A Day of Water

It's hot and our AC broke last night so no relief in the house. So it was a day of water play. Luckily the AC is supposedly fixed and slowly cooling back down. Once again, all pictures are taken on my phone so some are not that great. Must remember to bring camera. :)

We met a friend for ice cream and spray fountain fun.

Owen ran around and around the fountain, soaking wet

Aiden enjoyed running around and also getting the light spray of the water

Boys Fountain Fun

Spraying Water

Then after nap the boys played in the sprinkler.

They would wait for the water to reach them and then...

RUN!

Then we headed to the pool where the boys have created a new game of Owen taking Aiden on a piggy back ride around the pool. They love it!

Week of Callie

It has almost been a week with our new family member, Callie. All honesty it has not been perfect, but seems to be working out now. Chester has had a hard time adjusting to her and making sure she knows he is the dominant one. She is also quite energetic and Chester wants to play but not sure how to go about it. They have been working through this though.

We honestly could not have asked for a better rescue dog though; she is sweet, non-aggressive, absolutely amazing with the kids, house trained, doesn't chew on stuff and generally just a happy girl. Like I said though, she's quite energetic and majority of the day runs around the yard looking at the sky and then takes quick breaks for water and a short rest. But that seems to be slowing down a little today which is good. I have to include that she is still enthralled by the fish tanks and can watch them for an hour. And she is not that interested in the water but while we are at the creek during our walk she does get her feet in so that she can chase and stomp on floating leaves. I am impressed how great she is with the kids; she loves hugs, kisses, pets and playing chase with them. Callie is super sweet and slowly winning over Chester too. She's going to make a good addition to our family and Owen and Aiden love her so much.

Callie Running around the Yard

Taking a break to chew on a toy

Laying with Owen in the morning

The boys run and jump on a couch and Callie chases them and jumps up with them.

Callie and her biggest fans

Chester and Callie; he chose to lay next to her

She loves a belly rub from Owen

Then a hug and kiss

Aiden was holding a stick for Chester to chew

After Chester was done, Aiden took the stick to Callie to have a taste

In the house, she has calmed down and enjoys a good rest on the floor

Potty Trained!

Aiden is officially potty trained and for the most part it was quite easy. Hopefully it'll continue that direction. It has been a week and a half and after maybe three days he was done with diapers and all about using the potty. In pure Aiden style he had to do it on his terms. Me suggesting potty time did not work, potty treats did not work, bribery did not work. What did was just allowing Aiden to figure it out and he did pretty quickly, so much that even on long outings he is in undies and has not had an accident yet. At home he has an accident here and there but majority of the time he makes it to the potty. Today when we got back from our creek walk, he was wet from the water so I stripped him down to change his clothes and thought I would take the opportunity to snag some undie pictures. Too cute! And of course Owen had to join in and strip to his undies. Little undie butts are adorable

Dancing at the Farm

One of the boy's favorite kid singers is Ryan Buckle and he was at the free show at Frying Pan Farm. Perfect outing, dance to their favorite songs and then visit the farm animals and wagon ride, Aiden's most asked for activity. The boys had a blast.

Meet Callie

We adopted a very sweet, very excited dog named Callie today. She came from a rescue and today was our meet and greet and it went pretty well so she stayed. I was so excited when I got the call that we were selected, but I am trying not to get overly attached in case it doesn't work. The rescue have guessed she is about 2 years or so. They think she is a collie, sheltie mix, but i really think she might have some german shepherd in her. It is a little crazy but she looks like she would be the baby of Chester and Chloe; which I guess is kind of suiting for our next dog.

When Callie first arrived, I was a little disappointed because Chester was pretty hesitant and actually growled a little. But Callie was super sweet from the first pet. Once they got in the yard Chester was a little better and same in the house. He just had to make sure she knew that this was his house first, very common. We were very pleasantly surprised how amazing she was with the boys. She would go right up to them, sit and let them pet her all over. Very well behaved and truly great with the kids. Big perk!

So report of the rest of our day. I must include first that Aiden spiked a fever yesterday and felt pretty sick the rest of today. He was off and on, so made a little hard with a new dog and sick kid, but we all managed. Walk went well, meals went well, well mannered, very excited and on the go. Chester has shown some aggression but most of the time wagging his tail at the same time, and truly just showing dominance. There have been moments that they have run around together. And about 20 minutes they actually played. They were chasing and prowling and rolling around. It was nice to see and gave me hope. We are coining her Crazy Callie because she runs around the yard looking up at the sky and occasionally barking. It is very silly and weird. She did this several times and for a long time. Her foster mom said that she is not from this planet and looking for the mother ship. Ha! Another cute little moment was when she found the fish tank. She stared and followed those fish for almost 30 mins. I actually had to pull her away. She is very snugly and affectionate and loves a belly rub. So hopefully the next week Chester and Callie will bond more and build a loving relationship.

Callie Madison Aru

Panting Away

Puppies Playing (sorry all from my phone so blurry)

Playing Chase

Chester and Callie

Callie Running Around the Yard

Playing More Chase

Matching Colors

Callie Meet Fish

Very Intrigued

Growing Up

It seems in the past couple months the boys have really grown up a lot. I am excited that they are becoming more self sufficient and helpful and moving past some the "baby" things but then I realize that soon they will be driving cars, talking on cell phones, staying in their rooms, and not wanting me around. This of course makes me quite sad, but I will relish in every stage of their lives and that means right now appreciating how much they have matured.

Owen has become even more helpful around the house, just today he offered to help me clean and did a great job. He also has taken on the big brother role very seriously; he enjoys helping Aiden out and of course playing together. But mainly he has stopped using bumpers on his bed and started wearing undies at night. I never pushed either and figured he would let me know when he was ready, and he did. One night he just asked to wear undies and we haven't looked back. With that said it was a rough beginning with him waking very early, immediately wetting himself (just couldn't get out of bed quick enough) and then not getting back to sleep. But a week later, he has woken dry and made it through the night. He also likes to do a lot on his own now like even making PB crackers.

Aiden's language skills have really grown, amazed sometimes at his conversation level. He is very good about telling you what he needs, what bothers him, and so on. Aiden has always been very independent but even more now. We often hear," I do myself!" Now he sitting in a big boy chair, no more booster. And he is on day 4 of potty training. The first day he did great, with just one accident. The second day we were barely home and with no nap, we did not really do undies. Day 3, he did as expected, a couple accidents. Day 4, he was dry all morning, I even kept him in undies while we went to the library. He even told me and went poop on the potty. So hopefully he understands now and it will get easier. Excited to be done with diapers! Of course in Aiden style, he wants to potty when he wants to, not when I suggest he goes. How did he get so stubborn. :)

Boys growing up fast and I am enjoying every stage.

Happy 5th Birthday Owen

I am shocked that my baby turned 5 today. Amazed what a grown little boy he has become over the past year. Owen is a wonderful, loving, caring, funny, free spirited, bright boy that we are in awe of. He loves insects, reptiles and amphibians; legos and bionicles; running around, jumping and generally being crazy with his brother; reading and crafts; nature exploration; and now biking and swimming.

I asked what he wanted to do today for his birthday and he chose to go to the Natural History Museum aka Dinosaur Museum. I have never taken them alone there but figured I could handle it. Off we went on our adventure and after getting stuck in traffic, we bailed and got lucky and found a parking spot at the metro station. The boys loved riding the train and talked a lot about it. Then we strolled across the mall and headed into the museum. The boys explored with gaping mouths and lots of questions. We had a blast and did the usual while there. And of course got to hold some of their favorite museum bugs. We enjoyed lunch there and then headed back to the metro. Once again the train ride was a hit.

I have to include our conversation. I had to call Omer to make sure I took the correct 66 (yes you may laugh now), Owen of course heard all this. Because of the traffic I had to make a u-turn where Owen announced, "Mom, all you have to do is head up the hill and around the curve. the way we came in." Thanks Owen, appreciate the directions. :) Then he asked me,"Once you get on that road you know how to get home, right?" He has figured out that I am horrible at directions.

Sadly with our morning adventure, Aiden did not nap, so our original plan of pool time was out of the question. I asked Owen how he wanted to spend his afternoon and he thought for a moment and then emphatically announced, "Go to Target and spend my gift card!" He got one for his birthday and was excited to finally get a Bionicle that we have not bought him because of the price. Good activity for me to get an errand out of the way, chill out Aiden and get Owen his last gift. So 165 pieces later the Bionicle was built and Owen loved it. Normal Bionicle playtime.

I am super excited that after Owen's bath he gave me a hug and told me thank you for his special birthday. Then he told me his favorite part was the Dinosaur Museum. I am so pleased he had a wonderful day and felt like the super special boy he is for the whole day. With a huge hug and kiss, my birthday boy is now 5.

Bug Boys

No new news that Owen has been a big fan of insects and his brother has followed in his footsteps and is a big fan of the creepy crawlers too. This afternoon Aiden and I were coloring with chalk, hence why he has blue chalk on his face, and then he saw a group of ants carrying some food back home. He was so cute when he laid down and was purely observing them.

Then today during Aiden's nap, Owen wanted to get in his bug costume and nature hunt. It was over 90 degrees out in the full sun and he wore all this costume. He had so much fun exploring the outdoors with all his gear. He was excited to use his new telescope and even found a very cool spider web.