Amy Scott's Thoughts

I’ve wanted for a long time to break out of the weekly routine of reporting what we’ve done day by day. It’s an easy mode of writing for me to fall into, but I wanted to do this family update a little differently. We actually had a fairly quiet week. Followed by a big weekend. There is lots to share. I’m hoping to focus on what we’re into these days and how our lives are changing. Let’s start with the most adorable member of our family – Owen!

Owen is now almost 20 months old. As a one and a half year old, Owen is full of energy and is a real go-getter. His current favorite toys inside would his cars and tractors. He is often found on the chair in our living room wheeling his vehicles around. He has mastered being able to climb up on almost all our furniture. We’ve had to do some rearranging, for example, our tabletop is now clear so it’s less tempting. Also rooms that Owen once ignored, he now goes back to explore, so most of the doors in our house are closed again. Owen loves to close doors. Especially the ones to his room and the bathroom. Both these doors have locks and Owen has locked himself inside his room and bathroom a few times. It’s all fun up until the point where he realizes he is trapped. Then the freak out occurs. Luckily, I am good at picking the locks and have been successful in freeing him each time. Owen’s vocabulary is exploding. He often says words that catch me off guard. He’ll often say something really cool and then he won’t repeat it. It’s almost like what he said never happened, but then he’ll randomly say it again. We’ve hit three syllable words and even a few “short” sentences. I’m excited for him to be able to communicate more clearly, but I know that with each new development comes a down side. I’m sure someday soon I’ll be blogging about how I wish he talked less. Right now his words are very exciting. Owen continues to an unpredictable sleeper and napper. His wake up time varies week to week. He sometimes takes two naps. He sometimes takes one. Depending on when his first nap happens, he’ll go down for a second nap, but he never fall asleep. These flat in crib times are good for him to slow down and rest, even if he doesn’t sleep.  As for size, Owen continues to be a lightweight. We just recently packed up all his 12 month clothes. The funny thing is his 18 month pants are a bit baggy and tend to fall down. I guess he needs a baby belt. He is tall enough to wear 18 month clothes, but not wide enough! Oh my, I’m sure there are a million other things I could tell you about this crazy wonderful and active boy. He is a sweetheart who loves to sit on my lap and still wants to be held. He does great playing in the nursery at church and over at family member’s houses. He jumps into new situations really well. He keeps me busy, but it’s a fun busy and I love my life at home with him. It’s truly a blessing to be by his side, watching these young years unfold. Right now, we are getting ready for summer. We got him some new yard toys that will hopefully make a summer out in the yard a lot of fun.

Jeremy is next on our list of updates. He doesn’t get enough blog exposure, so here is his time to shine! It’s gardening season. Jeremy is out in the yard almost daily with a little helper tagging along behind him. Owen loves to be outside and shadow his daddy. I’m amazed at how patient Jeremy is with Owen and how he includes him in the things he loves to do. You can see the father/son bonding happening and it’s a sweet sight. Jeremy is very busy at work and I appreciate how he provides for our family. When Owen asks for “Dada” during the day, I explain to him that Dad is at work and he works because he loves us. If Jeremy isn’t outside fiddling with something, you can often find him watching Food Network, Sports Center or The Weather Channel. The thunderstorms a week back really gave Jeremy a chance to be a weather geek. Also, lots of talk of hunting season have already started. Jeremy has decided to go back to archery this year after trying his hand at rifle last year. The archery season will work out better with our new arrival coming in October. I would prefer for my husband not to be in the woods when I go into labor, but the decision to switch was one he made on his own without my feedback. I’m grateful that he takes our family into consideration when planning his hunting season. Jeremy got out on the golf course last weekend and I think he has the itch to go golfing once again. Tis the season. Jeremy is definitely a consistent and laid back guy. He does what he loves and he invests in his family. I am grateful for how helpful he is to me. He is Owen’s buddy when he is home and is a great dad and husband.

The Littlest Scott and I are doing good. I often call our baby either the Littlest Scott or Kid#2. No special nicknames. I am now 18 weeks pregnant and starting to really show. My normal tops won’t fit much longer which is why I went shopping for a few new maternity pieces this weekend. The era of all maternity wear is about to start. I’m not feeling as sick as before which I am grateful for, but wow, I am so tired these days. I get worn out easily. I feel like wimp or a 90 year old woman. It seems like no matter how intentional I am with resting, I just can’t get enough. It’s kind of a bummer, but I’m learning to cope and limit myself. I remind myself often that I won’t always feel this way. It’s a season and it’s worthwhile.  Apart of taking care of Owen and growing a human, I don’t have too much interesting about to say about myself. I still enjoy baking and teaching my Wednesday night class at church. I’ll have my class over this Friday to hang out my house and I’m excited about it. Also, my class has requested a big gender reveal party. It’s still a few weeks away, but I am getting more impatient as the days count down. The anticipation is getting to me! Pink or blue! Since our appointment is on a Tuesday, I’ll just have to keep the big secret from the rest of the world until after my class on Wednesday night. It will be fun to share my special news with them in a unique way. More on that later though… Preparations for the Littlest Scott have slowly been underway. We’ve given away some furniture and we are in the process of selling of a few more pieces to clear out our office. We sold an item this weekend that gave us just the right amount to buy Owen a new dresser that was on sale. My hope is to clear the office out in the next month and steam clean the carpets. Then it’s time to pick a nursery theme, paint and put together new furniture. These next few months are my favorite because once we know the gender, we can move ahead with a lot of our plans. For those that are wondering, Jeremy and I are both guessing boy for this baby because Jeremy’s family tree is very male dominated. Genetics have proven that the Scott’s “mostly” make boys. If you go by all the old wives tales then a girl just might be what we are having, but I think genetics trump wives tales. We’ll find out soon!

Okay, that was a long update, but now you have a little better look into our family. Not just what we’re doing but what we enjoy and what makes us tick. As we head into warmer days, we have lots of family adventures planned. As always, our life will be busy and crazy, but it will filled with fun and love. And hopefully lots of good naps! Amen!

Owen and his new Lamby. My parents got Lamby a twin. We are breaking in the new guy now and then we’ll switch them back and forth for even wear and tear!

Cousin time is always a favorite! Loved watching these boys play together!

First train set from Ikea. It’s been a big hit!

My Mother’s Day treat – a shopping day alone with my hubby and lunch at The Cheesecake Factory! Yum!

We have a kid-free shopping day and we bought Owen hours of summer fun!

Enjoying his new sand box and water table. So much fun to be had!

Let’s start things a bit backwards. Let’s talk about today. Owen and I didn’t go anywhere. Owen took two naps. These two things rarely happen! It seems that with our busy schedule, we are often skipping a nap throughout the day, but today we were home the whole day and had what would be a “normal” day if we had “normal” days. It was AMAZING! I was able to rest and hang out with Owen with no pressure of being presentable or getting us ready for some commitment. Days like this are a breath of fresh air to my soul. Especially now that I am pregnant, I don’t have my giddy up and go. After a couple of days full of activity, I’m toast. Today was just what I needed. Praise Jesus! Also, when my hubby came home, he grilled us hamburgers (YUM). We a little time outside to chat while Owen finished his nap. Once we came inside to eat, it started to rain hard and a thunderstorm settled in over top of us. This was a major highlight for Jeremy and even Owen. Not so much for our little dog, Toby, who stayed hidden behind a chair the whole night. Poor guy.

Okay, now let’s flashback a week for our recap. Tuesday was a MOPS Steering Team meeting. Our MOPS year is wrapping up soon. We put some finishing touches on our thoughts for the last two meetings. We talked about our summer plans and the team for next year. We also had a “great” conversation about placentas. Oh yes, we talk about a lot of diverse topics in those meetings… For next year, I will be doing the newsletter again as well as being a table leader. I added the title of Table Leader Coordinator as well. I just keep going deeper. The great thing about my new role is I get to make the food rotation schedule which I need for the newsletter and then I remind the table leaders to contact their ladies and what food they are supposed to bring. It’s not too much added to my plate, so I’m not too worried about it. My biggest fear for next year is actually being a table leader with a newborn at the table. Owen rarely lasted through a whole MOPS meeting his first year, so I’m hoping his sibling will be the opposite of him in that regard. I can dream, right?

Wednesday was my regular chore day and church. I made some awesome Thin Mint Brownies for my class snack. Yum! Thursday, I had lunch with a good friend and mentor. I went shopping at Michaels and Walmart by myself after that! Can I tell you, I am fast shopper when I am alone. It’s amazing. It was nice to walk at a brisk pace and not worry about a toddler melting down. When I got home, Jeremy suggested that we go to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. It was very tasty and I really enjoy watching Owen eat rice. His love of rice makes me smile. It was nice to do something special with Jeremy because he was up before the sun the next day taking off for a conference.

Jeremy was up before Owen and I on Friday, so he could take off for the Tri-Cities and participate in a golf tournament with his family. This is a part of the annual men’s conference he attends. Owen’s wake up time has been totally unpredictable lately, so I got up 6:30am thinking I could get ready before Owen woke up. Well, Owen decided to sleep until 9:00am. I sat in my room getting really ahead in my Bible reading and trying not to think about how I could have gotten more sleep. Note, last week Owen slept till 8:45am or later three different days. Now he back to a 7:30-7:45am wake up time. Like I said, unpredictable. He keeps me guessing all the time. Owen and I’s Friday plans included lunch with an out of town friend. My dear friend, Christa, and her boyfriend were visiting for the weekend. I got to spend an hour with them and the conversation was all over the place. I wish I could have had more time with her, but Owen was missing his morning nap and I knew that I had a toddler time bomb on my hands. Even though my time with Christa was brief, it was great. I love that lady so much! And it was nice to meet the special fella in her life! We came home from lunch and took a nap. Then we took the dog on a walk to tire him out and went up to my parent’s house for dinner.

Saturday morning, Owen and I were up early. My originial plans for Saturday had changed so I decided that a whole day at home would probably be a bit too boring for Owen. Just me all day with no Dad coming home at dinner time isn’t Owen’s idea of fun. I wanted to do something that would break up the day a bit. We ended up driving up to Olympia to do some shopping. My list was short. First we hit Costco right when it opened and that shopping experience was awesome. We were in and out in no time flat. Then we went to Target… Where Owen melted down. He wasn’t “wailing” but people were giving me looks like I was ruining their morning. Sorry peeps. The kid has a mind of his own. We left Target as quickly as a possible and went home for nap time. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We were just waiting for Jeremy to get home that evening. I introduce Owen to The Lion King. He only really tuned in during the music. He had some good reactions at key moments in the movie. It was a fun treat and pretty short when I fast forwarded certain parts. Jeremy got home before bedtime and Owen and I were glad to have him back.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I was wiped out and I knew it was going to be a long day with church in the morning and Growth Group that evening. Once we got home from church, Owen and I both went down for much needed naps. At some point in the afternoon, our septic alarm started to act up so Jeremy set off to Home Depot to look for a replacement part. In the end, we stayed home from Growth Group to work on the septic. I was grateful to just be home and rest up. It was a good weekend, but these full weekends leave me worn out by the end of Sunday. Thus, why today at home meant so much to me!

Well, that’s all for now! See you in a week or so!

Enjoying a few moments with Christa! She’s one of my favorite people on the whole planet!

How we fill a Friday – I got my Hayley Mills fix in after Owen went to bed. So good!

Watching The Lion King

Owen was all snuggles and smiles this morning

First success with a pickle!

Watching the thunderstorms

I don’t have a ton of time to write since this blog needs to be written in the amount of time that it takes to give Owen a bath. Owen is splashing away in the tub with the supervision of my hubby and Toby, so I have a few minutes to myself. Gotta make the most of them. I’ve been blogging for years and this blog certainly has morphed over time. Nowadays, it seems to be a place where I can update family and friends on our current happenings. The life of a stay-at-home mom is busy, but doesn’t always give me a enough material (or time) to blog daily. These weekly recaps seem to be a good way to hit the highlights of our life. While the title of this blog is Amy Scott’s Thoughts, it’s more like the Scott Family Happenings. I’m okay with that for now. I plan to stick with this blogging thing for a the long haul, so it will probably continue to morph. I have other thoughts and topics that I maul over sharing, but taking the time to get them written down just doesn’t happen these days. Sorry. I guess a lot of Amy Scott’s Thoughts will stay in my head for now.

Back to the weekly review, we had a fairly quiet weekend after our Annual Conference adventures. The Friday after we got home, May 1st, Jeremy & Owen went over to help his Dad (Papa) install a window in his living room. I headed over for dinner after the work party ended. Mostly the weekend was laundry, errands, resting and re-adapting to life at home. Monday kick started our week off with a doctor’s appointment for me and the littlest Scott. It was great to hear the baby’s heartbeat and we set the date we can find out the gender in June. I am so excited that the big reveal is less than a month away. Tuesday was MOPS and then in the evening we took off for Portland to get the screen on Jeremy’s phone fixed. It was fun to walk around the mall and have dinner at Panda Express. That is always a win in my book! Wednesday was my normal laundry and chore day around the house and then church in the evening. On Thursday, Jeremy was up early for a prayer breakfast then he came home to watch Owen for a little bit so I could get my hair cut. Thursday afternoon was beautiful, so we played outside for a bit and Owen requested a walk in the stroller. We haven’t used that in ages, but he wanted it! It’s fun to see his personality continue to shine through. He has no problem getting his point across. He is starting to use more and more words. He is changing quickly. His new thing is climbing on the furniture, specifically the dining room chairs and table. I feel like a whole new level of supervision is now needed in our home.

On Friday, I drove up north to have lunch with my forever friend, Maggie May. She and her husband just announced that they are expecting a boy, so there was much talk about their new little man. I’m so excited for her! Spending time with Maggie is always a special treat. We really do make the most of the few short hours we have together. Saturday, we drove over the mountains to celebrate my sister-in-law, Andrea’s, 30th birthday. It was a fun day spent out in the yard with the sun and the kiddy pool. Owen had a great time splashing around playing with his cousins. It’s always great to visit the East side family. With Andrea now in her 30’s, I’m the last of the Scott’s in their 20’s! Eek! Time flies!

Sunday was Mother’s Day… I wish I had a slightly better report on the day. Owen woke up cranky and tired from the big day before. He didn’t seem to pull out of his mood, so the day was full of many meltdowns. I was super tired from two days of not being able to nap. I was just worn out… We had a nice steak dinner at my parent’s house that evening. It was a good day, but not an awesome day. The highlights for me were taking a short nap and watching the season finale of my favorite TV show. Kinda pathetic, I know. Also because Owen was in a mood most of the day, I didn’t take a single picture. There was nothing really worth documenting. Oh well. I have plans of celebrate Mother’s Day with Jeremy and Owen over Memorial Day weekend, so I just kept reminding myself that more fun was on the way.

And that brings us today, Jeremy took the day off since he worked at a conference all day Friday. It’s been nice to just be home after three days of running all over the state of Washington. Plus the weather is all rainy and gray so I don’t feel a bit bad about not getting out and about. I did have an ice cream date with a student this afternoon. It was fun and nice to come home to my hubby making dinner. Overall, a good day! This week is hopping at well… Each day holds its own plans and commitments and hopefully a lot of a fun in the process. I’ll give the lowdown in a week or so!

Running Saturday morning errands with Mom & Dad! Home Depots carts provide the most fun!

Helping Dad mow the yard

This boy loves his rice!

Running the track at Dick’s Sporting Goods

Playing games with Papa at church

Going for a stroller walk on a sunny day

Lunch with Maggie May

Helping Andrea celebrate the big 3-0!

Owen loves to climb. Time to clear the table top!

Owen wanted to eat dinner at the table tonight with Jeremy and I. It was a bit crazy, but a fun experiment.

Happy May Day! We are officially into a new month. I’m going to spend the first day of May doing lots of a laundry and hopefully getting a nap in at some point. Our last week of April was quite the adventure. Now that we are on the other side of our April adventures, I’m looking forward to some recovery days before the month of May explodes on us… because it will… very soon. But enough about May, let’s recap how April ended.

This last weekend was a busy one for me. Jeremy and I were preparing to attended Annual Conference in Coeur d’Alene, ID. Each year in April, the Assemblies of God meet to go over business and catch up. Of course, we see everyone that we only see a few times a year, so there are a lot of conversations. As an introvert, the conference schedule and all the talking really drains me, plus being pregnant doesn’t make me all the high energy to start with. I’m getting ahead of myself… Last weekend, was a lot of cleaning, packing and preparing to be gone. This was the first trip that Owen was not going to take with me. The time for our first nights away had come. I tried to think through all the details and help my parents be as prepared as possible for their time with Owen. We ended up practically moving him into my parent’s house, but everything went well so I think it was worth all the effort.

On Sunday, we had our growth group which meant for a longer day and a later night. At about 10:00pm, I started to cry because I realized how much I was going to miss Owen. I’ve never really “missed” Owen because we have always been together. The longest we had been apart at that point was like 8 hours. I knew that during the day, Owen does great without me. I was worried about nights though. Owen’s sleeping pattern has been morphing over the last few weeks and I really didn’t want him to keep my parent’s awake all night long. Once I started to get emotional about leaving Owen, I knew that I needed to go to bed ASAP. The tears were from exhaustion and my emotions were running away with me. I’m pregnant, so they do that from time to time.

Other than the short meltdown on Sunday, I did great and so did Owen. We both survived the absence of each other just fine. My mom had decorated the guest room with Mickey Mouse stickers to make it feel fun and kid like. They had also purchased some new toys and Owen was totally enthralled with all the goodies at Grandpa & Grandma’s. Monday before we left, I tried to get a picture with my boy, but he was too busy with playing to want to stop and take a picture with me. He was also too interested in the new toys to really care that we were leaving. I guess that is the way you want things to go.

While the updates from my parents were brief, they were all positive, so I was able to not worry about how Owen was doing. He was in good hands. Like I mentioned, conferences are hard on a pregnant, introvert, but there were a lot of bonuses to not traveling with Owen. Jeremy and I were able to check in with one suitcase each. There was no need for multiple trips to the car to unload baby paraphernalia. Since we had to eat every meal out, it was great to not worry about how long Owen would last in a restaurant before he got bored and wanted to run around.  There was no need to worry about how the conference schedule would jive with Owen’s nap schedule or meal schedule. It was great to be at the conference and focus on the task at hand without having my attention divided. I’ve gone on a few work related trips with Owen and they were hard. Little kids and adults have different needs, so I’m usually the one that separates from the group so they can do what they need to do with the distraction of a little one. It can be isolating for me. I was grateful for this experience. I’m also beyond grateful that Owen did well and that my parents seem to think that they could handle having him again in the future… Is next week too soon? Just kidding!

Below are a few photos from the week. Taking pictures was weird without Owen around to be my main subject, but the Coeur d’Alene area, walks with my hubby and yummy meals soon took the focus of my camera. I joked that I would take no pictures for the week without Owen around. I proved myself wrong in that regard. Oh and one last minor detail from our trip, on the way home we stopped to say hi to our east side family. I got to hug and snuggle with my niece and nephews, so that was really the icing on the cake! I was a happy auntie! Okay, now all the highlights have been covered!

The weekend before we left, Owen hijacked Jeremy’s breakfast. We learned that Owen likes french toast!

The not so great photo of Owen and I that I tried to get before I left on Monday

Too busy playing to care that we were leaving

Moving into Grandpa and Grandma’s house

Our view of Lake Coeur d’Alene from our room

Breakfast on the first day! Gotta love the view and the company!

Sunset at Coeur d’Alene

Going for a walk with my sweetie

Jeremy and I shared this dessert after our walk. We couldn’t finish!

Hanging with my niece and nephews!

It’s insane how fast the month of April has flown by. It’s also crazy all that has happened in the last month. We are excited for the close of April, but it looks like May is going to be another really full month for the Scott family. Jeremy has been working on a lot on some bigger projects, so Owen and I have had a lot of quality time together. I’ve been trying to fill it with interesting things. I’m starting to feel a bit better pregnancy wise so I’m starting to do more then just sit at home and let Owen run amok. By better, I mean I only feel nauseous like 60% of the day instead of 90%. I’m grateful for any improvement and I’m taking it as a sign that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I’ll be 14 weeks on Sunday and officially in my 2nd trimester. I’m hoping that this “all day” sickness will continue to subside. However, I’m not holding my breath for extra energy. The last time I was pregnant, if Jeremy was busy with work, I could just stay home and rest and take care of myself. Now I’m home with a busy toddler and resting just isn’t as easy. By the end of the day, I’m toast. It’s now a new normal for Jeremy to stay up later than me. I run out of steam before him most nights. Makes me feel like an old fuddy-duddy. But I remind myself that I spend my days keeping up with a little human while making a little human. That takes energy. It’s okay to be tired.

Anyway, I thought I would give you a brief glimpse into what we’ve been up to latey. Of course, I will use photos to display our happenings. We’ve been keeping up with our young families Growth Group. Most of the families in this group have 4 kids, so when we last met we had 54 people on site – 29 of them were kids. There were a few times I thought there might structural damage to our host home from little feet pounding above us. Owen got to meet a horse and a pony at Growth Group and he was quite taken with them. The weather has started to warm up a bit so the kids got to spend part of the evening outside and that was right up Owen’s alley.

Because Jeremy has had some fuller days at work, I’ve been seeking outside adventures to keep Owen from getting bored at home. Last Thursday, we went down to visit my sister. It fun to see her place now that she’s settled in. I hadn’t been there since the big moving day. We went to the pet store, had lunch Panda Express and then went Winco together. Owen happily ate his lunch of fried rice and I got sour gummy worms at Winco for a dessert. It was a fun day to enjoy the nice weather in Longview with April. I’m sure Owen and I will have many more adventures down south with Auntie.

Friday was Owen’s 18 month well check appointment and it went so well! First off, any appointment without shots is a win in my book. And then I realized that we wouldn’t have to go back for 6 whole months. Amazing! Owen has gained three pounds in the last three months! He gained no weight between 12-15 months, so I was jazzed to see he is making progress again. He is 17% in weight, 39% in height and 58% in head. That is one of the smallest readings he has ever gotten for his big noggin! Overall, our doctor was very impressed with his developmental skills and gave him an A+. Yet again, she commented on his awesome balance and great mobility. It was a wonderful appointment and we left feeling pretty good about things. Jeremy had ducked out of work briefly so he could join us at the doctor’s office. Owen and I followed him over to Taco Bell for a late lunch so we could have a little more “Daddy Time” before Jeremy had to head back to work. Saturday was spent around the house while Jeremy worked and Sunday, Owen was actually able to join Jeremy for part of the afternoon, so I could take a short nap. Time alone at home is heaven!

Monday, Owen and I took off for Tacoma to hang out with my friend, Kaly, and her two boys, Lucas and Neymar. We spent a little time around their house admiring the toys and books that were new and exciting to Owen. Then we took off for the zoo. Kaly has a zoo membership that allowed me to get in free and Owen is still in the free zone age wise. It was nice to go to the zoo and not spend an arm and a leg on admission. As a special surprise, Kaly treated us to lunch at the zoo. I enjoyed a yummy cheeseburger and I shared my waffle fries with Owen. We are all about the waffle fries these days.

The rest of the week has been pretty standard. We had MOPS on Tuesday and church on Wednesday night. Today, Owen got his third official haircut and we went grocery shopping to keep us supplied for the rest of the month. I’m excited because for the first time in a few weeks, Jeremy has his two normal days off. I’m really looking forward to having him around this Friday and Saturday. I love that Jeremy is a good provider for our family and he works hard, but I also love spending time with him. I’m grateful that we will have a few normal family days. I miss them when he is gone. Well, that’s all that’s been happening with us! Lots more adventures still to come in the near future. I will share them with you soon!

Making a new friend at Growth Group

Visiting Auntie

Watering Daddy’s flowers

Taking a selfie at the Zoo. Owen was too busy looking at the map to care.

Visiting the Zoo

Coloring Time

Time for another haircut

Trying to get a post-haircut photo, but Owen wouldn’t hold still!

On Thursday, Chick-fil-A opened their first store in the Northwest up in Bellevue, WA. Jeremy had mentioned on Thursday night that we still had time to get up there if we wanted to go on opening day. While I love a good adventure, I had already eaten dinner and the thought of getting another meal just didn’t sound too good. After Jeremy was gone this weekend for a work related retreat, he decided to take today off as comp time for being away. It was great to have my hubby around today, but I will admit that I am now all thrown off on what day it is! It certainly doesn’t feel like a Monday. After our discussion on Thursday night, we put into action a plan to visit Bellevue today with our free day. Owen has reset to a new schedule that involves waking up at 7:00am, so we were up early and out the door first thing this morning. We hit Starbucks on our way to the Bellevue Collection – a group of stores that we only seem to hit during the Christmas shopping season. It was fun to wonder around the mall and have it be so calm and chill. We stopped by few of our favorite stores – The Container Store, The Disney Store, The Lego Store and Top Pot Doughnuts (where we wondered out with a half dozen hand-forged doughnuts)! Once we had roamed the mall, we set off to find the new Chick-fil-A. We honestly had no idea what to expect. I figured it would be busy since it’s still a really big deal and I was right. They had police officers in the parking lot helping to direct traffic. The drive-thru line was amazingly long. Lucky for us, there were plenty of parking spots since we had planned to go inside to eat. The line was at the door when we arrived, but it moved quickly. We didn’t wait long to order and our food was up almost instantly. All the indoor seating was full, so we headed outside to a covered eating area that was equipped with heaters. It was really nice. We enjoyed our meals and the the busy atmosphere as people bustled in and around us. It was a super fun and yummy activity. I glad we braved the crowds to get our first taste. Owen loved the waffle fries! Once all the waffle fries were gone, we headed back home. Owen was almost asleep instantly once he was loaded into his car seat. Now we’ve spent the afternoon taking naps and catching up on DVR’d television! Not a bad day if I say so myself!

Go down. Go up. Repeat.

Enjoying the view from the Skybridge

Getting a new water bottle at The Container Store

Owen loves water!

The main event – lunch at Chick-fil-A!

One of my favorite things to bring home from Bellevue

… Mom and Owen will play! This weekend Jeremy had an overnight retreat with some local children’s pastors. Owen and I had two days to fill with fun activities that would distract us from Jeremy’s absence. We really miss the guy when he is not around. I, of course, called in reinforcements, because other people are so much cooler than me to Owen. On Friday, my mom spent the afternoon with us. We went to lunch at Taco Bell, fed ducks in the park, went shopping at Safeway for survival food and Owen got a balloon from Grandma, then it was back to the house to take Toby for a walk. My mom was very helpful in tiring out both Owen and Toby. When my mom left, it was nap time and Owen took a good, long nap (the best kind)! Our evening looked liked frozen pizza, Disney movies, doughnuts for dessert and bath time. Not a bad way to fill a Friday! On Saturday, my sister came over to help Owen and I pass the time. More doughnuts were enjoyed, some Duggars were watched on TV, Owen avoided a nap and basically ran full steam ahead the whole time April was over. After April left, I thought for sure Owen would take an awesome nap since he missed his chance that morning. Owen fell asleep quickly and woke up not even an hour later… He must have known that Jeremy was close to home. Owen woke up and Jeremy got home within minutes of each other. Owen was glad to have his dad home and I was glad to have my hubby back. Owen and I had a good time while Jeremy was away, but life is truly better with him around. We love him!

Friday afternoon with Grandma. On a side note: the ducks weren’t all that interested in being fed. Kind of sad, but Owen didn’t seem to mind. He loves birds, so seeing them was enough for him.

Partying hard on a Friday night

Saturday adventures around the house

Happy to have Dad home! Both of them are a bit tired from the big weekend!

Tis the season to eat bunny shaped candy!

First off, I would like to say that Easter really has nothing to do with chocolate bunnies and plastic eggs. These things are fun and our weekend was full of great activities, but the truth of Easter weekend lies in the power of the cross and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, life itself would be meaningless. Everything fades in comparison to him. I love Easter Sunday morning. There is an energy to it. There is excitement, hope and celebration. Without fail, I usually cry at some point during the church services. I find the power of the resurrection so moving and the love of my Savior is hard to fathom. It’s just so amazing. We had a lot of kids in our ministry get baptized this Easter. I’m so proud of each of them and my heart soars at the decision they have decided to make. I pray that they continue to fall in love with Jesus while they are a young and that they develop a deep and rich relationship with the Lord that lasts a lifetime.

Opening his first Easter gifts at Grandpa & Grandma’s house

Now that has been said, our Easter weekend activities were so much fun! After being so sick, for so long, I was ready to have a good time and get out of the house a bit. On Friday night, my parent’s watched Owen so Jeremy and I could go see Cinderella in the theaters. It was a sweet movie and it was so nice to be out. As we were exiting the theater around 6:30pm, I was amazed at the amount of people coming in to the movies, especially teenagers. It just shows how often I go to the movies. My awe of the crowds made me feel like I’ve been a bit reclusive lately. I need to get out more!

Jeremy brought home tulips from town

Saturday was a family day that we packed in the Easter/Spring fun. Jeremy and Owen started the day off by running into town together. It was nice to have a bit of quiet time around the house.While Owen napped, Jeremy and I dyed Easter eggs. I haven’t done that in forever and it was a sure an experience with Jeremy! After Owen’s nap, we went out to look at some local tulip fields. Owen really enjoyed the tulip fields, but the whole outing itself was a bit hit or miss. Owen was happy or he was not happy… It went back and forth a lot. When we got home from the tulip fields, we did a small egg hunt for Owen in the front yard. Since Owen missed out on Easter Eggstravaganza last weekend, I was itching to see him do an egg hunt. Owen was interested in only about half the eggs we put out, but it was still fun to watch him. After the hunt, it was time for another nap. To wrap up our evening, we gave Owen his Easter basket. We knew that Easter Sunday was going to be packed full so we wanted him to enjoy some time with his basket items. It was fun to assemble a basket for Owen this year. He got a couple of small toys, some bubbles (which we had to go outside and use immediately), a mini flashlight, a small chocolate bunny, some crayons, a Mickey Mouse coloring book, and book about Spring. On an impulse, I bought Peeps to put in his basket. Now before the world gets horrified at my parenting skills, I’m just curious what he will think of Peeps. I plan on giving him a small, child safe piece. I want to see his reaction. I have no plans on him eating the whole package himself. In fact, apart from deforming them in the microwave, I have no purpose for Peeps in my own life. Owen got to play around with his new goodies for a while then it was bath time and bed time.

Our eggs creations! Some of Jeremy’s turned out pretty unique!

Sunday, we got ready for church and spent the morning at Bethel celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. My sister and brother-in-law made the drive up to go to church with us, so it was nice to see them before they jetted off to be with Andrew’s family for the rest of the day. Owen and I left church a little early so he could get a nap and Toby could have some time out of the crate before the long afternoon/evening of family gatherings. Our first stop was Jeremy’s aunt and uncle’s house to share a meal with the local clan. Owen enjoyed giving the dogs treats and getting lots of kisses from the puppies. Then we hit the road to head up my family gathering. Owen arrived just in time for the egg hunt. Each kid was allowed to pick up 24 eggs. Let’s just say Owen wasn’t as interested in collecting eggs this go around. He found a football in the yard and held it the whole time he was hunting. He also found a stick, an empty cup and a flower wind catcher… He was interested in everything but the eggs. Owen eventually got all the eggs he was supposed to, but he might have had some adult help with that. We enjoyed dessert with my family before heading back home to get Owen ready for bed. It was a FULL day. It’s always great to see our families. It’s not often that we all get together, so these times are important and special.

Well, that sums our Easter weekend! It was the best Easter weekend I’ve had in a long time. The change to having Easter Eggstravaganza the week before Easter meant that this weekend we had more energy than we usually do. It was a nice change to spread out the activities. I really enjoyed the Saturday before Easter. It was a great family day for us. I love starting our own little traditions and doing things with Owen that I did as a kid. It’s also fun that he isn’t at the candy eating stage quiet yet, so all his sugary spoils will be enjoyed by Jeremy and I!

Owen and the tulips!

All boy

Helping Dad find the perfect hanging basket

Egg hunt in our yard

Basket time

Thanks for the stuff. See ya!

Happy Easter!

Hunting for everything, but eggs!