#291 - The Story Behind the Mickey Mouse Pajamas

I texted out one of these pictures from the other night, but I thought the story behind these Mickey Mouse pajamas was sweet...

On Sunday, we went to Kohl's and found these Disney pajamas on sale.  Of course, I knew that I'd get the Mickey Mouse ones for Benjamin, and when I saw some Jake and the Neverland Pirates pajamas, I grabbed them for Owen.  A few minutes later, Owen found me in the store, and I showed him the new pajamas I was buying him.  He got a little sad, and said that he wanted Mickey Mouse pajamas too.  Since Jake is his favorite, I was surprised, but then Owen said that even though Jake is his favorite, he'd rather be like his brother and wear Mickey.  He said that doing what Benjamin does makes him the happiest.  What a sweet boy.  So.... they both got new Mickey Mouse pajamas.

And, I tried to pose them on the couch to snap a picture, and this is pretty much how the little "photo shoot" went:

#290 - Benjamin is Two!!

The days are long but the years are short.

Isn't that the truth?  Our dear sweet baby is no longer a baby, but a loving, independent, determined two-year old boy.  How fast these two years have gone.  This child brings joy to our lives every single day.  He owns our hearts.  Benjamin Lawrence Saez, we love you!

We celebrated Benjamin's birthday yesterday, but before I share those pictures, let me tell you a little bit about this two-year old son of ours.

• Benjamin weighs 28 pounds and is about 34 inches tall (about 50th percentile on both charts).  He fits mostly in a size 2T.  He's got quite the buddha belly, so he needs shirts that are a bit longer than normal.  He wears a size 7 shoe, and only wears one particular pair of sneakers - he refuses to wear sandals, crocs, or anything else.  
• Benjamin mostly sleeps through the night in his big boy bed.  He sleeps with his Mickey Mouse stuffed animal, and must have his sound machine on to the bird chirping setting.  He still requires us to rock him to sleep at night, but those 15-30 minutes are truly the highlight of my day, so I don't mind at all.  More often than not, he stays in his bed until morning time, but lately, he'll climb into our bed sometime after midnight.  He sleeps pretty well there (which means we sleep pretty well), so for right now, we're okay with it.  He's an early riser though - 6:00am is sleeping in for him.
• He's a Mommy's boy.  That hasn't changed at all over the past two years.  He prefers his Mommy for all the comfort and nurturing.  He wants me to put him to bed, to change his diaper, and to hold him on my hip as we walk around.  He snuggles up to me at night, and many days, will still cry when I leave the room.
• He loves his Daddy.  His dad is fun, and there's no one that can make him laugh and giggle like his Daddy.  Benjamin will crawl all over him, run to him and fly into his arms, and still screams with excitement when his Daddy's car pulls into the garage.  
• Benjamin adores Owen.  He imitates most everything that Owen does - whether it's jumping on the bed (a no-no), how Owen colors, or how Owen plays outside.  Benjamin is his shadow, and wants to do everything his big brother does.  In the morning, when Owen wakes up, Benjamin immediately lights up and runs to him to give him his good morning hug and kiss.  And, at night, he refuses to go to bed until Owen has hugged him.  Seeing their brotherly relationship develop is joyful and priceless.
• Benjamin loves Mickey Mouse and pretty much anything Disney - Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Jake the Pirate, Doc McStuffins, etc.  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his very favorite thing to watch on TV.  He still squeals when he sees Mickey.
• Healthwise, he's doing okay.  Benjamin definitely gets more sick, and more often than Owen ever did.  Benjamin is on his second set of ear tubes.  He's allergic to three different medicines, and can be sensitive to some environmental irritants.  But, overall, he is a healthy and happy two-year old.  He does have a speech delay, and has been attending Speech Therapy once a week since January of this year.  He's made a lot of progress, and we are so proud of him!

We had a very small party yesterday with our Savannah family to celebrate this special little boy, and everyone had a great time!  We had a Mickey Mouse cake, of course!  Here are the pictures:

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

Getting ready to blow out the candles

Mommy's Birthday Boy

Yum!

Opening presents

Jake the Pirate!

Owen and Faye being silly

I cannot even believe how big Owen is getting

Benjamin and Gabby

The Birthday Boy!

Attacking me with his new alligator flashlight

Checking out his new Mickey table

The bubble machine entertained him for hours

Benjamin was saying, "Bubbles"

So fun!

More bubbles

Our happy boy

Mollie with the boys

#289 - Videos from Pre-K Promotion

In case the pictures just weren't enough....  here are some videos.  I love seeing Owen get into the songs like he does!

The first video includes his introduction and walk down the aisle.  They asked him what his favorite memory from Pre-K was and what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he stated his favorite memory was going to the strawberry fields, and when he grows up he wants to be the police so that he can help people.

Sorry the videos are so shaky.  It was tough to make a video with a cute little Benjamin on your lap!

#288 - Owen's Pre-Kindergarten Promotion

Last night, we celebrated Owen's promotion from Pre-K at Blessed Sacrament School.  This has been such a wonderful first year for him in school (in Georgia, Pre-K is the first year of school versus Kindergarten), and we could not be happier with our choice of school or our luck of teachers.  Blessed Sacrament feels like family to us, like Owen's home away from home.  It's tough to describe it exactly, but you know it's a good thing when you experience it.  His teachers have embraced him, loved him, taught him and challenged him.  Not the leader of the class, but not the most shy either, Owen fit right in.  He developed what we hope are lasting friendships (and even a little 4 year-old crush on a sweet girl).  Each quarter, he made steady progress in the curriculum, and in the last quarter, he got a perfect report card.  It was a great year.  And, we're ready to move to the "big school" which includes uniforms, shoelaces, belts, tucked in shirts, nightly homework, and the biggest adjustment - no more naps.  We'll find out Owen's Kindergarten teacher in August, but we know God's got someone special in mind for him.  

Here's a recap of last night:

Owen with his teachers - Mrs. Brooke and Mrs. Kelly.  These ladies are the best!

Owen and sweet Margo

Nearly impossible for there to be a closer Dad and son than these two

Owen Luis Saez - Pre-Kindergarten

Owen and his friend Brett

Cecil, Margo and Owen

Mom and Owen

The theme of the ceremony was the Train en route to Kindergarten

Colin and Owen

Beautiful Mrs. Brooke

Getting ready to sing "Engine No. 9"

Singing "I've Benn Working on the Railroad"

"Down By the Station"

Choo Choo!

Our handsome boy wearing a bowtie made for him by his Abuela Isa

So sweet!

Owen received the only award of the night - Perfect Attendance - he was the only Pre-K to have Perfect Attendance this year

Proudly displaying his Perfect Attendance pin

Little guy

Owen with Joe Joe and Cecil

Our pastor, Father McCarthy, who has been a constant in Owen's church and school life.  We will miss him as he moves to his new parish in Columbus.

Ryan and Owen dancing at the end of the night

Videos coming tomorrow.......

#287 - Happy Mother's Day!

On this Mother's Day, I'm especially thankful for my family - two healthy and happy little boys, and a husband who puts his family first.

Wishing you each a very happy and relaxing Mother's Day!  (We are headed off to the pool.)

#286 - Brothers

Two cute videos of the boys - the first is a video from the other night.  I was taking some pictures of them in their matching pajamas, and I thought their interaction was so cute, I switched the camera over from picture mode to video mode.   They were goofing off and having fun.  At the end of the video, Benjamin is upset because it's time to go to bed and Cocoa is still in his room, and he knows that Cocoa is not allowed in there at night.  Smart kid.

The second video was the same night, I think.  Owen was in time out in his room for about ten minutes, and I went to check on him to find Benjamin sitting patiently outside Owen's room, playing with a toy, just waiting for his big brother to come out and play.  

Those boys, I tell you what.... It's a real gift to see their relationship grow as brothers and as friends.  Owen is such a wonderful big brother, and Benjamin just adores him.