Monday, November 24, 2014

Mom of Boys II

It's been almost a year, and here I am again!  Fittingly, the last time I posted was about being a mom to two wonderful boys. 

Owen:  Owen turned 5 in April, a week after a playground accident claimed his two top front teeth.   He handled the situation with grace, and Owen and I traveled to Southern California for a birthday weekend in Disneyland only days later!  We went for four days, and played hard.  We had character breakfasts and lunches, ate churros and Mickey-shaped pretzels, rode rides (Splash Mountain!  Matterhorn!), and explored the magic.  Our favorite ride of the trip was the Toy Story ride at California Adventures, which we went on repeatedly.  We also waited in line for over two hours to meet Anna and Elsa from Frozen, and met Mickey, Goofy, and Donald along the way.  I can't wait to go back again!  It was the most fun I've had at Disney since forever.


 Owen also started Kindergarten this year at The Meridian School.  He is one of 14 students in Ms. Libby's class, and he's loving the play-based learning.  His favorite specialty classes are Library, Art, and Spanish.  He is currently working with specialists in reading and math, to help provide a challenge beyond his advanced levels in both subjects.  They get him and want him to enjoy school.  We love that he gets to be himself.



Josh: Josh turned 2 in January and has a great year himself.  In May, on an electronics-free trip to Shelton, Josh picked up some sidewalk chalk and shocked us all with writing out numbers from 0-15, the alphabet, and even his name!  He's been counting and singing his ABCs for quite a while, but we hadn't seen it in writing before!


 After a Summer of chalking up the front porch with letters and numbers, Josh started Pre-3s Co-Op preschool with Teacher Janice.  He goes two mornings a week, and loves it.  He sings the songs from circle time constantly, especially as part of his bedtime routine. 

 Josh has really started showing his strong personality.  He knows what he wants, and he's getting more communicative in telling us (which is helping all of us through the Terrible Twos!).  He loves sitting with a pile of books, is spelling quite a few words (Cat, Dog, Rabbit, Pig, Frog, Mommy, Owen, Open, Josh, etc), and loves finding some quiet time alone in his bedroom.  He's a generally happy kid, and a super good snuggler.






The brothers are very sweet together.  Owen loves his little buddy, and Josh thinks Owen is the silliest thing ever.  It's so fun to watch them play together, and have a great sibling relationship. 



Our family, as of October 2014:
 
Josh is almost 3, and Owen is 5.5.  We have a busy family life, but it's so fun!  The energy and craziness and silliness can't be beat.

So, back to the point.  Life with two boys is so fun, why not add another to the mix? :)

We are expecting another little rascal to join our family in April!


I am 19 weeks pregnant with this little guy, who is every bit as active as the other two right now.  He is measuring right on schedule, and looks anatomically perfect.  He has started getting hiccups, and Dan could actually feel him the other night!  We are in a two-week wait to check his blood-typing, and then we'll know what lies ahead in terms of monitoring for the same incompatibility that took Elliott from us and caused trouble at birth for Josh.  It's a 50/50 chance, but supposedly the sex of the baby is too (and we're 4/4 there!).  I have my fingers crossed for a clear bill of health, but I'm preparing for the challenge ahead if there is a big E antigen present with this guy. 

We're not a religious family, but we can use all of the thoughts, prayers, vibes, whatever that you want to send our way! 

Owen is coming to terms with this being another brother.  He had a tough time when he found out that this baby won't be the sister he wants so bad, but he's enjoying the process of brainstorming names and the idea of having another little baby to love on.  To find out the sex, my wonderful OB, Dr. Kurachi, wrote Owen a letter.  We taped him reading it, which is how we all found out: Owen finding out.  While I would love to experience a daughter (I think?), I'm thrilled to have a houseful of boys.  We've had so much fun, and I am so so hopeful we get to add to our family at home.  Wish us luck! :)

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Mom of Boys

"Hey Mom!!!  Wanna see the longest poop ever?!?" - Owen

He wasn't wrong, but I'm not going to provide photographic evidence.  You're welcome.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Bowling!

The Mudgetts and Grandpa Louie took Lynnwood Bowl and Skate by storm yesterday!

Owen was SO excited, scoring 75 and 68 in his two games before the siren calls of pinball and air hockey lured him away.







 
 


 


 

Friday, December 20, 2013

Snow Day!!

We woke up this morning to the first snow in Seattle since Josh's Birth Day (1/17/2012) almost two years ago.  Owen and I started the morning off right with a mug of hot chocolate.  "A warm drink is perfect on a cold day!" 

At the first light of day, we bundled up and headed to the front yard.  Josh was excited to see it - not so excited to stand in it.  Owen, on the other hand, would stay out in it all day if we were up for it!  After a mandatory snowball fight, Owen and Dan made "Owen" the snowman, complete with candy cane nose and Skittles eyes and buttons. 

I love snow!!














Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Hip Hop Throwback

Owen, seemingly randomly, asked Dan and me what Hip Hop is.  We then took a Hip Hop journey through the 90s and I literally couldn't NOT dance.  

Meanwhile, Owen and Josh just stared at us like we were aliens.  Kids these days don't appreciate good music! ;)

Monday, December 16, 2013

Like Mother, Like Son

I had a mini spa day yesterday with some friends from work.  We went for pedicures at Habitude, then to happy hour at Ballard's Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery (yum!).  Owen wanted to come along, but it wasn't in the cards for him. 

When I got home, the quivering lip started, and he told me that he was sad he didn't get to have his nails polished too.  So, I did what any good mom would do, and VOILA:


Owen got one better and we painted his fingernails too.  He and I picked an outfit for school today to match his red nails.  And here I thought I'd miss out on this stuff by not having a daughter! :)

Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated.  And by "up" I mean literally up on the dresser for one more year!  I think next year we can probably put a full-sized tree on the floor without worrying about the kids pulling all of the ornaments off.  Maybe. :)

Here are some pictures of our new ornaments this year, and the finished tree!