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Today is a very big day for the Balow Bunch.

We're buying a new house. This is something Dave and I have wanted for a long time, and we're so excited this day is finally here! A house with a yard and enough bedrooms for the kids! It has a gorgeous wooded backyard. And it's brand new. Never thought that would happen, but everything has pretty much fallen into place perfectly once we decided that this house was the one we wanted.

It's way more exciting to say hello to our new house than to say goodbye to our old house. Even with as many memories as we've made there -- we got married, brought home two puppies, and brought home two babies. It was our first house we owned and we put our hearts into making it a home.

But we always knew that we wouldn't live in our that house forever. With no yard and only two bedrooms, we planned on only living there a few years. Even though we lived there for longer than we anticipated, I guess I always had a feeling of it being a temporary home.

Now I feel like we're moving into our "forever" home, and I love daydreaming of all the memories we'll make in our new house. This is the house that our kids will remember growing up in. This is the house that they'll leave to go to college. This is the house where we'll *hopefully* have great neighbors with lots of friends for the kids. This is the house where we'll celebrate holidays and birthdays and create our special traditions in.

This house is our home.

J.B.

Conversations

It's happening. Real conversations with Owen. And it's so fun!

Most nights part of our bedtime routine is rocking with Owen with the lights turned off. I always ask him about his day -- what he did at daycare, who he played with, what made him happy, etc. Generally, when we have these conversations, I have to ask a lot of leading questions to get him to answer. (i.e. "Did going to Papa's house make you happy?") A couple weeks ago, I asked him about circle time. He responded with one word, "posey." I had no idea what he does during circle time, so it was a real unprompted answer about something that happened in his past. And sure enough, when I asked Jen if they do "ring around the rosie" during circle time, she said yes. And the kids love falling down before the song ends.

This morning I was driving Owen to daycare and was really realizing how big his vocabulary really is getting. He saw two smoke stacks, and said, "Mama, two smokes." And at daycare, he pointed to the garage and said, "white garage." There are cranes and trucks, and a Vikings football flag, and trees and turkeys, and he points everything out to me while we drive around town.

Also this morning in the car, he was telling me about our new house. He told me that Heidi gets the crib and Owen gets his big boy bed. Two days ago he specifically requested to drive by the new house. It's so cool that he really comprehends this big change and that he's as excited about it as we are.

Apparently, I tell Owen too often that he has two minutes left to do something. Last night he started a new game trying to get more TV time before bed (for watching Thomas the Train, of course). We went back and fourth, with him saying 4 minutes (4 mitts), and myself saying 2 minutes. I'd play the game all night just to hear him say the word minute.

But for all the progress we're making on language, Owen still offers his cute pronunciations for some words as well. The oddest one is his word for water. It sounds like "fly". Don't ask me how that happened.

J.B.

Snippets

In the car today, I was thinking of some things that were special about today and how I didn't want to forget them. But I know that inevitably as the day fades long into the past the little memories of when they occurred -- or even if they occurred at all would be forgotten. So here I am to document so i have a way to remember this day long when I am old and my kids are grown up. Even though yesterday was a rough day at work.  I know down the road the memory of the stress of work wont mean anything -- or maybe i will feel a sense of pride for making accomplishments and pushing through the battles   But it is the sweet snippets of memories from my family and friends and espevially my sweet little ones that will bring joy and warmth to my heart.

• Owen made Heidi laugh for the first time
• At his post tear duct probe surgery appointment, Owen's doctor said all kids should behave like Owen.  Owen was so tolerant of the doctor looking at his eyes.  
• When I told Owen we were going to the doctor, he wanted to go to his pediatrician, Dr Judy
• When I pulled into the parking lot for the appointment, Owen announced that we were at the doctor's office. He's only been there twice before but he definitely recognizes landmarks and places as we drive around town -- the pediatrican's office, his auntie's homes, zpap's home, the turkey hill. 
• Owen always remembers the names to his trains. Even the most obscure ones I've never seen on the show, ie Hank and Molly
• "miss" is owen's word for kiss
• Dave telling Owen to give me a big hug when I got home from a long afternoon at work
• Feed Heidi and after I sneeze, she unlatches and gives me a very serious look.  After a moment of silently staring at each other, she breaks out into a big smile. 
• Owen asking to hold Heidi

I wrote this from my phone. So please ignore the typos and grammar