Owen's First Roller Skating Adventure

Owen recently went roller skating for the first time. Can you believe that? He's seven and he's never been roller skating - have I failed my child? Don't answer that.

He loved ice skating for his birthday a few years back.

If that face doesn't scream EXCITEMENT I don't know what does.

Sissy helped him with his skating skills.

They're so sweet to each other when they want to be. I mean, sometimes I walk in and she is teaching him things as they play 'school' and other times I hear screaming from the hamper he's sitting on and his sister is inside. There is no method to their madness.

Perhaps what he loved more than skating while we were at the rink was the play area. He couldn't get enough of the slides. And he was totally cheesin' for the camera, but what else is new.

Owen's Growin'

Like a weed. School started four weeks ago. We went shopping for school clothes five weeks ago. I bought five new pairs of jeans for him at that time, all of which needed to be tightened with that little elastic thing-a-ma-jig on the inside of the waist, parents know what I mean - this thing:

For the last week I’ve noticed that I have to unbutton the elastic and have him wear the jeans at their natural size. Has his waist really grown that much? Next, one pair is already getting a bit short on him. The others were a bit long to begin with so they are just now to the length they should be, but that one pair is getting close to retirement. Like I said, he's growing like a weed, a cute, silly little weed though, not an annoyingly scratchy one.

Owen has always shared a bedroom with Ethan. Consequentially, he’s accustom to having someone in the same room with him at bedtime. When we moved to our current house he was able to get his own room, which he loves, until…bedtime. He slept well the night before the first day of school.

But almost every day since he’s wound up in bed with either me or Ethan. It’s been rough because the kids sleeps like a wild child. So when he gets in my KING SIZED bed he takes two thirds of it up. How does a tiny human weighing in at 45 lbs soaking wet take up more than half of a king size bed? When you have an answer, and more importantly a solution, hit me up. He's growing up, has his own room, own bed, and yet it doesn't get much use. The kid snores. He kicks me in his sleep. He sleeps horizontally. Needless to say I haven’t got much rest lately. I’m running on fumes. I live off of coffee, chai tea, gum, and sunshine. ‘Tis rough. Music and Visine keep me feeling and looking somewhat sane.

Last night though he didn’t climb in bed with me until 0500. Can I get a ‘Hallelujah!’?! Of course I just went ahead and got up soon after he got in bed but I was so happy to have a few hours of kick/snore free, uninterrupted sleep. I’m proud that he is sleeping longer and longer in his bed even though it gets frustrating that I’m even going through this with a six year old. The older two were sleeping through the night, alone at a few months old. Sure, when toddler beds came in the picture I had to teach them they couldn’t keep getting up in the middle of the night, but eventually they learned. I just remind myself that Owen never went through that because he always had someone in the room sleeping with him so he never had to learn to sleep alone. Until now. 

And while we’re talking about Owen, allow me to brag on him – he earned four As and two Bs on his progress report. Go Monkey!

And we reminisced a bit when his most recent school project involved pulling out the photo album. And by we I mean me. And by reminisce I mean get teary-eyed, wave my hand quickly in front of my face hoping to dry my eyes, and missing the days when my baby was a baby. For his assignment we did a timeline of his life. There was supposed to be at least one photo of him at each age but as usual I got carried away.

Obviously I did the writing, but he picked out the pictures and added bling with some green glitter glue. 

We added numbers because on a separate piece of paper we were to describe what was going on in each photo, so to make it easier for the teacher to know which photo I was referencing I simply used some number stickers I had on hand so instead of writing: The black and white one on the bottom right at the beach was when we were fishing at the beach in Pensacola I simply wrote: 15: Fishing at the beach in Pensacola.

It's the simple things, folks. (Thank you Ari for taking the wonderful photo below)

And even though he's getting older he's still the baby. Even Jersey knows it - he feels the need to sit and watch and protect our little guy taking a bath. Look at Owen's little head peeking over the side of the tub in the background.

I can’t believe my little guy is going to be seven in three months! Where does time go?! He’s already asking about his birthday too AND Christmas. Daddy asks him if he wants his two front teeth for Christmas because when we saw Daddy last Owen’s two front teeth were missing. But speaking of Owen growin’…he’s getting his adult tooth in one of those spots. So I guess all he wants for Christmas now is one more front tooth. Oh, and I quote “one thousand bucks cash”…I told him good luck with that.

Xo,

Lor

The Adventures of Monkey and Monkey

Disclaimer: You will be hit with pure cuteness in this post. As well as some grainy iPhone photos, but what can I say, I can't always have the DSLR in my hands, besides, the cuteness still shines through the graininess. :)

We’ve got pet names for days in our house. Rarely is one of us called by our given name and if we are, well, it’s most likely goin’ down. So instead of hearing “Ethan!” Or "Seth!" you’ll here “E” or “babe.” When it comes to Owen he, alone, has a plethora of nicknames – Monkey being the one I use most. He was given the name because, like his sister, when he was little he had absolutely no fear of heights and climbed on and up every and anything. I’d refer to him as a ‘little spider monkey’ which eventually got shortened down to simply ‘Monkey’ over the years.

And now my monkey loves…well, monkeys. He loves to watch them at the zoo, he points to the adorable Paul Frank shirts with monkeys on them and he loves his very first Paul Frank monkey shirt so much that he wouldn’t let me donate it when he outgrew it so I decided to keep it. I think I may turn it into something I can incorporate into his bedroom decor somehow.

All this is to say that he has a stuffed moneky that my parents sent him for Christmas last year. He loved it when he first received it, it’s so plush and soft, but he wasn’t much of a stuffed animal kid. I mean, he’d sleep with them at night but beyond that he wasn’t interested. But beginning a few weeks ago he’s been caring for Monkey and toting him around like a proud big brother. 

Seriously, Monkey goes almost everywhere with us. And if Owen decides that Monkey will be staying home for whatever reason, he puts him to bed for a nap. 

Or on the couch with some cozy covers.

I’ve even been directed to babysit Monkey while Owen was at school. And Mr Monkey was lucky enough to get a front middle row seat when we made the move from our Destin apartment to our Crestview house a few weeks ago.

Although during one trip in the car I received some sassiness from Owen when I tried to explain that his monkey couldn't be buckled in the seat belt with him because it could prevent his seat belt from working properly. But all he could focus on was wanting his monkey safe also.

I love seeing him with his monkey. I think I like seeing the way he cares for him. And how genuinely concerned he is for Monkey’s well-being. I’ve started to take at least one candid photo a day of him and his monkey as they are just doing their thing, oblivious to me and my camera. I started sending the photos to Seth and calling them: “The Adventures of Monkey and Monkey.” And so that’s how it began, my little daily routine where I see my monkey with his monkey so often that I don’t usually notice it until I sit at the dinner table for instance and Monkey is also ready to dine. Or we're at the pool and monkey gets his own lawn chair. It’s moments like that where I can’t help but to smile and snap a picture.

And to get you all caught up with The Adventures of Monkey and Monkey, enjoy most of the photos I’ve taken of the dynamic duo so far.

Happy Tuesday, ya’ll!

Toothless

My baby lost his second tooth yesterday. He lost his first one the day before that. He's in New Mexico. I'm in Florida. My baby lost his first tooth and I wasn't there. 

To you nonparents, I'm sure you're wondering what the significance of the above paragraph is and if that's the case you may as well close out of this window because you won't understand this post even if you tried. To my fellow parents, I'm sure you feel my pain.

I was Skyping with Owen yesterday morning when he told me he lost his first tooth Saturday night. Immediately I got teary-eyed and as I responded to him with an, "Oh my goodness, that's so awesome Monkey, tell me about it!" I realized my voice was shaky and my hormones were haywire. 

It's a tooth to most but it's a milestone to me. I'm used to being there for all the milestones. I've been there for every first crawl, step, word. Every first day of school. Potty-training. Learning to ride with no training wheels. But now, I've missed out on Owen losing his first tooth. He probably won't even remember the day - I don't remember losing my first tooth, but that's not the point. The point is that I'm that mom…that mom that makes heart-shaped pancakes on Valentines Day. The mom that sends balloons to their school on their birthday. The mom that custom makes their easter baskets and dresses them in green on 17 March. I'm that mom, that annoying mom that constantly has a camera in my hand and a project up my sleeve. So to miss my youngest's first lost tooth made me stop and think.

It made me think about how lucky I am to even have three kids. Some people, despite yearning for the opportunity, will never experience the miracle of a baby growing inside of them. Some people have children and don't get to speak to them. Some people will never experience any of the amazing occasions I've experienced and will experience with my three. So it made me think how blessed I am. It made me grateful. 

Because come on, how can you look at the newly toothless smile and not feel that all is right in the world?

Blessed, 

Lor

Weekly Kid Post #376

Okay, not really, but I haven't been keeping count so I don't know what number it is aaaand I don't have any clever titles for this post so...

Our boys love them some video games. Fear not, their limited on how much they can play but when they play theeeey plaaaay.

When Owen tried, unsuccessfully, to get Ethan's attention during the middle of him playing what seemed to be a super important game or match or whatever it's called, Ethan finally gave Owen a response and said, "Hold on, I'm saving someone." As he revived one of his teammates.

Owen got wide-eyed and serious and said (in a super excited/concerned voice), "You're saving someone's liiiiife?... Wow Ethan, you're a hero."

I tried my best not to laugh because my baby was so serious.


Here's to being a hero,

Lorri

The Best Christmas Present Ever

It's hard to believe, but my baby turned 6 years old on Monday. It seems like just yesterday I was at the hospital asking the nurse if the two of us could go home. I didn't care that I had just delivered him less than an hour prior. I was a seasoned professional. A mom thrice over. I didn't have time for hospital stays away from my two other children. And I didn't wanna sleep in a hospital bed and eat their food. I wanted to take my baby and go home.

Buuuuut, the nurse quickly laid the smack down (do cool kids still say that? "Lay the smack down" ???). But I did manage to get us out of there a day early. Six years later and my little guy is all boy. All the time. 

He wasn't due until 6 January. But apparently he had other plans. So six days before Christmas in 2005, I got the best present ever. Owen Miles. 

You know it's some serious sleep when ur mouth is open

He was 7lbs 6oz and didn't even wait for the doctor to arrive before making his debut into the world. Admittedly, I waited far too long to go to the hospital to begin with. But I hate hospitals. And didn't wanna get there and have contractions for 8 hours. I wanted to get there and have a baby. And that's what I did - a few contractions and a single push later and baby number three was in the world. If only labor had been that quick and easy with my first.

So Monday was my monkey's sixth birthday.

He started the morning by busting through his door-o-streamers that I taped up for him. I thought he'd get a kick out of breaking throughout them the second he woke up.

And since he shares a room with Ethan (and Ari had slept in there the night before for a slumber/movie party), I left a note for E and Ari instructing them to go through the bathroom (which attaches to the boys' bedroom) if they wanted to exit the room prior to Owen waking up in order to preserve the integrity of the door-o-streamers (you like what I did there? …made it sound all sophisticated by using words like 'preserve' and 'integrity').

Then what did we do - you ask? Did I make him a huge breakfast? Nope. I intended to; my little guy loves bacon and pancakes (in that order). But he wanted pie (we celebrated Christmas the day before so we had plenty of pie), so naturally, I let the kid eat pie for breakfast. Don't judge me - it's what any good parent would've done. 

Then I baked his cake (he wanted a repeat of last year's monkey cake) along with some cupcakes. All the while, big sister Ana baked him a mini-monkey cake. 

Super cute - that girl.

As for dinner, I planned to make Owen his favorite (ribs, mac n' cheese, etc.) but that went just as well as my breakfast plan. He said he wanted, "Orange chichen (chicken) from Panda Express." Then he changed it to Golden Corral (which I was dreading because I hate buffets, just call me a food snob), then he wanted Chuck-e-Cheese, then he was just as confused as me and Seth and soon had no clue what he wanted. We showed him some local places online and he decided on Fat Daddy's Pizza. It has an arcade/game area along with a little pizza restaurant. The pizza was super yummy and the birthday boy schooled me in a game of air hockey.

From there we went ice skating, which was a first for all of us, except Seth. I swear, it seems as though he's been everywhere and done everything. I want to go to the North Pole, but guess what, Seth went every summer as a child. I wanna base jump off the Sears Tower, but guess what, Seth just did that last weekend. Okay, those are sliiiight exaggerations, but seriously, you know what I mean - it just seems like he's tried everything at least once. Wait…that didn't sound right…

Ice skating began with Owen getting on the ice and immediately wanting off. I asked him to just go around once with me and halfway through his first lap my little guy was hooked.

He loved it. The look and smile on his face was exactly what I live for. 

Check out that one-legged-crossed-foot-half-sit maneuver - I give 'im a solid '10'

As with most things, Ari quickly got the hang of it and after we swapped E's ice-skates out for a bigger size he was diggin' it too. 

Then, of course, we came home to cake (that Owen modified by adding a nose) and cupcakes and presents and trick candles that didn't work. 

And if you talk to Owen about what he can and cannot accomplish, he'll quickly tell you, "I can do that, I'm not twwwwwooooo, I'm SIX!"

But if you ask me, the kid doesn't look a day over 5 and a half. What can I say? He's got some good genes.

Happy Birthday to my bright-eyed, witty, rambunctious, beautiful baby boy.

Xo,

Lor

My Three

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In less than 48 hours I get to hold three of the four most amazing people in existence. These three are each smart, funny and charming. Each of them have their own strengths and weaknesses. They have made me laugher louder and cry harder than anyone I've ever known. They make me strive to be better everyday. They give me the strength to stand up for what I believe in, even when others are too afraid to speak up. 

They make me realize that life is about the small things, the little things - rainbows, mud puddles, hot plastic slides on playgrounds. 

When I ask myself what it is I've done right in life, I look at them and they are the answer. 

They are my reasons for being. My reason for everything good that I am. 

They are so much fun and yet so much work. Who they will become is partially in my hands.

They're amazing little beings. 

They are seriously the coolest kids I know. 

They fuss with each other then turn right around and hug one another. They have an amazing relationship amongst the three of them. They know that when it all comes down to it, when life gets tough, when they get old, they know that they need to be there for each other; I can see it in the way they look at one another. 

God has blessed me with the most amazing gift he could give to a person...

Let the good times roll,

Lor