Kate's first dance performance

We spent a good portion of the last two days preparing for and attending a dress rehearsal and performance (at the mall, the second Saturday before Christmas...) for Kate's dance class. Thankfully this dance studio is not terribly serious about performances - they are not mandatory and neither are any rehearsals. They allow the girls to get out of it what they put into it and the kids seem to be put first. I have really been pleased with the studio and the teachers. It has made this first experience with dance pretty painless as I never took dance and to say that the whole scene is very new to me would be an understatement. That said, I don't think Kate is really cut out for dance. She seemed pretty bored throughout most of the semester and would only half-heartedly participate. She did, however, reportedly enjoy the first 5-10 minutes of class which were spent in free play in the gym room complete with a trampoline. Her performance yesterday was her best effort yet. Don't get me wrong, Kate loves to dance. At home. With her own moves. She just didn't seem to enjoy the tedious task of learning choreography. At any rate, those of you who care can check out the performance right here.

Owen is two!!

Owen celebrated his second birthday this week. I'm finding it hard to believe that he's really not a baby any more! It seems like it's taken Owen a lot longer to grow out of the baby stages than it took Kate. Maybe that's the boy/girl difference. Maybe it's just Owen. Anyway, he's such a big boy now (and he is a BIG boy - all 29 pounds of him!). He's doing great in all aspects. He loves going to Mothers Day Out and does really well there. He loves music/singing/dancing. He has several toys that play music and sometimes he will remove his hearing aids to hold the music right up to his ear. And he'll listen for a LONG time! It's so cute to hear him sing! His favorites right now are ABCs, Old Macdonald, and Do You Know the muffin Man (my personal favorite to hear him sing!). He also loves his big sister and his DADDY! Everyone loves Daddy and it's giving Mommy a bit of a complex... Oh well.

Anyway, back to the birthday. Owen's birthday fell on Monday, but Mondays are pretty busy here with MDO and Kate's dance class, plus I have an standing commitment at church that fell on that evening. So, we celebrated on Sunday instead with Nana and Grandfather. They came over and enjoyed some cake and ice cream (made with love by Mommy and Kate) and opening of presents. I've posted a few pictures so you can see how big he is!







Happy Birthday, little Owen!!