Owen is 18 months!

Our Owen is already 18 months! Make him stop growing! (hear the desperate tone?)  As most know it took forever to get pregnant and then he decided to show up a month early. Like he had finally decided he had waited long enough. Was a sneak peak into his stubborn, must do it himself personality. In just 6 months Owen has changed and grown so much, its just amazing! Here are a few facts about Owen at 18 months:

He is our serious boy and isn't very affectionate, but when we catch a smile or a love, we eat it up! Recently he has been giving out a lot more loves which is SO fantastic.

Owen is too smart for his own good and has already figured out how to get Emma's toys while she is at school and can't stop him. Its a hoot! And when she does, he is already running.

He has a love of cars.  Not the movie, car toys like Hot Wheels etc. He loves to roll them along and watch the wheels move. And if they can roll forward on their own or make noises, then he can sit there and play forever!

Owen also loves Elmo, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Baby Einstein. He won't sit through more than 10 minutes, but for him that's holding still for too long. He is always on the go!

He is a blanky boy and has several soft ones he drags around the house and to bed. He snuggles them and it just melts the heart!

Owen is very independent and wants to feed himself, dress himself(not quite successfully), brush his teeth himself, etc.

Owen is our little man of a thousand faces! He makes all sorts of faces for all sorts of reasons and it is a crack up! He loves to make a "surprised" inhale and he loves to use "uh oh" for about a thousand things(yes that's a slight exaggeration. lol).

He is talking more everyday and it surprises me how much he is picking up. Right now he likes to play peek a boo and when he opens his eyes he says, "There he is!" He also says, " I Love you" and "That's mine." Wonder where he got that last one from?  :)  He says so many single words I am losing track and is mimicking more all the time.

He now has 8 teeth. All four front teeth on top and bottom. His hair is wispy blond silk! But we have been using trimmers to keep it from getting too crazy since some areas need to catch up to others.  His eyes are no longer blue. In just 6 months they have turned to mud just as Emma's did, but his are still very light compared. I'd say we are going to stay somewhere in the green shade.

He is tall! His check up is next week and I can't wait to see what his numbers are.

Owen adores Emma, thinks Daddy is the greatest, and is still a Mommas boy.

I cannot imagine life with out Owen! He is our special little man! Cannot fathom how much you will learn and grow in the next 6 months. I know it will just breeze by and I am trying so hard to hold onto the present moment and enjoy all that you are! We love you Owen! And I will snuggle you to infinity and beyond(even when you protest!) ha!  :)

It's been 13 years!

Thirteen years? How on earth did that happen?! Time flies when you're having fun! It seems impossible its been 13 years, but as I reflect I can recall so much that has happened, changed, and grown.  We have traveled all over, finished school, lived in 3 different cities, and had two beautiful children.  I feel so lucky to have had a great 13 years regardless of the hardships we have faced. We have SO much and are SO blessed.    As I sit with Owen in my lap or walk Emma to school, I am reminded of the many things in my life that would not be complete had I not found the man to share it with. We are best friends who are silly, ridiculous, and enjoy each others company even after 13 years. Ha! I have no idea what the future holds, but I know who I will hold it with. Here's to the next 13 years of our adventure! I love you Philip Fleming!

(On a side note, we got to go on a real date for our anniversary! Was awesome! ha! And a thank you to my Mom for taking the above photos with my camera for us!)

Emma's first day of school!

I cannot believe Emma is in First Grade! How unfair that time has gone by so quickly! Emma got up as soon as she heard the alarm go off ( I suspect she was already awake!) and literally bounced around with enthusiasm getting dressed, eating breakfast, and getting her hair done. We went out and took a few pictures and headed basically 2 houses down to the bus stop where the other kids on our street impatiently waited. When the bus arrived Emma got on with out looking back and waived to me from the window as the bus pulled away. My heart slightly sank. My baby girl was going to be gone all day away from me for the next nine months. Boo!  But I knew she'd love it and enjoy her new friends and teacher.  When the bus arrived in the afternoon she again bounced off and happily told me all about her first day experiences. She loves her teacher and school and I couldn't be happier about that! Here's to a great school year! Cheers!

Table Make Over!

Before:

The Best invention ever! Primer for any surface and no roller required!

The base of the table getting is major coating.

         Distressing the edges of the base and top and on the chairs was pretty easy. Fine grit sandpaper.

After all the painting and clear top coating!

A chalk board top!

We got rid of our old glass top table when we moved to Spokane and I have been looking for a year for something that I could make over and love, or just fall in love with at first sight.  Never happened. I was starting to just give up and accept the fact we would be sitting on the floor forever, until one day I was perusing Craigslist and saw this cute solid Maple set. Looked in fairly good sturdy condition and had nice basic shape and style. Even better was the price tag! Less than $100! So I called em up and the table was ours by dinner time!

It was so easy to update. I took the advice of a pinner on Pinterest and got the Rustoleum Universal Primer. It was awesome! Went on easy and I didn't have to sand which saved major time and elbow grease. After I let the primer dry and I repeated a coat and then took a fine grit sandpaper block and distressed the edges on all the pieces. For the top I used Martha Stewart brand Chalkboard paint from Michael's in a brownish grey color. I had this idea that it would be fun to be able to write on the table like at Macaroni Grill. With the original brown showing through the distressed areas, it looked great!  I used Min Wax water based clear coat to top coat and preserve the paint from the hardships of being used on a daily basis(except the chalkboard top). Ta da! Took about 3 days from beginning to end with the coats and time drying. Now its a ton of fun and I remember why we eat at the table! Ha!

Emma is off to 1st grade!

Did you see the date?  Its September 2nd already. Seems a bit impossible to me since I am still somewhere in July!  It feels like the sunny warm days just got started and our trips to the pool and free time together were just lazily passing by.

But alas, here we are in Sept and in two days Emma is back to school. The summer disappeared like a rabbit in a magic hat! We went shopping for clothes, a new backpack, and class supplies. We finally found out her teacher is Mrs. Banks and she will be riding the bus this year with other kids on our street.  She is beyond enthusiastic and is ready to be back among her friends and classmates. Our little social butterfly.

Mom however isn't quite as ready!  Emma will be gone all day and I have been enjoying all our time together this summer. Emma is bright and sweet and I love having her home. Last year she had afternoon Kindergarten and it wasn't much of a sacrifice for 2 hours.  This is the beginning of the next 12 years of her school career. Sigh...

If you think Mom will need some adjusting, Owen's little world is about to be majorly disrupted!  He LOVES LOVES LOVES Emma and follows her around to play. With her gone he will be following boring old Mommy from room to room. Poor guy.  I will do my best!

Emma is all ready to start and will do great as always, and we will swing into Fall with high hopes!  After all, Fall is my favorite time of year! Happy First Day of School Miss Emma!  We love you!