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.

Hoot

Amy called from work last night, "A baby owl has fallen from a tree. I have it in a box, and have the address for a woman who can help. I'm coming home to get you so that you can help me find this place. I'll be there in a few minutes. Get Owen and the camera."

It was quite an adventure! Indeed, in the heavy winds last night this little baby owl fell from a tree. Amy said the owl's parents were up in the tree watching as members of the staff at Amy's nursing home got the owl in a box and Amy did the work of finding someone who could help. (When in doubt, ask the social worker; she'll do anything ...) They were unable to help their little baby, who would have been killed by predators if it had been left alone.

Amy brought the owl home. It was still a baby, with a downy coat and unable to feed itself. Owen thought he was wonderful! Aunt Pam said he spent his pre-bed time talking about his new owl friend. We took some pictures and let Owen have a good look before packing the owl into the car and driving the some 15 miles to the animal rescue lady.

And what an experience that was. We drove up to her rural home which was surrounded by probably 20 cats. There were animal pens everywhere. One held close to a dozen baby raccoons. When she let us in to her basement, she was feeding a baby deer with a bottle. There were another 20 cages with everything from possums, to birds, more deer, and a pair of owls who now have a new roommate. It seemed this woman's whole life was spent rehabilitating abandoned wild animals. She seemed overwhelmed, under-hygienic (the bare feet, blender of mice meat ... ew!), but completely capable. She told us that with the help of one volunteer she has taken care of animals like this for 25 years.

I will never complain about my job again ...

Zapped!

Owen is learning gerunds ("people talking," "cars driving," "dogs barking," and, his mom's favorite, "keep snuggling") and is making more progress on his singing.

He also continues to enjoy his new daycare. It's obvious he's comfortable there. Coming and going has become routine and easy ... almost too easy. Yesterday when I picked him up he decided he would forgo the usual hugs of hello (he was having a glass of water, so he was busy at the moment) and, indeed, dictate the tempo of his departure.

As I was collecting his things from his cubby he set his empty glass on a coaster (nicely done) climbed the stairs to the front door landing, and turned to wait for me. I turned to his teacher and said "I guess we're going," to which she replied, "I guess you are." She said good-bye to Owen and he waved and said "Bye-bye." Then as I was climbing the stairs he walked over to their cat's water and food bowls, waved good-bye to them (!), then waited for me to open the front door.

Again, nicely done.

Life has been a little crazy lately. The biggest shock, literally, was that our house was hit by lightning on Saturday, May 26. Our friends Doug and Kris were over for dinner when a big storm hit. Minutes into the storm, Doug and I drove over to their house to shut the windows they realized they'd left open. As we were getting back into my car we heard this amazing boom, which turned out to be our house blowing up.

We were actually very lucky with the damage. The house didn't burn and no one was hurt ... and Amy easily could have been. As the storm brewed, Owen saw he had left one of his toy trucks on the back patio. He was quite distraught, so Amy, being the good mother, did the quick two steps out the back door to grab the truck. She had just stepped back inside and was drying Owen's truck on a towel by the door when the lightning struck. They said there was a corona of light around the house, the smoke detectors all sounded and two light bulbs popped. I can't imagine what might have happened to her if she was still outside barefoot on the wet cement.

As it was, our air conditioner and garage door opener were both fried (and are now both were fixed with new circuit boards and fresh door sensors for the garage). Our modem and Vonage boxes were also zapped. Both were on surge protectors, but a jolt from the DSL line got them nonetheless. Both of those became operational again yesterday. Pam's computer was also fried and is unrepairable.

... all of which explains why it's been almost two weeks since my last post. We just enjoyed a nice weekend in Iowa City. The Iowa Arts Festival kicked off with free outdoor performance by a longtime favorite band of mine, The Subdudes. Owen, his Aunt Meg, and I also went downtown to hear a free kids concert by a cappella group The Bobs, which was great and captivated Owen's attention for a solid 25 minutes. We also got to spend some great time with our dear friends Jeff, Melissa, and their seven-month-old daughter Olivia, who has promised to set Owen up with all of her friends once they reach high school. We ate Happy Joe's pizza with Jeff, Melissa, and the Ives (it's the sauerkraut that makes the vegetarian pizza special), then Jeff and I went to the Subdudes show. All in all, an excellent weekend!

Otherwise, we're enjoying the new baby ducks in the back yard as well as making trips to the park and (of course) to the fire station. Owen also came to love hearing the story of "The Runaway Dinner," even though he cried quite hard the first time the sausage ran away from Banjo Cannon, the little boy who loved them so ... It was better on the second reading. Like Joyce, only different.

Same clothes, different day

Does Owen own any shirts other than this yellow Iowa T? This picture was taken four days and (more importantly) one laundry cycle after the previous post ...

It is quite possibly his favorite shirt, though. And he does love his Hawkeyes. Or perhaps it would be better said that Owen's dad loves his Hawkeyes and Owen loves his dad.

I'll take that too.

We've had a good week Owen began his new day care on Tuesday. Amy drove him to Kim's house early so she could linger with him and help him with the transition. But when she put him down, he was off like a shot to play with the other kids and the many new toys. It sounded a little like a don't-let-the-door-hit-you-on-your-way-out moment for her, but how exciting that he likes his new place so much.

The week has been all about exploration. One of the real changes in the past couple of months is how in touch he is with his wants and needs to do the things he wants to do. Whether it's wrestling on the bed, playing in the neighbor's toy truck, sliding in the back yard, or lavishing further praise on the air conditioning unit, he's definitely harder to redirect than ever before. And, God knows, a toddler requires complete attention.

This means you ...

Our favorite new word of the week include "hoist," but the real highlights of the week have come from words being strung together. Counting from six to twelve (?) seems to hold great fascination. He can now also read one of his ABC books cover to cover, a talent which becomes especially cute at "J: Jack-in-the-box."

... or "Jack-a-box."

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Last day of school

It was surprisingly sad picking Owen up from his last day at his day care today. I'm so used to making the drive up Main Street after work, it will feel odd taking a new route on Monday.

Owen was playing outside when I arrived. He'd spent much of the afternoon shouting "Go Hawkeyes" to anyone who would listen (he's such a proud little Iowa fan, but he comes by it naturally) and playing in the little house outside on the playground.

It was extra special that two of his favorite teachers were there to see him off. We got pictures with Libby (above) and Diana (below), who were favorites of ours as well. We're excited about starting at his new day care on Monday, but it is still sad to say good-bye to the people who watched over him as he learned to walk and talk, and were genuinely concerned about his health when we were going through the hardest days prior to his celiac diagnosis.

So thanks to all of you who were such good friends to little O. I hope the road construction that begins on Main Street this Monday makes it easier to take Linden instead ...

B-i-i-i-g Truck!

Owen had a fun weekend with lots of company. Grandpa and Nana Aalberts arrived on Friday afternoon. Owen skipped going to day care and they played outside, then we all took a walk to visit the fire trucks ("fuffs") when I got home .

More play time on Saturday. Grandpa and Nana made Owen a little kitchen set as a birthday present, which kept him occupied for hours, until Grandpa and Grammie Ives arrived in the big moving truck with Auntie Pam's things. Owen was in heaven. He ran back and forth in the bed of the truck and squealed with delight.

Auntie Pam has moved in for an 11-week internship at the nursing home where Amy works. She's all set up in the basement bedroom suite and Owen is enjoying all the extra attention.

He's been an absolute hoot lately. When I picked him up from school yesterday, his teacher said he was laying on his cot a nap time saying "Haircut, haircut, haircut, haircut ..." Finally someone walked over and said, "Owen, did you have a haircut?" "Ah," he said. Then he was quiet.

It's nice to know he's still thinking about it a week later.

On Sunday Amy, Owen and I went to the studio to take some family/two-year-old pictures. And, speaking of pictures, we also enjoyed seeing Mom and Dad's travel pix from China. It's still strangely hard to believe they were actually there, even after seeing the shots.

I blame this on Owen ...