Play Date Buddies

Both Joe and I love going to Cate's house after school.  He gets to play with Cate, Hazel

and Will, and I get some much needed adult time with Katy and Jessica.  Some days we

make granola, some days we stuff our faces with spinach and artichoke dip, and some

days I somehow end up on a chair with every single child in the house.  

Why Mass Amounts of Magnatiles are Worth it....

Owen is Six!

Happy birthday to my happy, sensitive, caring, compassionate, active 6 year old!!

Growth Stats
Weight - 49 lbs (69th Percentile)
Height - 47.25" (82nd Percentile)

A few of Owen's Loves...
Sport - Soccer
Foods - Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (he asks for one nearly every single day in
his lunch), peanut butter cups, fruit (especially apples!), steak
Drinks - Chocolate milk, root beer
Restaurant - Red Robin

It's fun to think back to when Owen was a crazy, rambunctious toddler and see how much
he's evolved and matured.  He was like a tornado when he was younger.  Running at full
speed at all times.  No fear!  He is still full of energy and life, but he also has a calmer, more
reserved side to him as well.  Dare I say he is even shy at times.  He is super sensitive and
sweet and is very aware of how people around him are feeling.  He gives his teacher a hug
nearly every single day when he leaves school.  

When it comes to school, it's really cool to see him reading, writing, doing math and all the
other fun things kindergartners do.  Those skills alone are huge signs as to how much he's
changed over the past year.  He doesn't love school, but he tolerates it because he gets to
be with his friends.  Especially his very best friend...Asher.  

Owen loves playing with everyone, but he typically finds one friend that is his best buddy.  In
preschool it was Simon, and now Asher has taken on that role.  I think it gives Owen a
sense of comfort to have that one solid person.  He still plays with anyone who wants to,
and most of the time they all play in a group anyway, but he has one best buddy.

I love watching Owen grow and change over the years.  He is such an amazing kid and I
am so proud of him.  He's so polite and sweet and he's kind to his friends.  No doubt he has
his redhead temper moments when he gets upset and loses his cool, but what six year old
doesn't?  He's so great and inclusive with Joe and Miles.  When they are playing after
school, he is happy to include them, which I always love to see.  

I love this kid more than I could ever explain!
Happy 6th birthday Owen!!  

Owen's Birthday at Bounce Sports

Today was Owen's birthday party with all his friends at Bounce Sports.  It is an amazing

place for a birthday party, especially a 6 year old birthday party!  With it being the middle of

January, everyone is in serious need of some time to run around and burn energy!  Plus,

they pretty much take care of everything, which makes it super easy.  

You walk in and they have a table all set up and decorated with balloons, plates,

napkins and even little trinkets for the kids.

Once all the kids arrive, they have 3 coaches take them out onto the huge indoor field and

play games.  Prior to the party they sent us a list of close to 15 games to choose from.

Owen chose soccer, dodge ball, baseball and basketball.

They played for about 45 minutes,   

took a break for pizza (which they provided and served),

played for another 45 minutes,

then ended the day with cake.  Going along with the Transformers theme, I made an

Optimus Prime out of cupcakes.  Not bad for my first attempt.

Thank you to all of Owen's friends for making his birthday so special!!

Brown Cow Date

There's nothing like a trip to the Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor to end the night.

Treats of choice...rainbow sherbet for Owen and a brownie for Joe. :)

Toilet Trouble

Today Owen got a birthday package in the mail from the Barnett family. 

The contents...The Toilet Trouble Game.  

The goal...not get sprayed in the face by the toilet.  You spin the paper roll to see how many

times you have to pull the flushing handle, then pull it hoping it doesn't decide to spray on

your turn.  The boys thought it was hilarious!  Thank you Auntie Sarah!

6th Birthday Interview with Owen Kalita

I sat down and asked Owen a few questions for his annual birthday interview...

Your favorite...

Food: Cheeseburger

Drink: Root Beer
Treat: Lollipop

Toy: Remote Control Ninja Turtle Skateboarding Michelangelo

Color: Red and Black

TV Show: Ninjago

Outfit: My lightning one with the big circle and dots

Game: Dragon City

Animal: A Cobra

Song: "Believer" by Imagine Dragons

Book: Dragons go to School

Place to go: Disney World

Thing to do outside: Play soccer

Thing to do at school: Have lunch

What do you like to take with you to bed? My Lovey

What do you want to be when you grow up? An artist

What makes you happy? Spending time with my mommy and my daddy and my 2 brothers

What makes you sad? When I don't get to play my dragon game 
Who are your best friends? Asher, Dev, Kaelan, Simon 

What's your favorite thing to do with Mommy? Go get special donuts

What's your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Playing soccer with him all day

What's your favorite thing to do with Joe? Playing with dinosaurs
What's your favorite thing to do with Miles? Saying silly stuff to him and making him laugh
How old is Mommy? 25??..26!
What does Daddy do for his job? He learns how to do stuff
What do we love to do as a family? Go to the zoo and go to Grandma's house and go to Disney World

Anything else you want to tell us?  It was so fun!  I can't wait to have my next birthday!

All Smiles

This smile never gets old!!

Happy 6th Birthday Owen!!

Today Owen turns 6!!!! 

One of the things I always remember about waking up on my birthday when I was younger
was the signs my mom hung throughout the house.  One for each year.  There was always
one with our name spelled out and personality traits for each letter, one with the number
written over and over, and various others to round out the mix.  I want to carry on that
tradition for our kids too.  So last night I grabbed my paper and markers and got to work.

I even enlisted Ryan to help me out.
Clearly he has a little more art in his background than I do.

Owen definitely appreciated our efforts.  He walked around the house looking for all the signs and reading them.  Then he made a beeline for the dining room table when he saw his pile of presents to open.  How cute is he??

Happy Happy Birthday Owen!!  I hope you have the best day ever and feel super special
all day long.  We love you more than you will ever know!

6th Birthday Party #1

Last night we celebrated Owen's birthday with Ryan's side of the family.  

Owen's theme of choice...Transformers!  

When we entertain I have a really bad habit of worrying so much about making sure
everything is going smoothly and everyone is having a good time that I forget to relax and
enjoy what we're actually celebrating.  Case in point, I took no more than 6 pictures all
night.  That is so strange for me!  I must have really been out of it.

While we don't have the massive amount of pictures to prove it, the important thing is
Owen had a great birthday spending time with the people we love.

This morning the first thing the boys wanted to do was take out all of Owen's new presents

and put them to the test.  That kept them busy for awhile which is always a win in my book!

Happy 6th Birthday Owen!!  Let the festivities begin!!

Owen's First Sleepover

Last night Owen was asked to a friend's house for his very first sleepover.  With Owen

being our oldest I don't know the age when sleepovers typically start, but I know and trust the parents and Owen seemed on board, so it was worth a try.  I was fully prepared to go get him in the middle of the night if that's what ended up happening.

We packed an overnight bag with PJs, a Nerf gun, his toothbrush and a change of clothes,

and he was all ready to go.

Niles' mom was great and sent me texts to let me know how things were going.  She even

sent me a picture of them reading bedtime stories and let me know they were fast asleep.

Owen did great and ended up staying the whole night.  He was so brave and when I came

to pick him up she told me how polite he was and what a pleasure he was having over.  I

am so proud of him and it reminded me how he truly is growing up right before our eyes.

Dinosaur Collection

Between birthdays and Christmas, the boys have acquired quite the collection of dinosaurs.

 It's become one of their favorite things to play with.  They make huge setups, have

battles...even Miles walks around with dinosaurs yelling "Raaaar!"  Thanks to everyone

who has contributed to the boys new passion.  Anything that keeps them

busy this long is a huge win in my book.  :)

Reading Buddies

"Plan Tag" by Owen Kalita

This morning we were invited into Owen's class so all the kids could read us the stories

they worked really hard writing and illustrating.  It was so cute!  All the kids sat at their

desks and the parents walked around to each, listening to as many as we could.  It was

honestly one of my favorite things I've done in Owen's class thus far.  The kids were so

genuinely proud of what they wrote.  And it was fun to see how far they've come.

Owen was really shy when I first got there, but he grew more comfortable as time went on

and enjoyed sharing his story with everyone.  Presenting "Plan Tag" (Playing Tag) by Owen.

Celebrating Rachel

 Tonight the old Scoville neighbors got together to celebrate Rachel's birthday.  Four of them

have moved off our block, but we are all still within four blocks of each other.  How crazy is

that?!  I'm thankful for such a great group of friends who love me even when I'm rockin

my sweet nose bandage.