Owen’s 1st Sleepover

Yep, you read this correctly, Owen had his very 1st sleepover the day before Labor Day 2013. For whatever reason, I felt this was SUCH a big milestone. Owen and his Best Friend, Luke, had been asking since last December if they could have a sleepover. Four just seemed too young. Any who, since they started asking, I was constantly asking myself (and discussing it with Brandon), How young is too young to have a sleepover? I finally came up with an answer. If the kiddos aren’t scared, can sleep through the night , and they have trustworthy parents that you know, than what’s the big deal what their age is. Luke’s Mom and I are very close and trust one another 100%. So after continually telling the boys they could try it in July, July finally came and went, and to no surprise the boys started reminding us. Michelle and I finally decided it was time to give this Sleepover thing a try. The Sunday night of Labor Day weekend we invited Luke over to our house for a sleepover since they didn’t have school on Monday. I was more nervous than either of the boys. I was so worried Luke was going to get scared in the middle of the night and I was going to have to take him home at 2 in the morning. Who am I kidding, I’m a worry wart!

Any who, enough of my blabbering and onto some pictures. And for all you wondering the boys did Fantastic and no one got scarred. They slept great and didn’t wake once during the night, minus a late bedtime, but what kid doesn’t stay up too late at a sleepover?!?!? They finally crashed at 10:45pm and were up at 7:30am. What a super fun night and a HUGE milestone to record in the books. Here’s to many more sleepovers to come!

Luke & Owen eating Pizza for dinner, their choice :)

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I think it shows a great deal your child’s character by who they choose to be friends with. I could not be more proud of Owen choosing Luke to be his BFF. Luke is such a sweet, kind hearted, well mannered child who comes from an awesome family. Owen & Luke became BFF’s at Pre-School last year and have been inseparable ever since. They go to different schools this year and miss each other so much, so Michelle and I set up as many paydays as possible.

They chose to sleep in their sleeping bags on the floor and were SO excited about it!

For Breakfast they chose Waffles, Blueberries, and Chocolate Milk…

While wearing Ninja Turtle Masks of course.

After breakfast and getting ready we went to the park for a couple hours before Luke had to go home.

The boys did a great job of making Autumn feel included. I kept her occupied at home so the boys could have some space to play by themselves, but when she was around they were very sweet with her. What a great set of boys!

Thank you Luke for being such a sweet & awesome friend. We are so very thankful Owen found you!

Randomness…

Here we go again with another post full of random pictures from I don’t even know when (maybe the past 2 weeks ish?). Since school is back into full swing, I have honestly lost all track of time. Weeks are flying by, I feel like I can’t get anything productive done because I am spending all my time trying to adjust to this new Soccer Momish type of life. We spend a lot of time in the car driving from once place to another, dropping one kid off, picking the other kid up, back and forth back and forth. And while gas prices aren’t coming down, I am consuming more than ever. Life is full, life is busy, and we are all adjusting (or not but we’ll get there). Our new normal :)

So onto the random pictures I have discovered on my phone that I feel the need to share, mainly so I have a brief excuse to breath outside of my vehicle!

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Here’s a good random one to start with. As I was desperately trying to prepare myself for a date with my Hubby (ie, trying my darnedest to make myself look presentable to the public) my kids were doing the same. Lol.

They are hilarious.

Our wonderfully magnificent church that we absolutely love and that I don’t talk enough about, held a Volunteer Appreciation Rodeo Themed Dinner. My awesome Mother-In-Law aka Mimi came to babysit so Brandon and I could have a fun night out together. The BBQ food was to die for, honestly some of the best I’ve ever tasted, and we even got some super fun Line Dancing Lessons. It was a really fun night out for me and the Hubs and even better it was FREE :)

Line Dancing Fun!

I know, I know, I look exhausted…let’s just say it was a long day.

Photo Booth fun!

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I tried a new little Appetizer Recipe that was healthy, delicious, and literally gone in 60 seconds. I made it for my good friends Housewarming Party. I made 50 and honestly once I took the cover off, they were gone in less than a minute. Super easy and a HUGE hit, will definitely make again. Thanks Pinterest, you win again!

Pastry Cups (made them in a mini muffin pan) Filled with Hummus and topped with Zucchini, Cucumbers and Cherry Tomatoes. YUM!

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The weather has been abnormally hot here and there just so happens to be a DQ on the way home from Owen’s school that we occasionally just can’t seem to avoid…

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Owen and I had a nice and much needed Mommy Son Date last week after we dropped Autumn off at Preschool. We went to Starbucks and then onto a scavenger hunt led by Owen at Albertson’s. It was a super fun morning, looking forward to many more of these mornings spent with my boy this school year :)

Just so absolutely in love with this amazing child of God!

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Autumn is still learning to adjust to Owen’s new Kindergarten schedule. I have to put her down for nap a little earlier than she is used to and everyday I am having to wake her up to go get him. Some days are okay and some are clearly not and I get this major attitude,

like she’s thinking, ‘Women, would you please let me SLEEP!’

We’ll get there, just still adjusting. Later on that afternoon, I had promised Autumn a special trip to the toy store to spend some of her saved up Bday money on some Princess High Heels she has been dying to get. I honestly can’t explain how much she waned them and was SO excited when the time to go buy them finally came.

 

She got three pairs of Heels, they are not to be called ‘Princess Shoes’, Tiana, Snow White, and Rapunzel. This girl knows what she wants, look how happy they made her :)

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Owen took his first trip to the School Library last Friday with his class. He was thrilled and could not stop talking about his experience and how he got to scan and check out the book all by himself on the computer. This child LOVES to read and will do so for hours at a time. I absolutely love that getting him to read is not a struggle and that he finds so much enjoyment in it.

 

Here is his very 1st Book he checked out. He LOVES Splat The Cat books, even better he chose one of the few Splat books we don’t already have!

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He has also found an unhealthy Love, or more like ADDICTION, to video games. Maybe more like all things electronic. Hmmmm, remind you of anyone else you may know? Ding, Ding, Brandon. So like all things kids love, it is now the major source of rewards for positive behavior and completed chores.

 

Seriously look how happy he gets when he earns that 20 minuets spent playing the Old School Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo from the 80’s. Love it, keepin it retro!

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And I also got the worst new this past week. One of my closet friends here in Colorado just told me she is moving in 3 weeks back to Arizona where she is from. SO SO SO SO Sad. I love this girl so much and have become very used to our weekly Sunday morning Church Dates followed by lunch and our biweekly Monday Girls night full of cooking, eating, and watching chick flicks. My heart is so sad but now I have a new excuse to visit Phoenix, see there is a positive in every crummy situation.

You will be deeply missed Elizabeth Weaver. Owen’s eyes got very watery when I broke the news to him, my kids adore her and started calling her Aunt Elizabeth all on their own. So hard to see good friends move on, but I am so proud of her and excited for her new adventure.

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I think that’s about it for now, as I am exhausted and ready for bed. I’ll be back soon with a post from Owen’s 1st Sleepover. Yes, as in he had his BFF spend the night at our house. Such a HUGE milestone, we seem to be making a lot of those lately. Until next time little blog!

Autumn’s 1st Day of Preschool

Brandon and I struggled with the decision when Owen was 3 weather or not to send him to Preschool, and we had the same struggle with Autumn. And while every parent has their reasoning's for doing 1 year, 2 years, or No Preschool at all, I don’t think there is a right or wrong decision and I truly believe it should be based on each individual child. With that said, and without going into our lists of Pro’s & Con’s of weather to send her or not (mainly for times sake), we made the decision to send Autumn to 2 years of Preschool, as we did with Owen. She will be going to Preschool 2 mornings a week (Tues & Thurs) for 3 hours, so 6 hours total a week. We are very happy with our final decision, not to mention I know get those 6 hours a week one on one time with Owen. I am REALLY looking forward to this special time as our one on one time is very rare and I’ll never get this kind of time with him again once he is in school full-time next year.

Autumn has been back and forth with her feeling about Preschool switching from nervousness (mainly separation nerves) to pure excitement. But once the big day finally came she was absolutely thrilled & more than ready with not a single tear (from her anyway) when I dropped her off. Which completely broke my heart, but deep down I’m grateful she is so excited. I have heard taking your second child to school is much easier because you have already been through it, but in my case it wasn’t. I had such a hard time dropping her off. She is my little side kick who goes everywhere with me. She’s a Momma’s girl. My little Princess who is so full of personality & is ALWAYS making me laugh. All I can say is Thank God I still have Owen with me while she is gone or I’d be a clueless hot mess.

Autumn loves her new teachers and her cute little classroom. I cannot explain the excitement on her face when she saw how little the potty was, she said “its just my size”! Lol. Mrs. Stacey is her teacher, an adorable sweet Southern Bell with the cutest accent, and Mrs. Angie is the Assistant Teacher, who is very soft spoken and has two young kids of her own. Autumn took to them right away and talks about them nonstop. She has 12 kids in her class. Her BFF, Eisley is in her class, as well as Emmy who she has done gymnastics with for the past 9 months. She is thrilled! Here are some pictures from her 1st week of Preschool.

Here is a little side by side comparison to last year…

All ready to go!

I know this is a blurry picture, but it’s SO SO SO SWEET! Love these cuties so much!

Owen’s 1st Day of Kindergarten

Well, last week on Monday, August 19th, 2013, my baby boy started Kindergarten. It’s really hard to believe we are to this point in life that we now have an Child in Elementary School. We have talked about this day for what seems like an eternity, so it was very shocking when it finally arrived. I swore on everything I wasn’t going to cry, especially since I had done the ‘1st Day’ routine twice before with him for Pre-School & Pre-K. As usual I completely lied to myself. When I saw him line up outside the North East Entrance of the School in a sea of other Kindergarteners, my poor eyes could not hold back the tears. No more walking him into his classroom, no more signing him in and KNOWING he has been accounted for, and no more talking to the teacher at the end of the day to see how he did. My baby is growing and WAY too fast. Just as I expected he got into that line with such confidence and not an ounce of fear in his eyes and followed 17 classmates that he has never met before in while waving goodbye to Brandon, Autumn, and I. As sad as I am to watch him go off & grow, I am so excited for this next chapter of his life and being able to watch him grow over this next 2013-2014 School Year. Mommy & Daddy love you so much Buddy and are beyond proud of the Little Boy you have become. We will forever be your biggest supporters and your biggest Fans. Good Luck Bud!

Here are a few of my First Day Favorites…

I simply cannot put into words how ecstatic he was about this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Backpack :)

1) Because I am Crazy and 2) Because this day felt so big, I tried a couple different chalk designs. Lol!

First Day Comparison from 2011, 2012, & 2013.

 

And it felt like days, but just a few short hours later and I FINALLY had this sweet boy back in my arms.

We sure missed this little guy. Autumn even took him a special 1st Day of School Sucker for him when we picked him up.

Now, to get used to this routine 5 days a week may take some adjusting on all parts, especially now that Autumn has started Pre-School (Autumn’s 1st Day of Pre-School Pics coming soon).

Back to School Night

Well, my sweet little baby boy is now officially a Kindergartener at Normandy Elementary School! I could not be any more excited for him and to say he is ready would be a complete understatement. The school is very highly ranked in Colorado and has a really good reputation within the community so I am really looking forward to this school year.

On Thursday, August 15th, his school had their Ice Cream Social Back to School Night. All the kids got to go to the school, eat a yummy Ice Cream Sundae, drop off their school supplies, check out their classrooms, and most importantly meet their teacher. Owen had been counting down the days for the Ice Cream Social for about 4 weeks, he was beside himself with anticipation. Unfortunately Brandon could not make it that night, so we invited Mimi to join us for the special evening.

My little Normandy Knight!

I cannot explain in words how excited he was for this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Backpack. It was probably the cheapest made backpack out there and will most likely break before Christmas, but I promised he could chose whichever one he wanted and a promise is a promise and he is ecstatic!

Yes, Kindergarten in Colorado are only Half Days. There are obviously some major pro’s and con’s to this, but overall I’m happy I only have to share him for a few hours a day. And because Autumn will be attending Preschool a couple days a week and I can’t be in two places at once, Owen is doing PM Kindergarten. I am so happy with this decision as it will give Owen and I some one on one time (which is an extreme rarity) while Autumn is in school and the class size for PM Kindergarten is a lot less than AM Kindergarten. He has 17 students in his class, 12 Boys & 5 Girls. A bit lopsided, but 17 kids is GREAT for a public school.

Eating their Ice Cream with Mimi :)

Checking out his classroom!

So SO SO SO SO SO SO excited for this little guy and am honestly still in complete shock we are in this new stage of life and have a child in Elementary School.

Here is to an awesome 2013-2014 school year, Best of Luck my Sweet Owen Michael Burgess!!!!!

(Check in soon for 1st Day of School Pictures)