Happy 5th Birthday!

Five years ago today my life changed completely as I welcomed my beautiful son into the world.  I couldn't imagine then how much my life would change forever.  Each and every day has been incredibly interesting, sometimes remarkable, and sometimes challenging, but always completely worth it.  Orion is the most exceptional, extraordinary person I have ever met.  His smile can warm the hearts of strangers, and his laughter is contagious.  He is so kind and loving, even towards those that I have a hard time appreciating as an adult.  There are definitely a few things that my son has taught me.  He has helped me to become a better person.  There are not nearly enough words to express how much I love this boy.  But today is his day.  We will eat too much, play too much, and laugh as much as we can.  Happy birthday, Orion.  You are the greatest thing that has ever happened in  my life.  You encourage me to a better person.  Happy birthday, Bubby.  I love you!

Thankfulness -- Enthusiasm

Today I am thankful for the enthusiasm of my son for the world around him.  His sense of joy and appreciation for the world around him never ceases to make me proud.  Hearing his tiny voice shout out in excitement when he sees something new or exhilarating always puts a smile on my face.  Today, we left the house early to go grocery shopping (exciting stuff, I know) and as we were driving home, we saw about a dozen wild turkeys crossing the road in front of our drive.  We stopped and watched them until they were safely across the street, and then continued to pull into our driveway.  As we approached the house, we saw more and more turkeys in the yard all the way around the house.  I couldn't help but think that Thanksgiving had brought itself to my house, but Orion was SO excited to see them all.  He would sneak around the corner of the house and watch them jumping up on the fence and pecking around.  He would search the small piles of snow we have left until he found turkey tracks and try to figure out where they went.  We probably spent 30 minutes outside in the chilly morning air, giggling and watching the turkeys wander around the yard.  At one point we counted, and there was well over 30 of them...not including the ones that had crossed the street on our way home. Orion was so excited and when they finally decided to leave the yard, Orion waved his arms and yelled "Bye Turkeys!  Thanks for coming!!"  I love that boy so much, and seeing how excited he gets over the little things helps me remember to find my own type of joy in the world.  Today, I'm thankful for his excitement.

Daddy's Face

Orion's quote of the day made me laugh like crazy.

Today we were playing with Seth, tossing stuffed animals at him while he pretended to ignore us. Orion told me to throw it at his face so I, of course, threw it at his butt (butthead he he).  Orion looks at me straight faced and said "No mom.  His face is between his mustache."  I laughed so hard I thought I was going to be sick.  It's little moments like that which make my days better.

Photobooth Selfies -- A Favorite Past Time

Tonight Orion and I got to spend the time as just the two of us.  We ate supper and ice cream, watched some TV, and of course took some time to take Photobooth selfies with my laptop.  It's one of my favorite past times with Orion, watching his face change and seeing him laugh as he makes faces at himself.  He's such a cute boy and I love taking pics of him.  Here are tonight's highlights:

Always my little cheeseball 

Feeling artsy 

Going Thermal

Mom has lost it 

I think I have jaundice

Bug eyed beauty

Cheesin chipmunks 

This is Love

Hugs

Seeing Double

Fall Adventures

Autumn is a time that seems to be full of even more adventure and excitement for Orion than the summer had.  The last few weeks have been non-stop and this weekend was pretty much the same.  We had a visit from Aunt Jaime and a trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  He loved running around the ranch and seeing all the people.  He also seemed to really enjoy finding the exact pumpkin he wanted to take home.  We could tell (by his snarky attitude) that he was getting tired by the end of the evening for sure, but I'm glad he had a good time.

He also has more frequently began to talk about family and how much he misses them.  When he's not talking about anyone specific, he calls them his "ancestors."  I'm not sure where he came up with this term, honestly, but I think it's adorable.  He has also attached himself to his cousins (my step-sister's sons) and frequently tells me that he misses them.  Very few days go by that he isn't telling us that he misses one family member or another, be it Aunt Ashley,  Little Grandpa, or just his Ancestors in general.  He's such a sweet kid and loves his family so much.  It's a very interesting development in him and I couldn't be more proud of the loving boy he has grown into.

Catching up...again.

At this point, it's quite obvious that I fail at being a regular blogger of any sort.  I have no excuse, other than the chaos of life, family, work, school, and all the other activities that take up so much of our time. We have been very busy through the summer, and the fall doesn't look like it's slowing down any time soon.  Here are some of the highlights of the last few months: 

Orion has taken to talking on his phone.  He tends to talk with his hands and it makes me laugh a lot. 

He still loves hanging out downtown and is getting so big.  We just had to get him new clothes because his arms and legs are too long for practically everything.  

He has become such a sweet kid and has learned to enjoy some time by himself, whether it's playing or just watching the lake.  He's such an amazing kid.  

We do still sporadically take pics together, just because it's fun.  

We visited Lauritzen Gardens again, which is a beautiful park with tons of flowers and walkways.  It was a beautiful visit and we hope to go back again in the spring. 

We also attended a PowWow to explore some Native American culture.  It was very interesting and Orion loved the teepees and all of the drumming. 

Sue came to Omaha, to the Durham museum, so we decided to pay her a visit.  Orion is obsessed with dinosaurs and can spout more facts about them than I can.  He frequently shows off to strangers and makes me proud of his brain.  

 Of course we visited the zoo a few times and rode both the train and Skyfari for the first time.  We were nervous to have O up so high, but he did a great job. 

We have also frequented several local ethnic festivals, including the Greek, Italian, and German festivities.  It's great to live somewhere that we can expose Orion to diverse cultures. 

In July, Orion went to spend a few days with my parents while Seth was out of town for a conference and I was busy with work. We stopped at the Kool-ade museum in Hastings on our way home, which was an interesting experience. 

I have also made friends with a lovely woman who has two little girls about Orion's age.  They play together super well and are adorable together.  

We've spent a lot of time at Fontenelle Forest lately and I love the beautiful environment out there. 

Orion likes it out there too. 

We went to Octoberfest with the Kyles and that was a lot of fun. 

We also went on a horse & buggy ride down town 

Big Grandpa came to visit us, so we got to go to supper with him. 

We also went to the local fair.  

So as you can see, we definitely haven't been spending much time sitting at home with nothing to do.  It's been crazy busy.  Hopefully someday I'll be able to realistically keep up with things on this blog again....but I'm not gonna hold my breath.  I hope things are well with you all.  Have a fantastic day. 

Six weeks of catch up

The last two months have been crazy busy and we've got to do some really fun things.  Orion has started Pre-K and is doing so well.  He is an incredibly smart boy and I'm so proud of him.  Here are our latest adventures!  I hope you have all had an amazing 6 weeks and hopefully you'll hear from us again soon.

 Love & Laughter

Orion & I tend to play dress up occasionally.  He can rock some sun glasses!

We also made Seth a birthday cake...it was beautiful.

We got to go to Rock Fest!  Orion had a blast. 

We hit up the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit at the zoo as well.  Orion LOVED it!

We went to Iowa to a Council Bluffs carnival

We saw the Firefighter Memorial

SURPRISE!

We walked across the state line.

And visited the bugs at the Omaha Children's Museum

Orion got to ride a horse.

And rode rides & slides with Big Grandpa

We went to Durham Museum for their dinosaur exhibit

And Orion got to see Sue for the 2nd time!