Happy 5th Birthday in Hanalei

It finally arrived!  Owen's long-awaited 5th birthday held all the promise his 4 years of life could anticipate: surfing barrels, going to school, winning races, playing soccer, reading 500-page novels, and playing the piano "like the guys on Alexa."  He's talked about his birthday since January, and a December birthday makes for a long wait when turning 5 is one of your New Year's resolutions.  

All he wanted for his party was time with the Stebbins and Clarks, and he was lucky our staycation to Hanalei included the Clarks staying with us in the Layton house for several days.  He barely slept the night before and woke up ready to celebrate.  We did cupcake muffins, he ran around the living room excited about the decorations the Heidi, Nic, Ty, and Zachary did the night before, and blew out the candle on his birthday breakfast muffin before we went to the park to play and then spent 6 hours at the beach.

The beach is not his favorite place in the world but he was mostly content, playing with our dog, digging holes in the sand, and running around the pier with me.

Zachary and Kate had the best day of winter break at the pier waves.

Jumping from the pier to her surfboard, then taking a wave in.

Hanelei Combat Surfing:

Owen was getting restless and ready to open presents, so he and I went on a special birthday date for shave ice where I felt happy and weepy about my baby turning 5 while also listening to his animated chatter speculating what gifts he'd be opening that night.

Brady arrived and suddenly Owen wanted to play in the water.

Birthday waves!  One step closer to barrels, baby!

Giant bubbles from the Clarks:

The book that will crack the door open to literature for him.

"I already read the whole thing, Mom, cuz I'm 5!"

His chocolate birthday cake with sprinkles, as requested.  Oh, sweet boy, I hope this year is everything you dreamed!

Owen is fast: he loves to run and he is good at it and has enough endurance that running a mile with Zac is no big deal.  He wants to come with me to walk the dog and holds hands with me the whole way almost every morning.  He loves to read books with me and lay his head on my chest.  He knows his way around an iPad and all the games Zac and Kate play without any difficulty.  He rides his bike around the neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods and can keep up with us well.  He jumps and flips on the trampoline and is pretty tough.

He loves fruits and vegetables and his favorite time of day is when it's time for a snack.  He believes it is time for a snack at 8am, 9am, 10am, 11am, and then 1pm, 2pm...  He loves shoes and playing American Girl Dolls with Kate.  He enjoys legos, magna tiles, puzzles, and cars--always cars.  He can count to 100 without any issues but still writes his "w" as an "m" 50% of the time.

He demands attention, and that is hard on me when we are doing school.  He is almost always tired because he is child #3 and the healthy sleep habits are harder with child #3.  He is so charming and easy going half of the time, and requires a lot of patience and love and attention the other half.  He was my easiest baby but easily my hardest 4-year-old.

I love Owen with my whole heart and I remember the moment I held him the first time, gooey and brand new.  I kept saying again and again how much I loved him and wanted him.  True then and true forever.  I love you, O.  You are so wanted and loved.

We spent three days in Hanalei, enjoying more park time with the Clarks and plenty more hours at the beach.  By the end of day 2 at Hanalei, I was beached out.  

The kids protested but day 3 was BIKE DAY!  All they wanted was another full day at the pier, forgetting our long chat the previous week about being a "multidimensional family."  They groaned, then loved the ride.  Afterwards, we dropped them off and took off on our own ride. Brady showed me where he goes to run and ride after work several nights a week.  The north shore is stunning.

A few weeks ago, I thought of my co-worker of four years, Judy.  She and I had maintained contact after I stopped doing property management about 6 years ago, but then hadn't spoken in years.  I was so excited when she told me she lived in Princeville and we met up for a few hours of catching up.  Judy always knows what kids love, and showed us her collection of nesting dolls.

 Happy staycation for a few days of winter break in the dead zone between Christmas and New Years.