Do I look like my mommy...or what?

These are just two of the pictures that we've found that share a resemblence. Aren't we cute???!!!! My mom says that he looks so much like I did at this age, that it's scary. Poor poor kid.

Christmas was great! Before I give a Christmas post, I want to catch up on some other things. I am really behind in my postings! Please forgive me. Now that the Holidays are almost over, I should be more consistant (hopefully).

Just before Christmas, Owen, Jen and I were honored to be invited to Kiana's cheerleading recital. For those of you who don't know who Kiana is...she is one of my cousin's (Dennis') two little girls! Kiana did such a great job!! You talk about cute....take a look at her showing her cheerleading moves! Ready? OK!












Her sister, Kayla, is just as cute. Here's a photo of Jen and Kayla at the recital. When I was pregnant, Kayla used to point at my tummy and beg me to take the baby out. Very cute! Anyway, we had a nice time at the recital and it really great to see the girls....warming us up for Christmas in Missouri with them.












Other things:

Owen misses his Grandma Pat....a lot! She is currently in Baltimore through the New Year. She, Aunt Mel and Uncle Michael spent Christmas with Uncle Matt and Aunt Jocelyn and the kiddies (Caleb, Anna and Aaron). We missed them all this year and will hopefully see them next year at Christmas time! We pick Grandma Pat up from the airport on New Year's Day. Owen is excited!

No day care this week! Kris and Tess have both been really sick. So between Jen and I, we've been juggling Owen and work. We hope everyone gets better by next week! :)

Owen was very happy to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Bowers and Grandpa Western over the holiday weekend. I'll be uploading some pictures from Christmas soon. Stay tuned......

The Lollipop Guild Loves Clifford the Big Red Dog!

Presenting....a very upstanding member of the Lollipop Guild. He welcomes you to Munchkin Land. Enjoy your stay.....










Owen's new thing is to watch Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS when he gets home from Kris' house.He gets so excited when Clifford comes on the screen.....he kicks his legs and becomes very vocal. It is way too cute!




Watching television will not become a habit...but look how excited he gets! We can't resist.

















Sad but true....I had to step in front of the tv for this shot.
Last week, Kris took Owen and Tess to the mall to meet Santa. Owen looks so little and squished up in this picture...like a cute little munchkin! It was very nice of Kris to take them to see Santa and to give us a 5x7 of the photo. Today, Kris took them to meet Frosty the Snowman. She reports that Owen loved Frosty! She also reports that Owen has been very talkative lately. We've noticed this too. He has so much to say....you can see it in his face and hear it in his sweet little voice!

Owen is looking forward to going to Missouri for Christmas next week!

Owen's shout out this week is to Grandma Bowers! He misses and loves Grammie lots and lots. See you soon, Grammie!

Has it been three months already??

Yep, we celebrated Owen's three month birthday today by decorating his first Christmas tree! We can't believe it's only been three months.....it seems like he's always been here with us. Here's a picture of Owen in his 'First Christmas' outfit that Auntie Peg sent him. Isn't he cute???!!! Merry Christmas (a little early) to Great Great Auntie Peg and Great Great Uncle Ken in St. Louis! We hope that you aren't snowed in down there.We ended up having a very fun and relaxing family Christmas weekend. Overall, we think that Owen is going to like this holiday the best....due in part to all the colorful twinkling lights. Saturday morning was dreamy. We got up, had our coffee, breakfast and a nap. Then we went to pick out our Christmas tree (we had a voucher for a free Christmas tree this year, which makes it even more exciting)!!We were surprised that this tree is one of the nicest trees we've ever had....and it was free! Grandma Pat came over this afternoon to visit Owen on his 3 month Birthday! We think that our beautiful mesmerizing free Christmas tree made Grandma Pat get the urge to pick one up on her way home.....we wonder if she did or not.Not only did we pick out the tree and decorate the tree, Owen met Santa on Saturday! It appears that Owen was thinking about what was on his list so he could tell Santa but we don't think he ever remembered. Santa finally quit asking.Here's a big shout-out from Owen to his cousins Anna and Aaron (Jen's brother Matt's 2-year old twins who live in Baltimore). "Hey cuzzes....I can't wait to meet you!!" Owen also asks Aunt Jocelyn to give both of them (and big brother Caleb) a big hug and kiss to thank them for calling to talk to him this weekend. It was a nice treat!

Good times with my cousin Ava....

Ava: "Uncle Michael says that I'm pretty and that I should have my picture taken by myself....even if Owen and I have on matching shirts."

Owen: "Man!!??!! Thanks a lot Uncle Michael! I thought us boys were supposed to stick together."



Ava: " Hey Oooo-weeee, stay out of my cute picture...will ya???"

Owen: "Hey Lady....don't touch me! The last thing I need are girl germs!"



Owen: "See my finger, see my thumb, see my fist, you'd better run!"



Ava: "Oh Owen, I'm sorry. You can be in my picture, buddy old pal."



Ava: "Just kiddin! Take that! Girlz rule and boyz drool! I'm ready for my photo shoot, please. "

Owen says "Have a Happy Thanksgiving... Kapeesh?"

Now, where did I put my cigar? Owen wants to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! He's pretty excited because he is going to Chicago tomorrow with his moms and Grandma Pat to see Uncle Brian, Aunt Nikki, Cousin Ava, Aunt Melinda and Uncle Michael. Uncle Michael is flying in from Boston! He's never met Owen or Ava...is he ever in for a treat! We are looking forward to it. We leave tomorrow around 1:00 and plan to come back to Minneapolis on Saturday.

Yeehaaa! Grandpa Western bought this cowboy hat on a trail riding trip for Owen a couple months ago. Isn't he cute?? Soon, he'll be able to fit into his Wranglers, cowboy boots and spurs. Thanks to Grandpa, Lisa and Jan...Owen will be a regular old cowboy/outlaw. His name even exudes outlaw: Owen James Western Trudeau.
Here is a super cute picture of Jen and Owen playing. She is such a great Mom....he adores her and she adores him. It really is sweet. I am so thankful to have both of them in my life. I couldn't be happier.I'm sorry to say that I can't get any other videos to upload but I'm going to keep trying. Well, I better go pack. Have a great Thanksgiving and remember that we love you all very much!

p.s. Happy Happy Birthday to Auntie Voon! We love you and hope you have a great day.

Finally....video!

Here is a video of Owen when he was only 4.5 weeks old...he was so little! He was also just starting to smile here. You should see him smile now! This is nothing. I'll be updating the blog with current video in the next couple of days. :) Enjoy....

Mike, Ty, Sophie & Ava Article

Well...this was another good weekend! Friday night the three of us rented a movie, made dinner and just relaxed. Then on Saturday during the day, we did more relaxing around the house. Dinner with Katrina, Tony and Ian on Saturday night, brunch with Grandma Pat on Sunday and Tess' Birthday party Sunday night.

We've noticed over the past few days how much Owen is starting to notice his hands (he's gifted, you know). ;)

Unfortunately Grandma, we didn't take any new pictures this weekend. We'll get some this week some time and will update the blog with them. For now, here's an older one we took....I think it's super cute!

Something exciting....Mike, Ty, Sophie and Ava were featured in an article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Ava made the very front page....what a cutie!! You can see the images from the article below. They will get larger if you double click on them....you should be able to read the article as well once you double click on it. For those of you (like Aunt Peg and others) who haven't met or know of Mike, Ty, Sophie and Ava, they are our best friends and have been for many years.










































































Here are some photos from the hospital. Uncle Ty was there when Owen was born! What a treat to have him there with us during such an important time in our lives. p.s. look how small Owen was!

Birthday Wishes to Alison.....

I asked Owen what we should send Alison for her Birthday and he got a huge grin on his face. So, we are sending this sweet smile out to her on her Birthday and hope she enjoys it as much as we do. Happy Birthday Alison!

These pictures were taken just tonight. He loves his bath and is always so happy right afterward..so sweet. We just love these times with him. We are really close to having a consistent schedule with naps, feedings, baths, bedtime, etc. It seems he is staying awake longer and eating more at meal times. Kris is noticing this too. He's growing so fast and I think he looks older than 2 months at times. I want him to stay little forever! The thought of him getting old makes us sad. I guess we'll have to have another one. :)

Grammie, I sent some photos to the Walmart website. You can pick them up in the store tomorrow. I had copies made for you, Great Grandma Jerry and Grandpa Western. Love you guys!

Owen Voted!

Well, kind of....he had his first voting experience with his Moms! He was so good...not a peep out of him. Let's see....what else? Owen started staying with Kris on Monday since we are both back to work. I think it went very well for Kris, Owen and Tess. Tess helped change diapers and feed Owen. When I picked Owen up Monday evening, 3 year old Tess told me that Owen was a good baby. :) Cute!

We had a really busy weekend. On Friday, Owen stayed with Grandma Pat while we went to Owen's Uncle Mike's 40th birthday party....his one man show called 'One Night Stand'. Uncle Mike's dream has always been to perform a cabaret style show. so, he treated himself (and a bunch of people) to his dream for his birthday. we should all do that! I can't even tell you how good it was!! He really could take his show on the road and it would be a hit. I'm not kidding. That man is talented! I video taped it for him and I've watched it a number of times already.On Saturday, we hung out at home and then went to Uncle Mike & Ty's house in the evening because their families were all in town for Mike's show and they wanted to meet Owen. We are very blessed to have a close extended chosen family in Mike, Ty, Sophie and Ava. They are special to all three of us. On Sunday, we went over to Tess and Tim's house for dinner. It was a great weekend overall.

Mystery: Owen received a package yesterday and there wasn't any information as to who it is from. In the package, there were 4 of the cutest cloth books about farm animals (he loved them...we hang them from his play mat). If you are the sweet person who sent them, please let us know so we can give the proper thanks!

Many apologies to Great Grandma Jerry for taking so long to post a new entry. It's been sooo busy getting ready for this week that we just haven't had any spare time. I'll try to get better! It really doesn't take me that long.

Owen is really smiling lately! It is such a treat. As a matter of fact, Jen and I both think that he laughed when we were playing with him yesterday. Ahhh.....we just love him so much! He's dreamy.

And the winner is......

Owen!! He's the biggest!! Yep, Owee and his little cousin Rigo (aka 'gogo') are only 7 weeks apart. You wouldn't believe how tiny gogo is....so small and soooo sweet! Owee was pretty excited to meet his cousin when we were in Missouri because he is very competitive and likes to win (as you can see). He heard gogo was a little on the scrawny side....easy victory. eh eh eh. In all fairness, Owen is huge! He has already grown out of some 3-6 month sleepers and he's already in Size #2 diapers. In the next picture, the pacifier in gogo's mouth is a smaller sized pacifier than most and it takes up 1/2 of his cute little face!So small...great things come in small packages. We are very happy that gogo is out of the hospital and doing great. We love you Rigo!! We'll see you at Christmas. It will be fun!
Not only did Owen meet his cousin but he also met his Great-Grandma Jerry, Aunt Terra, Uncle Daniel and Uncle Tyler! Here is a pic of Uncle Tyler and Alison (one of Owen's very favorite people) and another of Owen's Great Grandma Jerry, Grammie Cindy and Mommy.






























News to report:

-Owee has been sleeping in his crib in his own room for the past 3 nights (sucessfully I might add). He's a big boy.
-I'm back to work now. I miss Owee so much during the day but it does feel good to be back at it.
-Owee will begin hanging out with Tess and Kris on Monday because Jen goes back to work. She's sad.
-Owee will be staying with Grandma Pat tomorrow night because his moms are going out! Mike (of Mike and Ty) is celebrating his 40th birthday by putting on a one-man-show at a local theater here in town. We are excited for that and Owee is excited to stay with Grandma!

Until next time.....

Happy Halloween.....

Happy Halloween from Owen! As you've noticed, I haven't posted in a few days. We went to Missouri to meet Owen's new cousin, his great grandma and many others. We have lots of stories and photos to share and hope to have some posted in the next day or so. I'm back to work and don't have as much time as I once did...so, it could be that I post every few days. Don't stop checking though....there will be more!!!




Note to self: do not dress a hungry baby in a chicken costume.

Monday; 10/23/06

Today, Owen (Voonie Bear) went on a walk to Nina's Coffee Shop and to the park with me, Lil' Voon (Adeline) and Auntie Voon. It was pretty chilly but I bundled him up pretty well. We always enjoy hanging out with the Voonies.

Check out Owen's t-shirt......he means it too (he told me so)! A bonus cameo appearance by Boo.

We moved Owie's Thursday's dr appointment to Wednesday...so, now I think we are going to leave for Missouri to meet gogo on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. We've only been on one car trip to Design Camp and it was a 2.5-3 hour trip that took us almost 5 hours. Our trip home will be interesting to say the least.

A couple things you might not know about O:

*he has a very small birth mark on his foot in the shape of a guitar
*his favorite song for a long time was 'King of the Road' (Dean Martin's version) but now it is Ella Fitzgerald's version of 'Don't Fence Me In'

Owen would like to give a shout out to Alison. Yo Ali Cat...c u soon!

Best weekend ever.....

This has been Owen's best weekend ever because his new cousin, Rodrigo, was born on Saturday! Even though he was an entire month early, he weighed a whopping 6 pounds and 9 ounces....and was 18 inches long. Since we are all still on maternity leave, we will be heading down to Missouri later this week to meet Rodrigo. We can't wait to get our hands on him....he is so cute! We are anxiously awaiting more photos of Go-go from Grandpa Bowers. :) Keep 'em coming Grandpa!

Today, Sophie, Ava, Uncle Mike and Uncle Ty all came over and we made caramel apples. It was fun and will be even more fun when Owen can join in too!

Here is a photo with Owen and his second cousin Daniel. Owen asks "aren't we cute?".

It's time to keep warm.....

We bought Owen his first coat today, along with the hat. They both look big in the photo but they fit him pretty well. The hat isn't for warmness but it's for cuteness. Grammie Bowers also sent Owen a nice snow suit for this winter....not to mention the last time she was here, she got him a stocking hat and mittens (they match his new coat). Here's a photo of Owen keeping warm in the seat cover that his buddy Tess gave him. Too cute! He really is ready for his first Minnesota winter.

Uncle Ty, Sophie and Ava came over for pizza this evening (Uncle Mike went to see a musical). Everyone made their own pizza. The plan for dessert was to make carmel apples but it got too late and Sophie fell asleep (she's good at that). So, they are coming back over on Sunday so we can do the apple thing.

Owen is excited because Auntie Terra called and said that she is in the hospital with contractions. She is also dilated to a 2 and if she goes to a 5, they are going to go ahead and deliver Owen's baby cousin, Rodrigo (aka GoGo). We are hoping everything is ok because she is only at week 35 of her pregnancy. We are awaiting a call from Grammie or Auntie Terra with some news sometime in the very near future.

Wednesday

Hi Grandma!! Owen says he misses you lots!

Today, we finalized day care arrangements with Kris (our friend's daughter's nanny). Kris will be taking care of Owen too! We are soooo very happy not to put him in a day care center with lots of other kids...all of which do not get the attention they need. We couldn't be more thrilled to work with Kris and have Owen and Tess have a special bond with each other. Tess is very excited to help Kris change diapers, feed, etc. Tess is the daughter of my late friend from college, Eric (actually it's James Eric...this is who Owen James is named after). I'm very happy that both of our children will know each other well and that my family will be able to carry on a relationship with Tess and Eric's partner, Tim.

Other than that, our maternity leave together has been pretty boring. Jen took on another freelance design job for her aunt's theraputic riding center in Colorado. So, she's been working on that the past couple days. She's done with that for now...so, Owen and I get her all to ourselves tomorrow!! We have a list of things we are going to do.

Owen is still having some tummy problems but we feel like we are getting things worked out...slowly but surely. Owen has an appointment next Thursday with his new pediatrician (we didn't like his original one). He's going to get a series of shots at this visit....none of us are looking forward to it all!

Owen would like to give another shout out! Hello to Aunt Emily (aka Auntie Em)!

The weekend......

Despite the look on Owen's face in this picture, he had a great time with all his relatives this weekend. On Saturday, Uncle Brian, Aunt Nikki, Cousin Ava, Grandma Heiden and the Moms all went to an apple orchard. It was a lot of fun. We had to bundle the kiddies up really well because there was a slight coolness in the air.


On Sunday, more family came over to Owen's house for corn chowder and curry squash soup!!

Monday: Owen and I were just about to go on a walk with Auntie Voon and Little Voon (Adeline) around 9:00 this morning, when Jen came home from work. Owen said "why is Mommy home already....did she get fired?" Actually....she thought that the rest of her maternity leave didn't start until next week but it actually started this week!! So, now Owen gets 2 full weeks with both Moms! Not only do we get 2 weeks together but that means that day care will start earlier than planned. Yikes!! We aren't sure what fun things we are going to do for the next couple weeks but I'm sure we'll find lots of things to keep us busy!

Owen would like to give a shout out to Katy! Hello Katy!

OH NO.....it's Friday the 13th!

We had an appointment with a lactation consultant and learned some things we can do to help the tummy problem. After the appointment, I wanted for Owen and I to visit Auntie Voon (Jessica) at her shop in St. Paul but unfortunately, Owen had a tummy fit. We haven't had time to do some of the techniques we learned today. It would have been too disturbing for Auntie Voon's customers. So, we went home instead and watched Oprah. We are hopeful that we are on the mend and will be able to visit Auntie Voon next week!

We are very happy because Brian, Nikki and Ava arrive today! We will spend Saturday and Sunday with them. Owen is very excited to hang out with his cousin. They will have fun for sure!

A little better.....

O-wee didn't have one tummy ache last night after his feedings! Although, he did today....but it isn't quite as bad as it has been for the past few days. His rash is still there but it doesn't stop him from being cute.

I'm hoping to have some video on this blog soon....if I can figure it out.

Today is International Moment of Frustration Scream Day....so, feel free to scream your fool head off! Owen has and I know he feels better. Until tomorrow.......

Red dots and white dots

It snowed today! Owen's first day of Minnesota weather. It's supposed to be 24 degrees tonight and to think that this past Saturday was 80 degrees. We watched the white dots come down and I explained to Owen that one day we will go skating, sledding and even build a snowman or two.

Not only did we have white dots today...but Owen also has red dots....on his face. Yep, a rash on his face. Per our pediatrician, it could be related to the milk issue. Apparently if it is the milk that is causing all this craziness, it's because Owen's system can't process the protein in cow's milk. We are hoping to notice a change over the next two weeks since I have quit consuming dairy.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us. Owen misses and loves his Grandma and Grandpa Bowers, his Great Grandma, his Aunt Terra, Uncle Daniel and Uncle Tyler (he just told me this).