Last Hurrah

Yesterday we concluded Tatum's birthday week with a small gathering of her friends at our house. As you can see from the picture, the weather was fantastic...a first for shorts and tee's this year! Here's Tate, with her two good friends Flynn and Joely painting flower pots. The girls were very complimentary to one another as they worked on their pots. They continually used words like fabulous, beautiful colors and gorgeous to describe each other's creation...so sweet.

While running a couple errands yesterday afternoon, Tatum was trying to explain to me that she was really 14 not 4. I explained to her the she was only 4 and had 10 more years to go before she'd hit 14. She may be 4 going on 14, but I'm definitely not prepared for the teen years yet...Yikes!

Happy Birthday Tatum!

Here's Tatum, riding on her new bike from Mommy, Daddy and Owen!

Our first born turns 4 today!! We celebrated this weekend with a nice family dinner and today we sent Tatum to preschool with cupcakes to share. She wore a special birthday crown during class and got to choose a prize from the "birthday box". Tonight we asked her what she would like for her special birthday dinner...let's just say we're celebrating with pancakes!

Tatum continues to enjoy preschool and always looks forward to her swimming classes. Her love for life and enthusiastic spirit is a constant source of enjoyment for Scott and I. Tatum remains our spunky, outgoing, competitive, animated, passionate, loving little girl. We are so blessed to be her parents! Happy 4th Tatum!!

Happy Easter!

Following church yesterday, there was an Easter brunch that included pictures with the Easter Bunny, face painting, and egg decorating. The kids both had a great time and especially loved their visit with the Easter Bunny!

Swim Lessons

Tatum just completed her 4th session (each session runs 1 month and includes 8 lessons) of swim lessons this past week. Scott and I have both absolutely enjoyed watching Tate participate in these lessons...we've actually had to have a discussion or two on whose turn it was to take Tatum to her swim class. For one, Tatum's love and enthusiasm for her lessons is undeniable. At her first lesson this past month, Tatum continually shouted the entire half hour (to no one in particular) how much she loved swim class. Secondly, it's been really fun watching her make huge strides since we first started last July. She's gone from splashing and kicking around in her teacher's arms to being able to independently swim on her stomach and back the width of the pool.

Tatum's signature jump from the side of the pool is almost always a belly-flop. She still always comes up with a big smile on her face!

Here's a video of Tatum swimming across the width of the pool on her back.

We have a name!

Thanks to all of you who participated in our name poll and gave us your feedback. Your input helped us to finally make up our minds...I was literally changing my mind every week about what to name our baby boy. We decided on Isaac Jacob. We chose Isaac meaning "laughter", because we love the name and the meaning (I just had to rule everything else out first). Jacob comes from my mom's maiden name Jacobson, and Jacob has been on our name list for all three of our babies.

Owen is 2!

Owen officially turned 2 on the 30th of March! Since Daddy was working on his birthday we had a small celebration at home with Grandpa and Grandma Russell the night before. This year Owen was definitely interested in opening his presents and couldn't get enough of blowing out his birthday candles. The obvious theme of his gifts was anything to do with trains, but it sure didn't make Owen any less excited when he opened a gift. Owen would hold up the gift with total excitement and continually shout out "train, train, train!"

The older Owen gets the more we see his personality emerge. Owen is a sweet, sensitive, and loving little boy. He has a fairly easy going tempermant, but is definitely capable of some serious pouting...I've been told both my kids get that from me:) He's also all about testing his limits right now and wants to discover the relationship between cause and effect. Owen is our little thrower...toys, books, whatever...especially when he's upset. We are desperately trying to get this under control and so Owen's spent his fair share of time in the "get ready/naughty" spot. I think he is getting better, but still needs lots of reminders. Owen's vocabulary is improving each day. He has a hundred plus single words and several phrases, but when he goes to have a conversation there is still very little we understand. I'm hoping to get a video of him talking so I can share it.

Tatum giving Owen a giant birthday hug

Completely Pooped

Shortly after lunch today I found Owen downstairs sound asleep on the carpet...it wasn't quite 12:30. This is a first for us. I never thought I would have a child fall asleep while playing! Poor guy, I think he may still be recovering from his ear infection.

Best Pals

I'm continually surprised (in a good way of course) at how well Tatum and Owen get along. Not to say they don't fight, yell, hit or push each other, but for the most part I think they truly enjoy each other's company. Whenever I catch them in a "moment", I try and whip out my camera and snap a picture.

This is Tatum and Owen's favorite spot to watch TV. I hardly ever find them on opposite ends of the couch.

Because Tate is the big sis, Owen often wants to do the same activities she does...dressing up is one of those things. Here are the kiddos prancing around in their beautiful princess gowns.

I also have to mention the "hug" picture. Tatum and Owen are very affectionate with each other, typically sharing lots of hugs and kisses daily. Tatum is usually the instigator though, and will literally chase Owen around with open arms yelling, "I need a hug Buddy...just one hug, please!" After a little running around, Owen will almost always give in. Scott and I crack up whenever we watch this exchange between the kids.

March Birthdays Celebration

If you're on my Mom's side of the family, March is definitely the popular month to have a birthday. With the addition of Owen on the 30th, we now celebrate a total of 7 March birthdays! For as long as I can remember we've always had one large "March Birthday Party" celebration, and to this day the tradition continues. Now that Owen is apart of the March birthday gang, the attention is definitely focused on him. I think we'd all agree it's just more fun that way!

Tatum and Owen both clearly overjoyed by his new tee-ball set

Tatum, Owen and Tyler taking turns practicing their swing

Owen blowing out his birthday candles for the first time all by himself. He was so excited, we re-lit the candles about 4 times!

Roommates

Yes, the kids are each sleeping soundly in their own beds!

Tatum and Owen have officially been sharing a room for exactly one week and it could not be going smoother. I don't even have to put them down at different times. We read stories together, they each get into their own bed, we say a prayer, I give kisses and say goodnight, and so far (knock on wood) that's the last I hear of them until the morning.

I feel very fortunate that transitioning Owen to a big boy bed was a breeze. Owen for the most part is an excellent sleeper and appreciative of his rest. He's always welcomed going into his crib and I assumed the same would be true of his bed. Sleep with Tatum on the other hand has always been a battle. When we moved her into a bed, we had about three weeks of major challenges before she began to get used to the idea. Also, until recently we've been getting nightly visits from Tatum on a regular basis. Since Owen has joined her though, she's stayed in bed...I think she enjoys the company and feels more secure with him in her/their room. Transitioning them into one room was at the top of my to-do list prior to baby being born. I'm thrilled to say I can now officially cross that of my list!

My precious little boy sleeping soundly with his two favorite things; a baby doll and a train.

Here's another picture of Owen, again with the two things he treasures the most right now.