Owen Turned 5!

Owen turned 5 in November and I completely neglected to do a birthday post for him.  I have always meant to but am just now getting around to it...


Owen, my sweet 5 year old, I love you more than words can say.  In your 5 years of life so far, you have brought our family so much happiness. 

As of your 5th birthday:
-you are the best big brother ever!  You love your baby brother so much that I almost tear up every time the two of you are together.  You annoy your little sister, but you two also have amazing fun together
-you think your big sister is pretty amazing.  You are always eager for her to  get home and play with you
-you can read- really well
-you can add and subtract a lot of numbers
-you are a bit video game crazy-- and you think Dad is the video game king
-you take the best pictures which is amazing since it is hard to keep you still enough and paying attention long enough for us to take one at all
-you love uncles.  Uncles are the world to you.  You are a "guys' guy"
-you are a big boy, always have been.  You are easily at least a head bigger than all the kids your age.  You weigh almost 80 pounds and are bigger than your sister and wear a size 2 shoe.  Turning another year older is a bit of a relief for us in that the amazement on people's faces is a little less :)

-you are smart... SO smart, but you don't pay attention to anyone.  You are independent and can entertain yourself for the most part.
-you are still a momma's boy and I typically find you right up against me in my bed whenever I wake up at night. 
-you could eat hot dogs for every meal and be happy
-You are curious and are typically not the first one to try something out.  You usually like to watch and then do it yourself and then usually amp it up a bit more and make it more exciting and dangerous than something needed to be
-you run a bit awkwardly.  you keep your arms straight down and don't extend your legs... we are working on that though -- it's tough to get used to a body that grows as fast as yours :)
-You are my handsome boy and you love to hear that
-you are sweet and always want to love on someone when they aren't feeling well. 
-you are a great "trash man" and always take out the trash whenever you are asked
-you also help out with anything that requires someone "strong"
-you like it when you have hair gel in your hair
-you love your teachers at school and church
-you are sweet and sensitive underneath the big and tough which makes you wonderful in many ways

I love you big 5 year old boy and can't wait to see what the years ahead will bring us!

Colorado Reunion Vacation- Part IV- The Pine Cone Collection

 As I mentioned before, we went on a lot of nature walks.  A favorite past time for the kids was to pick up and save the pine cones.  They had quite an extensive collection by the end of the trip!

 This giant one was clearly the favorite!

They had a lot of pine cones!

We had a wonderful trip and are grateful to the Webers and the Adairs for inviting us along!!

Colorado Reunion Vacation- Part III

 Picture Taking:  I have to be honest, I hate doing family pictures.  It is so hard to get all the kids behaving and looking at the camera that it just becomes so stressful for me that it hardly seems worth it.  However, I know that in the end, you have a family portrait that will be looked upon for many years and it really is worth it.  So, this was family picture day... Everyone wore their newly dyed shirts.

First a little Masey Mase:

 He is about as goofy as they come.... hey there good lookin'!

 The Weber crew:

 While waiting for other families, Uncle Steve was throwing his kids in the air.  Then my kids wanted to be thrown!  I was surprised he could throw Ellie...

 ... but really surprised when he threw up Owen!!

 Sure he didn't get much higher than what is pictured but Steve did it!  I mean, Owen is like 70 pounds, I am just glad Steve didn't throw out his back.

 Lindsay and Steve.

There was this little meadow by where we were waiting and I actually got some cute shots of the kids:

 Owen handing cousin Austin a flower.

 Owen hanging out... proof that he WAS in a decent mood before the big group shot!!  Right before the big group shot, Maggie stole a little rainbow pine cone from Owen.  This set him off.  He started wailing... right at the time the big group shot started.  So, the whole time we were taking the picture, he was screaming.  Ugh.   What can I say?  The boy is four and his sister took something from him-- this is expected but because I was also making him take a picture right after it was even worse!  A few minutes after, we took a walk and laid out on the grass looking for animals in the clouds and all was well again:).

This is a strange picture of Ellie but also a little cool.

Colorado Reunion Vacation- Part II

 On one of the days, Daniel's cousin Megan showed the kids how to make and race cars.  This was RIGHT up Owen's alley.  All the kids had a blast but I think the boys really did!

 First the kids all had to make their cars.. with dad's help.

 Mason's Great Grandma holding him :).

 The race:

 Owen's car was on the right... he beat is competitor.  The Weber family actually cleaned house!  We must be some great car-making engineers!

Colorado Reunion Vacation- Part I

 Last week we had the opportunity to go to Colorado for Dan's Mom's family reunion.  It was good to go and the kids had a blast!  It was fun seeing everyone again.  Because there is seriously something wrong with my brain, I didn't get a ton of pictures of all the events, but we enjoyed swimming, tubing, tye-dyeing, car making/racing, balloon animals, games and lots of nature walks.

Here are a few pictures of the kids swimming:

This is Elise and Miriam.  Miriam is actually Daniel's cousin (so Ellie's second cousin), but they are the same age.  Ellie actually went up to Dallas a few weeks ago and stayed at Miriam's place so she knew her before going to the reunion.

Mason at two months

 Admittedly, my fourth baby is not getting as many pictures as his other siblings got.  I am going to try and be better at it, but honestly, it's just hard getting the camera out and taking pictures sometimes!  Anyways, I thought I would brag on my baby a bit.

 Mr. Mason is 13 pounds 1 ounce and 24 inches in length.  This puts him in the 90th percentile in both categories.  So, he is a pretty big boy, but I think it is hard for us to consider him as big after having Owen!  When I took Mason to the doctor, four different doctors and nurses commented on how big his hands are and how I should watch out for him to grow into them!  So, you never know, maybe he will end up being the biggest boy!

 Mason has such a sweet disposition.  He sleeps a lot still, which is awesome, but has really started coming into his smiley stage which I LOVE!  He cries, of course, but really only when there is a need.  He loves to be held but also seems to not mind his chair too much and really, really, really likes his swing.  He takes naps that are many hours long in that swing... he probably needs to be weaned from the swing!

 Mason enjoys his baths and that's a good thing because he gets a lot of them.  He spits up (more like throws up) every time he eats, multiple times.  So, he gets wardrobe changes a lot and so do we.  The doctor prescribed some medicine to help with it but I haven't filled the prescription yet.

 The kids really love Mason...  a lot!  Ellie especially is always eager to either feed him or hold him or just love on him.  Owen loves to make him smile and he always succeeds!  Maggie likes to give him kisses and especially loves to give him morning loves.

 People say mostly he looks like Owen, but I think he looks a bit like all three.  He just likes one of OUR babies.  Even when he was born, I felt like it wasn't much of a surprise, he just looked like he belonged to us!

 Around these parts, this boy is known as Mason, Mr. Mason, Masey, Masey Mase, Mase and Handsome :).

 His hair is getting lighter and it likes to kind of do its own thing,

 Mason is a pacifier baby and I don't mind that... it keeps him happy.

Life with four is definitely busier and my house is definitely messier and there is definitely more laundry, but it is a good life and we love Mason very much!