Firsts...

Now things are starting to get interesting! Owen is really coming into his own!!!!! It is so wonderful to be with him this summer as he starts to experience those firsts.  The biggest of those for him was in April with his First Birthday! It was so fun.  I can definitely say that it was inspired by Pinterest.  Which at times was wonderful, his birthday banner turned out great and at times was too much, like the six 36 inch balloons that almost didn't fit in the car!

It was circus/carnival theme. And it started with the invitation that I made (i mean copied from one I had seen on Pinterest) when Nick didn't want to pay $12 to download the template and then print ourselves.  But I am pretty proud of the way that it turned out!

The hard thing about planning this party is that Owen doesn't really have favorites yet.  So I just went with what I like, wanted to see and eat! But in the end it turned out great.   Now please scroll though these pictures that look like a Pinterest pin.

Cupcakes that look like tubs of popcorn.

We had guests vote on who they thought Owen looked like most and I won!

To go along with the carnival/circus theme we had hot dogs and nachos to eat.  And Owen got to try a hot dog for the first time as well!

I didn't realize until afterwards that the signs were backwards!

Then came the fun stuff... the presents and cake! Owen did a pretty good job focusing on opening presents and did a great job with the cake!

And of course we needed Cousin Jake's help sometimes!

Grandpa getting ready for war

We still found chocolate in his nose and ears the next day!

Then we did something else for the first time... tied Owen to a bunch of big balloons!

As the weeks have past since his birthday he has done some other firsts as well.  The scariest and most exciting of those are walking though.  He has finally gotten the confidence to walk around the apartment without holding on to the furniture or your hands.  This has led to many long walks (down the street and back) and lots of chasing each other around the couch, so far this summer.  It is so exciting to think about all the things that are starting to happen in his life.  Nick and I are so glad that we will have the summer to experience many of them with him!

December

December started out with us getting a Christmas tree of course.  But could we just go to the store and buy one? No! We had to go to the Christmas tree farm to pick out the special one that would have the privilege to grace the McCauley household with the Christmas spirit. 

We drove around the whole farm to find the perfect tree.

Then Nick and Owen found it.

Owen thought he would give it a shot to cut down the tree, but decided that he didn't want to humiliate the "man of the house" and let Nick give it a shot.  However, we know who really got the job done!

                 

                 

Then Owen and I took another trip down to South Carolina for a wedding.  My REALLY great friend Laurie got married and I was lucky enough to share in that special day with her and her husband, Harrison.  It was so wonderful to spend some time with my friends and catch-up.

Safety First!

             

The beautiful bride, Laurie and my best friends from high school, Carolyn, Caroline, Kirsty and Rachel.

      

The giant peach in Gaffney.

Paw-Paw is starting Owen early with hockey.

Owen and Paw-Paw hanging out before we had to go back home to Illinois.

Once we got back to Illinois, it was time for some other big events like... SANTA. (Did you hear the joke about the dyslexic satan worshipper? He sold his soul to Santa.  I always think of that when I see Santa nowadays!).  We live in the upstairs of a victorian home that was converted into a restaurant downstairs.  During the holidays the owner, Walt, gets Santa and Mrs. Claus to pay a visit to the Manor for breakfast.  So we took Owen downstairs and he stared at us while we ate pancakes and a strange large man with a white beard and a red suit walked around.

Santa even had a sleigh outside that we could sit in.

Nick decided to give me my Christmas present early.  I got this huge box and guess what was inside... an OWEN.  It was the best present I have ever gotten.  It will be hard for Nick to outdo himself next year.

 Then the McCauley's hit the road for a trip to Reno to visit the Jones Clan.  It didn't start too well.  There was a mini-blizzard in Geneseo when we were trying to leave and it took us an extra hour to drive to Chicago.  We spent the night in Chicago and left out of O'Hare the next morning.  Since my parents work for the airlines, Nick and I can fly stand-by.  It's pretty good when the weather is nice and there are open seats, but when you fly out the morning after a snow storm and a majority of the flights were canceled, we thought we were in for a long day of waiting at the airport.  But fortunately for us (not so fortunately for the people from Ohio) a lot of flights coming in were delayed and caused other passengers to misconnect.  So not only did we get on the first flight of the morning, but we had a whole row to ourselves!

Checking out the in-flight entertainment.

Taking a little cat nap.

We couldn't fly directly into Reno, so we fly to San Fransisco and then drive about 4 hours over the mountains.  It is usually a nice drive, but it couldn't be that simple.  A storm started to come over the mountain that required snow chains.  And if we didn't make it in time, they would close the pass all together.  After taking a few back roads though and me closing my eye while passing people in the snow (I was not driving) we made it.

Owen practicing talking during our drive from San Fran.

Owen was so helpful while I was wrapping presents.

Owen and Grampy both love oatmeal.

Now that's what I call a donut!

The Jones Clan

           

             

               

  

Our trip was short, but fun.  We had to leave Reno and be back in Illinois in time for Christmas. So Grampy took us to the airport to see us off. 

We fly to Chicago were Grandma picked us up and we got to stop in and visit with Great Grandma McCauley, Uncle John, Jackie and Ben for Christmas Eve dinner.  Then we hit the road again for Peoria.  Unfortunately, as soon as we were back in Peoria, I came down with the flu.  It was not a pretty sight.  I was stuck in bed for all of the morning and stuck down to watch Owen open presents.

I don't think that Owen even missed me because he was playing with his cousin Jake all day long.  Which was good because I was sick all day long.  Finally that night I had Nick take me to the hospital to get some fluids and I felt so much better afterwards.


It was too bad that Aunt Lindsey had to go back to work in Florida early, but it was great to spend another week with Uncle Matt and cousin Jake.

We went to the Caterpillar Museum.

We went ice skating...

We went to the Bass Pro Shop to look at the aquarium...

We went to a hockey game (Owen's first hockey game)...

And we played A LOT at Grandma and Grandpa's house...

All the boys played some foosball, until Grandpa got to competitive and flipped over the game.

This time Owen tried on Mommy's helmet, so he could match is big cousin Jake.

Jake LOVES his cousin Owen!

 We even got to celebrate my birthday and it was probably the best one yet.  Grandma and Grandpa took the boys to Chucke Cheese so I could do some shopping.  Then everyone took me out that night for dinner.  I can't wait to do it all again next year!

Owen got me a special birthday crown. 

I dressed Owen up for dinner as a present to myself, but of course I wore sweats!

Jake even helped Grandma decorate a cake for me.

The rest of December went by quickly.  MM and Paw-Paw came up to Illinois on before New Year's Eve to celebrate Christmas.  Right when then got there though Nick, Jake and Grandpa all came down with the flu too.  So they visited for just a bit before retreating to the safe-zone of their hotel.  Once everyone was feeling better we got to go sledding.

It might not look like it, but there was snow at the bottom of the hill.

Owen didn't even really know what was going on, but he didn't hate it!

Then we took MM and Paw-Paw back to Geneseo to open present before then had to leave the next day.

December was busy.  It seemed like the majority of the month was spent anticipating all the family that we would get to see at the end of the month.  Then once it arrived, it all went by too quickly.  Growing up in my family, we didn't usually get to celebrate holidays on the actual date with everyone.  So I think that it has really helped me to enjoy and cherish the time that we do have together.  Christmas isn't Christmas because we open presents on the 25th of December.  It's Christmas because we eat pizza and clam chowder for dinner and wear red pajamas.  It's Christmas because we exchange gifts and play Sneaky Santa.  It's Christmas because we have the ability to remember Christ's birth together as a family.  I hope that your Christmas was special this year and that we all try to make the best of the time we spend with the ones we love.