G Court Lake Trip

Our sweet neighbors, the Higleys, rented a boat for an afternoon at Beaver Lake and invited several people from our street to go with them. The kids were beyond excited as they all got new fishing poles and got to skip naps for the day. We had enough amazing food to last us a week, and the swimming and diving off the boat made the time fly by. It was the perfect day to go to the lake and hang out with some fellow G Court-ers!

Cousins

The boys have gotten to see their Oklahoma cousins quite a bit lately, and it's been fun watching them play together. Claire and Owen are still working out their relationship. She wants him to be a baby so she can take care of him, but he's not loving her trying to carry him around. So, they end up just fighting over the same toys and their Papi. Jack and Ethan spend their first hour or so together working through who is in charge. I can't decide if they ever really figure it out, or if they just get tired of fighting. I was able to capture a few of their first interactions together...
They do always end up having a great time together, and there are generally tears when one has to leave the other. So, at least we know they like being together!

A few random pics...

This is what happens when your big brother gets stickers in the mail and mom tries to check her email...


And I admit it...I have been appealing to my boys sense of pride in an attempt to get them to eat... Ethan has weighed a pretty much steady 30 pounds for the last year and a half, and Owen has held steady at 22 pounds for the last 6 months. I know I will never have linebackers, but I still try to get them to eat in whatever way I can. Apparently telling them that each bite makes them stronger and their muscles bigger causes them to eat a little more. Is that bad??! Here is a picture of my much stronger guys with clean plates (and Iron Man symbols drawn on their chests).

Family Pictures

When we were in Stillwater last weekend we were able to get family pictures taken by CAT Photography. Charity took pictures of my brother's family, and they turned out so well we decided we had to copy. In spite of the 104 degree heat, she did a great job of capturing the boys. Thanks, Charity!

My Supermen

My Chef

I have to admit, I am a little slow... For as long as Owen has had the ability to express his desires, he has always wanted to be in the kitchen with me when I am cooking meals. This has boggled my mind b/c for one, I don't want to be in the kitchen, and also b/c Ethan has never had any desire to help out with meals. So I would spend most of my time trying to convince Owen that he really did want to go play with his brother somewhere else... (bad, I know) Finally, after seeing him play "cooking" at Josh and Caylee's house it hit me that he actually wants to cook in the kitchen with me! Craziness. So, I cleared off a shelf in the kitchen for him to have as his counter top and have given him bowls, tongs (his favorite), spoons, and a few lids to pots, and he is as happy as can be. He "cooks" all day long. (apparently he's quite passionate like his brother - just about something totally different!) It's pretty funny to watch b/c he'll say "hot", blow on whatever is in his bowl, stir, and then put the lid back on. We are going to have to figure out what to do with snacks though...I thought he was eating them, only to find an eclectic mixture of crackers, apples, and fruit snacks in his "pots and pans"...gross.

St Louis

We took a short trip to see my brother, Josh, and his wife, Caylee, this past weekend. It had been waaaay too long since we'd seen them, but it didn't take the boys long to be super crazy about them both. They gave us a great tour of the city, took us to an amazing farmer's market & Trader Joe's (YAY!), fed us wonderful food, and played non-stop with Ethan & Owen.

One of the fun (and free) things you can do in the city is go to the Science Museum. The boys had a blast checking out the different exhibits. I think their favorite was the life size T-Rex that roared and moved. Because it was SO hot, we didn't make it to the zoo or botanical gardens, so I think that means that we'll have to go back soon...

16...17 Months

Okay, so I really fell off the blogging wagon with Owen's birth months...July has been a busy month!

Owen continues to entertain us. He's still pushing "ding dings" around the house, and he never, ever sits still. He's really gotten into dancing, and I was able to capture his latest "car seat dance" while we drove to St Louis this past weekend.

It amazes me how much he understands. I have to remind myself that he really does understand what I am saying when he's choosing to do the opposite. The dreaded word "NO" has entered his vocabulary unfortunately! It is fun watching him learn how to communicate in ways other than screaming (although that is quite effective!). My favorite is when he says "Peeese" (please). He has taken several nasty falls and hit his head in the exact same spot every time. I am afraid he's going to have a permanent goose-egg on his head. He is STILL putting everything in his mouth. I really thought he was doing well coloring with markers one day, until...

Owen definitely has a sensitive little heart. The past several weeks when his big brother has gotten into trouble (usually for some offense to his little brother), Owen bawls until he sees that Ethan is okay. He generally asks for his "Bubba" (yes, we're officially Arkansans) first thing in the morning too. I hope that they are lifelong friends...

A Pretty Fabulous (and busy) 4th

We started out our 4th of July weekend by going to 1st Fridays on the Square. We had fun listening to music, seeing friends, and looking at all the things the vendors were selling. Ethan, however, had a one track mind and was dying to jump on a trampoline that was there. Chris, being the sweet dad he is, agreed to wait with Ethan in the LONG line to let him get try it out. They waited an hour, and Ethan was completely stoked...until he actually stood on the trampoline. His "super hero demeanor" completely changed, and he last one jump before they unharnessed him screaming. Ah, well. It was worth a try!

The next night we headed to Missouri to join some friends celebrating an early 4th. There was great food, sparklers, games, a huge tree house, and wide open spaces for our boys to run wild. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures...

On Sunday, the actual 4th of July, we threw an impromptu block party with some of our neighbors. We didn't actually start planning it till the day of, but I was pretty impressed with how well it all came together. We had a ton of great food, a jump house, fireworks and a ton of kiddos running around. Owen didn't stay awake long enough to see the fireworks (he wore himself out running all over the driveway stealing food from people). Ethan did manage to stay up and watch them (in spite of a burnt foot from a sparkler...apparently stepping on them is not a good idea). The weather turned out perfect for the evening, and everyone had a blast.

To wrap up the fun weekend, we spent Monday morning with friends at Miss Pattie's house. The boys swam, played in the sandbox, ate pizza and YUMMY ice cream sandwiches, and went down the inflatable slide about a million times. (THANKS Miss Pattie for having us over!!!)

I really am afraid it's going to take several days to detox from our fun, extended weekend! We're so thankful for such good friends, and this was one memorable holiday that I'm sure we'll be talking about for awhile!

Two ISR Graduates!

I didn't think it would happen, but Owen graduated his swim class this past Friday! Even at the beginning of his last week, he wasn't completing his rolls like he had been the 2nd week of class. But for some reason it all came back very quickly to him. I think he was finally feeling better from his ear infection... He completed all his tests in both summer clothes and winter clothes, and even though he never really enjoyed it, I am so encouraged with how he finished things up. Next spring we'll probably bring him back to an ISR class so he can learn how to add swimming to his sequence. Until then, we're going to practice his float/roll every time we go to the pool and enjoy the water after that! (I didn't get as many good videos of him in his winter clothes, so I included the summer clothes from the day before...)



As a reward for both boys graduating, we took them to Build A Bear Workshop and let them get an animal. (this is something Ethan has wanted to do forever!) Ethan knew exactly what animal he wanted - the panda bear - and when asked what he was going to name him, "X Ray" was the only option. (I have no idea.) Owen attached to his dog early on, but towards the end he was more interested in pulling all the clothes off the hooks.

I have had several people ask me if doing this class was worth is - I believe it was. The time of going every day was a huge commitment, but it flew by and didn't really seem to keep us from doing anything major. Ethan loves the water now and LOVES swimming. As he jumped in to the pool and swam to me over and over this weekend, I was so thankful for the classes. Even though Owen screamed every swim lesson, he still loves the water and wanted to go down the water slide with Chris over and over...so it's a relief knowing we didn't scar him! There is peace of mind knowing the boys know what do if they ended up the water unexpectedly, but it hasn't made me any less obnoxious about trying to make sure it doesn't happen. (that probably will never go away!) The cost of the classes is the only hang-up I still have about it all. It's hard trying to convince people to spend that much on a swim class when floaties or a life jacket seem to be just fine right now. I do, however, think that it's hard to put a price tag on preparing you child as well as you can for an unforeseen accident, so for that reason I am at peace with the money spent.

Going forward, we'll spend the rest of the summer enjoying the pool! Ethan won't wear floaties or anything from here on out. (which has been one small downside b/c I can't just let him go to the "big pool" with his friend's in floaties by himself b/c he's not completely self sufficient in the water...but I know he'll get there...) It's been easy to practice his skills since swimming is all he wants to do. With Owen, we'll have to get him to roll once every time we go to the pool, but he'll be able to spend time in "flotation devices" since he didn't learn to swim. We may send Ethan for a refresher course when Owen goes back to learn to swim this next spring. And we'll probably enroll Ethan in some sort of swim class next summer so he can start learning the different strokes, etc. I'm realizing that this education will be ongoing! For now, we wrap up this chapter of the boys swimming education!!! Thanks for reading. :)

Pa Pa & Papi

The boys got to see both of their grandpas this past week. As Ethan would say, "It must be my lucky day!"
My parents came into town to watch the boys swim and to celebrate an early Father's Day. Of course my wonderful dad watched the boys while my mom and I did a little shopping, and then he hung blinds for me in my office. Happy Father's Day to me! Thanks Dad, for being so wonderful!
We then went to see Pa Pa David on Saturday to celebrate Father's Day with him and his birthday. We swam on the creek, the guys played some pool (pretty sure Pa Pa has continued his winning streak...), and we enjoyed a feast prepared by Aunt Kerri (man, she's a good cook!). Owen was in heaven as Pa Pa let him drive around in the truck. Of course he's spoiled now, because he thinks he should be able to drive all the time!

Week #5 of Swim Lesson Complete

Ethan graduated from his swim lessons this past week! He finished out his lessons with swimming in jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt, and a heavy fleece hoodie. Other than swimming slower, he seemed really unaffected by the extra clothing. I can't believe how far he's come in the past month. Seeing his new love of swimming and confidence in the water, has really made this commitment all worth it. And it's been really nice to have peace of mind when he's by water knowing that he can swim. Now we have the summer ahead to enjoy the pool!



(these videos were so large, I couldn't upload video of Owen last week...)

We closed out week 5 a little concerned about Owen and his lack of progress. Poor Miss Courtney was losing some serious sleep! We're realizing that in the middle of week 3 (when his regression started) he probably got an ear infection. It took me a week and half to realize that it wasn't teething or allergies and to get him into the doctor. (bad mom!!!) The doctor said the infection was pretty bad, so the pressure of rolling under water was probably pretty painful. Which would explain why he was suddenly freezing up mid-roll. So, now he's had a week on antibiotics, and seems to be feeling much better. He has started this week out rolling like he used to - praise the Lord! I am hopeful that he'll finish out his final week of lessons getting his roll back down and getting comfortable in the water...

Lily's Baptism

Last weekend we had the honor of being a part of my newest niece's baptism. Jon and Katie asked Chris and I to be her godparents, so for our very first Anglican church service we walked down the aisle with Lily to present her to the priest. I held Lily as she was baptized, and it was one of the most moving moments of my life. We are pretty new to this whole godparent thing, but as we have learned a little more about our role, I think it is really amazing that I have the privilege of being tied to my niece in this way. We look forward to celebrating this day with her for years to come!
While we were in OKC for the weekend, we got to stay with Grandma Debbie. The boys loved drinking peach water, watching tv on the patio, and getting a few extra Oreo cookies than normal!
We also got to cook out with the Dodson family, and we had a blast watching the kids play and have fun with each other. As always, the time together was too short.

Blueberry Picking

We took a trip to Booberry Farms last week to do some blueberry picking with some good friends. The kids were so excited to grab their buckets and to see how quickly they could fill them up with blueberries. (Owen was more excited about the bucket than anything.) The excitement of the picking wore of quickly, and they ended up running all over the place while the moms obsessively attempted to get their moneys worth of berries. (we seriously had a hard time stopping!) We all had a blast, and we have enough blueberries to last us a long time...

Swim Lessons - Week #4

We close out week #4 very encouraged! Owen still doesn't love floating in the water, but I have to remind myself that the focus with him is more on survival than recreation. If he fell in the water, I want him to be able to survive till he can be pulled out. We can work on the having fun as we go to the pool as a family. All that to say, he's got his floating down, and he's doing about 90% of his roll on his own. Miss Courtney said he'll more than likely perfect that this week, and then they'll move on to him doing the roll/float in various forms of clothing.



Ethan, however, is LOVING being in the water! It's crazy how much his attitude has changed in just the last week. On Thursday of this week (just one week after he finally decided swimming wasn't so bad), he initiated rolling from his back into a swim by himself. So now he can do the complete sequence of swimming to floating on his back to swimming all on his own. Miss Courtney said that he will more than likely graduate this coming week. She'll start the week by having him swim in some swim gear, and the she'll move up to various forms of clothing. If he's able to do his swim/float/swim sequence in clothing, then he'll be done with lessons! Just completing what we have thus far, really makes me so excited about the upcoming summer and some serious time at the pool!

My Super Heroes

Owen is starting to enjoy dressing up as much as Ethan does. We had a morning this week where they were both every super hero we had a costume for. It is certainly no big surprise that Owen can already say "Batman" and "Ironman"!

15 Months

Owen is almost 16 months now, but I am determined to keep up the monthly updates on him...even if they are a tad late...

It's been a fun month with this guy. He's getting more words in his vocabulary and starting to communicate in ways other than screaming. My favorite new word(s) is "one more" while he holds up his pointer finger during swim lessons. Another favorite is what he named his favorite stuffed bunny - "Bun Bun". He's obsessed with lawn mowers and weed eaters. For some reason he calls them "ding dings", and he will walk all over the house pushing different objects making his mower sounds. He's still obsessed with accessories...a pair of sunglasses or a hat will make his day. He keeps wearing baseball hats pulled down really low while "mowing" and running into walls. Inevitably, several times a day I'll hear "vroooooom"...thump...and then crying. I can't help but laugh. It is amazing what all he understands even though he can't verbalize it yet. He knows exactly what Oreos, M&Ms, and Sonic are...he's definitely a second born. Pretty sure Ethan just learned what those all were last year.

Week #3 of Swim Lessons

We close out week three of swim lessons with somewhat of mixed emotions... Owen seems to have a hit wall. He's still floating well, and he rolls over pretty much on his own. But he still seems to hate every minute of being in the water. I am hoping he starts enjoying it more. He's still not showing any signs of being physically ready to swim, so I think Miss Courtney is going to keep working on the float/roll sequence. I have to keep reminding myself that we're only half way through lessons...



Ethan on the other hand has really turned a corner. This past Thursday it was like he suddenly realized he could do this and it could be fun! You could see it on his face... Friday he had his first lesson where he didn't cry at all, and yesterday we went swimming as a family and all he wanted to do was swim back and forth from me to wall. He kept tell me to scoot further way from the wall! It is so amazing seeing a newly formed confidence form in your kid. Miss Courtney said that this coming week she's going to work with Ethan on perfecting his float/roll/swim/float sequence. He's got the individual pieces of it down, and now it will be putting them together so he can do them all seamlessly without prompting.

Oregon 2010

My sweet, wonderful, amazing, spectacular husband sent me to Portland, OR last week for my Mother's Day gift. Every year several of my dear college friends and I try to get together, and this year it worked out for some of us to visit Kobie in Portland. Kobie rented a condo at Cannon Beach, and the four of us relaxed for four whole days. We drank a ton of amazing coffee, drank a little wine :), and ate a way too much pizza. (We found this great little pizza place that we ended up eating at every day...) There was shopping, walks on the beach, amazing conversation, naps, and no one we needed to cut food up for! I left with a list of books I need to read, music I need to listen to, my "mom batteries" recharged, and some wonderful memories. I am so thankful for such dear friends!

Week #2 of Swimming Lessons

The boys completed their second week of swimming lessons, and it really seems like they're making some good progress. The week started out with Owen continuing to learn how to float, and Ethan learning to float after "mastering" swimming to the wall. They then moved on to rolling...they started it mid-week while I was out of town, so I missed the early stages. But they both seem to be doing really well. Miss Courtney said they're both doing about 80% of the roll without assistance. Pretty cool stuff!