such a boy.

he just loved being outside, playing with the leaves and the sticks and the mud. good times. (click to see a larger version.)

and i finally started shooting in manual + this was one of my favorites from yesterday.  its a little underexposed and i don't think i have my white balance set properly, but thats okay. i just love the capabilities of manual mode...i still have a lot to learn, but i'm definitely not going back.

our silly boy.

and now, for bit of randomness:

after doing quite a bit of research in the cloth diapering world, i have taken the plunge and decided to oder two different types to try: a bumgenius 3.0 one size pocket diaper, as well as some chinese prefolds and a g-diaper cover. (to be used together; not to be used with the flushable liners found on their website.) i'm not sure if either style is going to work for our family, but we are definitely willing to give it a try. of course, you'll get the full update here. and if you would like to know more about cloth diapering, you can find a ton of helpful info + numerous resources on this blog. (and mom, you really should check it out...its a much different world than when you cloth diapered. there are many, many, many different options available.)

and on a different note...we finally purchased this cute little portable drive + have started moving files and clearing some space. so hopefully now i'll be able to share a few clips of owen walking. (or pretty much running.) so stay tuned.

yesterday, i added some frozen blueberries to owen's smoothie and he absolutely loved it. so today, i'm thinking of adding a few fresh strawberries. if your interested, you can find lots of great smoothie recipes here.

and tomorrow adam has the day off, so i'm looking forward to starting our weekend a little early. and hoping to get owen out in this nice weather for a few pics.

HAPPY THURSDAY.

someone has some big news to share...

...thats right, trev is going to be a big brother. my little sister, crystal, and her husband, barry, are expecting their second child, due november 9th of 2008. congratulations, guys. we are very excited for your new little family of four.
(and thanks for sharing the cute picture, crystal.)

stylin.

in his new little uni shirt. (a favorite of mine.)






and the old converses were getting a little small, so this weekend he got a new little pair of pumas. (a favorite of his daddy, uncle riley, uncle jonah + uncle douggie.)

trying some new things.

fruit smoothies. and homemade baby wet wipes.

so yesterday, i decided that i wanted to make owen his very first fruit smoothie. adam + i headed out to pick up a new blender (the old smoothie maker just wasn't gonna cut it) and this morning i whipped up a simple bananarama, consisting of 1 ripe mashed banana, a 1/2 cup of full fat vanilla yogurt, and a 1/2 cup of whole milk. it definitely won the approval of owen, seeing as he had his entire sippy cup devoured in just a few, short minutes + was still demanding more.  so now i'm surfing the web for some fun fruit combinations, and even checking out a few green smoothie recipes.

as for the homemade baby wet wipes... yesterday, i made my own batch using a recipe given to me by my wonderful mother-in-law, jan. (who was given the recipe by her very sweet sister-in-law, julie.) they were incredibly easy to make + worked out great. and the best part is that they contain less harsh chemicals than store bought wipes, so they should be better for owen's little bum. since a few of you have already asked for the recipe, i thought i'd just share it here on the blog. 

homemade baby wet wipes recipe:

1 bounty big roll (cut in 1/2)

2 tblsp. baby bath

2-1/2 c. water

mix baby bath and water in container. put 1/2 roll of bounty in the container and close tightly. turn container upside down to absorb the water. turn upright after approx. 15 mins. take out the cardboard tube in the middle of paper towels, and pull the towels from the middle. (save the other half of the bounty roll for the next time.)

{edited to add} after searching the web, i found that you could, if desired, add 1 tblsp. of a non mineral oil and/or 1-2 drops of 100% pure tea tree, lavender, or calendula oil (for their antibacterial, healing + soothing qualities.) also, distilled water is preferred. and of course, an all natural baby bath is best. (heres my fave...little twig.) 

so if any of you decide to give the smoothie or homemade wipes a try, be sure to let me know how they work out for you. happy monday.

owen the junior ranger.

so this past weekend was the start of the 30th annual maple sugar time festival at the indiana dunes national lakeshore. on sunday, adam had to be there to work, so grandma bonnie and i took owen for a little visit. he seemed to have a lot of fun...he loved touching the trees and watching the horses. and he was very excited to hang out with his daddy. we even got him his very own junior ranger hat...which was ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. here are a few of my favorites from the day...

and this one makes me all kinds of happy...

...my two boys together...just as cute as can be.

{ p l a y }

as promised, here are the pics of owen's playroom...








some more pics of the schoolhouse bookcase can be found here.

and a pic of the chalkboard can be found here.

and as you can tell, the playroom is STILL not quite finished. i'm trying to decide what do with the orange wall...thinking about hanging two long white shelves + some fun wonderful graffiti. and i'm still in search of the perfect material for curtains...hoping to find a turquoise cotton canvas thats just right.