Ten Tuesday

1. We are back from our St. Louis trip and thoroughly exhausted. All went well, though I wish we had a few more days to spend there. The highlight, obviously, was the penguins. We braved literally freezing temperatures to go to the zoo and it was well worth it. It was the first time that it was warmer in the penguin exhibit than outside, which was a new experience. We had to go through twice since our first trip through I had my camera on the wrong settings and everything was blurry. Both boys got huge penguins at the end of the day, of course!

 Those are Hoppy Penguins behind him. Zane was beyond thrilled. We can't wait for the polar bears to come in June.

 Zane newest penguin was named Splashy the King. Rowan's has yet to be named, but he is currently calling him P.P. which I don't think is going to work out.

2. Of course the other most see at the St. Louis Zoo is the snake house. Zane, as always, has a love hate relationship with this particular place, but this time he seemed to thoroughly enjoy the big snakes and one of my highlights was watching the huge turtles get a washed. I want to be the guy who sprays down the tortoises with a hose, what a great job. Ro loved the turtles as well.

3. Zane had a lots of fun playing with his best buddy Jamey. Those two have the same loud, fast, crazy, personality which was quite a bit to handle in the Wamsers small duplex. Many thanks to Michelle and Ryan for letting us take over your house for two days. We had so much fun, miss you already. 

 Oh and then there were these two love birds who had a great time as well.

4. Saturday evening a few of my friends came over for dinner. I miss these girls so much. We have been through so many things together and they, and their husbands, are just wonderful people who I wish I could spend everyday with. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. They played with my kids and we all went to bed sad at the thought of not seeing each other for a long time. 

 Becky had the genius idea to let the kids decorate their own cupcakes. They loved it.

 Zane was so excited to reunite with his long lost best friend Miss Allie, who let him eat all the icing he wanted.

I swear Allie and I hadn't had that much to drink. Just a great time.

5. On Sunday we spent the day visiting Zach's family, including his Grandmother who we hadn't seen in a long time. I was so glad we got to catch up with her. The boys were amazed at the fact that she was Grammi's mom, hard to wrap your head around. It is always so touching to watch the very young interact with the very old, both at different ends of life. Zane took Great Grandma downstairs and played restaurant with her for a long time and gave her lots of big hugs. It was so sweet!

6. There was a lot of time spent in the car during all this fun and on our late night drive to Springfield things got a little crazy. I learned that Zane knows all the words to Taylor Swift's Blank Space and Rowan spent a large portion of the trip trying to get Zane's underwear on. We sang, danced, and all stayed awake until we got to the hotel and finally crashed. Just to wake up and have another 4.5 hours ahead of us on Monday. Well worth it, but I never cease to be amazed at how exhausting sitting in a car doing nothing can really be. 

 Did get to see this beauty quite a bit from the road.

 

 All naps were taken in the car during this trip, with lots of stuffed animal friends.

 Silly boy!

7. The big news, that really should have been on last weeks blog, is that last week Zach was named head of Electrical Engineering at Guernsey Architecture and Engineering Firm. It's a big promotion and he has his work cut out for him from what I hear. He moved into his big new office today which I think made it official. I'm so proud of him and am sure he will do a wonderful job. 

 8. Last night, after spending the morning driving, Zane had his second t-ball game. He was much less energetic this go around, barely able to stay standing for most of it. Luckily he was in center field, so not as much pressure as his pitcher spot last week. The Little Rascals look much improved and were much more evenly matched with their opponents this week. The hats came in this week as well and we all wore them with great pride. Zane got two hits and ran the bases like a pro! 

 High fiving dad after his play in center!

9. This morning we met Grandma and Maggie at the same park as the ball fields to get a closer look at the gorgeous tulips. We had lots of spring fun, including a picnic, tree climbing, dog petting, and animal tracking. Great nature fun!

10. Next up is Easter, which I realized today I am zero percent prepared for and work the next two days. I need to get a hold of the Easter Bunny to make sure he has everything pulled together because I do not. We are excited for Easter fun at the farm this weekend. Easter is really the best time to be at the farm. I'm hoping no one gets the stomach bug this year so we can thoroughly enjoy it. Happy Early Easter to everyone!!

First T-Ball Game

Yesterday was the big day, Zane's first T-ball game. Zane had been excited about this for days. There of course had been a count down and lots of preparation for this moment. The first thing Zane said to me in the morning was "Mom I have to brush my teeth tonight before my game so my mouth looks good." Definitely a good idea when you're trying to make new friends, awesome. We spent the morning on a great red sock hunt, trying to find tall, red socks, that weren't huge, for him to wear with his uniform. He spent a lot of time playing with his new red belt and asking me how long until his game started. He did tell me he was kind of nervous, but that he was sure he would have fun. I love his little attitude, never scared of new situations.

 Evening crept up on us quickly and before we knew it daddy was home and it was five thirty. We were supposed to be there early to get our shirts and get situated for the first game. The drive across Edmond took forever and the nerves were mounting. We got there just in time to get his t-shirt, which had his last name spelled wrong on the back (Korenaki) on and then it was time to take the field. I could see fear in his eyes as he stayed close to Zach, but quickly mounted his courage and was second up to bat. Rowan was devastated and confused as to why he couldn't be with his brother and dad. And thus began the saga of the second child.

 

 

 So pathetic, "bobo...dada...bobo??"

Zane had a great hit, ran to first base, so proud of himself, only to be highly confused when they sent him back to the dugout. Let's just say the other team was older and probably had practiced more than we had. We were highly out matched, but a great time was had by all. When the Little Rascals took the field for defense Zane was assigned the pitcher spot, which in t-ball just means you are front and center for the game. Zane waved to the crowd and was ecstatic to see that Uncle Able and Aunt Kari were back from their travels and sitting in the front row cheering him on. He did a great job, throwing it to first a few times, but mainly just participating in the mass pile ups on the baseball. All classic four year old t-ball stuff. I personally thought the forty minute game went on about 20 minutes too long. But all things considered Zane did amazingly well. Half way through he took a potty break, and during the long walk to the restrooms said, "Mom I still don't know any of the rules, like what am I supposed to do?" So yeah, we have a ways to go, and might actually want to practice sometime.

 No he didn't really catch this ball, but he came close, and made some great plays! Yes he did rock his Ninja Turtle sunglasses the whole time!!

After the game Zane was met hugs from his huge cheering section. Thanks to Richards clan for coming out to the ball field early to cheer on our little man, Zane loved that you were all there. Of course Grandma was there for all of the fun as well, quite the family affair! Zane was particularly over the moon to see his best friend Uncle Able who had brought him his very own fez from Istanbul. Rowan had worn his fez the entire game, beyond adorable, many thanks Blakley's for their new favorite accessories. The cheering squad then moved down a few fields and watched Brendan take the field for the Blue Falcons, also second up to bat. The Blakley grandkids are all stars for sure.

 I love this picture of the boys, they look like they could be related. I think it is the ears!

The best part of the story didn't happen until today. I went to work, on a Tuesday, which I never do, but have a class on Thursday so had to switch it up. I get there and am greeted with "Oh Audra, there is a heart kid on the floor. We gave him to you because we know you have a heart kid, it'll be great." My heart sinks. I do have my very own heart kid, hence I don't want to take care of them at work. But, I know it is always comforting to the parents and it's really fine. So the day goes on and it is becoming more and more apparent that this was a God thing and this mother needed to vent and I was just the heart mom to hear it. I did not really have the time for this, but I made it work. At one point I was talking to the doctor (not a cardiologist), both of use were frustrated, and I said something like "I mean I get it, I have a TET baby." To which the doctor asked the normal question, "how old his your TET baby." And I got to say the words that so many heart mom's don't get to say, "My TET baby is four.  He is doing amazing and played his first t-ball game last night." And then I found myself tearing up.

Not once yesterday did the thought of Zane having TET come up. Well except when he met a lady at the allergy clinic who had a stripe and showed her his, but that's an everyday thing. But not once did I think, "Oh my gosh, look how far we have come. He is healthy enough to play t-ball", something that wasn't always a guarantee. When I said it to the doctor, in that moment the weight of it hit me and I cried because we really have come so far, but I also cried for the amazing blessing of having such a fun event/day not be clouded with thoughts of his heart condition. It never crossed my mind and I know for sooo sooo many people, the thought of their kids playing tball is just a dream. And if they get there they will have to be worried about them the whole time. But by the grace of God go I and my little heart warrior, number 16 for the Little Rascals!!!

Obviously always an STL boy at heart!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. Sadly today I woke up with a headache and the beginnings of a cold. I had zero energy so we didn't do much in the way of celebrating. However, this weekend we got lots of St. Patty's Day decorations so Zach could decorate his office for Engineering week. From what I hear this week includes lot of pranks on the architects and proves again how much more fun is had at Zach works than mine.

Zane takes his St. Patrick's Day outfit very seriously.

 I might have gotten a few new Easter friends while we were getting St. Patrick decorations. They are placed extremely high, out of the reach of little hands. 

3. Friday we decided to go to the farm for a spring day of fun. The weather didn't get as warm as I had expected but we still had a great time. I really meant to do a whole post on it but then life happened so I'll share the cute pics today. The biggest event was Rowan's first real run on the hay bales. This is a time honored tradition at the Blakley farm and he is just now old enough to actually be able to walk/run up and down the bales. He still needed some assistance with jumping, but held his own. He had a great time and tried to keep up with his running and leaping big brother, who mastered the hay bales years ago. These bales were thankfully all touching each other so we could let Rowan walk around by himself without fear of him falling to his death.

I love this picture of my boys on a cloudy day at the farm. That huge Oklahoma sky is my favorite and the most beautiful from that exact spot.

4. After hay bale running we headed to the creek for a walk in nature and eventually decided it was time to start work on a new 'little house' since last years had fallen in. Rowan was less than excited about our extended stay in the wilderness and needed lost of cuddles. Zane really wanted to sit there until we saw a deer, but sadly we could still be there, so had to eventually head home. 

 

5. There was lots of work to be done in Grandma's garden as well. We planted broccoli, chard, onions, and some herbs. The boys were as helpful as they ever are with planting, but did get in there and get their hands dirty. Of course watering the plants is always the best part!

Grow baby grow!

 Rowan took giving the plants pats to a whole new level with his fully body press, so cute!

6. Rowan really wanted to be able to ride a tricycle by himself, but was unsuccessful. I hear he went over the handle bars at one point while I was inside. Bobo tried to give him a ride, but it just isn't the same. 

There are lots of pictures of Able and I just like this from when we were little. 

7. The spring weather has been a welcome change around here and it has meant afternoon backyard play dates with cousins. When five kids, eight and younger, get together there are a lot of emotions but they usually play well together. This week's play date just happened to fall on Pi Day so we had pie and pizza for dinner. My favorite part was watching the two little boys play wonderfully together. By play I mean sit by the little lawn mower and have two year old conversations. 

9. Yesterday Abbey and I had the sad job welcoming a new member to the young adults with only one parent club. Our dear friend Grant's father pasted away last week and since Able was gallivanting around Rome we stood proxy for him all day. My heart hurts for Grant, knowing the difficult journey that lies ahead of him. We gave him hugs and encouragement, but it just isn't a club anyone wants to be a part of. 

 Able kept sending beautiful pictures of him in front of famous, gorgeous buildings, so we sent our own selfie to him straight from Enid America!!

10. It was a rough day all around, filled will all sorts of sadness, but I ended with a much needed girls night with my bestie Anna, and a new friend, going to see Cinderella. Thank God I'm surrounded by so many wonderful people!