Breakfast club

 Monday night Mimi joined us for a sleep over, so Tuesday morning we thought it would be fun to continue the party with breakfast out (something we NEVER do).

 It was a big treat for sure!!!

This guy even went in his jams.  And maybe he stayed in them for most of the day.

Brother love

After breakfast Mimi took Scott to school while Owen and I did some running around.

Then we came home and crashed.  I don't know if I've ever taken pictures of the boys sleeping in their crib but for some reason when I laid Owen down I wanted to snap a picture, to remember the smallness I suppose.  Now looking at the picture I can't believe how big he already looks...and look at those feet, ginormo. 

Post preschool chillaxin'.  

Then the Richie gals stopped by for some afternoon fun

 And jumpin' on the bed.

 And seriously it seems in these group pictures Scott NEVER has pants on.

Then it was off to work for me and then home in time for pizza night.

And ice cream sandwiches...

 SUCCESS!!!

If you are wondering they are from a brand called glutenfreeda.  Not the healthiest things in the world but a fun gluten free and dairy free treat for sure!

And now to add to my list of stuff Scott says:

When I handed Scott his piece of ice cream sandwich:  "Oh mom, you're so sweet." (Said just like a mom in a sweet voice.  Mimic much.)

"When I'm an adult I will get to drink whatever I want."  me: "Oh yeah bud, what are you going to drink?" (Secretly worried at what his answer is gonna be)  "Coffee and Kombucha." (You know you're a crunchy mom when.....)

"You can't talk to me that way, I'm an adult." me: stunned silence.  For the record I've never said this to him to the best of my recollection. Where do they get it???

Holy heat wave...

 Its hot here.  So hot.  Yesterday was worse but today was still pretty stinkin' hot.  And I'm just not ready for full blown summer yet. Yeah, wah wah wah I know.

We got invited to our friend's backyard for some kiddie pool and water play time.  We soaked up the shade and played in the water and ate cold watermelon for a few hours and it was heavenly.

Then we came home for popsicles.  Owen's first ever one to hold all on his own.

Look at this cuteness:

Well now if anyone is having a popsicle he is having one too.  I opened one for Scott this afternoon and Owen SCREAMED his head off until I got him one too.  Yeah buddy, I got it, you want a popsicle, see mommy unwrapping one, I'm going as fast as I can - geez!

Happy summer....

Mother's Day and other updates:

 About a week and a half ago you may have heard about some wild fires in our area.  They weren't super close to us but close enough that we got quite a bit of smoke and ash one afternoon.  I had the beginnings of what turned out to be the whole family getting the flu so it was Big Bird to the rescue that afternoon.

I stole some sweet kisses from Scott when he and I attended a birthday party at his preschool, just the two of us.

I have discovered that the littlest little loves one of my favorite snacks as much as I do.  Frozen peas.  Weird I know.  But try them and you might change your tune.  Delicious and healthy.

I received this Mother's Day gift from Scott.  It was a surprise and so wonderful.  Kid crafts are the absolute best.

I keep finding these two hiding out.  Scott is the ring leader and I hear him whispering, "stay back here Owen, be really quiet."  Its hilarious brother bonding.

Scott got some new threads for his big boy bed (which still sits on the floor).  He had been using his toddler sized bedding up until now and it just looked kinda sad with this big bed and tiny blanket.

This weekend Auntie Kelly and I attended a seminar together.  She came down Friday afternoon to hang out for a bit first so we all went for ice cream.  Then she and I headed down Saturday morning and Mimi brought Owen down mid day for some nursing and a big ol sleepover.  (Home fry CANNOT sleep without me, we try but so far its big fat fail, not even for a few hours at night, naps yes, night time not on your life)  So a big thanks to Mimi for giving up her weekend to hang out with Owen and us girls.

 Sunday morning (Mother's Day) We had 4 hours left of our seminar before heading home at lunch time.  Well just after we started class Brian texted me this picture:

The glass just broke.  He has no idea how.  He and Scott were both standing in the bathroom but luckily only minor injuries (Brian had a few cuts, only one which required a bandaid).  Best mother's day gift I could ever have gotten was that no one was hurt (remember Christmas?).  But now we have this loveliness to deal with this week.  Again, no one was hurt so I can handle that.   And Brian and Scott still managed to go to the farmer's market and pick me up some flowers after they got everything cleaned up.  They rock!

Happy mother's day to all the mamas out there!  Hope you had a great weekend with your babes!!!

Frogs, Snakes & A Baby Kangaroo

Scott has always had a heart for animals.  From about the time he was Owen's age when he fell head over heels in love with horses, he has always shown extra interest in animals.  A girlfriend emailed me this week that our local library was going to have a "nature guy" who was going to bring animals that the kids could touch.  And FREE!  Sign me up.  So that's where we headed this afternoon and it did not disappoint.  (Although the website did because it said it started at 4:00 and we arrived at 3:45 thinking we were early but they had already started at 3:30, but it seems we hadn't missed too much, no harm, no foul)

Since we were walking in a couple minutes late Scott was his usual hesitant self and did not want to go sit with the kids by himself, which was fine and we were all able to sit together.

The instructor then sent around the first "attraction": the baby kangaroo!!! Excitement ensued!  All the kids got to pet him and Scott was in it.  No more hesitation or shyness.  (A little side story:  The women walking the kangaroo around got to us and I said "Oh Scott do you want to touch it?"  And she says to me: "oh no no, you don't ask him you tell him: Let's try together."  I get what she was trying to do, I do, but don't.  I know my child, I know he wanted to, thanks but no thanks for your advice.)

Then the teacher started asking for volunteers.  Each child that he called on to come up was given an animal to walk around the room and let the other children pet. 

Scott petting a salamander of some variety.

Kangaroo.  Up close and personal.

Here comes a big 'ol lizard....

These two (Parker J on the left and Scott on the right wearing daddy's "awesome race car hat") dove in to touch that guy...

Tarantula.  At first Scott was not into him at all.  "I don't like this one." I believe were his exact words followed by a good case of the chills.

Parker however was ready to hold him.

Scott decided eventually that it was ok to touch.  With one finger.

I was specifically did not tell Scott he was "brave",  I didn't want to think that the spider (or any of the animals were scary) so I told him daddy was going to be so excited to hear about it and that I bet daddy wishes he was here to touch it too (Lie, daddy would not have wanted to touch it either, but I'm sure he would have had he been there, just for Scott!!!!)

Around the second or third time the teacher asked for volunteers Scott just ran right up to the front.  Scott has never really been in a 'raise-your-hand-wait-to-be-called-on' situation before so he didn't understand that the teacher had been calling on people so right as he was almost all the way up the teacher (Mr. Baldy-Balderson pictured below) looked at him and said, "HEY! Did I call on you?" and Scott froze.  I explained that Scott didn't know (by the way the website for this free event said "all ages welcome") and I saw Scott's whole future hang in the balance: would this be the defining moment after which Scott would never again volunteer for anything ever?  Scott is such a sensitive soul and there is nothing worse to him than being "yelled" at (not that the teacher yelled but he was definitely gruff about it) or being in "trouble" whether real or perceived.  I had visions of him crying and wanting to leave in that moment, not understanding what he did wrong and being scarred for life (melodramatic I know).  In the same moment I could not have been prouder that my usually shy guy had jumped up to volunteer for something in a room full of strangers, most of the kids being older than he is.  I prayed that Prof. Baldy would not ruin this moment for him.   After I whispered to Scott to come sit with me and another volunteer told him he would get a turn eventually he was fine and came back to his seat.  I can't tell you how relieved I felt.

A few minutes later the teacher asked for the boy in the orange shirt: TA-DAH!  Scott knew it was him and ran right up.  I stayed back and tried to snap a few pictures from afar.  I didn't want to squelch his independence.  

 The teacher started handing out snakes at this point and putting one around each child's neck and shoulders.  I think he could tell by the look on Scott's face (although Scott didn't fully freak out and I was so proud) that he wasn't crazy about a snake around his neck, so he let Scott touch each of them before putting them around another child's neck.

Finally he found the perfect animal for Scott to be in charge of.  A tree frog.  He gave it to Scott in green cloth (thereby making my pictures crap because you can't differentiate frog from cloth) and sent him around the room to show everyone.  Of course Scott came straight for us (Hilary, myself, Parker J., Owen, Auntie Nicole, Ryder and some other friends) but my normally shy guy was so proud to show off this animal.

He proudly took the frog to everyone in the room 4 times a piece.   I watched pretty closely from as far away as possible.  I wanted Scott to feel like I trusted him, which I did, and to feel responsible, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't just a little bit nervous about a repeat of  the fish incident, and only once did I step in and remind Scott to look at how he was holding the frog because the poor thing was being held face down and booty in the air.  Scott did wonderfully and never squished the frog, not even a little.

 Showing cousin Ryder the frog.

It was a wonderful experience and such a proud mommy moment for me.  I am always proud of my kiddos but this is one of those moments that will always stand out in my memory.  To watch Scott feel so sure of himself, so excited to be responsible for something, so proud of himself.  I tear up just writing about it now.  It could have gone so differently, he could have chickened out or felt self conscious after the teacher told him he hadn't been called on yet.  But he didn't, he was patient and he was ready to go again when it was his turn.

If you don't know this already, Scott is exactly me as a child.  Exactly.  I remember feeling all of those feelings that I watch him feel.  Self doubt when he thinks he's in trouble.  It breaks my heart to watch those moments.  Bursting with pride when I watched Scott break out of his shell today is an understatement, I almost exploded with happiness!

Princess

7-13-2007, the night we got engaged

Scott likes looking at our rings and frequently asks to see them/wear them (Brian allows this, I do not).

Last night when I was tucking Scott in he asked who gave me my rings (he already knows the story, he's asked before).  I told him daddy did.

"Why?"

"Because Daddy loves me and wanted us to spend the rest of our lives together and have you."

"And he wanted to make you a princess?"

That's when I died of cuteness!

While Dad was away...

While Brian was on his trip the boys and I held down the fort.

We spent many mornings here....

Doing this...

I know I've raved about Cardio Barre before but seriously, I love it.  Its a great workout. The kids have a great time with their friends in the childcare.  Its an hour of sanity for me.  I'm a work-out-a-holic, I know, but something about getting my heart pumping for that hour gives me more energy and more patience for my kiddos and I really credit this place for helping make me a better mommy (and I credit Brian for making it a part of budget!).  We probably went a few more times than normal over the last few weeks because it forced me to get out of the house and gave me a little break!

 In case there was any doubt that superheroes are a major presence in our household:

 Spidey mask + superman shirt + batman chonies.

Owen waiting for his visit at the pediatrician.  He seriously freaked when I took him off this fish rocker when it was our turn.

Early morning play time without big brother.  He went straight for the superheroes because Scott doesn't always share these well.

Jamba juice was our lunch on more than one occasion while Brian was away.

 This day Owen and I picked it up and brought to school for Scott when he got out.  We had lunch and extra playtime in school yard, what a treat.

Another treat on the same day (yep, it happened) a little fro-yo because we had some time to kill before we could go home. 

Sing and dance party in the kitchen with a popsicle microphone.  Wish the picture had turned out better because it was an awesome time.  This particular picture is of Scott rocking it to Whitney Houston's "your love is my love."  I feel that my choice of music has a limited shelf life, already Scott tells me in no uncertain terms which songs he likes and does not like. 

Scott has been asking to buy me flowers lately when we are at TJs.  Twist my arm.  So there have been a few occasions that I have let him choose a reasonably priced bunch.

Like these beauties, which I'm pretty sure he picked because of the "bucket" they were in.  Either way I love it, Happy Early Mother's Day to me!

And Owen has taken to riding his "bike" (trike).  He basically refuses the stroller if Scott is riding his bike.  I dug out the handle for me to push the trike with (he can't reach the pedals yet) and now I feel that we officially have two cyclists in the house and babyhood is over (tears!).