A Royal Wedding

We met some friends out for drinks last night, had a great time, got home kind of late, but I still managed to get up at 4:30 to watch the Royal Wedding.  It was amazing.  Kate looked gorgeous and William was so handsome.  The beautiful dress, her vail and long train, her jewels, the courtsey to the Queen, the carriage ride, the kiss on the balcony.  What a fairy tale wedding!  I'm pretty sure my enthusiasm for the entire event rubbed off on Owen.  We met some friends at the park later this morning and he wanted to play prince and princess :)  I told him he could be the prince, Aunt Beth the princess, and I'd be the queen!

Wacky Wednesday

Today was Wacky Wednesday at daycare.  Daddy told Owen he better live up to the Reager tradition of going "all out" for Wacky Wednesdays.  Owen and I had great plans. He'd wear his shirt backwards, a shark mask, two different socks, two different shoes on the wrong feet, you get the picture.  Well, when he woke up and got dressed... this is what he wore.....

Cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and silly bands.  Not all that wacky (and I don't think he kept them on long), but so Owen.  He craves routine and normalcy.  He does not like to venture too far from his comfort zone.  He likes things to be predicatable.  He's not a big fan of surprises and gets anxious in new surroundings and situations.  So, I guess the fact that he even attempted to look wacky was a big step for him.  He sounds JUST like someone else I know.....

ME.  :)

Writing Words

Owen has recently become really interested in writing words, or should  I say, trying to write words.  Yesterday as I was making a grocery list, he told me he wanted to make one too.  He asked what I needed and I told him how to spell it.

"Pears" and "Milk"

That afternoon he wrote a message on the driveway for daddy.

"I love you Daddy"

Later that evening, he asked me to help him get some cars that dropped behind his bed.  He wrote me a motivational message. 

"We can build it, oh yes we can."

It tickles me to no end to see Owen beginning to write.  I haven't even been working with him on writing lately, he's just all of a sudden become really interested in making words himself.

Easter Beach Trip

Let me just begin by saying that last year's trip to Rehoboth was much easier. Adam was a newborn nursing baby who slept most of the time and didn't move when we put him down. I'm not gonna lie.... This year was a little difficult. Mike and I kept saying, "What were we thinking when we thought this would be relaxing?". It was anything but relaxing. Definitely memorable, but very far from relaxing.

Instead of writing about every little detail of our trip, I'm just going to write about some memories from our trip- good and bad. I know as chaotic as it is taking two little boys on a trip, one day Mike and I will be sitting at a restaurant all alone missing the craziness of life with our little ones.

Here goes...
+ Trip down went pretty well. Traffic was fine and Adam only fussed a bit towards the end.

How we role.

I gave both boys lollipops on the way down.  It was Adam's first.  I think he liked it.

- We had lunch at one of our favorite spots (Dogfish Brewery) the day we arrived, but had to rush since both boys were cranky and tired from sitting in the car. That night we had dinner at one of our favorite Mexican places, but again, Adam was super tired and fussy so Mike and I took turns walking him around outside. We learned our lesson and decided to stay away from any eating establishment where we had to sit down and be waited on for the remainder of the trip. No use spending money on good food if we have to rush.  The rest of the trip we ate at Subway, and little stands on the boardwalk.  We did eat at Grotto Pizza on the way home since Nana Way got us a gift certificate.  That didn't go too well either (with Adam).  Owen loved it because they have tons of arcade games.  He didn't want to leave.

- The day we arrived we took the boys swimming in the indoor hotel pool while we waited for our room to be ready. Owen got out of the pool and just as I was telling him to walk and not run, he slipped and hit his head very hard on the pool deck. He was hysterical and his head really hurt. I was so worried and stressed I just wanted to go home. Thankfully, there was a doctor in the pool who saw the whole thing. He told us how to check his eyes to make sure he is ok. I also called my sister and she told me what to check for. He had a horrible headache the rest of the day, but thankfully woke up the next day feeling fine.
+ Thank goodness for a warm, indoor pool!

- There were about 20 people staying in the room next to us and they thought it was fun to make lots of noise all night long. After the lunch and dinner fiascos, the head injury, and Adam not sleeping well, we were ready to pack up and go home late Friday night.  We ended up staying and the next night I put a sign on my door that read, "Shhh, sleeping baby."  I'm not sure if it helped or not.  We had a noise machine and the air conditioner fan running so things were more muffled.

+ The trip was kind of bonding for Mike and I. We convinced each other not to pack up and drive home, he gave me time away without the kids, and we reassured each other that things would get better. We could do this. Sometimes, like when Owen took all his clothes off in the pool area in front of tons of people or when he would tell mo-ped drivers that they should be wearing a helmet, or when he accidentally flung a shovel full of sand all over a poor lady at the beach, we just had to laugh.  Laughing helped a lot on this trip.

+ I am in a wedding in October in Hilton Head. We decided not to take the boys. I know I will miss them terribly while we are away, but I am really looking forward to getting away with just Mike and no kids. This trip showed us that we would not have nearly as much fun if we had to care for our little guys while we were away.  It will good for us. I thought I would write that so when the time comes and I am sad about leaving them behind, I can reread this.  I also told Mike that after this weekend I'm not really sure I want to have another baby.  haha!  He was happy to hear that and wanted to record me.
+ Saturday afternoon the sun came out and it got really warm. The boys loved playing on the beach and I loved watching them:)  Mike and I practiced with my new camera.  Sadly, we took a ton of pictures that did not come out so there really aren't any of me and the boys.  I tried to edit them a little, but they came out really strange.

+ I thought it would be funny to buy the boys really sugary lollipops.  They've never had them before.  I like to live on the edge :)

+ Mike and Owen went mini golfing together and had a great time and this morning Owen and I took a walk on the beach to look for seashells for daddy.  We had such a nice time together and I really enjoy spending time with just Owen.  I love the conversations we have when it's just the two of us and he has my undivided attention.

+ Owen's behavior was not the best at the beginning of the trip. After lots of talks, threats, punishments, more talks, and lots and lots of positive reinforcement, his "bwain turned back on and was wurking again.". He made sure to thank his brain for behaving.

Owen and Adam loved yelling "Hi!" to the people walking below.

- We planned to meet up with Paige, Ella, and Sam, but the stomach bug has been making its way through their house and poor Ella was not feeling well,  so we did not get to see them.
+ Adam was up at 5am this morning which meant we were all up too.  We decided to walk to the boardwalk where they were having an Easter sunrise service.  It was very pretty watching the sunrise and walking on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 +  The best part of going away, even for just two nights, is that glorious feeling of coming home.  Seriously, it felt like we were gone for a week.  The boys were happy to play outside with their toys when we got home.  They also noticed that the Easter Bunny had visited our house while we were away and left them each a basket full of goodies :)

Coloring Easter Eggs

Water Bug & Some Tough Questions

Any guesses as to which boy was the first to plunge into that giant muddy puddle in my previous post??  If you guessed ADAM, you're correct!  It had rained all day and finally it stopped so while I got ready to go to Zumba, Mike took the boys for a "walk".  A few minutes after they left I got a call to hurry and come outside to the alley to see the boys.  I grabbed my camera because I  knew it had to be something picture worthy for Mike to call me.  I guess as they were walking, Adam spotted the puddle and figured puddles were for walking through and playing.  Before Mike could stop him he was already knee deep and Owen followed right behind loving every minute of it.  Oh those boys!

That was Adam's second swim for the day.  His last swimming class was Tuesday morning.  I'll miss our time together at swimming lessons.  Adam loved the water and no matter how tired he was, the minute he got in that pool he was happy.  He had no fear (not sure if that's a good thing).  He would kick, splash, and blow bubbles like a champ.  At the end of every class the teacher lets us take our babies to the ramp to play with water toys.  The water is up to their chest.  She likes us to let them explore floating toys, sinking toys, and encourages us to let them stand without holding on to them so they can feel what it's like to be standing in water.  She said as long as we are right there to pull them up,  it does not matter if they go under.  Well, I finally felt comfortable enough to let Adam go under the water.  He would jump up and go straight into the water.  He would kick his legs and paddle a little with his hands and I'd pull him out of the water and he never once swallowed any or choked.  He was all smiles.  I was blown away.  He did this over and over again until I finally made him get out because his eyes were so red.  I think he kept his eyes open under the water too.  I told the teacher that my first child would have NEVER done this and she said her first would not either, but second children are different.  I am a firm believer in birth order playing a huge role in personality development, but I also think it has to do with the parents.  I don't think I would have EVER let Owen go under water at 14 months old.  I would have been scared he would drown and I would have been afraid he would lose trust in me to keep him safe in the water.  I think I've loosened up a little more with Adam.  I love how different both of my boys are from each other.  I am excited for swimming lessons again with Adam in the fall.

Owen has been asking some really tough questions lately.  The other day he pointed to the number 91 on his number chart and asked me if I would still be able to hold him when he was that old.  Break my heart.

On Tuesday at daycare one of the ladies was joking around with the kids telling them she was going to call her mom if they did not start to listen to her.  The kids all laughed and said, "You don't have a mom!"  She told them she did and showed them her picture on her phone.  Owen then asked her where her dad was and she told him that he was in heaven.  Owen started crying saying, "I don't want to go to heaven."

Then, today he grilled Finny for 5 minutes in the car about where her mom was.  Finny's mom died from cancer before Owen was born.  She told him that her mom was in heaven and he had a million other questions for her.

Poor guy.  His little mind is growing and he has so many questions and wants to figure all this stuff out.  It's a lot for a 4 year old to handle.  I just hope we are answering his questions appropriately.  This is another time where I wish there was a parenting handbook with how to respond.  We are trying to use an honest, faithful, yet lighthearted (if there is such a thing) approach.

I better get going.  I have to pack.  We decided to go to the beach over Easter break, afterall.  I can't wait to get my feet in the sand!

Wordless Wednesday