McReynolds Family Blog: 2012

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Owen's big boy bed

Also on July 14th, Owen helped his Daddy turn his crib into his big boy bed!!! He LOVED it! Until he had to stay in it that night by himself. He obeyed the rule of not getting out on his own until he called for us in the morning...but he was quite sad while trying to fall asleep. After a little coaching from Dad, Owen went to sleep and slept all night just as he was doing in his crib.
We are so proud of him!

Owen's third birthday!!!

On July 14, 2012 Owen turned three!!! We had a fantastic party at the Hanover Fire Station #10. Complete with homemade cake pops, fire hats for all, coloring books for the kids and pizza! The firemen did a little demonstration for the kids. The rookie (Woodall) got dressed in his firefighting gear in front of the kids. The main message was that if the kids ever experienced a fire they were to stay low to the ground and seek out a fireman. With all the gear on (complete with the air mask and helmet), a fireman can be a little intimidating for a child. So it was a good time for them to learn that the firemen are not scary.

Each child got to sit in the fire truck and check out all the gear. They were thrilled! Five minutes before the party was to end, the fire station was called to the scene of an accident. The bell rang and everyone started rushing around. The ambulance and fire truck departed the station with their lights flashing and sirens blaring. All the kids rushed outside to watch in amazement while each fireman waved goodbye to the kids. A dramatic way to end the party...but also sad for some families that were in need of a rescue. We hope everyone was ok!!

Happy Birthday Owen!!!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy July 4th!!!

We had a great day here in Richmond to celebrate the 4th. We started out eating egg sandwiches and (Clint and Melissa) enjoying coffee on our screened in porch. At 8:30am we headed over to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. It was free admission for July 4th and we bee-lined to the Children's Garden so the kids could play in the water gardens, the sand box and the giant tree fort. Our neighbors, the O'Mara's, went too. It was so much fun. Afterwards, we enjoyed a bite to eat at Chick-Fil-A and made it home in time for naps!
After naps, we all shared some popcorn and patriotic popsicles that we made last night.
And then we enjoyed several hours in our backyard with our new inflatable pool! It kept us cool in the 100F heat!
Happy Independence day everyone!!

Friday, June 8, 2012

Gearing up for our first surgery

After recurrent ear infections and constant ear tugging, we took Avery for an ENT consult. It was timely, as she had yet another ear infection. It was highly recommended that we get tubes put in Avery's ears. The doctor we met with is also the surgeon that would perform the surgery. After about 30 minutes of questions, we concurred with him to put tubes in Avery's ears. She will get them on Tuesday June 12th. Mommy and Daddy are nervous, but we have heard so many fantastic stories about the positive effects of tubes that we know this is the right decision. Many people have told us that it will be harder on us than on her. She will get put to sleep for four minutes for the procedure to take place, and we have heard that the worst part is the hour or so after she wakes up (just from being disoriented and dizzy).

Many prayers and thoughts would be appreciated on Tuesday morning!!!

Bath time stories and bed time conversations

Here is a conversation that took place while Owen was in the bath tonight:

Owen: Mommy, I want to tell you a story while I am in the bath.
Mommy: OK...go for it!
Owen: Once upon a time......there were three little bears. Papa, Mommy bear and brother bear...oh and sister bear. They were all in their college.
Mommy: College?
Owen: (Laughing)...yeah...college.
Mommy: Do you mean cottage.
Owen: Yes, cottage. And the momma bear walked in and said who is eating my pork.
Mommy: Pork? Do you mean porridge?
Owen: Yes, porridge. And then sissy bear was eating the porridge.
Mommy: Ya?
Owen: That's the end of my story.
Mommy: Were you trying to tell me about Goldilocks and the three bears.
Owen: Ya....is Goldilocks your friend?
Mommy: I would love for Goldilocks to be my friend. I like her story.
Owen: Me too.

Here is a conversation that took place at Owen's bedtime:
Owen: Mommy, my teachers say I look like you.
Mommy: Oh ya? That's cool, I think you look like me too! Which teacher told you that?
Owen: Ummm....Miss Taylor. She is pretty...just like my Mommy!
Mommy: Do you think Miss Taylor is pretty?
Owen: Yes....just like you!
Mommy: Awwww.....that is very sweet. You are a sweet boy!
Owen: I like looking like my Mommy. And my Daddy! Mommy...I look like my Mommy and Daddy.
Mommy: That's correct!

Such a sweet sweet boy!

Friday, June 1, 2012

"I'm married to Lola"

Several weeks ago, Owen informed us that he was married. As you can imagine....we were surprised and wanted to know more.

Mommy: What??? You are married?
Owen: Ya....to Lola (a girl in his class)
Mommy: Oh....well, I am sad I didn't get to go to the wedding.
Owen (puzzled): Ya...and Ryan (a boy in his class) is our son.
Mommy: OH MY!

I have confirmed with Lola's Mom that Owen and Lola are in fact "married". Apparently Lola has told her parents too. And Lola confirmed to her parents that Ryan is her son. Yikes.

Owen has another really good friend in his class named Gabby. Tonight at dinner, Owen was talking about his friends, his marriage to Lola and his son Ryan. Here was the tail end of the conversation:

Mommy: So...where does Gabby fit in to this picture?
Owen: Gabby....OH....she just....ummm....she just has a wonderful time.
Mommy and Daddy could not contain our laughter. Which then got Owen started laughing and repeating that Gabby "has a wonderful time".

Re-reading this has me thinking that the blog readers may not find this funny. It is more funny in person and in the moment...but I still like to capture the conversations here so we will remember them forever!!!

School Bus

Owen is still in love with school buses and "big kid school". I can only hope that he keeps this enthusiasm for another 19 years!!!

Here is a conversation from this morning:

Owen: Mommy! Look! There is Kieran's school bus!
Mommy: Oh ya.....the bus is heading to school.
Owen: I am going to get bigger and bigger and bigger until I am big enough to go on the school bus and go to big kid school.
Mommy: Yep...not long now. Two more years until you go on the big kid school bus.
Owen: I am in your school bus now. It is white. And I am on my way to my school. My daycare. Right mommy?
Mommy: Right!
Owen: But in two years, I will go on the big kid school bus. Me and all my friends. We will go to big kid school together.
Mommy: That's right.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Our Beach Trip to Nags Head NC!

This past weekend, we spent four days in Nags Head, NC. It was WONDERFUL! We rented a little two-bedroom cottage through VRBO.com and really lucked out. The place was great and perfect for our little family. We enjoyed visiting the Wright Brothers Memorial Park, the Manteo Aquarium and the beach right across from our cottage! Afternoon snacks consisted of ice cream for all. We grilled out a couple of nights and enjoyed some local seafood on our last night. Daddy's boss actually owns a small cottage about eight miles from where we were staying, so we spent an afternoon with them. Owen slept great in a big boy bed and is very excited to get his own big boy bed here at home for his birthday in July. Avery had a bit of trouble sleeping in her pack 'n play the first night, but was worn out the other nights and slept well.

We had FANTASTIC weather. A bit windy during the day (but perfect for flying our newly purchased kite), but warm enough to be on the beach. The water was chilly...but still fun to walk and wave jump in. The evenings were quite chilly...but that didn't stop Mommy and Daddy from sitting out on the front porch with a Citronella candle burning and a glass of wine in hand.