A Weekend Away

Last weekend we took a trip to Deep Creek, MD with friends. It was very nice to get away for a bit and catch up with friends. With 9 kids and 14 adults (all in the same house) it was crazy at times. I’m very thankful that we have close friends that want to be in the same house with us all weekend even if they don’t have kids themselves.

The weather was a little chilly when we arrived but warmed up enough to go on a boat ride on Saturday. For indoor entertainment we had dvds, toys, and of course a bounce house. We were hoping to set up the bounce house outside, but there wasn’t enough room for it. The biggest space in the house without moving too much furniture was the master bedroom (sorry Batch and Jen).

Owen went on his first boat ride on Saturday. He wasn’t really sure about it, and never let go of my hand, but I think he had a good time. He was worried when anyone got up to move while the boat was moving. Later in the afternoon we were able to have an adult only boat ride, which was made possible by 3 brave adults (one being Tony) staying back with the kids. Thank you, guys! Next time you will get to enjoy the boat ride.

 

Thank you, Melissa, for putting this picture together.

 

 

One Year Back

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been back in Pittsburgh for a year. I think we have all adjusted pretty well. It was hard getting used to having Tony work from home full time, but I’m very grateful that he is able to do so. I also started working part-time from home in January so we share an office a few days a week. Owen is in school 2 days a week, and he has been great at splitting his time.

We have made a few changes to our house this year. We updated the breakfast room, got new flooring in the kitchen, and updated the dining room. Nothing is fully complete yet, but these few rooms look a lot different from when we moved in.

Fun with tantrums

I want Owen to have fun and experience as much as he can, but pretty much everytime I try and take him somewhere – and even when we get there – he has tantrums. I know it’s just his age, but it is so hard to deal with. I keep trying to remember that every age has its ups and downs, but it is a real chore to go anywhere with him.

We went to the Children’s Museum on Monday to see the new Harley Davidson exhibit. Of course, there were a million field trips there that day so it was pretty crowded, but once Owen got over his first few tantrums we eventually had some fun. He didn’t like the new exhibit very much because of how loud some of the things were, but he did really enjoy trying to build a house.

For now, I’ll try to enjoy when he is cute and laughing.

 

First of Many Trips to the Zoo

Owen, like most kids, really likes animals. So we decided to keep up the trend of being zoo members now that we’re in Pittsburgh. We went for our first of many trips yesterday, and we had a good time looking at the tigers, monkeys, crocodiles, fish, flamingos, and elephants too. I don’t recommend going into the monkey house when it is hot. It was like a stinky sauna. I think next time we’ll check out the Kids Kingdom section.

Happy Mother’s Day

Last year Owen and I had a Mother’s Day breakfast at his daycare. This year, since he is only going part time there won’t be a breakfast, but he did make me an adorable craft:

This week we had to go back to the dentist. Owen hit his front tooth at daycare (and didn’t tell anybody), and now it is permanently gray. We went to the dentist to make sure that his permanent tooth wasn’t affected, and they said that it looks ok but that his tooth is loose. So he might be losing his first tooth sooner than expected. It doesn’t seem to bother him so I’ll try and stop worrying about it.

He was watching a movie while waiting for the dentist.

Some sandbox fun after coming back from the dentist.

Not sure how he even gets in with all of those toys.

Wishing all of the moms a wonderful and relaxing Mother’s Day!

 

 

 

Being Three

Owen just had his well check last week and he is growing and healthy. The only thing that we need to work on is potty training. The doctor suggested when it is warm enough to just let him run around outside naked and have his potty ready. I have my doubts with this tactic, and I worry that he will think that it is normal to go to the potty outside, but I really don’t have that much to lose. Now we just need the weather to cooperate.

I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since we moved back to Pittsburgh. It has been really nice to be closer to family and friends. We are still in the process of making our house the way we want it. We pretty much finished the breakfast room and are now working on the dining room. We picked out a new set of furniture about a week ago and Tony is finishing up painting the room. I will post pictures once it is all completed. Yay!

If you are looking for a book to read during these rainy spring days I recommend reading The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

Imagination

Owen has a great imagination these days. He has been pretending to have birthday parties with his cars and dinosaurs. It has been so nice to have him play by himself if even for a few minutes. He has been doing most of his “parties” in the dining room as we redo it. At today’s party, his blanket was the cake. Another thing that he loves to imagine is that our banister going upstairs has a button that dispenses ice cream. Sounds like a pretty sweet idea to me.

Now that Owen is three, he has moved up to the preschool room at daycare, and he seems to really like it. I’m hoping that as more of his friends use the potty that he will as well. He has also moved up in his swimming class and goes into the pool without a parent with him (Tony is a big fan now that he doesn’t need to go in with him).

He also has good taste in sweets, like his mommy :).