Beachin'

We've been beachin' for the past several days.  More to come on that later, but I just couldn't wait to post a few favorites from our trip!

Our Deer Friends

A couple weeks ago Owen and I spotted a mama deer and her fawn walking out of the woods behind our house.  By the time I got my camera they had made their way into the front yard and were walking across the street.  Owen loved watching them and stood there looking out the window saying "deer deer."  For a few days later he would look out the window and call for them.  Well, they must have heard his calls because after he got up from his nap this afternoon we spotted them again in the woods out back.  I brought him to the window and he was so excited to see his deer had come back!  He even began kissing the window!  I know that deer season opened the other day so right now I'm just praying hard that they find solace in the woods behind out house and stay far, far away from any hunters.  Owen and I really love our new deer friends and want to see lots more of them!  Somehow Austin is always napping when they come by, but I'm sure he'd love to get a glimpse of them as well.

Just like a mama to be concerned with the potential threat watching them while baby is just wandering around looking for something to eat!

Owen loving on the sweet deer in the backyard!

Romp 'n Roll

Romp 'n Roll is a new kids gym that just re-opened down the street from us.  It's the only one in the area so I was thrilled when I heard they were reopening this month.  We just went to our 3rd open gym since they started and as usual, the boys had a blast!  It's a soft, gated, air conditioned, fun place for kids to run free....what's not to love?

End of Summer Gifts

I decided to try and be crafty by making thank you gifts for Austin's preschool teachers this year.  I love DIY projects and fun craft ideas...I just usually don't have the skill or patience or proper supplies to see them through.  I did want to do my best to impress his teachers though since I strongly believe that a good teacher/parent relationship can really help out a child while they are in school.  Maybe if I really try to hone my skills in these early years, by the time the boys are in elementary school I will be a pro!  I guess if it doesn't work out, however, I can always go to etsy.com and buy something and pass it off as homemade!

Anyway, so I found this idea on www.pinterest.com.  (Oh, you haven't heard about pinterest?  Seriously, you need to check it out ASAP!)  The basic idea was to purchase a reusable cup, put some flavor packets and a note from the child inside and add crafty straw topper to finish it off.  It looked relatively easy so I figured I could pull it off.

Here is the finished project!  (Excuse the horrible picture, I didn't think about taking a picture until after dark the night before his last day of school so the lighting is, of course, horrible.)

The cups, flavor packets and gift bags only cost about $22 from Target which came out to $11 per gift.  It really was a fun, quick, easy and relatively inexpensive way to say thanks to Austin's teachers for all their hard work over the summer!  I can't wait to start filling my pinterest boards with lots more great crafty teacher ideas to use in the future!!

Just Keep Swimmin'

Austin had his last day of summer swim lessons last week.  He's learned so much and come so far in the past 9 weeks.  I feel somewhat confident that should he randomly fall into a pool of water right now that he could make it to safety.  By next summer, I think I will be very confident.  Here's a look at his last lesson of the summer:

Waiting for his lesson to begin on Miss Hannah's bench

Practicing his kicks 

Floating all by himself! 

Owen watching big brother through the window!

More Monster Trucks

Since the beginning of summer we've been waiting to go to the Monster Truck Bash at the speedway and last night it was finally here!  We got there early for the pit party and were able to see all the trucks up close as well as their drivers.  Both boys were in awe and I ended up getting more pictures of the back of their heads than their faces because they were so busy staring at the huge trucks right in front of them.  There was even a fire truck to play in which came in a very close 2nd to the monster trucks.

Halfway into the show it began to rain, it was also getting late and Owen was tired of just sitting there.  I decided to take him home and dry him off and warm him up and then come back later to pick up Austin and Ryan.  Austin was so into the show and having such a great time that I'm not even sure he knew it was raining and he was getting wet!  I'm serious...I'm pretty sure Austin had one of the best nights of his entire life last night watching those monster trucks!  He was still so wound up even after we got home that he didn't go to bed until after 11pm.  He talked about the trucks all night long and said his favorite was Hot Tamale.  One of the few I didn't get a picture of....of course!

Owen is 15 Months!

Owen's 1st oreo face!

Only 3 months past his first birthday and Owen has already changed so dramatically!

-Owen is walking like a pro and starting to run now.  Watch out world!

-He's becoming much more temperamental and really doesn't like it when he doesn't get what he wants!

-His temperament could have a little something to do with the fact that he's getting in ALL the rest of his teeth right now with the exception of his 2nd set of molars.

-He loves, loves, loves to be outside.  He hates, hates, hates to have to come back in.

-Greek yogurt and peaches are two of his favorite foods.  He also has a major sweet tooth!

-Weighs 22lbs. which puts him in the 24th %tile.

-He is now 31.5 inches tall and in the 64th%tile for height.

-His head is still topping the charts at 19.5 inches (96th%).

-He follows certain simple commands like sit down, stand up, bring me a book, let's run, spin, stop, go, wave, clap, hide etc.

-He poops and/or pees on the floor every.single.time he gets away from me while not wearing a diaper.  It's like a fun game for him.  Maybe we'll start potty training a little earlier this time....

-Owen naps for 2-3 hours each day but sometimes it's over one nap and sometimes it's two.  I prefer one nap a day, but when Owen is tired, he lets you know.  All I have to do is ask if he's ready for night-night and off to his room he goes!

-Sharing toys is probably one of our most difficult battles at home since both boys like the same things and always want what the other is playing with.  Austin use to be able to just walk up to Owen and grab whatever he was playing with out of his hand (and then promptly be put in time out), but recently Owen has started to fight back!  He'll hold on tight and scream at Austin and won't give up so easily.

-One of the funniest things from this past month is that Owen has started to try to jump.  His feet rarely leave the ground, but it is pretty stinkin' cute to watch him bobbing up and down!

-Owen tries so hard to sing the ABC song but most of the time it just sounds like a bunch of A's and E's.  He's great at doing all the motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus, though!

-Owen is definitely a baby who thinks he's a big kid.  We recently met up with our playgroup at the park and I watched in amazement as several other moms with babies near Owen's age were just sitting calmly on blankets and playing with a few toys and enjoying a snack.  No, no, no, not Owen!  He was climbing the jungle gym, going up the slide, running back and forth and trying to do what all the older children were doing.  He is one active little boy!

Dreadful Day at the Doctor

Owen turned 15 months old last Thursday and on Friday we went to our scheduled well baby appointment.  The weather was dark and dreary and rainy and it was just one of those days where you didn't even want to leave the house.  I actually called Ryan to see if he thought I should reschedule due to the bad weather, but ultimately I just decided to go and get it over and done.

This new office was not nearly as warm and inviting as our pediatrician's office in Greenville was.  There were chairs lining all the walls, magazines for the adults, and nothing but a small tv hung in one of the corners of the room to attempt to entertain the little ones.  Not that either of my boys would have paid attention anyway when there was a new scene to explore, but they were showing one of those annoying pre-teen shows on Nickelodeon when the average age of the patients in the waiting room was about 24 months.

So I go up the the window to check in while both boys start going crazy in this wide open, empty waiting room.  I'm trying to answer questions and find insurance cards all while coaxing both boys down from on top of the furniture.  Owen was climbing the tables and Austin was jumping off chairs.  They were like two monkeys in the wild!  I had never seem them like this before in a public place, and we weren't even 5 minutes into our visit.  I could already feel myself breaking into a cold sweat.

I finally got my clipboard of paperwork and was going to sit down when Owen walked up to me smacking his lips.  Considering this child will eat just about anything besides the healthy meals I prepare for him every day, I instinctively reached my fingers in his mouth and, much to my surprise, pull out.....a breath mint.  Awesome.  Not only was there a choking hazard lying somewhere in the waiting room, but eagle-eye Owen picked it up and tried to eat it.  At this point I'm just praying it fell out of someones pocket and not their mouth...

Now I'm just trying to concentrate on filling out this new patient paperwork which is proving to be quite impossible because Austin has noticed that I'm writing and continues to insist that I spell words like Boo Boo, Monster Truck, Cars, School Bus, Door, Chair, Doctor, etc. etc.  I finally cave and agree to let him write his name on the back of one of the pages.  He writes his first few letters too big and runs our of room to finish his name and in true two-year-old fashion, a temper tantrum breaks out and you would have thought I just told him that Lightening McQueen and Mater died.  Meanwhile, I look over at Owen who is now squatting on the floor in front of me and, yep, there's no mistaking it, he's got the poop face.  Moments later the smell permeates the waiting room and I do my best to grab both boys and hurry to find a changing room.

We make it back to the waiting room after wrestling through a diaper change and as soon as I sit down with my clipboard to try and finish the first half of page 1 of 4, Owen's name is called.  We get back to the room, Owen is weighed and measured and then the nurse tells me she's going to take his temperature...rectally.  It caught me off guard and certainly did Owen as well!  Luckily, Austin was too busy trying to roll the paper that was lining the table back up and didn't notice a thing.

So, I'm trying to talk to the doctor all while holding a struggling Owen and trying to block out Austin's constant interruptions.  Seriously...the boy hardly said a word until he was 18 months old and now he barely stops talking long enough to breathe!  Apparently Austin didn't take too kindly to the cold shoulder, however, because the next thing I know, a golf ball is whizzing across the room and hitting the wall, coming dangerously close to the window in front of us.  All of a sudden I'm seriously regretting hiding the golf ball Austin found on the floor the other day in the diaper bag...

Finally it's time for Owen's exam and I'm holding him in my lap as he's getting checked out.  In trying to get him to cooperate for the doctor, I kind of lose sight of Austin when all of a sudden I look over and see him using a stool to try and climb on the counter where I placed my pen and clipboard of paperwork.  Of course, before I can say a word, he sees me watching him, gets scared and falls off the chair and onto the floor bumping his head on the wall on the way down.  The doctor jumped up and grabbed him while I held onto Owen and quickly checked him over to make sure he was ok.  I was a couple seconds away from a panic attack, but Austin was fine.

The weather was still pretty bad outside and getting worse by the second.  We were sitting there one minute and then see a bright flash of lightning immediately followed by a loud clap of thunder and suddenly...darkness.  The lights came back on a few seconds later, but shortly after, a nurse came into our room to notify us that the power outage caused all their systems to reboot and we wouldn't be able to get Owen his shots today.  If this visit wasn't bad enough, now we get to go back in another week!!

At least it was finally time to leave.  I scribbled thorough the remaining paperwork while holding Owen on my hip at the checkout desk.  Austin had one final meltdown (because he had to get a Mater sticker when he wanted Mack), and with no patience left, I grabbed him by his hand and pulled him out the door.  We all walked to the car in a monsoon with no umbrella and after finally getting both kids buckled in their car seats, I sit down in the car absolutely soaking wet.  Kind of a perfect end to the most horrible doctor's office visit ever.

In case you were wondering...

...what Owen and I do on our "Austin-free" mornings....well, here's a little sneak peek...

We have play dates at the park...

...and come home to cool off in a bowl of ice.

We run around in our jammies...

...and then relax in the sun.

We enjoy free reign of the train table...

...go head first down slides...

...and bounce and play all day!!

I miss my big boy, that's for sure...but I really do cherish those few hours a week that I get this little man all to myself!  

Preschool Program

Austin had his End of the Summer program and party last week at preschool.  I couldn't wait to go and to watch him perform and to get a chance to see him interact with the other kids in his class and show me what he's learned.  They started out by sitting on the mat and singing several songs.  I know Austin knew each and every one and I've heard him sing them many, many times at home...but while he had a whole crowd of eager parents watching?  No way!  Oh yeah....he was "that kid."

You know, the one who sprawled out on the ground and rolled all over the place while the rest of the children were sitting nicely and singing.

The one who tried to carry on a conversation with the mom sitting next to him while everyone else was trying hard to follow along with the song.

 The one who finally decided to participate in one of the songs but insisted on standing instead of sitting and watched himself in the mirror the entire time.

The one who got up and ran across the gym only to have a teacher have to get up and go bring him back.

Yep, he's the little boy who knows that all he has to do is flash that sweet and mischievous grin my way and I can't help but turn into putty.

And even though his singing performance wasn't exactly perfect, he did do a wonderful job showing me all the fun stuff he's learned in gymnastics...

...like the monkey swing...

...the superhero leap...

...and the two-year-old tumble.

But my favorite part of the day, was seeing him play and having so much fun with some of his new best friends!!

I can't believe my big boy just completed his first summer of preschool!  We can't wait to start back in the fall!