Life Lately- Entertaining Ourselves Through Winter

Oh January... not my favorite month. The post-holiday slump, the bad weather.... if it weren't for Austin's birthday being in January I think I'd just skip this month altogether. 

We've managed to have some fun though, so let's start recapping!

 We went over to our friend's house for NYE. We had drinks and snacks and the kids ran wild and played. We tuned in to the 9pm East Coast ball drop and "celebrated" the New Year, then headed home to get the monkeys in bed. 

 When we bought our house we felt like it was pretty well updated... then we moved in and realized how many things are NOT nicely updated, or updated at all. Like all the ugly brass doorknobs the former owner spray painted brown. And let the brown pain chip off. So we've been slowly changing out knobs and door handles, light switch covers, etc.. the boys are thrilled with all the Home Depot trips because they think it's the best store ever!

 We went to a friend's house for brunch on New Years Day and took a walk to the George Fox campus. This little one gets tired legs a lot and asks me or Neal to "hole me".... so he got a Daddy ride.

 We have a movie night almost every week, so I asked for a popcorn popper for Christmas. It's healthier, and the boys think its fun to watch it pop. Now hopefully we can get them to pick something other than Finding Dory for the 8 millionth time.

 And this is what movie night really looks like. Piles of blankets and pillows and stuffed animals on the floor... two parents (hopefully with some wine or beer) and two cute kids. 

 Being stuck inside due to icky weather means imaginations have to go to work. And we have to break up fights over toys, or referee playing that gets too rough... so "why don't you guys go put on costumes?" seems to be suggested a lot. This day they both wanted to be tough Ninja Turtles! Other than Owen didn't really get the "tough" memo.

 Neal started being a volunteer coach for Special Olympics basketball. A few of the practices have fallen in the evenings.... which means I'm solo parenting and trying to entertain the kids however I can. They wanted to bury me in toys, so that's what happened. Then Austin wanted to take a picture. I shall call this masterpiece "My Life"

 We switched Owen over to a big boy bed the other weekend!! It was getting hard to lift him in and out of the crib, and the crib is going to Adam and Valerie for their new baby boy that is arriving in April! I'm so happy another sweet baby will get to sleep in that crib. We were worried Owen would wander around all night, but so far he has done great. I don't think he really realizes he can get out of his bed at night, so fingers crossed that just continues!! Austin had to try out the little bed as well, and then read Owen some stories and pretended to put him to sleep. :-)

 Yes babies are cute and sweet... but you know me. I LOVE having kids that I can go and do things with. And what's even better is having best friends with kids the same age that we can go and do things with together! Kenzie and I took Austin and her older two boys to see Sing. The boys loved the movie and the popcorn and we loved the reclining seats and the beer that's now served at our movie theater!

 After Austin and I got home from the movie, Owen and I cuddled on the couch for a bit and watched a cartoon. He didn't nap that day so I thought he could use some down time. Right after this picture I pulled a blanket up over us, which apparently was the last straw, because.....

 Boom. 

Little man just couldn't hang any longer. We tried to wake him up for dinner but he just kept fussing and lying down on the kitchen table bench, so Neal just took him up to bed. At 6pm. Two hours sooner than he usually goes to bed. Poor guy was EXHAUSTED.

 So we had a fun night with just Austin. He wanted to take a silly picture.

 The Star Wars obsession runs deep in our family... Dar Beder (Darth Vadar, according to Owen) is definitely the favorite. Owen got to dress up in brother's costume when he wasn't home one day. Shhhh. Don't tell Austin.

 Austin cracks me up. He saw the commercial for a Snuggi Tail and decided he REALLY wanted one for his birthday. Gramma Darlene got him one and he won't take it off. He walks around in it, he sleeps in it, he took it to school for Show-in-Share... Austin and the Snuggi Tail are about to announce their engagement I think.

This is what happened after Owen's epic couch-nap-really-early-bedtime. He slept over 12 hours and woke up fresh as a daisy.... with dandelion-poof hair. 

Speaking of hair... the boy's hair was out of control. Long, hard to comb, and they wouldn't sit still for Neal to give them cuts.... so we decided it was time to take them to a real barber. They did so good and looked so handsome afterwards! 

Owen has been having a hard time at drop-lately... so we came up with the plan of dropping off Austin in the same room in the mornings. Austin loves hanging with the little kids, and Owen adjusts much better since brother gets to stick around for a bit. It's worked really well this last month or so, and I get pictures from the teacher showing me all the fun they have together in the mornings!

Austin at Five!!!

I can't believe we are here. As cliche as that sounds... that whole "where did the time go?" sentiment... but really. WHERE DID THE TIME GO??? 

I feel like we are entering a whole new realm now with Austin. No longer are our parenting issues the things you get used to dealing with when you have babies and toddlers... he sleeps, he is potty trained, he "gets" things, he knows what manners are, all that stuff is set. 

Now we are starting to teach him concepts. Ways of thinking about the world. Ways to solve problems, grow friendships, be a good person, contribute to our family and his little world, how to deal with hurt feelings, stress, frustration, pride... how to process all those emotions and learn from each experience. 

It's a trip, man. He's a true individual and person.

So here are little bits all about our cool Bambino (shoot, can I still call him that??)

-is just shy of 4 feet tall. Seriously. It's crazy

-wears boys size 8 clothes. SIZE 8. Kid is huge.

-wears size 12 shoe. The next size up is 13, which is the last of the "childrens" sizes. Then we'll be on to "real" sizes. Also crazy.

-is very logical. He was telling his teacher this morning about his birthday and she said "that sounds like a dream!" and he responded with "it wasn't a dream, it was real." Sarcasm and figurative language will be lost on this kid.

-is such a total boy. Everything becomes a weapon, a sword, a "shooter-gun", or something of that sort. He is all about heroes and saving people and being strong. 

-is really into Legos now and wants to play by himself quite a bit. This is very hard for Owen to understand, but I'm glad to see Austin is embracing solitude and entertaining himself.

-is REALLY into Star Wars. 

-loves the following foods: salmon (seriously), apples, applesauce, Babybel cheeses (which he calls "natural cheese"), carrots, hummus, hamburgers, tacos, hot dogs, mac n cheese, strawberries, grapes, chicken, sausage, tilapia, corn, chocolate, celery, chicken noodle soup.

-dislikes the following foods: blueberries, raspberries, bananas, smoothies, pasta, rice, potatoes, cream cheese, melted cheese of any kind, squash, tomatoes, spinach.

-he loves to play I Spy in the car, or guessing games (like describe an animal and guess what it is), or tell knock-knock jokes.

-relays info very matter-of-fact, like "Mom, you can't walk on lava because it's hot! And you'll burn up! And that's not good. So you can't step on lava." and he loves to be reassured his statements are correct or true. 

-is a total rule follower, and likes to set rules in our house. When we get ready in the morning he wants to point to our big clock and show me what number will be "time to get on socks and shoes" and what time will be "get in the car" and then he likes to watch the minute hand and announce when it's time to do the next thing.

-he's bossy and we have to remind him a lot that disciplining Owen is the job of Mommy and Daddy, NOT him. He tries to intervene and tell Owen what to do, or what he's doing wrong. He means well, but it makes situations harder for us.

-he's easily pleased and gets super excited about the simplest things and gifts... which makes it really fun to surprise him and treat him. Sometimes I'll have a Dum-Dum sucker for him for the commute home, and he'll be SO excited and do a happy dance and thank me and give me a hug and tell me he loves me. I love his sweet enthusiasm over all the little things that make him happy. 

-he is fearless. Nothing seems to scare him or phase him... I chalk that up to his logical thinking. I was worried this past Halloween he would start to get spooked by decorations and such, but he just laughed at it all and said "that's just pretend!". New people don't intimidate him, or new situations, or physical challenges. I am shocked we haven't been to the ER with him yet. 

-he loves to dance and show us "his moves".... which are half cartwheels with funny poses as he lands. His favorite songs are My House, Can't Stop the Feeling and We Will Rock You

-he sleeps with about a million stuffed animals in his bed and calls them his babies.

-he loves to dress up and play pretend. On weekends he always in his Ninja Turtle costume, or his Darth Vadar one, or wearing a superhero cape. We got him a soldier costume and he proudly wore it out to ice cream on his birthday. 

He is so confident in who he is, and what he likes. He never feels embarrassed. He always tries to stand out and be different and I LOVE that about him. I hope he never changes. 

Happy Birthday Austin James! What a fun year FIVE will be!

2017 Snowmageddon!!!

Well, 2017... haven't you started off with a bang. 

Or should I say, a dump? As in dump of snow upon snow upon ice with a dash of freezing rain and more snow!

So the we started off a long Snowmageddon Adventure on Saturday, 1-7. That day all we got was about an inch, maybe two inches...but it was enough for my hair appointment to be canceled, and the boys to go out and have some fun. 

 Seeing as we don't usually get snow, the boys don't have snow pants, or snow boots... and until very recently, didn't have snow gloves. Apparently we need to get them better outfitted, since rolling around the snow is their favorite thing.

 We went for a walk around the neighborhood that Saturday. It was really cold and the snow was more icy than fluffy. 

 The neighbors down from us were out sledding (their kids are older than the boys) and had some trucks out too, which the boys quickly helped themselves too, after I nervously looked around going "is it ok if we play with their toys? Do you think they care??" I think since they both go to daycare, they are used to any toy laying around being up for grabs. We have to work on the lessons of personal possessions, asking permission, etc.

 Neal guarding Owen from the storm drain which he had already slipped and had one leg go down. Maybe he wanted to go visit the Ninja Turtles in their underground lair. 

 Austin wanted so badly to eat snow. I think he was a little disappointed that it tasted like nothing.. I'm not sure what he was expecting.... maybe sweet like sugar since it looks like it??

Owen has to do everything brother does, naturally. Snow snack for two, please!

So that snow melted quickly and we had a few normal days... then by Tuesday, 1-10 we had a weather warning that we were going to get snow again. My hair appointment had been changed to that day, so I went and got my hair did, and by the time I was home at 7pm, it was starting to come down. 

Neal and I didn't take the weather warning too seriously, assuming we were going to get another inch or two of dusty, dry snow... but what we woke up to made us realize we were fools. 

 Snow like whoa. 

Almost nine inches of that perfect, thick, fluffy snow! Naturally no one went to work that day, the whole Portland area shut down, so we had a whole day to play!

 They've never seen snow like THIS and couldn't get over how thick it was!

 I wish the snow would melt on the roads but stay in the trees forever. 

 We went for a walk around our neighborhood and Owen's little legs got tired, but he was still so happy to be out in the "mo!"

 Henry darn-near got swallowed, but he had a blast tearing through the snow and running his little heart out!

 So pretty!!!!

 I had to carry Mr. Snowball back on the last leg of our walk. He was shivering and so covered in snowballs his legs could barely move. 

 The management overlooking the labor in the building of our snowman.

 Owen was such a big helper!! He loved his "mo-man"

 Our "mo-man" was quite fabulous with this floral hat. And his chocolate chip eyes (because we couldn't find any rocks). 

 When you don't have a sled... you figure something out. The laundry basket worked surprisingly well as a sled!

It was such a fun day in the snow! I'm so glad we got a true winter for a little bit.. even if it was followed by ice and freezing rain and terrible road conditions. The bad was far outweighed by the good.