Owen's 3rd Birthday is Tomorrow!

My first born turns 3 tomorrow. 3 years ago at this very moment I was in labor, intense labor, and full of excitement and awe. I'm feeling awfully sentimental; maybe it's because a little while ago, while his mommy and daddy were busy putting around, my (big) baby Owen sweetly walked over to my little baby and gave him a big hug and said "I love you Tucker"followed by a big kiss. Or maybe I'm feeling extra sentimental because after he readied himself for bed with fresh PJs and clean teeth, he came up to me and gave me a big hug and said I LOVE YOU MOMMY! It could also be because earlier this afternoon, Owen & I played a very fun game of Memory and almost followed the rules. My talking, walking, running, playing games, helping to cook dinner, entertaining his baby brother, laughing, training to be a big boy with the "potty"baby boy is not so much a baby any more. He's a small kid full of love and a warm personality. He makes me smile on a daily basis and I love him so much it hurts, the good kind of hurt - like belly "pain" after a full blown laugh attack. Maybe this extra sentimental feeling stems from legacy postpartum hormones or maybe it is because it is the first time my little baby really truly understands that his birthday is tomorrow and that with this upcoming milestone he will be turning 3 - which means it will be time to hold up 3 fingers! Whatever the cause of these feelings, I will relish my opportunity tonight to snuggle with my little boy, who much prefers to be called a big boy, as he falls a sleep hugging me. I love you Owen. Happy Birthday.

Owen's 3rd Birthday Party!

Owen's 3rd birthday party was very special and a lot of fun. We tried to keep it small and focused on his good buddies from school, the neighborhood, and a couple of family friends' kids in his age group. We wanted a simple, low-key event that would give Owen the chance to play and give us a chance to just enjoy the festivities. We had perfect weather and a wonderful morning.

the kids played bean bag toss

practiced with the hoola-hoop and played soccer and catch

they also played "adventure"

in fact, one of our neighbors had to chase Owen down because he started to explore up the big hill on his own and out of sight (thank you Cameron)

the kids played on the playground and found a super fun firetruck to entertain them for awhile

and they took turns launching the "safe" rocket

they gathered for the rocket launch demonstration and chanted a countdown and cheered when the rocket successfully launched high into the sky (3 times!)

they sang happy birthday, ate a picnic lunch, and chowed down on a very weirdly decorated birthday cake... does this look a beach ball to anybody???

the babies even cooperated and performed for the camera

could they be any sweeter?

All in all, we had a great time and will forever remember the smile on the birthday boy's face

we love you Owen

Rockets

This past weekend, we threw Owen a birthday party with some of his good pals. Before I get into the details of the party, I have to share a background story about rockets!

On Thursday evening, my Dad and Gianni arrived for a weekend visit. As I explained in a previous post, we celebrated Gianni's 13th birthday and Owen's 3rd birthday in OC a few weeks back. But like everything else I did this summer, I planned that party at the last minute and didn't give my Aunt Donna any time to shop for presents (of course I tried to say that gifts weren't unnecessary, but she wasn't having any of that!). So, soon after they arrived on Thursday night,the gifts were open. 3 year olds only have so much patience when presents are involved. My aunt gave Owen a couple of great toys (thank you!) and gave Gianni a model rocket kit!

We needed a few more supplies in order to build and launch the rockets, so Kris made a list and we purchased the goods on Friday afternoon. Friday night Kris and Gianni built a big rocket and on Saturday we had a test launch.

We had light winds on Saturday which made for an extra exciting test case because they had to "study" wind patterns and try to pick a strategic launch pad location (on the nearby elementary school field) with the hopes that the rocket would float back down on the field. They picked pretty well. We did two launches and both were successful. The rocket easily went 300-400 feet in the air and the wind carried it away from us by at least 300-400 yards. In fact, it landed outside the school grounds, at the park next door. The fun continued as Kris plotted out the best way to jump the fence to get the rocket back. The boys were luckier the second time as the rocket landed inside the park (barely!).

Because the launch was so successful, we thought we'd do a demonstration at Owen's birthday party. Our birthday party plan was pretty simple and basic. A couple of hours at the park with a picnic lunch, playground time, and cake. We figured we'd try the rocket launch and found cute and fairly safe foam rocket party favors to add to the theme. We weren't really sure how it would go, but we were pleasantly surprised. I'll save those details for the next post, and end this post with this final thought -thank you Aunt Donna for Gianni's great gift, thank you Gianni for sharing your rocket!

Family help- Part 2 (aka A Shout Out to Kristin!)

My sister Kristin is wonderful. She signed up for a month of "nanny" service and the day after she arrived she had to immediately help us as we came down with the nasty stomach bug. Sure enough she also had to personally endure the bug and also witness her husband and son (not to mention our step-brother Gianni) go through it. She could have gone home early and enjoyed a much easier, less demanding summer; instead, she warmed our home, entertained three kids on a daily basis, fed my baby his daily new food and patiently helped him with his sippy cup, made us many yummy meals, and helped keep us organized. One night she even gave me, ME, a neck massage when I complained of a headache. How could I be so lucky?!

Within a few days she understood Tucker's needs thoroughly. She was able to rock him to sleep quickly and anywhere.

She took the boys all over the place -the library, the zoo, the grocery store, on train rides, and to a bounce house gym- just to name a few.

She doted on our friends' kids during swim lessons and a birthday party.

She shared in our joyous adventure in San Francisco

and accompanied us on a camping trip (her first)

On a "free" evening without my boys, she took Charles for his first climbing experience, which "rocked" (thanks Renee!)

To help keep Tucker away from small toy parts, she happily tolerated many Lego and Bionicle building sessions on her bed.

With Tucker and Charles in tow, Kristin ventured to Santa Clara with me so that I could attend a critical business meeting without interrupting and impacting my ability to nurse Tucker. She worked all day and all evening every day to ensure we were well taken care of and well loved. She managed through the kid's bad moods, Owen's melt-downs, and the inevitable fighting that will occur with young siblings/cousins. She watched as I made multiple "to-do" lists and meal plans and helped with the grocery shopping and of course she was the brain behind the cute shirts for the boys that we purchased for the so-cal birthday celebration. She read to the boys, helped put them to bed, helped with our laundry, helped with bath time, and helped with the dishes- day after day. This list isn't comprehensive, but it is amazing; I'm still trying to figure out how she also made her way through the first three Twilight books.

Kristin - we love you - we thank you- and my oh my- we miss you!

Erin's visit!

My dear friend Erin came to stay for a few days to hang out with us and visit a few others. We had a great time catching up and watching our kids play together. One evening, a couple other friends came by with their kids. We had a lovely evening.

Lindsey & Owen swinging together!

Baby Samantha! What a sweetie pie!

Lindsey on the slide. I love this photo of her! She's so adorable!

Owen setting a great example for his younger pals.

Lindsey in action and sticking out her tongue. Too cute!

Charlotte swinging away and showing us her new walking skills!

Erin & Lindsey, Amber & Tucker, Owen, Stephanie & Charlotte, Elizabeth & Samantha

What a difference a few years makes!

Tucker 1 week school report out

Well, it's been a week of day care and we have survived. We had one rough day on Tuesday, last week. Tucker was sensitive and needed a lot of attention. I was worried at my lunch visit and again at pick up, but the staff assured me he would adjust and it'd just take a few days. Wednesday was much better, and every day since he has shown terrific progress adjusting. By Friday, he only cried once for a quick second to let his caregivers know he needed a nap! He is always playing happily when I arrive, both at lunch and in the afternoon and he's sleeping well, eating well, and fussing minimally. I'm quite happy and very relieved. Of course, he already picked up his first cold, but it's minor and too be expected.

Owen is also back behaving like his normal self. By Friday last week, he was ready to go to school, had no problems saying goodbye to me at home or goodbye to Kris at school. It was great! Now, we just need to get him potty trained and he'll be able to move into the three year old classroom!

p.s. Last week, I noted that Tucker started to crawl. I think it was a bit premature. He's doing more than a slow scoot, but he's not quite crawling with his stomach off the ground. He's a quick though and we definitely need to be on our toes.

p.s.s. Today, at school, Tucker received his first injury report. He was on his belly playing with a toy and it moved out from him and he hit his head on something leaving him with a little bruise on his forehead. Poor guy!

Tucker's 1st day of school- report out

He did wonderfully! He napped well, ate well, and played well with his pals and new toys. All the babies in the class are siblings of Owen's schoolmates, so he's well aquainted with the other munchkins and made himself right at home with his new teachers. Nursing during lunch went smoothly and it gave me a chance to talk with his teachers and answer a few of their questions. The room is comfortable and the babies are all happy and thriving, so I feel at ease.

Owen also had a great day at school; he had a much easier drop off today compared with his most recent drop offs so now I'm much more optimistic he'll be back to his normal - "see ya later" goodbye very soon.

such a relief!

1st Day of "school" for Tucker

My little baby starts "school" today. I decided to distract myself by snapping up some photos of the boys before the big day. Owen, in his "greatest big brother" shirt - so proud to be a big help to Tucker and Tucker all grown up. Last night he even surprised us with his first real crawl!

Summer Birthday Celebration

We were in Orange County this past weekend to celebrate birthdays. In addition to my Grandma's birthday, we had a slew of special birthdays. Many of us adults have summer and early fall birthdays and many of the kids were also born in the same months. My nephew Dylan turns 1 in a couple weeks, Owen and his cousin Aiden are turning 3 in September, my step-brother Gianni is turning 13 next week, my cousin Alysha just turned 18 and baby Ethan was born 1 month ago. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon with pool time, a pot luck bbq, decadent desserts, and a fun family photo shoot.

Kristin and I found these great polos for the kids and decided we'd get a shirt for each of the boys so we could take a photo of all of them together. We differentiated families by color just to be extra cute. We had a vision of a perfect photo with all the boys and a few other group shots. Boy, did I have high hopes. I'm sure my camera alone has over 500 shots and I only have one with all of the boys in it! Owen cried through most it because he wanted to keep playing and Dylan was much to busy exploring the grass. We had no chance at pulling off other group photos of the boys, but still, we had a lot of fun and captured a great moment in time.

Here are a few from the night

Baby Ethan, 1 month old with Daddy Gino & Mommy Kelly

Aiden (almost 3) charming us all to pieces

Tucker enjoying life

Aiden doing his best to keep Dylan in the photo

the only shot where I have all 7 of the boys!

cousins!

Dylan - 1st birthday party (a couple week's early)

the gang

Grandma's 80th B-day

My grandma Jeanne has a special birthday next week, she's turning 80! Unfortunately, we couldn't make it for birthday bash next weekend, so this weekend, while we are in Orange County, we planned a birthday dinner. We went to our favorite pizza restaurant, ate delicious grub, listened to live music out on the patio, and enjoyed hearing stories from her past. My grandma met Tucker for the first time (on his 7 month birthday) and we took a photo with four generations!

Happy 7 month birthday Tucker!

Tucker we love you. You are so sweet and precious. You continue to warm our hearts and make us smile every time we look at you.

In the last few weeks, Tucker has mastered his roll. He loves to roll to a toy or just back and forth for a little bit of fun. He can also sit up on his own now-which is extra cute because he really enjoys to play with his toys. He is scooting around and just begining to get up on his knees. I know it won't be long before we have two mobile boys on our hands!