Easter

We've been fighting with Owen about nap time -- we're all for it while he likes to fight it for 2 hours before ultimately surrendering which in turn messes up his bedtime. While we have no control during the week when he's at daycare, we decided that on the weekends we'd just skip a formal siesta and instead allow him to rest his eyes if the opportunity should arise. Unfortunately, we decided to implement this new regime change Easter weekend.

Saturday, after a fairly relaxing morning we headed out (with Owen napping en route) to meet the newest addition to the Brown family, Ben. While Allen and I were focused on observing the dynamics of balancing a newborn and a toddler, Owen was all about playing with Mia on the playground right outside their temporary digs. We intended to just stay an hour, but with the swings beckoning, it was a good 3 hours before we headed out to dinner with Mom Mom & Grandpa Don and Aunt Katherine, Uncle "L" and Makayla. We eventually carried one tuckered out little boy to his bed.

The lateness of the previous night and the required search for Easter Eggs in the morning, threw a wrench in our schedule and meant that we had to attend a later mass service. Despite that, as Owen pointed out, "Daddy doesn't want to go to church," and that "this is another church," it turned out to be serendipitous as the belated service allowed Owen to watch the pipe organ player conduct and even to briefly meet the Easter Bunny (which only sort of freaked him out).

From there we went directly to Mom Mom's where Owen participated in a much more elaborate Easter egg hunt with Makayla, who was gracious enough to help Owen search. After a lovely dinner and far more chocolate than was probably advisable, we headed home where the entire Fawcett clan ignored our previous directive and took a collective 2 hour nap.



(click here to see the Baby Ben pictures)
(click here to see all the Easter pictures)

A Slight Change of Plans

Our plan for the weekend was to try to get together with Brad & Marlo before their new baby arrived, so Owen and Mia could give each other a little pep talk about being big siblings soon. Andrew & Claire and their son Luke were also joining us, and we all were planning on meeting for brunch Sunday morning followed by an outing to Wheaton Park. The weather was gorgeous, and we were about to head out the door when the phone rang. Brad was calling with a slight change of plans: James Benjamin Brown (Ben for short -- going by his middle name just like his daddy) was born a little after 6 Sunday morning and so the Browns would have to take a rain-check. We're extremely excited for the Brown family, and we can't wait to see the new baby. We'll put up a link to Dia de Mia (their now misnamed blog;-) as soon as there are pictures. Owen was disappointed we wouldn't be seeing Mia, but he was very excited that she is a big sister now -- though he's decided he's content to wait until after his birthday for big brotherdom. With Brad and Marlo otherwise occupied, we met up with Andrew, Claire and Luke at Woodside Deli for a lovely brunch, and then drove over to Wheaton Park, which turned out to be a little boy's paradise. There was a gigantic two story slide, that was part of a massive old-school wooden playground complex; a train that took us on a very scenic ride through the woods; and a carousel with a zebra for Owen to ride! Owen had a great time playing with Luke, and we'll have to be sure to go back to Wheaton Park sometime soon.

Baby's First Taste of Rum, Sodomy and the Lash

Almost exactly three years ago, we took Owen to his first prenatal rock concert, a great show with the New Pornographers and Belle and Sebastian at the 930 Club. In our efforts to make sure baby number two doesn't feel left out, we enlisted Grandpa as a babysitter on Tuesday night so Elaine and I could venture out to see the Pogues play a St. Patrick's Day show at the 930 Club. Grandpa and Owen had a great time staying up late and playing with puzzles. Elaine and I had a blast at the show, and I think baby number two will feel a little more Irish after hearing Shane MacGowan and company tear through a great set (including Sally MacLennane, Dirty Old Town, and The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn -- some of my favorites off of Rum Sodomy and the Lash) and mumble through some unsurprisingly unintelligible drunken Irish stage banter.

By Any Other Name...

Owen has known Sophia since he was 4 months old and started daycare. Theirs is a somewhat complicated friendship, but for the most part they've gotten along well, which is pretty impressive given that they spend about 40 hours a week together.

Recently, for reasons known only to herself (I checked, her mom has no idea what prompted), Sophia started referring to Owen as "Bob." Were she merely a Bob-calling island unto herself, this would simply be one of those odd quirks that Sophia's parents would be blogging about instead of us. But Sophia is a rather persuasive two-year-old, and has managed to convince most of Owen's class to also refer to him as "Bob." Most disturbingly, she's even gotten Owen to call himself "Bob" on more than one occasion.

Nothing against the name "Bob" but we're partial to "Owen." Moreover we think completely changing one's identity for someone else, even someone as cute as Sophia, is probably a bad idea. As such we are aggressively trying to stomp out all "Bob" references. It's mostly worked, but only because Owen has now started calling himself "Bruce" from Finding Nemo.

What a Difference a Week Makes

March roared in like a lion this year with the biggest snowstorm of Owen's life bringing 8 inches of snow to DC on Monday. While not quite enough to close the federal government, it was enough for a two hour delay that gave us some time to dawn snowsuits and venture out into the snow. Owen had a great time marching about in the snow and catching snowflakes on his tongue. The cold start to the week was just fine with Owen as it gave him a chance to indulge the serious puzzle kick he's been on lately. After seeing Owen play with Kaden's puzzles in Boston, we realized it was time for him to get some more advanced puzzles. Turns out we were holding him back with the simple little puzzles he'd had for so long. Now he's putting together 48 piece puzzles on his own and playing with puzzles morning, noon and night. By the end of the week, the only lions left roaring were at the zoo, as the week's early snowstorm had given way to 70 degree temperatures and sunny skies. It was time to pull Owen away from the puzzles and take advantage of perfect zoo weather. We saw lions, tigers, elephants, cheethas, zebras, and gazelles. But the most excitement was seeing the gorillas. We saw a giant silver back gorilla up close eating a 'gorilla popsicle', and we saw the adorable new baby gorilla nursing with it's mommy. On Sunday the weather was still wonderful, so we visited Lincoln Park in what seemed like the first time in ages. Owen brought his green soccer ball and showed off his skills dribbling like a pro. Hopefully the weather will hold, because as much as we enjoyed the last gasp of winter, now that we've had a taste of spring it would be hard to go back. p.s. For those of you wanting a little more info after last week's post, yes you heard it right, Owen is going to be a big brother. The due date is around Labor Day, but as we learned with Owen, due dates are non-binding and subject to change. p.p.s. In other news, our good friends Chris and Elise are not only expecting their first child this summer, but they've started a blog!

And Now for Something Completely Different

The Agony and the Ectasy

Life's been a bit of a roller-coaster of late for our hero. Last week Owen's best friend Leo threw up all over him. Owen seemed largely unfazed by the experience and immune to the viral exposure so apparently, no harm no foul. Besides, there was Valentine's Day to look forward to complete with a class party (minus Leo), card exchange and more than a few hugs. Still feeling the love, Owen had another play date with Mia that culminated in a kiss and some hand holding. All seemed perfect in the world, but then yesterday, he was accidentally kicked in the head by his friend Fiona at daycare, resulting in his very first shiner. It seems that there's always a bit of drama around Valentine's Day for our little Owen.

Boston

Taking advantage of a business trip I had last week up to MIT, Elaine Owen and I all spent a few days up in Boston visiting our friends the Hyatts. It had been a while since Kaden and Owen had seen each other, so it was great to see the boys have such a fun time playing together. We also were excited to finally meet the wonderful but seldom blogged about Liam Hyatt.

The whole trip was great fun, but the highlight had to be our outing to the Boston Children's Museum. As if the museum itself wasn't going to be enough fun, we got there by walking through the snow to the bus stop, riding the bus, riding the T, and walking across a bridge before finally arriving at the museum. Not wanting to be overshadowed by the journey, the museum immediately awed Owen with it's gigantic undulating wood and steel net climbing structure. Kaden led Owen on an adventure climbing through the structure as Nabeel and I looked on somewhat enviously. The boys tired themselves out climbing the structure, and playing all over the museum, before we went around the corner to meet Megan and Kaden for a delicous lunch at Flour.

All and all it was a great trip, we always love seeing Nabeel, Megan, Kaden and now Liam too, and we're looking forward to our next adventure together.

(click here to see all the pictures)

Museums with Mia

It was a marathon of a playdate. After months of scheduling conflicts we were finally able to coordinate with the Browns and arrange a day of cultural stimulation for Owen and Mia. Naps were missed. Antebellum line dancing was interrupted. Lunch was delayed. And hand dryers had to be employed after a little too enthusiastic splashing at the Portrait Gallery's atrium. But it was all worth it, if for no other reason than the visit afforded Allen and Brad the opportunity to build a truly tall tower that was the envy of all the other dads at the Building Museum.



(click here for all the pictures)

Animal House

Owen recently decided that certain family members are actually animals. To whit:

1. Owen is a BIG crocodile.
2. Daddy is a hippopotamus.
3. Mommy is a little bird.
4. Mom Mom is a BIG bird.
5. Grandpa Don is a deer... with a monkey on his head.

Inauguration

Living on Capitol Hill means that we were extra popular this past week. Elaine's cousin Molly, who as a 19 year old managed to be a delegate from Iowa at the Democratic convention, flew out to stay with us for the inauguration along with her friend Justin. Also, my old friend Billy was in town this month from Beijing and he stayed with us before the inauguration as well.

Originally, I was planning on staying home all weekend and avoiding the crowds, but with guests in town I started to waiver. The tipping point came when my cousin Adam came into town to help with the sound at some of the inaugural balls. Everyone wanted to go to the 'We Are One' concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. Since Elaine was more than happy to stay home with Owen, my sense of adventure took over and we ventured out to vie with the masses for a piece of the experience.

Despite the bitter cold, the concert turned out to be tremendous fun. We managed to find a good spot right on the edge of the reflecting pool to watch the concert from. The coolest part (aside from hearing Bruce Springsteen, U2, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Pete Seeger and many more all play at one concert) was turning around and seeing hundreds of thousands of people all the way back to the Washington Monument. After the long walk home from the Lincoln Memorial (and some hot chocolate to warm back up) the whole adventure was too much fun not to try it again on Tuesday.

We decided the key to a good time on Tuesday was to manage our expectations and try to avoid standing out in the cold for too long. There would be plenty of people willing to stand out on the Mall starting at 4 am for a prime spot, and we clearly were not those people. After a nice leisurely morning, Billy, Molly, Justin and I left the house around 8:30 am to walk down to the Mall. We saw on television before we left that the Mall was already filling up all the way back to the Washington Monument with the crowds gathered around the jumbotrons. Our best bet was to head south of the Mall and see if a little local knowledge of my old neighborhood could help us find a way to the Mall. By the time we got down by the House office buildings it was clear we'd have to get creative to get pass the ticketed lines. The orange tickets jammed Washington Ave., and the purple tickets were in a line that went all the way through the 395 tunnel. We cut through some of the orange ticket crowds to get to the highway, then with the help of a salt truck climbed a wall to make it to the other side of the highway. (Molly just made it before the driver decided he didn't want people climbing on his truck.)

Once on the other side of 395, we just needed to make our way to Independence Ave. and walk down far enough so we could find a space on the Mall. The problem with this plan was that we needed to cross the mass of people with silver tickets waiting on 3rd st SE. We started our way across the line, but it quickly became apparent that we were stuck. Slowly but surely the mass of people started moving, guided by hundreds of police and national guardsman forming a human barrier at the edges of the crowd. When we finally made it free of the crowd we weren't on the other side of the line on Independence Ave., we were inside the Silver gate! After trying a few spots we ended up with an amazing view just behind the center of the Capitol reflecting pool, and we had hard time believing our luck.

As Barack Obama took the Oath of Office it was hard not to feel a sense of civic pride in watching this peaceful transition of power from one President to the next. Turning around we could see from our vantage point on Capitol Hill literally a million people crowding the length of the Mall and waving American flags, all here like us to witness this moment in history. There was a palpable sense of amazement that we were watching, "a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant" stand before us and take this most sacred oath. Listening to his inaugural address, a tingle went down my spine as I heard this great orator say,

With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

On our walk home, there was one more moment that perhaps the most poignant of all. Having skipped past the crowds waiting for the metro, we walked up First Street on the east side of the Capitol just in time to see Obama, Biden, and their wives standing on the steps as now former President Bush and his family took off in what was once Marine One to start their journey back to Texas and into private life. In the picture below, President Obama is waving goodbye to President Bush. It's not a moment of partisan gloating, it is a moment between two people who now share a bond from experiencing the ultimate burden of power and responsibility. Two people who have a most intimate experience of that peaceful transition of power enabled by the wisdom of our forefathers. Two people who have sworn to the best of their ability to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States.



(click here for pictures of the concert)
(click here for pictures of the inauguration)

For Economists Eyes Only

Allen and I met in graduate school, and while his sequence focused on environmental and computational economics while mine was more centered on labor and marxist economics, our first year of instruction was almost identical. Both of us survived Stincombe's Problem Set #3, both of us suffered through Zhang's Prob Stats, and both of us took Freeman's Macro 1.

So imagine my horror when Allen introduced a time consistancy problem at dinner last night -- a scenario where the socially optimal plan is not incentive compatible in all periods -- by offering to let Owen eat a cookie, provided he had 2 additional bites of pasta after he finished said cookie.

Owen readily agreed to the proposal, and after some complaints that the initial cookie offered was broken, happily devoured a sugar cookie with sprinkles and chocolate chips courtesy of his friend and neighbor Gavin. Afterwards, Allen spent several minutes reminding Owen that he needed to live up to his end of the bargain until finally Owen grudgingly ate 1 and only 1 additional bite of pasta.

Which means: Allen doesn't remember anything about macroeconomics and Owen is a less rational but more obedient child than two economists might expect.

Bedlam

We've been talking about moving Owen to a big boy bed for months now, particularly since Owen keeps referring to himself as a "big boy." (Owen also refers to his friend Leo as a "big boy" but insists that his friend Tadashi is a "little boy." We're not really sure what criteria he's using or how official it all is). However, the pain of finding a bed that would fit in the 39"x79"x33" space in Owen's room in order to avoid blocking the vent, window or closet coupled with our fear of what would transpire once Owen was allowed to rest without any sort of barriers, has induced us to keep putting it off.

But after the first of the year, we broke down and after some intensive searching, managed to find a bed on E-bay within our narrow specifications. It even has two underneath drawers on wheels which allows Owen additional storage as well as some alternative sleeping options if he wants some extra privacy.

We're not sure that will be necessary, however. Owen was so excited to see his big boy bed with his very own pillow and tractor/car/plane/bus sheets, that he spent most of the day playing on it, took a 2 1/2 hour nap and demanded to go to bed at 8:00 pm (he went to sleep closer to 10:00 pm). We'll see how long it all lasts.

***Update***

This just in from Mom Mom, some old pictures of Allen's first big boy bed for the sake of comparison...

2008 - The Year in Phrases

We were originally going to do, "The Year in Language," for our annual retrospective and list all the words that Owen now says. But that would require more typing that we're willing to do -- Owen's vocabulary was over 200 words before his birthday and has been increasing exponentially since -- and wouldn't make for the most fascinating of blog posts anyway. So instead, we've decided to share some of our favorite (and most used) phrases uttered in 2008:

1. Don't touch my haircut.
2. I too big for Daddy to carry.
3. Mommy, go cook something.
4. Thank you for cooking, Mommy.
5. It's very delicious.
6. It's fine.
7. I'm putting stars on the window.
8. Daddy doesn't go to church.
9. I hurt my butt.
10. Don't eat me.
11. I'm conducting.
12. That's forbidden, Mommy.
13. It's party time!
14. Move back.
15. I need my privacy.
16. I did a great job singing.
17. I like to move it, move it.
18. The camel waited for me.
19. Watch out for doggy poop.
20. Watch out for zebra poop.
21. I'm doing stuff.
22. I want to watch the muppet dvd.
23. I'm a sleepy lion.
24. I'm a waking up lion!
25. I have lots of gas.
26. Silly, Daddy.
27. Don't be silly, Mommy, the Hinkel-Horn-Honker is for waking up.
28. We're just hanging out here.
29. Wahhhhh....you better get a tissue.
30. I don't want to be crying.
31. Don't get the boogers out.
32. I cough a lot, Mommy.
33. I don't know.
34. Don't do me now.
35. I need to build a tall tall tower.
36. I need to knock down a tall tall tower.
37. It's dark in here everybody!
38. We're inside the Capitol everybody!
39. I better get my pasta out of my pocket.
40. You did a great job everybody.
41. I look pretty...I look beautiful.
42. See you later alligator.
43. After awhile crocodile.
44. You better wait right there daddy.
45. I'll be right back.
46. I want my blue bee bee bee and my orange bee bee bee.
47. Excuse me, you're on my parking lot.
    

Adventures with Grandma and Grandpa Z

Grandma and Grandpa Z came into town the day after Christmas for some quality time with Owen and some adventures in and about DC. With some very cooperative weather, we've packed in quite a bit of site seeing into the last few days. 

Over the weekend we walked by the new Capitol Visitors Center and seeing the long lines decided to save that for later in the week, which was just as well with Owen since instead he could take us back to the Botanic Gardens to show Grandma and Grandpa the trains.

On Monday Elaine had to go back to work, but the rest of us took advantage of an amazingly warm and sunny December day to explore Mount Vernon. For Owen, George Washington's Christmas Camel alone was worth the price of admission. He loved petting the 11 month old camel and even serenaded him with a loving rendition of I Like to Move It Move It. Eventually we had to tear Owen away from the camel to explore the grounds (with a promise that we would see the camel again on the way out). Owen had a blast exploring the gardens, and even more fun running around on the lush green grass and enjoying the spectacular view from George's porch. He eventually tired of the scenic beauty and demand to go back and see the camel again. Upon seeing the camel he happily pronounced, "Yeah, the camel waited for me!" Not to be outdone in the enthusiasm department, the camel gave Owen a big wet kiss.

The plan for Tuesday was to meet Mommy for lunch at the National Portrait Gallery, so Owen could splash around in the courtyard wearing his new bright red boots. The meeting Mommy for lunch part of the plan worked perfectly, but the splashing about part of the plan crashed and burned when we found out the fountains were under repair. Undeterred, Owen had a great time running about the courtyard and pointing out all of the trees. After nap time, the cough that Owen had stolen from Grandpa came back with a vengeance, and our poor little guy was sick enough that we decided he should visit the doctor Friday morning.

When Friday morning rolled around we spent a couple hours at the doctor's office with a little boy that was clearly on the mend. We decided it was time to venture back to the Capitol Visitor's Center with the expectation that the weekday time and the chilly wind would cut down the crowds that had deterred us before. We met up with Grandpa Fawcett and saw his first 'movie' in a theater, Out of Many One, the movie everyone now sees before touring the Capitol. No doubt this was very exciting, Owen stood on his chair and repeatedly told the whole audience, "It's dark in here!" and "We're inside the Capitol everybody!" The audience was very appreciative of this information. Owen had fun on the rest of the tour, being particularly impressed at being inside the Capitol dome that sees almost everyday. 

Tonight Grandma and Grandpa Z are babysitting Owen and Mommy and Daddy get to go out for a nice dinner to ring in the New Year. If you see Owen anytime in the next few months, I'm sure you'll be able to convince him to say, "Happy New Year everybody, and Happy Thanksgiving too!" 

 (click here to see all the pictures)

Hinkel Horn Honker and Bright Red Boots

Aside from his boxes, Owen's favorite presents this year were his bright red boots (just like Gossie's), and his Dr. Seussian Hinkel-Horn-Honker (which is really called a Saxoflute, but it's much cuter to hear Owen say Hinkel-Horn-Honker). We all had a lovely Christmas, as we spent most of the day up at Mom & Don's with friends and family packing our day with fun and our stomachs with delicious food. Grandma and Grandpa Z arrived in town the day after Christmas, and we're looking forward to closing our 2008 with a week of fun and adventure in and around DC.

It's Not A Box

Pop Pop

My grandfather (Pop Pop to me, Pop Pop Pop to Owen, Marvin Atchison to the rest of the world) passed away today. We're thankful that the end was peaceful, and that we were able to make it down to Austin for one last visit just a few weeks ago. Pop Pop was the only one of my grandparents who lived to meet Owen (my other grandfather passed away just a few months after he was born), and I'll always treasure the memories of them together. Pop Pop may not have been able to see, but he knew that Owen looks just like his daddy, and his daddy looks just like Pop Pop. And he didn't need his vision to hear Owen say, "I love you Pop Pop."

It's hard to know what all to write in this post, but I wanted to at least share some of my thoughts and memories of a remarkable person. My memories of Pop Pop are all of a wonderfully happy person. When I was young he would always play with us grandkids, crawling around on the floor and tickling me when I was little, or teaching me how to play pool and golf when I was a little older. He was quite the flirt, and he inevitably charmed the young ladies, as Elaine or Adrienne would be happy to tell you. Hearing the story about how he swept Mom Mom off her feet I'd say he was always pretty smooth, and as the father of three adoring girls who still call him Daddy (while they all called Mom Mom, 'Mother') he had plenty of practice over the years.

Growing up I knew Pop Pop fought in the Pacific during WWII, but I never knew the stories and only had the vaguest idea that he was a war hero. I once asked why Pop Pop didn't eat rice, and heard in hushed tones that it was because of the memory of maggot infested rations they ate during the war. Eventually I heard the stories of Pop Pop receiving a Purple Heart when he was shot through the neck on his 21st birthday as the Marines landed on Tarawa, and the Silver Star for his bravery in a ferocious battle on the island of Saipan. After Mom Mom passed, he was more willing to revisit those years. One of the earliest posts on this blog has a video of Pop Pop telling the story of that battle on Saipan. Every time I listen to the story I'm left in awe of the sacrifices made by the greatest generation.

On our wall at home I have a picture of that young Marine, Pfc. Marvin E. Atchison. It's hard not to think of Pop Pop the war hero when seeing the picture; but looking at his smile, the jaunty tilt of his cap, and the light in his eyes, you can't miss the happy and joyous person who savored his happy ending in the wonderful family and life he built after the war.

Marvin Eugene Atchison

November 20, 1922 - December 10, 2008

Pictures at an Exhibition

On Saturday I was playing with Owen in his room when he started singing the Alphabet Song. He got to about "G" when he suddenly stopped, turned to me and said, "Go get the camera."

It's understandable that Owen would assume that we would want to capture his every adorable act, since in our quest to nail the perfect pic for our holiday card, we've been photographing him seemingly non-stop the past week. But despite all the footage, we still weren't satisfied with any family shots and so on Sunday we headed to the National Botanic Garden where we hoped to persuade some stranger to take a winning family portrait of us.

We hadn't realized how many other people would be of a similar mind, and so instead of posing amid the crowds in front of the Christmas trees, the plant replicas of Capitol Hill, or the "Windows to Wonderland," we opted for the Orchid Garden. Owen was appalled that we would leave the trains for someplace sorely lacking in locomotions and was less than a good sport about smiling for a very generous stranger. As a result, Owen got one more tour of the trains before nap time, and we'll be using a wide-shot from early November for our Christmas card.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

There was turkey. There was pie. There was a "naked boy" doing laps in the livingroom. It was a fun-filled Zimmerman Thanksgiving with Grady relations Bernie, Blaine, Caitlin, Ellen & John there for an afternoon of food, family and bird puppets.

The Zimmerman cousins, aunts and uncles all left by Friday afternoon, but the Fawcetts were just starting to gather and so on Friday night Owen had a playdate with his second cousins Ethan and Grace (though Grace slept through most of it). The boys hadn't been together since Owen's baptism and it's amazing how much trouble they can get into now that they're both mobile. Fortunately, there were a lot of us around to intercede when necessary, and the boys had great time together.



(click here to see all the pictures)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Devil's Haircut

While many of Owen's friends are beauty shop regulars, Owen had yet to have his head coiffed. Allen claimed that he didn't need a cut until his hair was in his eyes, which due to his generous forehead was still several months away. I just thought since we had waited this long we might as well try for the record books. And so we might have, all the while ignoring comments from various friends and relatives concerning the length of his locks, had not Owen himself informed us that he wanted a haircut. Multiple times. Even threatening to do the deed himself.

So after failing to get an appointment at a children's hair boutique, we took Owen to Great Clips this morning where, after chastising us for waiting so long, Erin transformed our little guy from a toddler to a real boy in about 10 minutes.

Harvest

Owen really lucked out when Grandma and Grandpa Z moved to Iowa. Just this trip he's already ridden in a tractor with Grandpa Z, ridden in a semi-truck twice (once with cousin Kent and once with uncle Ken), and ridden in a combine harvesting corn. It's almost too much fun for a little boy who loves diggers, trucks and the like to handle. 

 

(click here to see all the pictures)

Milk Shots

Earlier this month Elaine and I were having a glass of wine with dinner, and Owen expanded on his descriptions of what we all eat with this little gem, "Mommy Daddy drink wine. Owen no drink wine. Maybe Aunt Katherine's house." Well it's not quite wine, but Katherine did have Owen doing shots of milk this weekend when we stopped at Cleveland on our way to Iowa for Thanksgiving.

Messes in Texas

We try to make a trip to Austin each Fall, in part to replenish our Longhorn gear, revisit some of our old haunts and get our Tex-Mex fix. But mostly we go to visit Pop Pop, who hasn't been feeling too well of late. Owen had a great time rooting for the Horns with his Pop Pop Pop, and his presence brought a huge smile to Pop Pop's face and induced a fair amount of naps (though not enough for Owen).

Owen was a bit of a wild child this trip, terrorizing Aunt Janis & Uncle Truman's dachshund Brandy and Nana & Uncle Don's canine brigade. From a play-date with Calder Lewis on the roof of Whole Foods where they managed to scare away all other children, to a stop at Amy's Ice Cream where after a sip of milk chocolate milkshake he announced it was "party time" and proceeded to run up and down South Congress pausing only long enough for additional sips of said milkshake (we finally had to throw away the offending milkshake lest he implode), we seemed incapable of reigning him in. We might have hit the "terrible" phase of his two-ness.

Don't get us wrong, we aren't planning any trips to Omaha soon, but we might check out a few episodes of Suppernanny.

(click here to see all the Austin pictures)

Food for Thought

We were discussing the dietary habits of various species the other day (as we are wont to do) and Owen made the following observations:

1. "Horses eat grass and hay."
2. "Doggies eat goldfish and sticks*."
3. "Owen eats watermelon."
4. "Daddy eats food."
5. "Mommy eats candy."

Yeah, he might be a little too perceptive.

* This is actually true. A dog absconded with Owen's goldfish crackers at the park on the way home one night and then later that same week, Garcon ripped a stick out of Owen's hand, hence doggies eat goldfish and sticks. He's probably scarred for life but on the upside, it's looking less likely that we'll have to get him a puppy.

Fall

It's been a beautiful Fall weekend here in DC, and we've done our best to take advantage of it. Friday was Halloween of course, and Owen decided not to waste any of the day napping. He had a Halloween party at daycare, jumped on the moon bounce with his friend Cole at Eastern Market, handed out candy with Grandpa Fawcett, and went trick-or-treating at his friends' houses on our block. We didn't get many pictures on the actual day, but the weekend before Halloween Owen wore his tiger costume to the Halloween parade in Mom Mom's neighborhood, where we took several cute pictures. To complete our week long Halloween extravaganza, we went to the annual Halloween party at Brad & Marlo's house. Sadly the costumes at the party weren't what they once were, but Elaine's idea for me to go as Dr. Horrible was too good to pass up, so I borrowed Mom Mom's sewing machine and spent a couple weeks making what I think is a pretty darn impressive Dr. Horrible costume (I even did the embroidery!).

Today we took advantage of the extra hour of sleep we fell back into, and were still able to make it to the mall fairly early this morning to play around the pyramids by the National Gallery, and take in the new Ocean Hall at the Natural History Museum. All in all it was a great weekend.

(click here to see all the fun pyramid pictures)

The Owen EP

Owen is really into singing these days. It's pretty adorable, take a look.



Track Listing:
1. ABC song
2. Mary had a Little Lamb
3. This Old Man
4. Ba Ba Black Sheep

5000!

At noon today Owen went through his 5000th diaper. Yes, we're still tracking...

I'm thinking of something orange...

The annual Red River Shootout took place over the weekend. For those not familiar with Longhorn football, that's when Texas plays Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl to a crowd of 92,000. It's an epic battle, the sort of thing that you don't really want to watch alone, so Brad had the entire crew (Marlo, Mia, Brandon, Anneke, Andrew, Claire, Luke, and ourselves) over to watch Texas, despite a series of questionable calls, beat the Sooners and snatch their #1 ranking. To celebrate, it seemed only fitting to surround ourselves with all things orange, and so those of us with kids headed to Butler's Orchard to pick some pumpkins. Adorableness ensued.

This Shirt is Chaffing Me

This past weekend was our annual F Street Block Party, and for the first time since we've been living here, we took full advantage of the festivities. It helps that Owen has a ton of friends on the block, and when you spend as much time playing on the sidewalk as we do, you can't help but get to know your neighbors a little better. Owen in fact feels so at home outside on our block that he insisted on taking his shirt off at the Block Party so he could run around shouting, "Owie Naked!" Fortunately our block is dominated by little boys. Unfortunately this wasn't the last party Owen would attend this week.

On Wednesday I took Owen to our annual EPA Climate Change Division Picnic, where despite temperatures that caused senior management to dawn jackets, Owen decided once again to strip down and alternately chase after little girls to give them kisses, and chase after senior management to tell them that he was naked. On the bright side, I work of the EPA where everyone dresses casually. I was too busy chasing after him with his shirt to capture a good picture of naked Owen, so this cute picture of Owen, Cole, and Sophie (three junior members of the Climate Economics Branch) will have to do.

Reunited (the multi-dimensional version)

It seems only appropriate that a week after Allen's high school reunion I should get to see one of my favorite people from college. Former NU roommate Cecily and her family's East Coast invasion made Allen's absence far less tragic than previous international trips (though the fact that this one was only four days didn't hurt). 13 month old Dylan was a welcome distraction to Owen who was surprisingly generous in sharing numerous balls with him, though less so with his stacking cups. While they were only here 64 hours, we still managed to hit 3 museums (Matt actually hit 4), 2 sculpture gardens, and even a Klezmer concert at Eastern Market (Klezmer music is apparently very popular with the toddler set). Owen got a little upset when Daddy had to drive them to Union Station Monday morning, but hopefully we'll be able to return the visit soon.

Austria

Last week I was in Austria for the Energy Modeling Forum 22 meetings hosted by IIASA at Schloss Laxenburg. It was pretty cool to have our meetings in a castle that was once the summer residence of the Habsburg family. Not to be outdone by the meeting place, our hotel was also an old castle, Schloss Weikersdorf in Baden. The meetings were productive and the setting was gorgeous, but I'm glad to be home with Elaine and Owen and without any big trips on the horizon.

(click here to see the pictures)

Reunion

We took Owen to my 15 year high school reunion on Saturday. I had a good time catching up with some old classmates, and in a stroke of genius befitting Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, there was a moon bounce at the reunion which ensured that Owen had a blast. Unfortunately, technology was not so kind to me that morning, as the settings of my trimmer magically reset themselves resulting in my accidentally shaving off my beard and sideburns. On the plus side, I was easily recognizable to my former classmates (though less so for Elaine and Owen), but sadly it's probably going to be a while before my beard and I are reunited.

Beach Trip

2008 is an off year for our biennial beach trip to the Outer Banks, but Owen had so much fun at swimming lessons and playing in the sand at the Pond that we couldn't let the Summer slip away without a quick trip to the coast. Mid-September is a dicey time for a beach trip, but Summer held on for one last weekend of gorgeous weather, and while Bethany Beach isn't quite the Outer Banks, it served us well for frolicking in the waves and leaving footprints in the sand. Owen was much more adventurous with the Atlantic than last time around, delighting in running on the beach with the surf licking his toes, but he still preferred to hold on tight to Mommy or Daddy while facing the crashing waves. Hopefully next year we'll get the crew back together for another beach adventure.

(click here to see all the pictures)

finished...

We took Owen to see the Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian International Gallery today (thanks for the tip Brad!), and Owen absolutely loved it. His favorite part was a puppet theater with a giant Kermit the Frog and a tiny Cookie Monster. The theater had a TV camera and multiple monitors, and while Owen didn't do any performing himself, his squeals of laughter propelled many other aspiring puppeteers to newfound heights. Unfortunately photography was not allowed in the exhibit, and we forgot to take any pictures at Andrew and Clare's new house on Saturday (Owen had a great time playing with their son Luke, and of course Mia was there to join in the fun too), so instead the pictures in this post will cover our latest home improvement projects. We just had the house painted this week (Creekside Green was the winning color), and earlier this year we had the kitchen remodeled, so now we're finally done with all the big projects we had planned for the house.

(click here to see before and after pictures)