He's 3!!!

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Henry turned 3 on November 19, and we celebrated with 4 different parties spread out over the course of one week (aren't we lucky?). These are pics from Henry's first birthday celebration - at school.

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Putting up 3 birthday candles...

He's still a leftie.

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Henry's first birthday celebration was at his preschool. That's him w/ his wonderful teacher.

Our house: making progress

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Contractors have been in our house for a month now! Our house flooded at the end of July, and we have FINALLY started putting our house back together again. So far we are very pleased with the contractors who are doing the work, and we've gotten pretty used to having them underfoot from sun up and sun down. There has been much progress made, but we still have tons more work to do! This is our bathroom flooring. It's not tile - even though it has grout. It's not vinyl. It's sandstone, and it's supposed to be less cold and less fragile than tile. So far....I love it!

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Bye bye vinyl flooring in our kitchen. We're putting hardwoods in!

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A new door!!!

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Entryway from our garage. We added a door separating our mud room/garage entry way to our kitchen.

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Our new flooring in our entry way and laundry room.

For REAL?

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TEN. ten. Ten. TEN. My baby is ten. It is a little hard to stomach. Owen turned TEN. 10! on Saturday. Where has the time gone???

And, as hard as it is for me to believe that he is 10! It's equally hard for me to believe that I have a child who is 10? How did I become that mom? The mom that's moved away from the temper tantrums, lack of sleep, potty training, starting school mom?? The mom with young children.

My child is now a pre teen. He has contacts. He's getting braces. He rarely goes to bed before 930-10. He spends the night at friend's houses. He stays home alone (briefly). And, he just told me that next year his school has a school dance, AND he can go with a girl. He said he could go with friends, but he might go with a girl. He hasn't decided yet....I am a mom of a pre teen. A 10 year old. An experienced mom. How can I be that old???

At Owen's 10 year physical his doctor recommended buying a book called, "Boys Guide to Becoming a Teen." (went to get it after - he's in the process of reading it already). She discussed having mood swings with him, and making good choices. He is still in a booster seat (which he is MOST unhappy about), because he hasn't reached the required 80 pounds yet. Must be 8 years and 80 pounds. He's got a way to go. Although, he had a decent growth spurt from 9-10 years old, and went from 20th% in height (at age 9) to 40th% in height. Moving on up!

Vital stats:

Height - 53.5 inches (40th%)
Weight - 68 pounds (50th%)

Owen wanted to celebrate his birthday with a slumber party, but our house is in a state of serious repairs (post-flood repairs). So, we suggested that he invite 4 friends to spend the night with him at the Embassy Suites. They can swim. Hot tub. Hang out. Cause general mayhem. Etc, Etc. He thought that sounded like fun as long as dad was the parent that stayed with him and his friends (apparently, I'm also the NOT FUN MOM!).

So, 4 of his best soccer buddies spent the night with him and Eddie. They had a great time. I didn't get tons of details. There was a very brief phone call with Eddie that ended abruptly after he yelled, "BOYS!! You can't go on the roof. SHUT THE WINDOW. I gotta go." Everyone was tired the next day, and Owen was happy. Very happy. And tired.
And that, is the best kind of birthday to have.

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I forgot my camera on his birthday, so every birthday photo was taken with my iphone - not the greatest quality.

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The crew in the hot tub...

A Motley Crew

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This was the first year that I can remember since moving to Bville that it has been cold. For some reason, I remember Fort Collins being icy and cold every Halloween. But, Baldwinsville has always been nice enough on Halloween that the princesses and superheros didn't have to put jackets over their costumes, and the men (and well, women, too) carried their adult beverages around and pulled a cooler of refills behind them in a wagon. We live in a neighborhood full of endless houses and the previous Halloweens we would linger around with friends and neighbors enjoying good conversation, while the kids enjoyed good candy.

This scenario did not happen this year. This year it was freezing. And drizzling. And snowing - off and on. This year we went around the block and Emmett and I called it, and came home.

Eddie and the scary skeleton went for about another hour, and then returned home as frozen popsicles. Brrrr.....

Owen said this skeleton costume was the best ever, because he didn't have to smile for photos. Ahhh...I love my preteen.

Take 2

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