Bethlehem's First St. Patrick's Day Parade

The Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, Bethlehem had its first ever St. Patrick's Day parade. So surprising that this is the first one since there is such a large Irish community in the area and there is even a Celtic festival in town. The parade was nice with some piper bands and Irish dancers. Owen had a good time hanging out with Francesca. He seemed a little concerned by the crowds and the noises, but he loved it when dogs walked by!

In the evening after the parade, there was a concert in a tent in the historic district in Bethlehem. We shared a sitter with our friend Becky to watch the kids and we all got to go out for the evening. The music in the tent was great! They had a really nice setup with the stage at one end and connected tents serving food and beer. But we didn't eat there - we went up to Brewworks and managed to get a seat to get some dinner. So nice to have some adult time out!

Happy Birthday, Francesca!

In early March, we celebrated the first birthday of our friend's daughter Francesca. Owen had a great time running around the party with the Francesca's cousins. The kids all had a fun time playing with a bunch of pink balloons. One of the girls took a special interest in Owen, and took care of him by making sure that no one took Owen's balloon from him.

Francesca finished off the party by eating a big piece of chocolate cake. I think she ended up in a sugar coma after eating all of that chocolate!

Lutron Day at the Science Center

Last month, Lutron hosted an event at the Da Vinci Center, which is a small science center in Allentown. Even though we knew that Owen was a little young for most of the exhibits, we decided to take him to allow him to run around a little.

At first, he seemed to be a little overwhelmed by all of the people there. But we ran into some friends who have a daughter that is 1 month younger than Owen and he had fun playing with her a little. And we found the toddler room at the center, where they had lots of nice games for kids and some big blocks for Owen to climb on. But most of all, Owen just wanted to climb up and down the big staircase at the museum and get in everyone's way in the process!

Reading the Morning Paper

Wheeeee!!!

Owen's turned out to be a real climber. He loves to climb up on chairs and stand there without holding on - I think he's trying to say "Look Mom! No hands!"

So, Daddy bought him a slide for his bedroom. He loved it right away and climbed right up. He started laughing when he got to the top for the first time. He loves to climb up, slide down, and circle around to do it again. He even started yelling "Wheeeeee!" as he slid down. Definitely a good purchase for Owen. But he still wants to climb on the chairs too.

Who's That Handsome Devil in the Mirror?

Owen & Francesca

Recently, we've been getting together with our friends, putting the babies down to sleep, and then hanging out together for the rest of the evening. The kids have a good time playing together before bedtime, and then the adults can relax without any babies after bedtime. We're all enjoying it!

So... to celebrate our new found freedom - here are some great pictures of Owen and Francesca:

Visit From Aunty Lisa!

In January, Kathleen's friend from college, Lisa, came down to visit. And she brought presents for Owen with her! She brought Owen a dinosaur toy, which he loved right away! We took a trip out to Vynecrest and had a nice dinner at Brewworks!

Postponed Visit to Grandmom and Grandpop's

The weekend after New Year's, we traveled down to visit with Grandmom and Grandpop in Delaware. Our previous plans to visit right after Christmas were canceled because of snow. During our visit, we opened our Christmas presents. Owen got a helicopter that can be pulled around and plays music. He loved it right away!

After dinner, we drove down to Mommom's house farther down in Delaware to spend the night. Kathleen stayed up late talking with Mommom and two of her aunts - and then continued visiting and talking in the morning over breakfast. Owen had a good time pulling his new helicopter around and dancing to some funk music!

I Need a Haircut!

Owen's hair was getting long around the holidays. Daddy's barber said that he would trim him up for free, but we had trouble getting him there, so we just trimmed it ourselves. Didn't do too bad of a job, and he was much better behaved through the trim than we thought he would be!

A Week Off

In between Christmas and New Year's Eve, both Phil and Kathleen had off from work and Owen's daycare was open. So, Daddy and Mommy had a nice quiet week to relax. We had lots of nice lunches out, caught up on some reading, and saw a movie at one of the big new theaters.

On New Year's Eve, we went over to our friends Brian and Wendy's house for the evening. Brian's sister, her husband, and kids were also visiting, so there were a few kids running around for Owen to play with. We made a big batch of seafood gumbo for dinner. After the kids went to bed, we had a chance to relax, play some Wii, and watch a little TV, before ringing in the new year.

On New Year's Day, we got together with some friends from the neighborhood (Joe and Rebecca) and their daughter Francesca. We had a nice dinner out at Brewworks - Owen and Francy-pants had a nice time hanging out next to each other in their high chairs. After dinner, we went back to Joe and Rebecca's house, put the kids down to bed, and hung out for a while.

First Snow of the Winter

Right after Christmas, we got our first snowfall, and unfortunately, we had to cancel our travel plans to see Grandmom and Grandpop Smith, and Mommom (Owen's great-grandmother). While they were calling for a lot of snow, we really didn't get that much in the Lehigh Valley. But we still bundled up Owen in a few layers of clothes and a snowsuit, and took him out into the snow. He was adorable with his snowsuit on!

Merry Christmas!

This year, we had Christmas at home with just our little family! On Christmas Eve, we made a roast tenderloin with bourbon-plum sauce in the slow-cooker, so it was ready to eat as soon as we got home from Christmas Eve service at church. Owen had a good time at church playing in the nursery and flirting with some older girls.

On Christmas morning, we got up and opened our presents. Owen got his first Legos, Playmobile, and Thomas toys, but he seemed more interested in the goldfish and his juice. And climbing up the steps! We made some Thai fish for lunch, and had a nice Christmas dinner out that night at Brewworks!

Owen Loves Betsy!