Hooray for Teeth!!

Someone is super excited about the arrival of his first two bottom teeth.

It's Splash Pad Season!!

It's Owen's favorite time of year.....splash pad season!!

 He's been anxiously waiting for them to turn the water on at the parks and now there is
no more waiting.  He's so happy, his feet barely even touch the ground.

He played in the water nearly the entire time we were at the park.  The only time he 
ventured onto the equipment was to take a ride down the slide.  He was so wet that he flew
down that thing so fast and shot right off the end.  After that he decided he would stick to
the water.  And who can blame him with how fun this looks?

And when he tired himself out, he would just sit back and take a little break.

Joe and I on the other hand, took it easy chillin in the shade.

I think it is safe to say that I had two very happy boys at the end of the day.  :)

 

"Ca-pee? Mommy I want ca-pee."

I never thought I would ever say this, but my 2 year old is a coffee drinker.

Ryan and I frequently get Starbucks on the weekends, so Owen sees us with it a lot.  One

day he kept asking for a sip of mine.  After many failed attempts at telling him no and having

the conversation dropped, I decided to let him try it.  I figured I might as well.  Surely he

would get one taste, find it disgusting, and not mention it again.  Nope!  

Instead I get "Mmmmm" as a response.  What?!?  

Thankfully since I am nursing Joe I am always drinking decaf so I don't mind giving him a

sip here or there.  How can I resist when he comes up to me in the cutest voice and

says, "Ca-pee?  Mommy, I want ca-pee."  I love you my cute little ca-pee lover.

Little Gardener

Say hello to my little weed puller...

Owen you have a way of making even the dirtiest tasks like pulling weeds cute.  :)

 

Group Hug

Owen has started the absolute cutest habit every night before bed.  

Our normal routine always started with Ryan reading Owen his books before bed.  When

they were done, Owen would run to me and I'd pick him up to give him a hug and a kiss.

Then I would pass him off to Ryan for his hug and kiss.  

This last week however, Owen has insisted on group hugs.  Our routine starts off the same

way...the story ends and Owen comes running to find me to give me my hug.  But once I pick him up, he only grabs me with one arm and then instructs me, "hug Daddy" at which

point I am supposed to hug Ryan.  I take the arm I am not holding Owen in and wrap it

around Ryan.  At that point, Owen takes his other free arm and also hugs Ryan.  It's the

Kalita group hug.  We hug a few seconds, let go, and then I get the instruction again...

"hug Daddy," and the hugs continue.  No matter what kind of day Owen and I had,

it's all forgotten with the sweetness of his group hug.  We love you buddy.  :)

You are one of the most caring and sweet little boys I have ever met.

  

     

I Love Weekends!!

I thought I loved weekends when I was working, but I have an even greater appreciation 

for them now that I am home with the kids.  It's not that I am super stressed out from the week of being with the kids...I love being able to be home with them.  What makes the

weekend so special is Ryan is home with us and we get to spend time together as a family.  

The best weekends are in the Spring and Summer because the weather is warm enough for

us to start our mornings out with a coffee walk.  Owen runs most of the way which is great

exercise for him, Ryan and I get a delicious Starbucks, and Joe gets some nice fresh air to

tire him out for his nap when he gets home.  It's a win for us all.

This weekend was no exception.  We started both mornings out with our routine walk.

Who wouldn't love walking with these two??

 We couldn't get quite the same sweet smile out of Owen when he and I tried to take a

picture, but at least we know we'll have plenty more walks to try again.  :)

Happy 7 Months Joe Joe!!

Say hello to the cutest 7 month old I know.

Height - 27 1/2 inches (55th percentile)

Weight - 17 lbs 9 oz (23rd percentile)

He's still coming in on the low end for weight, yet everyone I see tells me how big he looks.

I've decided it's his big chubby cheeks that create the optical illusion of him being bigger

than he is.  He has the cutest, softest, chubby little cheeks.  I love them!

The other thing that people always tell me is what a happy baby he is.  Whether we are at

the doctor's office, out running errands, at a friend's house or anywhere really, the one

comment I always get is how happy he is.  Mostly because he likes to share his big

toothless grin with anyone who looks at him.  He is such a sweet little guy.

 

This past month marked a few key milestones...eating solids for the first time, rolling over

from his front to his back, and sitting up with a little help.  

He doesn't really eat a lot yet, but we still practice every day.  We've made it through peaches, prunes, sweet potatoes, peas, butternut squash, apples and we just started
bananas.  I can't say he loves any of them any more than the others.  It's pretty much
a battle between he and I to see if I can get the spoon to his mouth before he whacks it
away or grabs all the food off it.  I make some sort of noise or face so he smiles and gives
me one of his open mouth grins.  Then I sneak the spoon in as fast as I can.  So far it
seems to be doing the trick.  You'd think this kid would like to eat, but right now he's
not that interested.  We'll get there soon enough.
 
This month also marked the beginning of the dreaded helmet.  I had myself so worried
about it, but thankfully he's adjusted like a champ.  Plus, now that it's decorated he looks
super cool in it.  He wears it 23 hours a day, with one hour off for me to give him a bath
before bed.  What's crazy is even though he's only had the helmet for 2 weeks, seeing
him without it is weird.  Like seeing a person without their glasses on.      

 

"AAH!  My head feels so naked!"

 

 The only thing the helmet may have affected a little is his sleep.  He is still waking up two

times per night on average, but since the helmet we've had nights where he's been up as

many as four times and cried for an hour at a time even after I've fed him.  Whether it is the

helmet or a possible growth spurt, I am very much looking forward to a consistent sleep

pattern again.  And maybe soon enough we'll be down to getting up only once per night,

and then...gasp!...getting a full night's sleep!!!  It's so close I can almost feel it!!  

With someone as cute as this though, I'm ok with middle of the night visits.

   Happy 7 Months Joe Joe!

Go Blackhawks!!

Look who's helmet got a makeover today...

We were fortunate enough to find a graphics company near us that partners with an

organization called Wrap Buddies.  Basically they wrap the kids bands just like they would 

wrap advertisements on cars.  It turned out AWESOME!!  We were originally going to paint 

the band before we found out about this.  This turned out to be a much better option.
We couldn't be any happier with it.  These helmets can be somewhat intimidating for other
 people, especially other little kids, to look at.  We were very happy to turn what could be a
negative thing into a positive conversation piece.  Special thanks to Speedpro Imaging for doing such an awesome thing for us!!

And what perfect timing with the Blackhawks in the playoffs...GO Blackhawks!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

First and foremost I want to wish a happy Mother's day to my mom!

I feel so fortunate to have such an amazing, caring, thoughtful, helpful, creative, selfless,

fun, loving, patient woman as not only my mom, but a Grandma to Owen and Joe.  They

don't realize how lucky they are yet, but soon enough they will realize it and be just

as thankful as I am.  We love you so much Mom!!

And speaking of being thankful, I am also so lucky to have such a great husband who takes

such great care of me and made me feel so special today.  He started the day by running

to grab our coffee and making delicious french toast for breakfast.  When he came through

the door with our coffee, he had two bouquets of flowers in his hand...one from Owen

and one from Joe.  Then when I went to sit at the table for breakfast there was a small

box with a beautiful gold watch in it.  Totally not necessary at all, but I love it!

Even more exciting than the watch however, was the next part of the day.  He enlisted

his brother Tim to help him organize the garage (something I have been begging for).  I 

patiently waited inside while they worked their magic.  A short while later I went out to see

the fruits of all of their hard labor and here it is....Best Mother's Day present ever!!!! ;)

Shelves, racks to hang everything, bikes hung up, and even a hanging tennis ball to tell me how far to pull into the garage.  Looks like a different garage.  LOVE IT!!
Thanks so much for your help Tim!
 

    Thank you for making me feel so loved today Ryan.  

You make me want to be the best mom I can possibly be.  Love You!!!!

And so it begins...

Look who got his helmet today....

 

 

When Joe was born his neck was a little tight on one side so he always favored looking

to his right.  We worked with him to stretch it out every day, gave him plenty of tummy

time and always tried to reposition him so he would look the opposite direction.  Despite

our best efforts, his head became pretty asymmetric and we were recommended to 

get him fitted for a DOC Band (fancy term for helmet).

 

As much as I want to do what's best for him, the thought of him having to wear a helmet

23 hours a day for 3-4 months was pretty disheartening.  I was afraid it would bother him,

afraid it would be too hot, afraid he would have a hard time sleeping in it.  Everyone tells

you the babies adjust really quickly to it, but I wasn't entirely convinced and prayed that he

would do ok.  Prayed it wouldn't bother him.  Prayed he would be his same happy self.

 

I am very happy to say that thus far my prayers have been answered.  I realize we are only

8 hours in, but I've been pleasantly surprised.  It didn't bother him at all when they first put it

on him.  He looked at Ryan and I and gave us our favorite big goofy grin as if to say, 

"Don't worry guys.  I got this!" 

Then when we got home he continued his day as usual.  Rode fine in the car seat, holding 

him while nursing wasn't awkward at all like I had envisioned, napped like a champ, and

he rolled all over the ground with ease playing with his toys.

 

  Thank you for easing all of my fears little Joe.  I'm glad you're so happy with your helmet, because you make wearing a helmet look GOOD!!