These Three Boys

These three boys, they are my favorite. 

Owen, so cute, intensely saying cheese, happy to be part of the fun.

Christian, looking so grown up! and the leader of the pack.

Ethan, a great brother, following right along, keeping a close eye on Owen. 

Love them.

Owen, 18 Months!

 Owen turned 18 months yesterday!  I can't believe it!  And all of a sudden he is acting so grown up!  He is doing things like riding the wiggle car up and down the sidewalk all by himself, sitting at the counter with the big boys, climbing and sliding on our little slide without help, and meeting his needs all on his own, like hauling around stools to get what he needs.  :)  Yesterday he came in from outside looking for a snack.  I handed him an apple slice, he took it, looked at me and said, "Thank you" and then went off on his way, right back outside to play.  When did this baby get so grown up? Time sure is flying in this little boy's life, but I still cannot resist him.  He receives so many kisses and smotherings throughout the day, I just cannot help it.  I have been horrible at keeping an update of Owen as he is changing so much so quickly, but here are some of the things about him right now that I don't want to forget:

• He is absolutely the most polite little 18 month old you will ever meet.  And he is rubbing off on his big brothers, can you believe it?  He is so good at saying Thank You, and knowing when to say it all on his own.  It is so darling, we all love to hear him say it.  He will say it during dinner, when I give him fishies, get his binky, and even to strangers.  He is one smart, polite little guy.  
• He is friendly, at least from a distance.  He loves to say HI nice and loudly to anyone and everyone.  And lately it's been turning into HI-YO!  His version of Hello.  :)
• Owen loves backpacks and loves to wear one around the house.
• He loves his binky and blankie and is good about putting them in his crib when he wakes up.
• He loves doggies, real ones and stuffed ones and is always giving his stuffed ones kisses.  
• Owen gives the best kisses!
• He is talking up a storm, and can tell us what he wants.  It's so fun to hear him communicate. 
• He loves songs and loves to sing! His favorite songs are Wheels on the Bus, Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree, and I Will Go, I Will Do.  If he wants us to sing them for us he comes right up and starts doing the actions and attempting the words.  I love this!  And I love to hear him sing Nephi's Courage..."I-ya-GO, I-ya-DO" and he sings it over and over.  
• He still loves to snuggle, especially when he wakes up from a nap
• He has the most beautiful blues, they still make me stare.  Especially when we are outside, those eyes just light up so blue!  And I love them with his bright blond hair.  
• He loves to go outside and brings me his shoes all on his own.  (Take's care of himself, see?)
• He really gets what he wants, without making a peep about it.  Today I found him sucking on the Hershey's syrup bottle he'd gotten out of the fridge. :)
• He is tough. 
• He is sensitive. If he gets his feelings hurt, his bottom lip sticks out and he gets the saddest look on his face until he just bursts into tears.  It melts my heart every time.
• He has stranger anxiety!  (NO!!!)  I blame it all on our attempt to take him to nursery a couple times.  Now he doesn't even want to be left with any of his grandparents!  And let me tell you, he screamed the ENTIRE time the doctor was in the room at his well visit today.  
• He still has his scream, and is learning to perfect it by copying the "whistle scream" that Christian does., only louder.  My sanity is on the verge of extinction.
• He gets so excited when Daddy gets home!
• He has started making this intense face with clenched fists when he is really excited about something.  It is so cute!
• He loves the stroller and loves to go on walks.  He is very disappointed when we have to get buckled in the car instead. Although he is also a great traveler.
• He loves sunglasses!  Gasses, he calls them
• He loves to find his belly button
• He sleeps like an angel!  He sleeps at least 12 hours at night and takes a two hour nap during the day. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon.  
• He is ticklish and loves to be tickled, especially by Christian, and occasionally Ethan. 
• He loves his brothers, and tolerates Christian much better than Ethan.  :)  He can say "Chis-chan" but we're still working on any form of Ethan. 
• He loves to jump on the trampoline, and fall down and lay back.  It is so fun to see him do this, all in his own little world.
• He is so pleasant and so fun, and so happy.
• Nicknames include: Owen Bowen and Owes

Truly, I cannot get enough of him.  I have probably written than 50 times on this blog, but it's the truth.  And Jake feels the same way.  We love our Owen!

And here are his stats, for the record:

Height: 32.5 inches (57%)

Weight: 25.13 lbs (40%)

Head: 19.3 inches (82%)

Taking after his father. :)

I love his profile, and his long eyelashes!

silly boys!

Happy when he wakes up!

Notice the nice shiner he got today, right after his doctor appointment?

Owen, a Popcorn lover and Jumping Bean!

Owen.  

I just love this little guy.  

And a couple of things he LOVES includes popcorn and jumping!  

He loves to jump (by himself) and roll around on the trampoline.  And I love to watch it!

He also will do anything to get some popcorn.  

He is one happy guy when I give him his own cup full! 

It's worth the smiles, even though he is constantly tipping it over and picking it up, piece by piece, and leaving crumbs behind every time.  It entertains me to watch him do this. :)

Spectators

We finished off the summer with a couple late nights of watching baseball and softball.  We finally took all the boys to a Bees game, and then one night we all ventured to Provo to watch Jake play softball.  Both nights were so much fun!  It's amazing to me how intrigued Christian is with baseball.  He will sit and watch the entire Bees game, and follows the scoreboard the whole time.  And the other two boys were so well behaved too!  The softball game was fun too, but I think my favorite memory of the night was watching Christian and Ethan run their little hearts out and have races down the long grassy stretches in between the fields.  They were having so much fun, those two brothers!  But it was also great to be back in Provo watching Jake play again!  It's been six years... :)

BEES GAME

See those gorgeous mountains with the sun setting on them?  What a view!

PROVO SOFTBALL

Summer Fun, July and August Edition

Christian and his cute friend Madison from preschool.  We met them at the new splash pad, which also has an awesome playground!  

Having fun with glowsticks in the basement. This was a great form of entertainment for the boys!  They loved to hook them together and throw them like frisbees in the dark.   This picture has no relation to the previous one. :)

Sharing popsicles!

Owen was being so funny one day while he was eating a sucker.  He kept laying on the table!

And that same day he found a container of baby food in the cupboard and insisted on eating it! And he did!
At least half of it.

Owen is getting too big!  Look what he can reach!

Here is Owen helping me with chocolate zucchini cake.  This picture reminded me so much of one i have of Ethan at the exact same age, 17 months.  See below.  :)

Ethan, 17 months

A great summer day activity!  This was the boys' fort, probably the best one they've ever built.  Christian was the mastermind behind tipping over the couches.  The first one he did without asking, and then I figured he may as well have a really awesome cave!  What's done is done, right?  :)

We spent many a mornings this summer at the playground at "Christian's School," as Ethan called it.  This was the only day I took my camera, and it also happened to be the day Christian figured out how to pump!  He is so proud, now that he's in kindergarten.  

sitting in the sprinklers

And this little guy is so proud to swing all by himself!  

Visitors from London and Texas too!

I have this aunt, that I happen to think is pretty spectacular, along with her husband and two cute kiddos that happen to be close in age to my kiddos.  But she lives in London, and that is very far away.  So when they come to visit, we try to see them lots!  This time we were very lucky that they were here for 6 weeks, and we were able to get together a few times.  It was so fun to see them!  We miss them and their British accents and phrases.  Some of them I would love to implement into our own language:

Chips are called crisps

Garbage is called rubbish

Isn't rubbish such a nicer word?  I think I need to start using it.  

I also have this great sister, named Sally, who was in town with her cute kids during part of this same time.  It was so fun to have them here!  Unfortunately I have only a couple pictures of them.  They left before I thought they would, and I was a lamo picture taker! :)

Anyway, here are some photos from our get togethers!

A Day in Huntsville 

(Oh, how I love this place.  It is my Grandma Froerer's house and yard and it is a child's dream.  I'm so glad my children get to experience it like I did.  I only wish we could go up there more often.) 

First, the swings. 

These are the best swings in the WHOLE WORLD.  Really, they are.  These pictures don't do them justice, but they are attached to an iron bar HIGH in the sky, that is fastened between two very tall trees.  You can get lost sitting on one of those swings and just swinging and swinging and forgetting everything else.  Next time I will make sure to get a picture of the whole swing to do it justice. 

And this tire swing is an absolute classic.

Second, the Thicket.  Yes, with a capital T.  

This is at the back of my grandma's yard, by the river.  It was nicknamed the Thicket (like Bambi's thicket) by one of my cousins when we were young.  (Nicole, I think it was?) And the name has stuck.  We used to spend hours in there exploring and making our secret hideouts.  And we have passed it on to the next generation.  Good thing.  

Christian and Sasha, the explorers

Owen couldn't get enough of this dog, Rue, but Grandma was sure he was going to pull the dog's hair or fall on him and the dog would snap.  Owen was careful.  :)

Popsicles and Grandma's sandbox.  Can't get enough of those pictures.  

Apparently, I exhausted the boys.  

We love Grandma Froerer's house!

A Day at the Park

One day we met up at a park nearby and had fun scootering and bike riding, but eventually they just wanted to play in their "secret hideout," which is the favorite spot at this park for Christian.  It's sort of like another "thicket."  :)  This day they found it quite built up, like a real clubhouse.  Someone had gone to a lot of trouble!  Sally and her kids, as well as Meliss, joined us this day, but I have no proof of that.  :)

Pool Party

This was a great day at the pool!  For a few reasons:

1. We were at John and Gayle's pool, a place we grew up swimming at.  It's my Mom's aunt's house.

2. We were with lots of fun cousins!

3. It was especially memorable because I got to watch Christian get braver and braver until he was jumping of the diving board and allowing his head to go under!  It was so fun to see him having so much fun in the water!

Look, there's a picture of Caleb, and even Sally is in that one! There were plenty of pics taken of me and my sisters and aunt, but just not on my camera.  

Cute Luka who has a Hello Kitty clip in his hair.  :)

And another one with Caleb and Ella!  And Mom, Peggy and Sasha too

WATER DAY

This is the only picture I have of this event.  Maybe because it was on Sunday and I was trying to keep it as holy as possible.  :)  Or maybe because I was too exhausted from our backpacking trip to remember to pull out the camera. :)

Roy Aquatics Center

Sally, Melissa and I, along with our five children combined, jumped in our van and met Peggy, Evan, Sasha and Luka at Roy Aquatics Center for one last hurrah before everyone went home.  It was such a fun place!  And Ethan loved going on the big waterslide!  Christian on the other hand, was not to be convinced to even try it!  :)

Christian and his tough guy pose, with cute Sasha

Luka

My three boys in their matching towels, and cute Ella

This is Owen's CHEESE face!  I love it!

Favorite picture of the day!  Owen LOVES sunglasses!  And he always wants to put them on, who ever has them.