He’s a Hoot

Owen is officially one year old.  We celebrated this weekend in spite of his sister’s nagging ear infection. The party was postponed on Friday and then we reorganized.  We had a small celebration on Friday night just the 4 of us. Owen made us laugh as he explored his cupcake and opened some gifts.  He is such a character with the faces he pulls and jabber he makes.

He loved his cup cake. I found a great sugarless recipe for carrot cake  here

Grandma and Grandpa McKenney wrangled up the cousins, Aunt Tamara, Aunt Gay, and Grandpa Jackson. We had a little impromptu party Saturday afternoon. Owen put on a good show having conversations with Grandpa Jackson, attempting to walk, and just pulling funny faces and silly noises all day.

It was a great weekend and to top it all off Owen has begun walking.  Just a few steps at a time but he is determined. Just a little more practice and it will be a whole new world.

Soooo Tired

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMJq7NE4IUM[/youtube]

Owen had a long day last week.  He is turning 1 on Friday. Really!? One! I can’t believe it but it’s true a year ago this week he made his grand entrance into our little family and has stolen our hearts ever since. He is working really hard at trying to get the walking thing down. He is saying Adah as clear as a bell and insists that all animals are “Adah’s”  Lately his favorite thing to do is to exchange things with someone. He hands you something with a big smile, you say thank you, he smiles bigger, hand it back to him and he laughs a bit. He also loves playing with the spices sorting them putting them in other drawers, and then putting them back (sometimes). Funny how the best toys are not toys at all.

A Little Something for the Frandsen’s

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs7z7JuoWuQ[/youtube]

Bada and Papa ARE HERE!

Bada and Papa arrived on the 7th in the wee hours of the night. After a relatively smooth flight and then a harried drive over Parley’s. We had a mellow day Tuesday took a tour of Gary’s office, lunch, and ice cream. On Wednesday Bada came with me and Owen to hang out in Heber while Ellie went to preschool (Papa chose to stay home and rest). Bada, Owen, and I took care of some Valentine shopping while Ellie learned about the letter N. On Thursday we ventured down to Salt Lake. I took them to the Sundance outlet. Then we explored downtown and walked around Temple square and stopped for an awkward lunch. Yesterday Bada, Papa, Owen, and I had a successful search for Bald Eagles while Ellie went to her Valentine party at school. We had a successful thrift store hunt as well. Today we are having a Grandparent Extravaganza as my parents are coming down to visit and catch up with the “New Yorkers”. More on that later…

Bada and Papa are here until the 20th. It is sooooo nice to have them here just to have an extra hand while things all happen at once like burning the chicken for dinner, feeding Owen, and tending to Ellie’s meltdowns. That kind of scenario seems to occur often around here. What a relief it is to have four adults around to manage what comes our way. Ellie is so excited to have her Bada and Papa here. She is so whipped out by the end of the day she has been refusing to settle for naps I think for fear of missing out. Owen is thrilled as well showing them all that he can do like riding his bike, wooing the ladies, and eating all his food.

Bada can't wait to go skiing

making some wishes w/Papa

Got Giggles?

I got to hang out with my high school girlfriends this weekend. It was good therapy. I came home a happy refreshed Momma, and I came home to this which made me even a happier Momma.

Owen is closing in on a year. Only about two months away. It all happens in a flash. He has started exploring speech lately and can almost say Adah. He is very aware of Adah and loves to snuggle and get tickled by her wet nose. Every other animal he see’s is an Adah too. He pulls himself up to stand every chance he gets and I think he will be walking soon. He is so very strong just needs to work on the balance. Every time we go to the grocery store all the ladies fall in love with him. I always get a comment on how cute he is. He is a big flirt and flashes a sweet smile at them all and dazzles  them with his big beautiful eyes. In fact the other day he had a bunch of Ladies giggling over him in the freezer aisle because of the way he was slouched in the cart with one arm slung over the back and and slightly leaning the opposite direction and he kept flashing his three tooth grin at them then checking with me to see if it was okay. Such a flirt.

His new favorite thing is the walker in the new house. There is room to move here. I think before he didn’t understand what the walker was for because it couldn’t be used to it’s full potential in the wee cabin. Now there is space to spread his wings and oh how he flies…

Maui Wow Weee!

So, we instantly fell in love with the little island in the Pacific that is Maui. Instantly!  We stepped off the airplane and felt the warm air, cool breeze, smelled that wonderful Hawaiian smell, and were met with friendly “Aloha’s”. Ellie’s hair started to curl up from the humidity right away, and we were soon taking off the layers of clothes we had on from the lovely 4 degree Utah temperatures.

We stayed just north of Lahaina in Ka’anapali at a resort called the Honua Kai.  It was right on the beach and had excellent amenities including a great pool area that was kid friendly and a nice market with lovely cupcakes and fresh locally farmed produce. We had a lovely room with a kitchenette and a good view of the ocean from the balcony. Except for the Luau, one dinner out, and a handful of lunches we were able to have low stress meals in house.

The highlights of our trip:

• Snorkel/Dolphin and Whale watch boat tour to the island of Lanai So, when we go to the snorkel site I went out got spooked and promptly returned to the boat, Gary went out had a great time and encountered a fish half his size, Ellie got all geared up stood on the boat deck where the waves went from her knees to her chest jumped in with Gary got 10 feet away from the boat then with out crying or screaming or anything  just pointed back too the boat and she was done. Props to my three year old for being so brave.
• Driving the Road to Hana
• Lounging at the Ohe’o Gulch in Kipahulu at the end of the road to Hana
• Morning walks on the beach
• Eating spaghetti and clams (mermaid food) on the balcony as the sun set
• The “Reefdancer” boat tour which is a glass bottom boat where we were able to see an Octopus
• Attending the Old Lahaina Luau where Ellie exclaimed she was going to “eat the pigs body” after she watched them dig it out of the pit. Wha?
• Dancing with the wee one at the Luau
• Watching the amazing dancers “princesses” at the Luau
• Discovering Napili Beach and successfully snorkeling there. We were able to watch a sea turtle hang out in the surf from the beach
• Getting the family down to the beach for a sunset
• Watching the sunset from the top of Haleakala Crater

Animals we saw:

• Humpback Whales
• Spinner Dolphins
• Sea Turtles
• Octopus
• Sand Crabs
• lots of Fish

Gary’s favorite part = swimming in the Ocean and learning the “Hawaiian Way”

Danette’s favorite part = morning walks on the beach watching all the whales, snorkeling for the first time, and watching my kids discover and love the beach

Ellie’s favorite part = seeing the Octopus, playing in the waves, and eating pig at the Luau. (Side note again my girl was brave as she was swept off her feet by more then one wave while we were there. She would get up and look at us as if to check in to see if it was ok and then smile at what a thrill that was and get right back after it. Oh to have that uninhibited drive to play and not fear consequences. PS Mom we were right there with her each time)

Owen’s favorite part = We think by the excitement we witnessed from him that he really liked playing in the waves and eating sand

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. (If you would like to see all of the photo’s from our trip visit our flickr site here )

Owen just laughed at me when I told him with a very serious voice not to eat the sand

and some videos too…

We could get used to Maui

Catching Up

There is much to blog about. This little family has been busy with holidays, a big upheaval and move, and a special vacation to Maui! As a result our schedule has been turned upside down and we are having a hard time adjusting. Owen’s sleep habits have become… well lets just say we are all sleep deprived. We are trying to set up new sleeping habits in the new house but it is a process and it is taking a long time.  As a result I have been so tired my head is spinning literally I have been dealing with vertigo and I think it is due to exhaustion. So bear with me, because I’m just going to slap a bunch of picture up to represent our Christmas…

Gary and his crown from Ellie so he could be the "King of Christmas"

Ellie gave Owen a "Pirate Ship" for Christmas and she picked out that necklace for me

Ellie enjoying the traditional Elbelskivers

Adah has become a singing fool lately. She seizes every opportunity presented to her to show off her lovely singing voice. Just last night she was belting out a tune with Gary as he blew into his beer bottle. She really likes to belt it out with Ellie whenever the Piano gets going.

All in all Christmas was wonderful.  Gary surprised me with a guitar and some lessons. Gary got a record player from his parents and Bada even found a bunch of his old albums he had collected in high school. It’s been fun going through them lots of Cheap Trick, ACDC, the Cars, and there is a Rolling Stones one that I am anxious to hear. I gave him a box set of the Avett Brothers that included two records and we have been playing them almost every night. I’m glad we celebrated one last Christmas in our cozy little cabin. It was a good way to say goodbye to our little home. One thing that little home has is some good old fashion winter atmosphere and it truly made the holiday special.

Ellie the Elf?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=579gtGFPHi4[/youtube]