She loves Maggie and crawled right up with her.
Hanging out with Katie
Hanging out with Maggie:
Hanging out with Owen:
Hanging out with Charlie:
The best pic I could get of her new outfit from Gramma Jean:
As soon as she sees me toss clean laundry in the chair, she’s over there like a shot. Usually she pulls everything off the chair but today she just played with stuff.
And hanging out with Owen again:
Rainy Waterslide Play Group
The family that had the birthday party this past weekend still had the slide today so they invited us over. Of course, Owen was ALL ABOUT THAT. There were a lot fewer kids there, too, so I just let Katie roam and she had A BLAST. Even in the rain and the mud.
On the way home I asked Owen if, when daddy comes home, he’d rather go to the water park or have a big water slide in our backyard and he wants the water slide. SCORE! That’s much, much cheaper! 🙂
Slice of life
This is what happened when we got home from dinner.
Happy 12th Anniversary!
Happy 12th anniversary from halfway across the world, baby! It feels like just yesterday but also like we’ve been together our whole lives as I can’t imagine my life before you. I love you and miss you desperately!
And this year—after a respectable 11-year run—we FINALLY ended our accidental-turned-scheduled anniversary tradition of having Chinese for dinner. Damn marine corps not offering anything remotely Chinese in Afghanistan today. Hmph.
However.
We’re possibly starting a new tradition as Tom had steak and shrimp…so I figured instead of me just grabbing Chinese take out, I’d go and get steak and shrimp as well!
However.
I didn’t really want to get it take-out (who wants steak and shrimp to cool off on the 20-minute ride home?) but I honestly didn’t want to go by myself (well, with the kids)…so I sent an open invitation to my moms group…and one mom offered to come out with me (well, plus one of her kids). So…YAY for friends! And new traditions!
That said…WOW. I don’t think I’ll be taking the kids out by myself anytime soon. Or if I do, it will be to a FAST FOOD place or somewhere we can get much faster service.
Those of you with small kids will understand—you do everything QUICKLY. You order quickly (you quite possibly even order the kids meals first), you pay the check quickly, and you’re hopefully out of there before the squirming and whining begins. But unfortunately that was not how tonight played out. I fully blame the waitress, who constantly disappeared for loooong periods at every stage of the meal. Tom and I can usually get in and out in under 40 minutes. Ruth and I were there (at the same place) for just under ONE AND A HALF HOURS. Good god.
Ruth was a godsend, though. At one moment when it was a bit of a circus—everyone was noisy, there was too much crap on the tables and nowhere to put anything, Katie had reached for the knife three times in under a minute and was spilling corn all over the floor, Owen was asking for the third time where his milk was (damn slow waitress!), we were trying to share the onion appetizer…all while trying to place our food order—she volunteered to take the kids (my two and her one) for a brief walk so I could have a breather. And then she noticed Katie needed a diaper change so she did that, too.
/sigh
Of course, Owen didn’t follow along quickly enough and then Ruth was too far away for him to chase after so he stayed with me. Then announced he had to pee…so I had to take him back to the bathroom anyway. But then I left him with Ruth and went back to the table as they took a quick roundabout tour of the restaurant and I got to eat three bites of my salad in peace.
Overall it was a great meal—the steak and shrimp were REALLY good. It may have spoiled my usual order at that restaurant as well (I have ever only ordered one single thing every time we’ve gone there). The only thing that could have made it better? To have been able to calmly and slowly eat the yummy meal in peace and quiet—appreciating the food—instead of just shoving in a random bite here and there between managing two kids. Well, I guess that’s technically more than one thing. 🙂
I am so glad to have made a few new good mom friends who just UNDERSTAND and are willing to lend a hand—or supportive meal—when it’s needed.
And on that note… I mentioned that I’d probably order steak every time I went out because I wouldn’t be eating it at home because I don’t grill. And Ruth pipes up “I GRILL!” So I’ll provide the protein and the grill, she’ll provide the actual grilling, the kids can play in the pool…YAY!
Today’s family pile-on
Once again, Owen wanted to sit on my lap. Within TWO seconds, Katie noticed and made her way over. 🙂
Owen’s Poppers
For completing his chore chart last week, he got to pick a reward. He picked poppers.
How Katie plays
She does this with anything left out…bibs, underwear, Owen’s clothes, blankets, etc. Today was her PJ top.
Edited at 4:02 to add: A bib!
Wings watching over Owen
Gramma sent back the Fairy minifigure that Owen forgot up there and he was so happy that he put her—with the other winged creature (Bumblebee Girl) that he recently earned—together right next to his bed. You know it was important because they each had to be put on a black base (which he never uses).
M&Ms are exciting!
We got a package from Gramma Jean today and Owen was super excited to open it since I had told him GJ was sending him something.
He thought the shirt was okay, got a little more excited about the growing animals…and then was OVER THE MOON when he realized there were M&Ms in the little container! It’s the little things, I guess. 🙂
The Katie jams were great, too, as we seem to always be running short on them. Thanks, Gramma!
Swimming in the Rain
Owen wanted to go in the pool when we got home from the party…and it sounded good to me, too, since it was still so muggy and I needed to cool off. It had stopped raining but I could see the dark clouds rolling in. The water was actually a bit chilly so Katie and I didn’t stay in too long (I stayed in just long enough to clean out all the grass and bugs) and while we were drying off, it started raining. There was no thunder or lightning so Owen stayed in the pool. He loved it.
Water slide birthday party
Katie took an epic nap so by the time we arrived almost two hours after the party started, everyone was inside for present opening. Owen had been super patient at home so was SUPER excited about the water slide…and not so much about anything else…so as soon as the birthday girl opened our gift, I took him outside (and a friend took Katie).
It was an overcast, rainy, and disgustingly humid day…but he didn’t care at all. And he went right up like he’s been doing it forever (each slide is a bit different and none of it phases him).
Then Katie got wiggly and wanted to walk around.
And was excited to see Owen!
And seemed very interested in the kiddie pool…
Her first time on a swing by herself.
If you listen closely you can hear her saying “Wheee!” 🙂 The video isn’t too long since I wasn’t able to have a hand on her and though she was pretty steady, she was looking around at everything and not reallyholding on.
His first break two hours in!
He didn’t want to leave, but Katie didn’t want to be held and it was too hot to be chasing her around. There were also too many kids running around in a muddy yard who weren’t exactly paying attention to a little one wandering around…
Katie saying Maggie
She also calls the cats Maggie, too, so she’s not THAT smart. 🙂
Chillin’
Just chillin’ while watching Sesame Street.
Where’s Owen?
New window seat…and desk.
Someone is happy that we rearranged the office and she has her window seat back.
And I guess this is as good a time as any to show pictures of the new desk Tom built… I’ve been meaning to post them but then it got later and later (and you know how I like to have posts on the day they actually happen) until I kinda gave up. But today works.
Though the desk has been a work-in-progress for months (he started with gusto and then took a long break and then finished with gusto!) we finally got it put together on August 1.
Ahhh, so nice and empty. I still REALLY miss the orange. 🙁
The three-piece L-shaped desk! That white cabinet (aka old printer stand) is now placed at the end of Tom’s section of the desk (which is just out of frame). It now has the scanner sitting on it, unplugged, since we rarely use it (I have a Fujitsu ScanSnap
Tom did a really great job and it’s SOOOO much better than the [two-year] temporary desk we had in there. (We used to have an L-shaped desk in here, but after a few PCS moves, it was a little shaky.)
An outfit for daddy
I believe this outfit was from Gramma Jean. 🙂
Attack of the Fart Blaster
B rescue!
Owen dropped his B behind the couch, so we had a rescue mission. He does it quite regularly, so he knows to go get the grabber. Katie always helps, too. 🙂
Today’s Sibling Moments
I look over to see this.
And then he’s got his finger in her ear and he’s messing with her hair—and she doesn’t care.
Then he kisses her.
Happy Birthday Gramma Jean
He doesn’t quite have all the lyrics down but it’s still cute.
Cheese and crackers
Sometimes, Owen’s lack of food diversity just gets to me and I force him to try something new. (Well, I couldn’t actually FORCE him but I really lay on the guilt and maybe threaten to take pizza away if he doesn’t start trying and eating more new foods.) I just get tired of the same thing night after night—hot dogs, frozen pizza, or PB&J. And I get tired of making THREE meals (Katie will eat some of what I eat but not everything—she still has her own finger foods).
So, what Owen usually does is take a bite, look excited and say “Mmmm!” and then says “I like it!”…but when you ask if he wants more he says no…99% of the time.
So tonight we went through the rigamarole.
Me: Owen, do you want a piece of cheese? Katie loves it.
Owen: No thank you.
Me: You ate it before and said it was good.
He sees I’m giving Katie a Ritz.
Owen: Can I have a cracker?
Me: Only if you have a piece of cheese on it.
Owen: Oh, okay.
I put the cheese on the cracker and hand it to him. He touches the cheese with his tongue.
Me: Owen, take a bite.
He takes a bite and his eyes light up.
Me: Do you like it?
Owen: Yes! It’s good!
Me: Then eat the rest [three more crackers with cheese].
AND HE DID! Of course, the big test will be to see if he eats it again.
Feeding the ducks!
Since the temps really dropped today (with it being overcast and off-and-on rainy) I thought it would be a good time to go feed the ducks!
Me: Owen, do you want to go feed the ducks?
Owen: No.
Me: Why not?
Owen: Papa isn’t here.
Me: That’s okay. We can still go feed the ducks.
Owen: No! I told you we only go with Papa!
Me: Well Papa isn’t going to be here for a long time, so if you want to go now, we can go. Then when Papa comes down, you can go with him.
Owen: OKAY!
So off we went, with Katie in the stroller (I didn’t have the patience to have her walk and try to contain her by the ponds).
Then there was a female duck that Owen called a baby duckie because it was so much smaller than these other birds. I hope you can hear him in the video—it was windy and he was pointed away from me.
And see…Katie really was with us!
Then Owen told me we had to go to the other water to look for ducks, so we trekked across the course. No ducks. But he wanted to roll down the hill! I convinced him to wait and roll down the big hill that WASN’T covered in duck poop. 🙂
A good time was had by all.
Home Depot Super Hero
Owenisms 24
Mom, I don’t like crabs because they have pinchy hands.
Remember? At the hotel? With the hot square pool? I didn’t like it. It was too hot.
Owen: Mom, guess what?
Me: What?
Owen: Chicken butt!
Me: Oh you stinker!
…
Me: Owen, guess what?
Owen: What?
Me: I love you.
Owen: Awwww!
Me: You know why?
Owen: Why?
Me: CHICKEN THIGH!
Owen: Oooooh! You got me mama stinker!
We were trying to Skype with Tom but his connection was bad.
Owen: What’s wrong?
Me: Daddy’s computer isn’t working.
Owen: Well he needs to fix his computer so we can Skype.
Owen: Mom, lets play restaurant. I’m the waiter. You’re the customer.
Me: Okay.
Owen: What would you like?
Me: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich and French fries.
Owen: You can’t have that—I like that.
Me: Okay, lobster and a Caesar salad.
Owen: Okay, what drink?
Me: Lemonade.
Owen: Lemon-ade.
He goes off with my order.
Owen: I’m sorry, we don’t have lemonade.
Owen was hunting for pieces of his tiny rubber Easter bunnies that got chewed up by the lawn mower today (they were left in the grass).
Owen: Mom! I found an arm! Arms are my FAVORITE!
We were outside since it was FINALLY overcast and cool (probably 75 with no humidity) and I smelled something resembling a fire but not terribly strong. Owen obviously smelled it, too.
Owen: Mama, what’s that smell?
Me: I don’t know, what do you think it smells like?
Owen: MARSHMALLOWS!
Mismatched Owen
This is what happens when I tell Owen to go get dressed and he fails to grab a set I’ve folded together.
But A) he’s dressed, B) we’re not going anywhere, and C) he doesn’t care so it doesn’t really matter. 🙂
Fixing his chore chart
We got Owen a chore chart recently, and we fill it out before bed. I usually do it to move things along more quickly, but tonight he wanted to do it…and here, he’s making sure all the magnetic badges (from the current week) are going the right way (because when I put them on, I just slap them up any which way).
Get it here: Melissa & Doug Deluxe Magnetic Responsibility Chart
Katie and the Animal Crackers vs. My Pants
Katie: 1
My Pants: 0
Happy blanket girl, p2
See? I told you she loves the blanket.
Me and the kids
Owen wanted to sit on my lap—and of course as soon as Katie saw it she had to come over, too!
Tongue out:
Tongue in:
