Happy 2nd Birthday, Owen!

We celebrated Owen's 2nd birthday last weekend, and it was the hardest party I've ever planned! Ethan has always had very focused, pretty conventional passions (ie: super heros, sports, etc), so I knew exactly what kind of party he's wanted. With Owen, though, it was hard to plan a lawnmower, grilling or cooking themed party! I ended up doing a "decorate your own cupcake party" with party favor aprons for the kids to wear, fun boxes to take your creations home in, and cupcake toppers of all things that Owen likes.
The highlight of Owen's day was getting a toy grill from his Grandma Debbie. He hardly left it to play with anyone else at the party, and anytime anyone would get close to the grill he'd yell, "No touch! Hot! Back out." He still won't let anyone near it... We finished the day off with a "cactor" (tractor) ride with my dad. I think Chris hopes his passion for lawn mowing continues WAY into his teenaged years.

It's hard to believe my "baby" is 2 now. He's been so fun to watch grown and get to know. Happy birthday, buddy!

Mud

The two feet of snow we got last week is virtually gone now. We've had 60 degree weather that has contributed to the rapid melting, and now we're left with mud everywhere! In Owen's opinion, mud is much more fun to play in than snow. He has an uncanny ability to find the biggest mud puddle and head straight for it. This particular day, he found so much joy in walking through it, I decided not to care. Sure enough, 45 minutes later and soaked clothes, he was one happy and muddy guy.

Snow Days

It's been snowing a lot around here in the last two weeks. I think the combined total of accumulation is 26". That's crazy for us Southerners. Chris has been out of town for all of it, and so the boys and I have had to be very creative surviving without being able to get out and do things. We've gotten several projects done while it's been snowy. The boys each painted their own canvas to hang up in their rooms. It was funny seeing their personalities come out in their paintings. Owen was done after about 5 minutes and was ready to go back to "cooking". He could not stand to have paint on his hands at all. Ethan took about 45 minutes and covered his entire canvas (and himself) in red paint. He had a whole story about how it's a view of Europe from outer space... They've also developed a new favorite game of getting every single cushion and pillow in the house and putting them all over the living room floor. They spent an entire morning in their pjs (and then underwear) running back and forth over the pillows. Whatever it takes, as far as I'm concerned! The past two weeks have also made me incredibly thankful for such amazing neighbors. Two different neighbors shoveled our driveway, which was a huge blessing for this pregnant lady. And I know the three of us wouldn't have survived without having several shared meals and play dates with the Crawford clan. What do people do in times like this when they don't have friends on the same street?!?

23 Months

As I am typing this entry, I can hear Owen in his bed alternating between singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" at the top of his lungs and yelling for his brother to wake up... (Amazingly, Ethan appears to still be asleep.) It's been another fun month with Owen. He survived his traumatic face plant into a paint can, and his face seems to be healing up really well. He still enjoys telling the story of the incident..."Brother hug. Fall. Bonk paint can. Cry." His poor Sunday school teacher heard that over and over again... He's started calling me "Cat Hoyle". There's nothing like hearing him yell, "Cat Hoyle. Come!" when he needs something. His stubbornness and single-mindedness continue to amaze me - he's virtually impossible to distract when he's got his mind set on something! That is balanced out, though, by his charm...he can make you feel like a million bucks when he says your name, runs up to you and asks for a hug and kiss. He also has yet to meet a stranger. I am starting to worry about his transition when his baby sister comes... He slept in the crib the other day when he wasn't feeling well, and when I went to get him out I told him we were done sleeping in Harper's bed. He looked at me, yelled, and then said, "No baby Harper. Me push her out. Punch. MY crib." Lovely.