Summer Fun, 4th of July Weekend, and Updates

I took full advantage of my Disney Pass and took Owen to Disneyland/CA on both my days off before we were officially blocked out for the Summer. On my first day off, we just hung out at Disneyland, and I finally gave in and bought Owen a bubble wand.

On Dumbo!

As Owen calls them, "BUHBUH!!!"

On my second day off, we met up with Ralph's family at California Adventure to celebrate cousin Matty's 4th birthday. It was one of the hottest days of the week, but we had loads of fun, as usual. I even got to go on a "big kid" ride (Tower of Terror) while Nana watched Owen.

Cousins!

With his Nana.

With Auntie Jen and cousin Desirae.

At the water playground in Bug's Land to cool off.

"I'll have some iced milk please."

Cooling off with our spray bottle/fan that I forgot to take with us to the park (this photo was taken when we were already at our complex). Fail.

Our Disney adventures are now on hold until August. :(

The following day, we celebrated my coworker/friend/favorite Canadian Jeanni's retirement at the Hacienda on the Lake. OCUA will not be the same without her.

Owen was, as usual, "active" throughout the night. I spent a majority of the time chasing him around.

The following weekend was 4th of July weekend. On Saturday, Owen and I went to my mom and dad's for lunch.

Quite possibly the ugliest and hardest cake I've ever made...but it was still yummy!

With his "Wowo" and "Wowa".

On July 4th, we went to Riverside to celebrate with Ralph's side of the family. I didn't want to torture myself by making another flag cake, so I just stuck to one of my go-to desserts - Paula Deen's Banana Pudding (though I used strawberries and blueberries instead of bananas).

We left the party a little early to watch the fireworks at Mission Viejo Lake. It was already past Owen's bedtime, but he stayed awake throughout.

Halfway through, he motioned for his stroller, and that's where he stayed the rest of the show. I don't think he was very impressed...but at least he wasn't afraid! Right...?

It's been a couple of months since I've posted "Owen Updates", so here's what's new:

Eating

Well...

...let's just say he's not picky like his "Datton". He eats everything, but his new favorite foods are garlic fried rice, cantaloupe, and hot dogs.

Sleeping

Still consistent in his sleeping habits. Awake no later than 7am, morning nap by 10am, afternoon nap by 3-4pm, and bedtime before 9pm. And he always wakes up happy and babbling.


"Playing"
He's reaaallly pushing his boundaries now. Several blog posts back, I had a list of things that Owen does that drive me and Ralph crazy. Here are a few more things to add to that list:

• Taking down all of Ralph's books from the shelf and throwing them on our bed.
• Going to the bathroom and pushing shampoo/conditioner/body wash bottles into the bathtub.
• Climbing on top of the ottoman/coffee table and standing on them.
• Grabbing the TV/cable remotes and pushing every button as quickly as possible before we take them back from him.
• Grabbing our shoes from the cabinet and playing with them...and he seems to favor my work shoes, which makes me cringe (ya'll know I'm a urology nurse, right?).

*Sigh* Seems like the "terrible 2's" came 7 months too early.


Talking
Owen can now understand simple commands such as, "put it back", "close it", "sit/get down", "don't touch", "give to Mama", "kiss Daddy", "blow kiss", "say 'bye-bye'", etc. He knows to go to his room when we say "change diaper" or "take a nap"; he also knows to go to his highchair to eat when I say "om om".

New words he has learned to say:

• Mama (yay!)
• "wah-wah" - water
• "shuh"- shoes
• "moh" - more
• "Elmuh" - Elmo, though he thinks every single Sesame Street character is Elmo...
• "Poh" - Pooh
• "Tigguh" - Tigger
• "buh" - book

He knows some shapes (star, cross, square, triangle, circle), though he can't say the words yet; and he can show you where his head, feet, hands, belly, tongue, and kili kili (Tagalog for "armpit") are. He no longer calls Wendy "Deedee"; he calls her "Nah", and Ralph and I suspect it's because we always tell Wendy "no".

I think that's it's for "Owen Updates". As for me, I lost 3.6 pounds last month, making it a total of 21.4 pounds this year...though I think I gained back 10 during 4th of July weekend, heh. It's getting harder to run outside because of the weather, so I've been going to the gym at our complex; I think it's for the best because I need to start doing some strengthening exercises to gain some muscle anyway.

Eating healthy has been a challenge, especially when there are BBQs/parties/gatherings left and right...but I've found fun in cooking healthy meals.

More protein, veggies, and fruits.

Even though I've lost a ton of weight, my gut still remains. I honestly look like I'm 4 months pregnant, so I'm gonna do a 30-day "abs challenge", starting on the 13th and ending a day before my birthday. Let's hope we see some progress.

Until next time!