Hands Up

With the sky getting ready to open up and getting darker by the minute, Jean and Owen and I took our chances and ventured out onto the Pitt Street Pier.

Getting ready to rain? Wave your hands in the air like you just don't care...

Old Times, New Times

Before our little boys joined us in this life, we enjoyed many years of being young, coupled, and carefree twenty-somethings with our dear friends Seth and Anne. We would spend as much time as possible together cooking delicious dinners, mixing cocktails, playing Euchre, learning to scuba dive, going to the movies, taking trips, making fabulously witty and ironic remarks, celebrating New Year's Eves, celebrating each other's birthdays and engagements and weddings, and, in general, celebrating and enjoying and inspiring and consoling and entertaining one another. In 2006, we got puppies. And in 2008, we had babies. And while Owen and Daniel bring immeasurable joy to our lives and all that (Bruno and Stanley, you bring us joy, too. Most of the time.), they REALLY put a damper on our time together.

So, in mid-March, when Seth, Anne, and Daniel made their maiden voyage to Charleston, we welcomed them with open arms and full hearts. The old gang was back together! And with two more (very charming, very smart, and very easy on the eyes) members to boot.

On Friday, we took Owen and Daniel to the South Carolina Aquarium. All the sea life is interesting and all, but the concrete stairs outside the aquarium are TO DIE FOR:
This gentleman was loitering outside the Aquarium:
Sweet family:
On Saturday, we ventured out to Sullivan's Island. Just like his mama, here is Owen's permanent mood while at the beach:
Owen and Daniel contemplating tidal patterns (actually, I think Daniel was contemplating tidal patterns and Owen was contemplating going for a swim):Contemplating one another (these two are thinkers, I tell you):
Hugs!:
The views are best enjoyed from on high:
Dada, you are HYSTERICAL!:
Just like old times:
The very best new times:
Love you, friends. Please come again soon.

Fair-Weather Friends (a.k.a. Cracker Diggers)

In early March, Mom, Owen, and I got in the car and headed out to Folly Beach to put our feet in the sand. After running around on the beach for a while, Owen was ready for a snack.

It all started with one cracker. And one seagull, who just HAPPENED to land nearby during Owen's leisurely consumption of said cracker:
Two other seagulls ALSO HAPPENED to land nearby soon after the first. We were so delighted! Hey, look Owen! Seagulls!
Several more landed, and we still weren't sure exactly what was going on...is there food somewhere? we wondered...
Food: check. Right in Owen's hot little hand. Those seagulls are VERY PERCEPTIVE. This photo is taken shortly after the company-wide memo was sent out: "SHORELINE: 10AM. CRACKER! CRACKER! CRACKER!"
Mom thought we should share the crackers so she crushed a few up and offered them to the masses. Then all the seagulls' long-lost relatives and casual acquaintances came out of the woodwork to join in the fun.
Once the crackers were polished off, the seagulls hung around chatting us up, waiting for another course. They were just as niiiice as you please. A little pushy maybe, but turning on every ounce of charm they could muster.
Then they started to get huffy. Owen did an excellent job diffusing the palpable tension in the air. He calmly explained that there were only a few crackers left and that he planned to eat the rest for his snack (and by "explained," I mean that he walked toward the seagulls saying, "Ma!").
Finally, one seagull said, "Let's blow this joint," and another one was like, "Yeah, man, this place is SO five minutes ago," and then they all took off. Just like that. And there we were again, just how we started.
Cracker-digging seagulls may come and go, but family is forever.

Cousins

Megan and Monty came to spend the weekend with us in mid-February (I am a little behind on posting), and, as usual, we made sure that Owen and Monty were wearing contrasting colors at all times:
(Kidding. We can barely both get showered and out of the house, which is why it's so much fun being together because WHO CARES. We'll be dirty and late, but TOGETHER and having fun always.)

Here are the two cousins:
And here is sweet Aunt Megan reading Owen a story:
And here is Monty:
And then here is Monty climbing into the toy cabinet (sweet as sugar one moment and mischievous in the next, just like his mom):
Piled onto the swing at Waterfront Park:
Smiles all around:
Prior to this visit, Owen had decided that he was done with sippy cups. Done. But then he saw Monty's blue and orange sippy cup and decided it had to be his. With the perseverance of Sisyphus, he coveted it all weekend and finally secured his object of desire. He then proceeded to drink about 10 cups of water out of sheer delight (his diapers could not keep up). Here he is tickled pink about his conquest (all of this is very UNlike his mom - I have no idea where he gets this kind of behavior):
Despite my protests, Megan didn't have the heart to reclaim Monty's sippy cup, so it is now Owen's. Thank you for a hydrating, pants-wetting good time.

At the Playground with Aunt Jean

"At the playground, you know / That's where I saw this cutie / This girl was swinging / And she looked so fly

On the monkey bars / We climbed up to the top / And she touched my hand / That's when I fell in love"

p.s. If you're not familiar with Another Bad Creation, then...well...that needs to be dealt with. Check out Iesha. Stat.

A Whole New O

SOME people have noticed and commented that Owen's hair is getting "kind of long."

Huh?

Some people have even used the terms "mullet" or "comb over."

Hmm.

I didn't know what they were talking about. But I guessed they meant "long," as in long in the back and on the top and on the sides.

Still: really? He's just a BABY for chrissakes. And who could use those dirty 'mullet' and 'comb over' terms when you're looking at this face:
"Long," huh? Oh, you mean that section hanging down over his left ear? And the piece flipping out from behind his right ear? And the strands touching his shoulders in the back?But I can take my rose-colored glasses off long enough to look the truth in the face. And this is what truth said: it's time for a haircut.

Full disclosure about how we REALLY decided it was time: we have both been procrastinating the haircut for some time now. I mean, SURE, we'll give him a haircut EVENTUALLY, but now?! And then, in a review of some post-dinner photos one evening last week, we saw the following photo. I love this child more than life itself, but I can AT THE SAME TIME ACKNOWLEDGE that in the one below he kind of looks like Garth from Wayne's World.
It was time.

So on Valentine's Day, we braced ourselves for what we knew would be an important milestone in the metamorphosis from baby to little boy. To throughly commemorate and accentuate this transition, we had pre- and post- photo shoots. For the pre-haircut shoot, Owen donned a white diaper seulement (as seen in the first 3 photos and in the two below) for some full-on baby romping on the bed:

AND THEN WE DID THE DEED. We did it.

Here is Owen post-haircut in his best cardigan and khakis. QUICK, someone give this boy his smoking jacket!! (Not that Owen will ever smoke. Because he won't. Ever.)
And here again. This kid is ready to MAKE SOME DEALS. (I know this picture is almost identical to the one above, but doesn't he look EXACTLY LIKE BILL in this one?!?!?)
In this one, Owen was just cracking up over something hilarious his mom said:And here, getting ready to go pack his last duffle bag before heading off to college:(You don't have to ask: we saved every last strand.)

Victory

This is what it looks like when Owen is working hard on accomplishing something. And then he gets it.