With Owen’s 18-month mark just around the bend (November 17th to be precise), he is growing and developing at an astonishing rate now! Every time we turn around he’s doing or saying something new… we literally can’t keep up anymore. In fact, at dinner a couple of nights ago, as I fed Owen his last bite of dinner, he very clearly announced “ALL FULL!”… as Patrick’s head snapped up in astonishment and asked, “Did he just say ALL FULL???”. I had to shamefully admit that Owen’s actually been saying that for about a week, though I had neglected to mention the accomplishment to his Daddy… there are just so many little achievements like that these days that my head is just spinning as I try to keep up! A few of the more noteworthy items Owen has added to his vocab of late include: tractor, truck, book, Emery (said “Emreeeeee”), happy (said “ha-peeeee”), Halloween (said “hah-weeeeeen”), blanky (said “bah-keee”), welcome (said “weh-coh”, though with the proper tone and inflection - and he often follows his own “thank you” with a prompt “weh-coh”).
There is no trace of baby left in Owen… he’s all boy now (except that he still loves to suck his two fingers when he’s sleepy and he has to have his special white blanky at bedtime!). And having big brother around is both good and bad… Owen loves to imitate Ayden - whether it’s yelling “NO NO NO!” in a very obnoxious, bratty 3-year-old tone of voice, climbing a tower of couch cushions that have been stacked into a pile 5 feet tall, or hiding from Mama under Grandma Gail’s bed when I’m searching the house looking for them. I’m fully aware that this mimicry is just the tip of the iceberg and will continue for many many years. Oy vey!
Owen has also become rather obsessed with cows - I think largely due to a YouTube video that both he and Ayden can’t seem to get enough of. Dancing Cow! Whenever the laptop is open, Owen points to it and emphatically says “MOOOOOO! MOOOOOO!”, which translates into “please play the Dancing Cow video from YouTube!” Both of the boys get HUGE grins on their faces and start to dance as soon as they hear the first note of the song. Owen even knows the video/song so well, that about 5 seconds before the end, he’s already doing the hand-sign for “more” and asking us to replay it!!! I kid you not!!! 
Ayden is feeling like quite the big boy these days, since he’s taking 3 classes through the local Parks and Rec program. He’s enrolled in a swimming class (the second in the series), a “Kids Sports” class (which is basically a variety sports class where they do a different sport each week), and a “Play, Learn & Explore” class (designed to be a pre-school style one-hour class). None of these classes allow for parent participation, so he’s been forced to be Mr. Independent. This didn’t go so well for the first week or so (lot’s of crying and separation anxiety), but I stuck to my guns, and though heart-strings were tugged almost to the breaking point, I left him to fend for himself and stand on his own two feet. I’m glad I did, because he’s absolutely thriving in all three classes and looks forward to going each week with uncontrollable enthusiasm!
Since we’re already nearing the holiday season and it seems like the toy commercials are already ramping up, Ayden has seen his fair share. The other day he came to me and said, “Mommy, if I had a Candy Castle I would be SOOOOOOOO happy!”. First of all, I have no idea what a Candy Castle is, and secondly, how does he?!?! Well it didn’t take long for me to see my first Candy Castle commercial and to learn where Ayden got the idea. Since then, we’ve received literally dozens of toy catalogs in the mail, which Ayden goes through and tells me each item that would make him “SO HAPPY” if he had for Christmas. Seriously, where does a three-year-old get that idea???
