To My Favorite 5 Year Old

From Owen's birthday

From Owen birthday

From Owen's birthday

From Owen's birthday

Happy 5th, Owen boy.

You are my gentle, shy, big-hearted boy. I wouldn't say your Dad's right about everything, but when he says you've got me wrapped around your finger, I'm afraid he's dead on. You see, you won my heart from the very beginning. You were the perfect baby, sleeping through the night at just 2 months. Even as a toddler you never gave me a moment's grief. Minus a few episodes and phases, you've pretty much been unceasingly easy going, good and cheerful.

Not much has changed today, except you're bigger, infatuated with sports and Boise State football, can dribble a ball better than this point guard could in high school, love Pre-school, playing with your buddy Cole, making Max laugh, and following your sisters everywhere. You are my side kick, my every day, "turkey sandwich and chocolate milk lovin' lunch date", my wrestling opponent, my "unload the dishwasher and empty the trash cans" helper, and my giant bear hugger. You are your daddy's boy, missing him while he works and insisting on sitting next to him every night at the dinner table.

I'm grateful for your kindness, Owen, for your million and one, "thank you, mom's", and your consistently pleasant, "sure" when I ask a favor. You wear the sweetest smile across your fair skinned, delicate face. An expression that softens my heart, and makes me think,

"Man, I'm privileged to be your mother. "

I love ya BIG, kid.....and always will.

Yo Ladies

...all the ladies.

(especially my G'mas)

Just thought you might want to know I bruised the scales at my 9 mo. check up weighing 17 lbs. I even jumped the charts from the lowly 5th right up to the 10th percentile.

Last week I slept through the night for the very first time. Mom sung a happy tune all day, which makes me wonder if there was a sliver of a correlation.

I'm crawling around in the forward range. My style's something else. You can check it out on the video below, but I'm warning ya, mom and dad sound down right ridiculous, especially mom, who has learned the hard way to zip her lips while videotaping!

From Max

See what I mean?!

The last pics. are of me and Owen. I've overheard Dad say it's too bad we're 4 years apart. There aint nothin' bad about our age difference. Ya see, Dad isn't home all day to witness Owen and I playing. We're so loud together, when mom's on the phone, her friends ask who is over visiting.

So here we are, showing off our mad football skills. Ya sure, mom might have busted me pulling a face mask or two, but like Great Grandpa Peterson used to say, "If ya didn't cheat, ya must not have wanted to win bad enough!"

From Max

......and I think that sounds like a mighty fine motto indeed. (wink, wink)

Love,

Mr. Max

From owen

Bob hooked to an IV antibiotic for a few hours in the morning is good for one thing, ME ...leaving baby Max at home, in his care, and fleeing the joint for some field trip time with two of my favorite people.

Check out Owen's score. I know it's bumper bowling, but a 114?! Shoot, this girl took bowling in college and you don't see me securing a 114.

Oh, and our matching outfits.....yes, I am queen cheese, but I swear THAT wasn't planned.

Avery's class spent the morning downtown at the library, Historical and Art Museums. I always thought my dream job was the story-time gal, you know me, dramatic and telling stories, but after the tour, I added docent to my list of adventures I'd someday really like to do.

Bottom line, most days I'm overwhelmed. Life's been throwing us some curve balls, and instead of connecting and hitting em' out of the park, arms pumping in the air as we sprint victoriously around the bases, that curve ball seems to keep tagging us in the shoulder, and here we are again shamefully, painfully, barely making our way around the bases.

And so I seek "moments. " Moments of of calm and enjoyment, moments, not days or weeks, etc. In small and simple ways feelings of relief and normalcy are grasped, and in the past, I never would have said it, but RIGHT NOW, for me, it's true. Time away on a field trip with my little ones............ seemed to provide just that.

Derby racin'

From Derby

Pay and her dad had a splendid good time designing, cutting, sanding, painting, and especially decorating their first Derby car.

With Bob's lack of skills and experience, I must admit, I was a little worried about the outcome.

Mama was impressed with the final result. But no one was as happy and as excited as Miss Payton, herself.

The big Derby race happened the night of her birthday. I'll never forget my girl standing shoulders hunched, mouth turned upward in a smirk, cheeks ever so flushed, utterly embarrassed.....

as the entire crowd sang her the merriment song.

After that, the race was on, and much to our surprise, her Derby car won two races.

Yup, that put her right up there in the Top Ten.

Unfortunately, the W's stopped there.

But hey, there were no sore losers in this household that night, which really is a feat in itself.

Just before we went upstairs to retire to our beds, everyone took one last look at the car, sitting right smack in the middle of the kitchen table, in all its fluorescent green glory.

The kids were wide eyed and chuckling as their irreverent dad summed up the provision,

Holding it high in the air he shouted, "BAD ASS meets BLING!"

Prudish me shook my head and rolled my eyes, but showered with bedazzled jewels and accompanied by fire blazin' stickers,

I had to agree.