Savannah's Birthday Part 1

On Thursday evening the family went out for a birthday dinner with Papa T. He and Savannah's birthdays are just two days apart and because we will be in Gatlinburg on their actual birthdays we decided to celebrate early!

We started with dinner at the Mason Jar.

Savannah was a little tired and whiny and didn't want to eat her food (shocker!!) but overall dinner was good! Then we headed back to the house for some cupcakes and gifts!

shes happy now!

Tangled Cake

Papa T got her the much desired fishing pole

We got Papa T some new candy for his stash :)

Cupcakes!!! 

From us Savannah got gardening supplies

and a tomato plant

I found this desk at an antique shop and Mike agreed to paint it for her! It turned out so cute!

Polly pushing Owen in his swing

planting her tomato plant

Papa T showing her how to cast her line

More birthday stuff to come but I think it was a nice start to her 5th birthday!!

*One quick note to any of you who follow my blog frequently - I will be out of town for a week so I won't be adding any new posts for a while. Yay vacation!!! Please pray for me....I am driving 10+ hrs in the car with all of the kids!

Sick!

Saturday morning, just as I was realizing that I needed to get my packing list together for our upcoming trip to Gatlinburg, Owen came down with a cold. Figures....my kids have been basically healthy for a couple months now and here we go the week of our trip. Sunday morning I woke up with it and Monday morning Savannah started up!!! Uggghhhh....

my supply of mucinex, motrin, nasal spray, and probiotics

And starting Monday Owen's cold morphed into a stomach bug!! Yesterday I changed about ten diapers, outfit twice, and the cribs sheets and all his blankets!!! All while trying to pack...

He likes to unpack :)

So we've been doing a lot of this:

Thankfully, this morning I am feeling better and I am really hoping that by Friday we are all better!!!

Savannah's Wild West Show

On Friday Savannah's class put on a Wild West Show! I think it was kind of like an end of the year/field day type of thing! I was kind of sad that I didn't get to go, but I am the one who usually goes to the kids school stuff so I was happy that Mike got to go. Here are the best pics!

riding the pony

that girl loves her Daddy

she was doing that at about 2 yrs old!!!

see!!! May 2009

rock wall!!

Here is a little video of her scooter in action!

By the time she made it home she was pretty tired but I made her pose for one last picture :)

I can't believe she's almost done with Pre-K and that she's almost 5!!! What a joy and a challenge she has been!!! Love you Savannie!

Owen Gets A Cut....Again!

One of the things I was most excited about when I found out I was having a boy was having a child with low maintenance hair!! Well, this is not the case! Owen's hair grows ridiculously fast and it's just a huge puff ball when it gets long. He has really thick, coarse hair like Mike so it just has to be kept short. It used to not be an issue because I would just follow him around with scissors and snip whenever he stopped moving. Well, now he has his own opinions and he just runs from me and yells NO! And last time whenever I snipped, he'd say OUCH! I knew I wasn't hurting him but it was nerve-wracking to hear him say ouch!

So I was dreading this week because we are getting family pictures taken soon. But last night I had a major epiphany!

I strapped him into his booster seat, gave him some smarties which are his favorite sweet treat and went to town on his hair! He still said OUCH frequently but he held still and didn't wiggle too much! Victory!!! And he was so excited about the candy that he actually clapped for me when I was all done :) What a sweetie!

Owen Laughs

Owen can be kind of a serious kid....he is chatty and playful at home with us but when he's around anyone else, he keeps pretty quiet. So we thought we'd capture a little bit of the way he laughs on camera because we think it's one of the best sounds on Earth! Everyone in our family loves to hear him giggle!

The Cousin Collection

On Monday while all the adults were attending Grandfather's funeral, all the Oliver cousins were at home with me! They played great together with the exception of Savannah who was a little grouchy...imagine that!

Here they are all!!

happiness

unhappiness

Oh my....I wonder if she'll always be difficult??

Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day!

This year my kids went a little wild with Mother's Day. I guess maybe because they are both in school but they made me a TON of homemade cards and pictures!! It's been Mother's Day at our house for about a week now :) Not that I am complaining!!!

This year I got a pedicure, a gift certificate for a spa massage (yes!!) and beautiful flowers!! Savannah made me a list all about me including my age - 12, my prettiest moments - when I am dressed up for church, and what I like to say most - No. :) Kaitlyn wrote me a very interesting song...here are a few quotes - "you are as sweet as fresh wheat, you are the boss of this tangled moss, queen of the household..."

In the afternoon we went swimming which was a nice little treat!

And after a swim and some down time, Mike grilled up some yummy steaks and we had a nice dinner together! :)

Dress Up for Owen

Recently Owen discovered dress up. The only problem with that is that we only own princess and girly dress up stuff. So for a few days now Owen has been running around the house in cheerleader, Cinderella, and Bat Girl gear. I will post no pictures of this! So finally I decided it was time for a little dress up of his own!

Check him out!

You can't get more "boy" than this!! Guitar on the shirt, cowboy hat, superman cape and mask, a train in one hand, and a Chips A'Hoy cookie in the other!

And although I thought that I would end up with all girls, I am really cherishing having a boy! It is so different but so much fun!

Urology Update

On Tuesday Owen went to visit his urologist for his one year post-op check up. I can't believe it's been a year since he had his surgery! He did great and everything check out great! We were in and out in literally 9 mins :) I think it took me longer to unload him and Catherine from the car and get inside!! But I am not complaining...it's always a relief to not have to entertain children for an hour or more!

So lately Owen has been really into music. He likes to kind of dance when he hears music and even sings a little into a play microphone. On Tuesday he couldn't find the toy microphone, so he took a couple of his magnetic toys and made himself a replacement! 

And while he was distracted, Catherine tried to figure out this whole sippy cup thing :)

Watch out Owen....it won't be long before she figures it out :)

Lego Lovers

My kids love legos! It is the one toy that seems to be able to occupy them all. On Friday afternoon after the girls were home from school and had already overheated from playing outside somehow all four children ended up in the sun room playing (nicely!!!) with the legos :) At first I just sat reading trying to make as little noise as possible but then the mother in me needed to get photo proof of one of those rare moments where everything was calm!

owen helping

even babies love legos

love

pretty soon Catherine wanted to see what I was up to

and so did Owen

Owen reading my book :)

The peace and quiet ended all too soon for this tired Mama, but there is at least hope of more of these sweet moments :)