Happy 2nd Birthday, Owen!

July 24, 2008

July 24, 2009

July 24, 2010

Dear Owen,

2 years old! I am so surprised at how fast these 2 years have gone, even though everyone told me they would. You are such a little boy now. You love to play with cars, get dirty, and build things with your legos and pop-ems'. You have attached yourself to your puppies and enjoy feeding them and giving them naps. You love the water, and will get into your pool any chance you get. Daddy has even let you play in the rain a few times! I love our evening routine...we pray for Olivia, put her to bed, and then we have "Mommy & Owen" time. We pick up the toys, get the puppies, your blanket and a cup of milk, and settle in to read a few books. Sometimes, I pick them out, and other times you have a definite idea of what you want to read. After reading, I brush your teeth, and then go quietly into your room where we pray and I sing to you. You usually settle down pretty quickly, but sometimes I'll hear you kicking the crib for 10-15 minutes. I know you enjoy your nap routine with Daddy too! He will rock and sing his special song to you before he heads off to work. You are a sweet boy too...you give kisses, hugs, and "eskimos" to all of us. You usually are pretty sweet to your sister as well. You like to make her laugh by saying "boo" and she just thinks you are the best! Her eyes light up when you talk to her or bring her a toy. You talk so much now! Puppies, milk, juice, airplane, sissy, Owen, mommy, daddy, hit, throw, eat, blocks, up, down, book, ball, hoop, truck, trash, kitty, phone, bye-bye, hi, hot, horse, pool, sand, clock, "What does that do?" and "I want that" are some of your words. My favorite word of yours is "soakin". You say that a lot in the pool and it is the cutest! You call diapers "miss" because we used to throw them in the trash can in the garage, and we would always say "I missed it!"You can repeat anything we say, so we try to be careful :) You are a good helper; you put away things when we ask you to, and you sometimes will pick out your clothes and shoes. You are very routine oriented...thanks to mommy! If we forget something, you let us know. You are always on the go...you don't sit much, and when you do it's only for a moment. You do not watch any tv, although I have tried to get you to watch PBS. You like Elmo, even though you only see him on your bib and your pajamas. You also ask to watch "Nemo" although you never sit down for any of it.

You are also learning your limits and testing us for your boundaries. Sometimes, this makes life difficult. We are trying to give you more choices, and that seems to be working a little better. You are learning some self-control, and your trips to time out seem to work sometimes!

Owen, you are so much fun! I'm so thankful that I was chosen to be your mommy. You are my biggest blessing and you have helped me grow in my walk with Jesus. I certainly need his help every day in order to parent you. I hope you grow to love Him and others. For that is really the only important thing in life. I hope your daddy and I convey that as you grow. We pray for you every night, and I hope you become a little boy that prays because you know God will answer! He loves you so much and has many great dreams for you. I'm looking forward to helping you discover all those dreams and walk into everyone of them!

Happy Birthday, Owen! You are the best!