#310 - June 2014 (and Crescent Beach!)

This year, Owen started swim team.  He was in the U6 division, and had a fantastic first season.  He swam freestyle and back stroke and despite being the smallest kid on the team, he swam very well, and made us very proud!

Little guy

The great swimmer - Owen Saez

Getting ready for his first swim

This summer, we returned to Crescent Beach, Florida.  We were joined by lots of friends and family - in fact, I think we had a total of 7 individual units rented at the Crescent Sandpiper, and that did not include the family members that came down for the day.  It was a wonderful family vacation where fantastic memories were made.  Looking back at these pictures, I just can't wait to return next year.  There were 6 grandchildren, lots of cousins, spouses of cousins, grandparents, and even great-grandfather Papa came down for the day.  It was a special week, and one that I'll never forget.  Here's a recap in pictures.

Owen (almost 6) and Benjamin (3)

Katie, Jenifer, Mom, Benjamin, Owen and Kaylin

A family shot

Owen caught a flounder

Owen and Kaylin throwing the cast net

Lou and Benjamin in the surf

Lou and Owen

Playing in the kiddie pool

Another favorite spot

Surfing in the pool

Relaxicating

Dinner under the stars

Loved having Nana and Pop Pop there too!

My beautiful sister and Kaylin

Love these three men

It doesn't get much better than this

Dinner at the Colombia

Cousins

More cousins

My handsome son

Nana and her little buddy

My mom!

This sums it up

#303 - December 2013

Life in the big city has turned out to be quite busy.  I never realized (or appreciated) how much 'spare time' I had until I no longer had it.  To be honest, I don't know if the lack of time is due to our new jobs, being in a new city, or just having two children who demand every waking hour of your day!  It's probably a combination of it all.  Regardless.... here we are, nearly five months later and I haven't updated the blog.

So, let's go back to December 2013.

December was the month of the big move to Atlanta.  It also included Owen's last day at Blessed Sacrament School in Savannah, our going away party at the Von Breunings, and one last visit from Mom, Leighton, Jen and Kaylin before we moved 5+ hours away.  We said good-bye to our many Savannah friends, many of whom had become like family to us, including our nannies Gabby and Haley.  We said good-bye to our home there, which will forever be special to us because it's the first home of our children.  We also said hello to Atlanta, or Dunwoody, specifically, where we bought our new home, found our new church and began settling into our life here.  Just a few days after we moved into our house in Dunwoody, Lou's family from Michigan came to visit us.  They were here for Christmas and were a big help in getting us unpacked.  So, December 2013 was a big month for us.

Haley with the boys during our last week in Savannah

Gabby and the boys.  

Celebrating Christmas, in Savannah, with Nana, Pop Pop, Aunt Jen and Kaylin.

Since the movers came during Owen's last week of school, Benjamin and I headed to Atlanta to meet them to unpack the house while Lou and Owen stayed behind and came three days later.  Before the furniture arrived, Benjamin and I decorated the Christmas tree.  The boys really didn't care where we celebrated Christmas as long as Santa knew where to find them!

Our beautiful Christmas tree in our empty house

Movers are here!

We had over 200 boxes.  That's a lot to unpack!

What do two little boys do when the adults are unpacking?  Well, play in the boxes, of course!

Abuela Isa and her grandchildren on Christmas eve

Owen with his Tita and Tito

Christmas Eve, 2013
Owen - 5
Benjamin - 2

Christmas morning

Christmas presents!

Enjoying Christmas morning

Our little Georgia boy

The Georgia helmet and jersey were Owen's favorite Christmas presents, by far!

Santa successfully found us!

The boys have adjusted just fine to Atlanta

More to come....

#297 - Crescent Beach, HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!

Wednesday was an extra special day at the beach because it was Owen's BIRTHDAY!

Owen Luis Saez turned 5 years old.  Our big boy is 43 inches tall, and weighs 39.5 pounds.  He's a happy, outgoing child, who loves life.  He is a Daddy's boy;  he absolutely adores his father, looks up to him, and wants to do and be everything that Lou is.  He loves fishing, crabbing, soccer, and anything that involves water.  His favorite TV shows are Gator Boys, Call of the Wildman, Off the Hook and Top Hooker (a fishing competition, just to be clear).

Owen is the best big brother.  Although he can be a little rough with Benjamin, he just loves being with his little brother, or "buddy" as Owen likes to call him.  It's heartwarming to watch them play together and to see how Owen teaches his little buddy how to do things and also get into mischief.

Owen will be entering Kindergarten in a few weeks.  At school, he is more quiet and reserved, and very respectful of his teachers and classmates.  He's smart and patient, and has a real love of learning.  We can't wait to see how he grows and develops this year at Blessed Sacrament.

On Wednesday morning, Owen got an extra special treat - Grandfather, Grandmother, Nana and Pop Pop were all at the beach to wish him a happy birthday.  And, Kaylin had spent the night so she was there too.  (It was so cute to see their first sleepover together - they slept great on the pullout couch!)

Owen got to open his presents from Grandfather and Grandmother before they left to catch a plane back to Atlanta.  He was thrilled with his new boogy board and fish net!

In honor of Owen's birthday, we all went to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine.  The Alligator Farm is a wonderful zoo, full of you guessed it - alligators, but also crocodiles, snakes, birds and monkeys.  This was a perfect activity for our little Gator Boy!

Owen, Kaylin and Benjamin

Our two Gator Boys

The gators were everywhere

The Saez Family circa 2013

Owen got to meet a real gator wrestler

Checking out the gators

Feeding the alligators

Daddy and his boys

After the Alligator Farm, we went back to the condo for lunch and birthday cake!  The cake was appropriately "fishing" themed, complete with a lake, boat, fisherman, and large mouthed bass.  Little guy was pretty excited when he saw it!

Nana and the birthday boy

Blowing out five candles!

Mommy and the boys

And, the entire family!

Time to open presents!  Here's a BSS jacket for school

Bocce Ball and Croquet set

He got a lot of other fun things like an alligator tooth necklace (which he hasn't stopped wearing), a book on reptiles, a box of dinosaurs, beach toys, a gym bag for school, candy and movie tickets (thanks Tita!).  But, the BIG gift was his very own cast net!  Owen has been asking for a cast net all summer long.  He's been watching videos on how to cast a net and catch bait or shrimp. The kid was pretty obsessed with it!  So, Lou got him a small cast net, and it absolutely amazed me how quickly he learned to throw it and catch things.  More pictures and a video on that coming soon!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Owen.  You bring so much joy to our lives, and we love you so very much.