IT'S BEEN A BUSY SUMMER

It has been a extremely busy summer for us since my Mother's funeral in early July. Both my brother, who lives in Toronto and myself ( in Edmonton )were executors of her will. Being over 2000 miles apart and trying to deal with funeral homes, banks, and relatives is not easy. At the same time , being back at work during the busiest time of the year for building supply stores. I just felt like I was on a treadmill and running and running and getting nowhere. Thank God for my family. They were the ones who helped me get through all the stressful times and I thank them and love them very much.

I did get two weeks vacation from the middle of July to the end of July. The first week we had Owen everyday for a few hours. He is getting so big and smarter all the time He loves to be chased and has found a hiding place under the fir tree in the front yard. He not only hides but pretends to be a big monster and when you get too close, he chases after you roaring. If you turn back toward him , the brakes come on and he takes off laughing to beat the band. When you get too close he "falls " down, hoping you will fall for his little con job.

His language skills have developed tremendously. He talks in complete sentences that you can understand. He uses the proper tense for the most part and when he hears a new word, he absorbs it like a sponge and uses correctly within the next two days. I am truly amazed at how much learning children do in their first two or three years of life.

I built him a small sandbox in the back and he plays for hours with his trucks and cars and "diggers". He loves to feel the sand dribble through his fingers and watch what happens if he puts it through a strainer. He will dig holes and then immediately cover them up ,only to re-dig them. The sandbox seems to be his favorite place in the yard.

He is also extremely helpful. We bought him a plastic garden shovel and he uses it to dig in his sandbox. He has also offered to help me "pooper-scoop". Of course we say no. But helpful as he is,he is there to point it out to us. Poop is YUCKY.

He helps his Grandma pick peas in the row we planted beside the garage. He is learning to not pick the whole plant. He also is learning how to shell peas . As fast as you can get the pea out, he eats it. Corn on the cob is the same. I have never seen a kid devour corn like he does.

In early August, Kristin , Mark and Owen were away for about two weeks. Such along time to not see him or them. When he arrived at our house the first time back, he ran up the walk and threw himself into my arms. He is usually not a cuddler, but that day, he just laid his head on my shoulder for about five minutes.

He is developing a very devilish sense of humour. When he was helping me water the garden, he decided he should also water Grandpa. He had me trapped behind the house. Each time I would start to go turn off the water he would give a little squirt as a warning. If I moved too much, he would let fly with a full blast. I ended up soaked to the skin with water in both ears. And he laughed and laughed.

His Uncle Jim and Uncle Craig and myself took him to the zoo two weeks ago. Just the guys and he had a great time. Never fussed or whined once. We were there for about five hours and he thoroughly enjoyed it.
He has learned to wear his hat on hot sunny days and loves to wear his sunglasses. He used to take them off all the time, but now he lives in them.

Last weekend he phoned me. Mrs. Moose had talked to Kristin around five o'clock. At about ten to six , our phone rang and it was Kristin. Owen had picked up the phone and when she asked who he was calling, his reply was - Grandpa!
Not even two yet and already calling me. We talked about his birthday party which was yesterday and how his Mom would make cake and he would get presents. I did most of the talking while he answered-yes.

He will be two on September 2ND and it has been the most amazing two years of my life.
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