Big Boy Prize

A few weeks ago we told Owen that he was now a big boy and no longer needed his potty sticker chart. His prize would be his first bike. So we took him to Toys R Us and spent some gift cards that we’ve had from his past birthdays. It was pretty funny when he picked out a quad that he wanted. Sorry, buddy, I don’t think we’ll ever buy you a quad. I was surprised that Toys R Us had one. After pulling out a few bikes and testing them out, he chose a red one and a Nemo helmet. Since his head is so big we had to get a helmet for a 5-year-old. He is getting better at pedaling, but he still has a lot to learn.

Advertisements

Lots of Walking

Sometimes Owen is throwing mayonnaise and mustard packets on the floor of a restaurant because he is done eating and doesn’t want to wait for everyone else, and other times he is playing nicely at the zoo. Yesterday we had a great day at the zoo just the two of us. Since school is back in session, it wasn’t crowded at all. We spent a while looking at all of the animals and even got to check out the playground. We did so much walking that Owen fell asleep in the car on the ride home.

Field Trip to Shenot Farms

I’ve been wanting to check out Shenot Farms for a while now, and we finally got the chance to go on Friday. We went on a walking tour of the whole farm. It was a long walk that started out with seeing the cider press. Then we saw where they sort the apples for cider and box up the ones to sell. Next, it was off to the fields to see the corn and other vegetables that they grow with a quick stop in the barn to have an apple. There we also learned about all the vegetables they grow. When we made it back to where we started we got to drink some cider and the kids got a pumpkin and a coloring page. Everyone really enjoyed their time, and I think we’ll go back in a few weeks for a hayride to the pumpkin patch.

 

 

 

 

Getting Back in the Groove

I almost called this post, “Poop in Pants” because ever since we’ve gotten back from vacation Owen has regressed a bit from potty training. He did great on the drive down and the drive back, but now he puts up such a fight when we suggest that it’s time to try the potty. Last week, when we were playing outside, I ran in to get some water and by the time I got back outside Owen was standing funny and he said, “I pooped in my pants.” Gross! As parents who have gone through potty training know, it’s a lot easier to clean up poop in a diaper than in undies. Today he has somewhat told me when he had to go, and his underwear has been dry, so maybe we’re turning a corner.

In other non-potty news, Owen has been doing great at his new school. I’ve had to pack a lunch for him  (which is new to me) and he has been eating most of it so that’s a plus. To keep him interested I got him a Bentgo Kids Lunch Box. It has fun little compartments that I try to fill with healthy food.

When we moved into our neighborhood over a year ago we had 2 sets of neighbors give us baked goods when they introduced themselves, so I thought I would do the same for our new neighbors that moved in a few weeks ago. After one failed attempt with them not being home, we were able to meet up the next week and deliver some muffins. Since it is almost fall, I decided to make some pumpkin muffins. I hope they like pumpkin.

A trip to the Outer Banks

This summer went by so fast with all of the fun things we’ve been able to do. Last week we were lucky enough to be invited to go on vacation with family to the Outer Banks. It was such a different beach experience for us. We stayed north of Corolla, which requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle to drive 20 minutes on the beach to get to the house. Our CR-V couldn’t cut it so we had to park at the rental office and have the family drive us to the house. The beach itself was very pretty and secluded – with wild horses roaming around. The only downfall was that you had to look both ways for cars, or horse tours, when you left to walk down to the beach. After the first day we got used to it.

You know what they say about vacationing with kids – it’s just parenting in another place. Owen definitely had his good and bad moments. For some reason he was afraid of the ocean this year. He did enjoy playing in the sand though. He also really liked the seafood boil that we had for our last dinner from Outer Banks Boil Company. He liked it so much that he gave our cook, Matt, a high five when he was done :).  Maybe we have a chef in the making.

 

Anniversary Holiday

Last week we flew to Punta Cana to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. We decided that we wanted to pretty much relax and not have to worry about much while we were there, so we booked our stay at an all inclusive resort. From the time we walked into the Iberostar Grand Bavaro we were treated like royalty.

When we arrived we were greeted with a cold towel. The whole lobby smelled so good! They had aromatherapy candles placed throughout the hotel. After checking in, and giving our luggage to the butler, we had a quick drink before our room was ready. Our butler walked us up to our room and showed us all the amenities and made our dinner reservations for the week. He filled our mini bar with whatever we requested, and he gave us his number in case we needed anything during our stay.

We spent pretty much the rest of the week at the pool and beach. It was so nice to swim up to the pool bar and get any drink we wanted, as well as grabbing a chair at the beach and having a waiter come by and take our order. Of course, we had to eat while we were there. Each day we had the buffet or room service for breakfast, enjoyed the pool grill for lunch, and ate one of the a la carte restaurants at the resort. The restaurants were very good, but I think the chef at the pool grill made the best food. He grilled up tuna, swordfish, salmon, ribeye, and lobster to order.

While we weren’t eating or drinking we went on 2 different excursions outside of the resort. Our dune buggy excursion was not a good experience. Our driver was about 20 minutes late to pick us up, and when we arrived we waited approximately another hour just to get into our buggy. Our buggy broke down 3 times, and the last time it totally died – we had to get another one to get back to the place we started. While waiting for our new ride, we got a good view of the livestock in the field next to the road.

Our second excursion was a better experience. For this excursion, we went horse back riding along the beach. Upon arriving at the ranch we were offered water and had to fill out a short form. Then we were given helmets, matched up with our horses, and given very minimal instructions before heading to the beach. After about half an hour we all got off our horses and watched a man climb up a palm tree to get coconuts for everyone. After taking a machete to cut off the top of the coconut we enjoyed the coconut water and then got back on our horses to head back to the ranch. The views were beautiful as we rode along the beach, but I don’t think we’ll be riding horses again anytime soon due to the soreness of our bottoms.

If you are looking to celebrate a special occasion, I definitely recommend looking into the Iberostar Grand.

Potty Training

Owen never seemed to mind sitting in a dirty diaper, which had me convinced that he was going to be going to Kindergarten in pull-ups, but I’m thrilled to announce that with a lot of help from his Aunt Kim he has been in underwear for over a week now.  Yay! No more buying diapers! He still has some accidents here and there, but for the most part he lets us know when he needs to go. Today he even went poo on the potty!

I think being with his younger cousin Emma, who is potty training as well, really helped with pushing him to start. Also getting a prize once he gets enough stickers on his sticker chart has helped.