The Dude is 2.

Owen is 2. 2 years old. He is no longer 1. Not uno, but dos. That is just crazy, I seriously can't believe it. I'm sure that every parent says that on every birthday, so I guess I'm getting the hang of this parenting thing... I won't bore you with the normal, this is what my kid did, learned, ate, threw up, spilled, over the past year, but I thought I would share just a few of the things that we have gone through as a family in the past year:

• 87,000 diapers. I think the people at Sam's just love to see us coming. Seriously, I don't know what we would without Mr. Walton. Thanks big guy.


• 416 Batteries, With technology where it is today, I can video chat online with my parents in another state, and yet cant seem to be able to keep working batteries in any toy that we own. The one in the remote seems to last about 3 years before I need to replace it, my parent's Toyota Prius runs on them, and I seriously can't go a week without replacing AA batteries in something.


• 26 Bethy (pronounced Betty) visits. Bethy cleans our house. Bethy does not speak English. She loves Owen and even gave him some wonderful smelling "childrens cologne." It just smells like baby powder, but the thought was there. Thank goodness for Bethy becuase our circus tends not to care what is on our floor before it goes in their mouth.


• 13 canisters of Folgers coffee (the big ones from Sam's). 6 pounds of Community Coffee-New Orleans Blend for our cold drip coffee. And who knows how many number of CC's/Starbucks/PJ's visits. Coffee is our lifeblood, it is part of our morning, and let's face it, it is part of our family. We love you coffee.


• 1 C-Section. I say we, because even though it was a cakewalk for me, I was there and went through part of it, and 80% of our family was present so I count it. I would post the video (yes, I took a video, and regardless of how much my hand was shaking from excitement/nervousness, it still came out pretty clear), but I don't want to "sweat from my eyeballs" as King says. I still tear up every time I watch it.

We have also gained the following items during the year that were not around when Owen was 1.

• Parker


• Jack


• 1 Swingset (that took WAY too long to build)


• Gigi and Pop's Suburban (now we are again minus the Suburban)


• Daddy's job with the State of Louisiana


• New tenants for our condo (who still owe us a babysitting service)

With all the things we have been through and the changes that have taken place over the past year, I am trying not to be sad about Owen growing up. It is part of the journey and we can only hang on and enjoy the ride. I can't help but look forward to next year with the O-Man, I can't wait to see what is next.

I love you buddy.