The Big Birthday Extravaganza!

Last week we celebrated our boy in a big BIG way.  I mean, you only turn 5 once, right? Last Monday we took him to see an Indians game, and I arranged for them to display his name on the scoreboard in honor of his birthday.

On his actual birthday, Aunt Sar took us all to the children's museum.  We had a wonderful time and Owen had a ball exploring his favorite exhibits.   After the museum, we rushed home in time to make it to swim lessons, where Owen "went off" diving board for the first time.  (Actually I ended up dropping him off the end because he got himself into such a predicament- but whatever.) We came home and opened gifts, and then we went to Puerta Vallerta for dinner. (Owen's choice).  

Needless to say, we had a tired boy at the end of that day!

Then Saturday, we had TWO parties for the little guy.  First off, was his "friend" party at the Flip Zone.  This was possibly the funnest party that's ever been. (For me at least :)   12 of Owen's closest friends were there to celebrate by jumping, flipping, bouncing, and generally having a blast!  The biggest hit of the party was the gigantic foam pit that kids jumped into over and over (and over and over and over)

 And by "kids", I mean all of us kids at heart!  There were quite a few that day!

 Owen diving off of the 10 foot platform into the foam.

 Even Grandma Dee got in on the foam pit action.  She was hurling foam blocks at kids like she wasn't a day over 5 herself. :)  This woman has an amazing way with kids, every kid in that place was squealing with delight and shouting "GRANDMA!!" 

 Daddy didn't miss out on the fun either! 

 All of the kids in their superhero capes and masks



 Best Buddy and oldest friend- Nathan

I'm fairly confident that all of the kids had a fantastic time, and I'm positive that my good friends out there playing their hearts out had an awesome time too!  Thank you so much to everyone that made Owen's party such a hit!

An hour later, we started all over again.  4:00 pm- Family party time at Casa de Gessner. 

We were so thankful for everyone that was able to there and celebrate our boy's big day. 

All four boys actually looking at the camera?? Too much to ask.  But a picture of them being them? Score.

Let me take a moment right here to stop and thank the family of our hearts (Totally just snagged this photo from their blog! But hey, I took it, so it's not really stealing)  Walroths, we can't thank you enough for all of your help with the parties. Sara, thank you for all of your patience, understanding, mask-threading, and rock-star fondant skills.  I couldn't do it without you.  Todd, thank you for all of the amazing photos.  Our life wouldn't be nearly as documented without you- and I can't thank you enough for loving us and taking the time and care that you do!  We LOVE our Todderazzi!

Some of my favorite photos from the day.

It's hard to be a Superhero.

Happy 5th Birthday Owen. Mommy and Daddy love you! 

Happy Birthday Owen

***This is a week late, but things were a little bit hectic last week in the midst of the party planning.***

I truly cannot believe that my little boy is five. FIVE. How did that happen?  I am so unbelievably proud and humbled to be his mother.  Every day that I have with him is a gift.  Every morning that he climbs up in my bed and snuggles into my side is a treasure.  Every time that he surprises me with another piece of knowledge that I cannot for the life of me figure out how he learned is amazing.

 He is a challenge. He is a joy. He is a handful. He is 100% boy.  He is independent. He is intelligent. He is sensitive. He is generous.  He is the one that defined my life.  He is the one that made me a mommy. 

Owen, I can't even begin to describe how much you mean to me.  I simply don't have the words that can begin to encompass what you've brought to our lives.  You are so smart and thoughtful. You can capture a room full of people with your charm. You are truly an amazing person and  I am so excited to see what the future holds for you.  We love you so much. Thank you for making us parents.
Mommy.

Owen at five years old
34.5 pounds
40.5 inches
Pip. Squeak.

Randomness

Eli

This child is CONSTANTLY begging to be rubbed on.  "Bub my back!" Bub my bebby!" "Feet too!" "Wegs too!" are the cries of this boy.  I mean, it's all of the time.  And if we are busy doing something and can't rub him, he takes it upon himself to rub himself against you.  If I'm standing in the kitchen making dinner, he'll weave figure eights between my legs.  I always say that he's part feline.  Matthew says that he must have a skin disorder that requires him constantly be rubbing against something, much like a dolphin that needs to shed it's skin by rubbing on things.   It's rather humorous, but can also become somewhat irritating.  As Eli was laying between us demanding his rubs the other night, Matthew looked at me and said, "You can make anything a drug."  So true.  "Bubbing" is certainly his addiction.

It's been so fun to listen to him talk lately.  I swear he picks up new words every day.  The other day, he wanted something, and when I told him no, he slapped his chubby little thighs with both hands, and said, "No fair!"   It was definitely one of those moments where it is inappropriate to laugh, but you'll burst if you don't. 

Owen

It's been amazing the past few weeks to watch this boy grow and change.  He's definitely on a mental growth spurt.  He thinks about everything, asks intelligent questions, and formulates plans that seem so far above his age.  A few days ago, he spent the entire day sitting with his Aunt Sar, telling her about all kinds of things.  He gave her all of the details of the house that he's going to build one day.   It'll be on a lake, and it's going to have an underwater fish feeder that the fish can press a button to get some food. It's also going to be built out of different colored wood, and it's going to be nicer that our current house :)

And for all of the mental development that he's displaying, he still struggles with his emotional maturity.  It's got to be frustrating to have the thoughts and ideas that he does, but to not have the maturity to match them.   We received his kindergarten readiness score, and academically he scored incredibly high- however he is still not ready to sit through a full day of school.  He's not able to focus on and complete his work in a timely manner.  He still makes decisions with decidedly questionable judgement.  The kinds of decisions where you say to yourself, "WHAT was he THINKING?!?!?!" 

But unfortunately, I have to admit that that his emotional volatility comes honestly.  The other night, as he was getting ready for bed, he came storming down the hallway, crying, and says, "Seriously! These jammies don't smell good!"   Matthew and I looked at each other and had to laugh, because some nights, I will pull two or three different {clean} shirts out of the drawer before I find one that "smells" right to sleep in.  No joke. This is actually a neurosis of mine.  And one that Owen has never even seen me do.  Apparently, the need for good-smelling shirts at bedtime is genetic. 

Yesterday, I had to take Owen to the Dr. because of the funk that he's had on his face for several months.  It's just dry patchy places, but they're red and drive him crazy scratching.   Thursdays are his Dr.'s day off, so we were scheduled to see one of the other docs,  Dr. C. looked at him and finally told me that she just wasn't sure what it was, but that his doc, Dr. S, had stopped in, so she'd go see if she wouldn't mind coming in to take a look.   Owen was thrilled to death to see Dr. S, and apparently had been making a mental list of things that he wanted to tell her.   As she's wrestling him around, and trying to figure out his mystery rash, he's jabbering at her non-stop about  how he likes to eat carrots, and how he eats salad now.   Dr. S turned away from him to try to tell Dr. C what to write on the chart, and Owen reached up, put his hand on her cheek and turned her face back to him, and in his most serious voice said, "I wasn't done telling you about the salad yet." 

After finishing the salad soliloquy, he went on to give her a detailed description of a caterpillar that he had recently captured, observed, and released.  The vocabulary and descriptors that he used were astounding.  Dr. S looked over at me and said, "His IQ has got to be through the roof."  We went on to talk about how his smarts probably play a big role in the behavior problems we have with him.   

I'm sure glad that she loves my kids and is willing to take that kind of time with them (and me) on her day off.  I'm so thankful that she appreciates my precocious (almost) five year old enough to listen to him drone on about salads and bugs, when all she probably really wanted to do was go home.  I'm also so appreciative of the fact that she encourages and praises my parenting, even when I'm scared out of my wits that I'm doing it all wrong.   As we were getting ready to leave, Dr. C started to give me a lecture about making sure that I always put bug spray on the kids, but Dr. S interrupted her, and said, "You don't have to tell her, she's a meticulous mama. He's just a kid that gets bit no matter what." 

Shoot, we have family members who haven't figured that out about Owen yet, and like to lecture me for our kids' bug bites. 

The funniest part of it all was that later that night, Owen looked at me and said, "That wasn't very nice what Dr. S said today." 
I couldn't figure out what he was talking about since I felt that she'd been very complimentary.
"What wasn't very nice?" I asked him.
"When she called you and 'Ridiculous mama'." 
lol

We then went on to have a vocab lesson on the meaning of "meticulous". 

On God and Stuff

Tonight as we were riding home in the car, we received a poignant reminder of how little ears are always listening to the things that we say.  (Even if those same little ears usually don't 'listen' to a thing we say!"   Owen was in the back seat, watching a movie and Matthew and I were discussing a child that had passed away during a surgery.  We were talking quietly to one another, and assumed that he was totally engrossed in his movie, but alas, he heard us.

Immediately, the onslaught of questions began, and all basically revolved around the concept of, "But aren't people supposed to die when they're old?"

"Yeah, Buddy," I responded, "That's how it usually happens."  I was hoping to leave it at that.

No such luck.

"But you said that a little girl died.  She wasn't old. Why'd she die?"

Matthew and I exchanged the hopeless look of two parents desperately needing the wisdom to say the right thing.

"Sometimes," I slowly started, my mind racing. "Sometimes, God just has different plans and wants to bring someone home to Heaven a little earlier."

He thoughtfully considered my answer, and finally replied, "Probably God runs out of little kid pieces sometimes so he needs to bring some kids to Heaven to get some more."

Those little wheels are ALWAYS turning.

Riddles

You know how kids go through the "No!" phase, and the "Why?" phase, (sometimes simultaneously??) Well, we're in a new phase with Owen and it's called the "Riddle" phase.   It works like this, Owen gives us a string of clues related to some random memory that he's thinking of and we have to try to guess what it is.  He is very detailed with his clues, so usually after wracking our brains, we can figure it out. 

For example, one night we were eating dinner and Owen says, "I wish that I could see that nice girl again." 
"Which nice girl are we talking about, buddy?" We asked.
"The one at the church with the birthdays." He tells us, "She sounds like lasagna." 

hmmmm.

This time it took both of us to figure it out.  Matthew finally figured out that the "church with the birthdays", is Winchester Congregational Christian- you know, the one where we hosted Great Grandpa Norbert's 90th BIRTHDAY, as well as other family events.  From there, I figured out the "nice girl that sounds like lasagna." is actually my cousin, Vanessa. (And she is indeed VERY nice!)  

Clear as mud, right?


Sometimes, we have a harder time. Currently, we have an unsolved riddle to which we have clues such as,
-People dressed up like sandwiches
-The guys that came out of the little doors
-Something that makes everything green
-It's a Jesus day

We have no clue.

It's clear that he makes his connections in atypical ways.

Last Day

I can't believe it, but we're already through with another school year.  It's hard to believe how fast time flies.  Owen is actually disappointed to be out of school for the summer.  He truly had a wonderful year!
I'd just like to say a huge thank-you to these two ladies for being everything that preschool teachers should be.

For encouraging, teaching and loving my son- I'm truly grateful. We're so happy that he'll be with you again for another year!

Bounce Baby Bounce

A while back, Owen decided that he'd really like to have a trampoline. He mentioned it a few times in passing, and then it became more a focused subject to him. We told him that if he worked hard and saved his money that he'd be able to buy one. (I promised him that I would match his savings- since I also wanted a trampoline.) One of my proudest moments while he was saving was when he looked at my mom who had suggested that we buy him the trampoline, and told her that he was buying it with his money. I reminded him that he didn't have enough to make the purchase yet, and he simply replied, "I'll just have keep working until I earn enough." Seriously, I know an awful lot of adults who can't understand that concept. Last weekend, after many weeks of hard work, he hit the magic number, and we were off to Wal-Mart to make the purchase.

He carried his little, "spend" box into the store so proudly and helped the cashier count out every last penny. (A big thanks to the patient cashier who didn't get frustrated by a four year old with a box full of small bills and coins.)

We got it home, and within a couple of hours- we were in business! Let me tell you, I'm loving this thing, because on the days when he's spent several hours bouncing, he goes right to sleep! Plus, it's a lot of fun!

And in typical Owen fashion, he wants to make sure that he keeps that trampoline clean. After learning the hard way that sandboxes and trampolines are not a good match, he was right out there getting it swept off.

He cracks me up.

Success!!

Guess what!

We are FINALLY a diaper free home (during the day)  Our little man decided that it was high time to stop crapping in his pants, and we couldn't be happier.  

It's kind of funny because we'd allowed the potty training process to become a power struggle, and honestly what a stupid thing to have a power struggle over.  I mean, who's going to win that one? The one with the actual control over his bodily functions, or ones trying to bribe, bully, plead, and coerce?   Lesson learned- you're not going to win a power struggle with a two-year-old over anything potty training.

Let's just say that we didn't win the struggle.  We did however accept defeat, and stopped worrying about it all together.  We changed his diaper in the morning without a single word about using the potty.  We cleaned up foul messes without complaining. We just dropped the subject all together.

Three days later, he got up, took off his diaper, brought us a pair of roos to put on him- and he's been using the potty every since.  He did it. On his own terms.  He won.

(Don't tell him, but I kinda feel like a winner too!)

Here are a few pictures from our Big Boy celebration at Chuck E. Cheese.

(Who looks like the bigger kid in this picture?)

YAY!