3!

Owen turns 3 today! Hard to believe how quickly those years have passed. At times, I'm really glad for all the growth and development, but at other times I really miss my baby. Since his birthday falls on a Sunday, we took the opportunity to have "birthday weekend" for him. Yesterday, we went to Kangaroo Jac's, an indoor inflatable place. Brennan had an absolute blast, but Owen was actually pretty timid until John started going with him. Once he got over his initial hesitation, he had a great time (and a one-track mind when it came to going down the giant slide!).

Some fun Owen facts:  he loves to cook and help out in the kitchen (he helped make his birthday cake). He's super outgoing and makes friends very easily. He's all boy in that he loves to be messy, play with cars and trucks, and be outside. He loves preschool and has done so well in that environment. Potty training is the next big step for him! We are so very grateful for the gift of Owen. He is such a wonderful addition to the family!

 

Party in Rio

The movie "Rio" is a HUGE hit in our house. Both boys love watching it (and so do the adults). There is a great soundtrack to it, and Owen absolutely loves the music. His favorite is a song called "Hot Wings (I Want To Party)". As you can see from the video below, he really gets into it! He loves to bounce on the trampoline and will wait on the trampoline during the movie for a song to come on. If the trampoline isn't readily available, he bounces as high and best as he can on the floor. It's become more fun to watch Owen watch the movie than to watch it myself!

Like Father, Like Son

Our jungle (aka, the backyard) was in desperate need of a mowing, so John took on that job this afternoon. Owen decided his little lawn mower needed a little action as well, so he enjoyed "mowing" right behind Daddy!

Maymont Morning

This morning, we went on a preschool field trip to Maymont. All the kids had a blast feeding the animals, running up and down the hills and exploring just a small portion of this enormous park.

 

 The enthusiasm of the goats really deflated any interest Brennan initially felt about feeding them. Checking out the donkey was a little more his speed after that.

 

 A small sampling of the kids who attended the field trip today

 

Officially Registered

Today was Kindergarten Registration for our county. Brennan is now officially registered to start school in the fall! We're excited for him and he is excited about this next big step.

But, seriously. When did this...

 become this????

Spring Break

Good Friday ushered in our first experience with spring break. Both boys were off until today when Brennan headed back to school. Thankfully the weather was on the cooperative side so we had a good amount of outside time (our house is only so big and sometimes feels like an implosion is imminent thanks to the energy of two preschoolers!). We had some good times going on walks and bike rides around the neighborhood, playing at the park, library outings, and watching movies. On the weekend with Daddy home, there was even more fun getting the garden ready, walking around the lake at the University of Richmond, and hiking down by the James River. Despite the fun of spring break and lazy pajama mornings, I'm so glad to get back to the routine of preschool and other regular morning activities. I thrive on having a regular, consistent schedule (and the boys do as well), so a week of not that was a little challenging. I'm starting to get a little intimidated by the upcoming summer vacation, but am already starting to brainstorm ideas of ways to stay occupied in these remaining months before Brennan starts kindergarten in the fall!

The camera didn't really come out during this past week, but we took it along for our walk along the river yesterday. Boy, was it nice to get outside and enjoy spring now that it's finally arrived here in VA. And Owen loves to collect sticks on our nature walks; he seems to make it his goal to collect enough kindling to get us through next winter!

A Boy and "His" Cat

Much to Esther's chagrin, both boys have recently become slightly obsessed with her. For a 13-year-old cat, having two exuberant preschoolers trying to shower "love" is a little overwhelming! Sometimes, when they are able to settle down, we put a blanket over them to try to entice the cat to come sit on them. This was Owen and Esther last night; both appeared to be in heaven!