Carnival, here we come!

We had a busy day, starting with a birthday party of one of Owen's best buds from Sunny Hollow, Roman. They certainly set the bar high with a magician and a bouncy house. Needless to say, Owen had a blast. 

After the party we piled into the van and Owen said this...as, we were headed out to Rockin' Rogers Days to watch Jer play softball and hit up the carnival. We got there and headed straight to the carnival to enjoy some games, rides and mini-donuts. Walter had a blast finally getting do the fun things that Owen was able to do. His smile says it all.

Two.

This is the answer to Walter's question of the day: How old are you today? He says it quite proudly.

I think its safe to say Walter had a good 2nd birthday. We met up with some friends at a local splash park for swimming, a picnic and cupcakes. He loved playing in the water and at the park. After a nice nap and some playtime at home, we went and got him one more little present and took him out for dinner. After dinner we came home and played with his new airplane and finished our movie from last night, again with popcorn and juice in our bed.

So two years ago today, I had two miracles happen in my life. First, our sweet little Walter was born and second, I lost 25 pounds in one day! A pretty good day, June 22, 2007 was.

Do you want to be a lady bug?

We've been celebrating all weekend. On Friday, Owen had his last day of zoo camp. Jer, Walter and I went to the zoo to give Walter a little special birthday time. We took him to the Imax and watched a 3-D movie about the ocean. He jumped a few times, particularly when fish would quickly eat other fish!

On Saturday we spent the afternoon at Canterbury with Jer's dad, celebrating Father's Day. The boys loved watching the horses (although Owen had stayed up way to late the night before...as you may be able to tell in the photos) and enjoyed the huge playground they have there, too. They were chasing each other down the slides and giggling like never before. Their friendship is getting stronger and stronger everyday. 

After the horse track, we met up with Jer's family to celebrate Walter's 2nd birthday. My camera's battery died, so I didn't catch any of it! He waited patiently for us to sing to him before he blew out his candles.

Today we woke up and had a nice relaxing morning with Jer's favorite breakfast treat, the paper and coffee. The boys played with some of Walter's new toys for a while and then the celebrating got put on hold and we did some major yard work. We power washed our fence and then Jer and the boys removed some rock along our back sidewalk. We are getting our yard ready for some major tlc from Gardeneer, Jer's dad's company. The project will give us lots of wonderful curb appeal, a new front and updated back patio, and the best part...a solution to our yard! We are getting synthetic grass that is supposed to be dog-proof! Awe, no more muddy paws and finally a place for us to play soccer, baseball, croquet and all sorts of other games as a family! I cannot wait.

We resumed the celebration with a special Father's Day dinner followed by movie night in honor of Walter. We watched Bug's Life, which Owen wanted everyone to dress up as a bug for. He was a striped bug and asked if I wanted to be a lady bug. (Part of being a bug is wearing socks on your hands, that didn't stop the popcorn from getting eaten.)

When you become a kid again you have to do gymnastics.

Owen has said multiple things lately that have me thinking he is a Hindu, at a minimum, he believes in reincarnation. This is what he told me yesterday before gymnastics. He absolutely loves it. He told me I had to make sure I asked my mom once I become a kid again, over and over!

Zoo Camp started yesterday and Owen has been enjoying it. Yesterday he told me about the different parts of a cow and how they eat their food four times before they actually keep it down. Today he grabbed a paint brush at home and said, "yup, I think these are pig hairs on this brush." 

Sweet Walter is tearing at my heart strings with all of Owen's activities happening this week. When we drop Owen off at camp he says "With Ono?" over and over again. Yesterday when we spent the time at the zoo he kept asking to "Find Ono." At gymnastics last night he was pleading to go into the gym, too. Poor little guy. On top of that, I'm not really having a birthday party for him as its going to be sandwiched in with the Father's Day celebrations...so how's that for a second sibling. I guess we'll just have a few small ones for him. I told Jer to be warned that I plan on spoiling Walter like crazy this birthday...the only thing I can do to subside the guilt!

We were able to celebrate Lindsay's and Angie's birthday this weekend. It was a relaxing warm evening in Lindsay's beautiful back yard. (No dog in that house!)

Walter has taken a liking to a cowboy hat as of late. He's worn it around for three straight days. When we were at the zoo, he loved when anyone would say "Hi Cowboy!" to him.

It was the loudest one of my life.

Owen is trying hard to learn how to snap. (There are a few kids at Sunny Hollow that know how.) Yesterday he told me when he was at a friend's house he snapped the loudest snap of his life.

Today gymnastics finally started and it was well worth the wait. I was really impressed with the class and Owen talked about it all day. He even set up a gym in our living room for him and Walter to tumble in.

Lindsay came over and watched Walter while I took Owen to gymnastics, we had lunch together and then she, Lydia and Owen took a walk/bike ride around the lake. I managed to stall them and keep them here until about 4 p.m.! What a treat.

We need to make a new species of airplane.

Owen is very into making paper airplanes. Mine are just not doing the trick lately and he's ready to get a bit more high tech. I think I'm going to need to study up on origami.

We had a lovely treat of Lydia this morning. Lindsay had a doctor appointment so we happily had her over to play. The boys showered her with kisses, stuffed animals and all sorts of high-pitched talk. I didn't get a picture...next time for sure.

This afternoon we had our first Sunny Hollow playgroup at Brackett Park. It was fun to see some familiar faces and I think I'll be getting to know parents better this summer than during the school year. After playing, we conveniently walked over to the soccer field for Owen's first soccer practice. Again, I was really impressed with the coach. He had the kids changing activities left and right. Owen was in his glory at the end when they played a real 'game' amongst themselves. He was so proud. 

MOMMY, fish, lake.

Walter likes to yell my name in the car. He yells it and I say "yes, Walter?" then he yells it again and we go on like this for a while. Finally, he will say "fish, lake" after which I talk about all the fish in Lake Nokomis and how we go on the boat and they swim around. Tonight he added "fish bite leg."

We had an enjoyable weekend. On Friday we went out to Joanne's for dinner followed by Jer's softball games. Owen looks forward to running the bases and catching some balls on the real field. Both boys had lots of fun playing with Payton, another teammate's son. The played lots of ball and catch and enjoyed having some snacks together.

We got a bonus day of Jer this week as he had a meeting in Minneapolis today! What a treat it is to have him home tonight, between dinner, clean-up and bedtime, he was so helpful! All you other mothers out there with hubbies that come home at night have it easy! :) Just kidding...sort of.

We use gentle hands.

I can't tell you how many times this comes out of my mouth these days. Walter likes to test out what hitting means, especially on his brother. Generally its just out of exploration, but sometimes when I tell him no, its out of pure anger! This guy has me on my toes these days. (what happened to SWEET Walter?!) Owen loves to use this line with Walter, too, but his favorite is when Walter actually gets a time out. His smile says it all...oh, brothers!

We enjoyed a full day outside today with absolutely no plans. We ended up biking around the neighborhood, playing with a neighbor, hitting up DQ, playing in our sandbox and enjoying sometime at the park. We ended the day with a bath, a nightly summer ritual!

Yesterday we had a packed, planned day, full of friends. We started the day with playgroup, had a friend over in the afternoon, and then ended the day with friends over for dinner!

Dada great.

Walter is our little book worm. Whenever he sees an open lap he grabs a book and says 'read, please.' (He's also our polite little man!) We have a book called My Mom is Great and Jer read it this weekend for him, however, he changed the title to My Dad is Great. Ever since, he walks around asking me to read 'Dada great.'

We had  an eventful Sunday filled with lots of family visits. We started the morning with a delicious brunch at a local restaurant with Jer's family. Owen was excited to show off his biking skills afterwards. After that was done, my grandma, aunt and uncle surprised us with a quick visit. It was really nice to see them, as it had been over a year since I'd seen my grandma. Walter warmed up to her quickly and was anxious to cuddle her before his nap.

We ended the weekend by letting our butterflies free. We raised them from caterpillars. Owen loved watching them change and enjoyed feeding them and caring for them. It was bittersweet seeing them go. 

I am loving the relaxing mornings that summer vacation has brought us. It is so nice to lounge in our pj's, play for a while in the morning and eat when we are actually hungry! Today we biked down to the small beach and the boys swam. Owen brought his snorkeling mask to look for fish and Walter found rocks to splash in the water. We love Lake Nokomis!

Can you take a picture for my locker next year?

Owen's first day of summer vacation was an exciting one. He learned how to ride his bike without training wheels! Jer took him to an empty parking lot to try it out a bit and within ten minutes he was off speeding around! They celebrated with a trip to DQ after. When they got home he was so proud to show me his skills. We went outside with camera in tow and he asked me to take a picture so it could go on his locker at Sunny Hollow next year. After Walter got up from his nap, we all went to watch him cruise the parking lot some more. He looked like he had been biking for years! I'm so proud of my little guy...as is his daddy!

We celebrated the end of the school year with a school picnic at a park in St. Paul. It was fun to see Owen running around with all his friends. We also got to meet Gina's dog, Milo, which was a big highlight for Owen. Walter did his best to keep up with the big kids and chased them all over. Jer and I subsequently chased him around, trying to keep him safe and get a little food in his belly. 

We ended the night with Joanne babysitting while Jer went to softball and I went out with some former co-workers. It was really a nice day.

Why do ladies like to keep them long?

I did something I haven't done in my 4.5 years of being a mom yesterday...I went to Toys R Us. I had made a deal with Owen that if he didn't bite his fingernails for 2 weeks and let me cut his nails, he could go get a new Planet Hero. So he made it and we went to cash in last night. Before we left, I clipped his nails and he asked me this as I was cutting them.

We spent some time at a friends house this afternoon and the boys quickly found a neighbor's sprinkler. At first they were letting it just barely touch them, however, by the end of it, they were standing on the sprinkler, putting their faces in it and completely drenched. Walter does his best to keep up with the big kids these days and was the wettest of the bunch!

We are looking forward to Jer's return this evening and a nice weekend at home. Tomorrow is Owen's last day of school which we will celebrate with an all-school picnic in the afternoon. It should be fun! 

These photos are from a few weekends past...

Where was I before I was born?

Owen has been asking me all sorts of difficult questions lately. This was today's question. He is a deep little boy and keeps me thinking.

We had a nice weekend at my parents' house. We spent a few afternoons on the boat - I read while the boys fished. (Owen caught two northern pikes.) We had a couple of bonfire's, I had my 15 year high school reunion, and the cherry on the top was taking a sauna followed by Owen, Jer and my dad jumping in the river. Walter surprised us with some sleepless nights while we were there, thankfully my dad was ready and waiting for the boys in the morning.

Today we had the Cagle's over for lunch. It was great to spend some time with them, as we used to see one another nearly daily this time of year. The kids really enjoy playing with one another and sure did a good amount of laughing together this afternoon.

Friday is Owen's last day of school. Where has this year gone? 

That was nice of him.

Tonight the boys and I went to Target to get some grow capsules from the dollar bins. I gave Owen a five dollar bill to pay for them and he was so excited to get the change back from the cashier. He was recounting the story of him paying for it and said this of the cashier for giving him cash back.

I made my first DVD from our Hawaii trip and am just trying to burn it now...my mac is getting a workout as it is quite warm and still says it has 44 minutes of burning to go! Yikes.

Still no camera here. I will have to swing by my aunt's to get our little one. I did grab one photo of Owen and Lydia yesterday. I'm loving having Lindsay on maternity leave and getting to hold her sweet Lydia whenever we are together...although Owen loves to hold her just as much! Walter just smothers her with kisses. They are both very gentle with her. Yesterday I even got to babysit for a bit. It was a total treat, and an affirmation that two kids is great for us! :)

Watch how fast I can eat this.

We brought John home with us from school today. While the boys were eating lunch, this is what I kept hearing. I told you boys are competitive. Owen told me they were experimenting with how fast they could eat stuff. They had such a fun afternoon together - wrestling, playing baseball, drawing in their nature journals, pretending to be wood workers, lumberjacks, planet heroes and dirt bikers. It was the first time I wasn't asked to play the entire time. Although I thought when this day came I'd be in heaven, I was honestly a bit sad. I did get to hear a lot of great conversations and imaginary play. 

I now forgot our little camera at my aunt's house. So no photo, just a quick Owen story. I miss my camera, the little one just isn't as fun to use.

One quick Walter story, too... On the way to get Owen & John, Walter kept saying "John, van" "John, play" "John, butter" (John, eating peanut butter & jelly at our house) "John, hug". He loves Owen and all of Owen's friends! He is my little chatterbox. He will repeat whatever you say.

Oh, that's so easy.

So I've been a bit concerned over Owen's willingness to share his confidence in himself and his shear determination to win, win, win against everyone and in everything. That is, until I started to hear him play with his friend John and started talking with his mom. We went to the park after school last week with them and the entire way there Owen was asking if we were in front of John, if we were going to beat John to the park, if we were going to get there first, etc. When I shared this with Sara, she laughed and said John was asking the same questions the entire way as well. I'm guessing its just a boy thing! His latest quote is "Oh that's so easy" whenever I ask him to do something. See if you can catch it in this video, along with some sweet dance moves by Sir Walter.

Yikes - what happened to the Hipps family?

I know our stolen camera was nice, but geez, this is ridiculous!

Swim, swim.

Owen decided a swim was in order this weekend so yesterday we went to the Y to make that wish come true. We all had so much fun playing in the pool. Owen snorkeled  much of the time and I'm certain I even saw him swimming a bit on his own. Walter was in heaven and was completely confident in the water. He got very angry any time I'd try and touch him - even when he was lower-lip deep in water.  (and by angry I mean he'd SCREAM - his latest trick!) He loved walking around the pool saying "swim, swim."

So now the question of why no adorable picture of the boys from the weekend??? Well, my camera was stolen. Yes, stolen. And of all places it was stolen from, would you believe Chaska? We were out there on Saturday helping a friend move and having a visit with Jer's dad. At some point I must not have locked our van doors and went into the apartment building and someone with no morals decided they needed my lovely camera. Life could be much worse.

I can feel the Earth smiling.

Owen was so excited for Earth Day yesterday. He has his own calendar which came with special holiday stickers, one of which was Earth Day. He has been counting down the days to Earth Day for a while and when I explained what it meant, I told him one thing people could do to celebrate was to pick up garbage. So yesterday, we picked up litter around our neighborhood. He was so excited to collect all the litter. A few highlights included a McDonald's cup and gum wrappers. As he was picking things up, he said "I think I can feel the Earth smiling." So cute.

Today was a beautiful day, filled with beautiful events. After getting Owen from school, the boys and I went out for lunch and took a nice scenic drive to Stillwater. I was hoping Walter would fall asleep on the way, so I took the long route. However, he stayed wide awake to enjoy the views. We went to the uber cool Teddy Bear Park to play and then went to our uber cool friend's house for playgroup. Ruby & Rex live on a farm with sheep and chickens, which the kids got to feed and chase. The boys had so much fun exploring and playing with their friends. I enjoyed the time with my friends and even scored some fresh eggs! Thanks, Annie.