Sparklers

XOXO

It's a pretty sweet selfie moment.  My little guy sure loves his mama.

P.S. Ignore the fingerprints on the mirror :)

Bucks Lake 2014

And here we are again, back from another cabin trip to Bucks Lake.  This is the one thing we've done as a family every year since Owen was born that has now become a tradition.

My top 5 highlights of this year's trip:
1. The car ride, both ways-- movies kept Owen busy, and we planned it so well that Logan napped most of the time.  No tears, no traffic, no problems.  Considering the last few long car trips were so miserable, this is a big milestone.
2. Seeing the big kids play together and have "adventures", just having fun on their own.  Watching Owen play like that reminds me of what it felt like when I played with my cousins on big family trips.
3. I read a book.  A whole book.  And not even a book about teaching.  Probably the first one since before Logan was born. (Divergent, finally, and now I can see the movie.)
4. Out of the past four cabin trips, I was either pregnant or breastfeeding for three of them.  This time I finally got to participate in the adult beverage fun.
5. The boys LOVED the lake.  Owen played in the water and in the sand, and Logan just kind of sat there at the shore taking it all in.  They loved it so much that they wouldn't get out of the water, despite the chattering teeth and blue lips.

Movie time = snuggle time for Logan

He didn't care about the movie, he just wanted to climb all over everyone and their sleeping bags

Oisin watching The Lego Movie

S'more time

Logan playing with a specimen jar (a gift from Dr. Ong, Owen's pediatrician, who handed over the jar when Owen excitedly showed him the rocks he had collected in his pocket)

Jeremy & Seamas, so bromantic

Buddies- Oisin, Owen, & Jakodi

Proof that I was there- a rare picture of me with my boys (wearing a hoodie because it was so cold in the water)

This picture makes me so happy because my boys were so happy :)

Bucks Lake 2013
Bucks Lake 2012 (Day 225/Project 365)
Bucks Lake 2012 (Day 224/Project 365)
Bucks Lake 2012 (Day 223/Project 365)
Bucks Lake 2011
Bucks Lake 2010

Sneaky Sydney

Sydney, that sweet dog of ours, is getting older.  She shows her age in so many ways, from her constant need to pee, to the patches of white fur that have grown on her face.  But one way she hasn't changed a bit is when it comes to food.  You can always count on her to be there to take care of the crumbs we drop on the floor (and sometimes the food we leave on the table).  Logan recently discovered the fun of eating out of a snack cup, and Sydney was right there, ready to step in if he needed help with any fallen Cheerios.

Father's Day

The Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco

Laura & Robin under the sea

Owen & Laura petting a baby leopard shark in the touch pool

Owen & Grandpa touching sea stars

Moon jellies

Logan LOVED those stairs at Pier 39 (up, down, up, down, up, down...)

Light Painting

$3 well spent. Not only did they keep him happy while grocery shopping at Safeway, these finger lights have kept Owen busy for hours at home in the dark. 

Helping Grammy

Jeremy needed to help his mom with her modem/phone/internet, so we all went to her house just for fun.  While Jeremy helped hook up the new setup, Owen and Logan "helped" spread toys all over the living room.

Happy Birthday to Me

I may not want a big fuss made over my birthday, but there are some things I need in order for it to really feel like my birthday.

1.  I want to do something special, or at least something I wouldn't do just any old day. I thought the boys might like the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, so that's where we went.  My little scientist Owen had a blast, and that made me happy.  He carried around his map the whole time and let all the new sights sink in-- the aquarium, an animal skull exhibit, a t-rex skeleton, and much more.

2. Presents:  Okay, who doesn't like presents?  And I'm not even talking about things that are expensive or over the top.  Here's what I mean: Owen spent the whole day giving me presents-- flowers, leaves, hugs, kisses, and even the privilege of reading a bedtime book to him, and every time he told me that it was a present for my birthday.  At the end of the day, Owen teased in a singsong-y voice, "I have another birthday present for you!" He gave me a kiss on the butt and said, "Okay, that's enough presents.  That's the last one."  Good enough for me :)

3. Cake:  I love cake.  It might even be my favorite food.  That being said, we've had sooo much birthday cake from the various birthdays during the last month that I'm unusually tired of cake.  Now Yogurtland, that's another story...

So those are the three things that make me a happy birthday girl.  It's not as exciting as it was when I was younger, especially when getting older begins to seem less appealing (now that I'm 36, Jeremy jokes that he'll trade me in for two 18-year-olds!) but I still like having a special day that's all mine.

Owen giving Logan a kiss on the forehead in the Steinhart Aquarium

Owen waving to the scuba diver who was cleaning the tank

Owen with a rattlesnake, one of his favorite animals, thanks to an episode of Reading Rainbow that is in heavy rotation at our house

Logan unleashed- finally out of the stroller and free to roam (and looking like something from a Dr. Seuss book with the picture of the plant that looks like it's growing out of his head)

Logan, curious about that mastodon tusk that Owen is checking out (and as always, he HAS to do whatever Owen is doing)

The boys kind of missed the point of this interactive game, which was not supposed to involve crushing bugs

Skulls exhibit

A huge wall of sea lion skulls

Owen, still excited from the trip, reading his map and brochure

The Great Outdoors

We don't have much outdoor space, but the boys love being out there anyway.  Climbing on a camping chair inside?  Ho hum.  Racing Hot Wheels in the living room? Boooring.  But outside, now that's a different story.  Something about being outside makes it much more fun.

Owen's Birthday

We hadn't had a birthday party for Owen since he turned one year old.  Then when Logan had his first birthday party, I opened my big mouth and told Owen that when he turned four he could have a birthday party, too.  At first it was a flub I regretted, especially with their birthdays being so close together.  Did we really need two Saliba birthday parties in one month?  But after seeing how much fun Owen had, it was totally worth it.  The people at My Gym made Owen feel really special, and he had a huge grin on his face pretty much the whole time.

Lunchtime Part II

One day I hope we will all eat the same meals at the same table at the same time.  For now, naps, different schedules, and food allergies/food preferences get in the way of that.  This was today's Lunchtime Part II, since Logan had napped through Lunchtime Part I.  Owen chose to watch him eat rather than do something more fun, and of course he found this a bit boring.  Years from now, this is how I will remember Owen at age 3 in his quiet little moments of stubbornness: thumb in the mouth, Chip snuggled up to his face, and sometimes that little piece of cotton ball fuzz.  Then there's Logan, who has just figured out how to feed himself, and who takes an hour to eat a tray of food cut into baby-bite-sized pieces.  (Oh yeah, those grapes are cut into twelfths.)

Superhero

At almost 4 years old, Owen's personality is quite the blend of mine and Jeremy's.  He takes after both of us in his stubbornness.  He likes his quiet time just like I do.  And he shares Jeremy's imagination.  And something which absolutely breaks my heart and irritates me to no end: he hates having his picture taken.  Unless he is dressed up like a superhero.

And since this is a post that captures the essence of Owen, I have to share the little things he says that I've been writing down.

January 7, 2014

While singing, "Robin in the rain, you don't mind the weather.  Showers always make you gay..."

Owen: "What does gay mean?"

Jeremy: "Gay means happy."

Owen: "Oh, well I'm gay!"

[short pause while Jeremy and I giggle]

Owen: "I'm gay about this spaceship!" (holds up an X-wing)

He was gay about some other stuff too, but I was too busy laughing about it to remember.

January 16, 2014

From behind the closed bathroom door, shouts: "Mommy, I'm done pooping and I love you!"

January 16, 2014

While scooping chocolate pudding with his hands out of his pudding cup: "Mommy, I'm gonna be a hot mess!"

January 16, 2014 again (this was quite a day)

While talking about sons, husbands, wives, etc:

Owen: "I'm gonna have a wife someday."

Me: "Oh yeah?  What will she be like?"

Owen: "She'll be pretty."

Me: "What else?"

Owen: "She'll have long hair.  Down to her feet.  And she'll make me stuff."

Me: "Like what?"

Owen:"Like cookies.  And cake for my birthday!"

Me: "Will she be nice?"

Owen: "Yes.  And she'll have a baby in her tummy.  And I'll be a daddy."

January 20, 2014

"Mommy, you look like a mountain with hair."

January 21, 2014

"Logan, you can stay with me forever!"

January 21, 2014

Owen: "I found Katelyn to marry!"

Me: "Oh yeah?  Why her?"

Owen: "Because she's pretty, and she's nice to me, and I love her."

March 5, 2014

While reading Let's Go, Hugo:

Owen: "Daddy if you ran away from me my whole heart would sink out of me."

April 26, 2014

"I love you as big as a gas giant!"

(We've been reading a book about planets lately.)

 This kid is too smart for his own good.