New Camera - Canon 7D

Mel, Tate & Lyla (Canon 7D test footage) from dan bowen on Vimeo.

Here is some test footage that I put together. I just got a Canon 7D (the camera they use for the SNL digital shorts) and I love it. Enjoy.

Halloween and Hiking

Well November is here and that means only one more month before I return to work on Dec. 2 :-( I have so enjoyed this time off with my precious kids and I'm very thankful to have had this time! This past weekend was an eventful one, as we celebrated Halloween. Tate was a puppy and Lyla was a kitty. They looked very cute as you can see in the pictures. Tate actually had a great time trick or treating. Dan took all of his candy to school to give to the High school students :-) Next year we might not be able to make the candy disappear quiet as easy. I'm sure Tate will inquire about his candy next year! On Sunday we decided to take advantage of a beautiful day and went hiking. Our new house is only two minutes away from a hiking trail that turned out to be really beautiful! We are enjoying our new home and all that Dublin has to offer!

Our Pellet Stove Works!!

Thanks to my dad, our Pellet stove is now working! He found it on Craig's list for us and spent the weekend installing it. It is so nice to have a handy father who lives only three minutes away! After Dan took these pictures, I made my dad wear glasses and a shirt as a mask! He was very dirty!! Thanks again dad! The stove works great!

Happy Halloween

Here is some Halloween advice from Tate. We will add some pictures shortly. Enjoy.

Sweety Face and First Smiles

The Zoo!

Tate and Lyla

Lyla is alomst seven weeks old and is doing great! Tate enjoys being a big brother most days :-) They are both changing before our eyes! Tate will be two years old at the end of the month and is talking up a storm! He really amazes us with his memory! It is scary sometimes! Tate went to the 2's,3's and 4's class second service at church this week. When asked about what he learned he said, "Baby Moses" we then asked him some follow up questions, like all teachers do :-) I said where did Baby Moses's mom put him? Tate said,"In the basket" then "in the river". Mind you we were not in the class and had no clue what the story had been about! Too cute and smart if I have to say so! :-)

Lyla's 4 weeks old!!

Life in the Bowen household has been flying by! Lyla is already 4 weeks old and is getting big quickly! She went to a well check doctors appt. today and weighs 10 lbs. 11 oz. (89%), she is 21 1/4 inches long (50%) and her head is 14 3/8 (32%). Not bad for under a month old! Tate is doing great as a big brother. He loves to give Lyla huggies and kisses. He often asks to "hold her" and quickly changes his mind saying, "no, mommy do it!"
Two kids is a lot of work but also a lot of fun! We are so thankful for our families! I'm not sure what we would have done without their help?? I know that I'm especially thankful for being so close to both of them! Enjoy the pictures!

Chubby Cheeks!
Looking at my Daddy
Hanging out!
A proud Dad for sure!
Squeeze in...
Tate giving Daddy a kiss (not Lyla :-)
Funny Face!
Two kids and a rocking chair! Can I say super mom :-)
Silly boy!

Stay tuned for more...

Pictures!! Week 1-4

Hello everyone! As promised here are pictures from the first couple of weeks since we've been home. We are enjoying our precious kiddos and loving our new house! We just got our internet hooked up so I'm sure we will be a little better about posting new pictures! Enjoy these for now and check back soon for more!!


First car ride!


Two kids, Yikes!


Getting ready for Lyla's first bath at home!

Tate watches, I think he wanted to get in with her!




Big Brother Tate!

Pretty in pink





Fun with the hose!!

Celebration

Tonight we had our celebration dinner and we will be discharged tomorrow morning at 11am. We are ready to move in to our new home with the whole fam!

L-Bo (but not Lynne)

Lyla (or L-Bo as her friends call her) continues to impress us with her charm and intellect. Actually, she's just cute. It's weird having 2 kids now, but in a good way. Tate and Lyla. Mel liked the name Lyla because it sounded cute with Tate. It's true. Today is our last full day in the hospital. Tomorrow we head back to our newly roofed home for our first night in Dub-Town. All of our stuff has been moved to the house and over the next few weeks we will be unpacking and finishing the remaining renovation items on the to-do list. I start school on Tuesday, which is not necessaily ideal but I am grateful to have a job! I will be taking some time off the following week to be with Mel and the kids (kids...weird!). Enjoy the pics!

The Roof
(the gutters go up this week)
BEFORE

AFTER
L-Bo & co.
Tom is captivated by Lyla's beauty.
Tired dad-bo.

Welcome to the planet, welcome to existence...

Day 3 and Lyla and Mel are doing well. That sounds like the intro to a rap one might find on the yet-to-be-recorded Bowen family hip-hop record titled "D-Bo Flow" (dropping this Fall). Lyla was up from about 4-7am, which subsequently caused Mel and I to be bright eyed and bushy tailed as well. I seem to be more tired than Mel and she makes it a point to state the irony of this quite frequently. Today was a good restful day. I took Tate to the park, Target (to get juice for Mel) and to Peets (to get caffeine for myself and a cookie for Tate. The cookie was the proverbial carrot that I dangled in front of Tate all day to make him behave in the hospital). It was another fun time with Tate. I will miss this stage he is in. So vocal, curious and sweet (like his father before him). Mel and I are stil getting used to receiving pink gifts and are grateful for the outpouring of prayers, love and support from our family and friends. Enjoy the pics.

Tate's day with daddy

Mark bought this tractor at a garage sale and it was a wreck. Herb restored it and gave it to Tate today. It is from the 70's. Tate loves it!

Lyla

Lyla is 1 (day old)

Mel and Lyla are doing very well. The baby is eating great as food seems to be a favorite hobby of hers. Melissa is already up and walking and just took a shower (it took her 3 days to do that with Tate). I took the little guy to the park and Jamba Juice today. It was fun to get out of the hospital and play with him. He seems so big now even though it feels like we were just here with him.

We will be staying our first night in the new house when we get back from the hospital. As I type this, a new roof is being installed. We are all moved in (though there are still boxes and some loose ends here and there) and are excited to bring Tate and Lyla into our new home.

Moving and the Roof
Tate and Daddy's Afternoon Out
Lyla - 1 day old

Justin's Pics...

He took more but here is a teaser...

Lyla Rose

Lyla was born at 7:54 this morning. She weighs 8 pounds and 11 ounces and is 20 inches long. She's a chub! Mel and the baby are doing well. We are both pretty shocked that we have a daughter. We were convinced we were having a boy. Here are some pictures and more will be uploaded throughout the day and throughout her life. If you would like to visit at some poiht between now and Sunday, send me a text or give me a call and I will let you know what time would work best.

Sparklers Only Burn For So Long

Tate just got back from his camping trip with our families. He looks like some sort of nuclear war survivor. He was well taken care of and it sounds like he had a great time. Mel and I enjoyed our week at home. We moved all of our stuff to our new house and are in the process of unpacking. We slept in, went out to breakfast at Katy's Korner, went to a nice dinner and did all of the things that we used to do pre-Tate. That said, we missed him a ton and it was so good to see him today. I gave him a haircut because he mullet was starting to cause people to stare and question the ability of his parents to properly care for his hygiene. He didn't enjoy the hair clippers so we used sparklers to distract him. It worked. Kind of. On Monday Mel and I had the unique opportunity to host a house concert for Rocky Votolato. He is one of my favorite musicians and I have been fortunate enough to have seen him in the city twice before (see past blog posts here and here). The concert was by far one of my favorite musical experiences and was also one of the most enjoyable things I have been able to experience with my friends as a whole. It was a very memorable night. I will post some pictures and video or you can cruise over to his MySpace and check out the pics he posted on his site. Pretty cool. Below you will see pictures of Tate getting his haircut and a video of Rocky playing a new song called "Sparklers." I will post some more eventually.

Haircut

9 DAYS AND COUNTING!

Mel had her last ultrasound today and everything looks good. The C-Section is scheduled for next Thursday (August 20 - Justin's birthday) in the morning. Come and hang out if you would like! Tate is camping with our families and we miss him a ton but it has been kind of fun being child-less for the past couple days. Mel talked to Tate on the phone today and he told her that a bear ate his sandwich (it really did) and papa took him in a kayak to see a waterfall. The kid is a genius. This video of Tate singing happy birthday to Mel will have to tide us over for now.