Family Dinner

31I had my family up to visit and have a family dinner. It was nice to see everyone, even though I didn’t get to chat too much. Cooking dinner and Owen wantingto play with me, kept me busy. Owen was very excited to see all his family and had a wonderful time. Highlights or funny moments:
1- Singing Jingle Bells and Rudolph at the dinner table. Owen remembered this from Christmas and requested “Nicholas sing Jingle Bells!”
2- Jenni, Nicholas and Owen working together to complete the dinosaur puzzle.
3- Owen playing tickle with everyone with his muscle men. He makes the men tickle certain people or have someone tickle someone else. It is a game we play a lot and with many different items.
4- Asking to give goodbye kisses to everyone.

Sorry not more pictures but it seems like we forget to take pictures when everyone is here, maybe because it is a little hectic.

Birthday Gym Pictures

My great friend Lauren sent the pictures she took and they are great, so now you all get a little glimpse on all the fun from Brady’s birthday party at Jumping Jacks. Thanks again Lauren!!!

Little nervous with the big ladder at first.

But after some time, he did it proudly. He’s following Luke up here.

Look at that big smile. He still wanted Daddy to slide with him every time.

Too preggy to get to bounce, but it was fun to watch. Big Momma!

Sitting at the Top with Daddy

More Slide Smiles

Birthday Boy Brady Sliding

All the Birthday Guests, this was no easy feat!

Owen waiting for cake and making noises with Luke.

Snow – It’s Cold, Wet and Covers Everything

This is what Owen told me when we were watching the snow fall. It is a line from the book The Kitten Tale which we have been reading lately. Owen says it with excitement and joy. We had a lot of fun playing in the snow this morning. Owen made it about 45 minutes before he told me “I’m wet and cold, Go inside.” I am so happy that he likes playing in the snow this year, last year he was not that interested.

Chester and Owen Watching the Snow

Owen was very excited when the snowplow drove by.

Trying to get outside; I was still putting my shoes on.

Snowy Smiles (Wish he would not put his mouth into his coat so you could see the beaming smile.)

Always a Good Time to Mow

Mowing the Hill

Running Down the Hill

I tried mittens because they are lined but seem to be too big. Owen took them off and we had to switch back to his gloves.

Chloe and Chester Love the Snow Too

Playing Hard

Running through the snow. He kept saying “Crunch, crunch goes the snow.”

Big Cheesey Grin

Catching Snowflakes

Chloe is a sweet sister. Chester does not like when the snows clumps on his fur, so Chloe helped clean him off.

His favorite part was plowing his trucks through the snow.

Plowing More Snow

Snowy Owen

Snowy Chloe

Sweet Boy and Sprinkles

Owen is such a sweet little boy and there have been moments where I just thank him for being so sweet and cute. We had to pick up Chloe’s medicine this morning. When we were about to leave the vet’s office Owen wandered into the store portion and found some itty-bitty bone cookies covered in sprinkles. Owen picked them up, brought them to me and said “I want to get these for Chloe. Chloe treats.” See what I mean – HOW SWEET! Of course I could not deny that, so we bought them. He talked about giving them to Chloe and Chester the whole way home. I of course told him many times how sweet it was for him to pick something out for Chloe. He could not give them the treats quick enough when we got home. And obviously Chloe and Chester were grateful. However, Owen decided he must give all of them today. Luckily there was only about 20. He would take turns handing one to Chloe and then Chester. The dogs were in heaven. As a special treat for being such a sweet and giving boy, I gave him a little bowl of sprinkles. Owen was in heaven.

SPRINKLES!!!!

Little Sprinkle Mess

Giving Chloe a Treat

Giving Chester a Treat

Showing me his Red and Green Mouth.

He also kept telling me how “My fingers are red.”

Trying to get every last sprinkle.

Baby’s Room

As promised here are the pictures of Baby #2’s room.

Our Weekend

Sorry no pictures recently, just not much exciting has happened and I totally forgot to bring it to the party we went to. Oh so sad about this as there were many cute moments and lots of Owen smiles. We had a wonderful weekend full of family time. Well mostly Owen and Daddy playing with me being allowed to play occasionally. Owen is totally in love with his Daddy right now and when he is home is by far the preferred playmate. I completely understand this as Daddy can actually chase him and horseplay with him. I am sad that I can’t really anymore, or at least not like we used to. I miss this play and it really saddens me, but soon enough I can again. I still gets lots of snuggles and chill play. It is very cute to see my boys running around and just loving each other and creating all sorts of new games.

Saturday was nice and chill. I got to hike the pups in the morning which is always nice; I really do miss not being able to do this every day. Then we just hung out and we got a lot of home stuff done. Baby #2’s room is completely done (pictures to be posted soon), I got all the stuff I needed washed like swings and car seats, and I completely cleaned and organized the office/guest room after it being the holding area for lots of stuff. It was great! I love when I accomplish so much. Then Jenni came up to babysit Owen so Omer and I could go to dinner with some friends. She’s a great sister!

Sunday we went to Brady’s 3rd birthday at Jumping Jacks and Omer and Owen had a great time.  I did too but sad that I was not able to do any of the stuff. The bounces aren’t really made for super preggy people. We were proud of Owen because after a little time he finally climbed the big ladder and slid down the bouncy slide. He would not do this last time they were there. It was so much fun to see his big smile flyng down the hill and the excitement just running around the gym. It was a great time by all. My friend Lauren did remember her camera and got a couple pictures of Owen so hopefully I’ll post them at some point.

Potty Training – Part Two

Well let’s just say it hasn’t happened and I have not done much to help. I told you I was chicken about all this. He lost the interest quickly. For a couple days and only a handful of times would he actually sit on the potty, with of course nothing happening. So that weekend we had planned to just bite the bullet and do it came and went and never did he wear undies. I know, I know! We should have just done it, but we were having such a lovely weekend we didn’t want to ruin it by forcing him to sit on the potty every 20 minutes. Mainly that now if you ask him if he wants to sit on the potty he will say “NO! I don’t pee on potty.” Well fine! He’s still pretty young for potty training and I am just not in the mood right now to make a whole weekend miserable with this chore. Unless a miracle happens, we will probably wait until it gets warmer so I don’t feel bad about letting him run around naked while we train him. But who knows, he still talks about how to get the coveted green frog, he just needs to act on it now.

The Preschool Decision

So all of you that really know me know that I had a struggle with this last year as well. Owen actually got in to a 2 year old program and I turned them down. I just did not see any reason to send him that young, and I don’t think he was ready and neither was I. I really miss the little guy when he’s not around. But trust me I had a hard time deciding this but am very happy with my decision. I am very glad I did not start him in the Fall. I am however, happy that he got into the one day program right now. And it’s only been 2 classes but last time seemed to go much better and he talks about school a lot and excited to go back. All good signs. Now he just needs to make it a whole class.

So now the new decision. Yes, us mothers are filling out applications right now for our kids for Fall 2009. I completely understand why the schools do it early, but seriously I have no idea what my needs are going to be or Owen’s personality or needs 8 months from now. Who does? I know he will go, but the question is do I aim for two days or three days. I once again am struggling with this decision. My gut says do two days, he will always be on the younger side because he’s a July baby. I also am very against over scheduling kids, mainly at this young age. They really do learn a lot just from being home and with a loved one. Along with preschool, I would still like to maintain playgroups and playdates so those will eat up some of our other free time. And I really like just being home or doing something just us sometimes.

With all that convincing of choosing the two day options, I am realistic that I will have two kids at that time and both Owen and me might need a break. But then the other part of me says, oh come on so many people handle more kids than that with no help or break. I want to enjoy the time I have with my kids before they are gone all day or don’t want to hang out with me anymore. This also ways in on my decision. And the fact that I am a sleep Nazi and know I am going to feel bad about upsetting #2’s nap routine to tote Owen around to school and stuff. However a good point on doing three day as that many of Owen’s friends will be going three days and therefore they would be on different days and hard for morning activities with friends. We have a couple friends that are opting for two days, but we are definitely in the minority. Also who knows what #2’s personality is going to be. Owen is pretty easy going and chill so not hard to maintain, but this one might be completely different and needy. How does one guess that?

So through all that rambling, I still don’t know what box to check. I wish I could see in the future and know what Owen and I would like. I know it’s just preschool and that is another reason I veer toward the two day. They are going to be in school for so very many years shouldn’t they just be able to have fun right now. AGH!!!! Why do I let these thngs stress me out. I think I would have been a good mom back in the 70s, much more laid back and my style. These times are much different for kids, sad to me but true and don’t want to hold your kid back. Seriously – UGH!

Finally Snowed

This morning we finally saw some snow, not much to brag about as it was just flurries in the morning but during lunch it started to snow and covered the ground white. You can still see the grass but heck I’ll take it. I love snow and have been disappointed we have had none. Owen saw it right away and exclaimed “It’s snowing!! I want to go outside.” WooHoo, of course. We got all bundled up and he grabbed his remote control car and we headed out.

He stood there at first and just kept saying snow and looking up.

Then it was all about driving his car, he drove it on the patio but really enjoyed driving down the hill.

Owen at his Command Center

Driving it Down the Hill (see the white on the ground!!!)

It got stuck so he had to save the car.

Then we started to play with his outdoor trucks but when he got snow on his gloves he would say “Snow on my hands, clean it off.” He got used to it pretty quickly and accepted that snow would be on his gloves.

Driving Trucks up the Hill

Chloe and Chester love the snow as well. They played chase a lot, so nice to see them running around. They did take breaks though.

Owen running to go swinging. Yes, the boy wanted to swing fast and high even with the cold air on his face.
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Then it was off to play in the fort where we picked up from a Owen and Daddy game with lots and lots of pine needles and branches.

During lunch it really started to pick up and Owen mentioned he wanted to go back outside. Of course, I wanted to as well, but after he actually finished eating it was straight upstairs to play at his favorite new spot, the bench in our bedroom. He has played here all weekend, it’s his new “bumpy” surface to drive cars on. I was a little sad but oh well. I was hoping the snow would amount to something and we could play this afternoon, but it has stopped and very sunny, so nothing to really play with.

He did really enjoy watching the snow and talking about it. He told me “I want to build a snowman.”

Here is his new play area, with lots of cars dumped over the edge.

He likes to drive them along the top as well. My job is to “hold the basket, Mommy” and I also get to hand him the cars. Such fun!

Calling People

Today at lunch, Owen asked me if Daddy was coming home and I told him not until dinner because he is at work. He responded with “I want to call Daddy on the phone.” Too cute! I of course called him and when Owen got his moment on the phone the first thing he said was “Daddy you coming home?” Awe, sweet and sad at the same time. He accepts that Daddy won’t be here until dinner but he does ask throughout the day. He of course told him love you and bye, and even after we hung up he asked “Can we call Daddy on the phone again.” So adorable he loves his Daddy soooooo much and really misses him.

On that, last weekend, Owen was looking through one of the photo albums I have been putting together and Grandma was in the picture. He said “I want to see Grandma.” I told him that we couldn’t right now but will soon, but we could call her. He loved this idea. He gets a little quiet at first when the phone is put to his ear, I think he is trying to figure what to do. But he emphatically said “PEEK-A-BOO”. This is what he told me he wanted to tell her. He also told her love you and bye. Later in the day Babaanna called and he talked to her as well on the phone and said peek-a-boo as well. Not sure why this is what he wants to tell people. He told me later at bedtime “I talked to Grandma and told her peek-a-boo.” Too funny.