Amazingly, she stayed put today during pool playgroup.
Thought it may have helped that I was tossing her crackers, blueberries, and a donut hole to go with her milk and water. 🙂
Category Archives: Mommy Groups
Pool party!
Well, I’m doing much better than I had anticipated…and life goes on (are you sensing a theme here?)…so we’re having a pool playgroup today! Not everyone could come, but two moms (each who just had husbands come home recently!) and three kids will be great!
Pool Play Group
Our mommy play group schedule is off a little in the summer so basically someone just says “Hey, we’re headed to the beach!” or “Come on over…I’m getting out the water slide!” So today I had the group over for a pool party! We even had a new dad join our group!! (Ironically, it turns out he lives two streets over from us! This was the first group event he came to.)
It’s impossible to get five kids in a pool to stay still for a picture!
Owen in his new favorite goggles (from Amazon, of course). Get them here: Aqua Sphere Seal Kid Swim Goggle
And Katie did REALLY well! I was going to put her down for her nap around 11 when people arrived…but she wasn’t really tired so I put her in her cage 🙂 and she was happy enough and did really well until about 12 when she got hungry and then I put her down about 12:30 (and she napped until 4!).
Water slide, kids, and cake
We went to a mommy group water slide play date today and Owen was in heaven (which I was glad to see he wasn’t spoiled by the Great Wolf Lodge experience). He got to play in a new pool and on a new water slide…WITH KIDS! 🙂
There was a bit of drama (with six kids from age 2-6 with three of them being girls) but Owen handled himself pretty well. And then by cake time everyone was happy and getting along again.
And I think Owen was the instigator of the frosting-on-the-face game…but they all were giggling like crazy.
Deckwarming & Katie’s Third First Birthday
Today was the big day of our Deckwarming party (and Tom’s going away party) as well as a mini celebration of Katie’s first birthday (technically her third first birthday as we already celebrated in Michigan, then she had her actual birthday on the 10th, and then today’s gathering). It was a long, hot, tiring—yet fun—day.
Party-prep is so much work—it never seems like stuff will take that long…but it always does. I was VERY thankful to have hired Virginia to come watch the kids while we did the prep because then I didn’t have to listen to Katie screaming because I wasn’t paying attention to her…and I was actually able to get stuff done! I loved what Virginia posted on Facebook—it’s classic Owen:
As usual, we had too much food (or maybe just not enough people?!) but then, I’m a Len and we apparently don’t know how to cook for less than 40 people (or are paranoid about not having enough food regardless of the number of people). 🙂 But everything was delicious.
The weather actually held out—it was touch and go for awhile with intermittent thunderstorms pretty much all morning and early afternoon—but it cleared up about 4 and was sunny and gorgeous (though the humidity was right at about 99%).
We had a good blend of old (Mitchells and Trimbles) and new friends (from my mommy group) and the kids had a blast in the playroom and in the pool.
Then it was time for the birthday cake. I had wanted to do something special for Katie so she didn’t fall into that “second kid gets squat compared to the first kid” thing PLUS after Owen’s Lego cake debacle I had decided I was never attempting to bake a cake again…so I asked our friend Ursula to make a cake. She has recently started making and decorating cakes and she’s ABSOLUTELY AMAZING (as opposed to my first attempt—see above Lego debacle post). Here’s the picture I sent her (that I found on Pinterest) along with her version on the right (I asked for the 1 on top instead of the ladybug and only two layers):
Amazing, right?
Also a big thanks to mommy-group friend Jacqueline who helped with my last-minute ice cream request (Doh! How could we have forgotten ice cream on our three trips to town?!) and pre-party kitchen cleanup (she arrived during the last 15-minute rush to get everything done, saw I was a bit overwhelmed, and jumped in to wash the sink full of dishes).
Some of the kids playing dress up:
Having a blast in the pool:
Wandering:
She made such a mess that we had to hose off the deck (thanks, Roger!) and give her a quick bath in the sink with Dawn detergent (I hadn’t planned ahead to have baby soap downstairs). Here she is somewhat cleaned up, back with Virginia again.
Since Owen was having so much fun in the pool and with the kids, we let him stay up late. This is about 9:30 right before he finally went to bed.
Thanks to everyone who shared the day with me and Tom!! And you can tell we’re all getting older…everyone had gone home by 10:15!! 🙂
Water slide!!
Today we went to a friend’s birthday party (the husband of one of the mommy group moms) and they had borrowed a huge inflatable water slide. Owen just wanted to splash in the water…but eventually started going down the slide. And then we couldn’t get him off! He was SO happy! And it was great to watch!
When it was time to go, we asked him how many more times he wanted to go down the slide and he stopped and was really putting some thought into it. His answer? TEN! 🙂
Then on the way home he kept asking about the water slide and saying he wanted to go back to it. I’m sure he’ll get to go on it again since we have play dates at the house that owns it. 🙂
Katie’s first playgroup mishap
So we were all outside at playgroup. Of course Katie didn’t want to sit still in my lap so I just let her go. At first she was content to just sit there.
But then she was OFF LIKE A SHOT and was obviously THRILLED to be free and had a ball zipping around, through the gardens, over obstacles, always looking back at me and giggling. See her?
All the boys had bats and were hitting balls off tees. We had to turn them around a few times so they weren’t hitting them toward Katie. Then another mom grabbed Katie from under the trampoline so I took her.
Just then, one of the little boys tried to hand me a ball and asked if I’d play catch with him. I said “How about I toss you the ball and you can hit it?” Of course not expecting my throw to be anywhere good enough OR for him to hit it like a major leaguer. Yep—CRACK!!—direct line drive to Katie’s head (in my arms). It was a plastic ball so obviously not life-threatening, but still obviously a painful shock.
I wasn’t mad or anything—I mean, it was totally my fault—but who thinks a 4yo could hit like that?! The kid’s mom felt awful. She said “I should have warned you he can really hit.” And he was so cute. He came up and said “I kept my eye on the ball!” I said “Yes, you did, and you did a good job. It was my fault. You’re not in trouble.”
She was totally fine and didn’t cry for too long…and just developed a big round red welt after a bit.
Weekend Babysitter
The kids had their first non-family member weekend babysitter while we were in DC—she’s the mom/nanny I found on SitterCity that introduced me to the mommy group.
Thankfully Owen has outgrown his major issue with us leaving and was completely okay with Amy (and her daughter) coming over to stay. It also probably helped that he sees her every week at play group.
He wanted to wait on the porch for them and when they pulled in, he excitedly screeched “Miss Amy’s here!” 🙂 Tom arrived shortly after they did and when he walked in, Owen pointed at Amy with a sweeping arm motion and said “Daddy! Looook!” It was adorable.
Then we were off and Owen barely even noticed or cared! YAY! On the way up, Amy texted this picture:
Awww! So cute! She said “They are just both so great. Owen is SO polite!” And she said he was calling her Sir Amy because he went on missions and reported back to her. They set up perimeters in the back yard. Soldiers manning the slides, all safe. That’s SO him. 🙂
Saturday morning I got this picture, saying her daughter braved the morning swim:
Later that day—“Airing out the babes.” 🙂
I told her I’d never even taken both of them out together! She’s hired! (I asked her later who was in which stroller and she said Owen was too squished in the small stroller so Katie went in that one and he went in the bigger stroller but that it was a tight fit. I’m impressed he fit at all—I would have made him walk! But, she said snacks and drinks were a necessity!)
Amy had also brought one of her dogs over—which Maggie LOVED! Owen wasn’t too sure at first because she’s a big dog…but Saturday evening I got this text:
“These two have become quite the pals!” (She told me later that the dog would follow Owen around the backyard as he played, and Owen would stop to pet her and incorporate her into his imaginative scenarios.) YAY OWEN!!
Then I got a text saying the barter box* was full:
*Part of Amy’s payment is a box of goodies from our huge pantry. We first did it when she watched Maggie one weekend and Amy was game for another surprise box!
Our wide-awake cutie:
We made it home about 3:45, but only for long enough to get ready for our dinner at the General’s house at 6. We didn’t want to confuse Owen (or possibly start a tantrum by him seeing us leave again) so Amy took the kids out for ice cream while we rushed in and out.
We got home—FOR GOOD—at 9:45. Amy said both kids were VERY good, that Owen is incredibly polite and has extremely good manners, and that Katie was attached to Amy’s daughter at the hip all weekend. 🙂
It was AMAZING not having to worry one bit about the kids all weekend. I am eternally grateful to have found Amy.
And as a word of warning to the grandparents: the bar has been raised…we now expect texts and photos when you guys babysit the kids! :p
A friend in the pool
After play group today, Amanda and Xander stayed so the boys could go in the pool. Xander is two…and wasn’t quite sure—for the first hour anyway—about the whole thing. But he eventually went in. They were having a blast splashing each other.
Later, Amanda texted me:
Thank you again so much for today. Xander has not stopped talking about playing with Owen since he woke up.
Xander just adores Owen and it’s sooo cute to watch…
How Owen eats a cinnamon roll
Yep, just the frosting. 🙂
Cruisin’ in the Caddy
Owen and Jocelyn at play group this morning. He could have driven but chose to ride.
What a morning.
So the things I expected yesterday that didn’t happen…happened this morning as I was prepping to host play group.
Yeah, while I wasn’t looking, Owen was laying on the floor trying not to poop…and left a nice puddle of diarrhea on the carpet because it overflowed the pull-up. 😐
Then he was so messy he needed a quick wash and rinse, which meant Katie had to go to her crib and MY GOD you would have thought I set her in hot lava for all the screaming.
Aaaaand we’re screwed!
Katie learned how to zoom up stairs today at play group!
And this was about an hour before, after we first arrived at play group…Katie was being majorly loved on by both daughters of the host. 🙂
And this was shortly before leaving… New bows! I didn’t really want to start them this early, but damn if she isn’t adorable in them!
Easter Egg Hunt
Today was Owen’s first honest easter egg hunt with a bunch of kids! One of the moms in my mommy group had organized a get-together with some of her neighbors and the mommy group moms. I am SOOO glad we decided to go… It was the first time Tom had seen Owen with more than a handful of kids—and it was amazing.
This was his slam dunk:
Tom trying to show Owen how to hit the ball:
He did, but then that was it and he was off to the next thing:
The start of the egg race, which was taking place to keep the kids out of the back yard while the older kids were hiding the eggs:
Slow but steady…
Race over, no one cared who won!
Getting ready to go hunt for eggs!
Rushing in! Half the kids came in each side of the yard. Owen was just thrilled—and it was hilarious because he could see other eggs while he was picking up the ones in front of him, but had a hard time actually getting the ones in front of him because he was so enamored with seeing all the other eggs that he wasn’t close to yet!
He even braved the bouncy house (which he DOES NOT like to play in) because there were a handful of eggs inside!
His successful haul!
The entire gaggle of kids! I think the youngest was 2 and the oldest was 6.
A family shot, taken by a friend. (Then I took their family shot—she’s like me and rarely is in the photos!)
Owen torturing the girls on the trampoline with a fake snake! They were all screaming and he was just laughing and having a great time.
Swinging the snake around. All I could think of was my mom telling me how her brother did that to her WITH REAL SNAKES when they were kids…
Then he got all sneaky and shoved the snake through the opening in the side of the net. He was so proud of himself! What a stinker!
Then, right as we were getting ready to leave, they were handing out popsicles. Owen didn’t want one, but then asked a little girl if he could have a bite of hers. The mom was standing there (and knows about Owen’s food issues) so told her daughter it was okay. So Owen took a bite! He didn’t love it, but at least he tried it!
Proud Mama
I have to say I’m very proud of Owen. All the moms at play group today complimented me on how well-behaved and gentle he was with the other kids. 🙂
He’s such a good kid!
Really? Those shoes?
So we were on our way to mommy group so I told Owen to go put on some shoes, fully expecting his orange crocs like he always picks. So imagine my surprise when I saw these…shoes he’s always hated to wear.
A MINI QUICHE!
We were at the mom’s play group and Owen willingly tried a mini sausage, egg, and cheese quiche!! HOLY SHITBALLS! You should have seen my silent screaming hand-waving happy dance behind him as he was eating it!! 🙂
He only ate two bites (half of the piece) but still. Another new food! Woohoo!!
Different shades of brown.
One of the moms in my group had a GREAT explanation for the “difference” (not really) between black and white skin.
Evie asked me a question after MLK day. Many would find it difficult to explain… but this is what I said. I held a white towel against my arm and asked if they matched. She laughed and said, “no”. I held a black towel and asked her if anyone she knew resembled the towel. Again, she laughed and said, “no”. I explained that we are all just different shades of brown. Flesh, blood and bone. Full of emotion, love and tenderness. We are all the same, just a different shade!
I thought that was simply awesome—and a perfect way to handle what could be a potentially uncomfortable or awkward question. The next day, this photo was making the rounds on Facebook and I thought it was apropos to her explanation.
Off to playgroup!
I forgot to mention…I am now part of a mom group that has weekly play dates! A sitter that I met through SitterCity invited me to join after we REALLY hit it off! I love all the moms there so I am VERY excited to be a part of it! We switch hosting duties and I offered after my first visit!
Here’s the kids before we were off for the morning. Because it was CHILLY, Katie was in a cold-weather 6m outfit…
and Owen was in his MSU jacket!
Play group Owenisms
Watching a kid wave a fork around in the vicinity of his B:
Mom! He’s going to eat my B!
Seeing that a kid has emptied his bin of cars:
Mom! He messed up all my cars!
A Busy Day
First we had mom’s group from 10-noon and then we had physical therapy from 3-4. I never specifically woke the boy up, but he still didn’t nap as well as he normally does…so at the moment, I’m waiting for him to fall asleep (he was out within two minutes of leaving PT, but since I moved him to the pack-and-play when we got home, he woke up).
The mom’s group topic was sleep, and surprisingly, I didn’t have much to say or ask about…since Owen really is doing pretty well. The guest’s basic philosophy on everything was “If you like it and/or it works for you, go ahead and do it” — whether that means having them sleep in a car seat or having to take them on a car ride to get them to nap. While I agree with that to a certain extent, I draw a line at using anything really odd to get him to sleep. That said, he is apparently an easy baby since he goes down without a fight (most of the time).
It makes me feed bad (and good!) to hear what some of the other moms are going through sleep-wise…babies that can’t self-soothe at all or who have to be rocked to sleep before being put in the crib. Or babies who scream for an hour first or have to be walked around to calm down. Egads. I guess we have it easy. Most of them are still getting up at night, too, for at least one feeding—so I’m not alone. Of course, there is also a mom or two with a baby that sleeps from 7-7 or 10-8.
The hardest part of the group for me is seeing all the other babies rolling over or stretching themselves up on their arms or sitting up well on their own…since Owen is not quite there yet. Yeah yeah yeah I know all babies are different but it still stinks to see most of them ahead of him. A lot of the babies are also eating a lot of real food—like an entire baby jar at a time! They were surprised when I told them that Owen doesn’t really want anything to do with food—or that we just haven’t found the right food yet. He seems to want to eat (he opens his mouth when he sees the spoon) but he hasn’t liked any of his options yet. I happened to mention it to the physical therapist and she said by six months (which is next week!) he really should be eating some amount of solid foods…and said if he doesn’t start soon, she might recommend I talk to a specialist! Egads. Of course, I need to ask the pediatrician about it next week at his six-month appointment.
So, the physical therapy. She said he’s doing better. He rolls to one side much better than the other, so we have to keep working on that (he still doesn’t roll over on his own, except for a happy accident now and again). He has good neck and leg strength and his arm strength is getting better. We had thought today might be the last appointment for awhile, but after seeing him today, she said still wants to continue to see him. At least we have moved the appointment time to 3pm instead of 7am (although, honestly, I might like the 7am better because it’s MUCH quieter and cooler in there).
Owen & Elliot
Elliot is one of the babies from my mom’s group. Us moms meet every other Monday (officially), and on the “middle” Mondays we try to meet at someone’s house as well—just to get out of the house and get to know each other better. Today was a middle Monday that, unbeknownst to me, got cancelled…but the mom (Angie!) didn’t mind when I showed up on her doorstep, and we hung out for a bit…as did the boys! Aren’t they just adorable? I think Elliot is a few weeks (maybe a month) older than Owen.
