Catching Fireflies

Or as we call them around here....lightning bugs!  Austin has recently become infatuated with these bright little insects and one evening last week we caught a few in daddy's old "critter catcher" so we could take a closer look.  It was definitely the highlight of a certain 2 year old's night!!

Father's Day '11

Just wanted to say a belated Happy Father's Day to one truly awesome daddy and husband!!  We had a low-key celebration last weekend, but with all the craziness going on lately, it was exactly what we all needed.

Artsy!

One of the many reasons me and Austin are really loving preschool...

I think I'm going to need more magnets...and another refrigerator!!

Baby Fishy

Owen may not get to take swim lessons, but he's getting plenty of pool time this summer!!

Too bad we are having such a hard time finding a swimsuit to fit his "tiny heiny!"

Little Fishy

Austin started swim lessons last week.  Naturally, my little water baby was a huge fan!  He worked on floating on his back, kicking his legs, doggy paddling, jumping in the pool and going under the water, touching the bottom, holding his breath and putting his face in the water.  His teacher was impressed with his willingness to do what she asked and his fearlessness.  Owen was sad he couldn't join big brother in the pool, but lucky for him there was a great little playroom to hang out in during brother's lesson.

By the way, can you tell Owen's is teething??  

Look at that insane amount of drool!!  

115

I took 115 pictures of the boys playing outside yesterday.

Yes, I know, I have a problem.

But since I took so many, I feel that I should at least share a small sampling on the blog.  I think it was the matching swimsuits that had me all "snap happy!"

Wordless Wednesday

Choo choo!

On Saturday we decided that we really wanted to do a fun family activity...and luckily Charlotte has a lot of those going on!  We actually got in the car heading one place and changed our minds last minute and went somewhere completely different.  I think we made a great decision and we had a wonderful day....just wish it hadn't been 100 degrees out!!

So here's a look at the day we spent at the NC Transportation Museum:

NOLA

A couple weekends ago I traveled to New Orleans with my awesome friend, Aaron, for a wedding/girl's weekend.  We had an amazing time exploring the town and took the utmost advantage of our 3 day trip.  We stayed out late, slept in, ate fabulous food, toured the city, did a little shopping, a little sight seeing and a bit of drinking and relaxing.  We also attended the fabulous New Orleans themed wedding of Nick & Whitney which was the perfect end to our mini vacation.

It was by far the longest I'd ever been away from my boys (and also the longest Ryan's ever had them alone).  And let me just stop a moment there to brag on my truly wonderful husband.  This trip was in the works for months and Ryan fully supported me going the entire time.  Not once did he complain about me going or try to change my mind...he actually helped me plan the trip and used his SkyMiles to buy our plane tickets!  It was just him and the boys from early Thursday afternoon until lunchtime on Sunday...no grandparents, no babysitter, just Ryan, Austin & Owen.  He took them swimming a couple times and even out to dinner a few times...alone...a feat that even I rarely take on!  I even arrived home on Sunday to a straight house and freshly vacuumed floors.  I mean seriously, am I lucky or what??  :-)

Ryan and I both knew that I was truly in need of a weekend away and a break from being a full-time mommy...but man did I miss those sweet little guys!!!  I actually teared up as soon as I saw our car waiting outside at baggage claim on Sunday just knowing that my little family was inside and I would get to wrap my arms around them at any moment. Austin was asleep when I got in the car, but Owen and I talked and laughed the entire way home.  Austin finally opened his eyes when we got home and did a few double-takes when he noticed me sitting next to him.  We got out of the car and he gave me the biggest hug and a super sweet kiss on my cheek.  It was pure bliss!

New Orleans truly was such an awesome trip and fun experience, but the next vacation I go on, I want my boys with me, all three of them!!

Me & Aaron at Pat O's piano bar

Brunch at the Court of Two Sisters

Who doesn't need a little charm?

Aaron with her beignet at Cafe du Monde

We laughed about this sign all weekend!

Beads, Balconies and Bourbon St.

On a streetcar tour of the Garden District...I loved looking at all the beads in the trees!

Newlyweds, Nick and Whitney at the reception

The wedding was at the Wax Museum...really awesome.

Aaron and I were totally creeped out by some of the things we saw at the museum.

A wax Freddie....scary!

13 Months!

This has been a big month!  Owen is learning and doing and saying new things all the time now.  Every day I fall in love with my sweet baby boy all over again.  This really is a fun and sweet age.  So, here goes my list of all Owen's fun milestones from the past month:

-He's WALKING!!  Owen took his first steps at 10 months but didn't gain the confidence to actually begin walking until a couple weeks ago.  He's now walking all over the place and rarely crawls anymore.  Oh my gosh...it's seriously the cutest thing ever!

-He's TALKING!!  Owen is saying new words all the time and now using the words he already knows in the right context.  He says mama, dada, Austin, dog, ball, cheese, bye-bye, hi, done, eyes, no-no, and night-night, to name just a few.

-Such a snuggler! Austin was always too busy at this age to want to stop and cuddle, but Owen loves to sit with me, lay his head on my shoulder and just snuggle.  I l.o.v.e. it!!

-Eating mostly table foods (when he's not throwing it all on the floor) and drinking whole milk....still likes it from his ba-ba though.

-Not a big fan of the sippy cup, but loves to drink from a straw.

-Still quite the mama's boy.  When I came back from New Orleans he wouldn't let me out of his sight....not even to nap!  I even had to rock him to sleep for the first time in months.  I'm not complaining though, it's nice to feel so loved all the time!

-Loves to read his books and will point at specific things when I ask where they are.  His favorite book is First 100 Words.

-Adores toy cars just like his big brother!  His favorites are the Shake n' Go cars and he will carry one around the house all day shaking it and making it make noise.  You can't imagine how many times I've wanted to yank the batteries out of those things....

-Has 8 teeth but we are working on quite a few more at the moment.  Thankfully Owen has always been a pretty good teether...just a lot of drool and biting.

-Really loves to hide and play peek-a-boo, especially with his big brother!

-Enjoys driving trains on the train table.  Finally he's using the train table for what it's for and not just pulling up all the tracks and chewing on the trains!

-The only television show he will sit and watch is Bubble Guppies on Nickelodeon.  He is memorized by it for some reason and even sings along with the theme song going, "bu bu bu bu."

-Owen is an excellent booty shaker!!  He dances anytime he hears music and shakes that little booty so fast that sometimes he makes himself lose his balance and falls down.  He really loves music and is instantly calmed by it....even by the sound of me singing, which in my opinion, is never a calming sound!

-Owen says bye-bye when were leaving, night-night when I'm taking him to bed, claps when he gets excited, gives high fives when you put your hand out, gives excellent kisses and will even blow you a kiss if you ask for one.

-Loves the water!  Whether it be at the pool or in the bath, he loves to splash and hang out in the water, hot or cold, it doesn't matter.

-When I ask "how old is Owen?"  he holds up one finger and says "one."

-Loves Happy Baby food pouches and can feed himself when I give him one!  He also adores these yogurt smoothies!

1st Day of Preschool

Yesterday was Austin's very first day of preschool!  Yeah, we're a little backwards here with him starting preschool in the summer, but it's only 2 mornings a week and it will give me a good idea whether or not he's A) ready for preschool in the fall and B) if we like this new place enough to enroll him then.

Austin was super excited to go to school yesterday morning to the point where he was actually trying to push me out the door.  (He was so anxious to leave that I forgot to grab his lunchbox out of the fridge and had to go back and get it after dropping him of....of course!!)  He was wearing his backpack with pride and talking about "going to school to play with all the girls and boys" the entire way there.  I walked him to his room and he immediately went over to the bins of toys where he found....you guessed it....cars!  I talked to his teacher for a quick moment and called over to Austin, "I love you sweetie, bye bye!"  Austin managed to tear his eyes away from the new toys for a quick moment and just looked at me and said "bye!"  I wasn't exactly surprised by his response, but his teacher was very happy to have at least one kid in the class who didn't throw a tantrum the second their parent walked out the door.

So, in Austin's absence, Owen and I enjoyed a nice, calm, quiet grocery shopping trip and then came home for some fun "mommy and me" time.  It was wonderful to spend that quality time with my littlest boy all while knowing Austin was just down the street probably having a blast with lots of other little kids his age.

A little before 1pm we went to pick up Austin.  I was so excited to see him and when he walked out of the door and saw me he ran and gave me a huge hug and said "Mommy, you're here!"  It totally made up for the nonchalant "bye" from that morning.  I could tell by the look on his face that he was exhausted and he didn't say much on the ride home. Finally, at home he began to tell me about his day which apparently consisted of running until the music stopped, singing, jumping, eating cheese and crackers and making "paw prints."  The paw prints he was referring to was a cute little picture where he made hand prints with paint.  He's going through a Blues Clues phase right now....

I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer brings!!

Owen Walking

And yes, it is always that loud in my house!  :-)