd heard our baby express this need to take care of someone or something.



His little sister will be in good hands.

Amy is still shaking her pesky and exhausting cough. It's been going on for a little under two weeks now and she's understandably tired of it. We came home early from our Thanksgiving holiday at my parents' house so Amy could see the doctor again on Friday afternoon. He tells her she's not getting worse, but the recovery remains slow, as she still can't take any medication to make her feel better.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving, though, playing with the marble game at Nana and Grandpa's house, and enjoying a 100% gluten free holiday meal. The long weekend was nice, too. Owen and I went swimming at our gym's pool and Amy and I relaxed with a movie and some take-out Thai food. We also decorated the house for Christmas. It was the earliest date we'd ever got that accomplished, and the house looks great. Owen loves the Christmas tree and has taken to plugging it in himself as soon as we get home or come downstairs. He also had a great time decorating it, helping dad put bells on the bottom, as is the family tradition (so you can hear if someone is stealing your presents).

Amy is now at 22 weeks. With only four months to go, the baby seems to be doing very well despite her mom's cold. We go back to the OB today for a checkup. It'll be fun to hear that beating heart again.

Owen, raise one hand ...

... for every Iowa football loss your dad and grandpa saw this season.

Despite the terrible play on the football field, Owen and I had a wonderful weekend in Iowa City. We enjoyed the unseasonably warm autumn weather to hit the playgrounds and explore the neighborhood. We even got to have some fun opening and closing the screen door for the puppies on his Grandpy and Grammie's back porch on Saturday afternoon without a coat.

The other highlight of the weekend was some good times at the play area in the Coral Ridge Mall. Owen loves it there with its squishy equipment and floor. He plays himself to exhaustion and is always ready for a good nap on the drive home.

This weekend his best moment was in support of another little boy there whose dad was too cool for school when it came to playground time with his son, or just spending any time with his son, for that matter. Left to "tough it out" when his dad didn't want to bother, the little boy who was no bigger than Owen laid on the floor and cried. Owen happened to be running past at that moment, laid down with him and said "Hi. What's your name? I'm Owen," as he had been doing with every adult in the play area. The little boy stopped sniffling and got up. Owen smiled, jumped to his feet, then proceeded to work the room a little more. He met a nice mom who was impressed with all his language skills, and a nice fellow from my parents' hometown, Oswego, studying for his masters in economics, who had brought his homework with him out to a table in the mall.

Meanwhile, back in Normal what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend for Owen's mommy turned into a fight to the finish with a nasty cough, cold, and sore throat that persists to this day. Without being able to turn to antibiotics for help, Amy has been doing her best to whip this bug with tea, rest, Tylenol, and lozenges. It hasn't been easy. Fortunately, Thanksgiving week meant there was room at Owen's daycare for him to put in a whole day today ... and probably tomorrow as well. Wednesday we'll head up to Oswego for a Thanksgiving break.

Here are some additional pictures from the weekend, including two misguidedly optimistic football fans, as well as a shot of the excellent castle we built with his blocks tonight. He was very proud. Turrets, a gate, towers, and everything ...

Picking teams

What a fun night tonight! Great wrestling and teaching Owen how to be a "steamroller." Watching him enjoy an ear of corn on the cob. We also built a fort with sofa cushions, had a tremendously silly bath, raced mom by getting dressed after his bath before she could come upstairs, and singing songs while patting his back as he went to sleep.

All this in a little over three hours. I also managed to get this on tape. It's a favorite!

2.5

This is a picture of Owen at two and a half. He was in a sparkly mood for his half birthday today, feeling better after a week of yucks. He was in high energy, running some 20 laps around the main floor and working hard on building towers and riding his stuffed horse.

He absolutely charmed me tonight when I was putting him to bed. I had read him his books and turned out the lights.

"I need something," he said.

Owen can say this 30 times as part of his bedtime routine, but rarely tells you what he wants. But tonight, after he said it, he curled up into my shoulder as we rocked in the chair. Then he said, "I need a kiss." He reached up, wrapped his hand around the back of my head and brought me in for a kiss. It was so sweet!

We are still thrilled with the discovery that Owen will be big brother to a little girl. He got to share the news with his day care teacher, Kim, today, making the announcement that the kind of baby in mommy's tummy is a girl.

We're off for Iowa City tomorrow for the penultimate football weekend of the season. Go Hawks!

In closing, I'm attaching some pictures taken today (above), are some pictures from his half birthday last year and the year before. It's fun to see how far we've come.

I guess we won't call it Derek Jeter ...

The doctor's notes, not mine, tell you everything ...





















A very healthy baby sister for Owen!

It looks like it's time to look at the other half of the baby names book.

BOO!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

3-0

Iowa (4-5) is 3-0 when the Aalberts men are in the stands. Time for Iowa Athletics to pony up with some comp tickets for their good luck charms? I think so.

Owen, meanwhile, is 4-0 for having a good time on our football-weekend trips to Iowa City. The weather was great over the weekend and we got in some good play time at the park and around his grandparents' house with the cat, the dogs, and two sets of grandparents.

Amy, Owen, and I left Illinois early on Friday and were in Iowa City mid-afternoon. Owen and I played at the park and took a long walk. He's very curious. We found a rabbit's warren, very similar to the one described in one of his books. We looked at all of the tufted nesting, which Owen thought was marvelous.

Owen was all over commanding the domesticated animals at his grandparents' house to "stop," "come in," "go out, " "go away," and more.

It was 32 degrees on Sunday morning, so we took Owen over to the play area at the mall when it opened to get some energy out of him and help him nap on our drive home. He had an amazing time climbing up and sliding down the slide (see Oct. 15) and running a million miles an hour around the perimeter. He gets a great look on his face when he's running, like he's trying to hold water in his smiling cheeks. I love it.

Amy is doing better. Her rib doesn't hurt as much, but at 18 weeks she is really showing. We've started buying some new maternity clothes (her warmest winter clothes from her first pregnancy in Arizona aren't going to get her much farther than the early fall); She even found a new dress to wear to my brother's wedding in December.

Speaking of, last week I became a "Reverend" last week through the Universal Life Church as Daniel and Erica are asking me and her sister Ingrid to perform the ceremony.

And, lastly, another highlight from the week for me happened at dinner last Tuesday. Amy was out with some mom friends and Owen and I were just finishing dinner when he asked for a lollipop. I gave him one for dessert, but his request got me singing the '50s song "Lollipop" by the Chordettes ("POP! Ba-dum-bum-bum). While I was singing, Owen looked at me with subtle amusement, as I'm always making up one-word songs. But when I ran downstairs for my casette of the Stand By Me soundtrack to play him for the original, he was astounded

"They wrote a song about my favorite food!"

Have a great week and a happy Halloween!

Big boy bed

Owen spent his first night in his transition toddler bed last night. He was so excited about his new bed and hopped right off my lap at the end of our storytime to hop in and get comfortable. He went right to bed and didn't make a sound all night. Amy and I kept waiting for the door to his room to open, but it never did.

I snuck in as we were getting ready for bed last night and shot the above video. Too cute!

Thanks to our good friends Doug and Kris Johnson for handing down their daughter Bailey's bed to us. It's a real hit!

Things that go snap!

It's been quite the two weeks since the last post!

A week ago last Friday, Amy woke up in the middle of the night in a coughing fit, a familiar occurrence as we both continue to try to rid ourselves of a late-summer virus. Amy had been feeling a little tug in her back along a rib for a couple of weeks, but this bout of coughs was the straw that broke the camel's back (or, better said, "cracked Amy's rib"). We called Owen's Auntie Pam who came over at 12:50 am while we went to the ER. The doctor gave Amy a pain killer and took an x-ray to make sure the rib hadn't violated the lung, but basically said the recovery course was the same whether it was a crack or just a pulled muscle: REST, REST, REST.

Amy is feeling some better, and the baby is fine, but it's going to take at least six weeks for her to heal.

Amy's mom came down for the weekend and my mom was down from Sunday through Thursday to help around the house while Amy recovered. Their visits led to some very fun opportunities for little O. A trip to the Tanner Orchard (hands down his favorite place) was the highlight of last weekend. He also made several trips to the Discovery Museum, and scared many-a-person with his sneaky descent from upstairs and running shouts of "Surprise! Surprise!"

Amy's need for R&R also played into our plans for this past weekend. Owen and I had a wonderful adventure driving into Iowa City. All of the grandparents converged on the Ives and Owen had a great time while I went to the football game with my dad. We left Bloomington at 8:00 on Friday night after going to my work for the start of the Riders in the Sky "Gene Autry Centennial" concert. I had arranged to have the Sheriff of McLean County come and "deputize" the audience. Owen and Amy came. Owen brought his cowboy hat, got his deputy star, and stayed for the first strains of Riders in the Sky music before we spirited him off to the Box Office to change him into his PJs and hit the road.

The weekend really was great. He had lots of fun playing and cheering on the Hawks (who snapped Illinois' 5-game win streak). We also visited his Auntie Meg at work and enjoyed a rainy Sunday morning playing in the play area at the mall.

Driving fast, getting wet

It's been a week and a half since I last posted. I've been hesitant to post anything new in case there are stragglers still coming to the blog in response to my emailed invitation. If you are one of those people, enough with the subtlety, AMY'S PREGNANT. More here.

Owen is excited about his new helmet. When he's in his car, the helmet goes on.

I write this because it will make you more comfortable as you watch the opening few seconds of the following video. The first time I watched it my skin prickled in that every-parent's-worst-nightmare kind of way.

He's safe. Don't worry.



We had a great time in Iowa City over the weekend (despite Iowa's lousy performance in the football game). The highlight was the fountain in the ped mall. Owen and I have been visiting the neighboring playground all summer. He runs, he slides, he pays the coolness of the adjacent fountain no attention ... until the last day of September. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous day. Warm. Perfect for stripping down to your underpants and weaving through the coeds passing by.

An announcement

Owen has something he would like to share ...

To answer your questions:
* Amy is at 12.5 weeks.
* The due date is at the end of March.
* Everyone is healthy.

Owen thinks it should be named either Lena or Tommy, thanks to characters in this book.

His Dad still likes the name Herky ... regardless of gender.

Horsey Horsey goes to town!

No Sunday nap again. Nana Aalberts got Owen right down for his nap on Saturday, but there was nothing doing today. I don't know if Nana just has the touch, or if Owen knows that resisting sleep when it's just Mom and Dad means he'll have some extra fun ...


Case in point, today when Owen didn't nap we drove the 65 miles to the Tanner Orchard, a wonderful place we'll be glad to take any of you to when you visit. There were horsey rides, goats in a treehouse, a tractor ride, miniature wooden trains, and pumpkins pumpkins everywhere! This one (see below) Owen thought was a "Very big carrot."

We had an excellent afternoon. Amy went through their store and bought us some fresh apple cider, a cherry pie, two varieties of squash, some honeycrisp apples ... and some fresh apple cider donuts so good I might be the next to be tried.

And it would be worth it.

We had a great weekend otherwise. My folks came down on Friday afternoon to hang out with Owen, celebrate Amy's birthday with her, and do a little sitting so we could go to opening night at the BCPA on Friday and to the I-Club viewing of the Iowa vs. Iowa State game on Saturday. We also had great fun at the parks and finding Owen some new pants.

Which brings up a funny story. We were at the store and the old jeans he was wearing (ones with snaps on the inseam for easy diaper changing) kept coming undone and revealing his legs and diaper. It's exactly the kind of nusiance we were trying to solve on this shopping trip. This gets to the funny part ... No doubt a testament to how much he reads, I went over to snap up the crotch of the jeans and said to him, "Do you want Dad to snap up your pants?" to which he said "Yes, Daddy, snap up my pants, whispered Owen."

Happy birthday to Owen's mommy! More pictures from the week follow of Owen and Amy after the first horsey ride, Owen on his tractor ride (he's in the orange shirt the second car from the end), and a different kind of tractor ride with dad.

Daddy, go another-again

Great weather, lots of fun activities, but very little sleep: summer ended with a

bang this weekend.

My folks were in town through Saturday. We went to the Discovery Museum with Owen on Friday afternoon, and to a favorite park on Saturday morning. He had so much fun he didn't want to nap ... so the fun continued, albeit with a little more saggy-eyed fatigue. The zoo was excellent on Saturday afternoon. Owen left us in the dust when he saw the carousel near the entrance. We rode it on our way in and again on our way out. In the middle, there was great fun with the sea lions, sun bears, and tigers.

Oh my.

Sunday was a little more predictable. We went to another park in the morning and after a "let's take him on a drive" nap, he was refreshed for a trip to the pool. Owen and I had been to the Fairview pool several times, but we'd never gone as a family (the pool we typically go to closed several weeks ago as summer wound down), so we'd never really had a chance to check out their two water slides. Amy indulged my water slide fancy by sitting with Owen, who seemed quite delighted to see his dad zip down the slide and into the pool at the end. "Go another-again, Daddy!" he would say.

On Monday, after going to the Labor Day parade downtown in the morning (his first experience at having significant amounts of candy thrown at him), Owen wasn't napping again (coincidence?), so I took him back to the pool. After playing in the wading pool for a while, Owen pointed at the slides. "Go another-again, Daddy."

Without Amy there, we went over to the slides and watched other people ride. After a while, though, I noticed some parents coming off the "slow" slide with their children in arms. I hadn't seen anyone do this the day before, so I went over and took a closer look at the rules. Indeed, you could ride down this one slide with a child under 48" tall.

"Do you want to go, Owen?"

Mmmm hmmm!

The lines were long since this was the last day the pool was open for the summer, but we rode the slide three times. It was the highlight of the day for both of us. Owen giggled and was adamant about going again and again. It broke my heart that we were going to have to wait until next summer to go again, but the sun was strong and he, go figure, was looking tired.

So we went home. But the experience left a lasting impression. As I was getting him into bed on Monday night he said "I rode all the way down the slide, Daddy. I rode all the way down the slide."

The changing of the guard

It's nothing like the winged Hawkeye uniforms or the Bulls going all-green to out St. Patrick the Celtics last year, but there was nonetheless a certain sense of elation when we were able to put the old Iowa T-shirt to rest this weekend.

Barely a week has gone by this summer without Owen wearing his yellow Hawkeye shirt. The collar is stretched out and there's a could-only-be-covered-by-a-dickie ring of grime.

As you can see, his new Iowa shirt brought great smiles. It features a be-shaded Snoopy and Woodstock, perfect for our sunglasses loving son.



Iowa gear also figures into one of my favorite memories of the week. We received our new Iowa Hawk Shop catalog in the mail early last week. Owen wanted to look at it during dinner the next night, so I gave it to him. He pointed at the picture at the top right (see insert picture here) of the catalog and said "He is rooting for the Hawkeyes."

We had a nice weekend celebrating Grammie Ives and Auntie Pam's birthdays in Iowa City. Owen and I spent some good time at the playground downtown, where we met new Iowa basketball coach Todd Lickliter on his way to get a paper Saturday, then had some fun with friends Jeff and Melissa and their daughter Olivia on Sunday. And, of course, Owen had a great time chasing the cat and playing with the dogs at Grammie and Grampie's.

It's raining again!

The past few days have included lots of indoors time, as the long-needed rain is finally here. While trips to the tub instead of the pool have been fun, it seems a pity to not be outdoors.


Owen and I spent two hours at the Children's Discovery Museum on Saturday morning. He was so tired it threw off his nap, so it wasn't until 2:40 that he finally fell asleep in the back seat of the car. He was rejuvenated when he woke up, though. He "played" some football with the neighbor boy and a school friend who was visiting. The best part was when A.J., who was full of color commentary (as most eight-year-olds are when they're playing football in the backyard) of last-second plays and tremendous touchdown runs, stopped to punt the football. As he was lining up his kick, Owen walked over and hugged him about the waist. A.J. thought this was quite silly.


No penalties were called on the play.


Aunt Pam came to sit for Owen on Saturday night and Amy and I finally got out to see the new Harry Potter film. On Sunday we cleaned our section of the Constitution Trail, then had a quiet day at home. Owen wasn't feeling good. A trip to the doctor on Monday confirmed that he still has some liquid in the back of his right ear, so we're back on the antibiotics for another 10 days to get him back on an even keel. Dr. Rosa was delighted by his appearance otherwise. He weighed in at 36 lbs., a major increase from his pre-celiac-diagnosis 28 lbs., just six months ago.


Perhaps he'll find some more gluten-free goodies when we're in Iowa City this weekend to celebrate birthdays for Grammie and Auntie Pam.

I see by your outfit ...

It's hard to look at Owen in his fireman outfit and not think about the Smothers Brothers brilliant rendition of The Streets of Laredo. I couldn't find a performance of the original anywhere online, but this will give those of you who are not in the know an idea.

You're going to love these videos.





We had a wonderful weekend celebrating our seventh anniversary. While no desk sets exchanged hands, we did have a fun time in Chicago. Owen spent the weekend with his grandpa and nana Aalberts, and Amy and I went downtown to see "Wicked," eat a nice dinner out, shop, and stay in a hotel with no reason to wake up early in the morning. We missed our little Owen, but had a great time.

Summer is fading fast, so we must make the most out of every pool visit and Popsicle on the front stoop until Labor Day ushers in the start of autumn. Owen has been a good helper watering our parched lawn (not surprising given his firefighter training). And he's enjoying being back in his room, following last week's painting and carpet cleaning.

Now on Home Video

We got the new video camera in April, but it wasn't until last week that I installed the software and transferred the videos from the camera to the computer where their value really skyrockets. You know it's only a matter of time until one of these becomes a YouTube greatest hit.

Before we get to the videos, a quick update. Owen is feeling much better. We're still doing the nebulizer treatments to make sure his lungs are free of all of the gunk that was in them last week. We had a fun weekend with Grandpy and Grammie Ives, though. We had some fun at the park while his grandparents got Auntie Pam set up in her new Bloomington rental. Owen and Amy showed Grammie the section of the Constitution Trail we've adopted to clean, we went to a party with all of the kids and parents from his daycare, and on Sunday we painted his bedroom, which looks excellent!

Segueing into the videos, the first selection is the fourth movie I ever shot on the new camera, and in some ways still my personal favorite.



Video #2 is timely. Auntie Pam has now moved out of our house, so it's fun to remember the day that she arrived in the big truck. What fun!



Lastly, a song by Owen and his mom. The show choir choreography genes have clearly found their home in a new generation.



More soon.

Some fun now

The doctor says it's a double ear infection and "while it's not pneumonia yet," it isn't good either. Owen's really been put through the ringer, but you'd never know it from his mostly terrific attitude and energy. Now that he's on his medicine, he's running hard and sometimes even jittery with energy (a side-effect of the albuterol which we will never again make the mistake of giving him 20 minutes before bed).

Amy and I have been taking care of him at home, which is timely since his day care provider is on her summer vacation through Wednesday. He was eager to go to the Discovery Museum yesterday (see photo above left). Today, the pool awaits. I have to admit, I'm enjoying flexing my hours so that I can play a little hooky with him in the afternoon.

FYI, I am going to be a guest co-host on WBNQ's morning drive on Thursday morning from 6:30-8:30 AM, CDT. If you want to tune in to a fun two hours, which will include a psychic from 7:30-8:00, you can listen online here.

If Top 40's not your thing, try this.

Three friends, one Y chromosome

It was an exciting weekend with old and dear friends ... and their kids!

We finally managed to get together with Jake and Jeff, the two members of our wedding party who are now also new dads, and their families on Friday afternoon. We'd been talking about converging on Iowa City since Christmas, but weather, sick kids, and scheduling always threw a wrench into the plans. A week ago, I was talking to Jake and he mentioned he was thinking about driving into Iowa City from his West St. Paul home to see the UI's summer opera, where we became friends performing together in '97. It turned out Amy and I were already planning a trip to Iowa City that same weekend to celebrate Grampy Ives' birthday. A plan hatched quite quickly for Jake's wife Laura and their 2.5 year old daughter Annabelle to come along and spend a weekend with us at Amy's parents' house.

With that in place, our plan to see all three kids together almost fell through because Jeff and his family had made weekend plans to, among other things, celebrate his mom's 60th birthday with her in Ft. Dodge.

Fortunately, Jake and family arrived with an hour to spare before Jeff had to go to a dentist appointment on Friday afternoon. It was great to see Owen, Annabelle, and Olivia together and enjoy the community of friends who bonded long ago when our lives were much different.

The rest of the weekend was also a hoot. We took Owen and Annabelle to the playground downtown, reached our target heart rates on iced Coconana Lattes at the Java House, and bought our new Harry Potter books. We also had a great time at the newly renovated pool in Coralville, sliding down the water slides, most notably the "Toilet Bowl," a large basin you slide into at a great rate of speed, going around and around until you drop out a hole in the bottom. It was way fun, but incredibly painful as my bony elbows, spine, and heels were thunked into a bruised pulp by the seams of the slide.

We also had fun playing with the kids in the back yard. We picked raspberries, the kids played with the sprinklers, and then chased and chased each other until they were exhausted. Owen and Annabelle played very well together. There was hugging and giggling, a lot of asking where the other one was ... and even a co-ed bath, although you'll have to wait for their high school graduation boards to see those photos.

Voldemort?

Owen was up for an hour in the middle of the night last night. It was exhausting, but kind of interesting in the long run.

When he finally stopped crying he worked very hard at communicating what was wrong. His requests/statements included, not necessarily in this order, "milk," "juice," "gas," "poopy," and "bad dream." And while we're not sure exactly what it was (perhaps it was a combination of the above, or maybe just some latent fear about what we will learn regarding Harry Potter's fate when book seven comes out this weekend), it was nice that he was trying.

The real getcha for this kid, though, is that he is always ready to read more books. We put him on the potty for a little while at 12:30 this morning, which is one of his favorite places since it always includes reading "The Little Engine That Could," an Arthur adventure, or some other favorite. It's only a matter of time until he is hiding under his covers with a flashlight trying to read one more chapter after lights-out.

Yesterday was a good day for him, though. It was rainy, so his mom took him to the Pro Putt, a local "fun center" with slides, a room full of balls, trampolines, etc. He had a great time. Last night, the fun continued watching dad mow the lawn. After dinner, I quick headed outside to knock down the grass before our weekend trip to Iowa City. Amy brought Owen out to watch and he had a great time cheering "Go Daddy!" and chasing me up and down the hill with his mom. I don't think I've ever had so much fun cutting the grass and I felt like a real star.

And the praise just continued this morning as Owen thought it was awesome to see his daddy on the front page of the paper.

Mission Accomplished

Grandpa and Nana Aalberts came for a visit this weekend. We had a great time with visits to the park on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. We went to "Open Cockpit Day" at the Prairie Aviation Museum, which was great until Owen emerged from the plane and preemptively announced the end of all combat operations...

We also had a great time going to the pool with the whole gang on Saturday afternoon. Owen made countless trips down the water slide, pushed his mom, auntie Pam and grandpa into the water, then was an absolute delight as he made his first safe leaps from the side of the pool into his dad's arms. He is very aware of all of the things going on around him and is willing to try anything he sees other people doing. He duplicated my step from the end of a park slide (which I had to do because my legs were too long to make it to the end), and would jump off the pool's diving board if we would just give him the chance.

New favorites this week are lollipops, more dancing, the call of the squirrel, saying "Way up on top of the mountain" (?), and GF Chicken Siciliano. Yummy!

Through the ringer

The temps were soaring and the humidity was thick this weekend, so when Owen got sick at the supermarket on Sunday morning we were sure it was because he'd gotten over heated.

Then his daycare provider called to tell us that she was going to be out on Monday with the flu. Then yesterday, both Amy and I were sidelined with some serious flu symptoms. I made it to work in the morning, only to find myself napping on a floor in an unused room in my office to get my head clear enough to drive home. Pam was able to leave her internship and watch Owen while we tried to recover, but we still ended up at the hospital last night because Amy couldn't keep anything down and was getting really dehydrated. They gave her some anti-nausea medicine and a bag of fluid. It was all too reminiscent of our Boston Marathon experience in 2006. Thankfully I didn't have to run anywhere this morning.

We all seem to be doing much better today. And we're so thankful Pam was around to take care of Owen while we convalesced. She picked him up from school and brought him to music class. He seemed to have a fine day.

Owen is a hoot, as always. He's been enjoying a new selection of Dr. Seuss books from the library, laughing almost uncontrollably at Horton sitting on the egg and the plight of all the poor turtles comprising Yertle's soaring throne. He's also working on his first product endorsement with the most compelling delivery of the Spaghetti-O's slogan I believe I've ever heard ...



Another highlight for me was a sentence he said this morning. He was eating breakfast and heard a bird chirping through the fireplace from the top of the chimney. He got up, walked to the chimney and said, "Cheep, cheep. Good morning bird, says Owen."

Nice.

E-I-E-I-O

No doubt embracing his agrarian lineage, Owen celebrated farm life yesterday both in song and in the glory of the harvest.

Amy planted some tomatoes in the back yard which were finally ripe enough to pick. Owen thought this was particularly awesome, almost as much fun as helping his mom pick leaves from the herbs she's grown. Of course, the only reason the herbs are better is that he can easily stuff his mouth full of leaves of basil, mint, etc., which I have to tell you has made some diaper changes a near four-star aromatic experience.

Also fun is his rendition of "Old MacDonald." We start by singing the song for him and letting him fill in the animal "on the farm" (usually a donkey). After a while, though, he is happily singing all of the lyrics, easing up to an upper register and, yesterday, segueing into an improvised "I love my daddy" that still has me on Cloud 9.

It's been a strange week with the Wednesday holiday. Truthfully, Independence Day felt like a weekend in and of itself. We had a good time going to the zoo in the morning. Owen is a huge fan of the sea lions and the giant fan keeping things cool in the area where the bears and large monkeys live. We went to the pool in the afternoon. Owen has a terrific new "trolling" swim move where he gets down on his haunches in the kids' pool, no doubt enjoying the buoyancy of his swim trunks as he strokes his fingers through the water. He has also mastered the water slide, although the 15 seconds of cool he gets for every 45 seconds of running back to the top means overheating is bound to happen.

Fortunately, Mom has popsicles at home!

"Apple sauce, get up here NOW! Please!"

It's all about immediacy. "Now!" has become Owen's mantra, whether it be requesting something from the fridge ("Popsicle NOW!"), controlling the radio dial ("Different music NOW!"), or expressing his abject displeasure with a "No, not, now, none!" -- a triple-negative of such alliterative grace you can't help but be impressed.

Amy and I have been working on adding in pleases and thank yous, which has led to some hilarious statements including the title of today's blog.

Summer has been lots of fun. We enjoyed many fun trips to the park over the weekend, and a great time at the pool on Sunday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for an Independence Day pool outing tomorrow.

The biggest problem is that Owen continues to overheat quickly when we're at the playground. He runs so hard and his cheeks get so flushed ... it takes a bit to cool him back down, but that usually gives way to incredibly cute moments of satisfied fatigue like this.

Happy 4th!

Very popular boy

I posted two videos on youtube before going to bed last night. This (click here) had 33 views by morning.



... This one, none. Proof that more people are searching for "belly buttons" than "Bob the Builder"? Or did someone's enterprising grandpa find the site and watch it all morning?

Either way, the boy is popular. Perhaps not as popular as the breakdancing toddler, but that might be for the best.

We took Owen to Champaign yesterday for a follow up appointment with his gastroenterologist. Dr. Hatch was impressed with Owen's improvement. Owen weighed in at 32.5 lbs. (a nice improvement), his belly was soft, and the doctors all said he sounded great. Dr. Hatch ordered a few additional blood tests to check his iron levels, etc., but otherwise said we didn't need to see each other again for a year, and that we would only have to have appointments every two years after that.

We've been having lots of fun otherwise. Owen's language skills, as you saw in the Bob the Builder video, are really blossoming. When prompted, he can reliably contribute the next word in practically every book we read. He's also dazzled us with such statements as "Thank you so much!" and "Nice try, buddy boy."

He also likes building forts.

Mr Independent

It's been so long since my last post, but we've been having lots of fun with our little Owen now that summer has arrived. Trips to the zoo and the pool, to the Discovery Museum when it's too hot, and lots of exploring around the house.

He's been having a great time with it all. He enjoyed sitting with Grandpa and Grandma Aalberts at the zoo two weeks ago, watching the gibbons grab at each other then swing to safety.





A similar video of him could have been shot at the pool this past weekend as he watched people jump off of a diving board for the first time.


Hilarious!


But the best moment at the pool was when we were checking in. Amy and I decided we should buy summer passes, so we had to spend more time at the desk longer than expected. As we filled out the paperwork, wrote a check, and got photos taken for our ID cards, Owen was getting more and more agitated. Soon he started looking at us and the people behind the desk saying "Swim" in the most lecturing way, as if telling us "Hey. If you guys think this is fun, I have an idea that'll knock your socks off. Swimming. Swimming is fun. This is not. Trust me."


"Oh, yeah. One more thing. Duh."


As I wrote before, he is really exerting his independence. He wants to do everything for himself, which is admirable, although sometimes frustrating and occasionally dangerous. Although sometimes I think he's ready and we're the ones who aren't. I've watched the kid climb up and down the stairs a hundred times without missing a step, but I know it's going to take a big leap of faith to let him go on his own.