Owen is THREE!

owen had a birthday!

we had to celebrate it on the 6th because chris was on call the 7th, but owen didn't know any different. he was so excited because all day he got to help with birthday party preparations! we went and picked out a cake at the bakery, got some balloons, and decorated. he had a great time getting ready for "owen's buh-day" as he kept saying all day! 

it's owen's buh-day! it's owen's buh-day!

he's very into baseball these days, so when chris brought home a special baseball tshirt, he had to put it on for the party.

he got a helmet from grandpa and grandma browne, which he kept on during the rest of his gift opening and basically hasn't taken it off for over a week. its always on his head.

rik and andrew sent some paw patrol jammies and a chase backpack and again, thats pretty much all he has worn the past week, day and night :)

and then, last but not least, grandpa and grandma brower helped us get owen his own bike!

IMG_6018 from Lisa Brower on Vimeo.

oh, and daddy surprised all 4 kids, not just owen, with their own baseball mitts! owen had been trying to wear chris' mitt every time we would play catch, so now he has one that fits. but, in true owen fashion, he still wants to use the adult glove. 

i just didn't feel like making a cake. and as i'm typing this I'm remembering that i didn't make his cake last year either... maybe next year?

anyways, i took him to a bakery called sweet boutique and they had three flavors of a blank white cake and for whatever decorations we wanted on it, it only cost $25. i thought that was a pretty great deal considering all i had to do was stick a couple toys on top and not have to think about it anymore. owen got to watch as they piped on the decorations and kept saying "for owen's buh-day? pwease? yay! it's owen's buh-day!"

after presents and before cake we had dinner. we let owen decide and he chose: mac n cheese, steaks, tater tots, and corn.

we brought the keyboard into the kitchen so ellie could play "happy birthday" while we sang.

MVI_9577 from Lisa Brower on Vimeo.

although it has been challenging trying to learn how to pedal, especially because our driveway and the street are sloped, owen has been working hard at it. he even brings it inside the house and rides his trike around the couch and kitchen when its too chilly outside.

IMG_3459 from Lisa Brower on Vimeo.

the night of his birthday i had to teach chris' webelos class because he was working late. so before we played at the church, we went out to chick fil a for dinner. i think owen felt very special both days celebrating all things, well, owen!

the night before his birthday i went back and read all about the night owen was born and looked at photos and watched videos. so many memories and emotions came to my mind. i remembered a few things about that night that hadn't been written down that i think are funny. 

the night before owen was born was kind of busy. 

the kids had a school skate night at the roller skating rink that thursday night. watching charlie try to skate was very fun and felt exciting when he finally started to get comfortable after many, many falls. ellie and jack were pretty much pro's on their rollerblades. we visited with other parents and i remember saying "we still have two more weeks although i wish this baby would come sooner cause I'm so tired!". ha! then when we got the kids in bed, i stayed up late making jack's birthday cake: a pumpkin cheesecake with a white chocolate topping. i can't remember why we were so behind on a birthday cake for jack, but it probably had something to do with us being super busy with fun stuff because bart and janie were in town and it was so close to halloween and also jack's baptism. so when gma and gpa took a quick couple days to go visit branson, i decided to make the cheesecake so we could have it when they returned. anyways, we were skating and baking late into the night and then i woke up at 1 am with contractions and he was born an hour and a half later. something else i think is funny is that this was the only delivery that the nurses told me to get out of bed within a couple minutes after his birth. they said walk around and hop in the shower, you'll feel great. and surprisingly, the shower was awesome! the nurse helped me bathe, which sounds weird now and I'm sure it still is, but the warm water was so relaxing and invigorating at the same time and made the next few hours so comfortable.

chris ran home after the kids woke up so he could get them ready for school. hearing their accounts of waking up to find katie smith at our house is pretty sweet. they were confused at first but then she of course explained where chris and i were and that we had a new baby. she was very sweet and let chris tell them its a baby brother once he got there. 

chris brought the cheesecake to the hospital that night when grandma and grandpa made it back from branson, so we could celebrate both of the boy's birthdays... and after all that, i didn't even want to try  a bite of the cheesecake haha.

anyways, lots of rambling but i guess when your youngest is growing up so quickly, you have the right to do that :) 

we sure love our owen even though he is feisty and pretty much rules the roost around here. he is determined and persistent and downright stubborn most of the time. hopefully he will use those characteristics for good... if he does, he will be unstoppable! he is very athletic and loves to be outdoors. we are so thankful that he joined our crew that early friday morning 3 years ago... even if it was a whirlwind!