Adventures in Hair-cutting (and some bread and jam)!

Today was filled with adventures in parenting, the highlight being that Owen decided to cut his own hair.  Here's how it happened:  I'm washing James off from breakfast, in the bathroom.  Casey is doing something...not in the kitchen.  Owen is in the kitchen.  Casey walks into the kitchen and I hear (gradually increasing in volume), "No, NO, NOOO!!!!" I run into the kitchen, thinking something awful is happening, and see Owen holding his scissors, and chunks of hair littering the ground.  Luckily, Casey caught him fairly early in the haircut and he didn't do too much damage.  Casey did still have to cut his hair, and now Owen looks very old, and Casey is mourning the loss of Owen's long locks (Casey really liked Owen's longer hair).  Here's a before (post-Owen haircut) and after (post Casey's cut to fix it):

When I asked him how he was feeling (prior to the haircut he had a somewhat tumultuous time-out), and if he wanted to talk about it, here's what he said (imagine this with many tears and some sobs throughout): "My hair was itching, so I thought I'd cut it...but then I felt mad because Daddy got so mad at me!"

I love hearing what's going on inside my three-year-old's head.  His actions are usually so logical to him, and it's fun to hear his thought processes.

Also, I'm not sure I've mentioned before, but James loves to eat.  Like, everything, and I have never reached a point where he stops eating at a meal.  I always run out of food first.  Anyway, during Owen's haircut I was keeping James corralled, but got a little distracted watching the haircut.  James found Owen's leftover breakfast plate and happily started helping himself, so of course I had to get pictures of that, too:

Happy Saturday from the Pickett family!  It's a crazy house around here!

Happenings

What's been going on in our neck of the woods, you ask?  Well...

National "Talk Like a Pirate" Day happened.  Turns out Krispy Kreme gives you a dozen free donuts if you go in dressed like a pirate.  Since Owen dresses like a pirate almost every day I figured I'd take advantage.  I guess that technically means this was Owen's box of donuts.  Owen was thrilled when he saw that he's not the only one who likes to dress up like a pirate.  He especially thought the pirate teenagers were cool.  My faith in humanity was restored when those teenagers talked to Owen like pirates and gave him high fives.  Thank you to the teenagers who didn't think you were too cool for kids.  You made my son's day.

Apple picking with friends.  A seasonal favorite.  We tried our hand at making and canning applesauce from the apples we picked that day.  It was delicious.

Ward Halloween Party.  I'm going to be so sad if (when) my children ever decide they're too cool for group costumes, it's really the only reason I like Halloween nowadays.

Owen has taken to "baking".  Most often it's "takes".  Here was one of his recent concoctions, I had to document.  I believe if you were to analyze the separate components you would find: cocoa powder, unsweetened baking chocolate, breadcrumbs, corn meal, corn syrup, peanut oil (copious amounts), and baking powder?  He always somehow finds a way to make them bubble and fizz.  These "recipes" are generally created when I'm putting James down for naps, or am otherwise occupied.  I discover them when I come down and Owen says, "I'm baking a take!!".  I usually know the creative process is happening when it gets too quiet for more than a minute.

Although these forays into the culinary world are rather messy, and sometimes waste a lot of ingredients, I really love that Owen does enjoy baking and cooking lately, with and without me.  It's been really fun to have him help pour and stir and anything else he is able to do, and then remind him that he helped with whatever it is we end up eating, be it pizza dough, spaghetti squash, or (real) cake.  We're already making some great memories cooking together in the kitchen, and I look forward to many more.

James is just plowing forward with life.  He's so happy and sweet.  He loves to be held.  He crawls everywhere and pulls up on everything. He loves his dad and his brother.  He has 4 teeth (front, top and bottom).  He does not love sleeping...we're working on that. :)

Owen is intensely curious, always asking, "why?", and loves life.  One of my favorite things to hear him say lately is, "I'm so essited for..." or "_________ was weawy fun!"  

Casey is starting his interviews for residency.  Feel free to pray for us, if you're the praying sort. 

 Funny story from his life lately:  A fellow medical student recently asked, "So, is your wife pregnant again yet??"

Casey's response: ".........."

These boys sure keep me on my toes.

Sorry for the photo dump (only I'm not really). 

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this post.

Brothers

That's all.

Owenisms

(Navy Pier, Chicago) (Casey was taking his Step 2 in Chicago that day)

Owen's face when I tell him to smile really big.

After finding him on the kitchen counter with chocolate smeared on his face at 7 in the morning
Owen: (Quickly climbing off the counter and pointing at the pan of cookies) Is that leftover tookies?  Oh.  I'm sorry for eating them.  It was a ah-ident (accident).  It wasn't on pohpose (purpose).
Katalyn:
Owen:  At night we have a bedtime treat, and our morning treat is tookies!

At the side of my bed around 6:30
Owen: Mmmm-I slept in really late, so...
Katalyn: No you actually woke up pretty early.
Owen:  Weeeell, you just need to be fine with that.

With his juice glass almost empty
Owen: Can I have some more juice?
Katalyn: No, if you're still thirsty after your juice you can have water.
Owen: Oh, I know! We can trade glasses! (My glass had significantly more juice)
Katalyn: You finish your juice and then let's talk.
Owen quickly finishes juice
Owen: Let's talk!!
Katalyn: (trades glasses) (I'm such a pushover)
Owen: (hands me his glass) You can get more juice!

Referring to a scrape on his leg
Owen: It's healing!  Jesus didn't heal it, but it is healing.

So fast...

Lately I've been feeling like I'm on a freight train hurtling at ridiculous speeds toward...I'm not sure what.  I feel like every time I blink, my children are completely different.  Wasn't James just born last week?  What is going on?!?  Or, in the words of Owen lately, "are you tidding me??"  Rather than trying to play catch up on this here blog, which is no fun and just kind of stressful (which is not what I'm going for here), I just thought I'd share a few pictures I took of James the other day when he was looking ridiculously old to me.  What do you think?  Geriatric, right?

He was so done by the end.

Can someone please tell my children that they can stop growing up now?  (Except maybe don't tell Owen until he's past three).  :)  Thanks.

Giveaway winner and the many personalities of Owen

And the winner of the giveaway (as chosen by a random number generator) is #5, Annie Ditto!  Annie, I'll be in touch. ;)  Thanks to all who entered.

Owen's imagination is quite active (I feel like that's putting it lightly).  He is rarely just Owen, I am rarely just Mommy, Casey is rarely just Daddy, James is rarely just James, and we are rarely just home.  I think the most common phrase I hear from him lately is, "Pwetend...." followed by the characters we are pretending to be or the situation in which he would like us to be.  For example, "Pwetend I'm Hoakawees (Hercules) and you're Hoakawees' mommy, and Daddy is Zeus.", or "Pwetend I'm Captain Hook and you're Petoh Pan, and we're going to sword fight!", or "Pwetend this is our tweehouse, and it's very safe".  You get the idea.

It's fun to listen to, but can be somewhat exhausting for me to play that way (I haven't used my brain like that since I was a little kid.  Who knew it could be so hard?).  Anyway, we don't have an abundance of dress-up clothes, but I've tried to keep past Halloween costumes out, and this week he's been in normal playclothes probably...40% of the time?  He even slept in the monkey costume the other night, and told me that, "I want to wear this monkey tostume fohever!!"...we'll see.

Memorial Day and a Giveaway

Yes, Memorial Day was almost two weeks ago.  Moving on...

We had a great day.  First there was our church's annual Memorial Day pancake breakfast (can I just say how much I love that my older child can play independently at functions like this, and my younger is small enough to just sit and be held?  It's wonderful), then we went to Antrim Lake, and finished off with a barbecue with friends.  A long, fun, and exhausting day.  I only got pictures from the lake. :)

James slept

 Owen played

and played...

and played...

and played.

Lots of friends,

and sailboats.

Casey tried really hard to bury this umbrella. The wind kept blowing it over.  We finally gave up and laid it on the ground.

Blue skies.

A selfie.

On another note, this is our 101st blog post!  Woohoo!

To celebrate, I've decided to host a giveaway (cool, right?).  Just leave a comment, and you'll be entered to win something handmade (I'm not sure what...but the winner can make a request if desired)  by yours truly (if you live far away, I can always mail it).  :)  A winner will be chosen at random, and the entry period ends Sunday.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

Baby Blessings

James had his baby blessing on Sunday, May 4.  For those who are not familiar with this practice of the LDS church, you can read about it here.  Listening to James' blessing reminded me of the day Owen was blessed, so I came home and read through my notes from Owen's blessing.

Some key words from Owen's included: faith, strength, courage, love, kindness, happiness.
From James': power, patience, wisdom, peace, faith, understanding.

Each time one of our babies is blessed I am struck by the incredible potential and capacity contained in such a small person, a person that Heavenly Father has entrusted to me.  I feel so excited to get to know my children and see the good they can accomplish in this world. I'm grateful that I am blessed to have such an active role in the lives of such special people, and that I am able to glimpse just a small bit of what they are capable when I hear them being blessed.

James' blessing day photoshoot:

 He's started sticking his tongue out lately.  Cutest thing ever.

Of interest:  We call this blanket the "Bethlehem blanket".  Casey's Grandma Lucy bought a number of these blankets while visiting Jerusalem.  From what I understand (Pickett/Hickman family members correct me if I'm wrong), she has given one to each of her grandchildren when they have had children.  Owen was blessed in it, and now James used it on his blessing day.  A beautiful tradition, I think.

Exuberance

Today, when I went upstairs and told Owen he could be finished with quiet time, he ran out of his room yelling, with boundless enthusiasm and joy, "Hooray!  I'm the ting (king)!!", and then beamed that smile that lights up his whole face.

James, who was in the next room, had just fallen back asleep after waking too early from his nap (even by his standards).  My first inclination was to shush Owen, "Owen! James just got back to sleep!  Shhhh!!!", and that's usually what I would do.  Today, though, I smiled, bent down, hugged him, and told him that I love him.  Then James woke back up for good.

I tell you this story, not to make myself out as some sort of saintly mother with copious amounts of patience, but because I feel this reflects something that has been on my mind often, as of late.

As I think on the kind of mother I want to be for my children, and evaluate where I am in relation to that ideal, I am woefully far from my goal.  I do things on an almost daily basis that hurt Owen's feelings, that extinguish the exuberance with which he views the world at this point in his life.  I (figuratively) kick myself when I see this happen, and try to remind myself that he won't always be this way, and that I just need to love and encourage and build-up and enjoy him during this beautiful period of childhood.  Unfortunately, I am often unsuccessful in remembering these things when it really counts, but, sometimes, sometimes there are moments like today's, where I am able to be the kind of mother that Owen needs.  Moments that are beautiful and that just feel right.  My hope is that there are enough of these moments to balance out the other ones.  I want my children to think back on our home and remember feeling loved and happy and peaceful in it.  I'm convinced that I will never look back and think, "I'm so bugged that Owen woke James up that day" or "I wish Owen had left me alone so that I could have cleaned the kitchen", but I will wish I could go back and be a little kinder, show more compassion, share in my children's happiness more sincerely, and race a few more toy cars.

So here's to exuberance.

And please pardon the wordy and introspective post on this blog that is usually short stories, pictures of my children, and DIY projects.  I was waxing philosophic last night.  I can't promise it won't happen again. :)

      

A spoon full of sugar

We recently rented Mary Poppins from the library.  It was both Owen's and my first time seeing it.  We both loved it, and since watching it (more than once), Owen has been singing the songs (or at least the parts he knows) throughout the day. (Don't feel obligated to watch the whole video, I know not everyone thinks my children are as cute as I do). :)

Also, some Easter pictures: