A Special Gift

What a weekend it's been so far!  Friday, the boys and I stayed inside ALL day.  It's rare that we do that.  I usually find some reason to leave the house, but it was rainy and cold and I couldn't bare the thought of lugging both boys outside.  Mike had a crazy day at work and got home a little late and we decided to take the boys out to dinner.  It's rare that we go out to eat mainly because it gets expensive and also because going out to eat with Adam can be more work than it's worth!  However, we know it's important to take him to restaurants so he knows/practices how we expect him to behave.  We went out to eat a lot when Owen was little and he's usually very well behaved when we go out to eat.  Anyway, we decided to drive 30 minutes away to eat at a restaurant with delicious food.  I know they get super busy so I did the call ahead seating thing.  Well, after driving all the way there listening to Adam fuss because he was hungry, they told us we were not on the list and would have to wait 30 mintues. I guess there was a "misunderstanding"??  I never do this, but I was so angry that I asked to speak to the manager.  He would not move us to the top of the list.  I was so upset and the boys were starving.  We ended up getting Owen McDonald's (Adam had a few fries to hold him over till we got home) and Mike and I got Wendy's.  So we drove an hour for FAST FOOD and ate in the car!!!  I tried to not let it affect my Friday night, but I was bitter about the whole thing.  In fact, I "liked" them on Facebook and then left a complaint.  Something else I NEVER do, but it was a little therapeutic in helping me to move on.  ha!  Hopefully they fix their problem so it does not happen to another family with hungry kids :)

So, in an effort to change the "vibe" of our evening, Mike decided to give me an early Mother's Day gift.  We usually don't get each other gifts and if we do they are nothing big.  I tried to talk him into waiting until the actual day, but he refused.  Well, he definitely out did himself.  This is something I have always wanted, and hoped to get one day, but definitely not anytime soon.  It was wrapped in pretty Lily Pulitizer wrapping paper, which I hated to rip, but Owen was still up and he couldn't WAIT for me to open it.  So I did.  And this is what it was...

A new camera, complete with a camera bag and really nice lens.  While I thought he should probably have his head examined for getting such a "big" gift, I absolutely love it and it definitely helped to change the vibe and I suddenly forgot all about our terrible restaurant experience.

We both agree that this camera ranks right up there with our pellet stove.  Two of the best purchases we've made for our house/family.  Neither of us are "gift" people- it's just not our love language, so I think that made it even more special.

Mike was so sweet too when he gave it to me.  I think he knew I might be upset about him spending money on me so he told me how much he appreciated everything I do, how I'm a great mom, and how I deserved a nice gift.  How could I possibly be mad??  Owen was watching and listening to Mike tell me all those sweet things, hopefully taking notes for one day when he's a husband and daddy himself!  :)

I have been playing with my camera all weekend.  I have a new best virtual friend called "The Fro".  He has a website with tutorials and I've learned a lot from them. 

However, I think I've learned the most from Kate, my cousin.  Not only did she help Mike figure out which camera to buy and what accessories I would need, she stopped over today and spent a few hours teaching me how to work my camera.

I still have a lot to learn, like how to change the pixels so my pictures look clear and crisp on my blog too.  I know I'll never be an expert photographer, but I definitely enjoy it!  Maybe even more than this guy enjoyed his pickle today when we went to lunch with my mom.  Round two was much better.  It made up for the night before :)

Owen's Drawings

Today Owen came home from daycare with two pictures in his bookbag.  He was very proud and told me all about what he had drawn.   I figure the pictures will get ripped, eaten by Adam, lost, and/or thrown out so I took a picture of his pictures :)

"This is a picture of Adam."

"This is a picture of my house, Daddy and I playing soccer, the sun, and my name."

What we did...

Yesterday was a beauuuuuuutiful day.  Here are a few things we did...

We went to the park.

 

We played in our sandbox.

We blew bubbles.

We searched and searched for bugs to put in Owen's new bug house that Papa Steve made for him, but all we could find is ONE ant and he escaped through the screen within five minutes. 

And before bed, Owen covered himself in Thomas stickers that he got in the mail from Aunt Maddie.

Owen's Birthday Weekend

Owen had a wonderful birthday weekend!  Friday night Aunt Judy, Uncle Boo, Lala, Steve, and Nana Way stopped over to give Owen his presents.  We (the adults) enjoyed watching old videos of Owen's first birthday, his first trip to the beach, and his second Christmas.  Owen was too excited playing with his presents to really care about the videos.

Saturday morning daddy took Owen to swimming lessons at LVC and he came home, had lunch, and took a nice, long nap.  He woke up just in time to go to his birthday party.  The kids had a great time running all around, playing together, climbing, sliding, jumping, and pretending.  I took a lot of pictures, but many of them are of the back of kids' heads.  They were so wild that I had trouble taking the picture fast enough.

I think Adam had as much fun as Owen!  He ran around like a wild man the entire time.  Oh, and he tried to kiss some girls.

All the kids were so hot and sweaty!  Owen's party theme was Toystory and at one point during the party they dimmed the lights, turned on the light machine and played the Toystory theme song.  Owen was amazed and kept looking up toward the ceiling.  It's then that I realized that he thought Buzz Lightyear, himself, was going to fly into the room.  Poor guy was pretty disappointed when I had to break it to him that Buzz was not coming to his party.  After an hour of playing we headed back to the "party room" for pizza, chips, hot dogs, applesauce, and juice.  I thought I had counted the number of kids correctly, but once we went back to the room to eat I realized I did not set enough spots.  Turns out, two kids that we did not even know decided to come back with us to eat! Things were so nuts that I never even realized a little girl I never met sitting right next to Owen.  After she had eating her applesauce and had some juice her mom finally came in looking for her.  We were all laughing!!  Two little party crashers :)

The kids were very hungry after all that playing!  Then, we sang to the birthday boy and had cupcakes.

I think Owen really enjoyed himself and felt very special which is what we wanted.  When my mom asked him how it felt to be 4 years old he told her it felt "silly".

I ended up making the cupcakes for Owen's party rather than getting them from a bakery.  I cheated and made the boxed kind and used the already made icing, however I think they turned out really yummy and I'm pretty sure the kids did not know the difference.  They looked bakery bought too since I used the Pampered Chef icing thing to put the icing on the cupcakes.  I don't think I will ever buy cupcakes from a bakery again.  I always wanted to be a cake decorator which is probably why I REALLY enjoyed making the cupcakes.

Sunday morning I took Owen to Sunday School while I went to church.  It was our turn to bring in treats for the cafe and since I had about 25 leftover cupcakes I brought them in to share.  Owen took chocolate chip cookies in to his class to share with his friends.  He got to listen to everyone sing "Happy Birthday" for the 3rd time (1st time was at Linda's house earlier in the week).  We came home from church and Aunt Beth, Paige, Ella, Samantha, and Lala came over to play.

This picture made me laugh.  Our family went from zero kids to four kids in just four years.

Poor Aunt Beth was probably exhausted by the time she left our house.  Owen had her running ALL over our yard many many times.  He was so happy to have her here to boss around and play with him.

Sunday night we headed over to Papa and Finney's house for dinner and presents.  Owen got so many nice gifts from his family and friends.  He is such a lucky boy!  Finney baked one of Owen's favorite desserts... chocolate cake with peanut butter icing :)  We sang "Happy Birthday" (for the 4th time) and had yummy cake.

What a super birthday weekend!  Now it's back to reality for one certain 4 year old :)

Owen is 4 Years Old!

Dear Owen,

Today is your fourth birthday.  You are 1,460 days/ 209 weeks old!  Four years ago today I went to work with a very big belly.  I wasn't feeling quite right so I took a half day, went to the doctor, and sure enough I was in labor and you were born late that night.  You were the cutest, tiniest, sweetest thing we had ever seen.  You've brought us four years of smiles, laughter, and joy.  Here's what you are up to at 4!

-  You weigh 34 lbs.  You wear size 4T or 5T and your shoes are a size 11.
-  Your favorite foods are pancakes, bananas, fruit snacks, broccoli, peanut butter, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, "wormy" noodles, carrots, pudding, pears, and applesauce.

-  You love to play soccer, tackle daddy, race cars, play fireman, ride your bike, and RUN!
-  You can count to 39 without any help and to 50 with a little bit of help.
-  You can write your name and lots of other letters in the alphabet.
-  You still sometimes take an afternoon nap.  When you do nap, it's usually for 2 or 3 hours!  If you don't nap, you go to bed by 7pm.
-   Although it may drive daddy nuts sometimes, you are definitely a mama's boy.  You love to snuggle with me, especially when you first wake up.
-  Some days you tell us you want to be a superhero when you grow up.  Other days it's a race car driver or a rock star.  You still have some time to decide :)
-  You have a great imagination!

 

We celebrated your fourth birthday at Club Kid at the mall.  You had a great time playing with your friends.  Aunt Beth made the trip up from Baltimore and Aunt Paige, Ella, and Samantha came up for your birthday too.  You're such a lucky boy to have so many people that care about you!

We love you very, very much!
Mommy

 

April Fool's Day

This morning we woke up to this...

I guess Mother Nature felt like playing an April Fool's joke on us.  Thankfully Owen's birthday party is indoors.  This is another reminder to me to never plan an outdoor birthday party for him!

A major event took place today.  Adam got his FIRST haircut!  The mullet is gone :(  Owen photographed the big haircut and I remembered to save some baby hair this time.  I'll miss that little blonde mullet.

  Happy Friday!