Halloween, puzzle boy, big help!

One night as I was cooking dinner Owen decide to help by getting all of the spoons, and spatulas out of the drawer. He came upon the pastry brush, and because he's so smart he knows exactly what to do with it. Brush his hair!

For the last couple of years we have bought Owen's Halloween costumes after Halloween for 50 or 75% off. So I decide to try on the one we bought last year to see if it even fit. Little mister spider. How cute. It was a little too big, but I don't think you can tell. Once I got it on him, he wasn't going to let me take it off. It took me about an hour and a half before he let me take it off of him.
Owen has turned in to quite the puzzle solver. A while ago we found a super deal on some wooden puzzles so we bought them. I thought he wouldn't be able to do them for about another year, but after I saw him do a few in nursery I thought it was time to get them out. He sure loves them. He plays with them for probably 2 hours a day. (not consecutively). He can even do the one with the ABC's and the shape one that has an pentagon, parallelogram, and a hexagon. I was actually surprised. Since we got them out he's learned all sorts of noises that animals make, like a monkey, a lion, a rooster, a cow, and so forth. He also can pick out all sorts of animals. He's also been able to pick out some letters. His favorite is A. Its kind of fun to see him learn these things. Now if only we could teach him how to talk. He's getting better though.

Conference

I just finished listening to the 1st session of General Conference. I couldn't hardly believe my ears. I loved it. I couldn't help but feel the authorities concern and love for us. How they all seem to know what we need to hear. Within the first few moments of hearing President Monson announcement I began to cry. (I think that most of it was the pregnancy hormones) I am so excited to hear of the Philadelphia temple. All those people are currently in the Washington D.C. temple district. How happy I was to hear that so many people who travel so far to get here would have something a little closer. I think that maybe a few people who were not able to travel so far will be able to attend the temple more. I'm so excited. It is nice to see that the church is rolling forth, especially in areas that seem to see growth so slowly(at the present). I can hardly believe that another temple that will be so close to us will be built. I was also excited to hear the words of the apostles as they spoke of faith and hope in these times. I love their optimism and I must agree that it is hope, faith, and charity that get us through difficult times.
Well, other than that, I don't have much to say. Nothing exciting has been happening here. Michael has been able to get a lot of overtime, which has been a huge blessing. Owen is getting bigger and smarter every day. He is so observant now that it is hard to hide things from him, or distract his attention from things that he wants. He's exploring his world more and more. He loves to go for walks and pick things up, like leaves, sticks, garbage, and worms. We always come home with a few "treasures" and a need to wash our hands for a few minutes.
I'm doing pretty well. I'm starting to feel better, and I'm getting a little more energy back. The baby seems to be growing and developing as it should. It is beginning to be a little like fall here, but it is still very beautiful and comfortably warm. That's all I have for today, but I hope that you will all listen to conference and find comfort and peace!

Sticker Face

Well we recieved stickers in the mail from a subscription company and as you can see they quickly ended up all over everyones faces. The funny thing was Owen usually just rips stickers off of him as soon as they get put on. However, he left these on for over 3 hours until it was time to get ready for supper. I don't think he liked having them taken off. He sure had fun putting them on mommy and daddy.

Random Pics

Owen was reading his books today to himself while I was doing dishes. I caught him "changing voices" up and down. It made me laugh. I guess I do that a lot. It sure makes me wonder what else I do that he's picking up on.

The other day I taught Owen where his "Big Brain" was. This is the best I could get for a picture. He usually just points a couple of times with his finger. What a smart little boy.

This was Owen's first time playing with his choo-choo's. He loved it.

We sure love cookie dough. I never can keep Owen out of it. I guess he's just like his mom that way!

It sure is amazing to watch Owen grow. I can't believe how fast he is growing and how much he's learning. Today I heard him singing the ABC song after playing an ABC game on the computer. He's also started doing the ABC puzzle and seems to recognize a few of the letters. I've also started teaching him his colors. Although we have to repeat things for a day or two until he understands I think he is doing pretty well. I'm pretty proud of him. Watching him grow and start to learn is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Its like watching the brain grow.

Greatest Payoff yet.

As a parent you often get payoff little by little every day for all the blood, sweat and tears. Yesterday came my greatest payoff yet. As you know, I'm pregnant, so my emotions have been very out of wack. Yesterday, something farely simple went wrong and I began to cry. Owen, being the sweet little boy that he is, came and sat by me on the couch, gave me a big hug and a kiss and said "I love you." It was so sweet, and of course it made me cry even more. That sweet little boy just sat by me on the couch giving me hugs and kisses until I was done crying. Best payoff so far!

I'm expecting another

Well, I've told my family, so I guess I'll make the announcement to the rest of the world. We're expecting. We're pretty excited. I'm only about 9 weeks along. The baby is due April 17th. I've been feeling pretty sick and tired and I can't wait to get that part over with.

Legos

It is so fun to watch your kids learn and grow. Owen has recently changed how he plays with his legos. He has started to figure out that he can play with them and build things without Mommy or Daddys help. He has started to figure out balance, although he still has a lot to learn. Daddy helped him build a tower the other night. Owen was so proud.