It won't be long until our little guy is a full fledged 2-year old! Until then we have lots of updates to share:
We will be moving to a small town outside of Madison in a few weeks. Our current home has been on the market for a few weeks and we actually have a few people interested. Hopefully we can complete a sale soon and move on with our lives. Melissa will be teaching at a different High School and Nick has accepted a new position as Director of Finance & Logistics at a company in his hometown.
We are very excited about the daycare Owen will be attending. It's very similar to his current school but unfortunately will not have his friend Brody or his great teachers. It's heartbreaking to see him leave what is clearly an enjoyable place for the little guy. Even though it's easy to distract him with Elmo or pictures of tractors, we know he misses his friends and his daily routine. It's also easy to forget that his home for the past two years will soon be home to someone else. Overall he seems to be handling it well and we're so proud of his resiliency. We're also thankful for Elmo.
Over the past month we have been very busy interviewing and finalizing our new jobs. We were very fortunate to find two positions (on the same day) in this very difficult job market. Not only will we be much closer to family, but the positions are very promising and exciting.
Once the employment fell into place the stress levels multiplied as we began preparing the house for sale. It's a little embarrassing to pack half of our belongings into a storage unit and not even miss them. Many family members arrived with dust pans in hand to help us clean, box and fix. We had great intentions to complete some of the repairs during the five years we lived here. Strange how they were never completed until it became time to sell the house.
It became clear that Owen was becoming a liability to the house selling process. While one parent cleaned and organized, a second parent was required to clean up after Owen. Luckily daycare had an opening for Owen during the first few weeks of summer. Not only did it allow us to prepare the house, but Owen relished the chance to see his friends and enjoy some structure in his day.
To add a little more excitement, we were all part of Uncle Bryan and (now) Aunt Gena's wedding. Owen was the ring bearer, Melissa was a bridesmaid and Nick was an Usher. You would think that would be the most stressful part of the wedding. Instead it was sleeping in a hotel with Owen for the first time without a crib. We were the only people who attended the wedding who had to train prior to arriving. For weeks we picked up Owen and carried him back to bed, hoping that maybe, maybe this time he would fall asleep and not chase after us. Not only was Owen big boy bed trained by the wedding, but he slept without side rails for two nights.
Owen's two year appointment is just weeks away. The doctor is going to be most impressed with the following.
- Speaks in sentences and is understood half the time.
- Throws objects, sometimes objects meant for throwing.
- Eats brats and sweet corn.
- Climbs in and out (especially out) of his bed.
- Insists on watching Elmo first thing every morning.
- Wakes up at 5:00 every morning, regardless of when he went to sleep or how many times he got up during the night.
- Can sing the happy birthday song.
- Loves to play with his cousins.
- Loves large animals but is still unsure of dogs and cats.
- Easily becomes fixated on any of the following, M&M's, Elmo and Juice.
- Always has room for strawberries or raspberries
- Always has time for a gator ride
- Is pretty good at head butting
- Gaining skills at swim lessons each week.
Owen and Billy spent at least 2 hours playing with the Step 2 - Fun Flow Play Sink. Despite being soaked from the waist down, they kept working hard.
Why do I always have to push?
Another successful cousin picture. Everyone was looking at a camera ... just not the same camera.
An important duty of ring bearing is to give the groom a pep talk if necessary. 
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