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.