Happy Easter

Easter morning, finding eggs...

Sneaking chocolate for breakfast...

Smiling...

Celebrating...

Reminiscing...







Holy blog-slacker!

My goal when I started this blog was to try to post once or twice a week. Well, it's been over 2 weeks since my last post, and I just know that my hundreds of five followers are devastated! It's been a very busy couple of weeks with preschool, Reader's Theater, playdates, birthday parties, swim lessons, and a BIG birthday bash! Not to mention just the general, everyday trying-to-maintain-some-sort-of-sanity in this house (i.e. keeping Olivia from tackling her brother 5,000 times a day).

It was Owen's 1st birthday!

We had his big 1st birthday party last Sunday at our neighborhood's clubhouse with a ton of family and friends! Here are some of Aunt Melanie and Gaga's pictures. We had so much fun, though Owen was not a big fan of his cake AT ALL!  He was so tired by the end of the party that we opened presents the next day. And when I say "we" I mean "I"... as this is how he opened his first present...

Last Thursday was an absolutely gorgeous day! I took the kiddos to Gaga and Pap Pap's for the day so that we could play in their big backyard! We also went to story time at the local library with Pap Pap and Callie...

And last, but certainly not least, Olivia's preschool's Art and Music Festival was on Friday.



It's really a shame she's so shy, isn't it?!?

Owen is crawling like a madman and pulling-to-stand on his own, and Olivia is... Olivia. :) Her latest little imaginative pastime is pretending to be her favorite characters, and pretending that all the rest of us are, too. Just a few examples... "Olivia! Stop pushing your brother so fast!"  She responds, "Yes, Wicked Stepmother."  In the morning when she wakes up, she usually will not get out of bed, but calls for us to let us know she's awake. This morning she yells, "Princess Presto! It's morning time!" (a character from Super Why). Last weekend at a friend's daughter's birthday party, she was referring to her brother so much as Wyatt (again, from Super Why) that the little girl's grandfather told my husband how much he loved the names we had chosen for our children, Olivia and Wyatt. :) She's just such a trip.

Anyway, my kids are nuts and I'm one tired Mommy... but I wouldn't want it any other way! OK, maybe I wouldn't mind a few minutes of down time every now and then... but I just don't think it's going to happen until the kiddos (or at least Olivia :) ) are in school. I just take a deep breath and remind myself to enjoy it, even in the tough moments, because I know they're going to be grown before I know it!



Happy birthday, Owen!

You are one year old today, Baby Boy! Happy birthday! It is so hard to believe. Time really has flown by with you! You are getting so big... about 23 pounds or so. You were always a big boy, even in my belly! Maybe that's why you decided to surprise us 5 weeks earlier than you were due to arrive! :) We already knew you were a boy, and that moment we found out... I was SO happy and so surprised! I remember I just looked at Daddy, both of us crying, and I said "Adam! We're having a boy"! I must have asked the ultrasound technician three different times if she was positive... I thought for sure Daddy was going to be stuck with all girls! :) I asked them to double-check at every ultrasound thereafter, and still don't think I really believed it until you came out of my belly and I got to see you and hold you. Our sweet baby boy, Owen Emilio. Oh, how we had prayed for you! We were so lucky.

You were big for 35 weeks, bigger than your sister was at 38 weeks. You had some minor breathing issues that they wanted to keep an eye on, so you spent your first week in the NICU. You were already so sweet and easy-going, and you just kept getting sweeter after we took you home. Your big sister had a bit of a tough adjustment when you came home, as she just didn't know what to make of you. She loved and adored you from the moment she saw you, probably even before that... she was just having some trouble not being the only baby in the house anymore. It took her some time to get used to the idea, but once she did... oh my, does she love you. And oh boy, do you love her! I think she is your favorite person in the world! I just love hearing you laugh at her! You have this big belly laugh anytime she does anything that you think is funny... you give yourself hiccups (Olivia does that, too!). It is just so funny. You also go crazy when Daddy gets home from work, kicking your legs and waving your arms, saying "Da da da da." Your first babble was "Na na na," I'm guessing because you hear me say "No" alot to your sister. :) Then came "da da," "ma ma," "ga ga," and "ba ba." You just started crawling up off of your belly and learned how to put your basketball in the hoop and clap. You are so proud of yourself! :)

You love Mickey Mouse, and go crazy when he comes on the tv! You love music, peek-a-boo, (especially with Olivia!) patty-cake, playing with your toys- especially your steering wheel, (just like Daddy did when he was little!) your Alphabet train, basketball hoop, your little Mickey Mouse books, your blocks, and pretty much anything you can bang together or bang on to make some noise. :)

Owen, you are the HAPPIEST baby I have ever seen. You have been SUCH a good, sweet, easy-going little boy, who will just go with the flow, though I have to say that I'm starting to see some real silliness and fire in you, just like your big sister. :) You were a good sleeper pretty early on, and your special nite-nite song is "You Are My Sunshine," just like it was your sister's. We are starting to see some of your personality really come out, and you aren't letting Olivia push you around as much anymore. :) There are no words to tell you just how much we love you. God couldn't have made a more perfect little boy for this family. Oh, how we have enjoyed watching you learn and grow this first year. Our hearts and our world are so incredibly full with you in them. We love you more than anything in the whole, wide world, baby boy!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Do you see Mommy's big belly? This was Easter Sunday, the day before you arrived. :)

We finally meet! :)

You with Mommy and Daddy

Such a precious boy

Your big sister was so proud and happy!

Our first family picture

Six months old

Your first haircut

Such a happy boy!

Big boy!

Love, laughter, loss, lessons...

Saturday was an absolutely wonderful day. Daddy, Owen, and Papa all stayed home to get some work done on the house, and I took my baby big girl to swimming lessons. Afterwards, we headed over to Kristen's house for a big playdate/get-together with my best girlfriends in the whole world. My BFF, Renee, was in town for the weekend, and it's not often at all anymore that we all are able to get together. The kiddos had so much fun together, and we had some much needed, (and long overdue) girl time.

Blake rockin' out

Sweet Serena

Gavin

Skyler

Livy lovin' Serena

Serena lovin' Smith :)

Olivia playing with all the baby dolls

Cheese!

Michael

Davis (who would not let me get near him with the camera) and Michelle

There is just nothing like spending time with your best friends. The girls who have been there for you, WITH you, through just about everything you can remember. Some of these girls I have literally been friends with since we were born, as our parents are all friends. One of these girls has been my best friend since we were in the 7th grade... which was... wait for it... 1986 (DEAR LORD!). Twenty-five years. Wow. And another I have been close with since we were sorority sisters at Duquesne, so we're talkin' 16 years. When I sit back and think about these friendships... it's amazing. I am so lucky. So lucky to call these women my friends. So lucky to have unconditional love, trust, support, and pretty much anything else I need from them. Life sure has changed over all of these years... we are all grown up, married, children... yes, that changes everything alot. But one of the constants in my life, along with my family, is my friendship with these girls.

I pray my kids have friends like these. Life-long, always there for you friends, who know you inside and out (and love you anyway!). It's still hard sometimes, when we're all together, not to feel some emptiness that one of us is missing from the gathering. It's hard not to think about what she'd be doing right now... if maybe she would have a little one who would be playing with our kids... what she'd be doing or saying to make us laugh so hard that we cried... and so many other things simply too numerous to mention. It's coming up on five years that she unexpectedly left this life too soon. We love you and miss you every day, Jenn.

There are so many lessons I've learned from her... but that's another post for another time. For today, the biggest lesson of all is to "forgive and give as if it were your last opportunity. Love like there's no tomorrow, and if tomorrow comes, love again." -Max Lucado

Friday Funnies

I attempted to recreate the following conversation on video, but it just wasn't the same. Oh, how I wish you could hear the drama and inflection in her words! :)

"Mommy... no sticker today"!

"Oh no, Olivia... what happened"?

"Fiiirst, Shepherd and I were not listening with the corn. I spilled it ALL over the floor, and Ms. Lora had to vaccuum it all up!  Neeeeext, I was not listening when I was painting the butterfly with my hand. And laaaast, I took off my shoes and socks." 

Well... at least she understands sequence of events... right?

And for the record, Miss Olivia HAS gotten a good listening sticker almost every school day since this post. :)