Wanderlust

Letters to the O

Twenty- Five Months

I think your Dad summed up our experience this past month raising you very nicely the other day. "You know, he's either really fun or everything totally sucks." Yeah. I feel that.

You have become enthralled with music. Previous to this, you really liked music and would dance to anything that mildly resembled a beat. But now- totally infatuated. White Stripes, Artic Monkeys, CSS and the Fratellis are all favorite bands. When you hear a song you like, you'll get inches from my face and keep repeating "Like this song, Mommy? Like this song?" Until I agree that whatever we are listening to is absolutely wonderful.

One of the coolest things you got for Christmas was a series of Playhut tunnels and tents, which you were only mildly interested in until this month. A few weeks ago you discovered that the large tent, which also serves as a ball pit, was a perfect spot to cram all of your prized possessions into. You would sit on the floor, surrounded by your dump trucks, cars and trains and just bathe yourself in vehicles. Apparently this is the closest to nirvana a two year old can envision. Unfortunately, you would also insist that Dad or I join you. This is a problem because I am more than slightly claustrophobic. But one evening, I even ate dinner in there just so you would SHUT UP about it already.

It has become something of a ritual for you and Dad to chat on the phone while he commutes home and I make dinner. You'll sit and talk with him about your day, shouting and laughing into the speaker phone. The funniest thing though is that on my phone, when you dial Dad, a picture of him pops up on the screen. And you apparently thinks this means that he can see you through the phone. You'll take him to one of your matchbox cars and thrust his phone face at it, exclaiming "Ahhhhhhh!!" And I have to prompt Dad to say something in praise of the car or you'll just keep doing it, taking him from vehicle to vehicle and trying to impress him through the phone.

My favorite thing you have started to do this month is play with your bears. You have two large, overstuffed bears. They are named Boris and Henry. Suddenly one morning you decided they were not so scary and drug them by their ears into the living room. You told me they had "dirty butts" and insisted I put diapers on them both. You favor Boris and continue to drag him around the house, cuddling him, putting him to bed and feeding him food. Sometimes you bring him to me and say "Boris crying!" and you squint your eyes and sniffle as if the sadness Boris feels is somehow contagious. We take turns rubbing his back and reassuring him. And just when I am beginning to feel touched by your tenderness and sensitivity, you get up and throw him down the stairs. Ahhh. There we go. That's the two year old I know.

The Big Sleep

Last night we grabbed some yummy take out from our local Indian food restaurant and hung out at Lauren and Scott's for a bit. Owen had woken up early from his nap that afternoon but seemed in fairly good spirits so when dinner was finished, we stayed for awhile. After hanging out and watching a bit of "The Italian Job," (which Owen adored because what could be better than mini coopers and trains!) Owen seemed very calm and relaxed. So we decided to stay and see how long it would take before he fell asleep. Owen's normal bedtime is anywhere from 8 to 8:30pm and we've seen him stay up previously when he was younger as late as 10pm. We popped in another movie, "Head of State," and settled into the couch. The verdict... the little man managed to keep his eyes open and stay awake until 11:20pm. And today, although he was bit cranky at first, he woke up at his usual 7am and played happily until naptime. You'd never have known the difference. People think I'm joking when I say the kid doesn't need sleep, but seriously. If it came down to who could function on less sleep- him or me? I'm thinking he'd win.

Another round

Check out another round of Owen pictures. These are some of my favorites, including a set from the Salt Flats and Christmas portraits.

Snow does not stop in Utah

Now I'm not one to talk about the weather and how things are in your part of the country. But I have to write a post about this because I've almost had enough of the snow. In a seven day period last week starting Monday, it snowed 4 times with about 4-8" each time. Monday. Wednesday, Friday, & Sunday.

These pictures were taken today and below that pile of snow is a flat piece of lawn. There is no camera trickery here, just a huge amount of snow. Since our truck is parked in our RV pad, I have to blow the snow to the right, or behind where Owen is standing. And then all the snow that is at the end of the driveway from the snow plows needs to be blown over to this pile because of the truck. So it's grown to somewhere around 9 feet tall. It almost too tall for the snow blower to blow over the pile. It's completely stupid. But, on the bright side, I have the biggest damn pile of snow in our neighborhood. And the cleanest sidewalks (thats another story I'm not going to get into). Usually in the back of the house the snow has been beaten down pretty good by the dogs. But recently I've notice there are distinct deep trails (leading to fields of poop I'm sure), criss crossing the back yard. I think even they are tired of the snow, and they love the snow! Obviously it's been a pretty tough winter here in Utah. Many people are commenting that it's the worst winter in a long time. While it's nothing like living in the mountains where a weak snow storm dumps a measly foot of snow, lets just say I'm really glad we have a two stage 8hp snow blower. And a new set of tires on the Pontiac beater.

Double Dose

A double dose of Owen pictures for your viewing pleasure. George and I have finally managed to troll through and get together what we've been missing since the fall, so you'll see several batches of these this week. Months 20 and 21 are now located for your viewing pleasure in the gallery. Take a look!