Checklist Before Chicago

Tomorrow morning I leave for a four-day trip to Chicago.  (Owen says, "You're going for one night, right?...How are you going to be gone for three nights?!") I'm having a bit of separation anxiety, so let's just talk about my kids for a moment.

Right now, Caelum is just about topping out his cute quotient.  And yes, I'm a ridiculous mom so I can use terms like "cute quotient."  Not that I even remember what "quotient" means.  Something mathy.  Turns out I would need math someday, just like all those teachers told me.

Anyway, as I was clearly getting to, Caelum is at what has to be my favorite age.  He's walking, "talking," getting into stuff, teasing, dancing, and exploring.  Yet he's still a baby.  He still wants to be cuddled and held...just not that much.  He likes to give open mouth kisses, feed himself, and fill up diggers with loads.  He tries to sing along when we have family worship each night and he can beat out a rhythm on the djembe.  The kid is amazing.  He's tough as nails, too. He'll fall down, take an elbow to the head, and get stuck in a small space-all within about 30 seconds-and then he'll be up and climbing on a kitchen chair in the next moment.  He puts the "bruise" in Zembruski.

Yet as entertained with Caelum as I am, Owen has been absolutely amazing me each day.  He's a pretty complex guy, and he's thoughtful and hilarious.  We were talking about how Jesus is going to come back one day and he said, "Can he visit us at our house?" I said I hoped he would.  Owen said, "Does Jesus have a car?"  I said I didn't know for sure, but I didn't think so.  Owen said, "Oh. Maybe he has a pick up truck."  

Owen has really been rocking out hard with his acoustic guitar and his electric guitar.  He's developed some sweet moves, and he's great at identifying what instruments are playing whatever song we're listening to at the time.  He sings really well, and we've found a violin version of "Party Rock" that gets a lot of play in our house right now.  I tell you what, my kids are amazing.

And don't even get me started on that Zach...

3 + 1

For all of our family oh so far away, here's an account of the boys' birthday party.  It took place the day before Owen's actually birthday, and 12 days after Caelum's.  This caused a lot of confusion for Owen:

"So Caelum will turn two at the birthday party?"
"No, he'll still be one."
"But you said he'd be two at his next birthday!"


In any case, the Wednesday before the party, I had an inaugural "Stay At Home Moms Unite" playgroup for a bunch of moms from church.  Try to picture 14 little kids (most of whom were under 4!) and eight adults in our townhome.  That felt like an early birthday party since the boys were playing like maniacs with their buds. 

Then the party was on Saturday.  The morning was full of rain, for the first time all winter...of course.  The park where we planned to have the party would have been soaked.  Fortunately, a kind family from church offered their pristine house for the party.  The sun came out just as the party was getting started.  Typical.  I'll let the pictures tell the story from here:

Kids munching on hot dogs and macaroni and cheese

The ladies' table; everyone else was outside with Zach while he grilled

Cupcakes with Bobbi frosting (in blue!)

Relaxing as the party winds down

Likewise

 So I had to include the birthday song, just because we have a great new video camera.

On Owen's actual birthday, we had the Zoschkes over after church.  We had lunch and (more) cupcakes with them, then opened presents.  Owen FINALLY got the acoustic guitar he has patiently been waiting for.  It's a legitimate guitar, 1/4 scale.  You can see for yourself how excited he was.

It's crazy to think we have a one year old and three year old.  The time it is a-flying by.  Hope you all feel like this gives you a taste of it, before it all slips away.

3

Coffee break

Sweet Owen boy had his third birthday.  He was looking forward to it so much, and kept telling me, "It's hard to wait a long time for my birthday." He had a delightful birthday, filled with all of his favorite things: pancakes, church, lunch with the Zoschkes, cupcakes, presents, frozen yogurt, and a ride on the Bob the Builder at the mall.  As you can tell, he enjoys food just as much as I do.  That's how we celebrate.

Owen is such dear little boy.  Here are some of my favorite things about him right now.

Following his map, with his telescope on his eyepatch

He loves, loves, loves his little brother.  If they are up at night in their room, they are inevitably talking and laughing ecstatically.  Wherever one of those boys is, you can find the other one next to him.  Sure, they fight over toys and have their little squabbles, but those boys are buddies.  Now, when we take walks, Owen holds onto the stroller and Caelum points to different things and says, "Dah?" Then Owen  tells him about whatever he's pointing to: "That's a tree, Baby Caelum." Sometimes I'll hear Owen rambling on and on in the playroom and when I ask him what he's saying, he says, "Oh, I'm just talking to Caelum, Mom." I love seeing their relationship grow.

Owen, as you know, loves to sing and play musical instruments.  We gave him an acoustic guitar and he brings out that, a toy electric guitar, a keyboard, a djembe, and a microphone so that we can sing songs together. He rocks out pretty hard.  Here's a really cute video of him singing a Matt Pond PA song, on his birthday morning. I wish that I could have found a video of the actual song, so that you can see how accurate he sings it.

He loves to "play church" and read the Bible and pray.  He opens the Bible and says, "This is the word of the Lord." But what comes out, bless his heart, is, "This is the word of the Yord." One day he'll learn to pronounce those Ls, but for now it's dang cute. When we do family worship, Owen usually prays first, completely silently, but more recently his prayers have included thanks to God for cupcakes, the body of Christ, and his acoustic guitar.

Owen has gotten a lot friendlier.  He used to be really shy at parks, but now he asks on the way to the park, "Will other kids be there to play with?" He immediately starts talking to any kids there, saying, "Hi friend. There's my baby brother over there.  Be careful by him. Come see my fire truck." Yesterday we were outside at the ranch and one of the guys who takes care of the grounds who we've never actually spoken with before was parking on the other side of the bushes we were near.  Owen yelled, "Hi!" and the man answered, "Hola." Owen kept talking to him, told him about his baby brother, and then came back to me, saying, "That guy drives the machines. He's awesome."

Finding money in his pocket

Each weekday while Caelum is napping, Owen and I play school. We go over a letter or number, and then do a little craft. He really enjoys it, which is nice, and his new favorite thing to do is paint.  Yesterday he said his favorite part of the day was school, which says a lot since his best buddy Arden came over as well.  That's the other thing he does that just kills me.  Zach will come home and Owen put his little hand on Zach's arm and says, "How's your week going, Dad?" Or he'll say, "Are you excited for the weekend?" He always asks me, "What was your favorite part of today?" I love his sweet nature. 

He is really sensitive too.  We had a few families over for Christmas and when it was time for dessert, Owen grabbed the plate of Christmas tree cookies and went to serve them to everyone.  He tripped and the whole plate of cookies fell onto the floor.  He looked up, his eyes got really wide, and then he ran and buried his face in my legs.  He was about to cry and then we diverted him...with cleaning up the cookies.

It's amazing that he's three.  He is such a good companion to me and really keeps me entertained.  I love his special ways and how he is so smart and funny.  I'm praying that God calls him as to be his child and that these early hints of a love for Jesus will grow into devotion and recognition of his great need of the only savior.  God has truly "hemmed in" Owen so far, and I pray he does so for eternity.

Sweetness

Need more birthday coverage?  You got it!

Here's a little video of Caelum's cake time yesterday.  I think it'll make you feel like you were there.  Which is good,  since at one point Owen asked, "Where are all of Caelum's friends?"  Typical big brother comment.  I love how Owen's repeated attempts to blow out the candle provide ample time for Caelum to swipe some frosting.  It's almost like they planned that...

We met Daddy at Chick Fil A for lunch.

Eying his loot

Daddy demonstrates the shape sorter we got him.

Thanks for the cozy pajamas, Gramma!

He ate all the frosting first.

We demolished the cake.  But then again, it was our dinner too.

Really cram it in there

  

And one final video of Caelum opening his gift from the Smith Family.  He's getting good at it!

Birthday Boy

 Remember this little guy?  What a cutie, huh?  Well now he's one.  Happy birthday, Caelum!

He is getting to be quite the well-rounded little guy, and not just his shape either.  Here's a quick, list-form version of my sweet boy.

Likes:

• Brother
• Daddy
• Pushing chairs in the kitchen
• Being outside; on concrete over grass, preferably
• Bathtime
• A certain spatula
• Going up the stairs; going back down
• Jumping on Owen's bed
• Getting into the fridge/trash/toilet
• Climbing onto or into things

Dislikes:

• Sitting in a shopping cart
• Being told "all done" with regards to food
• Sleeping in
• Owen having a toy, any toy
• Things being too organized
• Diaper changes

Caelum is such a joyful little guy, plus he's tough.  He can say mama, dada, duck and baa.  He's been taking a few steps on his own and any day now it'll click and he'll be walking everywhere!  Caelum is a busy little one year old. This past year has been great and we look forward to seeing him grow and change in all of the years to come!

Stay tuned for pictures from the birthday festivities.

Christmas Card

At the risk of ruining the surprise...we did a Christmas card photo shoot yesterday.  Zach came home a little early so we could catch the sunset.  We went to the helicopter pad on the ranch and tried to quickly get a decent family picture.  We could have used your help, Hannah!  Anyway, here are some of the failed attempts.  They crack me up, so I had to post them.

Look forward to the good versions, coming soon!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

A post so soon? Yes! Zach is having a guys night of beer tasting, so I thought I would record our fun day of Christmas preparations.  After the boys were in bed and Zach had left, I decided I would relax and take a bath. Not five minutes later, Owen comes downstairs into the bathroom and poops for about 20 minutes. Thanks kid.

Anyway, Zach found this great place in Simi where you can pick out and cut down a tree.  All the trees are in this alley shaped area under some powerlines.  That doesn't sound delightful, but it really was.  There were a ton of trees growing there, and we found a real beauty.  Here are some of the pictures showing the great day we had getting ready for Christmas.

 

Owen enjoyed playing hide and seek amongst the trees.

The rowdy boys and me

Zach sawing down the tree

Walking back to the car

Good ole Camry

Zach is excited to start trimming the tree

Caelum helping put lights on

My camera refuses to give me a good family picture in front of the tree. I tried a million times...always blurry.

I managed to get a decent picture, but with no family. What's the point then?

Zach cleverly lit our canvas tree in the playroom

 

So there you have it!  I hope everyone else is as excited for Christmas as we are. 

A (blurry) close-up of the finished product