Look who's four!

  Owen turned four on Thursday, May 21st. Four years ago I earned the honorable title of mommy and I couldn’t be happier. Owen is such a happy, energetic and outgoing kid. He is our little social butterfly. Everyone he meets is his friend. He will talk to anyone about anything, and it seems that everyone always wants to talk to him. He is very polite, always (mostly) uses his manners and he is kind. God surely blessed us! Above all, Owen is a great son and big brother. When he wakes up in the morning, he is quick to tell us that he loves us and that he is happy to see us. When he sees his brother for the first time, he gives Jase a hug and says, “I missed you my little buddy.” He truly brings joy into our lives every day.
  Owen chose to go to the Rocket Museum (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum) for his birthday. Because of our family’s flexible schedule, we decided to go on his actual birthday. When the day came, it was very overcast, cold and rainy. We were all disappointed. Thankfully, we were able to move my schedule around and go the following day. What a difference a day makes. Friday was a perfect day for a DC adventure. It was in the mid 70s, sunny with a slight breeze. It was absolutely perfect.
  We left home around 9:45am and both kids passed out on the way there. We arrived and parked (thanks parking panda!) around 11:15am and had our first family tailgate lunch in the back of the Pilot. Once everyone was fed, we packed up and headed for the ‘Rocket Museum.’ The parking garage was only two blocks away from the museum, which is on the national mall. The museum was busy, but that didn’t deter us. Owen loved seeing all of the airplanes, missiles, rockets, and space gear. It is such an awesome place.
  After about  two hours of exploring the museum, we all needed a break so we headed out to the national mall. We set out a blanket and just rested for about an hour and a half. The boys shared a milkshake with daddy and played in the shade of the trees. I spent most of this time on the blanket, with my back against a tree, soaking in the beauty. The luscious green grass, the rows and rows of leafy green trees, children running and laughing and the others just like me, sitting on the lawn seeing the same scenes as I did. I remember turning to Greg and telling him that sitting on this lawn, under the branches of a tree is quite possibly my favorite place. I will never forget those few moments I spent with my family there.
  We left the mall and headed for the Sculpture Garden by the National Gallery of Art. By the time we got there, Jase was taking his afternoon nap in the stroller so we decided to stop and stay awhile. Owen loved the large oval shaped fountain in the middle of the garden. We hung out there and got our piggies wet while we waited for Jase to wake. Owen met a friend, of course, and they splashed together while Greg and I laughed at Owen’s lack of inhibition. The highlight of the fountain was seeing a mommy duck and her 5 little ducklings swim around the fountain pool.
  Our next stop was the Museum of Natural History. We saw all sorts of things, but Owen’s favorite was the large fish tank where he saw, Nemo, Dory, Bubbles, and some coral. We stayed there until close (5:30pm), got some dinner and headed back to the car. We were home by 9pm and we were all pooped. We had such a great day. There is so much to see, we couldn’t possibly see it all. We all had such a great time that we decided that we need to make this trip on a regular basis. It only takes us about 75 minutes to get there, so why not?  I am very thankful for the day that I got to spend with my family in such a beautiful place.

 We're here!

 Flying their new planes :)

 Jase enjoyed DC too :)

 Nice pic setting...

 Nevermind...

     Sitting with mommy at the oval fountain pool.

  

ER, here we come!

What a weekend! I got an early morning work out in on Saturday which was a great way to start the day! I came home, hung out with the boys and started making lunch. We just got some fresh tomatoes so I was making fresh sauce to go with some penne, when out of the sunroom came Jase. Jase has been walking for a little over 2 months, so when I saw him ‘running’ I didn’t think anything of it. As I looked over to check on him, he tripped on his own feet and lunged toward the corner edge of the wall. He smacked his head directly in the middle of his forehead. As soon as he ‘bounced’ off the wall, I knew the cut meant an ER trip! Once we got ourselves as settled as we could, and with our food still on the stove, the four of us rushed out of the house. (Don’t worry- I had enough sense at the time to turn the stove off!) We dropped Owen off at a nearby friend’s house- we are so blessed that they were happily able to help- and off we went. The entire visit at Carroll Co ER was great. The people were very professional, efficient and it genuinely seemed like they cared! 

We got into triage right away and quickly admitted. Since the cut was pretty wide, the PA told us that we would need stitches. A nurse came in and put some numbing agent on his little head and had us wait about 45 minutes for it to set. I think Jase really enjoyed his time at the hospital! He had all the attention from mommy AND daddy at the same time! We blew up some Dr gloves and tied them to make ‘balloons’- he loved that! Daddy and I had a little game of volleyball going over his bed. We kept busy by playing with cars and reading books (that I thankfully had in my diaper bag), as well as eating snacks! We were all hungry since we he took the spill right before lunch! Jase was really funny, he kept trying to escape our room and explore the ER floor. He was really having fun…until it came time for the stitches. The nurse and PA were great; they wrapped him in a blanket, then placed him on a board with straps that kept him still. They worked together as a team to put in 4 stitches. We had to wait about 20 more minutes or so after the stitches. After we got the stitches, one of the nurses came back and gave Jase a handmade security blanket. It was so sweet. Volunteers make these blankets for the little kids in the ER to 'provide securty through blankets'...Jase was quick to give it many snuggles. 

We were in and out in about 2 hours!  Jase is now a happy camper and all is well. We are very thankful that Jase is okay, and that there’s no further damage to his little head. He is such a trooper..he only cried for about a minute after the initial crash and during the stitches, of course :( All in all, not a bad first ER visit!

Snacking while we wait :)

Sitting with daddy

                                                                                       

Sweet blanket for Jase.

 Home and healing! 

Jase's big party

This past weekend we had family and some friends over to celebrate Jase’s birthday. The weather was beautiful about 60 degrees and sunny! The party was called for 3pm. Some family showed up early and they were a big help with set up and looking after the boys so Greg and I could add some finishing touches to the house and decorations. His party was ‘balloon’ themed…poor Greg had the task of driving 36 balloons home from the party store. He did it all without complaint- what a good sport. Owen and Jase loved the balloons before, during and after the party..as did all the other kids. We used them to decorate the house and each kid (11 total) who came to the party got to take one home with them on their goodie bag. Their goodie bags were filled with their findings from the egg hunt we had during the party. We had snacks, chick fil a nuggets, meatball sandwiches and salads. The party was a hit! We feel so blessed that we got to share Jase’s big day with loving family and friends.

       

Jase is one!

On the hunt!

Cousin sharing :)

We also used the party as a debut for our new sunroom and a few more updates around the house. The major things we did were to update the sunroom and replace two of our doors. First, we cleaned and bleached and cleaned and bleached the sunroom.  We then tore out the yucky carpet and replaced it with laminate faux wood, replaced the blinds and got new furniture! Yay! Next, Greg ripped out the old, rotting garage door and replaced it with a brand new door! He did the same for the front storm door- took down the old and replaced with new. The front door needed some updating but was in good shape so we took it down, painted it black and put on a new knocker and kick-plate. It’s beautiful! I am so proud of my hubby- he did it all himself! We are so blessed that we could do it all ourselves! Check out the pictures below of the updates! (I apologize for the randomness of the photo sizes...I'm new at this and it's tricky when posting from my tablet ☺️)

View of the sunroom on the day we bought our home.

Same view after remodel! (I guess I should have picked up before snapping this shot!)

Old storm door and blue front door

New storm door and black front door with brush nickel kick-plate and knocker

Old door in back left of pic (Owen chillin!)

 New door!

More than just sunshine

I can’t seem to come off the high from today.  One year ago today, I met my chubby, full head of hair, squishy little man, Jase. I remember his first cry, his weight, the time he was born and the first time I fed him. Nursing Jase has been a magical journey that I am happy to say that we are still continuing. I’ve already told him that I won’t nurse him before prom, so don’t worry, I’ll be done by the time he goes to high school. :)
Our day started early- 5:45 am...I guess the little party animal couldn't sleep! Owen was up about 15 minutes later and we've been going ever since. Jase was so excited to see his big brother and when Owen got close enough, Jase rested his head on Owen's chest and gave him a 'hug.' It was so sweet. I guess being up at 5:45 am wasn't so bad after all. We had a fun day full of laughter, outside play, easter egg dying and a cup cake play date.  It was a beautiful day spent with family and friends.
Many of you know my story: Jase is short for Jason, ‘one who heals.’ Jase got his name because we found out we were pregnant with him shortly after we lost a pregnancy. We prayed and prayed for God to heal our pain and to bring us a healthy baby in his perfect timing. Thanks be to God for all the answered prayers both in the past and present. I was reminded that God, love and family is bigger than the pain of miscarriage. When I looked up in the sky today, I saw more than just sunshine.                        

                     

  

Jase enjoyed playing with his cupcake more than eating it... :)

Sunshine! Much overdue outside play :)

Hooray! We were able to spend some time outside this afternoon. Here are some cute pictures of the boys. We can't wait until spring and summer are here full time!

         

Sleep. It's every parent's dream. It's funny that you actually need to sleep in order to dream. You see, I am very blessed with two handsomely adorably cute (insert all other types of mushy words mothers use to describe their cute kids- but hey, mine are really cute!) boys. Owen is almost 4 and my baby, Jase, turns one next week. (When did that happen?)  They are very lucky that they are so cute because as of recently, they are not sleeping well. It actually seems that they are conspiring against us. Greg, my husband, and I actually believe that they somehow they plan who is going to keep us up all night. Without fail, when one child sleeps, the other one is up. Last night, it was Jase's turn. We'll see who's up tonight.
Though the beginning of this may come off as grumpy and ungrateful, let me explain to you how I keep going with a smile on my face. The truth is, I have been given wisdom from friends who have 'babies' that are now in their 20s and 30s. While the old cliches remind us 'to enjoy every moment' - lets face it, that's sometimes tough to do. The advice I was given wasn't something I had heard before: in those moments when you are up in the middle of the night with that child, remember that it is just you and the baby. The dishes don't need to be done, emails have all been answered, and you can focus on the child. The rest of the world is sleeping (of which you are keenly aware!), appreciate this special time you have with the child, for you will never get it back. There will come a time when this child will not need you to rock them to sleep, they will not need you to find their paci, or their lovie, they will simply wake, turn over and go back to sleep. The scary part about this is you don't know when the last time is going to be. Is tonight the last time Jase will need to nurse? Was last night the last time Owen wanted to lay with me 'for just a little bit?' As I prepare to close this first blog post, I am wondering what lays ahead of me for tonight.  Who will be up and when and how much sleep will I get? But when they wake and need something hopefully I'll remember that this part of our lives really is not about me. It's about them. And for now, I'm pretty okay with being the one they need.