This is the rainbow Owen drew way back here—it finally came home!
Year: 2014
Cute lil’ snacker
Katie loves Owen’s birthday balloons
Katie’s words
Awesome
Bath
Bite
Bubbles
Cheese
Chicken butt
Elmo now sounds less like Alno.
Mess
Monkey
Mouth
Nose
Toes
Wipes
Owen’s birthday and dinner
We picked Owen up from school then took the kids to the playground.
Then heading into dinner:
And the wait staff singing their version of happy birthday was a little loud:
Owen’s five-year well-visit
Height: 47-1/4″ — was 45″ at 48m (greater than 100th percentile)
Weight: 66.5# — was 51# at 48m (greater than 100th percentile)
The doc said overall he did well, but his vision is on the low side of normal (so watch that) and according to kids’ BMI charts, he is obese—he’s “off the charts” (over 99%). (Which, looking back and seeing he gained 15# since last year—HOLY WAH.)
I admit he could be thinner (even though he’s big for his age) but I honestly never thought he would be classified as obese. 😐
So, we need to start watching what he eats…but I’m guessing he’ll thin down a bit once summer rolls around and he’s out playing and running around more.
Owen is 5 years old today!
Where has the time gone?
Serious Owen.
The post-party party
We had the gang over after the gymnastics party so we could hang out and visit—with everyone’s busy schedules (and with Trimble’s living back on base instead of in the same neighborhood) we rarely get together anymore. We ordered pizza for dinner and had a few drinks while the kids played. We had Owen open his gifts sporadically throughout the night and then had him blow out candles on his cake (I had forgotten candles for the gymnastics party). He loved opening his presents and pretty much every response to every gift was an excited “WHAT!?!!” It was super cute.
Then he opened his big gift from us—a used iPhone 4—and he looked at it like “Huh?” and immediately said “Daddy, this is yours!” and tried handing it to him. He completely didn’t understand that it was for him, even after I showed him the Lego Indiana Jones wallpaper. He was just too excited about all the other Lego/Ninjago/Star Wars stuff. We should have kept it until after all the excitement of the day was over.
Building one of the smaller Lego sets he got:
Taking his birthday picture…that I didn’t technically need to do because it wasn’t his actual birthday!
Happy 5th birthday, Owen!
We had Owen’s 5th birthday party at one of the local gymnastics places. We invited his entire class (16 kids) as well as our friends. Half of his class RSVPed (of which two asked to bring other siblings, which was fine) and I was annoyed but honestly pretty impressed that we got a 50% response rate. However, of those eight that RSVPed, four didn’t show…two of which were the ones that asked to bring extra kids. 😐 So that cost me extra because I opted to go with the 25+ kids plan (which allowed for another employee to be scheduled) because we were right on the line with RSVPs and I figured we’d likely get some that would show up without having RSVPed. So we ended up with 15 kids total instead of 23. Oh well, it’s only money, right? And Owen had fun so that’s what matters, right? But he did have fun so it’s all good!
Ursula made the awesome Ninjago cake!
When I called Owen over to see it (he was out playing) he said “It’s Jay!” (Of course, he was right, Jay is the blue ninja.)
Owen with two of his classmates, Tanner and Braxton (who I’ve posted pics of before). You see that Owen really isn’t the same size as the rest of his class. 🙂
Katie having fun running around:
Katie was very interested in what was going on in the bounce house—but we put her in with the kids and she screamed. So she was content to just peek in for a bit.
I showed Katie how to hang on the bar and she loved it! She’d hang and swing then drop off—over and over.
And then she got in the bounce house because it was fairly empty:
Back at the bar showing daddy her tricks!
The birthday boy in the middle of the parachute!
And here’s a 6 minute video of the parachute fun (pretty much for the grandparents). 🙂
Each kid got to do their own thing in the middle of the parachute balloon. Owen did a spinning twist.
A few last runs before leaving…
The last pic of our best friends for quite some time—our friend Tom is deploying next week and we’ll be moving this summer…
As Ursula was getting the cake packed up to go, Owen saw that the head was off to the side and was VERY concerned that it wasn’t coming home and kept asking about it. We assured him Jay was coming home. Then he saw Ursula carrying it to her car (to bring to our house) and he was concerned that the cake itself wasn’t coming home at all!
Overall, it was a great party for Owen’s first REAL birthday party (not just something at our house with a few friends or family). 🙂
Picking up Owen’s party balloons
We had him hold them so they didn’t fly around too much.
“Wow! There’s so many I can’t hold them!”
Chicken Butt
Since Tom has been home, he’s already taught Katie “chicken butt”—she almost always reacts to it the same way PLUS she’ll say it on her own.
Slush Fun
The sun was out and everything was melting so today was slush fun instead of snow fun. We went out during Katie’s nap because she would have just gotten completely soaked and/or muddy. It was actually so warm in the sun that I took off my sweatshirt and just hung out in a tank top!
Owen was telling me an imaginative story. At this point I think he was reenacting Spiderman.
Playing iPad games together
This never gets old.
So. How big does a hole in your hand have to be before you should consider getting stitches?
I was washing knives this morning—being careful!—yet I still stuck myself. Right in the middle of my right palm right down a major line. Ugh. I kept pressure on it and didn’t think it was all that serious, so I posted the above question on Facebook. These were my favorite responses:
Can you see thru it? 🙂
A little duct tape will take care of that!
If you have to ask, you probably need stitches.
In all seriousness…between all the responses, a quick Google, and talking to David (my ex-PA stepdad), I decided to go to the ER. However, there was one problem—all the roads were still completely covered in ice. I had a brief thought that maybe the main roads would be better (like at home, Roberts Road can be horrible, but once you cross North Down it’s clear) but DUH, this is North Carolina. I felt okay going slow (25 in a 45) but as I got closer to town, I saw a line of cars slowing down, some stopped, and some turning around. I wasn’t even halfway to town by that point, so I just turned around and went home. (Come to find out later, it was at least a tractor-trailer accident and someone caught another accident on their phone while stopped for the previous accident.) And the police were telling people to stay off the roads. So I made the right call. If my hand had been lots worse, I may have pressed on—but it wasn’t.
However. The more I waited and watched, the more paranoid I got. It hurt—but it was most likely just normal bruising and not (my paranoid side) that I cut a muscle or nerve. It had stopped bleeding—but started again when I opened my hand too much. By this time it was after dinner and dark and there was no way I was going out on the roads…which meant even if I decided to go to the ER in the morning, it would be past the general 12-hour cutoff for suturing a cut. Ugh.
So I popped some more pain pills (a naproxen at first this morning, then a hydrocodone this afternoon, now Tylenol tonight), slapped some Neosporin and a bandaid on, and called it good for the night. If it’s still oogy in the morning, Tom will take me to the ER. He wouldn’t have to take me, but he has to report to work tomorrow at 11…unless, of course, he’s dealing with me. 🙂
P.S. I just realized the pic makes it look like one big hole. Trust me, it’s not a gaping hole…it’s just blood making it look that way.
Previous Throwback Thursdays
Getting ready for s’mores at our house on Valley Ridge Lane (during Tom’s first deployment in 2005) with Ursula Mitchell.
One of my favorite pictures from our wedding day—Jessica was our flower girl and she DID NOT want to take a picture with me no matter what.
In Traverse City at my apartment before heading out camping and to Mackinac Island in September 1997.
Circa 1991 at Tim Hough (now Nolan)’s graduation party. Who would have guessed we’d someday become cousins?
Trip to Baltimore in 2005 with our good friends Tom and Karen Trimble.
A somewhat recent Throwback Thursday (11/25/10)—with Kelly King.
Just a few years ago (2007—seems like yesterday)…one of my all-time favorite pictures with good friends Nancy and Kelly.
Camping with cousins Lisa and Lori in high school—I’m guessing ’89 or ’90?
I had completely forgotten about the trip to Toronto we took with Sue McLaughlin and Pam Williams—maybe 1988? 89?
TiVo friend + Etsy + Fate
A TiVo friend of mine throws pottery and has an Etsy store. I’ve been looking at this large vase for over a year but couldn’t bring myself to buy it because I just didn’t need a vase. But I happened to be on Etsy recently looking at something else and thought if it was still there, it was meant to be mine. Amazingly it was, so I ordered it! 🙂 He threw in the small vase as an unexpected bonus! (As a side note, he’s the same guy I did the smoothie in a bread bowl for and the same one Tom and I got our gnomes from. Which reminds me I haven’t told you about the gnomes yet. That will be another day.)
Throwback Thursday
Throwback Thursday happens on Facebook and I love posting pics. I need to post some of them here because the blog doesn’t go back that far for most that I post…so stay tuned for that. However, this is what I posted today.
Beach time!
Everyone is in the water at the “beach!”
Picnic on the beach!
Snow Kids
The kids were desperate to get out and play! I love the mashup of outfits since we don’t have winter clothes! (Well, Tom and I do, but it was a lazy day so we were all in jams and comfy pants.) Katie’s wearing jams because they’re the best thing to keep her belly covered—and she has non-winter boots but they didn’t fit over the jammie feet so we put her in a pair of Owen’s old lined Crocs which fit perfectly. Owen has boots but they’re on the small side so didn’t fit over thick socks.
Afternoon outing:
Ice Table
Everything was preventatively cancelled for today because of the threat of snow and freezing rain…and nothing happened until about 3:30 when it started getting colder and the freezing rain started. I thought the table looked cool—it’s a sight you won’t see much in North Carolina!
Cookie Monster Kitchen
I found this small kitchen for Katie about a week before Tom came home. Owen saw it in the back of the car and was SO excited about it (even though I told him it was for Katie). He wanted it up right away but I said it would be after daddy came home and we took the tree down (because it was going to go in the same spot). So today was finally the day! They both loved it!
Snakes and Poppers
Owen earned some fire snakes and poppers for using the potty and he wanted to save them until daddy got home! So when Katie napped, we went out and did them today!
Welcome home dinner outing!
Daddy wanted to go out for sushi and of course I’ll never argue with that…
Getting ready:
Then we stopped at Owen’s school to get Tom registered (for pickup and drop off) then had time to go to the playground!
“I’m stepping on your heads!”
DINNER!
Less than 10 minutes later:
Katie tried a bite of sushi and ate it but didn’t want more (but she’s been in a phase of only eating 1-2 bites of something).
Them we went next door for frozen yogurt! Katie was wiping daddy’s face.
Ahhh. Back to normal. Life is good.
A Belated Christmas
Daddy sent home a present for him and Owen that they opened first:
Katie jumped right in to help daddy open a gift from Grauntie Marge:
And we saved some of Grandma Marsha’s presents for the kids so Tom could watch them have fun opening:
Covered Katie
Owen and daddy had fun covering up Katie with animals.
It’s a good, good morning.
The plan was for me to go in to Owen’s room as usual and then have Tom come knock on the door. Tom was up super early (before 5) and once I knew he was up and moving around I was paranoid that Owen would hear/see him and ruin the surprise…so I got up and dragged Tom back into the bedroom while we watched Owen on the monitor. Owen dutifully waited until his nightlight turned green at 6:30 before turning his bedroom light on and I went in shortly after.
I thought he would have been much more excited…but it was still sweet. And then people (on Facebook) pointed out his wiggling feet and I guess that’s how he shows excitement. He also sounds a little choked up toward the end. (Facebook only got a snippet. This is the whole thing.)
The Facebook comments were great:
- I like the wiggly feet…..
- Awwww. This is priceless. I think he was very excited. His little feet!
- The wiggly feet give it away!! So sweet!
- Those feet!!!!!
- Awww. Those feet! I totally cried. Both times.
- The boy who emotes with his feet. What an awesome moment.
- I love the little foot wiggle.
Then first things first—he had to show daddy his Lego book!
And then it was time to surprise Katie. She doesn’t seem to recognize him at first…but don’t worry, she was saying “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” the rest of the day and didn’t want him to leave her sight.
And daddy even did the morning diaper change!
Welcome home, Tom!
He wasn’t scheduled to land at MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Cherry Point until 6:30, at which point they had to unload and do admin stuff and only THEN get bussed an hour to Camp Lejeune. The official ETA was 10:15, so I planned to leave at 9. But it’s the military, so surprise!
The easiest way for me to do this is follow a direct timeline according to my texts and Facebook posts. 🙂
6:28 Owen tells me he wants daddy to pick him up from school tomorrow and “Mama, you can stay in the car.” He’s going to have such a big surprise in the morning!
6:44 Tom texted: Landed
6:44 I texted back: Woohoo
6:45 I posted to Facebook: The eagle has landed. (It was Liked by 72 people.)
8:01 Tom texted: On the move. (He sent a Glympse so I could follow his progress.)
8:19 Tom texted: I should be ready by 2130.
8:20 I texted back: 9:30?!? I need to leave earlier.
8:24 I texted my next door neighbor (who was coming to stay with the kids) asking if she could come over a bit earlier.
8:40 I pulled out of the driveway.
9:03 & 9:13 Following his progress—if I had left about 10 minutes earlier, I would have likely been following the bus on base:
9:17 I posted this picture on Facebook: So close, yet not quite.
9:21 Tom texted: At armory now.
9:21 I texted back: I’m watching. 🙂 (I could still see him walking around on Glympse.)
9:26 I posted this picture on Facebook: Bags are unloaded from a separate truck first, ahead of the guys.
9:27 I posted this picture on Facebook: This is what the scene looks like.
9:37 Tom texted: We are half way done. 15 minutes. Getting back on bus. Four guys left.
9:40 I posted to Facebook: I was so excited to get out of the house that I forgot it was freezing. I have no hat, gloves, or scarf. I’m frozen.
9:43 Tom posted to Facebook: M4, M9, and NVGs turned into armory. On bus to see Jen and do the Sea Bag Drag.
9:45 I posted this picture on Facebook: Waiting while freezing my fingers off.
9:46 I posted this picture on Facebook: They’ve rearranged the bags three times now.
9:54 A friend took these pictures of our reunion. Not quite as romantic a picture as you’d probably imagined. 🙂
And of course our traditional selfie (we did them before they were a thing):
9:59 After Tom found his bags, we took this selfie with the iPhone so we could post it on Facebook: He’s home! Better pics later! (It was Liked by 127 people.)
10:04 A buddy of Tom’s helped haul all his gear to the car and then took this picture:
10:48 Maggie welcomes daddy home:
Katie, I’ve got to show you something cool.
