Owen Knows

it's important to put on sunscreen before going outside (and also when Mommy isn't looking and you can have fun with the spray bottles).

Ce-Ce's New Room

See those stars Cearra is rolling right over? I hand stamped each one when we moved in almost 7 years ago. Notice the fluffy white clouds Bob is obliterating? Yep, me again. And I loved doing it all because Cearra had chosen a stars and moon theme and we went all out with it - bedding and curtains (Nanny hand stamped them!) and lights and rugs and accessories. It was a dream room for our princess.

But as princesses grow up, their tastes change. And sometimes, they want to replace a heavenly bedroom with a more worldly one. Introducing Cearra's new Parisian themed room ...








We all love it as much as Owen does!

Some Special Ladies

I know some amazingly creative and talented women.

Nanny, Aunt Maria and Aunt Pam paint beautiful pictures (one of my favs of Maria's below) while Le Anne designs gorgeous interiors and paints. Cearra's sister Kristine takes stunning photos - check out her new blog, my friend Kim stamps really cute cards and other paper crafts to make you smile, and my little sis Kris bakes yummy cakes and signature frosted sugar cookies for her business, "Cookies & Dreams".


You may have previously noticed the side bar links to Monkabee (my friend Alison's adorable line of tees and blankees) and Created by K (my cousin Karen's custom scrapbook genius idea).



I'm blogging about them all today - and adding some new links - in celebration of the fact that my cousin Kim opened (finally!) her online boutique, The Beaded Dragonfly. For years my family, and the lucky ladies of Atlanta, have been wearing and loving her fun, flirty and fabulous necklaces and bracelets. Sooo pretty.



Click away - check them all out! Be inspired to find and nurture your own special talent, or maybe treat yourself or someone you love to a hand crafted gift from one of the very special ladies that I'm lucky to know.

My Heart Is So Full

Cearra's last essay for her English class. Get out the tissues ...

From Kazakhstan to the U.S.

“Ce-Ce” is what he calls me, “Ce-Ce’s car” is what I hear when I am home, “bye-bye” is what he says when I leave. He looks up to me figuratively and literately, his face and his voice lights up whenever he sees me or hears my voice, and he even trusts me enough to fall asleep in my arms. This little boy lights up my life and makes me wonder why kids do the things they do. He is who I call Owen, my buddy, and best of all, my brother.

Owen is my adopted brother from Kazakhstan between my dad and my step-mom. Although, I may sound thrilled to have a baby brother I didn’t always feel like this. Before Owen I was my dad’s only child and I actually enjoyed it that way simply because I had two other siblings from my mom. So when I went to my dad’s house, it was like my safe haven. It was the place where I could get away from all the yelling, fighting, teasing, and even get away from being the middle child. Because I hated the idea of the adoption, I told my parents I felt as though, if they adopted a young baby, I would be lost forever and that it made me feel like I was losing my dad to someone else. As the adoption was taking place, I had one year left in high school and all I could think of was how I was getting ready to leave for college and how this new baby was taking my place and was spending the time with my dad I never had. I felt like I was getting a slap on the back and a kick out the door.

Since then, Owen has been with us for almost two years now and I still cannot believe how much he has grown and changed; not to mention, how our relationship has grown and changed. Now that I am in college and I live three hours from home, I do not get to see him very much and I am always missing something he says or does, so I have to play catch up when I come home for visits. When I first met him he was crawling. After a few months he was walking and talking (few words here and there). By July of 2008 my step-mom had finally taught him how to say Ce-Ce, which is his nickname for me and that alone made me feel so special.

My little brother is now two and a half and will be turning three a week and two days after my birthday (July 5), which is sometimes awkward for me because I have never had to share my birthday month with another sibling and now our birthday parties are combined, which is even more awkward. However, having him around is a lot of fun and keeps me busy; not to mention, I think having me home sometimes also makes it easier on my parents, so they can finally have a break and enjoy some free time. Leaving to go back to college is never fun or easy for my family, because we all tend to get very emotional, never really wanting to see someone leave.

This little boy is so much fun to be around and makes me laugh just by being himself. When I came home for Christmas break, I pulled into the driveway and saw a little boy looking at me from the front door window, I opened the door and he was looking at me like he could not believe I was standing right in front of him. From that moment on he was crawling all over the floor doing somersaults and showing off as if I was someone special, but then again I am his big sister. Three months later I came home for spring break and he started acting the same way, but this time I was able to teach him something new. Owen knows all of his facial features like his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and head, but the one he did not know was his chin, so I went over that with him for five minutes and was able to show our parents what he had learned. I was so proud of him and felt proud to teach him something as little as where his chin was.

Not only have I taught him a few things, but he has taught me some things about kids as well such as, kids will do what they want when they want to, they are very determined, and are like copy machines. Owen has the tendency to do his own thing, you give him a toy to play with and he will go get the one he wants. Even at his age, he is not always the greatest listener, so he does not always want to do what you tell him such as, getting out of the tub, which if he could he would be in there 24/7. Also, he does this thing when he wants you to go play with him he will grab your index finger and try to pull you to his spot and if he does not get you to go the first time he will just keep trying until you give up. With my last visit, I have realized that both my parents and I have to start watching what we say in front of him. Once I made the mistake of saying “crap” and within seconds he was repeating me or when my step-mom is mad at him and yells “OWEN” he then says “OWEN” in the same tone of voice and even though we should not laugh, we cannot help but laugh. So, we try to remember that there is always a little one watching and listening and will get us every time we say something “bad.”

Owen is not my only sibling; however, he is definitely the youngest. I love him at this age (2 ½), simply because I love little kids and I tend to care for him more and maybe show a little favoritism too. Thankfully, none of my other siblings are really around to notice it. In the past Owen and I did not have a good relationship, mainly because of my attitude towards him being adopted, but you would never know that now by seeing us together. When I first met him I knew that everything would eventually be OK. When our eyes met and I held him for the first time I realized that he was not judging me and was not out to ruin my life. I had nothing to fear when it came to having a new baby brother. However, because there is such an age gap between us, of 16 years, I tend to act more like a mother to him than a sister, but I will forever be his “Ce-Ce” and he will forever be my “Owie.”

Easter Saturday

Bob was still in Detroit and Cearra (wisely I think but sadly for us!) decided she had best stay at school and work on her term papers, so Owen and I were happy that Nana and Pop-pop came down for the day.

In early celebration of Easter we enjoyed dying more eggs, had a mini egg hunt for Owen, and gave him two baskets - one from Nana and Pop-pop and one from Nanny. I think he didn't know where to start! Nanny's included a giraffe sound maker that Owen took an immediate liking to; we now march around the house as he leads the band with it.

And no visit from my dad is complete without a visit to Dairy Queen - Owen helped eat Pop-pop's chocolate dipped cone ... yum!

Our Weekends Away

I spent last weekend in Sunset Beach, NC with my friends Alison, Angela and Le Anne -Susan couldn't make it and we missed her tons - celebrating Kaz Moms Weekend '09; while Owen spent four full days (the longest I'd ever been away from him) at Nanny's in Cumberland.


The view from Marc and Le Anne's porch - ahhhhh ...

Despite a bit of separation anxiety, I was able to relax and enjoy my time at the beach because I knew Owen was having a great time. Nanny reported that he woke up every morning and asked, "Mommy back?", and that after she told him I was on a vacation - and he was too - he'd happily go about his day. I called more times than necessary (remember, this was the longest I'd ever been away from him!) and Nanny patiently humored me with all the little details of his days and let him give me kisses over the phone.

He certainly had a five-star vacation! Visits to and from Aunt Pam, family friend Patti, and his great-grandfather Bud; plus lots of special times with cousin Hannah, Uncle Todd and Aunt Maria.






Nanny had prepared the deluxe version of a cardboard box house for his arrival - it had two rooms, a rug, windows with curtains, a doorknob and key hole, and a mail box. Plush! Owen enjoyed playing in and on it all weekend.



Time was filled with rounds of hide-and-seek (he loves those cupboards), plenty of walks and excursions - including hot fudge sundaes at the ice cream parlor a couple times, bubbles on a beautiful day, lots of playing with trucks and cars, and art time making adorable cards using Owen's fingerprints.





I'm not going to lie ... I could barely wait to get back to him and seeing his face through the window when he came to open the door on Monday was priceless. Lots of hugs and kisses and a few tears - did I mention this was the longest I'd ever been away from him?! But it was truly a gift to be able to have a weekend away, and I am so thankful to Nanny, Maria and Todd for loving him as much as we do and for making his vacation so special.