Christmas in Kansas

The week before Christmas, we flew to Lawrence, Kansas, to celebrate and to see Lynn (Pooh) and Henry's (PapaRuss) new home. Pooh had set up a room especially for Owen, which was filled to the brim with new comforts and past treasures, including the Russell boys' childhood books and toys. In Lawrence, Owen cemented his love for rice cakes, dump trucks, and Pooh and PapaRuss.
Along with rice cakes and dumptrucks (also pictured below), Owen exchanged bundles of love with his Uncle Brad and Aunt Amy.

He also got to meet his great-grandfather: John Thomas (J.T.) Russell, a.k.a., Dee. They stared into each other's eyes and Dee told him a thousand stories with one look. Owen listened intently.

Pictured below, the Russell men and the Russell boy: (clockwise from left) Owen, Bill, PapaRuss, Uncle Brad, and Dee (John Russell, eldest of the three Russell boys, not pictured).

Hugs and bathtime with Pooh.

Aunt Pat (Henry's sweet sister) smiling as PapaRuss earns more hugs from Owen.
If only Kansas were one of South Carolina's neighboring states...we miss you.

DC Aunties

The first weekend in December, Bums and Doyle came on down to Chahl-stin for a visit. Although us girls have seen each other during the year, they had not seen Owen since he was 6 weeks old. Needless to say, they picked up right where they left off. In no time, they were laughing, running, playing, singing "wheels on the bus," and doing "uh-oh"s Beyoncé-style.

At the Waterfront Park, Owen was immediately drawn to the fountain and charmed Doyle into escorting him there. Bums and I watched from a distance:
Finally, we walked over to join in the fun. They had a ritualistic stair-climbing, fountain-observing, stair-descending sequence going on that involved these two stairs leading up to the fountain:
These stairs kept him occupied for some time, but eventually it was time to go for the gold:
And before you could say 'uh-oh', this:
turned into this:
This amused all of us to no end, and despite us "trying out best" to lure him away from the water, Owen proceeded to put his hand, arm, head and entire upper body in front of that fountain stream before it was over. It was a complete-out-fit-change-required occasion, which is how you KNOW you had fun.

During any good weekend with friends, there is time on the couch. Here Owen and Bums enjoy some of this time with a book:
After a very satisfying conversation about some of their favorite authors, these two were really on the same wavelength (check out their identical expressions in the next two photos):

And finally, Owen looking up adoringly at his Auntie:
MAN did we have fun. We already miss them like crazy...

The Smell of Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving, we went out into the world to find a Christmas tree. Admittedly, we have never thought about such things so far in advance, but Bill woke up with a hankering to get Owen a tree and an idea that we might even cut one down ourselves. We went out to Toogoodoo Christmas Tree Farm on Younges Island outside of Charleston. It was a spectacular day. Here is Owen upon arrival:

Here are Bill and Bruno. Yes, Bill is holding a measuring stick and saw; he was ready for action. We began hunting all around for our tree.

Here are Owen and me on the hunt...

Turns out, we live in South Carolina now, and all they have growing down here are pines, cedars, and cypress trees. They are lovely, but none of them looked like you could hang ornaments on them or really have the right smell, and both Owen and Bruno REALLY wanted to hang ornaments and smell the tree.

So we piled back in the car and went to find a North Carolina Fraser Fir:

Here is Owen considering the selection. Now THESE are Christmas trees...

A South Carolina Palm salutes our North Carolina Fraser Fir:

Just imagine Bill and I trying to get this thing in the house and in a stand while Owen and Bruno went crazy trying to "help"...

A Feast of Night Night

Owen's first Thanksgiving was an affair to remember with all of the Hunts, Whelesses, and Russells gathered together -- all 16 of us -- to celebrate. For Owen's second Thanksgiving, we gave ourselves permission to stay right here in Charleston, and along with Mom, who made the trip down from Virginia, we had most delightfully cozy and festive day. Even though there were only 4 of us this year (ok, 5 if you count Bruno), you would never have known by how much food we prepared.

Here is Bill working on the turkey:

Mom and me with the mashed potatoes (I insisted we use all of the potatoes to make sure we had plenty of leftovers for potato pancakes. We had plenty alright.):I can hear you now saying, "ok, ok, enough pictures of you guys. We know what you look like. Please bring out the pictures of Owen. Now." Well, I just had to set the scene for you.

Here is Owen welcoming you to our Thanksgiving feast:
Here he is wondering why the hell everyone won't just sit down (Bruno is wondering what Owen is wondering about...):
As we all went around the table saying what we were grateful for, Owen said he was grateful for the term 'uh-oh,' for broccoli (I'm not kidding, the kid can't get enough broccoli), for dirty tires, for dirty shoes, for Bruno, and for junk mail (he has a thing for carrying around an envelope or postcard). A grateful smile:
After our meal, but before dessert, we retired to the living room and played Owen's new game. This game came about a few days prior when he was eating dinner and there were black beans all over the table and all of a sudden lay his cheek down on the table right in those beans and I started laughing and he looked at me and smiled while he was laying there, and I said, "night night!" We did this several more times, and the game was solidified. Now, if you say, "night night!" Owen will lay his head down on any nearby surface and close his eyes.

Owen was playing night night with the door mat, and Mom suggested that we might find a slightly more appealing surface for him to 'sleep' on (thank you, Mom!). I knew just the thing, and went and got the lambswool rug (thank you, Aunt Pat!) from Owen's room.

Here are Owen and Bill playing night night together:

The other game Owen had learned that week was "clean clean!" So after a brief nap, he did all of the dishes!

The Angel Oak

The day before Thanksgiving, we began our giving of thanks by venturing out to John's Island to see a very old and very beautiful tree. The Angel Oak is reportedly the oldest thing (living or man-made) east of the Rockies -- over 1400 years old. It is only 65 feet tall, but it has a circumference of 25 feet and provides a canopy of over 17,000 square feet. We were humbled in the presence of such history and majesty and evermore grateful for all of our lucky and happy days together.

Here we are:

The tree looked completely different based upon your vantage point, and we tried to take it in from every angle. We made our way around, under, and over the branches absolutely captivated. Full disclosure: when I say "we," I really mean me, Bill, and my mom. Owen thought the Angel Oak was "ok." Here were the things he REALLY got excited about:

1) A glass jar of baby food: It was time for a snack, so Owen ate a jar of "Bananas, Prunes, and Brown Rice" under the tree and then got to HOLD THE EMPTY JAR. This was very exciting since it is not usually allowed. (You know, since the baby food we buy comes in glass jars and since there is a high likelihood of something Owen is holding being thrown on the floor for fun and since we try to keep Owen away from broken glass.) Here he is enjoying this rare treat, holding his jar higher and prouder than Lady Liberty holds her torch of freedom:

2) The Angel Oak power supply: In those 17,000 square feet of canopy, Owen did not waste any time locating the electrical cords in the vicinity.
This situation was not entirely different from this scene in E.T.:
3) A wooden sign: To most visitors, this is an unobtrusive sign beseeching them to "Help Save the Angel Oak for Future Generations" by not climbing on or carving in the tree. To Owen it was a veritable jackpot of exhilaration.
It was just his size with letters and pictures he could touch and examine closely. He could grab the sign on each side and shake it a bit. And a wide and strong surface provided ample percussive opportunities, with different interesting sounds depending on where he would strike and with what object. Shown below, Owen kicks it up a notch for a double-your-pleasure combo deal, using the baby food jar to bang on the sign.
As we headed back into Charleston for some last-minute shopping, three of us were under the spell of the Angel Oak, while one dreamt of glass, electricity, and wood.

Morning Walk

Each morning, after breakfast and before naptime, Owen and I go for a walk. I say, "Do you want to go outside?" and Owen immediately stops what he's doing, walks to the front door, sits down, and starts trying to put his shoes on. (On this particular morning, we also had to put on a jacket because it was (gasp) 66 degrees outside. Two neighbors commented immediately about it being so "chilly." Yes. YES. "It IS chilly!" In some parts of the country, I have been laughed at for making or agreeing with that statement.) We hold hands as we walk out the door and down the front steps. Then we walk down the street to the speed bump or "speed hump" as its signage reads.
Owen walks back and forth over the speed hump about 100 times while we sing and talk and run and hop as we go. When he's had enough of that, he moves on to tire-touching.
This boy just plain LOVES tires. He likes to touch the lug nuts. (Disclaimer: I have never used the word "lug nut" before until this moment. I just now asked Bill what the bolts on a tire were called.)

He also likes to pick up leaves, Sweetgum balls, and any small bits of trash that might be lying around. He has a generous soul, so when he finds something good, he immediately turns to share it with me.
Playing "share" is a big game at our house. Here's how to play: Owen hands you something. You say, "Thank you!" (like you mean it) and then display your enthusiasm and perhaps some imaginative uses for the item that has just been shared. Owen smiles and watches patiently, unless you take too long, in which case he will reach for the item to indicate this. You hand it back. Then, repeat.

With arms full of treasures, fingers dirty with tire grease, and legs ready for rest, we head back inside for a story and sleep.

South Carolina in the Fall

The hell of Charleston in August is redeemed in October and November when the days are sunny and somewhere between 70 and 76 degrees. This is perfect fall weather for me: just cool enough to put on a pair of jeans. We have been taking advantage of our location by spending as many afternoons as possible outside, either in the park, on a pier, downtown, or at the aquarium. We also recently took advantage of our proximity to Hilton Head (just under 2 hrs. away) to pay a visit to Mimi, Jean, John and Leigh. Owen finally got to meet his great grandmother Mimi!


We stayed with Aunt Jean and Owen practiced climbing her stairs. When Owen "practices" something, he takes the approach of an Olympic athlete going for the gold, undeterred by injuries or exhaustion. Victory WILL be his. (I have NO idea where he gets his hard-headed persistence.)
Seconds after this photo was taken, he made it to the top, stood up, faced us, and raised his hands in the air like Rocky.

**

Here are a few photos from last week at the aquarium. (You may be picking up on a theme here.)

Below, Owen is unphased by the 40-ft.-high tank of tropical fish, rather he is DELIGHTED by the fact that he just made off with his changing pad.Above, Owen continuing to learn about sea life.

Tiger on the loose!

Warning: the photographs in this post could be frightening to adults and children alike. Please proceed with caution.

I hate to be the cause of undue alarm, but I do want everyone to take proper precaution. See, this Saturday, a WILD TIGER was seen in our neighborhood. In front of our house, actually. I came into contact with said tiger, made friends with him actually, but then I learned afterward that he was ON THE LOOSE and INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. The photos really tell the story best:

After copious amounts of internet research, I learned that this is one of the positions a tiger gets into when he is preparing for attack. Thank GOD no one was hurt.

Bearing his ferocious fang(s)..

He asked me to help him find something sweet to eat. I knew that the Charleston Public Library was hosting an afternoon of trick-or-treating, so, figuring they'd have candy, I took him there. He blended right in with all of the other kids who were in costume for Halloween. Everyone just thought he was "dressed up" like a tiger. Riiiight.

I know, I know, I know. I can't believe I was this close to him and that I got away unscathed. He seemed so sweet.

Done trick-or-treating.

Anyway, if anyone else should encounter him, just try to stay calm. And then give him your car keys and sunglasses. Worked like a charm for me.