Out in the Real World

A group of Owen's friends went in together to get him a big boy bike for his birthday. Because it's been chilly out, he has been relegated to riding in through our living room, entry way, and kitchen! He's gotten pretty good in there; but, I still wondered how he would do out in the real world.

This weekend, he got to take his new ride outdoors and he did AWESOME! I am still floored that my cautious, perfectionist first-born got on the bike. Never mind that he rode it around the block like he's been riding for ages. To learn how to stop, we played "freeze" with him on the bike. When Liam or I said "stop", he had to stop. I pointed out to him that when he was going fast enough before stopping, the stopping created skid marks. Oy. This fascinated the kiddo!

Now, he starts and stops constantly! He was so proud, that he rode to Mimi's house (a neighbor), rang the bell, asked her to come outside, so that he could create skid marks on her sidewalk. Nice, Owen.

In other news...Liam said Owen's name for the first time today. It was so cute!! "Ah-win! Ah-win, hewp, hewp!" He wanted Owen to help him with a door he needed opened.

LOVE IT!

I Pwedge Awegance...

Somehow this morning, I managed to get all three boys ready 30 minutes before we have to leave the house to get Owen and Liam to preschool. Took a few of those minutes to try and get a shot of my three boys together... Not the best...but, it serves the purpose of capturing their sweet little selves this morning!

Now, for the real purpose of the post!!

Neither Owen or Liam talk much about their days at school. Liam for obvious reasons...he just doesn't have the vocabulary yet. Owen, however, I would think would tell me all about it. The kid is a chatter box. But, instead, he just answers the questions I ask without embellishment. He will, sometimes, tell me all about something that someone did to get in trouble. Oy. And, he does LOVE to share his craft with me, Liam, and Gavin. In fact, that is my favorite post-school activity with them. Owen gets his craft out of his backpack, encourages Liam to do the same, we ooh and ahh over both and then hang them on the wall in the playroom. It dawned on me that if I knew more "insight" of what happens in his day, he may talk more. So, I recently asked his teacher to write on his take home sheet what job he held for the day in school. That way, I have something to ask him about that is a little different that my ordiary banter. So far, he has been line leader, snack helper (his favorite--talked a lot about this job), and the caboose (which he really didn't want to talk much about--I don't blame him. Not the best job, huh.).

Well, on Tuesday, Valerie and I had the kids at Gymboree. That day, Emma had been the flag holder. Valerie asked her about it and discovered they say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school and that our kiddos know it. She got a cute video of Emma that night. Well, I copy-catted and here's Owen reciting the Pledge. A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. Excuse the spaghetti on his face. Oh, and the rest of the video....just a little insight to dinner time at our house. Lindsay G....you have this to look forward to ;-)

Baby Liam is Getting SO BIG

Yesterday, Liam woke up with a stinky diaper, which led to a rough case of diaper rash. Poor little guy. He is walking around like he just rode bareback through the Rocky Mountains. To help the fella out, I put him in big boy underwear yesterday. I thought the air on his hiney would help.

Every so often, he would go to the potty. I was sitting in there with him to keep him company until he was successful, when Owen stepped in and asked to take over "sitting with Wiam." Owen was telling Liam all about the joys of wearing big boy underwear. Liam was fully engaged in the conversation.
Owen: "Wook, Wiam. You can eben get underwears wif Buzz and Woody on the back. "
Liam: "Oh, wow. Cool." For real. He said that.

The mentor and his apprentice.

A random picture of a Cheetos-covered Owen with his not-so-little-anymore-little-brother, Gavin.

Isn't Liam precious in big boy underwear? He could model for Calvin Klein. It almost makes me want to potty train him...just to see his tiny hiney and chubby legs walk around the house like this. Precious.

"Baby" Liam drinking from his big boy cup. He has the drinking part mastered....just tends to tip the cup over while digging into his dinner every now and then. But, that's how they learn, right? Oy.

I ordered these super, super cute bath towels on Etsy for the boys. I am going to do their bathroom in Dinosaurs (now that I know I have 3 boys and no little girls in this house...it's all boy upstairs!). Owen LOVES to play dino after bath and ROOAAWWWRRR.

He encourages Liam to do the same. But, Liam has found he gets more laughs by dropping the towel and running around in his birthday suit.

What a cutie pie.

We got the bed rail all fixed up, so Liam is in his Big Brother bed tonight. He is SOOOO happy!!!

Both my big boys in their shared room at bed time tonight.

I thought Owen grew up fast. And, I believe that he has a big personality. But, something tells me I "ain't seen nothin' yet."

Yup. Baby Liam is getting SO BIG!

Character Building?

After Owen & Liam's bath tonight, I got Liam all jammied up (i.e. in his pajamas). Gavin was crying, so I asked Owen if he wanted me to help him quickly or if he wanted to get his jammies on by himself. He chose the latter. I went downstairs with Gavin, fed him, and got him to sleep. About 15 minutes later, I returned to the playroom to play with Owen and Liam for a bit and then get them to bed.

Oh. my. What I found made me laugh so hard. I am still laughing.

Owen was wearing Liam's 12-18 month pajamas (they are too small even for Liam--come to think of it, I need to move them out of his drawer), the shirt was on backwards, the sleeves just barely long enough to cover Owen's elbows, the pants were just below his knees, and he had his pull up (we call them Diego pants) on the outside of the pants.

Me: Owen. Wow! What are you wearing.

Owen: Wiam's pajamas. Mine are all gone.

Me: And, why are your Diego pants on the outside?

Owen: Uh, because they wouldn't fit on the inside.

Oh my word. He is so resourcful and it was so funny.

I felt terrible that my baby didn't have his own jammies (I was in the middle of folding laundry downstairs much earlier today and never finished). But, I was so impressed at how resourcful he was.

Now, I am not sure if I should cry that my sweet 3 year old is so independant and didn't miss a beat when his mamma didn't have any clothes avaialble for him. Or just shrug my shoulders, chuckle to myself, and consider it character building ;-) I will go with the latter.

And, just cause he is so sweet...here is a picture of baby Gavin in the bath from last night.

Night, night.

Busy Baby Boys

Phew! Three boys ages three and under sure do make for a busy household! Here's what they are each up to....

Gavin is already 7 weeks old. Where does the time go! He coos and gurgles and makes other sweet little baby noises. He has opened his fists and started grabbing for his toys. When he bats one that jingles, his little legs kick in delight.
He enjoys tummy time and is getting really, really good at lifting his little head up. He won't just lay flat against me anymore unless he is really tired. He likes to look around and see what's up.

Liam is 18 months old going on 3 years old. Anything brother can do, he can do, too. Well...except for walk in his boots. Oh my word. If there is something that Owen does that Liam cannot, in fact, do, little man gets M.A.D. We are transitioning him to what we call his "Big Brother Bed." It's going well...I need to get the side rail on better as poor guy slipped through it last night.

Owen is 3 years old going on 30. He is my little helper, Liam's best friend, and Gavin's great big Owen. If Gavin is playing on his mat, Owen is, too. He will read to him, talk to him, jingle toys for him. You name it, Owen does it. When Gavin starts to cry, Owen makes sure I know that his baby is hungry. Owen has also started making up games, which he includes Liam in. Friday, for example, Owen had the three of us in the closet hiding from ghosts. fun times.

The other day Gavin was happily swinging, and Owen and Liam were watching Dora. Owen realized that Gavin couldn't see from where he was and set out to move him....

When it got tough, he called in reinforcement..."Wiam, WIAM! Come hewp me!!."

Of course, Wiam came to hewp him and before long, Gavin was watching Dora, too.

Bowling with Buddies

So fun! Our friend, Cutter, loves to bowl. So, his mamma got a group of us together today for a bowling play date. What fun!

Owen used the rack. It was a great way for a beginner bowler to get in the game. He had fun pushing his ball down the slide and watching to see how many pins he knocked over.

Liam, however, did not want to use the rack. I did get him to a little later in the morning; but, at first, he was all about rolling the ball down there. Thing was, his ball went very, very, s.....l.....o....w..... He and Owen would watch it patiently (I had lots of time for pictures since the ball was so very slow ;-).

Yay!! He knocked some pins over! High-five, Liam!!

Watching....

Discussing....

Congratulating...

Thank you, Kristie, for organizing us!! We had so much fun!!

Mini-Who?

sometimes, it's the paci Gavin needs to get settled and to sleep....
sometimes, though, he finds his fingers and they do the trick.

this leaves me wondering if I have a Mini-Owen or a Mini-Liam on my hands....

In other exciting-for-a-mom news...Liam went potty in the potty yesterday. Holy Smokes! He is only 18.5 months old!! He was eating lunch and told Lina "poop." I walked in the room, he said it again. I checked his britches and saw that he hadn't pooped yet, so I took him to the potty. I tried sitting him backwards the way Owen goes now...it's way less messy than the potty seat. Liam didn't like that. So, Owen found his old potty seat under the sink, stuck it on the potty, and said to Liam, "Wiam, dis is what I used to learn to potty." Liam sat on it, Owen showed him where to hold on and then told him what to do next..."push." So FUNNY! I got the camera cause I thought it was so funny. In the meantime, I hear Owen tell him "good job, Wiam" and they flush the potty. I asked if he really went, and Owen said he did. Liam didn't seem finished, though, so I sat there with him. He went some more and I got to see proof. Oh my word! Go Liam!!

Liam was so happy and proud of himself. He did a happy little potty dance and kept returning to the bathroom to dance some more even hours later. So cute! I do not intend to start potty training him, yet. He is too little, me thinks ;-) I have decided that when he says he needs to go, I will take him and he will get tons of praise for it. But, until he either really shows that's what he wants to do or he is two years old, it will just be for "fun". Can't believe I am referring to anything potty-related as "fun"... Oy!

What has motherhood done to me?

34 years.

Today was my birthday. I turned 34 years old today. Wow. Where has the time gone? I say that every time I mark a milestone for the boys. Today, however, is different. It's my milestone. In college, I thought very hard about my future. I decided then and there I wanted to major in something 'useful' and to build a career that was meaningful and would allow for early success with the idea that by 30 I could feel "successful" and then give myself a break to enjoy the kids I hoped to have.

I did that.

I am so thankful and totally in awe that I can say I am "living my dream". I had a full career. By 30 years old, I was in a position to lead a team of eight in a professional capacity. I loved my job. We traveled the country, working really hard for our clients, but always enjoying where we were and having fun, too.

Then, when I was 30, Owen was born. I still worked. But, I worked 'part-time'. I got the best of both worlds. Then Liam was born, and I got to take a leave of absence from work, that I am still on and enjoying. Now, I have three of the sweetest baby boys anyone could ever hope for. My husband supports me, loves me, and makes life for us all so fun. I am really living my dream.

I used to dream of what life might be like at 34. In my wildest dreams, I pictured something like the life I live. I can hardly believe it's real. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

Happy birthday to me. I am loving my "dream" and so thankful for each and every day. So thankful for Gerard, Owen, Liam, & Gavin. They are my dream and, lucky for me, they are my real life, too.

I can't imagine anything better.

Another Day of Snow!

We still had lots and lots of snow on the ground this morning and Owen wanted to get out there early to play! We bundled up both of the big boys and headed out doors early this morning.

Liam wasn't sure if he liked standing in it or not. The snow comes up to his knees, making it hard to move to well....and he likes to move! Maybe gloves would help...that way if he fell his little hands wouldn't freeze. Note to self...buy the boys some heavy gloves!

They took their bull dozers out there and got to work.

Last year, Owen did not like standing/walking in the snow one bit! It was fun to see him wonder around in it this year.

The snow play lasted about 10 minutes, then we headed back indoors. All morning, the boys played so well together. I love, love, love how they are playing together right now.

Owen's imagination is soaring, and he creates games for he and Liam to play. Often, they are going to work somewhere. They pack their work bags and head off....so far the destination is often the hospital....little doctors?! This morning, they "worked" at the tool bench.

And yes, Gavin is here, too! Didn't take him out in the snow; but, he has benefited from our lazy snow days! Lots of cuddles from his brothers....

It's so hard to get a good one of all three boys ;-) The better one was blurry. Boo. But, you can still see how cute they are, can't you??

Hopefully school won't be canceled tomorrow....my boys and I are having fun, but I think leaving the house might do us all some good ;-)

The Littles

Just a little post of a couple of things the little brothers have been up to. Gavin has started enjoying some play time each day. It's funny, since he is still so small, I don't expect him to do anything but eat and sleep. However, he has other plans.

Gavin has started spending a lot of time awake these days. Sometimes he will stay awake for a couple of hours. I laid him on the exercise mat the other day in an effort to humor Owen who wanted Gavin to play.

But, low and behold, Gavin seemed to get into it. So, I have been letting him "play" on it some now when he is awake. I think he can see the toys, and I think he is trying to work out just how he might grab at one. Maybe I need to move them closer so he has a shot at success...

The other "little" has been really testing his boundaries and mamma's limits. Early last week, he was wanting to land himself in time out. I can't remember now what he did; but, I remember that I gave him a warning. Instead, he went straight to our kitchen time out spot, sat down, and worked really, really, really hard to start crying. What a little actor.

Should I go on and call Hollywood and tell them about him? Ha!

Happy Snow Day, Y'all!

It snowed today!! We get snow a couple of times a year; but, it still seems like a novelty to me! This time, though, the boys were so excited that it made it even more fun! Naptime came shortly after the snow began to fall and stick. I told Owen and Liam and when they woke up, I would take them out to play in it. Liam fell asleep fast. Owen hopped in his bed happily. All was quiet for about 30 minutes and then Owen came downstairs and said his nap was over. Oy. I decided that since it doesn't snow that often, he should get some one on one time with mamma and the snow while the little boys were napping. So, he and I played instead of napped!

We threw snow balls at the fence for a while--but, neither of us had gloves, so that was quite cold. Then, Owen asked if we could take it inside. Hmmm...why not. So, we found a bucket and a 'shovel' and he gathered snow to take into the laundry room.

He hauled his snow inside; but passed his tractor on the way. He decided he wasn't too cold to take a spin in the snow! Fun!!

After playing and eating the snow from our bucket, I had the bright idea to make snow ice cream. I found a recipe on line, made sure we had the ingredients, and then told Owen my plan. He loved it! He scooped our 5 cups of fresh snow....

and then took it inside where we added the half and half, sugar, salt, and vanilla.

It was sooooo yummy!!!

We enjoyed our tasty treat but couldn't convince daddy to try a bite.

After his 3+ hour nap, Liam got a turn in the snow while Owen was sleeping! Liam wasn't too excited by it. He kept saying "Uh oh sky." and pointing to the snowflakes falling.

He stood outside and watched the snow fall for a few minutes.

Then, he told me he was cold and wanted to go inside.

If we still have snow tomorrow, I will try to get them outside together for a cute and cold photo shoot!!

And, if you ever wonder what a three year old might choose to wear under his warm snow clothes....wonder no more....

I thought he looked so adorable!

Happy Snow Day, Y'all!!