Finally Four!

It seems as though Owen has been four for quite some time. He is at the tail end of his group of friends, watching their birthdays come and go. Always asking, "When will I be four?" "Am I four yet?"


Well it finally happened. He turned four a couple weeks ago as we boarded an airplane bound for Utah to spend time with family. The birthday boy got the royal treatment on the plane. A visit with the pilot, who showed him around the cockpit. A special birthday wish over the intercom. Extra refreshments from the flight attendants. And a dollar bill gifted from a random stranger.

The celebrating just goes on and on. In all he has partied with family, with cousins and grandparents, at preschool and in primary. And he's about to have one last round of gifts from a second set of grandparents who are coming to visit. Four, indeed!

For some reason four seems so much older than three. It's like a whole new bracket. In clothing, in amusement park admissions, in so many ways. It's so grownup. And so is my Owen.


He is quite the chatterbox. He loves to tell people things. A lot of things. Sometimes too many things. At a restaurant last week, he insisted on using the bathroom by himself. I reluctantly walked him to the door of the men's room and waited outside. He seemed to be taking awhile, when finally a man walked out and said, "Is that your talker in there?" Apparently he had been chatting it up the entire time he was taking care of business. Most of the time people think it's cute at first...but when he won't stop talking, they start to kindly excuse themselves from the conversation.


He does things on his own time or in his own way. Getting ready to go can be tricky. He will not be hurried. Participating in activities like school, swim lessons, and sports can be dicey. He will not be forced. Eating can be pure torture. He will not be pushed. To keep my sanity I have learned to pick my battles. If he's wearing his swim trunks and rashguard to school in late winter I say, "At least he's dressed." If he's refusing to participate in activities I say, "It's because he can't stand to be away from his mother!." If he's insisting on sucking the juice from the grapes rather than eating them whole I say, "It's fruit intake, right?'"


He is rather inquisitive. We go through the string of why? why? why? many times a day. He is curious about most everything. And his questions are getting more advanced. Lately he is fascinated with life and death. He had a whole discussion with me the other day about what I should do when he dies. He wanted to make sure I knew to sit by his side until Heavenly Father came to pick him up. And make sure Heavenly Father knew that Owen was my son. He wants to know, very specifically, how things work and why they are the way they are.


He is developing more of an interest in drawing. I've tried forever to get him to do coloring or other artsy things, but he'd always rather be active. Now I'll go into his room and discover he's drawn a family picture (don't you LOVE the detail on the knees!) Or he's drawn a replica of a story figure we discussed (The Good Samaritan). I love kid's artwork. I'm going to have to restrain myself from keeping all his little drawings.


Mostly, I love how his little mind works. I love that he wakes up in the morning and tells me he had a dirty dream. And he means he literally had a dream where he got really dirty. Or he wants to eat things that have vitamin C because he thinks he needs to see better. I love that he wishes he could go down the drain in the bathtub or have a garage sale where they sell parents. He never fails to surprise me with his comments and thoughts.

Love that Owen. Cheers to being four!

Event Planning

After posting my pics of Gavin's birthday celebration, I was asked for some party ideas for my friend's little girl. I have lots of ideas floating around in my head when it comes to parties. There is inspiration everywhere. And planning a party for a girl is a treat. So I put together a few inspiration boards to help with the planning.
Like any of these, Stella?


Pinwheels: starting with the invitation, and decorations, even an outfit for the birthday girl to wear.


ABCs/Colors: paralleling the theme I used for Gavin's bday, it would be great to incorporate a touch of alphabet. Of note? The rainbow knit hat is on sale for $6 on Etsy. So darling! And the hanging colored pieces are just strands of paint chips.


Forest Friends: Love this one! Got the invitation, decorations, cupcakes, even a couple gift ideas; a delightful board book and a perfect plush bunny (also on Etsy).

These were so fun to create, I just might do another round.

Things I Have Found in the Toilet:

receipt, bracelet, hairdryer.

Gavin has been busy. New household rule...keep the bathroom doors closed!

This Little Piggy

This little piggy won't park it.

On the go. Playing keep up with Owen. He loves to push and pull things, stack and destroy things, carry and drop things.


This little piggy has grown.

30 inches tall and over 23 pounds. He's traded in baby fat and fuzzy hair for a little guy frame and boyish locks. His appetite rivals mine. And he's not picky. He'll eat just about anything at anytime.


This little piggy has six teeth.

And in case you hadn't noticed, there's a wee gap in the front two. It gives him a nerdy edge and I like that.


This little piggy is one!

He's come so far in a year. I love that he laughs with Owen, sees Mark and is ready to play. He points, knows his name, plays chase, loves dogs, won't sit down in the bathtub, falls to the floor when he wants something. He's figuring out the world around him.


This little piggy cries waa, waa, waa when I'm not home.

He is a true momma's boy right now. Maybe for good? Who knows. But I'll take what I can get.

(Note: I checked the camera and my phone for pics of Gav. This random batch was about all I had...along with a bunch of blurry ones. Lesson learned? He doesn't stay still for very long AND I need to take more pictures!)

Birthday No.1

Gavin recently turned one. And I almost didn't do anything to celebrate it. Poor, poor second child that he is. But we had family in town and I figured it would be fun to have a little party. So I used this rainbow stacker I bought for him as inspiration...and away we went.


My nephew and I got together and learned how to make balloon animals to decorate the table. We spent an entire afternoon twisting and turning these creatures. Now I have mad balloon-making skillz. Book me for your next party.


I also grabbed an assortment of soda pop in colorful hues to go with dinner. We decided to pour and pass, so we could try several different flavors. The crowd favorite? High Mountain Huckleberry--out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A surprising runnerup? Dr. Brown's Celery Soda. Interestingly good.


And the cake? A six-layer stack of colors sandwiched between whipped vanilla frosting. It was super easy to make and just the right touch for the colorful occasion.


It was a good day. Sadly Gavin spent the celebration in a bit of a daze because he had received two vaccines earlier in the day and was feeling sluggish. But he managed to down a slice of cake in honor of himself.

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures of the birthday boy.

He's a Walker

Captured on the Flip earlier today, Gavin is officially off the floor!




Also captured on the Flip (by Owen I presume), was this:




And this:

One Dirty Summer

Summer has begun. And it looks like we're in for a dirty one.

First trip to the strawberry farm:


First trip to the beach:

It's gonna be awesome.

Preschool Grad

It's official. Owen successfully completed his first year of formal (but really, informal) schooling. I wasn't so sure it would happen at the beginning of the year. Take a look at the first day of school:


Notice I'm also pictured bending down next to Owen. I'm kindly asking (firmly ordering) him to join his classmates and smile (get in the picture or else!)


And here he is on the last day of school:


Truly happy! Letters and numbers aside, he was sitting willingly in this photo. I'd say that's measurable growth. He had a great year with a wonderful teacher and super cute friends.

*All in all, he made it into about half the photos throughout the year. Not bad considering, well....considering he's Owen.

Separate Lives

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how drastically different my life is compared to that of my husband. He works late and is gone a lot. Which means I work late and single-parent a lot. Our work involves very separate things. And though we live under the same roof, we spend very little time together under that roof.

Mark's job involves the next big thing in the tech industry.
My job involves the next big thing in Gavin's diaper.

Mark accumulates sky miles.
I accumulate high piles...of laundry.

A couple weeks ago Mark had a chance encounter with Snoop Dogg.
A couple weeks ago I checked out the children's book Stray Dog.

For Mark, there is always another meeting, presentation, or conference call.
For me, there is always another feeding, play date, or trip to the mall.

Mark gets to buy the iPad, Kindle or other techy things for "research purposes".
I get to buy diapers, groceries or cleaning supplies for "household purposes".

Mark is always connected to his computer or phone.
I am mostly disconnected while I stay at home.

You get the picture. I guess I am just surprised by what little interaction (especially one-on-one) we have at this stage in our lives. I once heard a woman--mother of four whose husband traveled a lot--say that she made lists throughout the day of things she wanted to discuss with her husband. When he'd call to check in or return home from a business trip she'd go down the list and talk with him. At the time I thought, "How sad that she and her husband can't have a regular conversation without pulling out her paper and pen."

Then the other day I was going through stacks of papers, organizing things, and trying to make plans. And I realized there were a lot of things I needed to discuss with Mark. Calendar items...long-term goals...just plain "guess what the kids did today" talk. And the thought occurred to me to make a list. Yikes! Has it really come to this? Yes. Yes it has.

But if it's any consolation...at least we're both focused on the future. We're working hard to create successful products/children someday.

Dinner is Served

Apparently I've been all kinds of productive lately. First crafting, now cooking. It's really quite miraculous, the feat you are about to witness. I have been reading and thinking a lot about healthy eating lately. And all that thinking motivated me to try out some new recipes--all healthy ones.

Now to any other joe this might seem like the norm. Prepare a well-balanced meal for your family every night? Of course! But things have gotten very laxed around this house. Generally I don't feed my family garbage, but I'm not the type to "watch what I eat" either. Most nights I consider it a success just to get food on the table, no matter if it's grilled cheese sandwiches or cold cereal. But for the past week or so I made a concerted effort to prepare only healthy dishes for my boys. And here is some evidence of those efforts.

Grilled Chicken Tacos with Mango Slaw and Avocado Lime Dressing
(Yes, even the dressing was healthy)


Dijon Crusted Pork Tenderloin With Artichokes and Fresh Fruit


Gourmet Rotisserie Chicken and Potatoes, Roasted Corn and Fresh Cherries
(This dinner was compliments of our weekly farmer's market. I love the chicken and that corn is to die for!)


Grilled Steak with Quinoa Salad


Italian Chicken Vegetable Soup


Kashi Roasted Vegetable and Margharita Pizza with Fresh Fruit
(This one was a shortcut meal from the freezer, but it was delicious!)


Yes, preparing a good healthy meal each night is work. Especially when you've got a 10-month old suction-cupped to your leg at all times and a restless toddler in the background. But I think my efforts were fruitful. It felt good to be eating right. As in...it felt good to know I was feeding my family a well-balanced meal AND it felt good to eat well. I highly recommend it.

But tomorrow night I think it's cocoa puffs for dinner. You're welcome Owen.

Refashioned

We recently held a weeknight church meeting on the topic of Provident Living. We focused on topics ranging from gardening and budgeting to storing food in our pantry. Going along with the theme, I decided to create a display table showcasing some ways to repurpose or refashion clothing. It's something I've seen a lot on the web lately and I thought it would be fun to share some ideas to reuse clothing, which seems so disposable sometimes.

There are some great ideas out there, but I didn't have a lot of time to sit and do projects. So I chose some simple ones that took anywhere from 10 minutes to a single afternoon to complete.

This one was the easiest by far. Seriously, it took just a few minutes to turn this t-shirt into a fun summer tote.

Another simple idea is to turn a cardigan into a pillow cover. So easy and so cute. No messing with a zipper or other closure. The cardigan does it for you!

I love this idea of turning a man's sweater into a boy's sweater vest. My friend Marissa shared this one with me and I couldn't wait to get my hand's on one of Mark's old sweaters to try it out. Unfortunately Mark isn't really a sweater guy. He had nothing for me to work with so I ran to the thrift store and picked this one up. Not too bad for a couple dollars.

And my favorite refashion has to be this one. Using a man's dress shirt to make a girl's shirt dress. This particular dress shirt was a favorite of Mark's. It used to be his dad's and was passed on to Mark, who wore it out almost completely. There was a hole near the collar and the underarms were faded. But he just couldn't get rid of it. Sentimental shirt turned shirt dress.

Now we don't have a little girl....but if we ever do I think she might just look adorable if we paired that shirt dress with one of these sweaters. They were purchased awhile back at Anthropologie just in case we ever had a girl. Too cute!

There are so many possibilities out there for reusing clothing and other items. I was pretty inspired by these little projects and hope I can find time to do more.

No Training Wheels

I think I was six or seven before I learned to ride a bike without training wheels. So I was pretty impressed tonight when I saw this!



Just three years old! No running alongside his bike, helping him balance, then letting go while he wobbles around a bit. Smooth sailing from the get go! But how did he do it?

Well I suppose it started about a year ago when we got him a Skuut balance bike. He rode that thing around until he was able to cruise at top speeds with his feet off the ground. Then we bought him a regular pedal bike. He didn't take to the pedals very easily at first. He got frustrated because he couldn't go as fast as he could on the Skuut. So we decided to put training wheels on while he got the hang of it.

Then tonight the training wheels came off for the first time. And just like that, he rode like a pro.

Gotta Love Gav

At nine months old, here's what I love.


His nicknames. I never thought he'd have one when we named him. Sure we call Owen just plain "O". But we call Gavin anything from "Gav-man, Gavzilla, Gav-monster, Gavies, Gavers" to just plain "Gav".


His chub. I can already tell he's starting to lose his rolls of baby fat now that he's on the go. But it hasn't left his cheeks, his thighs, his wrists and ankles. He weighs a sturdy 22 lbs. And he is comfortably fitting in clothing that's one size up.


His eating habits. Piggy likes his food. And though he only has two teeth with a third on the way, he'll eat just about anything; especially if we're eating it. A little-known fact? He grunts whenever he wants something. And if he goes unnoticed for long, he adds a terribly high-pitched screech that is almost unbearable (think ringwraiths from Lord of the Rings).


His dramatics. I don't know if it's having an older brother around, but he has quickly learned how to get noticed. When he wants your attention he will pull himself up onto something, let go, and just drop backwards onto the floor. This purposeful routine usually leads to a cry of pain...and of course, attention. If ever he wants something Owen has or gets something taken away by Owen, he'll look up at me with a grunt or shriek that means, "You're going to do something about that, right?"


His keeping up. If I put him down and turn my back for even a minute, he's gone. He doesn't stay in one place for long. He is either crawling, cruising along, or climbing up anything in sight (namely our stairs). Always trying to keep up with us, he is on the go.


His hair. It's always been somewhat of a mixture of things. Short and long. Calic here, calic there. Blonde, sandy, reddish. But it's finally filling in nicely. And I quite like the color. We've given him a couple haircuts already, but I'm still not quite sure what his "look" should be. It grows in a forward pattern, making it difficult to keep out of his eyes. I can't work up the courage to buzz it super short or anything. Guess I'll just let it do its thing.


His smile. He is seriously happy a lot. He has his normal smile, and then there's his total mouth-gaping-open smile like he just can't contain himself. Even his eyebrows seem to smile, adding an all-around effect. He lights up when he sees me, Mark, or Owen especially. He loves to be chased and tickled. We have even got him to clap and wave to us. All the while smiling.

With looks and charm like his, there's sure a lot to love.

"Owen is me and Gavin is you"

Those were the words spoken by Mark on Sunday night. And they pretty much sum up my thoughts too. Why do I feel the need to pick apart my children's traits and put them in a category of "yours" and "mine"? Is that natural? Because I find myself doing it all the time.

Gavin has my hair texture because it is so fine. Owen's hair is more thick and coarse like Mark's.

Owen is a heavy sleeper (like Mark). He can pretty much sleep through anything. Gavin, on the other hand, is a light sleeper (like me) who wakes at the drop of a hat.

Gavin seems to have my temperament as a child--calm and easy-going. Whereas Owen seems to have Mark's childhood disposition--emotional and strong-willed.

And really, how could you NOT compare their looks?

At one month:


At four months:


At eight months:


I could go on but I know that our children cannot be labeled in every category. They each have their very own personality with unique traits that neither Mark nor I possess. And as they grow up they'll become more and less like us. But for the time being, I'm sticking with Mark--Gavin is me and Owen is he.

One of Those Nights

8:30pm
Both boys were in bed. I did the dishes, tidied up the last of the toys, folded two loads of laundry, and read a couple chapters in my book.

10:20pm
Tucked myself in and went to sleep.

Just before midnight
Mark returned from a business trip. I noticed him, then promptly dozed off.

Just after midnight
Gavin awoke with a mild cry. We listened to see if he would go back to sleep. No luck. Since he'd been teething I knew what he wanted, so I decided to nurse him and put him back to bed.

Sometime between 1am and 3am
Owen showed up by my side and announced that he wet his bed. I followed him back to his room where we changed his pjs and his sheets.

3:45am
Woke up to Owen yelling "Mooooommmmmy". Stumbled to his room to find him covered in puke. He was shivering and soiled and required a bath.

4:00am
Filled the tub and soaped the kid up. Threw his soiled clothes and sheets in the growing pile of laundry to do in the morning. Put him back in bed.

4:45am
Gavin awoke with a tiny wimper. I decided to let him cry it out.

5:45am
Still crying it out. Then came another cry from Owen's room. He had puked again, this time in the kitchen pot I had provided after the last incident. We cleaned up his face and mouth in the bathroom and rinsed out the pot. Meanwhile Gavin was still crying in his room.

6am
Mark finally awoke for the first time since his midnight arrival. He tried to coaxe Gavin back to sleep while I tucked Owen back in. Gavin wasn't having it. Mark, in an effort to help, decided to prepare a small bottle of stored milk from the fridge so I could get some sleep.

6:15am
Mark brings Gavin to me and reports that he spilled the milk while warming it and there would be no bottle. I proceeded to nurse Gavin back to sleep.

6:25am
Finally back in my bed to sleep for the night.

7:00am
Owen puked for the third time and decided to be up for the day. I turn on some morning cartoons for him and headed back to bed.

8:00am
Gavin woke up for the day.

8:15am
Mark showered and left town on another business trip.

I don't know who to feel more sorry for....Owen (who has now thrown up about 8 times), myself (exhausted and sleep-deprived), or Mark (who spent 8 hours at home between travels enjoying a night of "pure bliss".)

See what you're missing out on when you're gone, honey?

The Runaway

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Most days Owen gives me a run for my money. Which is fine. But when he gives other adults this same challenge...in public...it's no good. For instance, he has been known to run out of the nursery at church when he doesn't want to stay. He is very sly. He waits until the moment when he doesn't think anyone is watching, and he darts for a slight opening in the door. This first happened almost a year ago and caused quite a stir with the adults who were helping out in nursery. He was halfway across the church building before they could catch up to him and "help him find his mommy". I was a little surprised at his craftiness and very embarrassed.

It happened during the first few days of preschool. I dropped him off. There was hesitation, but I knew it wouldn't help for me to linger. So I squeezed him goodbye and said I'd pick him up in a couple hours. I made it all the way to my car and began backing out. Sure enough, Owen showed up just as I was leaving. His preschool teacher was distraught at seeing one of her students dash out the door to make a getaway. I felt so bad.

In January he moved from the nursery to a primary class. A new environment? An unsuspecting teacher? Of course he was off and running in no time. A flustered primary teacher and one other parent chased him through the building until he found me and suctioned himself to my leg. They were very apologetic, explaining that he took off without warning and they were sure he was headed out the door and into the street. I was not surprised a bit. But I was embarrassed.

And just last week it happened again. He was being picked up by a friend for a playdate. He insisted that I stand outside and wave goodbye to him as he rode to his friend's house. It was stormy that day and I was eager to head back inside to get out of the rain. I failed to wave to him long enough. He wasn't satisfied. So unbeknownst to me, he waited until the car got out of the driveway and to the end of our culdesac. Then he unbuckled his seatbelt, opened his door, and took off running toward home. WHILE THE CAR WAS MOVING! The mother of his little friend just about had a heart attack as she put the car in park and leaped out her door to chase him down. He reached our house first. But she was not far behind, rattling off a frantic explanation of what had just happened.

So...any bets on when he'll try to run away from home? I'm just waiting.

On My Phone

I can't manage to get my act together enough to write up an actual post. So I'll let my last five iphone photos tell the story. (Not too impressed with the quality of my phone camera, but whatever.}

Dinner time is tricky these days. Most nights Owen is talking my ear off and begging me to chase him while Gavin is stuck like glue to my ankles. But on this particular night Owen took charge of entertaining Gavin. I thought his attention to style was a nice touch.

California in late winter. Gotta love it. Here's Mark, Owen, and our little buddy Wyatt hanging out at the park.

We have an "in" at the fire station. We got a personal tour of the newly-built station where our brother-in-law works in Utah. I even took my turn sliding down the fire pole. Sorry, no picture.

One of Owen's favorite parts of traveling...the taxi ride to and from the airport. He usually talks the ear off of the poor driver. This time he settled in and enjoyed the ride. I guess he had used up his dialogue on the plane ride. Grandma Solomon had given him a small notebook and some stickers. And he spent a good hour on the plane "writing" in his notebook. All the while he would say out loud what he was writing. It went something like this:
Dear Dad, please be nice to me.
(next line)
Dear Mom, you need to be nice to me.
(next line)
Dear Grandma, be nice to me.
(next line)
Dear Gavin, stop pulling people's hair.
Well if that isn't a good glimpse into Owen's life, I don't know what is. Such a sad childhood he has. Maybe I should be nicer to him.

And the new Gavin face. This little guy got his first two teeth in the space of a week. We left town to find the first one poking through the gums. And we returned just as the second was coming in. Now he makes all sorts of cute faces as he checks out his new teeth with his lips and tongue.