Block Party Fun

I may be biased, but I'm pretty confident our block throws the BEST block parties.

Here are just a few highlights from the day...

The water slide was by far Owen's favorite thing.  He went up and down that slide 

close to 100 times, if not more.

Then Daddy helped him with the squirt guns....

and taught him how to squirt Mommy.  Ha!  Real funny. 

 Not so funny now, is it Daddy?  ;)

Owen took a few watermelon breaks,

 then burned some energy in the bouncy house.

We had a scheduled visit from a friendly police officer who gave the kids a talk on safety,

  

followed by a visit from the firemen who let us all try out the fire hose.

 Unfortunately Owen was napping when they came, but I got out and gave it my best shot.

While there wasn't quite as much for Joe to do he had plenty of fun with Mommy and Daddy.

Owen ended the day with the world's biggest Slurpee.  What a great end to the day!

We are so fortunate to live on such a great block with such great people.

Can't wait for the next block party in the Fall.  :)

Weekend with Grandma

Ryan was away for the weekend, so we were lucky enough to have Grandma come

and visit us.  We always have so much fun when she is here and this time was no

exception.  We all got to do some of our favorite activities.  On Friday we wasted some time
at the park while we anxiously awaited her arrival.  Joe got his first taste of the swings.

 Once she got here, the fun began.  Owen is currently in a car phase.  He LOVES little toy

cars and has started his own collection.  What better way to start the weekend then by going

to Target with Grandma and picking out some new cars to add to his collection?  She also

brought a race track that Aiden handed down to Owen.  It was the last thing he played with

before bed and the first thing he played with the next morning.  It is safe to say we are 

going to get plenty of use out of it.  Thanks Aiden!!

 On Saturday morning we did one of my favorite activities and walked to the farmer's market

for some fresh fruit, and fresh donuts of course.  And as luck would have it our block was 

having their annual block sale this weekend, so we did one of Grandma's favorite activities and scoped out all of the garage sales along our walk.  You should see some of the

treasures we found!  I'm quite confident that she is leaving with her car 

twice as full as when she got here. ;)

It was beautiful on Saturday afternoon so next on our list of things to do was one of Owen's favorite activities...the park and splash pad.  He spent most of his time working with some

kids in the sand box,

 which gave Grandma, Joe and I time to relax in the shade.  And since it was

85 degrees out, Joe even got a little break from the helmet which was

definitely his favorite activity of the weekend.  ;)

We love you so much Mom/Grandma and are so happy you took the time to come visit us

this weekend.  We couldn't have asked for a better visitor.  We're already looking

forward to seeing you again.  LOVE YOU!!

Joe is 8 Months

Happy 8 Months Joe!!

Height - 28 in. (56th Percentile)

Weight - 17 lbs 15 oz (30th Percentile)

Another month come and gone.  It's so hard to believe!  Joe is getting bigger and bigger

every day.  He's sitting up now, still with a little bit of help.  He basically sits on his own, but

needs a helping hand to make sure he doesn't face plant when he dives forward to grab one

of the toys just a little out of his reach.  We practice sitting up a lot though, 

so he should be sitting like a champ in no time.  

He is still one of the happiest babies I have met.  He rarely ever fusses and is always very

happy to give out his smiles to anyone we meet.  Though his favorite person to smile at

is Owen.  He loves Owen SO much and grins ear to ear when he sees him.

 It's great that he is so happy to see Owen because it helps when I am trying to feed him his

solids.  For some reason he is not all that excited about eating real food.  I occasionally get

an open mouth here and there, but most of the time I have to sneak the spoon in when I

can.  That's why it's great having Owen there to make him smile.  The two sit across from 

each other in the dining room and smile and laugh.  I wait for Joe to flash Owen 

a big open mouth smile and I go in for my sneak attack.  

The one food he loves and will eat without a fight is pears.  He would eat pears every day if I let him.  I've started giving him fruit combinations with pears to help him get a little more

variety in his diet.  The other thing we've tried are Baby Mum-mums.  He holds onto it,

flips it around in his hands, nibbles on one end, flips it around again, and nibbles on the

other end.  I don't think he really ends up eating any of it, but it is good practice.

 I was hoping if he started eating more solids it would help him sleep better at night, but unfortunately that has not been the case.  He is still up twice a night.  Typically at 12:00AM

and then 4:00AM.  Thankfully he eats quick and then goes right back to bed, but I have to be honest that I am really looking forward to getting a full night's sleep again.

  Hopefully in time his thumb will be enough at night to help him get back to sleep,

but for now it just makes him look really cute when he decides to suck on it.

 

 He loves chewing on every and any thing.  His favorite toys are the rubber ones
he can chew on, but anything will do...his toes...the monkey's toes. ;)

Joe is happy to do pretty much anything, but his favorite thing is the jumper.  He goes

absolutely crazy in that thing.  He jumps and jumps and has this big goofy smile on his

 face.  When he gets a little fussy, that is the one place I can put him where I know it will

cheer him up and he will be back to his happy self again.

Thanks for adding so much happiness to our lives Joe.  

Looking forward to what this next month has to bring.

Happy Father's Day!!

We love you Ryan and are so lucky to have you in our lives.

You are so thoughtful and always know how to make us feel special.

Owen and Joe are very fortunate to have such a loving husband and father to look up to.

I thank God every day for you and couldn't ask for a better partner to go through life with.

We love you!!!!  :)

And a very Happy Father's Day to the other special Dad's in our lives.

We are who we are today because of you.  LOVE YOU!!  XOXO

 

 

Open Wide

One of Owen's new favorite things is helping me feed Joe.

I actually like it too because I swear Joe opens his mouth more for Owen than he does for

me.  And even if he doesn't, Owen shoves the spoon right in anyway and Joe gives in.  My

favorite is when Joe is being a little stinker and keeps moving his head from side to side.

Watching Owen trying to follow his mouth with the little rubber spoon is hilarious.  Sure we

end up with food all over Joe's face, but they have so much fun together.  

I am touched by how much these two little guys love each other already.  Sure they can't

say it, but you can completely tell in their interactions with the other.  Joe watches Owen like

a hawk.  His eyes follow Owen wherever he goes and he watches what Owen is doing so

intently.  And not only that, but he laughs and smiles more for Owen than for anyone else.  

I can see why Joe is so enamored with Owen, because he has been a really great big

brother to him thus far.  He is really sweet with him, most of the time.  ;)  No matter where

Joe is playing, Owen always likes to come up and talk to him.  He smiles at him, makes him

laugh and hands him toys to keep him happy.  I love walking into the living room to see Joe laying on his tummy and Owen laying down right next to him talking to him and playing with him.  They both have great big grins on their face and look so happy.  It is super cute!!

I'm actually surprised with how good Owen has been with sharing his toys and giving Joe the things he was playing with.  Sometimes a little too good.  I have to remind him that we

don't share our sticks (swords), snacks, or other non-Joe friendly toys.  I also had to let him

know that even though he hands Joe a sword, and Joe waves it around, he really is 

not old enough to play swords with him yet.  Soon enough he'll get there.

For now, I'm having tons of fun watching these two together.  I can only pray that as they 

grow up they will continue to be this close and loving with each other.

Practice Practice Practice

That's what we've been doing with Joe lately...Practicing sitting up on his own.

He's been doing great!!  I still keep the Boppy there for a little support, but he is relying

on it less and less.  His favorite is when Owen comes and keeps him company.  They

honestly love each other so much and have so much fun together already.

But when Owen is not around, I've found someone else to take his place.

He sits and plays, then takes little thumb sucking breaks.

And when he's had enough sitting up, he tackles that monkey right to the ground to help him

break his fall.  Brilliant!  Get your practice in now Joe, because tackling just 

so happens to be one of your brother's favorite past times.   :)

 

You're doing so great little buddy!  You're going to be sitting like a champ in no time.

 

Summer School

Today was a big day for us.  

It was the first time I dropped Owen off at school and left him on his own.

He did GREAT!!  We parked the car and I held his little hand as we walked across the park. His little legs ran along side of me, hopping every now and then with excitement about

going to school.  I wasn't really sure what to expect once we got there.  I didn't see him as

the type to be upset when I had to leave, but you never know.  We got in the door and as I

signed him in, the teacher let him know he could go into the classroom.  His little hand let go

of mine so fast and he marched right into that room and started playing.  He didn't look

back, didn't hesitate and I couldn't have been any more proud of him.  Ryan and I 

have raised a confident, independent toddler and that is a great feeling.

 

I anxiously waited the hour and a half while he was at school wondering how he was doing.

Was he having a good time?  Was he loving his new school?  Was he behaving himself?

He is quite the spirited two year old, so I didn't know how he would handle 

taking direction from someone else when I wasn't there.  

 

Thankfully he got a great report from the teacher.

 

 "Owen really did well for a first time being away from Mom! He really enjoyed playing with

the cars and trucks, the climbing castle, and babies. He does like to run a little bit inside, but

he listened well when we asked him to walk. He is also learning to place toys down instead

of toss them. Again, he listened very well during clean up time!  These are all normal two

year old behaviors. :)  I am excited to be a part of his first camp experience
He is a very fun and happy little boy!"

 Way to go Owen!!  What a great first day!!

You and Ruby are going to have so much fun at school this summer 

and I can't wait to hear all about it.