#304 - January 2014

January was our first full month in Atlanta.  Owen started at his new school, St. Jude the Apostle, and absolutely loved it.  He fit  right in.  The class was very welcoming and he made new friends easily.  We were so worried about his transition from his old school to the new one, and it ended up being uneventful.  We had a parent/teacher conference at the end of January, and Owen was right on track for Kindergarten.  Since he has a very late summer birthday, we're sensitive to how well he does academically and socially.  His teacher in Savannah and his teacher at St. Jude both gave him high marks!

His first day of school was actually delayed due to extreme cold weather the first week of January.  He had a "snow day" when the temperature hit 10 degrees.

Ready for St. Jude

At St. Jude, the Kindergarteners use a big kid back pack.  

Abuela walked Owen into school on his first day

Abuela Isa was here with us throughout the entire month of January.  We were so very blessed.  She helped us with the transition, the move, the acclimation to a new house, new school and new city.  I've said this before, but it's a true joy when she stays with us.  We love seeing her with Owen and Benjamin, who just adore her.

Benjamin being goofy

Lou and Owen in the "man cave" watching football

What I'll always remember about January 2014 is "Snowmeggedon".  That's the day that Atlanta broke.  We knew that winter weather was on the way, and it would likely include snow.  I was at work, and at 12:16pm, I received a text that Owen's school was closing early due to the snow that was just about to fall.  I left work at 12:45 thinking I'd have plenty of time to get to school by 2:00 to pick him up.  I was wrong.

Atlanta traffic at about 3:00 that day

Within 30 minutes, I knew I'd never make it.  The roads were gridlock due to the combination of fast falling snow and six million people hitting the roads at the same time due to the unplanned early closings of schools, government and businesses.  Owen's teacher arranged for another parent to bring Owen home, thank God.  Many other children were not so lucky.  In fact, over 30 children were stranded at the school when their parents could not physically get there due to blocked roads, and the principal and another teacher stayed at the school overnight, kept the children warm and fed until the next day.

It took me nearly six hours to get home that day.  My normal commute is less than 30 minutes.  6 hours.  Stuck in traffic like this:

Fortunately, I had plenty of gas and stayed mostly safe.  I did spin out twice, but no accident.  I was so happy when I pulled into my neighborhood:

Owen's school is 1.6 miles from our house.  The other mom that picked up Owen lives in the house behind us.  It took her two hours to get to school and two hours to get home from school.  They barely beat me home.  Even the side roads were an absolute nightmare.

Our house that night

Our backyard

The next day was the first of three snow days.  Lou was in Savannah working, so the boys and I made the best of it by playing outside.  We could not find any gloves for Ben, so we taped on three pairs of socks.  Don't judge.

Sock mittens!

Owen and Benjamin playing in the snow

Abuela Isa was smart staying warm inside

Cutie Pie #1

Cutie Pie #2

The rest of the month we enjoyed spending with Abuela Isa.  She did a ton of sewing for us, and made dinner often.  She also treated us to churros on the weekends.  It was fabulous!

Owen, Cocoa and Abuela napping

These two share a love of a good ice-cream!

#302 - Moving Back to Atlanta

Earlier this year, I was approached about a new opportunity with SunTrust.  It was very intriguing, but would require us to relocate back to Atlanta.  Lou and I talked about it at length.  We love Savannah.  Absolutely love it!  We love our home, our friends, our church, Owen's school, and being close to the water.  And, it's not that we don't like Atlanta, but it's different.  It's big-city life that includes traffic, congestion, a higher cost-of-living, etc.  However, it also brings new opportunities - more career choices, concerts, activities, cheaper airfare, and more.  So, after a lot of thinking, praying, and deliberation, we decided to take the Saez Family (back) to Atlanta.

I started my new job in September, and have been commuting between Savannah and Atlanta each week for the past three months.  It hasn't been easy on me, but I recognize that Lou's had it much worse - being a solo parent for 2-3 nights a week is tough.  He's a trooper though.  He and the boys have done great, and when I walk into the house after being gone for three days, they barely acknowledge me before going back to their Lego toys.  I don't take it personally.  :-)

We are entering our final weeks in Savannah.  We've just bought a house in Dunwoody (more on that below), and our house is for sale here.  The movers come in three weeks, and we should be 'settled' in our new house before Christmas.  I say 'settled' because I've never moved with two small children, so we'll just see how that goes.  Owen has already memorized our new address so that he can write Santa a letter and tell him where to find the Saez boys on Christmas Eve.  Priorities and all.....

So.... here's our new house:

It's a beautiful Tudor-style home in a wonderful neighborhood in Dunwoody.  The neighborhood is full of kids, and it has a very active swim and tennis program (not that we currently swim or play tennis, but hey - we might!).  It's 1.6 miles from Owen's new school and our church, and about 3 miles from Lou's new hospital.  So, although we are moving to a big city, in many ways, we'll have more of a sense of community being so close to work, school and church.  Right now, it takes us about 25 minutes to get to those places in Savannah.  

The house is a bit larger than our home in Savannah.  The main floor has been totally renovated and is so pretty.  We will begin updating the rest of the house over the coming months/years.  

The very best part of the house is the outdoor kitchen/patio that the previous owners built.  It's fabulous, and we're already thinking about the parties we can host out there.  

Some more pictures:

And, finally, here's a picture of Owen in front of his new school.  We were so fortunate to get Owen into St. Jude Catholic School.  It's right down the street from our house, and is a terrific school.  They have a waiting list a mile long, but amazingly had an unexpected opening in Kindergarten (I like to say that God had a hand in this).  We went by the school last week, where Owen got to meet his new teacher and classmates.  They were wonderfully welcoming, and Owen fit right in.  

So, I ask that you keep the Saez Family in your prayers as we go through this transition, especially Owen, who we, of course, are most worried about.  The boys seem to be taking this in stride, but I know that the next month or two will be tough.  Thanks for thinking of us.  

#300 - Owen the Kindergartener

Owen started Kindergarten at Blessed Sacrament School this year.  He wasn't very excited about school as the first day approached.  He wasn't sad, just a bit nonchalant.  However, the morning of school, he woke up with a big smile on his face, and just couldn't wait to get there to see his friends and show off his new school bag (they decorate their book bags in Pre-K and Kindergarten).

He looked so handsome, and so big!  I couldn't believe how adorable he was in his big kid uniform, wearing big kid Sperries.

Lou took the day off work so that he could be there for his first day.

Do you remember this picture?  This was Owen and Lou LAST year, walking to the first day of pre-K.

Here's Owen in his classroom - he has Mrs. Bokina this year, and he just loves her.  She's a long-time teacher, but new to BSS, and has really taken to Owen.  She's got a quiet personality - always has the classroom's attention, but is full of smiles and patience.

Happy First Day of Kindergarten, Owen!

#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.  

#294 - Swim Lessons

Owen has gotten so much better in the water, but as we entered summer, I knew I wanted him to get some more swim lessons.  I've always believed that knowing how to swim properly is an important life skill.  So, we enrolled him in lessons at the Habersham YMCA after recommendations from friends. 

Well, that experience was a disaster in many ways.  First, the Habersham Y is across town, and lessons were daily at 5:30pm.  We literally spent more time in the car getting to and from the lessons than Owen did in the water.  And, 5:30 is a terrible time for swimming in Savannah, as we typically get afternoon rain showers including lightning and thunder, and two of our lessons were cut short due to lightning.  Finally, the worst part were the lessons themselves.  Owen was in a class with nine other children, most of whom had little swimming experience, and only two teachers, who clearly were overwhelmed.  On the fourth day of lessons, I timed it, and Owen swam less than 5 minutes of swim practice, while spending the other 40 minutes hanging onto the pool edge waiting for his turn.  I was pretty upset, and called the Y manager, who graciously agreed to refund our money, and then I withdrew him from the class.

Then, I signed him up for private lessons in our neighborhood club, which is less than 2 minutes from our house, and it was the best decision ever.  His swim teacher was extremely professional and clearly knew what she was doing.  It was 4 different 30-minute lessons, and the progress he made in one week was amazing.  He was doing freestyle, breaststroke and a little bit of backstroke by the end.  See the videos below.

Owen loves the water - he's pretty fearless, but does know his limits.  He could spend an entire day in the water and love every minute of it.  I'm definitely looking forward to seeing him enjoy our week at the beach when he will get lots of pool and beach time!

#282 - I'm Not Ready to do the Big Boy Bed Again

In October of 2010, when he was 2 years, 3 months old, Owen climbed out of his crib.  Remember this post?  Fast forward 2 1/2 years, and Benjamin has one-upped his big brother by climbing out of the same crib at 1 year, 10 months.  We are so not ready for the "Big Boy Bed", but when your child starts to climb out, it's just not safe to keep them in the crib.

Earlier this week, Benjamin woke up in the middle of the night screaming.  I quickly glanced at the monitor, saw that he was fine, turned off the volume then rolled back over.  Even with the volume totally off, you can still hear the kids from across the house in the quiet of the night.  After a few minutes of crying, it got silent again.  Something told me to check the video monitor, so I did, and what did I see?  My dear infant balanced on the crib rail, half out of the crib.  I screamed, and Lou raced across the house to rescue Benjamin.  That incident should have been our warning, but clearly I won't be winning Mom of the Year for 2013.

Yesterday morning, I heard Benjamin fussing in his crib around 6:30.  Usually he talks to himself for 10-20 minutes before I have to get him out, so I finished getting ready for work.  A few minutes later, I heard a loud thump, and then a sickening scream come from his room.  I immediately knew what had happened.  When I got there, he was clear across the room, just sobbing uncontrollably.  It really shook him up, but fortunately, physically he was fine.  It took at least 10 minutes to calm him down though.  Based upon where I found him in the room, I suspect that he actually stood on the crib rail and jumped, versus falling over the side.  It's the only way I can explain him being 6+ feet from the crib.

Nevertheless, we knew it was time to convert his crib.  We searched for the bed rail, and last night, set up the Big Boy Bed.  Benjamin was pretty confused by the whole thing, and just couldn't understand why I was dismantling his bed.

Last night was pretty easy for him.  He was asleep when I laid him in the new Big Boy bed, and he slept soundly throughout the night, so no issues at all.  And, Gabby said he napped just fine in it today.  But, I know from experience that we are due for some rough nights ahead, especially when he wakes up in the middle of the night, and crawls out of the bed.

At least he's safe though.  We have friends whose two year old broke her arm when she fell out of her crib just a few years ago.  I remember that happening, and I just can't keep Benjamin in an unsafe bed.

So.....  much, much earlier than we wanted, Benjamin is now in The Big Boy Bed.  Check out the pictures below:

Laying in his crib, getting ready for bed

Cutie Pie!

The Cutie Pie asleep the first night in his Big Boy Bed

A picture of Owen from October 2010

An attempt to recreate the picture.  Didn't quite work.

Oh well.  He's still pretty cute.