Due date

Today is the "official" due date for baby Bree though I'm sure she would have been here by now since Owen was so early. It didn't really even dawn on me until I was meeting with a client and wrote the date. It's only been weeks though in some ways it feels like forever ago that everything happened. All of us are doing really well and Owen asks about her every now and then. I have a box of all the sonograms, footprints/handprints, pictures taken at the hospital, the clothes they dressed her in and some other things and Owen will say he wants to look at the "Bree box". And he'll look through it kind of matter of factly and then moves on in his typical four year old way. He's such a sensitive kid (the other day he starting crying out of the blue and said it was because he missed our cat Spotty) that I was really worried about how he would react but he took everything in stride. So life here is back to normal. Now if I could only lose the baby weight :)

How every 4 year old starts his day

With the Ped Egg of course!!! Owen was hanging out on the couch and said he needed to "ped egg". I wasn't aware that it was actually a verb.

The backyard is clear, the front yard not so much

We had a crew of guys out today to clear out the rest of the backyard. The Woodlands has a ton of rules about removing trees but we had a few more pine trees that we wanted to get rid of. If they are larger than a certain diameter you can't cut them down so luckily they were "damaged" in the hurricane :) So now our backyard is a clean slate and now we are working on getting bids to try to get it into shape. The yard debris still hasn't been picked up from the storm so here's what the front yard looks like.

Owen and Bryan on our pile out front.

The pile across the street that is actually all of our stuff but the bulldozer couldn't turn around to dump it on our yard. Thank goodness that we have nice neighbors!

He is now officially brainwashed

Bryan took Owen to his first game today to see the Aggies play Army. We have a group of 8 season tickets together so Joel, Steve and Josh brought their kids too. They made it until the end of halftime which is longer than I would have guessed and Bryan said Owen had a GREAT time! They were gone for about 9 nine hours so I would have thought Owen would be exhausted but it's 8 o'clock and he's still wide awake. What I wouldn't do for the energy of a four year old!!

Owen and Alli hanging out eating popcorn. I'm guessing the abundance of snacks is what kept them happy for so long.

Owen and his ladies: Hope, Alli and Lauren

Dragon boat races

Owen and I headed up to Northshore park today to watch Bryan and his company compete in the Dragonboat races. The Y puts it on every year and in addition to the boat race, they do a bunch of other team events. The weather was BEAUTIFUL today so Owen and I had fun hanging out in the shade by the lake with the ducks.

Owen on the rock wall at the playground

Bryan's team during the race. Sadly, I think they came in last each time. I think they would work on their communication skills a bit!

Soccer

This year's soccer season started today after a delay for our friend Ike. Owen and his buddy Jake are on the same team which should be fun. Bryan took him to practice tonight and said it was "interesting". Not sure what that means but I'll have to go next week to check it out. Owen's missing the first game to go the Aggie game on Saturday but I can't wait to see them attempt to play a game. He is really into his soccer jersey and is asleep in his bed with it on right now :)

The background

Yes, it's still September but Halloween is the THE favorite holiday at our house. Owen has had a Halloween themed party every year and we've already starting planning for this year. Bryan thinks we are ridiculous but I think he's just jealous that he doesn't get to plan it with us :)

To the zoo we will go

Owen's school is closed this week because the building was damaged so we took the opportunity to hang out with some favorite friends from Pearland at the zoo. Owen has known Alexander, aka Pips, since he was about 3 months old when we met them at the Mommy group at Women's hospital. We met Reece when they were around a year old and they've hung out ever since. When Owen was around 9 months, we started a baby co-op where one mom would take 4 kids for a few hours while the other had some free time. There were many combos of kids but Owen and Alexander were always in it and Reece joined not that much later. It was great to get to see them even though it was hot!!!!

Baby Drew, Alexander, Landry, Reece, and Owen
The boys planning their route through the zoo

And then some old pics...

Owen and Reece at maybe around 2??

Owen and Pips rocking some interesting hats. Owen had a GIANT bruise on his head from whacking it against the computer desk the morning that we were having family pics taken.

And my favorite pic of all, Owen and Pips hanging out at a baby playgroup :)

The backyard

For the price of a nice vacation, we had the trees cleared out of the backyard today. There were about 10 men and a bulldozer type thing and now the trees are gone! As is the front of our fence and all of our grass but we'll get around to that soon enough! FEMA is supposed to come by at some point to get rid of all of the debris but until then, we've got a huge stack of fire wood out front.

The tree crew clearing things away. They thought I was very odd for taking pictures.

Happy late birthday to Bryan

Owen and I made this FABULOUS cake to celebrate Bryan's birthday tonight. Mimi and Popi and Lita and Grandpa Mike still don't have power so they're coming over to celebrate. Owen was extremely proud of this little creation :)

Sweet heaven

The Hulshofs just got themselves some power :)

Hurricane Ike

So we have officially survived what was Ike. Owen was completely unfazed by the whole ordeal and didn't seem to mind not having power. Probably because he got a ton of quality time with Bryan and I but I'm still amazed at how easy going he was through the whole thing. Since there was not much to do, I of course had to take lots of pictures to document the whole thing :)

The Hulshof and Rodrigue families in full hurricane preparation mode before the storm. Leigh is no doubt tracking the hurricane on the laptop.

At around midnight, Bryan went to bed in Owen's room and Leigh and Adam and I stayed up for a bit. The storm really started around 1ish when everyone was in bed. I decided to sleep in the downstairs gameroom to keep an eye on things (which sounds kind of funny) but somehow everyone else went to bed without a problem :) At around 4, Leigh and I went out on the back porch and watched it come through and it was CRAZY. I tried to video some of it but it was too dark to see. I do have some video of it later in the morning that I'll try to upload if youtube ever lets me.

At around 7, I woke Bryan and Owen up, who by the way slept through the ENTIRE storm, and told them to go look in the backyard and they saw the following...

Because it was way too hot to start cleaning up outside, we went over to Mimi and Popi's house and celebrated Bryan's 36th birthday in the dark.
Bryan, the ultimate collector of stuff, had a charger that would charge his laptop while his truck wasn't running so every night Owen got to watch a video which was a total lifesaver. His hands look strangely blue in the pic because that day he and Bryan did some science experiment involving cornstarch and food coloring. Don't ask, they were bored.

Then an amazing cold front came through and we finally got around to cleaning up the front yard. No real damage, just lots of debris to pick up.
By Tuesday, boredom officially set in but Owen still was in a good mood. He actually posed for this pic because he thought it would be funny to make it look like Fat Cat was sitting on his head.
So we broke out some playdoh and Owen made me spaghetti and meatballs or as he calls it, basketti and meatballs :)
And then the law came to town. Bryan and I both got arrested for speeding.
We didn't have power, but we had light up drum sticks for Rock Band that we couldn't play. Thank goodness!!! They were actually a birthday present for Bryan that came in the mail today.


And now we finally have power. I know we were INCREDIBLY lucky to not have suffered any major damage and for all of our friends and family to be safe and sound but I still REALLY appreciate electricity :)

Who needs electricity???

We survived Ike though I will say that sitting admist giant pine trees and watching them bend in the hurricane winds was about the scariest thing I've ever seen!! Our house is fine but we had 3 large oak trees fall in the backyard that took out the fence and hit our neighbor's garage. We still don't have power but still have water and it's cool outside so it hasn't been to bad. Our energy company is saying 2-3 weeks until we get power but there's a rumor going around that we could possibly get it back Friday. Mimi and Popi and Lita have a different company and I would bet they'll have power back today. I'm hoping that's the case so we can just hang out with some of them. I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Spring that has power and WiFi so life is good!!

I've lots of cool pics but forgot to bring the card with me but will put them up soon. We've talked to most all of our friends and I think everyone is OK, THANK GOODNESS!!

Ike is on it's way!

So far just some wind. Leigh and Adam are here visiting and we're just hoping that the lights stay on for a while because it is HOT outside!! We're going to put Owen down in his bed but we'll see how long that lasts....

Here's a cool pic that Bryan took outside a little while ago.

Uncle Mini Corndog came to town!!!

Adam showed up with a whole new look. After a while, the humidity wreaked havoc on the new do so this is how he ended up.

BREAKING NEWS with Owen Hulshof

We were watching the Aggie game today in the TV room downstairs when a HUGE branch fell on the patio. Luckily it wasn't on the house and there wasn't any damage. While Bryan and I were outside looking at it, Owen got the Rock Band microphone so he could report on what happened. The video is a a little blurry but still funny becuase it's so totally Owen. Random thoughts, the hair bit, picking his nose, simulated flatulence and a ghost noise or two. And the act of scratching your business in the opening shot of your report, as Owen so perfectly demonstrates, is journalism 101.

Sweet baby Kyle

Tonight we got to meet the newest addition to the Brauchle empire, Kyle. I give him about a year before he has his own calculator and is working out the family budget. Gary, Maren and little Kyle came over for dinner and I think they may win the award for having the sweetest baby ever. Owen liked meeting him though at times was a little rough with him and a little persistent about Kyle getting to know the cats.

Owen woke up when he heard Kyle crying and when I went in and laid down with him he said that he never wants a baby because he just can't stand the crying. Little does he know that just around this time he would have been hearing more than he could ever imagine :) Who knows what will happen but hanging out with Kyle tonight gave me the baby itch!!! Lots of discussion needs to happen at the Hulshof house, especially in light of my recent medical "issues", but you never know so stay tuned.

Owen's version of getting to know you. Kyle is not so impressed.

The gentlest kitten ever!!!

Num Nums is now about 4 months old and despite all the harrassment that Owen inflicts upon her, she's still completely sweet to him. She has her claws and despite the fact that she is picked up all day long, she still never scratches and lets him do whatever he wants with her. I think she actually thinks that he's one of her litter mates :)

Those Hulshofs sure do grow up fast

Owen's got a mustache, beard and even a bit o chest hair

2nd day of school

(Above is what happened when I asked Owen to give me a nice smile)

I tried to take a picture on his first day of school yesterday but we were in full meltdown mode when it was time to take one. Not because he didn't want to go to school but because he couldn't wear Crocs to school this year. I guess it would be a bit of an adjustment to put on actual shoes after your Mom has let you wear Crocs for the past year non-stop.

So far, I love Owen's new school. They have a bunch of responsibilities when they get there and are on the go all day long. Their schedule is the same everyday and there are no more naps which Owen loves. He's there three days a week this year in an effort to get him ready for Kindergarten next year. He said yesterday that he loves his new teachers but didn't really talk to any of the other kids because he's still getting to know them and that when he does know them, he'll make a bunch of new friends. He's my little grown up 4 year old :)

My high school graduation picture from 1952

And yes, Bryan thinks I am a complete dork for spending so much time on something so important.

Then and Now

I was looking through old pictures today and found some funny ones of Owen and his friends when they were little.

Owen and Jack now: See post below.

Owen and Jack then: I think that owen was around 8 months and Jack was around 18 months. Bill and Max and Bob and Joseph are in the middle.

Owen, Katie, and Jack then: I think this was maybe 2 years ago when we went to visit them and Jennifer was pregnant with the twins.
Owen and Lauren then: I think Owen's probably 15 months and Lauren is almost a year
Owen and Lauren now: Hanging out for New Years Eve this year.

Owen and Emma then: Owen and Emma at playgroup. I love how he's either trying to steal her binkie or shove a toy in her mouth. And Pips is hanging out on the couch having a snack :)

Owen and Emma now: Hanging out in New Mexico. Owen MISSES his Emma.

Who would have thought....

...that Bryan and Jeff at 35 would have five kids between them?? Even if four of them are Jeff''s and only one is Bryan's! Today we went to hang out at Mr. and Mrs. Peterson's beautiful new house in the Woodlands. The kids spent 99% of the time in the pool and it was great to get to hang out with them again. We really need to make it back up to Dallas especially since the Flemings are up there too!

Owen relaxing in the hot tub

Bryan the "child whisperer" (as named by Amy :)

All the kids! (Katie, Matthew?, Owen, Jack, and Cambell?)