Owen was super excited to have his friend Emily sleep in his room…
Unfortunately, she changed her mind about two minutes after we tucked them in and turned out the lights. 🙁
Category Archives: Firsts
Getting his tooth ready with daddy!
Someone’s first tooth came out!
We’ve been waiting and waiting and wanting to pull it out because it was SO loose but he wouldn’t let us get near it. It was so loose we were afraid he was going to swallow it. But this morning eating a donut I saw him stop chewing, stop and think for a second, then reach in his mouth.
TA DA!
And not a great picture but you can see the hole better. 🙂
Checking it out in the mirror.
Loose tooth update
It’s REALLY loose now but he won’t let us try to pull it. We’ve been able to see the replacement tooth for awhile now…
Kindergarten registration!
Today was the day! We had been preparing Owen for a few days prior, telling him he would be seeing his new school. We didn’t know what all would be involved (aside from turning in the paperwork that I’ve had completed since June) but we were hoping we’d get a little bit of a tour. As we were walking out the door he said “But I forgot my backpack!” We told him we were just visiting today—school doesn’t actually start for another month. He was relieved (that he didn’t need his backpack) but a little bummed it wasn’t actually time for school.
It’s four miles and 10 minutes away so not too bad—but I’m still pissed we’re not within the district lines for the school that is 1.5 miles away. GRRR. But he will hopefully be taking the bus—we know the bus stop is at our corner and I know he wants to ride the bus—but we’ll see how it goes because we all know how Owen is with new things (though he is getting better).
First impressions? The place is HUGE—definitely not Grayling- or Kalkaska-sized. I was seriously in awe. And to think it’s one of two schools in a five-mile radius! (Click the picture to see it a bit bigger.)
The lady who handled registration was very nice and Owen actually talked to her without being suddenly bashful. She was impressed with me because I had the forms already printed and filled out AND had a copy of the lease and his shot records for her to have. The only thing I didn’t have was a copy of his birth certificate and my drivers license—but that wasn’t on the list. (Well, I had his original birth certificate but hadn’t made their copy.)
She took us to see a kindergarten classroom which was really big—but not much set up yet. She said the class size will be about 20-25 with a teacher and an assistant (so just a handful more students than his pre-k class). It has their own bathroom, cubbies, windows, etc. She said they will go out once a week for art and twice a week each for phys ed and music. (I don’t remember going outside the classroom for that stuff until first grade but maybe we did?) They also go to the cafeteria for lunch. Which I guess I knew in the back of my mind…but that’s a lot more work for me coming from pre-k where breakfast AND lunch were provided for free. 🙂 We will find out who his teacher is going to be (and see his actual classroom) at the Open House in a few weeks.
The school was hopping when we got there about 9:20—she said it was the last day of their summer school programs. They were actually getting ready to start their morning welcome session in the cafeteria and asked if we wanted to join. We asked Owen and of course he did. He got to take a number for a game they would be playing and we sat at a table on the outskirts of the kids (who were all on the floor). He said he wanted to go sit with the kids and we said okay…but then he changed his mind (there were about 80 kids). Everything was done on a laptop and drop-down screen. We had to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance which he didn’t want to do—I never thought about it but this made me realize they didn’t do that in pre-k—but he eventually did. They also had a moment of silence which of course is when Katie piped up with “Mama, what are they doing?” 🙂 The game they played was Family Feud and the assistant principal used a random number generator on the laptop to choose who was going to get a chance to answer. Of course Owen was excited—and then bummed when his number was never called (they only called about 12 total for the first game and then we left before the second game was over because we had errands to do).
And then on the way out he threw a little tantrum because HE WANTED TO STAY. Well, at least we know he wants to be there. 🙂
So, overall, a successful trip. And we all can’t wait for school to start. 🙂
Katie’s first bloodwork!
Since Katie’s X-rays came back negative, the Doctor then wanted to do bloodwork to determine if any of her whatever levels were elevated… Increased levels of whatever might point to arthritis or a blood borne reason for the continued inflammation.
Tom took her to the lab and SHE WAS A ROCK STAR. The nurse was a bit nervous when Tom told her it was Katie’s first time, but Katie didn’t even flinch or wince and it was over just like that. Yay Katie! But what she didn’t like? The tape holding the cotton ball on! 🙂
First nightgown!
More PJ hand-me-downs—this time, her first nightgown!
Katie’s ankle checkup
I took Katie in to get her ankle checked again. The new office is only about 12 minutes from us via back roads—but of course it feels farther because I have no idea where I’m going yet (comparatively, it took 20 minutes in Jacksonville).
She liked the waiting room.
A decent picture of her new hand-me-down cousin outfit.
Playing peek while waiting for the doctor.
Of course, they were running behind today…so by the time we saw the doctor, we had been there almost an hour and a half (they wanted us there early for new patient stuff, even though I told them I had printed all the forms and filled them out, then we waited in the patient room for quite some time). That said, the doctor was nice and apologized for running late. And Katie was very good the whole time between playing, watching videos on my phone, and looking at books.
The doctor looked at her ankle and agreed it was swollen and agreed we should get new x-rays. She also asked if Katie had been sick lately—or, really, if any of us had been—and I said no. She said she wanted to take a strep test! Wait, what? Yes, a strep test. She said it was a long shot, but it was a quick and easy test to rule out some type of arthritis. (She explained it and I googled later, and strange as it may seem, the same bacteria that can cause strep throat can cause swelling and joint pain. And since it had been going on so long, she wanted to rule it out.) Katie didn’t love the strep test, but she was a trooper and recovered quickly. (On that note, the nurse who performed the test didn’t have greatest bedside manner in my opinion—she was older and very matter-of-fact-get-the-job-done which worked, but didn’t give me any warm fuzzies.) The results were negative, so then it was off to a walk-in imaging clinic for x-rays.
This is where we were spoiled in Jacksonville—the x-ray clinic was literally three buildings down from the pediatric clinic. Today it was a 15-minute drive (of course in the complete opposite direction from home). It was approaching nap time, so I had to decide whether to wait and do it another day or just bite the bullet and finish it in one day. I decided to finish since Katie was being really good. So we had another 15-minute wait after the drive and then Katie was a ROCK STAR getting her x-rays—just like before. The tech had me stand next to her and hold her still but there really was no need—Katie didn’t move a muscle for either x-ray. (I tried to get a picture of her laying there nice but of course she started playing with her feet.)
It was over in about three minutes and she got two Elmo stickers and was happy. And then stayed awake for most of the ride home but fell asleep about three minutes from home. THREE AND A HALF HOURS AFTER WE LEFT. Egads.
So now we just have to wait to see what the x-rays show and then likely get a referral for a specialist depending on what they see.
Introducing our community pool!
We finally went to check out the pool today—and wow is it ever nice! It’s about a 10-minute walk (twice as long as at the last house), but it’s definitely worth it compared to the last pool. They have nice attached bathrooms and showers (which you have to walk through to get to the pool area), two lifeguards at the main pool, a kiddie pool, tons of lounge chairs and tables (some even with umbrellas) and a basket of pool noodles! Most of the pool is 3’6″ deep with the very center section being deeper (not labeled but I’m guessing about 5′).
We started in the kiddie pool where Owen tested out his new goggles and snorkel (he did really well!) and Katie splashed around (she was a bit peeved that it was too deep to walk around on her hands like she likes to do). After about a half hour, we moved to the big pool where Owen slowly but surely (but actually quite quickly for him) got comfortable in the deeper water—he clung to the edge for awhile but then was out and about away from the edge playing. There were some older kids (guessing 12-14ish) there that had brought water guns and Owen was having a blast just watching them…so imagine how excited he was when the kids started spraying him! The moms were in the pool, too, and warned their kids not to get him but I piped up and said “Oh no, he’s loving it!” Then they let him use a gun and he was in heaven! Katie loved being in the deeper water, too, because she likes being carried. She also liked “jumping” off the steps—which really means leaning forward and falling into my arms. 🙂 Owen was doing so well on his own that I actually left him in the pool by himself for about 10 minutes while I went back to the kiddie pool with Katie (I could still see him, of course).
I am sure we’ll be back quite a bit in the next month before it closes September 1.
A relaxing end to a busy vacation.
We left Grayling a day early so we could visit and stay the night at my cousin’s house—and so the kids could play more. And we had fun… We pulled in and they said “Want to go on a boat ride?” Sure!
The kids sword fighting while we loaded the boat.
Ready to go!
On the boat!
The cabin where the kids spent most of the time playing and watching movies!
In the driver’s seat!
Proof we were actually in the water! Yes, I’m a geek. 🙂
When we finally got to the swimming area, Owen didn’t want to go in because he was scared. It didn’t matter that Tom was in the water, the other kids were in the water, and he could see that it was plenty shallow enough.
So Tom took Katie in first! And she loved it, of course!
Grilling. Off the side of a boat. Who knew that was a thing? Of course we had Timmy’s delicious brats!
Katie was having a blast in the cabin bed—she could see out the window which was right where we were sitting!
We finally convinced Owen to go out and he clung to Tom like a second skin. The guys were pulling the boat to a new location (trying to get in shallower water).
Friends of theirs came and moored with us and they had brought their dogs so Katie wanted to go over to see them.
Owen getting more comfortable in the water…
And when he saw they had a football water toy? It was GAME ON.
And suddenly he was having a blast!
He told Tom he was floating just like a balloon!
On the way home…
It was really fun and really relaxing…and the time really flies when you’re out on a boat—we left about 1:30 and were pulling back in about 6:30! Tom and I were exhausted after all that fresh air! The cousins introduced Owen to a new video game…and Katie had to sit there, too!
Then Owen was building with Nick’s Legos, and I heard one of the girls say that Owen builds such cool things! 🙂
Then it was time for Frozen! All the kids were enjoying it!
Fire, Fireworks & Stones, Part 2
I got some of mom’s pictures of the day, but not until after I’d already posted…so I’m just putting her pictures in their own post!
Len Christmas in July
The family decided to have Christmas in July this year and the Besons hosted. It was a GORGEOUS Michigan summer day on the river spent with our AMAZING family! Timmy supplied about 32 different types of brats (okay, maybe only about 12) and we stuffed ourselves silly on them plus all the other good food everyone brought. A good time was had by all and I think we may officially be moving our holiday celebration to the summer from now on!
Owen was a bit shy at first, so he and Katie were both in Nick’s room playing by themselves.
Katie loved the boat. LOVED. LOVED!! She would have sat out there all day if we let her and kept wanting to go back.
Finally Owen wanted to play!
Owen is six months younger than Aubrey. I know, right?
Cousins Katie 2, Owen 5, Aubrey 6, Gracie 8, Nick 10, Alex 12, and Jess 15. We never actually got Owen back-to-back with Nick, but I think they were within a fraction of an inch of each other (with a five-year age difference). And Katie seems to be pretty close to Aubrey, who is four years older. I guess we really DO grow them big. 🙂
Last year:
Lisa B. made these AWESOME ladybug cupcakes for Katie’s birthday.
And these for Greg’s birthday. (I missed a pic of the ones for Aubrey’s birthday, but they were Frozen-themed.)
We did pretty good keeping track of Katie all day (when there’s so many people around, there’s always someone half watching) and then we failed right at the end. People were running around cleaning up and putting things away…and before I know it, Tom is carrying Katie back from the front yard. Apparently Katie was wandering down the driveway and Greg caught her and brought her back. Phew.
And before we knew it, it was time to head out. Katie didn’t make it to the end of the road before she fell asleep, and Owen lasted about 15 minutes.
Slip & Slide & Corn & Fish
We bought the kids a $6 Slip & Slide and finally got it out today. The water from the hose here is COLD so it took a bit for Owen to actually get into it and get wet. And Gramma was peeling corn for dinner and Katie wanted some so she was wandering around eating raw corn on the cob and LOVING it. 🙂
Daddy cooked Owen’s fish and Owen even tried a bite! He was SO proud of his fish!!
Fish hatchery and fishing!
We wanted to introduce Katie to the fish hatchery—and I wanted to see Owen enjoy it (since I didn’t go last year when Tom and Marsha took him)…so our big group came in and asked if we could all get in on the free family admission coupon my mom had…and the guy joked that we were a circus and I said YOU HAVE NO IDEA. 🙂 He let us all in for free, so we bought five bags of food and planned to take Owen fishing…
Katie was fascinated and REALLY wanted to go in the water—so someone had to keep a hand on her most of the time. Owen had fun, too, but couldn’t wait to go fishing!
Owen loved fishing—but who wouldn’t, when it only takes a matter of seconds to catch one! We let him catch five (you pay by the inch) and he had fun with each one!
Katie thought she wanted to see the fish…until she saw them and then that was it.
Owen thought he wanted to hold one…until Tom held one out. 🙂
The family—and Owen with his catch!
Katie’s first painted toes!
I was painting my toenails so decided to do Katie’s, too, while she was sitting with Gramma getting her hair in pig tails. She sat fairly still (except the very first toe I did, where she jerked as soon as I touched her). Afterwards, she was VERY enthralled with it. 🙂
Katie went bump in the night.
So the kids were in bed, David was in the bedroom, and mom, Tom, and I were just sitting in the living room visiting and whatnot…when we heard a loud CRASH BOOM BANG. Mom thought David had fallen—but then we heard crying. Oh no! Katie had fallen out of bed!! (She did just fine the first night and during her nap, but she obviously was more of a wiggle worm tonight. We hadn’t taken any precautions because, well, we forgot, and because she HAD already done just fine.)
Tom sprinted down the hall and came out carrying a whimpering Katie. He said he found her laying on the floor with her legs against the closet. We figured she must have gone over the edge head first, flipping over so her legs hit the closet (which would account for the thuds and bangs we heard). Poor Katie. While Tom was comforting her, I was putting rolled up blankets in her bed (under the sheets) as bumpers and then he stayed in there with her for a good half hour. Other than being scared, she was no worse for the wear…thankfully.
Owen’s first fireworks!
We have been wanting to try some low-key fireworks with Owen for awhile now and just haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve had sparklers for a year now—planning on using them on July 4th or after a party or something—but again, we just never got around to it. Until now.
We went to the local fireworks outlet and asked for the kiddie section and they were having a B1G1 free sale so we ended up with a bunch of little stuff.
And Owen LOVED it. LOVED IT. And everyone loved watching him! We only used half of the stuff tonight so we have one more night’s worth coming up. (And when I say a night’s worth, I mean about 10-15 minutes max, which includes sparkler time.) We made sure Katie was in bed so we could concentrate fully on Owen and not have to worry about Katie… She’ll be out for the second night.
The lady said the ones we got would go “telephone pole height” at most. She was right. 🙂
And I found my pooping dog! I had seen it on Facebook and loved it—and thought the kids would, too. I was thrilled they had it at the store! (And yes, Owen LOVED it.)
Owen has a loose tooth!
Owen was eating an apple and watching a movie. Tom was unpacking the office and I was upstairs checking on a napping Katie when I heard Owen crying behind me. Of course I was confused why he came to me since Tom had been right there with him.
So I’m trying to get information out of him to figure out where Tom is and what’s wrong and he just looked and sounded so pathetic but all he was saying was something about his tooth. Yep, it turns out one of his lower front teeth is loose, and eating the apple obviously loosened it and he got freaked out. He eventually admitted he was scared.
So we had a talk about how it just meant he was growing up, he’s getting bigger and healthier adult teeth, etc. He knows all about it from school, including the whole tooth fairy thing. So I got excited and said “Let’s go downstairs and find daddy and tell him the good news!” He thought that was a good idea so off we went and as soon as I saw Tom he said “Did you see Owen’s tooth!”
Wait. What?
Yeah, turns out he WAS there when it happened, he told Owen every single thing [which I then repeated], and he was the one who sent Owen up to tell me the good news! Kids!
Owen was still sniffling a bit and didn’t want a loose tooth, etc., and was a bit grouchy.
He did let Tom cut his apple into pieces, and by the time Katie got up from her nap about 15 minutes later, he was all excited: “Katie! Katie! I have a loose tooth and it’s going to come out!” 🙂
Lorton, here we come!
Well, me and the kids anyway. And Maggie. Right on schedule at 10:00. With the Prius packed to the hilt with a crap ton of stuff for two nights (pillows, air beds, sheets, towels, stuffed animals, blankets, sound machines, night lights, food, snacks, drinks, kids’ med kit, toys, books, iPad, laptop…and Maggie and all her stuff)! Katie is back there, too, but I was lazy and didn’t take my phone out of the dash holder to take the picture.
The kids were really good—Katie watched Despicable Me 2 on a continuous loop and was perfectly content…and Owen alternated between playing on his phone and just watching the road. He did enjoy watching my mapping app (Waze) and kept notifying me of “yellow triangles” (road hazards like stopped cars) and police. When this came up he was like “WOW!! Look at all that stuff popping up!”
Katie had fallen asleep about 1:00 and Owen was adamant he didn’t need a rest. This was taken at about 1:15. 🙂
There were a few slowdowns around Stafford (when aren’t there?) but we made it in good time, even with the traffic snafus.
Welcome home! Amazon packages were waiting!
And the kids had A BLAST running around the house.
And they saw COOKIE MONSTER in the garage…so it had to come in immediately. 🙂
It was hotter than hell (and humid) so unpacking the car wasn’t fun. Katie also kept opening the garage door and coming outside—leaving the door wide open with Maggie right there. We’re going to have to put some kind of lock on the outside of the door, I think. Probably on the inside, too. (I’m not sure why these doors are so much easier to open than ours were—she could only open our lever-handle door, not the knobs.) She’s going to be a 180 from Owen on just about everything, escaping included.
Dinner was an escapade. I’d been planning on PB&J…except I apparently forgot the peanut butter and the bread I brought was moldy. Panic! We were all STARVING since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was almost 4! I ended up pulling pizza bagel bites from freezer (that we brought up two weeks ago). There’s lots of pantry stuff but it’s all packed away in the hot garage and not immediately accessible. There’s always take-out but that will be tomorrow!
They were happy, though!
Mrs. Ashley made me cry.
She dropped this off at our house (we’ve been trying to meet up every since school got out). Owen was excited to see his teacher again.
Of course I’m a huge sap anyway, but reading what Owen’s pre-k teacher Mrs. Ashley wrote in his memory book really got me.
Owen’s first party without mom and dad!
So awhile back we got an invite to a birthday party from a kid NOT in Owen’s class. I asked Owen and turns out he’s in a pre-K class in the building next door and sometimes they play together. It was actually the weekend of our garage sale so I RSVPed no, and the mom sent back this:
Okay. Thanks for letting us know. Kenrick really enjoys playing with Owen. Kenrick always tells me how nice your son is to him. Have a good day.
Awwww, sweet, right? Then later, I got this:
Kenrick really wants him to be there, would you like to drop him off at the party? And I don’t mind picking up your son and bringing him back to your home. I will make sure he will be safe and have a good time. I sound pushy but my son really enjoys Owen’s company. It will make him very happy.
We weren’t sure what we were going to do but man did that make us feel good. I mean, we know Owen is a nice kid, but to hear such gushing comments from another mom that hasn’t even met him? Ahhhh. So I talked to Owen’s teacher to see if I could get any scoop (like if the whole class was invited) and she just got the scoop that the parents were indeed nice and she’d trust Owen to go. Cool. So we RSVPd yes.
But, of course, remember that Owen has been a little more attached to us lately and always wants to know where we are when he’s awake…so we weren’t quite sure what might actually happen. So we talked to him about it, explaining how daddy would drop him off and then Kenrick’s mom would bring him home, and if he needed us for anything, we’d come get him immediately. He seemed okay with it, but then out of the blue would ask things like “What if I get hurt?” (we told him she’s a mommy and would know how to help him and she would call us to come get him) and “Do they have a bathroom?” (we assured him they would). And he asked us a few times if we were going to be there (we said no). I did call her and talk to her to warn her of all this and she was cool.
So, fast forward to the party and Owen was very excited. They had said we could bring him early (because the birthday boy wanted to show Owen his dinosaur collection) so we did…and Tom said he didn’t even look back after they got there! About the time he should have been coming home, I got a phone call from the mom asking if it was okay to take Owen to the pool with them because the boys were having such a great time! We said sure! (He didn’t have a suit with him, so just went in his shorts.) She finally brought him home about 3:00! So he was gone for like five hours! And didn’t have one issue! And the mom said he was just THE most polite boy and so well-behaved. Yay Owen!
Owen’s first ice cream truck!
The ice cream truck comes around pretty frequently but we’ve never stopped him because it’s too expensive, we usually have ice cream in the house already, and we’re rarely outside when he comes by. And Owen knows what it is but has never wanted it. But Tom came in the house today telling me he heard it coming and he wanted to go out with Owen—at least once before we moved. Okay, sure, no problem. (Katie was napping.)
So out we went to wait. He wasn’t quite sure what he was waiting for—he knew it was a surprise but couldn’t hear the music yet.
After he heard the music!
It’s on our street!
Perusing the menu!
Success!
Happy boy and daddy—with $5 in ice cream. 🙂
Not quite the response I was expecting!
So, I just got a call from Owen’s school.
School: Hi, this is ___ from Excel. We just wanted to give you a courtesy call to let you know there was an incident at school today.
Me: /my mind is racing/ Okay. What happened?
School: Owen got peed on in the bathroom.
Me: /immediate outburst of laughter/
School: /quiet, nervous laughing/ I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at it, but I’m laughing because you are. I was SO nervous to call and tell you.
Me: /still laughing/ I was expecting him to have barfed or pooped himself or broken an arm.
School: I’m glad you have a sense of humor about it.
Me: Ha! Getting peed on is the least of my worries of Owen at school.
She tells me they’ve talked to both kids, are getting two different stories (of course!), and she just didn’t want me to freak out when I saw him in different clothes and the teacher told me what happened. Of course she couldn’t tell me who the other kid was, but I know the teacher will—that’s partially why I ply her with bottles of wine and classroom equipment throughout the year. 🙂
I just thought it was hilarious. And of course I had to call Tom to tell him and he busted up laughing, too.
I needed that. 🙂
Taco Wednesday
Owen has said he likes the tacos at school so we thought we’d try them at home. I just did regular ground beef with barely a hint of salt and pepper because I’m pretty sure the school doesn’t use any special taco seasoning (and Owen usually complains about things like butter or S&P).
So, we were supposed to have Taco Tuesday but I forgot an ingredient…so we had it tonight!
Success!
I also had him try “nachos”—tortilla chips he loves with the exact same ground beef and cheese and of course he said he liked it but didn’t even finish one chip. GRRR.
Baby steps. Baby steps. After all, he’s eating TACOS!!
Owen’s first face-painting!
We stopped at the farmers market on the way home from a Costco run…and they had face painting! Owen had never had it done, and I thought I might be able to entice him with a superhero…and it worked!!
The before:
He had a handful to choose from. Can you tell who he picked?
Katie and daddy were waiting:
Sponging on some red…
Painting some lines…
The final product—he was suddenly shy and wouldn’t look at me and wanted to go to the car. Oh well.
But once we got to the car, he had turned into Spider-Man and he was ALL SMILES!
And even throwing webs!
When we got home, he was a super big help unloading the car, and then I heard “Mama take a picture!” Yep, he had found his matching Spider-Man Lego head! 🙂
First corn on the cob!
It was the first time for both kids for corn on the cob.
King Owen
I think this was his first Burger King crown! And he LOVED it!
Katie didn’t last…
So…Katie just wouldn’t quiet down and leave Owen alone in the bed, so I moved her to her pack-and-play about 9:30 where she still kept chattering until about 9:45. Everything went well until she started crying at 12:15 and would not stop. So I got her out and held her, she settled down, and I put her back…just to have her start crying again. So I put her in bed with us and she quieted right down. Hoo boy. (Owen hasn’t even slept with us!)
She slept pretty good, but she sleeps rightnexttoyou and I had feet and knees in my back all night. I did get some sleep but it definitely wasn’t the best.
What have we done?!
We’re attempting to let Katie sleep with Owen on the fold out couch tonight. Heaven help us. (We figure why not make this hellish day complete?) She’s never slept in a bed before so of course we decide to try it for the first time in a strange hotel on a night when she’s had no nap and their sleep schedule is way off—bedtime is normally 7 and it’s after 9! She’s calmed a bit but is still playing and chattering…having a ball!
Katie’s first popsicle
A mommy group friend invited us over after school to play on their waterslide (that Owen LOVES). Katie enjoyed it, too, along with the swingset and the trampoline.
Owen also ate a Popsicle—almost. He ate about half of it then wanted to save it. He was a bit upset when I said it wasn’t possible (it was about 85°)!
A friend making Katie laugh with funny faces!