Mommy and Me Yoga

Owen Gymnastics

We signed Owen up for gymnastics this session and he has had a blast. He is very flexible and being so light he can swing his little body around very well. It's done wonders for his gross motor skills and confidence. He's become quite the monkey and swings and climbs on everything now.

I take the class with him while wearing Gillen so it's hard for me to do much else but I did snap a few pictures for Daddy when I could. They blew up a huge inflatable slide which many of the kids were scared of, but not Owen. He zipped right down!

Some of the things they did during class were rings, uneven bars, beam, zip line across the gym, trampoline, floor exercises/tumbling and lots of obstacle courses. He can pull up to a window on the bars and bear crawl across the uneven bars.

This class has helped Owen learn to wait his turn and stand in line. Granted most of the time the parents are crazy trying to herd these little bumble bees but progress was made. It was great for Owen in so many ways, especially since he is home with me.

He's going to take a summer session with his Daddy and then be ready for a class all by himself in the fall! 

Playtime: This is THREE.

Owen has been having such a great time playing lately. Certain things will hold his attention for almost an hour now. He played playdoh at the Toy Lending Library for over an hour. He got a 'Cootie Bug' game for his birthday from a friend, and it's the first game he's ever had. He likes to put the bugs together and roll the dice, but we're working on the 'wait your turn' concept. He also LOVES puzzles. I pulled a few out for him one day and showed him how to find the corners to put them together. His Papa sent some puzzles made from pictures of our family a while back, and now he is finally able to put them together. It was actually a great way to teach him puzzles, "Now find all of the pieces of Daddy and put those together." He caught on really quickly and we've been trying to find good 24 piece puzzles for him.

In the last picture he had been working on those puzzles on his new train table for over a hour. I didn't have the heart to tell him it was nap time.

Curious George Day at Miss Yovonne's Class

Someone was really, really excited about the theme for Tot Time this week...

 (blurry but too cute not to post!)

and after Miss Yovonne's class we had to jump in here, of course :)

No PreSchool Just Yet

We had planned to send Owen to preschool starting in January. With Gillen due the week that school started we didn't want two big life changes for Owen all at once, so we thought things would go more smoothly if we waited until January.

It's no secret that Owen had a rough transition to life as a big brother. I also had a lot of trouble working through the fact that Owen was no longer my baby and the two of us were not the dynamic duo that spent the summer together.

After lots and lots of thought decided not to send Owen to the preschool that we picked out and paid a deposit for. I didn't feel it was the right time for him to be away from me. I wanted us to still have all of our mornings together and even though Gillen is with us now, we're still a little team. I wrote more about our decision here on Kveller.com

I signed us up for Music Together Class that Owen, Gillen and I attend together. While the class was for Owen - Gillen absolutely LOVES IT. Owen was shy for the first two classes and now sings out louder than any other child in the class. He listens to the CD on repeat every time we get in the car and I love to see him so happy about singing.

We are taking a gymnastics class starting in March. I will wear Gillen so that I can still help Owen in class. And we still go to Miss Yovonne's class at the Children's Museum along with our playgroup on Tuesdays.

In addition to our busy social calendar - I also bought a little at home calendar for Owen to update with dates and weather. He loves it! I was struggling with what to do with all of his art projects and we found a display line at Ikea to hang everything up on. This is now one of my favorite places in our apartment.

I didn't go to preschool until I was four and I don't believe I missed out on anything or found myself behind. Owen has lots of social interaction, especially with his buddies that we've been friends with since we moved here and our friends from La Leche League which we attend twice per month.

One of my friends recently commented, "Just so you know, this is definitely homeschooling."

and maybe it is - but it's the best decision we've ever made.

My face hurts from smiling

This boy lights my life.

He woke up and wanted to see robots

So after breakfast, he saw robots.

And the view of Pittsburgh from inside the Carnegie Science Center is breathtaking

When what I'm doing feels right

Sometimes in the midst of staying at home raising two boys I lose sight of how important my job is. Tuesday just feels like trash day and not "I did something right" day. Sometimes I feel sad that we don't have much money and that we live in a small apartment with no yard for the boys to run free, we drive small paid-off cars and cook most meals at home.  

But then I have days like today, because on this particular Tuesday we met up with friends at the Children's Museum. Pittsburgh's Children's museum has been rated one of the best in the country for several years now. And this place, like the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Science Center, is familiar to Owen. He goes almost weekly and knows his way around instantly. Owen goes to these wonderful museums several times a week -- A WEEK! He takes classes, explores, paints, learns and grows.

They opened a new exibit in a large open space. This large inflatable rainbow tunnel is staffed at the entrance. Children wait in line and are allowed to run through to the other side. When we arrived there was a short line of kids. Keeping toddlers in a line is quite the job and several mothers were helping to teach the kids how to take turns. Owen was fearful at first and waited in line several times only to turn around and stand back beside me. My friend Erin walked to the end of the tunnel so that O could run to her.

And he did.

And then he waited in line to run through again and again. As lunch time approached kids trickled out and soon only Owen and Emmet were left. The attendant told them they could go in and bounce since it was just them.

They bounced and jumped and giggled for a half hour until they were tired.

The attendant told me that on the weekends the line wraps around the room and out the door all to run through this exhibit once. My kid bounced in a national exibit for a half hour because I've chosen to make small sacrfices and live on less to be home with him.

He isn't missing out, he's getting more. More of me and of this. As least for my heart and my children, it all feels right.

My friend, Erin had a baby a month after I did. She was one of the first people I met when I moved here and even though Emmet is almost a year older than Owen, they are great buds. We had a blast being pregnant together and now our boys Gillen and Teddy are going to grow up friends just like their big brothers. Erin sat at the other end of the tunnel cheering the boys through while nursing Teddy, I thought it was a beautiful picture.

Actually, the whole thing was just a beautiful day.

Owen and Gillen's Halloween Party

Because of the hurricane, which thankfully proved to be inconsequential for us, Halloween was postponed. When you are counting down the days until Trick-or-Treat with your toddler, this presents quite the problem. Owen wanted to wear his "superhero" costume so badly so I decided to host playgroup at our apartment for an impromptu Halloween party.

The great thing was that many of the preschools were also cancelled that day so some of our friends who are usually at preschool on Tuesday morning were able to come to our party - nine friends in all made for a great party.

I cut out some pumpkins/ghosts and set out some eye ball stickers and makers for them to decorate. Then we tapped them onto tongue depressors (having a doctor husband does come in handy sometimes!) and used them as puppets.

I grabbed some light up bracelets out of the Target dollar bin last time I was there and Halloween stuff was on clearance a week early at JoAnn for 75% off so I bought a ton of sprinkles and some mini candy necklace kits (fine motor skills and a treat!)

The night before I baked some cupcakes so with a little Mama help on the icing the kids went to town decorating. Here is Owen's masterpiece (which he proceeded to eat only the top off of and then ask for more icing which he wiped all over his costume. AWESOME.)

I made some yummy pumpkin bread and vegetable soup for the Mamas and also whipped up a batch of Candy Corn popcorn last weekend. -- because no matter how many times I tell myself not to cook with candy... I always do it. And this stuff was SO GOOD!

We tried to take a group picture at the end of the party when all of the kids were ready for nap and hyped up on sugar. It went like this...

and then this...

and baby Gil was there too - he dressed up like a surgeon ate his fists for lunch ;)

Overall the party was a huge success. Owen was so happy to have his friends over and share his toys and all of the Mamas were happy not to disappoint a cute little bunch of kiddos on Halloween.

Soaking up the last of a beautiful Indian Summer

We watched an elephant take a bath and spent long mornings at the park.
We walked to the library and gathered our bounty of books with delight.
We shared the biggest bowl of Superman ice cream on the planet "superhero food"
Each trip outside results in new leaves ("kites) being carefully collected and brought inside.
The yellow boots finally fit, despite having been worn for almost a year.
Our favorite snack is sliced apples - fall's perfect treat to us.
We had to pull out the sunscreen this week and I was reminded of our perfect summer.
Owen now calls any shirt with long sleeves a "fall shirt"
We color and glue and string pumpkin bead bracelets - any craft ("project") to fill the evening hours.
I am in love with this family, this season, these boys.

Phipps Botanical Gardens

We're thinking of getting a membership to Phipps Botanical Gardens. They have added a lot of kid-friendly activities, such as a train exhibit and a kids shopping market -- and it's such a beautiful, serene place to walk around. A friend of ours had some passes so I decided to take the boys to check it out.

Apparently 2.5 is not a great age to visit a flower museum. Owen was like a bull in a china shop. Unfortunately he picked flowers, ripped them to shreds and threw them in the walkway much to the horror of the 55 and older crowd. He also tried to climb into a pond, threw rocks and ran away from me. To top it off he crapped his pants and threw a giant tantrum when I tried to change him. --- I'm going to hold on to that membership application until he's done being 2.5

But here are a few pictures from the first fifteen minutes of our trip while he was still behaving himself. Don't let the cuteness fool you... this boy is in the midst of terrible twos at their WORST.

 Trains!

 

You are my sunshine

This morning of cuddles in bed is just one example of why I have the best job in the entire world

Brothers at the ZOO!

It was a beautiful fall day to enjoy the zoo - four weeks since we've been (last time was when I was 38.5 weeks pregnant). It was practically empty and we had such a nice visit.

Owen walked the entire zoo which is quite the feat for a 2 year old. We had a tiny bit to go and he started crying that he was so tired and couldn't walk anymore. So I put Gil in the wrap and let Owen ride in Gillen's car seat ... thankfully Owen is still small enough to (kind of) fit.

I think we might need break down and invest in a double stroller for these boys!

38 Weeks Pregnant: Spoiling My Firstborn

This week has been nothing but spoiling for Mr. Owen. We're getting so close to Baby Brother and I want nothing more than to embrace the fact that I'm on my feet and spending some warm summer days with my favorite guy.

This week:

Monday: Library, Post Office (Owen's FAVORITE) and Target (for popcorn and a cold)
Tuesday: Met up with playgroup at the park!
Wednesday: Pool time with Mama
Thursday: Woke up early to go to the OB and then off for chocolate chip bagels with my main squeeze. Our friends called to ask us to the zoo and since the doctor declared me closed and commented, "I don't think you're having a baby in the next few days..."

We were off to the zoo!!

 Ice cream for lunch? WHY NOT!

 Pennies in the fountain? WHY NOT!

 Ducky Whistle at the Park? WHY NOT!

 Fun in the pool? WHY NOT!

chocolate chip bagels for breakfast? WHY NOT!

38.5 Weeks pregnant Mama at the ZOO?

WHY NOT!!