Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Hoo Hoo!
Seriously one of the funniest things that he's started doing, thanks to the library program we've been going to.
The one week, Ms. Jamie was talking about trains, reading stories and doing crafts with the kiddos. By the end of all of the stories, Owen was saying HOO! HOO!!! In the car...all the way home!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Daddy-berries
Since both set of Grandparents are in sunny Florida, we've been trying to take more pictures and videos of the funny things that Owen does! Expect LOTS of photo and video dumps coming a The Family Szem near you!!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sea World!
Another Florida photo dump!
Last year, we took Owen to the Tampa Aquarium and he just loved watching all of the fish swim by. So...we thought, why not bigger fish??
Well...we were right. He has SO much fun watching the dolphins, whales and sea lions! Oh and the Happy Feet! The Happy Feet!! just LOVED it!
Watching the dolphins underwater...he totally didn't want to look at the camera...just wanted to watch the dolphins
And the Happy Feet! He frigging was in a trance!
The sealions were most definitely his favourite. He would bark at them...so cute!
Waiting for Shamu!
Time to head home! Bye bye, Shamu!
Even though he was a sleepy Bear, he really really did not want to go home...he kept waving to the sealion statues and saying Bye-Bye
We had a great time, and I definitely think that we'll go again. Highly recommend for a toddler!
{okay...I'll admit, we totally went for me...for old times' sake...we used to go alot with my Dad when we would go to Florida for march break and it definitely inspired my dream to be a biological oceanographer. My Dad and I used to talk about having a big research boat, he'd do the underwater camera stuff and swim with the orcas, while I would study the dolphins}
Last year, we took Owen to the Tampa Aquarium and he just loved watching all of the fish swim by. So...we thought, why not bigger fish??
Well...we were right. He has SO much fun watching the dolphins, whales and sea lions! Oh and the Happy Feet! The Happy Feet!! just LOVED it!
Watching the dolphins underwater...he totally didn't want to look at the camera...just wanted to watch the dolphins
And the Happy Feet! He frigging was in a trance!
The sealions were most definitely his favourite. He would bark at them...so cute!
Waiting for Shamu!
Time to head home! Bye bye, Shamu!
Even though he was a sleepy Bear, he really really did not want to go home...he kept waving to the sealion statues and saying Bye-Bye
We had a great time, and I definitely think that we'll go again. Highly recommend for a toddler!
{okay...I'll admit, we totally went for me...for old times' sake...we used to go alot with my Dad when we would go to Florida for march break and it definitely inspired my dream to be a biological oceanographer. My Dad and I used to talk about having a big research boat, he'd do the underwater camera stuff and swim with the orcas, while I would study the dolphins}
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Give it to God
Remember those New Years Resolutions? The ones about finding a church, gaining a better understanding of my mortality issues and getting comfortable in my relationship with God?
Well, today I took a step in that direction.
A few weeks ago, I started looking within the city to see what churches are out there. Community. Presbyterian. Catholic. Baptist. Lutheran. The options go on and on (and on). I asked people on Twitter for recommendations, posted on facebook and just went to town arming myself with information to the point of being overwhelmed.
I thought it best to email Rev. Lonnie at my home church {Presbyterian} to get his opinion and guidance since I am very comfortable with his ministry and how our church is run. He suggested a couple community churches, and one traditional church.
I decided I wanted to check one out and set out my outfit last night. Cream shirt with black polka dots, skinny jeans, cream coat with ruffle down the breast, navy shabby rosette headband, brown moccasin flats (man I need new shoes!) Would they like me? Would I be okay in jeans? Would they have a traditional choir? Would they like me? Did it matter?
Well...I went to the traditional one today, Oakridge Presbyterian. I was met at the door by a very nice woman, and checked myself in at the Welcome desk. I met the sweetest older man, named Hank, and was so eager to engage right away. I really did want the people at Oakridge to like me...it did matter to me.
The choir was huge...like 50 people easily. At St. P's, we have a praise team (including my Momma) of maybe 7 people. They even had a kids choir, which was awesome and I could totally see my baby Bear up there in a few years, waving proudly to his mama (as so many kids did!)
The sermon...gosh it was perfect. The message was about giving it up to God, not taking his name in vain, and what that truly means (not just swearing GD!). I felt...relieved, something that I haven't felt in a very long time. It was perfect timing for some other personal things that I'm going through right now.
After the service was over, I went to grab some more information about support programs, adult activities, Alpha programs and Hank came over to ask how I liked the service and make sure I met Rev. Ed! Seriously, the nicest people ever!
I spoke with the pastor for a few minutes, and he actually knows Rev. Lonnie, which made me feel alot more comfortable. I explained what I'm looking for and why and he asked if I had filled out a contact card, which I had. I'm hoping to hear from them soon, and I'm really looking forward to next Sunday (but maybe for the 11 o'clock service...;)!
Well, today I took a step in that direction.
A few weeks ago, I started looking within the city to see what churches are out there. Community. Presbyterian. Catholic. Baptist. Lutheran. The options go on and on (and on). I asked people on Twitter for recommendations, posted on facebook and just went to town arming myself with information to the point of being overwhelmed.
I thought it best to email Rev. Lonnie at my home church {Presbyterian} to get his opinion and guidance since I am very comfortable with his ministry and how our church is run. He suggested a couple community churches, and one traditional church.
I decided I wanted to check one out and set out my outfit last night. Cream shirt with black polka dots, skinny jeans, cream coat with ruffle down the breast, navy shabby rosette headband, brown moccasin flats (man I need new shoes!) Would they like me? Would I be okay in jeans? Would they have a traditional choir? Would they like me? Did it matter?
Well...I went to the traditional one today, Oakridge Presbyterian. I was met at the door by a very nice woman, and checked myself in at the Welcome desk. I met the sweetest older man, named Hank, and was so eager to engage right away. I really did want the people at Oakridge to like me...it did matter to me.
The choir was huge...like 50 people easily. At St. P's, we have a praise team (including my Momma) of maybe 7 people. They even had a kids choir, which was awesome and I could totally see my baby Bear up there in a few years, waving proudly to his mama (as so many kids did!)
The sermon...gosh it was perfect. The message was about giving it up to God, not taking his name in vain, and what that truly means (not just swearing GD!). I felt...relieved, something that I haven't felt in a very long time. It was perfect timing for some other personal things that I'm going through right now.
After the service was over, I went to grab some more information about support programs, adult activities, Alpha programs and Hank came over to ask how I liked the service and make sure I met Rev. Ed! Seriously, the nicest people ever!
I spoke with the pastor for a few minutes, and he actually knows Rev. Lonnie, which made me feel alot more comfortable. I explained what I'm looking for and why and he asked if I had filled out a contact card, which I had. I'm hoping to hear from them soon, and I'm really looking forward to next Sunday (but maybe for the 11 o'clock service...;)!
Friday, January 20, 2012
To The Zoo!
Another florida post with pictures!
We wanted to try and pack in as many family activities on this trip a possible...and one of them was a trip planned to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.
We set off just after Owen's breakfast and the drive was easy peasy.
We arrived, and I opened Owen's door to find him throwing up all over himself...holy motion sickness! It was horrible and I froze, not knowing what to do. C swooped in, we grabbed the towel from under Owen's carseat and cleaned him up.
He seemed to be totally fine, so we found a pair of shorts that happened to be in the bottom of his stroller, and got him a shirt at the gift shop. What a way to start a day!
The baby Rhino was as crazy as Owen! He just kept running in circles around his mama
My men *sigh*
He was VERY excited to see some real life Happy Feet!
A one humped Alice the Camel
His favourite of the day was watching the giraffes have a snack, and see the elephants come lumbering toward them
Have I mentioned how much I love him? Cause I do...alot
We wanted to try and pack in as many family activities on this trip a possible...and one of them was a trip planned to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.
We set off just after Owen's breakfast and the drive was easy peasy.
We arrived, and I opened Owen's door to find him throwing up all over himself...holy motion sickness! It was horrible and I froze, not knowing what to do. C swooped in, we grabbed the towel from under Owen's carseat and cleaned him up.
He seemed to be totally fine, so we found a pair of shorts that happened to be in the bottom of his stroller, and got him a shirt at the gift shop. What a way to start a day!
The baby Rhino was as crazy as Owen! He just kept running in circles around his mama
My men *sigh*
He was VERY excited to see some real life Happy Feet!
A one humped Alice the Camel
His favourite of the day was watching the giraffes have a snack, and see the elephants come lumbering toward them
Have I mentioned how much I love him? Cause I do...alot
Thursday, January 19, 2012
19month stats
Well...here's a doozie of an update!
Since we were in Florida when Owen turned 18months, we had to wait a few extra weeks for his (now) 19month appointment.
He did so well and I'm really proud of him! Passed all of the milestones and questions, and even did really well with the shot!
Height - 32"...inaccurate (explanation below)
Weight - 27.4lbs - 83%
Head - 19.2" - 63%
Now...his height is inaccurate because they had him stand sorta closeish to the wall...not right up against the chart, just sort of near it. The doctor said "about 80cm..." then we looked at Owen's September chart from his last appointment...79cm.
You mean to tell me that my child has grown 1cm in four months? Ya...ok.
I measured him the old fashioned way, lying down...head to heel...when we got home and he's 34". Much more accurate!
Now for the milestone stuffs..
Words: hi, bye, bye-bye, good-bye, mama, nana, w-come, bath, bum, k-ty, mag-be (Maggie...the cat..new word this morning!), vroom, yum, book, done, all done, i'm done, go, good, ba-fa (breakfast), cheese, yes, yay, uh oh, dad, hi dad, m-oe (me-ow), roar
Take directions like "can you bring mama your book?", "what does the bear say?" {answer is always a throaty ROOOOAARR!!}, "can you get the yellow/blue/red ball?"
Frigging love him!
Oh! and he started saying "hooo hooo!!" after going to the library this week and learning about trains! So cute!
Since we were in Florida when Owen turned 18months, we had to wait a few extra weeks for his (now) 19month appointment.
He did so well and I'm really proud of him! Passed all of the milestones and questions, and even did really well with the shot!
Height - 32"...inaccurate (explanation below)
Weight - 27.4lbs - 83%
Head - 19.2" - 63%
Now...his height is inaccurate because they had him stand sorta closeish to the wall...not right up against the chart, just sort of near it. The doctor said "about 80cm..." then we looked at Owen's September chart from his last appointment...79cm.
You mean to tell me that my child has grown 1cm in four months? Ya...ok.
I measured him the old fashioned way, lying down...head to heel...when we got home and he's 34". Much more accurate!
Now for the milestone stuffs..
Words: hi, bye, bye-bye, good-bye, mama, nana, w-come, bath, bum, k-ty, mag-be (Maggie...the cat..new word this morning!), vroom, yum, book, done, all done, i'm done, go, good, ba-fa (breakfast), cheese, yes, yay, uh oh, dad, hi dad, m-oe (me-ow), roar
Take directions like "can you bring mama your book?", "what does the bear say?" {answer is always a throaty ROOOOAARR!!}, "can you get the yellow/blue/red ball?"
Frigging love him!
Oh! and he started saying "hooo hooo!!" after going to the library this week and learning about trains! So cute!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Christmas in Florida
Now that we're back home, I feel like I can blog a bit about our 3-weeker in Florida.
Owen's first time back at the big scary pool from last year went surprisingly well. You might recall last year that he got knocked over by one of the fountains and smacked his face on the bottom of the pool....eek!
Not this year! While, yes, he did try to catch a leaf on the bottom of the pool and went for a little doggy paddle, he did okay!
He wasn't too sure at first and didn't want to be put down
but once he figured out that he could splash up a storm...game over! He had a blast!
And was promptly rewarded with a grilled-cheese-poolside lunch :)
Owen's first time back at the big scary pool from last year went surprisingly well. You might recall last year that he got knocked over by one of the fountains and smacked his face on the bottom of the pool....eek!
Not this year! While, yes, he did try to catch a leaf on the bottom of the pool and went for a little doggy paddle, he did okay!
He wasn't too sure at first and didn't want to be put down
but once he figured out that he could splash up a storm...game over! He had a blast!
And was promptly rewarded with a grilled-cheese-poolside lunch :)
Saturday, January 7, 2012
New Years Resolutions
My friend Libby over at Elf: A Family Blog made a bloghop for New Years Resolutions, and since I haven't written mine yet, I figured that it was about time to sit down ad get back to blogging about our family.
1. Read more. I know that I had that as a goal from last year, but I want to carry it over to this year. C got me a Kobo Touch for Christmas, and I've already polished off one book (no including the other two that I finished between Dec19th and Dec25th...woot!) and am on a second. I have 30 someodd books queued up on it right now, and I want to be able to read them all this year. If I don't, I won't be heart broken...but it'd be nice to know I'm enriching my mind that much.
2. Find a church. This is a biggie. Over the past 6 years (since my Dad passed away) I've been having massive issues with mortality. Questions of "is this it?" plague me regularly, to the point of getting all worked up and having panic attacks. Like...can't breathe, can't stop crying, feel like passing out...panic attacks. I had one about a week and a half ago (part of the reason why I haven't blogged anything about our vacation) and it was a doozie. I know in my heart what the answer is, and how to get to better understanding of that answer...for me, it's finding a church that I feel comfortable in in the city that we live in.
3. Enroll in the Alpha program. This is a biggie as well, and goes hand in hand with #2. Given that my questions are largely centered around what is, what will be and who is...enrolling into the 7 week Alpha program is going to be a huge step in figuring this all out. I have found two churches back home that I think fit the bill for what I'm looking for, and thankfully they both offer the Alpha course.
4. Do more outside social activities with Owen. This is super important. We've noticed over the past few weeks that Owen's a bit timid with other kids, especially when they're in large groups. He so badly wants to play and engage, but he sort of stands there and just stares at them..then gets excited, and tries to engage when it's too late. So far, we have him enrolled in a Tuesday afternoon Storytime program at the library and a Tuesday evening program at The Little Gym. Once those sessions are done, we'll have to revisit what it seems like he wants to do since he's starting to develop his own little personality and favourite things to do.
So...there you have it! That's about it, but they're pretty big goals for this year! Do you have any?
1. Read more. I know that I had that as a goal from last year, but I want to carry it over to this year. C got me a Kobo Touch for Christmas, and I've already polished off one book (no including the other two that I finished between Dec19th and Dec25th...woot!) and am on a second. I have 30 someodd books queued up on it right now, and I want to be able to read them all this year. If I don't, I won't be heart broken...but it'd be nice to know I'm enriching my mind that much.
2. Find a church. This is a biggie. Over the past 6 years (since my Dad passed away) I've been having massive issues with mortality. Questions of "is this it?" plague me regularly, to the point of getting all worked up and having panic attacks. Like...can't breathe, can't stop crying, feel like passing out...panic attacks. I had one about a week and a half ago (part of the reason why I haven't blogged anything about our vacation) and it was a doozie. I know in my heart what the answer is, and how to get to better understanding of that answer...for me, it's finding a church that I feel comfortable in in the city that we live in.
3. Enroll in the Alpha program. This is a biggie as well, and goes hand in hand with #2. Given that my questions are largely centered around what is, what will be and who is...enrolling into the 7 week Alpha program is going to be a huge step in figuring this all out. I have found two churches back home that I think fit the bill for what I'm looking for, and thankfully they both offer the Alpha course.
4. Do more outside social activities with Owen. This is super important. We've noticed over the past few weeks that Owen's a bit timid with other kids, especially when they're in large groups. He so badly wants to play and engage, but he sort of stands there and just stares at them..then gets excited, and tries to engage when it's too late. So far, we have him enrolled in a Tuesday afternoon Storytime program at the library and a Tuesday evening program at The Little Gym. Once those sessions are done, we'll have to revisit what it seems like he wants to do since he's starting to develop his own little personality and favourite things to do.
So...there you have it! That's about it, but they're pretty big goals for this year! Do you have any?
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