Best Balloon Animal Ever!

Maya was wearing the right outfit for it, so we went to the Bloomington Farmer's Market this morning. It was a fun morning out after a busy day yesterday. Owen and I went and explored while Amy pushed Maya in the stroller around to the various vendors. Owen and I stopped at two young men who were tying balloon animals for tips.

The guys were crazy talented. They first made Owen a baseball cap, which was adjustable and very cool ... but broke as we were on our way to our car. So Owen and I went back to get something else done. We got the same kid again and this time Owen asked for an animal ...

A squid!

The balloon artist paused for a moment and, clearly thinking about just how he would do this, said, "Yeah. I think we can do that."

Personally, I think it may be about the best balloon animal I've ever seen.

Yesterday was another very busy day. The whole family came to the BCPA for the second of our outdoor summer concerts ... but this time held inside our normal theater.

I was up at about 3 am yesterday checking the weather forecasts and trying to judge whether we needed to move our concert by Beach Boys tribute band Still Surfin' and a local band The Boat Drunks, who specialize in the trop rock style of Jimmy Buffett, indoors due to the 40% chance of inclement weather in the afternoon. After researching several sites and talking to a local meteorologist, the decision seemed obvious. With hail, thunderstorms, and possible tornadoes in the forecast, we made the decision and got to work setting up for the indoor show.

Then, wouldn't you know it, the morning turned out to be beautiful. It was a sultry, sunny summer day, but the weather was still looking great at 2:30 pm.

By 3:30, though, we were all high-fiving each other as the first of three intense thunderstorms tore through the area. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to see pea-size hail fall from the sky.

Anyway, the concert was fun. Our friends the Merrills joined us and Owen and his friend Philip charmed many by being the two most handsome young men on the dance floor.

We have lots of other fun things on tap. We'll probably head to the pool this afternoon. Then tomorrow we'll settle in for the most important holiday of the year ...

Right?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Finally! A new post

Once again, weeks have passed since my last post. While I do apologize, I am proud to say I have been keeping some notes on everything that's been said and happened lately for Owen and Maya.

We enjoyed a quiet weekend at home this weekend after two weeks of travel. Amy brought Owen and Maya downtown on Saturday morning to see Joel who was working a table promoting the upcoming events at the BCPA. We had a fun morning, and both kids joined the action handing out brochures to passersby.

No one could turn them down ...

Today we went to the pool for the first time this summer. Maya giggled and giggled as she first waded into the (freezing!) water. We met up with our friends the Merrills at the pool, so Owen was busy with Philip from the start, splashing, sliding, and having a great time.

Meanwhile, one of the entertainment highlights for me over these past few weeks is the steady stream of funny things Owen has said. Here are a few of my favorites:

I had given the kids snacks as we were driving home from daycare one day. Maya started coughing and I became a little panicked as I can't see her in her rear-facing car seat.

"Owen," I say. "Is Maya OK.
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Maya coughs again.
"What's she doing?"
"Nothing, just choking."

(Yes, she was fine.)


Later that day, Owen was dancing around while we were playing the (homophonically ironic) Wii game.

"Owen," I say, "stop dancing and go to the potty."
"I don't have to go to the potty. I just have to get the rhythm out."


Tracing his height from toe to head, Owen tells us how tall he is:

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen miles per hour!"


Iowa City

The weekend before found us in Iowa City. We hadn't been since Christmas and were looking forward to vising Amy's parents, hearing a little music at the Iowa Arts Festival, and seeing our friends Jeff and Melissa, who are expecting twins soon. Owen and their little girl Olivia had a great time playing in the sand box, and then Maya got into the act when the bag of plastic balls came out.

I got this nice picture of the Vande Berg clan on our way out (and they got this nice one of Owen). I have to admit, I expected the belly would be larger, Melissa ... and I'll be happy to Photoshop the twins into the picture later.

Otherwise, the weekend was marked by persistent rains and, therefore, lots of indoor time running the kids at the play area in the mall. Owen, Amy and I got out on Saturday night for Whitey's ice cream in downtown IC.

It was still raining when we got home on Sunday night. Owen immediately got it in his head that we needed to catch the rain so that we could use the water for our plants. He spent the next several minutes being his own rain barrel.

I love his green instincts.

The weekend before was spent with my parents in Chicagoland.

Our biggest day was Saturday.

We started at the Morton Arboretum, enjoying their kids section which features this great ball you can roll around in a pool of water ...

As well as a wonderful pond filled with tadpoles you can touch ...


There was lots of room to run and plants to explore ...

... and some other surprises along the way.

After the arboretum, we drove to a Pizzeria Uno for lunch. Honestly, this was the real goal of the weekend. The restaurant has a new gluten free menu, which meant Owen got to order his own meal, which was wonderful.

He actually made his mom cry when the waitress came and he said, "I would like a gluten free pizza, please. With pepperonis."

It was delicious!

We also spent a lot of time playing in the park. Owen loves the tire swing near Nana and Grandpa's house, and Maya was thrilled with all the rocks she could pick up and stack into big piles.

Last of all, we were delighted to participate in a special ceremony at my dad's church. Their church building is going through a major renovation.

The church organized a special activity for the members of the church now that the "bones" of the new sanctuary are complete. Following the service, everyone was invited in to look at the new area for the first time and then leave their hand prints and messages on the walls that will soon be covered as the next phase of the project begins.

Our family hand prints are here, with Grandpa and Owen at the top, Nana and Maya in the middle, and Amy and mine at the bottom.

Busy Saturday/Messy Sunday

It was a crazy Memorial Day weekend.

I spent most of Saturday at work, helping to set up and then working the first outdoor summer concert at the BCPA. The new CEFCU Summer Stage looked great and the audience had a great time listening to the music of Lee Greenwood with his special guests Scott DuBose and the 101 Ranch, and, my favorite part of the evening, a performance by the Gaddis Sisters, a pair of siblings from Springfield who wrote and sang a song that is airing as part of a National Guard campaign in movie theaters nationwide. They had way more composure than any 13 and 16 year olds I've ever known. It was a great day, despite the rain that hit the very moment we opened the park to patrons. It killed our walk-up sales, but everyone who was there had fun.

Here are a couple pictures of the stage and the ribbon cutting ceremony:

Amy, Owen, and Maya came down for the stage dedication and for a bit of the concert ... and I ran into them as I was doing some concert promotion work at the Farmer's Market in the morning.

We all got to spend some good time together on Sunday, though. The whole family went out for breakfast, then headed up to the Constitution Trail to clean our little patch.

The real fun started in the afternoon, though, as the ice cream truck made an early season pass down our street. It was the first time we'd ever bought something from them (that he's been playing dirgelike music so far this season hasn't exactly helped business, I mean what's he thinking playing a down-tempo version of "Greensleeves"?) but Sunday felt like a great day to cool down with a frosty treat.

Maya loved her popsicle, saying "MMMMMM!" at every bite. And Owen, once again, did what he could to look like Guy Fawkes.

The real mess came later as the Merrill Kids joined us for a little fun at the sand box. I admited to Amy as she was leaving me to run errands that I was never much into messy play as a child and that things like this don't come easy to me, but took the opportunity nonetheless to expand my horizons and allow things to happen.



I probably ended up going to the other extreme, letting more transpire than what I should have in an effort to be Mr. Cool. Wet sand was everywhere, from inside Maya's diaper, to all over several shirts.

... but we all had fun.



Right?

Family Photos

We had family pictures taken on Owen's birthday, May 8.

Here are some of my favorite shots.

FOUR!

Happy birthday, Owen!

(Owen's birthday breakfast)

It was quite the birthday weekend. Owen celebrated his fourth birthday in style. His mom and dad took either a part or full day off from work last Friday to spend some extra time with the birthday boy. We played games on the Wii, took some new family photos, and welcomed all the grandpas and grandmas and aunts Pam and Meg for a celebration that lasted all weekend.

Here are some highlights:

(His first moment out of bed as a four year old)

(Introducing his new WALL*E t-shirt to Darth Vader ...)

(Maya enjoying a new birthday book with Nana)

(His new whoopie cushion. Thanks Uncle Daniel!)

She's walking!

She's up to 10 steps on her own! Here's a video!

Spring is springing

Some things never change. We're still busy.

But still trying to take care of ourselves. Every now and then, Owen forgoes his normal exercise routine of running around the house/neighborhood like a madman to do some yoga and pilates exercises with his mom using our Wii system.

He's really taken to the whole idea of yoga, often posing dad's old R2D2 action figure into a variety of droid-asanas that I'm sure would be quite a challenge for any astromesh unit.

We've also enjoyed a nice dose of early spring weather. Owen and Maya's pre-school/day care had a cookout last Friday afternoon, and we've been getting out for picnics on the front porch when we can.

And a few more shots to share from the week, featuring stickers on the face and tasty bananas.