3 years old!

I can't believe I have a three year old.

No party pictures yet because we are having one big fall birthday celebration for both boys since we weren't going to be home on their actual birthdays. Owen has asked for a rocket party all year so I am in full planning mode planning a space themed party for both boys. It will be fun, and a lot less stress and money only having one party ;).

A few birthday cupcakes to celebrate!

Owen Dean Taylor: 3 years old.... It feels like just yesterday I was taking that very pregnancy test that was going to change my life. It has made me a completely different person, I am happier than ever- and love every single day as I watch you grow and learn.
You are such a loving little boy, you want everyone to be happier and do your best to make sure we all have smiles on our face.
At three you are...
99% potty trained
Talking up a storm. Full conversations.
Still loving trains.
Finally sleeping in your toddler bed. (We tried this a while back and you begged for your crib.)
You know your address now and can spell your name( you just say O-W-E-N)
You know your full name.
You love to go shopping with me.
You don't like to clean up and we often have a struggle to get you to do so.
You are starting to like to watch tv some. ( which means you will sit still for a few moments)
You love to be outdoors.
Swimming was a favorite activity this summer.
You have started getting picky about your clothes. Especially your pjs.
You are a great big brother teaching Holden all kinds of things... You have taught him colors & shapes. You keep trying the abc song with him... He'll sing it about half way with you.
You love to make up your own verses to wheels on the bus.
You like to ride your bike and wear your helmet. You got some roller skates for your birthday and the first time you "skated" was hilarious!
I could go on and on about all you have achieved by the age three... You totally amaze me.
We have your 3 yr well check up next week.
Love you bunches buddy.
Xoxo

Catch-up

Finding time to sit down and write..... I think about it often but just never make myself do it. After the kids are down napping, I either 1. Take a nap myself, or 2. Do house wifey duties. And let's be honest, a lot more of number one than number 2. But..... One day my boys won't nap any more, so I must nap while I can.... Right?

Why do I feel like that was yesterday? It really does amaze me how fast time is flying.I have been having baby fever a bit..... But two is plenty. I know this, and know its best for us.... But my uterus doesn't listen.
Many friends have been having babies this spring and I know that has things stirred up.

We are headed out of town for two weeks to see family, then we will be home for about 10 days before we head off the the bay, & then DC. Should be tons of fun!

Things the boys are up too.
We got our first bikes & helmets. They are a huge hit.
We have had a slight bump in the road with potty training.... Pooping is an issue, we are working on it.
Holden loves anything that is yellow... He finds yellow things everywhere we go- and points them out saying "yellow". He also can name the shapes star and circle.
Owen love love loves puzzles & playing memory- or "making matches" as he calls it. He like to play by himself. He likes to sing the abc's, you are my sunshine(Holden is starting to sing this too) & patty cake, ring around the Rosie, monkeys jumping on the bed, itsy bitty spider, and wheels on the bus.. Owen can also spell his name now. He is so excited to learn new things I'm thinking I need to get in the attic and pull out some of my teaching stuff.

We are planning on moving the boys into what is now our guest room. It will be nice because they will have room to play in there too. So mama can have part of her house back. ;) the best part.... I will have so much fun designing their "big boy/toddler room".

We meet with a feeding team next month to discuss Holdens low weight. The dr wants to rule out any sensitivity to textures. We and our dr believe that he is just going to be tall and skinny- he is in the 90% for height but at the very bottom in weight. He is obviously growing, but he is just skinny. He is very active, and never stops. So he burns off everything he eats. His favorite foods are also fruits and vegetables which make it hard to gain weight. He will have a full evaluation just to make sure we aren't missing anything.

Well it's 1:30, so I must try to go to sleep. I'll post pictures soon. I'm on the iPad and don't have anything current.

Update

Life with two high energy kids keeps me busy, and with all that's going on I neglect to update. These updates are for me mostly, so I can look back at these precious times that seem to be flying by. I need to be better about updating.
Holden is 17 months. Almost 1.5 yrs old. I still feel like I was just pregnant. He is a very active, very wild and very happy little boy. He talks up a storm, loves to sing, and even more loves to dance. Some of his favorite songs are : of your happy and you know it, wheels on the bus, .& ring around the rosey.
Owen is 2.5 yrs old and acts like such a big boy. He decided he was ready for underwear and we haven't looked back, no accidents- I believe he was just ready. We haven't given him prizes, but not every single time he goes- more of a reward for just doing a great job. We've left him in the tot room at the gym, and been to birthdays parties both of which I thought he might get distracted. But he did great! I am one proud mama. We also moved him to a toddler bed and he's so excited! Hopefully that continues to go well too.
So, all is well. Everyone's doing great and growing up before my eyes. Too fast!!!

Owen

Owen... I have been meaning to post on all of his updates but just couldn't find the time to sit down and post.
Since turning two in August Owen amazes me everyday. He loves to learn and read which I think is why he amazes me. He really pays attention to what is going on around him and then uses that to make discussions later on, connecting things e similar and asking questions about things that seem to not make since to him.
I started working with Owen when he was 18 months or so on learning his colors, shapes, and recognizing letters and numbers.
He can name all the colors except red??? Red is ALWAYS green which I know could be a color blind confusion. But I won't worry about that. He can name and recognize in every day objects, the shapes: square, circle, rectangle, triangle, oval, heart, diamond, and octagon. I think playing a shape app on the iPad really helped him learn all these shapes. We worked on them and read shaped books, drew shapes, and have several shape puzzles- but the reinforcement of the shape app definitely helped.
Owen knows the letters on his name and a handful of other letters... We are still working on this and numbers, which he can count to 6, and recognize those numbers too. On some occasions he does count correctly to 10 but not always.
Owen loves to play with his friends. He ask as soon as he gets up to play with.... And will name one of his several buddies. He is very social and loves going on adventures. We have been occupying our time swimming, playing the children's museum, playing at the see saw center, having playdates, meeting dad for lunch, enjoying lilyput play homes, going to gymnastics and music class.
Owen at this very moment/age 29 months is very easy going. He is so happy! He is full of energy, hilarious, silly, talkative, loving, and will still hug, kiss, and cuddle with me. I am absolutely loving this age!!!!
A few things we will starting working on in the spring.... POTTY TRAINING, and possibly moving to a big boy bed. Right now Owen loves his crib and sleeps great! So I'm in no hurry.
Owen is growing up so fast. I'm loving the polite loving child he is becoming. I look forward to watching him and loving him become a kid- my toddler is fading fast.

It's been awhile.......

Things were so busy for a while and have just started to calm down.
Do I will update from October- Jan.

At the end of October we took our first family of four plane trip. We took off for dallas. I was stressed but it ended up being great. We got delayed on the plane our flight to Dallas.... Sitting for two hours wasn't tons of fun but we did ok. Everyone slept well while traveling and we had tons of fun.

As soon as we got home from Dallas we had Halloween and Holden's first birthday party. I have decided that since his birthday is Te week of thanksgiving we will celebrate it early with our friends at home and then again with family during our travels.

We traveled to NC for two weeks over thanksgiving holiday. We had a blast! We had lots of play dates and park playing :).

On our trip writ ride a school bus and a train. Owen was in heaven.
We also saw Santa.

We came back home and then had family here for the holidays. It was perfect. We now have more trains than one knows what to do with but we have two very happy boys.

Holden.. Update

My baby is 13 months. It seems like yesterday we were bringing him home and excited to be a family of four.
Holden is a complete toddler now, eating pretty much anything, drinking milk and walking... Yes finally walking. Holden took his first steps at 11 months but never more than a few at a time. He still crawls, but is walking more and more each day. Holden loves books, cars, and his toy kitchen. Holden now says mama, dada, thank you, shoes, dog, touch down, yes, no and cookie. Holden also signs, thank you, more, please, mom, and eat.
Holden is super funny and has already learned how to get under brothers skin. He thinks it is so funny to get him upset.... I'm sure I will have many years of dealing with this. I try not to laugh but it's pretty cute.
Holden is very spoiled, temperamental, or basically he just wants it his way. He will let you know exactly how he wants it's..... I laugh now but I know I will have to deal with this and it won't be fun. Holden always acts like such a baby...,, he wants to be held, snuggled, still wants a bottle, and the paci. We went two weeks with out the paci after Holden turned one. We took them away from both kids cold turkey. Owen was fine. Holden started waking several times during the night, so we gave in. He now has the paci for naps and bed time. He knows he has to put it in his crib when he get ups and does fine all day with out but the kid needs it to sleep and I guess I do too. ;)
Holden is growing so fast... Well he is still a pip squeak... 18.7 lbs at his 1 year appointment but he is in the 70% percentile for height. I am enjoying watching him learn and grow and build an amazing friendship with his brother.
Xoxoxoxo