4th of July Weekend

Owen misses Grandma and Grandpa Karpp. The morning after they left, Owen came downstairs looking for them and was disappointed when he didn't see them. He'll be very happy to see them again when they next visit in October.

This weekend, Daddy didn't have to work on Friday because of July 4th, so we spent it going on our short outings. On Friday morning, we had breakfast at the Original Pancake House where both boys behaved perfectly and allowed Mommy and Daddy to finish their breakfast without rushing. Then, we spent the morning in Target getting Owen a swimming pool and other toys. We got home in time to feed them and put them down for their nap. Both Owen and Dash slept for about 2.5 hours and woke up to more food. While Owen had his lunch, Daddy set up the pool and when he was finished with his lunch, the pool was filled and ready for Owen to play in. After the pool, we went to the Coldstone Creamery for a cool treat before dinner. Grandma and Grandpa Karpp would be proud of us!

Today, we went to the Midland Railway in Poway again because the steam engine was running for the 4th of July weekend. We got there early and had breakfast at the Hamburger Factory (not very good food). It was too loud at the restaurant for Dash because he had a meltdown shortly after we were seated. He finally cried himself to sleep (with a bottle in his mouth) as we finished our breakfast. Before the train ride, we had time to go to the Farmer's Market where we had samples and watermelon juice. We got back to the park just in time to get tickets for our ride on the steam engine. Mommy and Dash stayed behind because we couldn't bring Dash's stroller onto the train, but Owen and Daddy had fun.

Here are some pictures from this weekend...more will be posted when the weekend is over.

Brothers
Here are a couple of pictures of Owen modeling his many hats for Mommy.


Here's Owen trying to feed himself.

Here's Daddy in the backyard takign a break from setting up the pool.
Here's Owen all finished with his lunch and staring out at Daddy.
Here are some pictures of Owen enjoying his new pool.

Here's Dash watching Owen from the shade.

Here are some pictures of Dash in his carseat on the ride to the Coldstone Creamery.

Here are Owen and Daddy getting ready to place their order. Here's Owen sitting on Daddy's lap while Daddy drinks his milkshake.

Owen trying the milkshake.
Owen, going after Mommy's milkshake.
Dash at the Railway in Poway.
Here are some pictures of the train and Owen and Daddy.

Here's Dash in the park while Owen and Daddy watch the train go around the park with its passengers.

Here's our patriotic 4th of July dessert. Blueberry, raspberry, blackberry parfait...yummy (or at least, Owen thought so).

Today, July 5th is a very important day in our life. It was exactly one year ago that we saw our Owen's face for the first time. I remember "the Call" as if it had happened yesterday. I want to write this down so that when I am old and have lost my memory and my mind, I have a record of what happened on this very special day. The day we lost our hearts to our son, Owen Michael.

I had been waiting all day for Jenny from WC to call with our son's referral the entire day! By 5pm, I had given up that she'd call because I thought it was "quitting time" for WC employees. By this time, I had given up hopes of getting that call, so I closed my eyes to take a quick nap. At 5:40pm, the phone rang. I was somewhat annoyed that I forgot to turn off the ringer. I went to answer the phoen and it was Jenny on the other line. She asked if I was near the computer because she was sending the info on our son. I jumped off the bed in the guest room and ran to the computer. I kept refreshing my screen and then...the email appeared. I quickly read the info provided in the email and downloaded Owen's pictures. In the span of a few minutes, I memorized every detail on my precious baby boy. I didn't even look at the medical information Jenny provided and quickly told her, YES...WE ACCEPT THIS REFERRAL. I hung up with Jenny and called Rich and together we careful examined Owen's pictures again. Rich came home early that evening and we went to Fedex Kinkos to print Owen's pictures and to Noodles and Co. to celebrate (I was too preoccupied with looking at Owen's pictures to cook a proper meal). I was too preoccupied to eat my meal. We spent hours studying Owen's pictures and picking out a name for him. It didn't take us long to decide on Owen Michael. It fit him perfectly.