Sewing

Adelaide has been wanting to sew some more. I wish I could say I was a great mom and have been giving her plenty of opportunities, but then I'd be lying. Monday I did finally come through. She sewed this all by herself:

And she looked so darling in her creation.

With the machine out I knew I needed to knock something off my looooooong to-do list if I still wanted to feel good about myself that day ;).

I had this fabric Ethan "tricked" me in to buying on one of my rare, energetic days. Sewing him pajamas is no longer cost effective given I have to buy more fabric. I must have been feeling really peppy because I justified it by thinking I could get a pair out of the scraps for Owen.

That fabric has been sitting there taunting me from it's Hobby Lobby sack for weeks now. So I decided to silence it and get it off my list. Besides it may be the only time these two can wear matching anything. 

Ethan hadn't wanted trucks or puppies on his jammies. I didn't blame him. But the flames and planets seem so funny to us for little Owen. And adorable. I love seeing them together. 

7/8 Sandwich

Owen turned 7 months.
Then 8.
And a lot happened sandwiched in between.

Such as a lot of tolerance shown for big brother's and big sister's idea of "playtime."

And Adelaide's cute first-grade program.

Here she is proudly posing with her paper plate octopus.

Owen decided to start pitching in with the chores. He is sure we all want wet hoodie ties on laundry folding day. He is happily doing his part.

We moved into our house. This picture is not complete. Grass, shutters and the 4th porch column are what I see missing. But it's getting there. Now the grass is in and greening up. I'll post a more complete picture when it is really looking it's best. We're happy to be settling in and unpacking for good this time.

Owen and I took a little trip to Utah. We were lucky enough to be there at the same time as Keith's big marathon run. We excitedly waited for him in the rain.

And here he is--26.2 miles in just under 6 hours. So so proud of him!

I couldn't believe he was still standing afterward. Let alone smiling.

Addie graduated from Daisy Scouts to Brownies. Yes, she sweet-talked me into another year of girl scouts. So I apologize in advance for hitting you up for cookies next year. 

Scouts are responsible for placing flags on all the graves at the national cemetery for Memorial Day.

It was a great experience. Thousands of soldiers' graves dating back to the Civil War, and hundreds of scouts honoring their sacrifice. I'm glad we could be a part of it.

Except for lugging Fat Owen around. Sometime mid-seventh month he suddenly became too much.

Adelaide earned the highest score in her class for reading.

Ethan as well. And a special award for art achievement. It was a very successful school year for them both.

Ethan and Randal ran a 5k together. (Owen too, if you're interpretation of "running a 5k" is a rather loose one.) Ethan was in it for the dream of the cash reward. They practiced and improved their time each day leading up to the race. 

We are so proud of Ethan's efforts even if he was initially motivated by the money. He and I have have run together since. He is really trying to do his best as he continues to run. 

And after all that, this little guy turned 8 months. 

Owen has 6 teeth which he looooves. I suspect I will be missing some skin on my neck in the very near future. The question is which attempt will be the one to finally do it? It's making me very anxious actually. 

He does pretty well feeding himself. The most surprising thing he has liked eating of late is eggplant. Hates blueberries though. 

Owen just figured out how to roll around the room. This really is an achievement for him given that he high-centers himself on is belly. It takes some extra effort to get anywhere from there. So we're proud of him for going the extra mile as well.

Chorus

Ethan has been in the 4th and 5th grade chorus. They finished up their year with a Spring concert. I'm very proud of Ethan for doing his best and sticking with after-school practices all year long. And I'm very proud of me for picking him up after school every time.

The chorus also sang the national anthem at the local minor league baseball game over the weekend. I have a picture, but realize it may have too much information in it for a public blog. 

So instead here is a post cotton candy picture of Addie at the game. She looks delicious and darling in her new glasses. 

Processing

Just chilling, waiting for his rosemary hair oil treatment for dry scalp to process. It did the trick. Plus he smelled like a salad afterward. Yummy.

4/8/13

Six Months.

Loves 

sweet potatoes,

pulling hair,

naps,

playing in front of the mirror,

laughing,

the stroller,

baths...

Seven Eleven

Adelaide celebrated her long-awaited seventh birthday.

Trust me. She could not wait to be seven. Notice the "Birthday" is missing it's A and Y. She licked it off sometime during the hour (no lie) she sat at the table staring at her cake waiting for Randal to come home from work to celebrate.  

She wanted to wear a dress to school to mark the occasion. She wanted her hair done the prettiest way possible. I asked her what she meant by that, and braids and pigtails were her request. I'm glad because it still makes her look little.

The wrapped presents tortured her. Especially the one from Grandma and Grandpa. For some reason she wondered if it could be a pool floatie. And, "Didn't Grandma know I can swim?" 

Turns out no floatie, Grandma got it right. We didn't. Since her birthday we have had a bit of a tug of war over her new bike. She outgrew the bike she learned to ride last year, so naturally we thought it would be a good birthday present. She will not ride it. She is afraid of falling, all over again. I don't know what we're going to do about that. What I do know is this girl does not do anything until she is good and ready. 

This year has brought a little bit more interest in boys. She got really embarrassed at the prospect of revealing one when she used more than one breath on her candles.

Seven. I know I always say I'm having a hard time with it, but I can't help it. I could freeze her in this spot a little while longer. She is sweet and loving. She loves her friends. She loves school. When she learned we were going to miss one day of school for our trip to Puerto Rico, she was not happy. She didn't want to miss her teacher and mess up her attendance record for the month. She is definitely a "lark" and probably always will be. She is always up early and most pleasant in the morning. Though do not try and rush her. Ever. That pleasantness will instantly disappear. Adelaide is very thoughtful, opinionated, kind and shy. She is a pleaser and a perfectionist like her mom. Something I hope she masters a bit better than me when she grows up. She is Daddy's girl. She still drops everything when he comes in the door to give him a hug. I get plenty of them myself too. Love you, Addie girl! 

Puerto Rico

Our family vacationed in beautiful Puerto Rico over Spring break. A trip we very nearly missed in our mad rush to get to the airport on time only to hear our luggage fall out into the road via the open lift gate. Thank goodness for durable luggage, even though they're now a little worse for wear.  

That quickly became a distant memory once we got there. According to the song the kids made up and sang incessantly, Puerto Rico is awesome. And they weren't wrong! Albeit a bit annoying.

We swam a lot. Strangely, I have no pictures of that. The closest I have is of Ethan in his swimsuit hanging out in Owen's fort of hotel pillows.  

I do have pictures of the kids being invited to make pottery. Randal's Spanish sure came in handy on this, and many other occasions.

On the other hand, Ethan and Addie's song from Spanish class is still ringing in my ears. (That tends to happen around the 1000th time one hears it.) It did get a few chuckles, which was fun.

Rough song translation:

My head,

My head,

My heads hurts.

Call a doctor!

Head!

Head!

Doctor!

Aiyeeeeeee!

We toured a historic fort (Castillo San Felipe del Morro) in the heart of San Juan. Our photos do not really show just how impressive these structures truly are. They are built out of the ocean's cliffs, complete with dungeons, cemeteries, cannons, courtyards, etc. The fort even managed to impress Ethan who is more often a tough sell when it comes to this kind of thing. 

We had us some delicious Puerto Rican food. Pork. Beans. Rice. Yucca. Plantains. And Mufungo.

Then the kids begged us for some Puerto Rican food of a different variety. So we ate at la casa del Big Mac and they were happy.

We hiked in the El Yunque rain forest and played in a waterfall.

It was absolutely beautiful.

However, this is what Owen thought of it all.

He more enjoyed it when he was pushed around in his stroller wearing his shades.

Actually he and I spent a lot of time hanging out in the shade. Even though he is too little to really appreciate the trip, he was patient and pleasant the whole time. Probably because he never had to wear socks. They can be a bit constricting for a chubby guy like him.

While we hung out, Randal and the kids paddled around the water overlooking downtown San Juan.

I love my family. I loved forgetting all the stresses of home and relaxing with them.

There's nothing like a vacation to remind me just how much fun these three munchkins can be.

I'm so lucky they're mine.