A Party Just for Owen

 

Owen wanted to have a Packer themed birthday party this year.  Evan can't like the same team as Owen, so for the sake of being an antagonist, he asked Ya-ya to buy him a Viking jersey.  To avoid a war between fans at the party, we changed the theme to just plain Football.

 

For the first hour of the party it was just us, Connor & Chris, Owen Y. with Jackie and baby Wyatt and Owen's friend Christian from school.  We decided to start off with Football Bingo.  The markers were M & Ms.  By the 2nd round, most players decided to just eat the markers and skip the game.

 

Then we decided to try our hands at the piñata.  After at least five times through the line, we finally shook the candy out.  It reminded me a lot of some other piñata experiences.

 

We were expecting a few more kids, so the ones that came left with a lot of loot.

 

We were still holding out for some kids from school, so we continued with the games.

 

Owen's dear friends Dej Chia and Julius showed up just in time for cake.  We were so excited to see them and to meet their dads.*

 

The kids were really excited for Owen to open the gifts they brought and to see what other kids brought.  Julius taught us all about Ben 10, which has now become the new obsession.  Owen Y. made a really cool card and picked out a rockin' guitar that all of my kids have thoroughly enjoyed.  Connor picked a football - what else would you bring to a football party?  Dej Chia brought walkie talkies.  I imagine, someday, she and Owen will have tons of fun with them at a playdate.  Christian brought a model clay project and Zhu Zhu pet, which has been a surprisingly fun.

 
After the gifts were open, the kids let loose running from room to room, checking out all the toys, and playing in a more unstructured manner.  When all was done, I asked Owen to tell me his favorite part.  He said playing Wild Kratts with Dej Chia.  My boy has such a crush on that girl and I can't say I blame him.  She's a great kid and I'm so glad he's made such nice friends at school.

I got this Thank You note idea from the new Family Fun magazine.  I thought it turned out really cute.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!

WE LOVE YOU!


*Thanks for the camera work, Jackie.

Birthday Celebration with Ya-ya & Bumpa

Ya-ya & Bumpa came today to celebrate Owen's birthday.  It's tough having a winter birthday, but sometimes you can still get summer gifts.

 

He also got a Wii drawing board.

He's very proud of his new bike and he's going to need it because this child is already going into a size 8.  At his appointment, he was 58 lbs!

  Evan has been in the habit lately of staying up late again.  Tonight he came downstairs about 11:00 and decided he needed to cuddle Ya-ya.  She fell asleep and he came to watch Bumpa trying out the Wii.  When Ya-ya woke up, Owen was in her bed!  At least they both got a turn to camp out with Ya-ya.

Little Sista

 

Owen really likes the goggles we got him for his birthday.  He wears them all over the house.  He got up this morning and put them on before he ate breakfast, before he even got dressed.

 

Mia loves the cash register Dawn and Alex brought over.  She watches her brothers play with it and tries to do the same.  She holds the scanner up to her ear and says, "Helwo."

 

Mia loves to do everything her brothers do.  She likes to climb up in the computer chair, bang on the keyboard and pull on the mouse.  In fact, if I don't lock the computer before I go answer the phone or make lunch, she will inevitably do something like delete my contact file in my email.*

 

Nobody can leave food on the table anymore either.  When Owen went to school, he left his bowl of Cheerios on the table.  I didn't see it until it was too late.  Mia climbed up in his seat and dug in.  See the splash of milk on her eyebrow?  That was nothing compared to what happened when I tried to take a phone call.

 

 Milk all over the chair.  I have scrubbed it three times with upholstery cleaner and it still stinks and has an odd stiff feeling to it.  Looks like I'll be recovering these again.

 

I bought Little Sista a new pair of boots which have now been the key to me knowing where she is and what she's up to.  When it gets quiet, I know there's trouble.  Unless, of course, she's climbed up into the bunk bed because then she shouts at the top of her lungs to announce that she's there.  

"MOMMA!"

*If I haven't talked to you in awhile, it may be due to Little Sista and her computer skills.

Happy 6th Birthday Owen

 

I went to Owen's school today during afternoon milk break to bring cupcakes for his birthday.  When I got there, they were in gym class.  I remember sitting in lines like these to do exercises.  What I don't remember is getting a squirt of sanitizer on your way into the cafeteria, but I am pleased with the improvement in hygiene.

 

While I was getting the cupcakes ready, the class broke into song.  It was so cute, but I only got 8 seconds of it.

 

I stayed until the end of the day.  I was able to be there for story time and choice time.  According to Mrs. Xiong, his teacher, Owen draws everyday during choice time.  I already knew that from the stacks of evidence in his backpack, but it's still surprising.  A complete 180˚ from preschool when we had to twist his arm just to get him off the couch.

Grandma and Evan had everything ready when we got back home.  Although he seemed unimpressed by the movie and desk at first, they soon became the center of his attention.

While we waited for Jim to get home, we filled the piñata with candy.  The piñata is for the official birthday party on Saturday.

Owen really enjoyed all of his gifts.  We got him a pair of goggles and a winter sport helmet.

He also got a ball and glove in the mail from my aunt and uncle.  Perfect gifts for a 6 year old boy.

Pre-birthday With G & G

 Grandma & Grandpa stopped by tonight to celebrate Owen's birthday a little early.

 We ordered pizza and had brownies.  Owen's had a candle, of course.

 Jim and I took advantage of the situation and decided to go see a movie ("True Grit" - which was excellent) but before we left, Neil gave the boys a little lesson in arm wrestling.

And soon every male in the house was on the floor.

Last Blast Playdate

 

Mia was introduced to dress up today during the last playdate that we will have at our current house.  She wasn't around for the hay day of playdates.  In fact, I think we've only had one other big playdate since she arrived and it was EPIC! Today was suppose to be equally epic, but instead we got yet another colossal snowstorm.  15 inches!  Good thing the playdate was at our house because we would never had made it up the driveway.

 

Those who were able to come today were mostly girls.  I'm not use to having so many girls around.  I guess Evan isn't either.  See him back there?  Quietly reading a book in the middle of a playdate?  What happened to rescue heroes and space adventures and wrestling?

It was kind of replaced with tea and blenders, although Evan used the blender as more of a drill and Maddie preferred her Superman T to the glitz of the dress up clothes.

Owen and Connor kept it real for us, hooting and hollering and running from room to room, throwing balls, etc.  I think all the kids had a really great time and the moms were so thankful for some company on what could have been a long, cooped-up day for all of us.

Regardless of sex or team affiliation, everyone enjoyed the birthday cake I made for Owen.

 

Owen always has to put a lot of thought into his wishes.  Next year I need to remember to prep him for this the night before.  AJ, who is almost 2, was so patient, but you could tell she was kind of confused and thought he might need some help getting on with things.

Owen wouldn't tell me what he wished for, but shortly after lunch, his buddy Owen finally was able to make it through the drifts.  Those smiles look like a wish come true to me.

Cold Day, Warm Pool

Mia has been sick all week and very, very needy.  I've been up with her several times every night and she whines for me all day, even if I'm right next to her.  This morning when she got up, I gave her some books and went down to make a cup of coffee, hoping she wouldn't scream for me the whole time.  When I came back up, I was pleasantly surprised to find her and Evan looking at books together in her crib.  My feet on the creaky stairs alerted her to my film agenda and even though I poked the camera around the corner, she was on to me.

 
 Nina always comes to my rescue.  Just when I think I can't stand it anymore, she's there with her optimistic solutions.  Nina has a membership at the Y and kindly invited us to use one of her guest passes at open swim today.  Getting out of the house and into a (sort of) warm pool, was just what we needed.

Evan and Henry had fun swimming and jumping.  Then they went and asked the lifeguard to turn on the big slide.  To the surprise of all of us, they said they would.  Only bad thing was that the lifeguard wouldn't let Evan go down the slide because she was unsure of his swimming skills.  She happened to be Henry's teacher, so he was good to go.  Evan was a little sad about it as we left.  He tried so hard to show her what a good swimmer he was and this little baby slide just didn't quite cut it.  We've taken a break from swim lessons this winter and won't be starting again until the end of March, so he's a bit out of practice, but I thought he was doing very well.  I told Evan we'd work on it and come back again soon.

Mia really enjoyed the slide the few times she tried it, but you can tell she's just not feeling herself right now.

Thanks for inviting us Nina, Henry & Thea!

Valentine's & Parent Involvement Day

 Until this year, Owen very rarely enjoyed doing projects or making art.  Tonight he spent over an hour making Valentines for his 29 classmates, two teachers, the aide, the principal, vice-principal and his bus driver.

We originally were going to make Valentines on a Stick, but ice skating was so much fun, we ran out of time to go and pick up supplies.  We made these Valentines out of the few craft supplies that I haven't yet packed.

Then we stapled a piece of candy in each one.  Owen didn't think we needed to put candy in them, but this is his first school Valentine experience.

 February 14th is not only Valentine's Day, but it's also African American Parent Involvement Day.  Dr. Vincent likes to make it Parent Involvement Day.  Our whole family was invited to come have lunch with Owen, visit his classroom, and listen to a speaker about how to help your child be successful in school.  We started with the meeting.  After the speech, there were hand-outs.  As I was gathering them, Evan got sick on the library table.  When I turned back, Mia was toddling around the library and Jim and Evan were gone.  Luckily our friends The Barclays were there to help with Mia while we cleaned up the mess and got Evan cleaned up.  Jim took Evan and Mia home and I stayed to have lunch with Owen.  On our way back to the room from lunch, I took this picture of him next to his space project.

 I love how the halls are always filled with student work.

 

Owen's teacher, Mrs. Xiong, does an amazing job of creating independent learning stations.  Today Owen's table, the blimps, worked on ABC Bean Bags.  The bean bags are filled with objects that all begin with the same letters and pellets.  The kids have to find the objects and put them on the corresponding page.  Owen and Dej Chia did a great job of sounding out the words.  Some of them were really hard, like jack-o-lantern and gorilla!

After phonics is DEAR (drop everything and read.)  Owen and I read a book together before I had to head home.  I can't wait to visit his classroom again.

Ice Skating

 

Grandma & Grandpa are back from Florida.  This winter Connie and Owen committed to going ice skating 6 times.  Today I joined them for #5 for Owen and  Evan's second time.  There is an indoor skating rink only a few blocks from C & N's condo. which is good since it was so warm today the ice started to melt.  It was a bit of a shocker after the extreme winter we've had so far.

 Owen is getting to the point where he doesn't need to hold on to the rail or use a trainer.

 Evan used the trainer for his first lap.

 

After that he used the rail, making short jaunts into Grandma's arms.

 Owen had so much fun, we could hardly get him off the ice.  We finally had to give him the "2 more laps" warning.

 

 Evan did great as long as the Oreos lasted.  After each lap, Grandma gave him 1/2 of a cookie.  Once those ran out, he lost some motivation.  And once the Zamboni went through, he was all done.

 

I was there too.  I haven't ice skated since 2004.  I was so determined to capture the moment on film, I didn't even think about how to do it.  I guess sometimes it's better not to think about it.  Just feel it.

More Friends, More Cute Kids

We had some friends over for a dinner party tonight.  The guests are the originators of The Hokey Pokey Project.  Remember the Wishing Tree?  Yeah, them.  They rule.

  And you must remember Action Jackson?  Well, this is his adorable little sister known as Cha Cha.  She and Mia have a competition going for cutest pouty lips.  Cha Cha is 10  months older than Mia and I would LOVE it if Mia could wear her hand-me-downs.  Unfortunately the Aroras make small kids and we make really big ones, so Mia and Cha Cha now wear the same size.  These two sweethearts were angels tonight.  Cuddly and perfect.

Then there were the brothers.  Actually, they were really good too.  That's why I love hanging out with the Aroras.  Not only are their kids sweet, kind, and fun, but so are their parents!  Jackson is about 4 months older than Evan, so the three of them make a perfect team.  They played Rescue Heroes and jumped on the furniture until their parents decided they'd like to be able to hear each other speak.

Yes.  We plopped them in front of the TV so we could have a chance at a conversation.  My mistake?  I put in the movie "Tarzan," which overall is an action-packed boys' fav. at our house, but I forgot how much intense wild animal fighting there was.  Since "Riddle In A Bottle" totally failed to attract their attention from the kamakaze wrestling that was sure to end in tears, I thought Tarzan would.  It did.  Even the adults were drawn to the intense action.  For two families who watch little more than Sprout, we were all in agreement to cut the film short and call it a night.

It was a great night.  As a stay at home mom, I really crave adult conversation.  It's a perk when the conversation is intelligent.  It's even better when my kids can be happily entertained and I can enjoy a delicious glass of wine while I have intelligent conversation.  How lucky we are to have friends like these.

These Kids Crack Me Up

 

We started our day with a visit to our friends Boston & Samantha's house.  Somehow Evan escaped the scope of my camera.

Could have been because Boston spent a good chunk of time playing with it and taking edgy, artistic photos like this one.  This little guy totally has things figured out.  He took off the lens cap, turned on the camera & found the "shoot" button all on his own.

 To distract him, we played several rounds of "I'm a Little Tea Pot."  Mia couldn't resist joining us.  Don't let her serious expression fool you.  She loves "I'm a Little Tea Pot."  This is the You-Can't-Amuse-Me look that Owen often wears.  I have to admit, it comes from me.  However, it comes in really handy if you are ever to be a teacher or marry a guy who thinks he's really funny and you don't want him to get too big of a head even if he is kind of funny.  Where was I?  Oh yeah.  These kids crack me up.

 We had to rush off way too soon from our friends' house because I had to get Owen from the bus.  Luckily I didn't have to bring the whole gang with because my friend Nina came over tonight with her brood.  There's more of a story there, but we'll save it for another time.  Anyway, as I was riffling through Owen's backpack, trying to decide which of the scribbled upon and crumpled up papers were important, I came across this, to which Owen yells, "My cape!"  Yep.  He made this 'OL' logo for his superhero cape.*  How, you might wonder, does a flat piece of paper become a cape.  Easy, Owen explains.  Just roll two pieces of scotch tape towards the top and slap it on your back.  As he went bounding across the dining room, his new beloved cape went fluttering to the floor.

Thea has a really sensitive gag reflux.  Without too many details, we decided she should have a bath before they left.  Mia could not have Thea in the bathtub without her, so they both ended up in there.  Things were going really well...

 and then the pouty lips came out and soon...





they were both bawling.  Mia won best intense cry, but Thea went the distance and bathtime was cut short.  The girls were tired and ready for bed, much to the disappointment of the boys who were playing with headlamps and flashlight in the boys' room through the whole thing.


Sometimes it's the little things in a day that make you look back and smile.

*Owen actually has a monogrammed satin Superhero cape that is really nice which he never wears.  Hmm.