Cowen's 2nd Birthday

 

 
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 I am amazed at how much I see Cowen as a baby, my baby. I look at this photo of his beautiful face and see how big he's become. He is so sweet. Really, he brings us more happiness and laughter in a day that Steve and I used to see in a week (before we had kids of course). At 2 years old, here are a few special things about him:

-He loves his "bankie" and his bear. When he wakes up from sleeping, you must pick him up along with "bankie" and Bear to bring downstairs.

-He loves milk, yogurt, bananas, string cheese, and scrambled eggs. He does not like strawberries, avocadoes, or oranges. He will eat broccoli, peas, and carrots, but only when he feels like it.

-His favorite books right now are Freight Train and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.

-I still rock him to sleep every night.

-He loves to push the button to open and close the garage door. He also specifies whether he will do this with his finger or thumb. He'll say, "button, um." or "button inger."

-When he says two words together like "Daddy work." he says each word very carefully with a short pause in between like he's trying to get each word right.

-He loves to push things like the grocery cart, his dump truck, and now his lawn mower. He will walk around and around the kitchen just pushing things.

-He loves slides and swings at the park, but he mostly loves running away from me. :)

-He loves to go down the stairs by himself, and he is now saying, "do it" when he wants to be independent.

-He loves to play in bubbles and I will give him a bowl of bubbles with spoons and he entertains himself forever.

 

We love you Cowen!

Happy Birthday sweet boy!

 

Opening presents with help from Anya and Skyler

Eating yummy birthday cake

Cowen driving his tractor over his piece of cake.

"Mowing" the lawn with his lawnmower.

We cant wait to eat the cake!!!

Birthday balloons

Walking around the kitchen with his new lawnmower

Reading his new book Moo.



Anya picked out a new ball for Cowen's birthday.



Cowen loves piggies, so I made him a barnyard cake.

I can't believe I'm two years old. AND . . . I get presents!

 

Anya's 4th Birthday 2013

This little girl was so excited for her birthday. For months, she has been asking for three things- nail polish, flowers, and glow-in-the-dark stars for her bedroom ceiling. What sweet and simple things to ask for! She got them all, the little cutie. She also got a scooter and a Lite Sprite wand from us.

 

 Skyler made Anya a cool mask.

  Grandma and Grandpa Thomasma sent her a kid's digital camera and some cute clothes.

Grandma and Grandpa Willey sent some money.

 

Her friends Peyton and Bailey (Monica) gave her a My Little Ponies set and Abby gave her a bead art set. 

 

 Anya wanted to go swimming at the rec center for her birthday and then eat at McDonald's for dinner. Our friends went to eat with us, and then we all had cake back at the house.

 
Hope you had a great 4th birthday Anya! We love you so much!

 

Skyler's 6th Birthday

How did we get to this day? How has six years flown by since I had my baby Skyler? I remember the morning he was born and how flooded with emotion I felt. My world had opened up bringing so much love I couldn't fathom. And I still feel it. Skyler, I love you!

At age six, Skyler's favorite color is purple with red being a close second. He love to make signs and tape them up all around the house. He spelled "sandwich" perfectly on his restaurant sign the other day. He is such a good brother. Really. He plays with Anya and treats her as if she were much older. They play "chase" and run around the house together. They build hide-outs and forts, and today they built a "campsite". They draw together and make signs. Skyler writes, and Anya pretends to write. They love each other. Skyler's favorite foods are hotdogs, and hamburgers.

Today was Skyler's 6th birthday. I made waffles with homemade blueberry syrup for breakfast, and then Skyler opened one present. He chose one from his Grandma Ursie and Grandpa Bill. It had arrived in the mail days before and he had been shaking it and peeking through the cracks. Inside the large box was a Beyblade stadium and 4 Beyblades which made him ecstatic. He's been so excited about Beyblades ever since a boy brought one to his preschool class. We battled Beyblades all afternoon.


Birthday Breakfast



Birthday List (Cowboy vest, hat and gun; race track, Legos, Tornado Beyblade, remote control helicopter,)

He passed out bouncy balls and stretchy frogs to his kindergarten classmates. His teacher requested that because of the food allergies in the class, that children don't bring treats on their birthdays. OK with me! The class made him a little book with everyone writing what they would give him for his birthday. He was beaming when I picked him up.

Skyler wanted a chocolate cake for his birthday, and he wanted to decorate it himself. Unfortunately, I didn't get the cake made until about 4:15 and we had to leave for his soccer game at 4:40 so he only had a short amount of time to decorate it. It was yummy though if even too chocolatey. Is that possible?

Steve came home at about 4:00 and Skyler opened the rest of his presents- Antivirus game, Purrsley the cat, socks, miniature buildings (from Anya), and a racetrack. Now Steve was really excited about this racetrack. He bought it for Skyler when he was 2 and has been  waiting until he felt Skyler could handle it and play with it safely without breaking it. The day has come!!! Skyler used the controls perfectly and loved racing the cars around the track. Anya could even do it, so they'll be able to use it together. Last night, Skyler was so excited for his birthday, and tonight, he could barely go to sleep because he wanted to play with all his new "stuff". It's good to see your child so happy and full of life.

 

A few days before his birthday, Skyler got to choose an activity to do with a friend, and he chose to go glow-in-the-dark miniature golfing at Kangaroo Zoo with Will. Skyler had been asking to go golfing for the last year, and my response was always, "you can choose that activity for your birthday." They had an awesome time. Luckily Will and Skyler were the only ones golfing at the time because I heard a few balls go flying by full-speed.

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Skyler! We love you! 

Kindergarten

Skyler is starting kindergarten. He is so excited for this day, and I want to make it a wonderful experience. However, I am freaking out. It is so wierd to send your "baby", whom you treasure so much, into an environment with complete strangers. We don't know the teacher. She doesn't know Skyler. We've heard she's great, and so far, she has been wonderful. But I almost don't care. 25 kids, 1 teacher, and my Skyler. Everyone gets used to it, and I'm sure I will also, but for now I'll just pretend to handle it. I'm worried about his safety because of his nut allergy. I'm worried about all the regular things like him making friends and behaving in class.

But mostly I'm just worried that I'll miss him. I love you Skyler!

Cutie Anya

Cowen at Five Months

Cowen is truly a dream baby. Most babies cry if they don't get their scheduled nap. Not this little guy. He just patiently waits until his scatter-brained mama figures out it's naptime. He is rolling everywhere and can turn 360 degrees by somehow pulling himself around. He loves to suck on his sleeves, bite on his thumb, and nibble his toes. He coos and laughs just to get our attention, and we adore him.

I know his eyes look really blue in this next photo, but I think they're turning hazel like Anya's (and Steve's).

 



Yum, Yum!

Cowen Video 4 1/2 months

Swimming

I enrolled Skyler in swimming lessons this summer. I have never liked to swim. I took lessons one summer when I was 12, and because it was my first class, I was with 6 and 7 year-olds.  All I remember is that I couldn't do the kickboard thing, and all the other kids (even the 6 and 7 year-olds) could. We would take off from one side of the pool, and by the time I put my head up for a breath, everyone else would already be across. Granted, I was probably not much taller than the other kids, but you'd think a 12 year-old could kick harder. Well, Skyler loved his first session of Level 2. It involved a lot of pool noodles and very little actual swimming. They recommended him for Level 3, so I thought I would enroll him for another session. This time, he was expected to use the kickboards, dive to the bottom of the pool, dive off the edge, and swim under water.Much more swimming and much less floating. Let's just say he didn't enjoy the second session as much as the first. :)

 Go Skyler, go!

 Anya was sad that she never got to go swimming during the 4 weeks of lessons. Next year Anya!

JulieAnn's Birthday Party

My sister-in-law JulieAnn has had to deal with so much in the last year. The birth of a new baby, a cancer diagnosis, major surgery to remove the cancer,  two rounds of radiation therapy, and steroid treatments. She decided to celebrate her 40th birthday with an awesome party with yummy food, dancing, and a DJ. Even though it was a ton of work for her and Scot to host, it was so nice to see them enjoying themselves. We all had a great time, and it will be a lasting memory. Thanks JulieAnn and Scot!

Anya, Me, JulieAnn

 JulieAnn

Nina and Anya

 Marlo and Braiden

 JulieAnn and Scot

 Lydia, Veronica, and Layne

 Braiden and Sharon

 Anya and Me

 Skyler and Saskia

Anya and Ethan

Some kind of line dancing

Chandler gettin down to the music

Courtland and Eden

Macarena anyone?

Scot, Tanner, Layne, and Gavin

Tanner, Layne, and Braiden

Anya and her daddy

Cowen and Me

Cowen