Owen is 4!

Why does "four" sound so much older than "three?!" 

Owen loves the show PJ Masks.  There is a character in just a few episodes of PJ Masks named "Master Fang." Owen wanted a "Master Fang" birthday party. Not a PJ mask birthday party. Let's talk about how easy it is to find "master fang" birthday party decor. yah... it's impossible. So, we had a few party decorations, a few PJ masks decorations, and took Owen to Hobby Lobby to let him choose a few things for his party that would make it a "Master Fang party". He chose some random pirate stuff... but if it counts for him, it counts for me. So we ended up with the most un-pin-worthy birthday party of all time but whatever. I actually did feel a little bit of mom guilt for it, which I knew was ridiculous, so then I felt guilty for feeling guilty. Why do we do that? Anyways, that's besides the point haha. Owen celebrated his birthday with some friends in our ward, then was surprised by Gavin's mom and sister showing up at our door. Owen loves his family and friends and I know he felt love from all of them on his birthday.

 Owen got all sorts of "Cars" toys for his birthday. He was in heaven! We also got him a toy doctor kit that he had been asking for. Pictured is a combination of Cars gifts from parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. It was his idea to pose for the picture while reading the book!

 We love this kid!

Notes and highlights of the past year with Owen: 
He was so funny about the baby in my belly, and has been such a cute big brother. J dotes on him, and Owen loves J. Its the greatest thing ever! Parenting this kid has honestly been so hard this past year. He gets a thrill out of fighting and being defiant, plus he just loves playing rough. He does come up with creative arguments all the time and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed haha. I just hope he can figure out how to channel his fire and it can be used for good some day. His wit and audacity to goof off in some situations is something else. Send prayers.
He's continued to do joy school and is so smart and social! He memorizes things so well! He loved T-ball, and is a naturally coordinated and athletic kid. He loves games, so instead of bedtime stories, all year we have either been playing bedtime Uno or bedtime memory. He loves going to the driving range, running around and being silly with friends. He loves TV a little too much. We definitely have to monitor his screen time or he'd watch TV all day. He loves Facetiming family in Utah. We laugh at him all the time. He loves making people laugh. Our lives are so much better because he's here. I love you, Owen!
If I think of anything else, I'll add it later... I'm sure I'm missing a lot! Just trying to get some notes down while I have a few minutes. 

The Brothers

You'd think I'd learn my lesson about doing indoor iPhone photoshoots with my boys, but nope! I'll keep trying! These turned out a little better than J's newborn photos, thanks to help from my mom and husband. Plus, somehow by some miracle, we got Owen to cooperate enough to get a few good pictures. I love these ones!

Because we were in the mood, I needed a pic with my new baby too!

Joy School

This past September, Owen started joy school. He has three friends that are all within a couple months of his age, so the four moms figured they'd love doing "school" together. We only did it once a week, and we just switched who hosted it, so we each hosted once a month. We did a different letter every week until we got through the alphabet. We really didn't have a curriculum, we all just winged it the best we could! Owen loved it!
Once we got through the alphabet, we had a few random lessons, then the kids started doing swim class together.
We're planning on keeping this joy school thing going another year. I'm excited to see how it goes! Here's a few random pictures from Owen's "school" year!

 

Owen is Three!

Owen turned 3 this month! So here's an update on him + pictures of his party.

I know he's my kid so of course I'm biased, but he is seriously the smartest three year old I know. He can't read, but he memorizes books that we read to him. He picks up on everything and if he doesn't understand what's being said, he asks about it. Even his questions are smart! I love that he loves learning. He loves playing memory. Sometimes we help him or let him win, but other times when his parents actually try and win... he still beats them!

He's super coordinated and loves playing any sort of ball. He also loves any sort of rough house play. He has endless amounts of energy, it doesn't make sense to me. He loves Mickey Mouse, joy school, and making friends. I freaking love this little buddy of mine!

We've been really lucky to make so many little friends while living in Dallas. It was fun to have a bunch of them over for Owen's party. We did a wild animal themed party. The original idea was to do a "jungle" party, but come to find out... I'm an idiot and have no idea what animals live in the jungle. The decorations were just jumble of wild animals. So we're calling it a wild animal party.

 Our attempt at getting all the little crazies in one picture ^^^

*Side note- just something I want to remember. Gavin's parents came to town for Thanksgiving. They came early enough that they were able to make it to Owen's birthday party. It was really fun having them here!

Gifts
Parents- big orange work truck. Owen asked for "Will's truck" for his birthday. So we got him the same truck that his friend Will has. 
McCleary grandparents- mini trampoline
Scott grandparents- strider bike.
Spoiled kid!

Owen Turned Two Yesterday!

I could go on and on about this babe of mine. He is so funny and so smart and so bossy! 

He can sing a few songs like "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", "Sunbeam", and "Love is Spoken Here." He loves to dance, shoot his basketball, play with cars, and throw rocks. He is super friendly and will give anyone and everyone a hug. He knows most his colors and basic animal noises. He knows some numbers but never counts in the right order. He recognizes about half the alphabet. He can Facetime family without help from his parents! 

I need to do a better job of documenting his funny phrases like "Hey mom, what are you talkin bout? You talkin bout Daddy?" He said that a lot and I have no idea where he got it from!

Every day Owen asks Gav if he works at "WC".

He is definitely our greatest blessing and adventure. Love you so much Owie!

Toddler Giggles

A quick post about why being a mom is the best!

I Love You

Dear Owen,
Happy birthday this past week! I'm still amazed that it's been a whole year. There's been so much on my mind this past week that will be hard to sum up, but if you get anything from this message I hope it's that I love you.
I love how you squeeze my arm when I hold you on my hip.
I love how you'll twist your body to look right into my eyes.
I love that you yell when you're mad, instead of cry.
I love how your arms flail up high when you try to walk.
I love that you crack up whenever I pretend to eat you. That never gets old.
I love that you're easy to make laugh.
I love rocking you to sleep.
I love your curiosity
I love how you get so excited to see animals.
I love seeing you throw balls and push toys around, and use everything in our apartment as your jungle gym. Your dad and I sit back and watch you play by yourself multiple times a day.  
I love that you love splashing.
I love that you love to be outside.
I love your kisses.
I love the way your cheeks feel on my lips. 
I love that you've had a healthy first year, I don't want to take that for granted! 
It breaks my heart that something bad may (will) happen to you one day, because bad days are part of life. I'll be here for you when those bad days come. 
I'm so proud of you and so happy you joined our family.
I hope your first year of life was as good as my first year of being a mom.
I love you.
Love, Mom

An October Update

October went by so fast! There were so many plans on my mind that I couldn't keep the day straight. I'm glad it's over! I'm also glad that the month went smoothly and that there were good times along the way!

Megan and I attempted Lone Peak and got our butt's kicked. It was an awesome 12 miles nonetheless.

We also spent time at Rose Canyon, Lake Mary, and American Fork Canyon

Maci tore her ACL, poor girl! That's her 9th debilitating injury in 3 years!

We visited a pumpkin patch, of course!

Matt got married, and it's always fun to see everyone at big events!

Owen got his first haircut!

I spent a few days in Arches National Park with New Haven, and finally went outdoor climbling! 

Little Man dressed up as Prince Charming for Halloween! I CAN NOT believe this little stink is going to be one in a couple weeks! 

We also took family pictures, which I haven't gotten back yet, but I am so excited to! I didn't have time to edit any of the above pictures, but it's all documented, so we're good, right?