Lard Work

I used to worry that Owen was going to be one of those kids that did not like to get his hands dirty.

When I picture little boys, I picture dirt loving, grass stained, sweaty little bodies, but when Owen was little he hated to get dirty.  Anytime he fell he would try to get up without touching the grass and he'd fuss until we helped him.  He also hated getting sandy which made playing in sand boxes and going to the beach tricky.  I remember really wanting him to go all out and get super messy while he ate his first birthday cake.  He was scared of getting messy and when I put his hand in his cake he cried.

Well, he's come a long way.  In fact, today I watched from the window while he played outside in daddy's dirt/compost pile for at least an hour.

Then, I snuck outside to get some pictures of my boy enjoying dirt.

When he finally caught me watching him he told me he was looking for a treasure.  "A little, little, little blue ball."

Then, he told me he was doing "lard" work.  I think the REAL reason he was spending so much time sitting and sifting through the dirt may have had something to do with a cute, little fifth grade girl that lives in the house behind ours :)

 

Yesterday, as I was changing the sheets on his top bunk, I came across a pile, yes a pile, of sand.  Then I remembered he was making snow angels in the sand volleyball court at the park before we came home for naps on Monday.  It made me laugh and happy that my boy now enjoys getting down and dirty.

 

Speaking of lards, I mean yards...  Here are some up close pictures of flowers from our yard that I took the other day.

Bleeding Hearts

Gerbera Daisy

Rhododendron

Skip Laurel

Rhododendron

A pine tree that gets pretty pink cones (I forget the name, I have to ask Mike)

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day

We had a nice weekend.  The weather was perfect and although Mike was away Saturday to Sunday afternoon, the boys took it easy on me :) 

Love his little, chubby hand

We spent lots of time on our front porch and outside.  We went to the playground both mornings.  I know I've said it before, but I LOVE where we live.  I love our cute, little neighborhood, with mostly cute, little houses and the best part is the big, fun playground within walking distance.

Owen did his best to make sure I had a nice mother's day.  Every time we went for a walk and he passed a Dandelion, he would pick it for me "for mother's day".  This morning he told me I should put the flower in my hair like a princess.  So I did.  He also let me use his Thomas pillow all week "for mother's day".  Yesterday, he whispered something super sweet in my ear.  He even told me I could pick out his outfit today and he would wear whatever I chose.  How funny!  Adam gave me lots of snuggles, hugs, and kisses, but he usually does that everyday.  I feel so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy boys this mother's day and a mom that lives right down the road and is so helpful with our boys.

Owen has not been cooperative about me taking his picture lately so I tell him that Buzz Lightyear is in my lens and he looks really hard for him and then gets annoyed at me and tells me I was not being honest.   

Mike took a group of kids camping and Owen missed him terribly.  He asked me if he could call him a couple times and each time he would tell Mike how much he missed him and ask him to please come home.  I think my mama's boy is turning into a daddy's boy and I know that makes Mike very happy :)

Our neighbor went hiking and brought back a container of tadpole eggs for Owen.  I had never seen anything quite like it before!

We put them in Aunt Judy and Uncle Boo's pond and we'll keep checking for the tadpoles to hatch.

Aunt Maddie giving Owen a piggy-back ride over to her house

I also ordered some caterpillar larvae so we can learn about the life cycle of a butterfly too!  I can't wait!!

Cinco de Mayo

We've made it a tradition to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  I'm not really sure why we make a big deal about it every year.  Something about the month of May, spring weather, Mexican food, margaritas, happy Mexican music, kids running around and playing, yummy desserts... it's all too much fun not to celebrate it!  Today we had some friends over to celebrate and we had a great time!  There were six kids age 4 and under and two pregnant mommies. I wish I would have taken more pictures and unfortunately Adam was in bed by 6:30 so I did not get of him. 

It was also Jenny's birthday.  Her sister-in-law made her a dessert, her husband and son made her a heart shaped cake, and I made a dessert, so we had three yummy treats to enjoy.

 

 

What a great day :)

I thought his outfit was perfect for the occasion.  Tie-dye shirt, camo shorts, and a cowboy hat!  haha!

Would the REAL Woody please stand up?

My friend, Crystal, found Disney Store Woody and Buzz costumes at a yard sale and called to see if I would want them for Owen.  They were only $3!  What a bargain!

I'm not sure what's up with the salute.  He does it in a lot of pictures though.

Owen's Buzz costume is getting very small on him and his new one is bigger.  I finally got around to washing them and today he sported his Woody costume.

I made the mistake of calling him "Owen".  He corrected me and told me he is the REAL Woody.

We braved the chilly spring weather and went for a walk (or should I say a drive) after dinner.

Uncle Boo and Elsie stopped to say hello and Owen informed them that he is the REAL Woody.

Oh, how I will miss this someday.  So glad I have my blog :)

 

Lots Going On

There's lots going on in my little world and in the big world right now. The garage door came down on my 89 year old grandfather and he's been in the hospital.  Poor guy!  He's in a lot of pain.

Cheech got shaved and dry shampooed today :)  A few years ago he had lots of mats in his long hair, so we took him to get shaved and we've been doing it every spring since then.  I love it because this time of year he sheds like crazy and I hate all the cat hair around my house.  Plus, he gets fur balls and throws up everywhere.  He actually LIKES getting shaved and enjoys how it feels.  I think it helps him stay a little cooler in summer too.  I used to think he looked strange when he was shaved, but I kinda like it now.  He gets the "lion cut".  Haha!  Adam is even more interested in petting/pulling/chasing Cheech now that he has a new look.  He's the best cat!

While I was gone on Monday something VERY exciting happened during lunch here at our house.  Buzz Lightyear called our house to talk to Owen.  Owen has become an increasingly picky eater.  I could always count on him to eat carrots and broccoli.  In fact, he loved broccoli so much that he would choose it over french fries... crazy, huh?  Well, he is going through an anti-veggie phase and it's like pulling teeth to get him to try anything new.  I even tried veggie pasta noodles, but he hated them.  Mike was making the boys lunch on Monday and Owen was complaining about it so Mike told him he was going to call Buzz Lightyear and tell him that Owen is not trying new foods.  Well, Buzz did not answer so Mike left a message.  Then, he gave the phone to Owen and said that if Buzz called while he was in the bathroom, he should answer it and talk to him.  So, Mike went upstairs to the "bathroom" and Owen sat at the table waiting to see if Buzz was going to call back.  Well, Buzz just happened to call while daddy was in the bathroom and Owen and Buzz had a long conversation about trying new foods (including cereal, which he refuses to try).  Mike said it was the cutest thing and Owen was saying the most adorable things to "Buzz".  He totally believed that it was Buzz on the phone.  When Mike came down from going to the bathroom Owen told him all about it.  Priceless.  It's helped a little bit too!

I feel like I need to include this too since this blog is for my boys and one day they may want to read about it...

Osama Bin Laden was finally caught and killed after 10 years of hiding.  He was the main man behind the 9/11 attacks on the US that killed thousands of people. I am relieved they got him, but probably not as relieved as the people that lost family members and friends on 9/11.  I will never forget that devastating day.  I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.  I was so scared.

People were cheering and celebrating in the streets when they received the news that Bin Laden was dead.  Part of me feels badly for his 23 children that were living with him and many of whom witnessed him get shot and killed.  Now, they are considering showing pictures of his corpse to prove he is dead.  I won't go into my opinion on that either.  While I am certainly glad they "got" him, I have a feeling things have just gone from bad to worse in the terrorism department.  It's a scary, scary world and I can't imagine what sort of things will be going on if, and when, I have great grandchildren some day!

Mommy's Day Off

Today I took the day "off" and went to visit my very good friend, Marybeth, and her new twins, Elsa and Allen.

  This was Marybeth's first day without her mom, so I was glad to visit and help/hold babies all day :)  It felt so good to hold such tiny little beings.  Both babies weigh less than 7 pounds, but they are nursing really well and I'm sure in no time they will be chunky little monkeys.  Yes, you read that right, she is NURSING her twins.  I know it's been done before, but nursing is hard enough with one, I can't imagine two!  She is one busy mama, that's for sure!

I can't wait to go back and visit again!!

Our Weekend

We've had a pretty low key weekend...my favorite kind.  Aunt Beth and Eric were visiting Thursday and Friday.  We were all sad to see them leave Friday afternoon. 

Saturday morning my mom and I took Adam back to have his glasses readjusted.  We were told to keep working with him and hopefully he will start to wear them without pulling them off.

 

Mike and Owen had a busy day yesterday.  They had swimming lessons, then went out to lunch with Aiden and his daddy.  After lunch they all went to the playground.

Today while Owen and I were at church and Sunday School, Adam and Daddy made a beautiful mural on our driveway.

When I was looking through the pictures that Mike took, I noticed Adam was eating chalk in some of the pictures.  When I asked Mike how much chalk he ate, he said "Minimal".  That wasn't too reassuring!

 

My favorite part of the weekend was catching up on sleep.  I did not sleep that great last week and was up at 4:30am on Friday.  I was asleep before 9pm both nights:)

Here are a few other pictures we took this weekend (or sometime last week)...

Owen helping Daddy fill his sandbox with new sand

 

Adam eating spaghetti

I am very excited to visit my friend, MB, and her two new babies tomorrow!  Mike took the day off so I could go visit and help her out.  Should be fun! I just hope I don't catch baby fever :)