Hello, World? Are You There?

I've been wondering lately...where is everyone?  Where did everyone go?  Is anyone there anymore?  With all of the options to remain silent and unrecognized yet UBER informed of every else's life and happenings, it seems we've all chosen silence.  

I love interacting with people, I love saying hello and chatting and offering encouragement; namely because I crave the same from other people.  Who doesn't love when someone is listening?  But it seems as though unless we are forced with face to face interactions anymore, no one wants to say 'hello'!  I'm all for calling and talking, and meeting for playdates and lunch or whatever...I LOVE that stuff!  I also love having a blog and (to a certain, leser degree) being on Facebook, I can keep in touch with friends and see what they are up to; I LOVE that!  But really, where has everyone gone?  I share moments of happiness and sadness and excitement and monotony, and what do I hear?  Silence.  Or I get a lousy 'Like' button.  

Where has everyone gone?  

I'm just as busy as any other mom out there, and I have made the choice to have a FB account and a blog, and when I'm on those sites, I feel like if I don't say 'hello' or offer some encouragement, I might as well not be on at all.  I miss having people even bother to type three words to let me know they are there.  I'm not looking for sympathy or anything, but seriously, are we THAT anti-social?  Are we THAT busy that when we're on those social networking sites, we can't actually be....social?  

Whatever venue we are in, wherever we are, church, the store, a friends house, another person's blog, FB page, e-mail, a basketball game...whatever, if we choose to be in the social atmosphere, we need to be social!  It seems basic etiquette to see and be seen, to read and then write, to listen and then speak.  

So, world, are you there?

Owen Turns TWO!

I can barely believe I am writing this post.  My sweet little buddy turned TWO the other day!!  

Owen Kristoffer Lyman, born 2~16~2011 and is now TWO!  

Take a look at my handsome birthday boy having breakfast.

 And for breakfast?  M&M waffles.  We love waffles at our house...since my hubby bought me a waffle iron for Christmas, we make them quite a bit (I love the Belgium, round waffle makers best anyway).  Doesn't it look taaaaastyyyyyy?

We had a little get together with cake and ice cream at the house on Saturday, and Owen was a little shy with so many people there...in his space!

 And this cute boy is Bronson, Owen's future roommate.  He is the son of Kristoffer's BFF, B.J. and by BFF, I *totally* mean BEST FRIEND FOREVER in the manliest most masculine way.  Kris and BJ have been best friends since they were like...6, and they were roommates all through college.  There are things that BJ knows about my husband that I *still* don't know about...and I don't think I ever will.  So anyway, Bronson turned two in November, and is just the cutest thing ever...he and Owen will be good buds!

 We had some chips and dip, ice cream and a cake from Costco (delish, by the way) before we opened presents and headed to Kangaroo Zoo to let the kids jump. 

 "Mama, why is everyone singing to me?"

 Little guy needed some guidance.

 AND.....we've started potty training!  What a thing to share with the world, eh?  I put Owen on the potty the day before he turned two, and left him alone with a book, and he went #2!  Good job, little buddy!  I couldn't believe it, I was really just working on making him aware of the potty and what it feels like to sit on it, but he evidently knew what to do!  He's been going on the potty every day for a few days now, and I am super proud of my little guy, such a smart boy.

I am so happy to be Owen's mama.  He is such a sweetheart, and melts my heart in his little boy way .  He is so innocent and gives the best hugs and kisses.  I love hearing him say "OK, mama", it just melts my heart all over again!  He loves to play with big sis, and is learning to share and play nicely.  He is so obedient and falls apart if he is tired or hungry.  He loves his mama and looks for me when he is sad or sleepy or hurt.  His fuzzy hair grows super fast after I buzz it, and I love to rub my cheek on his head.  He gives wonderful Eskimo kisses and says "Luuyou too, mama".  I am so blessed he came to our family, and we are grateful everyday for him.  Happy Birthday, Owen!

Valentine's Date

My sweet hubby didn't forget me on Valentine's Day, I knew he wouldn't.  He took me to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner...which I had been dreaming about for a week beforehand...and I indulged on some chocolate coconut cheesecake for dessert; so SO yummy! 

 Then, we walked a few blocks to the theater and saw Ballet West perform Cinderella.  It was absolutely lovely.  It was my first time to the ballet, and Kristoffer loved that he could take me.  I was just amazed at how shapely and thin and 'tight' those ballerina bodies are, wow!  Made me want to take up ballet!!

 The stage!

 Sorry the pictures are so dark...it was a dark and romantic evening!

I can't tell you how much I love my hubby.  He is the perfect match for me, and that makes him the most amazing guy ever.  He loves me despite the fact that I'm a silly, crazy, somewhat unstable girl sometimes.  He loves me for all of who I was and all of who I am now.  He loves me for the extra few pounds I still can't shed post-2 babies, and the stretch marks that are *never* going away.  He love me for my funny ears and  blue sparkly toe-nails, for all of the things I think I dislike about myself, he loves me.  He supports me and encourages me.  He never thinks twice about emptying our bank account to buy plane tickets to go home if I think I need to go.  He loves our sweet children and plays with them and hugs them and tickles them.  He works hard for us and I never hear him complain; in all the years we have been married, I have to push him to tell me what's bothering him...he just doesn't complain.  He is my best friend.  I am still waiting for the day when I would rather have time alone than time with him, and it hasn't come yet.  I wait for him to come home at 10:35 every night and it's the best part of my day.  He is my forever Valentine, and I am so proud to be his wife. 

Valentine's Day Party!

I've been waiting for this party for weeks, and I think all of the little girls that Marin invited have been as well!  I tried really hard not to stress about the party, I wanted it to be fun and enjoyable, and I kept having to remind myself that this is a party for 4 year olds....they won't remember a whole lot except for the experience.  I picked up most of the decor for SUPER cheap...really, I think I spent maybe 25 dollars on decor and supplies.  And for food, (we had baked mac and cheese 'cupcakes', chocolate covered strawberries, tiny sugar cookies ((leftover)), strawberry cupcakes, fruit punch and assorted candy) I think I spent another 25.  All in all, not too shabby.  And it really was worth it, the kids had so much fun!!

My little table-scape.  The pink vases I bought for 49 cents each!  I also has a regular table cloth that I put the doilies on, then covered that with a new clear shower curtain that I had lying around.

 And I spruced it all up with some fun garland and confetti, and candlesticks that are mine.

 Chocolate covered strawberries, super easy and super 'elegant' for little girls!

 Boxed strawberry cake mix, homemade frosting flavored with strawberry jello.  Easy way to frost: GIANT frosting tips do all the work.

 Awwwww!

All together.

The waxed paper hearts I made last year and hung up again this year!

 We blew bubbles while we waited for everyone to arrive. (I highly recommend this, by the way!)

 We started off by making butterflies...made of clothespins, coffee filters and pipe cleaners.  They decorated the coffee filters with food coloring mixed with water (dries darker than you think!), painted the clothespins, and then twirled the pipe cleaners to make antennae and voila!!  Butterfly!

 Those little girls did a great job!

 We had 5 little girls come, so it was busy!

 Look at that cute little butterfly!

 Some duck-duck-goose before dinner.

I forget that little girls have little tummys, they don't eat a whole lot.

 There's my little buddy, he was just wonderful for the 2 hour party.  He mostly stood back in awe of all these little girls running around our house, the sweet boy.  He also hung out with GG (great grandma who came to help us out) quite a bit.

 Above:  Hide and seek after dinner and dessert.

Below:  For some reason, the car track got a lot of attention!

 Not only did Marin have her party at home, she had a Valentine's Party at school, too!  I had volunteeredwaaaay back in August to help out with the party, so today has been SUPER busy!  There's my cutie eating her snack.

 Look how organized, so cute.

 It was great to finally get a glimpse of how things have been working at school.  I see the stuff she brings home, but to finally see her in action at school is really awesome.  She is starting the books for READING on Tuesday, eeek!!

I have had so much fun today, it really has been a great day, BUSY, but great.  I am loving Valentine's Day more and more, it's becoming one of my favorite holidays.  And today has been the first of many ways that I am making this year great.  I am not waiting for fun to come to ME anymore, I am creating it myself.  Whether it's a little party for my daughter, some friends over for dinner, I will make life what I want it to be, and I want it to be fun!

January and February Moments

Man, have I been in a blogging slump or what?  So sorry, for myself, and for you all who have been waiting to see our super cutie-patootie kids!  We've been busy busy busy and I cannot believe it's part-way through February!

I don't remember if I've posted these fishing pictures of Owen, but he entertained himself for a good half an hour with this fishing game.  He was determined to figure it out and get it right!

 Working hard, mama!

 Oh, my handsome boy!  I call him my handsome boy, and now he calls himself this, and it's so cute.  Owen's vocabulary and sentence structure has absolutely exploded over the last 3 months.  He says SO many words and is now putting them together, he is SUCH a smart little buddy.  My favorite is when I ask him to do something, and he says "Okay, mama.", so super sweet and obedient and it just melts my heart!

 The other night, I couldn't bring myself to make dinner, so we made waffle PB&J's and had that with cheese and grapes as a picnic in the living room while we watched a movie.  I think the kids approved!  And do you see that purse that Marin has?  She also has another purse which she got for Christmas, and she *packs* them to the gills with....stuff.  Little girl stuff.  The other day, I asked her to put something in my purse (as I was holding it open for her), and as she dropped her item inside, she peered in a little closer, looked at me and said, "Mama, you need to put more stuff in there.".  I laughed.

 Marin asked daddy to paint her toenails a few weeks ago.  Kristoffer is such a good daddy and willingly obliged. So cute.

 Someday, Marin's future husband will see this picture!

 Owen, my little Mr. Mischievous AKA Mr. Destructo, found a bicycle bell and promptly dis-assembled it.  That boy, if he thinks he can pry his little fingers into it and pick it apart, consider it done.

The other day, my dad had surgery on his spine and hip (more on this later), and Marin and I made some chocolate cake petite-fours to mail to him.  We used butterfly, bunny, flower and hearts shapes, and covered them with pink and purple frosting (Marin's favorite colors) and decorated with sprinkles, then we mailed them off!

 Marin did a great job, she loves this kind of stuff.

 Oh, my cutie girl eating her dinner, I just love that girl.

 Marin, last night, happy to be getting dessert (cupcake waffles) after eating her dinner.

 Owen, not so happy last night NOT getting dessert because he didn't eat his dinner.  It's a haaard lesson, buddy!

 This morning, I took Marin to see the Pulmonologist, due to some respiratory concerns I've had with her.  Here she is doing a PFT or pulmonary function test.

 She tried so hard to follow directions and did a great job.  We are still kind of borderline asthma with her, so she'll now be taking Singulair every day and have an albuterol inhaler to carry with us in case we need it..  I'm grateful it's not worse than what it is, and I'm grateful for an otherwise healthy girl.  With all the sick kids I see at the hospital, things could be so much worse.

More updates later!