Owen Turns 4

Happy 4th Birthday to Owen!  Owen asked every day in November and December about when his birthday was coming.  He was definitely more excited for his birthday than Christmas, and I'm happy he gets his fill of birthday excitement even with it so close to the holidays.

His special day was on Sunday, and we cooked him breakfast, surprised him with balloons, and had him open one gift--remote control cars!  He begged for batteries and immediately drove them around with Zac and Kate.  He loved his "Birthday Boy" badge and showed it proudly to his friends and aunties and uncles.  They sang to him and gave him a bag of treats in primary.  He came home delighted with all the attention and ready to open presents.

His favorite gifts were his Mac loading truck, a new car, and a hot wheels track.

The best moment of gift opening was seeing him chuck the clothes on the ground the minute he opened them.  Kate tried to convince him they were exciting but he was having none of it.

Owen asked Brady to read the posters to him, filled with words that describe him: fast, funny, loud, cute, huggable, snuggler, loves his blanket, loves his cars, rides bikes, catches balls, runs from lava water, good friend, helpful, fruit monster, Cookie Monster, veggie lover, and jumps high.

He asked if his friends the Stebbins, Ivy, and Uncle Mic and Heidi could come over for cake and ice cream.  They all came, showing up with love and filling our house with laughter.

Blue cake...surprisingly delicious, but ironic.  It is ocean cake and fish sprinkles and I will point out that there is nothing listed above about Owen liking the ocean.  (He picked the cake.)

So much love from this group to our little man:

The next morning, he came downstairs to my room, put up his slippered foot and said, "I'm 4 now and Kate's slippers fit me."

The big surprise came a few days later, when his bike showed up.  We expected to buy him a bike when he turned five but after Kate received her gear bike at Christmas, he begged for a bike non-stop.  We returned his other gifts and plunged for the bike, guessing that he was capable of riding without training wheels after his practice on the balance bike.  He saw the neighbor boy riding with training wheels and cried for them, but Brady convinced him to ride without them, and BINGO, off he went like a pro.  He can't start himself up, but he can ride around and around the neighborhood with no problem.  It is wild to watch such a little guy tearing it up on a bike.  Congrats, Owen!

Owen is so tender-hearted.  He gets his heart set on seeing friends, going camping, picking shows, and reading books.  He loves preschool but never initially wants to go.  He assumes all of Zac's and Kate's friends are his friends.  He keeps up with older kids, dresses up for Kate's soccer practices, but still loves to sit on the kitchen counter whenever we are cooking, munching on lettuce and broccoli.  He climbs shelves in the pantry to sneak chocolate chips, will do anything for a lollipop, and eats an entire apple without a second thought.  He does not think the "no eating outside of the kitchen" rule applies to him.  He talks about ramping and catching fish.  He loves his brother and sister, and bawls for whichever parent is gone at night.  He is intense but also so gentle and so easy.  It just depends on how much sleep he's had.

We love you, Owen.  So, so much.