4 Quick Years and One Amazing Little Man

Owen's 1st Birthday

Owen's 2nd Birthday

Owen's 3rd Birthday

Owen's 4th Birthday

I guess when you're caught up in the whirlwind of life, 4 years can just fly by like it was nothing. It certainly seems unreal to me that we celebrated Owen's 4th birthday last weekend. I'm sure I'm going to say this every year on his birthday. It's just amazing how quickly it goes by. On the other hand, the idea that there was life before Owen is totally surreal (and ludicrous?).

Owen is just an incredible little boy in so many ways. He is loving and sensitive, funny and silly and inquisitive, determined (stubborn?) and ambitious and independent, athletic and creative and dramatic and musical. He is so curious. I am particularly loving his "I wonder" questions these days. A couple of weeks ago he said, "I wonder how the Earth holds itself up? Maybe it has something to do with the moon." Today, after his 4-year-old check-up (which included two shots through which he very bravely sat stiff upper-lipped, determined not to cry) he wanted to know where blood comes from and what it does. Try explaining blood vessels and oxygen transport to a 4-year-old. He very thoughtfully soaks in all kinds of information.

Owen is such a great big brother. That is not to say that he doesn't ever do inconsiderate things to Quincy, but the sweet and loving things that he does far outweigh and outnumber the not-so-loving things. I love the way he takes Quincy by the hand and proudly announces to anyone he encounters, "This is my baby brother, Quincy!" And there's no sweeter sound than the two boys cracking each other up until both of them can barely breathe.

Owen has many interests, and is so active. He is in basketball, swimming lessons, and soccer, and he takes such pride in any new accomplishment. I love to see the twinkle in his eye when he reports on these accomplishments, like his new personal best number of dribbles at basketball (43), or how many seconds he swam with his face in the water and his legs "mostly straight."

Owen has his moments of driving me crazy. I tell him this, and it doesn't seem to bother him, which is fine. However, if he does something that elicits a sharper tongued response, he often cries and says, "I'm crying because I'm sad at myself for doing that." He is so good at verbalizing his emotions.

Owen loves his friends, and he is super loyal. He thinks about and talks about his friends all the time. He spends Wednesdays with my mom and his buddy, Joaquin. Owen and Joaquin have such a great time together, and my mom takes them on wonderful adventures to places like the sea lion caves, the zoo in Portland, the children's museum in Salem, basketball class, our own backyard, etc. Now, when we're driving in the car listening to kids music, Owen often tells me, "Skip this song, Mom, because Joaquin loves this song, and we can't listen to it without him. We need to save it."

This post really could be endless, so I'm going to wrap it up. I just want to have a record in the future of what Owen was like when he turned 4. I guess I should add some growth stats. We went to the doctor today, and Owen weighs 40.6 pounds and is 41 3/4 inches tall. That makes him 80th percentile for height and 79th for weight, which means he is perfectly proportionate.

I'll do a separate post about Owen's birthday celebrations.

I love you, Owen! (More than you will EVER possibly know)