Sunday, August 31, 2008

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.
\
Posted by Picasa

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi
Not sure if you got the comment I left - I got an error message when I clicked the publish button.
So just in case:-

Its nice to have you back blogging.
My sympathies at the death of your Mom.

I reckon you've got about six months before Owen will be able to outrun you :)

alphonsedamoose said...

Hi YesBut, I'm glad to be back eve id sporadically for a while.
I don't think it will take six months before he can outrun me. He's very close now. LOL
Thanks for the sympathies. It was very sudden and very quick. Nobody saw it coming. I may do a blog on it. It actually is a very funny story, except for the ending.

Catmoves said...

Moose? What's "eve id"?
That cute little bugger is the bright spot in many an eye, I'd guess. Obviously, he owns Grandpa.
Ha, think I've got it "eve id" really means "even if". See? Going to Youtube helps us old fogies.

alphonsedamoose said...

Hi Cat:I guess eve id is even if.
Owns grandpa. Yup! Lock, stock and barrel.He was here the other day and I got such a greeting. Even his mom says she doesn't get greetings like I do.
We taught him how to say scrumptious.
He now has a favorite movie- Monsters Inc.
He also helps me feed the dogs. I hold the big container and he scoops the food into the bowls.

Hope Walls said...

Welcome back, Moosepoop. I missed your blog, and you were absent so long I forgot to visit. Promise I'll check back soon - hope to see more.

Owen is beautiful, by the way. A happy belated birthday to him. Tell Mom and Dad it's time for #2 so you have at least one grandbaby who can't outrun you ~smirk~

alphonsedamoose said...

Hi Ticblog,
Keep checking back. He can't outrun me just yet but he is getting close, or thinks he is. Last week we ran down the block for about 200 yards without stopping. He just loves to run off his energy.

Catmoves said...

You're as bad as I am. But I thought I'd drop in and tell you that it's that time again:
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Day.
http://www.craigmarlatt.com/canada/symbols_facts&lists/thanksgiving.html

Catmoves said...

OK Moose, summer's over. Let that glorified hardware store hire some help for you. Tell 'em we are gettin' tired of no new posts from you. And no new pics of Owen, either.

Anonymous said...

Just popped in to see how you are. Guess you've given up on the blog.
Hope you and your family are well.
Best wishes

Lin said...

Moose - a merry Christmas to you all! I bet the young mooselet got just a little spoiled this morning!

Catmoves said...

OK, Moose. Enough's enough. Let's get back to blogging. We haven't seen Owen for a looooong time.

Catmoves said...

OK, ok, Moose. Let's get busy with more pictures and Owens doings.