Here Comes Trouble!

I found these shirts in FL and couldn't resist getting them for the boys.  Last night was our monthly daycare date night, where two sets of parents go on a date and the third set stays home with the boys.  That way, the boys for sure get to see each other at least one time each month and the parents get to get out a little more. 

Walking for Babies

Today was our third year doing the March of Dimes Walk for Babies.  Over the years, the weather has been different each time, the place has changed a few times, the people we've walked with has changed - but the thing that hasn't changed is how I feel while we are there.  It is always a really emotional event for me. 

First and foremost, I feel pride and joy thinking about how far Owen has come since he made his way into this world.  I look around at all of the success stories and the families whose kiddos are healthy because of the March of Dimes.

But my heart always hurts and tears come easily at the event too.  For every happy family that is there to celebrate their miracle, there is a family there honoring the memory of their baby that didn't make it.  You see people with T-shirts and signs that memorialize their babies and I think about how easily that could have been us.  In fact, the team we have walked with for the last two years is called Team Go Lily.  Lily Becker is the baby of a couple that we met through friends.  She was born and lived in the NICU for 3 weeks before she passed away.  Each year, Lisa and Dan make this event a huge party in honor of Lily and to raise funds for March of Dimes so that no one has to go through what they did.

So even though it is an emotional event, the planners do a great job with it and Owen had so much fun today!

Getting comfy on the ride there

 Lily's Mama, Lisa, and me

 Lots of room to run and play until it was time for the walk

 Meeting Ronald for the second time in just a few weeks

 Goldy spilled popcorn all over the ground, then handed the bag to O and acted like he didn't do it

 First time having cotton candy!  At 9:50AM none the less!

 "I love that pink guy Mama!"  "His name is Mr. Bubble."  "No, he's not a bubble mom, he's a pink, fuzzy guy.  I love him."

 Owen walked up to this guy and pretended to take a bite!

 Somebody was being silly while we waited for the walk to start!

 Lucy, Piper, and Owen getting ready to start our walk

 Over 5000 families Walked for Babies!

 Halfway around the lake, he said he was tired and wanted to lay down

Swimming in Snow

When we signed Owen up for swimming lessons that started on April 19, we sure didn't expect to be bundled up in snow boots to go to class!  We've had Owen in swimming lessons through community ed and they were great for getting him used to the water, but now we thought that he was ready to start learning to actually swim.  We signed him up with his buddy Liam for lessons at the Y.  He is in a class of 4 kids and this is the first time that he's gone in the water without Paul or me.  I have to say, I was probably more nervous than he was!  I was pretty worried that he wouldn't listen to his teacher and just jump in whenever he felt like it, but he surprised me.  He was a good listener and had a great time.  I also like that since it is the Y, the pool area isn't packed with people there watching like at the community ed pool.  The life guards, the teacher and parents of the four kids were there and that was about it.  It really helped the kids to concentrate on what their teacher was saying.

Buddies ready to swim!

 Heading over to swim with their teacher, Hannah

  Being good listeners

 Tying noodles around their waists to help them float

 Love these boys!

 O doing the back float

 Not sure why the tile is so interesting....I think this was when they were both trying SO hard to get out of the pool, but couldn't because of the noodles tied around their waists. :)

Friends and Family

This weekend was a busy one at the Mordorski household!  We started out by ordering pizza and having a family movie night on Friday night.  Paul was at a conference all week, so it was nice to have some time together as a family to just be lazy and enjoy some snuggle time.

Saturday, Paul and I celebrated our 11th anniversary.  I told Paul, it is ironic - great gifts for women come in tiny boxes that are easy to hide.  Great gifts for guys (at least for mine) are ginormous, are super heavy, need two people (and no car seat) to get the box into the car, and then once you get it home...where do you "hide" it?  Our neighbor Eric was gracious enough to head to Home Depot with Paul on Saturday morning to pick up the new table saw that Paul has been lusting after for a couple of years.  I purchased it a week or so ago and knew I couldn't pull it off on my own.  So Owen and I played with Eric's kids, our friends Cohen and Leighton, while the daddies went to Home Depot.  After nap, we dropped Owen off at Nana and Papa's and headed to a fundraiser dinner at church called the Friends and Family Dinner.  It's a lot of fun and Paul is on the planning committee for it, so it's a busy night.  We always stay late to count money, so it's usually close to midnight when we get out of there.  This year, we decided to go have drinks after with some friends that attended for the first time, so rolling in at 2AM made Sunday morning come pretty quickly!

Today was a very special day too!  We went to Hutchinson to celebrate our goddaughter Livia's First Communion and our other goddaughter Sophia's 5th birthday.  It was a really nice day!  We decided that since the mass was during nap time, that we would leave Owen and Nana and Papa's.  It was pretty nice to be able to sit through mass together and actually get something out of it!  And he got spoiled and enjoyed his time with Nana and Papa. 

Livia Ruth

 Sneaking a quick picture with little Miss Sophia

 What a good-looking family!  Bobby, Sophia, Livia and Nesha

After enjoying a fantastic meal, we enjoyed some of this gorgeous cake.  It was a special gift from her daddy and it was amazing!

 Modeling her new cross necklace

 Sophia opening her birthday gifts....her favorite color!!!

We feel so blessed to have this incredible family in our lives.  Each time we leave them, we turn to each other and say, "We WISH they lived closer!!!"  Thanks for the wonderful day Withers family!  We can't wait to see you again - hopefully soon!

Bless Us Our Lord....

Owen has really picked up both our mealtime prayer and his bedtime prayer, but sometimes when he isn't focused, it looks/sounds like this.  I think it is pretty cute. ;)

A Rainy Day Calls For...

Some ice cream!  After nap today, we decided to head to Central Park, and indoor park with water falls, lots of plants, etc. where Owen used to go to school.  He always wanted to explore, but we were always headed to school, so we couldn't.  Many nights, bands were playing in the amphitheater too, so we thought maybe we could even catch a show.  Plus, there is an ice cream shop, so we promised O some ice cream.  Unfortunately, when we got to Central Park, there was a wedding going on and it was closed to the public.  Owen was pretty bummed, so we headed to Dairy Queen for a treat.

 I guess it was good!

 Notice the chocolate on his forehead!

After our trip to DQ, we played Chutes and Ladders and then we were "cooking" in O's kitchen,  He grabbed 3 cookies from the food bin and said that he gets 3 cookies because he is 3.  Paul said, "You are LUCKY!"  and Owen replied, "I'm not YUCKY!"  That was funny enough as it was, but the best part is that he can say yuck, yes, yippee and yell, but will not say yellow.  It's always Lello.  So when Paul says lucky, then Owen says yucky!  Go figure!

Dentist and the Expo

This week was Owen's first "real" trip to the dentist.  6 months ago when we brought him, they didn't really do anything more than just let him sit in the chair and get used to the idea of being there.  This time, I knew they'd be doing more and honestly, I was a little nervous.  He's been a bit of a challenge at times this week and even had to miss his tumbling class because he wasn't being a good listener.

The hygienist was amazing.  She did such a great job with him - and so did the dentist.  He was a good listener, he cooperated - I was pleasantly surprised!

Picking out the flavor of toothpaste that he wanted

 Getting his teeth brushed and counted.  He has 10 on the bottom and 11 on top.  They took photos of the top to see if he'd have an extra tooth when his adult teeth came in. Right now, everything looks good, so he probably won't have to have braces and have a tooth removed!

 Talking about her "tooth tickler"

 After she cleaned Mr. Bear's teeth with the tooth tickler, he agreed to have his teeth tickled too

 He was very patient and held his mouth open wide for her.  I was so proud of him!  Dr. Rick said his teeth, gums and tissue all look great.  He commented again on how great O's enamel is for being a preemie.  When we left, Owen said, "I don't want to leave...I want to stay here!"  So, I'm hoping that he'll keep his fondness for going to the dentist!  I personally hate going, so I'm glad he likes it!

 The Woodbury Chamber of Commerce puts on the Woodbury Expo each year.  It's normally the weekend of our anniversary, so this is the first year that we've gotten to go.  Because the lot was full, we had to park in the East Ridge lot and get shuttled over.  Can you tell he was excited to ride on a school bus!?!

 Not the greatest photo, but he was SO excited that there was a fire truck with a ladder there!

 The nice firemen even let him try on their clothes.  He was in HEAVEN!  Look at the smiles!

 A real fireman's helmet...it was actually really heavy

 A fireman helped him get into full gear - boots and pants...

...and a jacket too.  I think he looks a little like ET here! ;)

 Next he got to "drive" a street sweeper!

 He loved the tractor too

 Ronald said, "Hey!  A fellow red-head!"

 Ronda and her grandson, Rocko, were excited for Owen to see the tarantula.  He just looked and smiled, but wouldn't touch it.

 Daddy and Owen by the big grass hopper

 Owen and Ronda's granddaughter, Aja, checking out the police car