owen bugs

christmas fun!

2011-12-11T10:39:00.005-06:00

operation christmas child (our box landed in india!)...

a new favorite (thanks, grandma bonnie!)...

advent activity day #11 (snowman poop!)...

owen-wan kenobi

2011-11-07T17:08:00.002-06:00

may the force be with you!

halloween treats!

2011-10-28T12:11:00.004-05:00

giant pixy stix!!

our little dude!

2011-10-14T06:21:00.001-05:00

halloween goods!

2011-10-12T10:36:00.003-05:00

apple pickin!

2011-10-12T10:29:00.004-05:00

a buggy easter!

2011-04-25T11:47:00.005-05:00

just a few photos from our easter morning!

happy spring...

2011-03-23T15:54:00.001-05:00

from our little worm loving boy!

big kissy lips + fake mustaches!

2011-03-02T17:40:00.009-06:00

everyone seemed to get a real kick out of owen's valentines... so much fun! i only wish i had a photo to share of the o.bug with his fake mustache!!

i found the idea + template here.

owen's (out of this world!) birthday party...

2011-02-11T09:47:00.024-06:00

thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate owen's 4th birthday... we hope you had a blast!!

and for those who were unable to make it, here's a little recap...

there were flying saucers to decorate + goodie bags to be enjoyed!

we had 2 foot balloons + ice cream from the future!

the kids had a 'blast' with the stomp rocket game (and everyone made it to the moon at least once)!

according to the birthday boy, it was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!

love this!

2011-02-03T19:22:00.003-06:00

and this!!

cake pops...

2011-01-19T19:04:00.008-06:00

just finished up a trial batch of robot cake pops (for owen's outer space birthday party)! thanks, mom, for making such perfect cake squares... you rock!!

santa clause is coming to town!

2010-12-29T18:35:00.007-06:00

christmas morning excitement...

2010-12-26T11:52:00.004-06:00

marbleworks... from mommy + daddy! from casandra on Vimeo.

the flying turtle... from santa! from casandra on Vimeo.

hope your christmas was merry + bright!

2010-12-26T10:52:00.004-06:00

this year's christmas tree...

2010-12-01T23:05:00.003-06:00

i think it's a keeper!

happy halloween!

2010-10-31T11:26:00.003-05:00

the mad scientist + his frankenstein.

2010-10-30T11:52:00.004-05:00

owen's mento geyser experiment...

2010-10-28T21:56:00.002-05:00

owen's mento geyser experiment from casandra on Vimeo.

the lab coat.

2010-10-25T14:18:00.005-05:00

owen's halloween treat bags...

2010-10-24T09:46:00.009-05:00

owen's first fishing excursion...

2010-10-17T09:52:00.008-05:00

owen.

2010-10-15T09:43:00.003-05:00

"i was working in the lab late one night..."

2010-10-06T22:16:00.012-05:00

adam + i finally gave in and let the o.bug open his halloween treat bag early! this year, he's dressing up as a mad scientist. so of course, we had to fill his bag with fun things he could use... candy beakers, gummy eyeballs, nerdy glasses, and test tube experiments! he loved it all!!

a trip to the pumpkin patch...

2010-09-25T22:36:00.006-05:00

owen's creepy (but cute) spider cupcakes!

2010-09-24T12:56:00.005-05:00

owen's first day of preschool...

2010-09-17T11:44:00.003-05:00

he had a great time with his new friends + can't wait to go back next week!

the super bubble wand...

2010-09-12T18:40:00.002-05:00

this year's popcorn fest find!

what can i say... the camera loves him!!

2010-07-23T15:51:00.004-05:00

my loves.

2010-06-20T18:50:00.002-05:00

happy father's day!

curls!!!

2010-06-18T12:42:00.002-05:00

oh, how i love these curls!

a new fave!

2010-06-15T10:39:00.001-05:00

backyard summer fun!

2010-06-04T23:26:00.006-05:00

i just love our backyard! it's such a fun place to spend our summer days... playing in the sandbox, running through the sprinkler, blowing bubbles, getting soaked from squirt gun fights, shooting off rocket balloons, hunting for bugs, watering the garden, enjoying homemade popsicles, sprawling out in the grass for a picnic! some of my most favorite memories were made in this little backyard with this cute little guy!

dig it!

2010-05-19T23:38:00.003-05:00

owen wouldn't be having so much fun in his new sandbox if it weren't for his daddy + papa scott. thanks for all the hard work... you two are the best!!!

meet sally the salamander.

2010-04-29T18:40:00.004-05:00

owen claims they're best friends.

happy earth day...

2010-04-22T19:00:00.003-05:00

we're getting our garden on!

a dino-mite easter!

2010-04-04T09:35:00.035-05:00

owen had so much fun this morning, digging through his easter basket + hunting for eggs! it sure didn't take him long to figure out that the little eggs contained his favorite... gummy worms!

the easter bunny scored some major points this year with the dino tail...

and the backyard dino dig was a huge hit, as well!

happy easter, everyone!

easter fun!

2010-03-27T13:04:00.003-05:00

this was the first year for owen to venture out on his own at the easter egg hunt... he had so much fun and he even collected seven eggs! after trading in his special egg (#42) for a little einsteins plush rocket, we headed over to visit with the easter bunny...

typical owen.

2010-03-23T19:25:00.002-05:00

the snow fort...

2010-03-05T11:29:00.004-06:00

and a snowball fight!

chef owen.

2010-02-26T14:48:00.002-06:00

smoothie maker extrodinaire...

(and for you photogs... this was shot at 4000 iso on my 5d ii. hard to believe, right?)

happy valentines day!

2010-02-16T16:14:00.035-06:00

this year, we decided to celebrate by spending the day together at the indy children's museum (and it certainly did not disappoint)! owen really loved the dinosaur exhibit... especially the part where he got to dress up as his favorite dinosaur (if it had been up to him, he would have dragged that tail around all day long)! he had lots of fun in the dig site (last year, he wouldn't even think about putting on those required safety goggles)! and he even got to bring home a little dino egg of his very own (which is currently in the process of hatching)! he's already planning his next visit!!

for his friends, owen sent out robot valentines with space capsules (one of his favorite things to do right now is to watch as the capsules slowly dissolve in water and morph into little foam spaceships + planets)!

and our little valentine received some pretty fun stuff too...

hope your day was filled with lots of love + snuggles!

presents with mommy + daddy.

2010-02-15T11:31:00.033-06:00

owen's top birthday picks...

the green toys tool box.

and the green toys recycling truck.

choo choo, thank you!

2010-02-01T11:22:00.035-06:00

owen had so much fun this year... thanks to everyone for making his train party so fantastic!

and because i know we have some very anxious out of town family + friends, here are a few photos from owen's 3rd birthday party...

the boarding pass.

the dining car.

the snacks.

the departure goods...a conductor's hat + whistle, thomas stickers + a train lolipop. (thanks to the best daddy ever for making the train whistles!)

and the train conductor... blowing out his birthday candles!

super owen!

2010-01-25T11:15:00.001-06:00

our little snowman.

2010-01-02T12:46:00.007-06:00

and a big thanks to the forts for passing along the snow suit...it fit perfectly and the o.bug sure looked cute all bundled up!

our thomas the train christmas!

2009-12-29T17:19:00.033-06:00

here are just a few photos from christmas morning at our house...

owen had so much fun with christmas this year... he especially loved when santa would call to check in on him! (and he must have been a pretty good little boy, because santa sure was good to him!) in his stocking, owen found several new thomas trains, an i love toy trains dvd, a set of wacky track for his train table, thomas the train underwear, a big bag of lego candies, and a red swirly lollipop. (oh, and we musn't forget the orange that owen repeatedly asked santa to leave in his stocking.) and under the tree, santa left three special packages just for the o.bug... a thomas the train lighthouse set, the water tower, and the knapford bridge. (all of which were quickly added to the train table.)

on christmas eve, owen unwrapped his christmas pjs, a cozy pair of train slippers, and the polar express book. (i don't think he took his slippers off all night long!) and on christmas morning, he awoke to find a train table of his very own right in the middle of his living room! (lovingly built + painted by his daddy and grandpa scott.)

it sure was a magical morning!

holiday fun!

2009-12-06T19:35:00.005-06:00

bringing this year's christmas tree home...

breakfast with santa at tyler's tender...

and our completed gingerbread train...

owen's polar express.

2009-11-29T00:21:00.003-06:00

exploring the xmas tree farm...

2009-11-28T16:56:00.004-06:00

feeling especially thankful...

2009-11-26T13:00:00.003-06:00

for this silly little guy!

art by owen.

2009-11-15T13:34:00.003-06:00

tweet tweet.

2009-11-08T13:04:00.006-06:00

the o.bug was pretty excited about hanging his new bird feeder. i bet he'll be spending quite a bit of time this winter standing on great grandma fort's little step stool, watching the birds from the window...

bff's!

2009-11-07T20:27:00.006-06:00

trick or treat!

2009-11-02T12:01:00.009-06:00

first stop of the night...walter's house, of course!!!

happy fall!

2009-10-31T13:55:00.003-05:00

a trip to the pumpkin patch!

2009-10-25T22:40:00.003-05:00

pumpkin guts!

2009-10-24T16:06:00.003-05:00

our junior park ranger.

2009-10-23T20:31:00.004-05:00

all ready for the downtown trick or treat fun nite...

kickin off the fall season.

2009-09-30T09:17:00.010-05:00

this past sunday, we stopped by the county line apple orchard for a little fall fun! as usual, owen loved feeding the goats + playing on the tractors. but this year, he was able to ride the moo choo train all by himself...such a big boy! and adam and i had to laugh, as owen picked out two of the tiniest pumpkins ever. (even when we told him he could go big!) if you're in the area, you definitely need to stop by and pick up some of their very yummy apple cinnamon donuts!

i have lots more disney photos (and even some video clips) to share...so be sure to check back over the next few weeks!

minnie + donald.

2009-09-29T13:46:00.008-05:00

i think owen's favorite part of our trip was getting to meet all of the disney characters at breakfast + dinner. he just loved to give each one a hug (and sometimes a little kiss on the nose or cheek)... i can't tell you how many times i'd hear him say, "one more time." seriously, the sweetest thing!

blast off with the little einsteins.

2009-09-21T13:56:00.006-05:00

owen meets quincy + leo at disney's hollywood studios...

the magic kingdom.

2009-09-15T09:01:00.002-05:00

indiana beach '09.

2009-08-16T12:40:00.009-05:00

just a few photos from our trip to indiana beach. thanks for the fantastic day, great grandma ann!

and just for fun, here is a link to our '08 trip... i can't believe how different the boys look in those little boats.

one burger, please!

2009-08-10T12:35:00.007-05:00

last sunday, we took our annual summer trip up to new buffalo, michigan. and of course, we had to stop at redamaks to enjoy a burger. but even better, we found this awesome store called i love toy trains! i'm sure we'll be frequent visitors.

the lincoln park zoo.

2009-08-07T21:06:00.008-05:00

last friday, we spent the day celebrating our fifth anniversary at the lincoln park zoo. and not surprisingly, the o.bug's favorite part was the train ride. (although, he did seem to enjoy watching the gorillas. and he was pretty excited about petting the goats.) it certainly was a fantastic day for this little family!

the robot arm...

2009-07-13T18:20:00.007-05:00

as we so lovingly refer to it.

hensler nursery photo session.

2009-06-30T11:41:00.008-05:00

the great american backyard campout...

2009-06-28T21:53:00.012-05:00

we had such a fun weekend! owen + trevor made lots and lots of yummy smores. (owen couldn't get enough of the marshmallows.) douggie joined us for some cornhole. adam grilled burgers and hot dogs. (with lettuce from our garden, of course.) the boys were back and forth between the sprinkler + the pool all weekend long. and owen loved the tent. good times!

i barely had my camera out all weekend, but i did manage to get a few photos that i love...

hensler nursery test shot.

2009-06-25T14:38:00.010-05:00

i hope we can get a little more cooperation than this for the real thing...

although i must admit, as a momma + a photographer... i love this photo! love the light. love the crop. love owen's mischievous expression. love that adam is just peeking in.

bubbles.

2009-06-18T13:47:00.000-05:00

from our garden.

2009-06-16T10:00:00.004-05:00

and one of our master gardener...

the indy zoo.

2009-06-15T13:05:00.009-05:00

we had such a fantastic time visiting with the animals at the indianapolis zoo. owen + trev got the chance to feed a giraffe and touch a shark! they got to take a ride on the animal carousel and the white river junction train! and after watching the dolphin adventure show, they got completley soaked in the splash park! trevor's fave were the meerkats, and owen decided to mimic the giant tortoise by nibbling on a few blades of grass. the boys especially loved spending the weekend with papa d, grandma b, and uncle douggie!

tyler's tender.

2009-06-05T22:30:00.011-05:00

owen just loves this train themed restaurant.

he is always asking to go to the 'train house.'

he gets to be the controller for the model trains.

he gets to be the engineer on his very own train ride.

and he even gets his food served up on a little model train.

such a fantastic place for our little train lovin boy!

hunting for bugs with daddy.

2009-05-29T15:55:00.006-05:00

tootin turtle sprinkler.

2009-05-26T14:14:00.006-05:00

the boys loved it!

two peas in a pod.

2009-05-12T09:31:00.001-05:00

it's good to be a momma!

2009-05-10T15:24:00.010-05:00

we just got back from a fantastic little picnic at deep river park. (thanks to my two sweet boys!) and tonight, we're off to a train themed restaurant for dinner with grandma b and papa d. (owen is gonna love it!)

hope everyone has a lovely mother's day. xoxo.

papa's car.

2009-05-07T10:37:00.012-05:00

a couple days a week, papa stops by to see owen before he heads off to work. (lucky for us, we happen to be on his morning coffee run.) and owen has quickly learned that if he asks reeeeaaally nice, papa will let him sit in his car. (which is a pretty big deal for both my dad and the o.bug.)

owen + dirt = lots of fun

2009-05-04T12:59:00.006-05:00

while daddy worked on the garden, owen played in the dirt.

he got a little crazy.

and of course, he had to do a little taste test.

(which was promptly followed up by a great big 'ewwwwwww....gross!')

something tells me he won't be doing that again.

27 months.

2009-04-30T19:26:00.008-05:00

just a few fun facts about the o.bug...

-he is obsessed with trains. (especially thomas and friends.)

-when he hears a train coming, he insists on going outside to watch as it passes. (even if we can barely see it.)

-he is taking after his grandma bonnie and becoming a disney superfan. he loves mickey + minnie, winnie the pooh + tigger, lilo + stitch, and nemo + baby crush. (disneyworld...here we come!)

-when we go for walks around the block, he loves to collect little things...rocks, leaves, pine cones, acorns, sticks.

-he loves the land before time movie. (and always points out the sun and the tree star.)

-when he's hungry or wants a snack, he says 'eat food!'

-when he hears a new or strange sound, he shouts 'what's that?'

-instead of saying yes, he says UHHHHH-HUH!

-he has an opinion on everything. (and i mean, everything!)

-he surprises us everyday with all of the new + exciting things that he has learned.

-and some of our favorite new o.bug words: pinecone, bubbles, ladybug, applesauce, and ghost.

happy monday.

2009-04-27T09:17:00.000-05:00

daddy hugs.

2009-04-25T07:15:00.000-05:00

makes my heart go pitter patter.

happy earth day!

2009-04-22T19:44:00.021-05:00

to celebrate, owen received this fantastic book...

10 things i can do to help my world, by melanie walsh.

its just perfect for him...its filled with 10 simple things that even a little guy can do.

and how could we pass up this great kite, made entirely from recycled oreo wrappers... (i'll be sure to post pics just as soon as we get it in the air.)

and i must introduce you to our new little neighbor...he has just decided to build a home in our pergola...

hope you had a fantastic earth day!

easter wishes from the owen bug!

2009-04-12T09:41:00.037-05:00

goodies from the easter bunny...

(a bug's life dvd, a mo willems book, a water bugs bath toy, a sand play set, and some bunny snacks + lolipops.)

and the easter egg loot...

(homemade playdough, recycled crayons, and dino stickers)

happy easter!

egg-stra fun!

2009-04-04T15:31:00.016-05:00

owen had soooooo much fun at today's easter egg hunt. (and adam and i sure had a fun time watching him collect the little eggs.) he was totally intrigued by the easter bunny, and stood at the gazebo for over twenty minutes, just watching the kids go up one by one. when his turn finally came around, he bravely made it up the first three stairs...and then froze. it took a bit of coaxing, but eventually he took a few steps closer. he quickly claimed his little piece of chocolate from the easter bunny, and then retreated to a safe spot behind his daddy. unfortunately, i was unable to get a picture, but it really was too cute. he even ended up winning his very owen mr potato head set.

and this photo of owen's cousin, aidan, was taken just before the easter egg hunt began. (it was just begging to be shared.)

26 months.

2009-03-31T09:25:00.006-05:00

here's what the o.bug has been up to...

-he has added three new colors to his list: black, white, and brown.

-he can identify three shapes: a star, a heart, and a circle.

-he loves his fridge phonics. (thanks to the forts.) and he can even identify and sound out a few of the letters: h, n, t, x, and z.

-he could watch disney movies all day long if we'd let him. (he loves stitch, nemo + the jungle book.)

-he thinks he should be able to drive the v.dub, instead of his mommy or daddy. (he loves the steering wheel.)

-he does the hand motion for a choo choo train.

-when he sings, he tends to combine several different songs into one.

-he prefers to read his books all by himself.

-and he loves to play with his cookie cutters and playdough.

fun with playdough.

2009-03-30T16:14:00.004-05:00

and you can find my favorite homemade playdough recipe here.

just playing outdoors.

2009-03-28T22:08:00.001-05:00

the chicago children's museum.

2009-03-24T20:19:00.009-05:00

such a fun place. owen's fave, by far, was the waterways play area. he got completely soaked!

our little swimmer.

2009-03-15T20:39:00.005-05:00

the o.bug could have stayed in the pool all weekend long. he seriously loved it that much. thanks, mom and dad. we had a fantastic time.

little sprouts.

2009-03-07T12:42:00.005-06:00

every time owen would drop a bean into one of the plugs, we'd hear, "byyyeee bean."

chuckEcheese.

2009-03-03T15:18:00.002-06:00

what can i say...they love it!

25months.

2009-03-01T22:43:00.014-06:00

just a quick o.bug update...

-he's getting really good at stringing multiple words together to form his own little sentences... "go. shoes. car. papa. grandma. hello." (we must hear that little gem at least a hundred times a day.)

-he is constantly saying little phrases like, "here you go" and "here it is."

-he knows several of his colors...yellow, blue, green, purple, and orange. (with red usually being referred to as orange.)

-yellow is definitely his favorite color.

-he sounds so cute when he sings... "la la la la la."

-he does his own little version of the itsy bitsy spider, complete with the hand motions and all.

-every time he falls down or runs into something, he says "crash."

-when he's being silly or mischevious, he'll look at you with a big grin and say "cheese."

-as soon as he gets into the time out, he'll say "sorry." and then immediately try to escape.

-he loves to let hudson out each morning.

-he has become quite the laundry helper.

-he no longer uses his highchair or booster seat at the table.

-he picked out his very own green potty chair.

-and he finally climbed out of his crib.

photo wall art.

2009-02-18T13:49:00.016-06:00

just thought i'd share a few photos of our new 20x24 gallery wrapped canvas. the photo was printed directly onto art canvas, stretched over a 1.5 inch wooden frame, and then sealed with a beautiful gloss finish. the quality and clarity is amazing. can you tell i am totally in love with it? i could hang these all over my home. seriously...one of the coolest ways to display a photo. ever. (sorry for the horrendous product photography. the shape looks all distorted and the color is a bit crazy, but you get the idea. it looks sooooooo much better in person.)

xoxo.

2009-02-09T17:20:00.010-06:00

just a quick photo of the valentine that owen sent out to his littlest friends. (as seen in an older issue of family fun.)

happy monday.

2009-02-09T16:54:00.001-06:00

opening presents.

2009-02-05T10:50:00.005-06:00

THANKS, EVERYONE!

a monsterrific party.

2009-02-04T12:51:00.007-06:00

adam and i just wanted to thank everyone for helping us celebrate owen's 2nd birthday. we had so much fun, and we hope you did too.

for those of you who were unable to make it, here is a photo recap...

the birthday monster (sporting his leonard the monster tee)...

the front door...

the party tins (filled with a monster puppet and board book, a monster lolipop, monster goo, and a monster headband)...

the table (complete with monster slime, sugar cookies that had already been nibbled on by the birthday monsters, blue rice krispie treats, mini chocolate covered brownie monsters, and white chocolate eyeballs.)

the monster cake...

owen's cupcake...

a pair of birthday monsters (adam originals)...

and a very tired little birthday monster...

and a great big thanks to grandma bonnie, grandma jan, and grandpa scott for all of your help.

what you got cooking, trev?

2009-02-02T15:52:00.008-06:00

crystal and trevor are here visiting for the week, and i have a feeling this little guy is going to be making us all kinds of treats.

for pictures of his little brother, landon, go check out my photography site.