My Owie B

It seems like I have written a lot about Ethan lately but haven't had much to say about Owen so this post is all about him. Owen has always been an affectionate child. Aunt Jan once said you haven't been hugged until you have been hugged by Owen. He is so lovable and cuddly and when he hugs you and hugs tight and close up on your shoulder. Here lately, maybe over the last week, he has been waking at night between 11 and 12 has been wanting to get in our bed. I used to refuse and try to rock him back to sleep but recently I have just been getting him and bringing him to bed with us. He still likes to play with my hair while falling back asleep but he is becoming more respectful when I tell him that's enough. This usually happens if I have a headache and he is pulling or if he is picking my hair up and dropping it in my face. He usually goes back to sleep really quickly and for the most part I do too. The biggest reason I have stopped fighting him about staying in his bed is really selfish. I love waking up with him. I remember when Ethan was around 2-2 1/2 and it never failed, he woke up grouchy 90% of the time. Crying and whining, just really unpleasant to be around. And still to this day he can be this way if things don't go his way right off. Meaning Chris doesn't rush downstairs to get his orange juice for him. But not Owen. He always wakes up with a smile on his face and usually when I wake up he is snuggled right up next to me with his head on my shoulder. I just love it! Ethan is very much into electronics and I think will end up being a daddy's boy, but not my Owie B. He is a mommy's boy through and through. Here are a few pictures that his day care teacher has taken recently that I think are just adorable.

Tigger Fa-mi-ly

I am so excited about Ethan's latest accomplishment. It may seem trivial to some, but this latest achievement is huge in my book. A couple of weeks ago, Ethan had his 4 year check up. One of the questions Chris was asked was whether Ethan could draw people yet, even stick people. He said he didn't know, we had never tried it. So that evening Chris showed Ethan how to do it and it did it effortlessly. Fast forward a few weeks......I picked Ethan up from preschool on Monday and he was busy at the table drawing. He proudly looked up at me and said "look mommy I drew you and daddy and Owen." And he did! You may wonder why I am so proud of him over this, well let me tell you. He is turning into a little boy and with that comes the awareness that maybe, just maybe the world doesn't always revolve around him; that he cares about other people in his life and thinks about us even when we are not present. The fact that he drew everyone else first and saved himself until last and yet didn't even get to finish with drawing himself, I think speaks volumes. Maybe I am reading too much into this, but for me, this was one of those moments as a mom that you stop and say to yourself "I must be doing something right." I will try to post a picture of his family art in the next couple of days.

American Tobacco Trail

We headed out again today to ride the American Tobacco Trail. It will eventually connect Apex to Durham but is currently a work in progress. We made up our mind that we were going to ride 8 miles in and 8 miles out. However, around 6.25 miles we couldn't go any further. You see, there are gates along the way and just enough room for me to squeeze the boys trailer in between them. When we reached the gate at 6.25 miles we couldn't fit. :-( Not sure why they decided to make that gate way slightly smaller than all the others, but nonetheless we went as far as we could go. Owen slept most of the way which made for a much more peaceful ride this time. Ethan didn't have anyone to fight with. We turned around and started back towards the car and decided to stop for our picnic. Owen was waking up and they both needed to get out and stretch their legs. We stopped for juice boxes, raisins and applesauce. The last time we did this I had forgotten to bring spoons for the applesauce so the boys had to kind of squeeze the container and slurp the applesauce out. Today though, when I started to pack the cooler, Ethan went to the silverware drawer and retrieved 2 spoons. He told me "we can't forget these this time." It amazes me the things he remembers. Anyway, we had our picnic then hopped back on our bikes to make our way back to the car. Whoever tells you this is easy, is lying to you. The boys probably weight about 30-35 pounds each, the trailer another 10 pounds or so and then the cooler was maybe 5 pounds. All in all I was probably pulling about 80 pounds or more. Whew! I was beat when we finally arrived back to the car. I think the total ride was a little over 2 hours and about 12.5 miles. I love it, despite it being difficult at times. It was especially wonderful today because the boys didn't fight until the ride back when Owen was awake. Hopefully we will be able to go again next weekend.

Arts and Crafts with Ethan

I worked from home today so that I could take Ethan for another arts and crafts project with the Holly Springs Parks and Rec. We did this last month and made tie dye t-shirts. We both loved it so much we signed up again for July. Today was even better. We made three projects. A bug catcher out of a mason jar, a stepping stone with his hand print and a bird house. He had so much fun decorating all three and especially painting the bird house. I will try to post photos later this weekend. I love being able to do these little things with him and continue to struggle with the decision to become a stay at home mom. There are a couple of books on the topic that I would like to read, although ultimately it is going to be my decision. For now, I cherish these mom and Ethan times and look forward to Owen getting a little bigger so that he can participate as well.

Bike Ride

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a new bike and a trailer to pull behind so that I could ride and pull the boys in the trailer. I thought it was a great idea. Both boys got in the trailer at the store, we hooked it up to the bike and I pulled them around the parking lot. They seemed to love it. Sold. So we bought it. Fast forward a few weeks and come to find out, Ethan hates it. I am really not sure why. I pedal as fast as I can so that he gets a thrill of going fast, but nonetheless he mostly cries the whole time we are out, which is never less than an hour at a time. Weekend before last, we took the bikes out to the American Tobacco Trail and rode about 5 miles into the trail, stopped for a picnic, then rode the 5 miles back to the car, roughly 2 hours of riding. They had toys, sippy cups, snacks, books, you name it, I tried to throw it in the trailer to keep them occupied. Still, Ethan constantly asked me "are we done yet?", "can we go home now?" etc. So tonight, instead of fighting with Ethan about going for a bike ride and getting out of the house for some fresh air, I let it go and just Owen and I went. We had a blast! We chatted most of the way about things we saw, sprinklers watering people's lawns, dogs, children playing, you name it, we talked about it. This was probably the most fun I have had since buying the bike and the trailer. It doesn't mean that Ethan is going to get his way every night and get out of coming out with us, but for tonight, it was just me and Owie and it was so much fun!

Ahoy There Matey!

Someone once told me time flies once you have children. It seems they told me this when I was in the midst of up all night nursing sessions and I thought to myself, if only it would fly by maybe one day I would actually get some sleep. And here I am, 4 years later and I can honestly say, yes it does. I always become very nostalgic around my boys birthdays. Like today for instance, 4 years ago today, Ethan was only 4 days old. I hadn't yet learned to burp him and my husband and I were literally up from midnight until 6 am with a non stop crying baby that we had no idea what to do with. I suppose at 6 am my precious bundle of joy accepted his parents didn't have a clue what they were doing and finally gave it up for some sleep. 4 years later, he sleeps like a dream and finally, I do too. Tomorrow we are celebrating his 4th birthday at Marbles Children's Museum. He is into pirates right now and they have a large pirate ship with dress up clothes to boot. He is so excited his friends are coming to celebrate along with his Aunt Jan, Unkin Navin, Mimi and PawPaw. So as I take a moment to look back at baby pictures and update his baby book I can't help but admire the wonderful little boy he is becoming. And maybe, just maybe, I will shed a little tear and long for those all night nursing sessions again.