Spring has sprung (finally!!)

Well, we had another busy May in the Slominski household.

Owen went to his very first rally on May 2nd at the state capitol. Thousands of people showed up at the 2009 Tax Cut Rally hosted by Jason Lewis. We found a nice grassy area to sit, relax and eat our cheese curds (no MN event can be had without cheese curds!) But Owen wanted nothing to do with sitting, he wanted to get into the action. So off we all went as Owen led us through the crowd and up to the stage just in time to hear Michelle Bachman speak. Owen joined the crowd with several enthusiastic rounds of applause. After a few other speakers, Owen was tuckered out and ready for a nap (and so was his Mama!)

Shane and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary May 8th. Boy, the years are sure flying by! Instead of our usual trip to a beach destination, we celebrated at home. Life sure changes after kids! We had a nice quiet dinner for two at Kincaids and then headed home for another delicious anniversary cake from It Takes the Cake.
It's become a tradition for us to order the same cake we had on our wedding day - white cake with raspberry filling and chocolate cake with ganache! Our first couple years we alternated between the white and the chocolate cake, but then we wised up. Since Shane's a white cake fan and I'm a chocolate fanatic, we get 2 layers of white and 2 layers of chocolate which pleases everyone! Owen even got his own piece to dig into!
May 10th was my very first Mother's Day as a mother! It's amazing to think just how blessed we have been this past year with soon-to-be two precious kids! We celebrated the day with Mass in the morning followed by breakfast and then some good old fashioned playtime at home. Shane even made dinner that evening, which is a rare occurrence in our household!

For our family, Mother's Day is a day to give thanks to the woman who made our family possible. Our thoughts and prayers were with Owen's birthmother, hoping that across all the miles that separate us that God has given her a sense of peace that Owen is healthy, happy and loved more than mere words can say. We are forever grateful to her for her courage to bring Owen into this world and for her tremendous strength and love for her son to want the best life possible for him.

My birthday was just a few days later on May 14th - I like to get all my special days taken care of in the span of a week! Shane was out of town, but Owen and I spent a wonderful day together. That weekend, we spent some family time taking a stroll to the park to fly a kite. Owen absolutely loves riding his trike to the park. He can't quite reach the pedals yet, but he's more than happy to let you push while he steers. It can be quite challenging at times when he wants to go in one direction and you want to go in another!
Shane was the kite flyer running all over the soccer field while Owen and I watched.

Owen even pitched in and helped Papa get the kite off the ground...

The weather was a bit cold and super windy, so we soon headed back home...

That evening Shane and I got to go out on another dinner date! Wow, two nights out in a week! (It helps to have a live-in babysitter! Thanks Uncle James!!) Shane and I headed to Bacio for a romantic dinner for two, and then it was home again for a delicious Chocolate Decadence frozen yogurt cake from TCBY. Yummy!!
I got a big kick out of my gift from Owen. It was a book called "Diego and Owen's Zebra Rescue". Take a close look at the star of the story...it's Owen!!
This month Owen added a couple new words to his vocabulary. To Shane's delight, Owen can now say "Papa". His other word (which he got from his Mama) is "go, go, go!" As in, "Come on Owen, we're late! We need to go, go, go!!" He's also got most of his "parts" down pat. Just watch him go...

At the end of May, we had our 2nd ultrasound. What a crazy amazing experience! It was unbelievable to see lil' Slom Dos punching and kicking away!

Lil' Slom Dos at 19 weeks, 10 ounces

In preparation for the arrival of Owen's new sibling, we took the leap and decided to convert Owen's crib to a toddler bed - when baby #2 comes, Owen will be sleeping in a big boy bed in his new room! We were pretty nervous not knowing how Owen would handle his new found freedom to roam around his room when he was supposed to be sleeping! But surprisingly his transition has been seamless. Only once has he crawled out of his crib. He is content to just lay in bed until Mama or Papa comes to get him. Hopefully the transition to his new room and new bed in a couple months goes as smoothly!!
That wraps up our May activities. Stay tuned for our June adventures!

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