Owen Turns Five!

It's hard to believe, but Owen turned the big 0-5 this year.  He is growing up so quickly! 

We had to get a bit creative for his party this year since we were homeless (but that's another story.)  On his birthday, Shane took the day off so that we could spend the day having fun with the boys.  We had spent the night before his birthday at a hotel enjoying the pool.  So the morning of his birthday, we strolled down to the restaurant at the hotel for breakfast.  Owen and Cole had fun emptying out the entire jar of coffee stirrers and finding many different uses for them.  Owen thought they made great pointing sticks and aimed one at each animal on his placement and Cole thought they were fun to bend and chew on...

Since it was Owen's extra special day, when he came up with the idea to drink the syrup straight out of the glass, we just went with it.  Of course he didn't drink the whole thing, just one sip was enough...

After breakfast, we were off to the man-made swimming pond at Elm Creek Park.  It was a beautiful day for the beach.  And it was the perfect place for Owen who loves both sand and water.  We hadn't really planned appropriately and wore our clothes to the beach, but I did throw in a spare outfit for Owen, just in case he got wet.  And thank goodness I did, because it only took about 5 minutes and he was soaked from head to toe.

We all enjoyed our time at the beach.  The water was clean (since it's a man-made pond, the water is filtered and chlorinated), the pond was shallow, and the sand was perfect (no rocks to hurt the feet).  Owen had lots of fun "swimming" in the water and building rivers out of the sand.  And the rest of us had fun getting our feet wet.

But it wasn't long before I realized that we had over stayed our welcome.  With all of us sleeping in one room the night before, no one had gotten the best nights sleep, and it quickly showed as Owen turned from happy to mad in a matter of seconds.  So we loaded up the car and headed towards the hotel, only for Owen to fall fast asleep in his car seat within 5 minutes.  He sure must have been tired!

Later that night, Owen opened his birthday presents from us.  His eyes sure lit up when he saw what they were.

It was just what he wanted...a Thomas and Friends mine and bridge and three new trains - Dash, Bash and Ferdinand.  Owen sure loves trains!!

Nana Judy and Popi Dave stopped by the hotel to wish Owen a happy birthday.  Owen was excited to open more train presents!

After presents, we were off to the pool for a night of swimming.  The boys loved the pool at the hotel.  It had a small water park area that was perfect for them.  They even supplied life jackets for the kids.   Cole didn't care to wear the life jacket, but Owen loved wearing his so that he could swim all by himself.

 

The next day was Owen's big party at Tamarack Nature Center.  Owen had a dinosaur themed party just like he did last year (he REALLY likes dinosaurs!)  This year while scrolling through pictures of cakes online, Owen spotted a cake of a mama T-Rex protecting her eggs and immediately he knew he just had to have a cake like it.  And luckily our favorite bakery thought they could take on the task.  Owen loved his birthday cake complete with mama T-Rex and eggs.  It only took about a minute before he was digging right in to the frosting.

Owen had a wonderful time playing with the big bin of dinosaur stuff that the nature center provided.

Inside the bin he found a dinosaur movie that he begged and begged to watch.  I promised he could watch it after lunch but now it was time to open his presents, so he happily ran over and started ripping open his gifts.

After presents and lunch, out came the pinata.  To make things simple, Shane was the "tree" and held the pinata for the kids.  Owen took the first turn pulling the strings, and wouldn't you know it, he picked THE string.  He had to pull and pull the string and Shane had to shake and shake the pinata and finally the candy came tumbling out!

"Candy! Get out of there!"

 

"I just LOVE chocolate!"

After patiently waiting, it was finally time for the show.  Owen couldn't wait to watch the dinosaur movie he had found at the Nature Center.  He even took a picture of it so that he'd always remember the Allosaurus movie that he watched at his 5th birthday party.  It was definitely the best part of his party (at least to him!)

We had to take a brief intermission from the show to sing happy birthday.

And then it was back to the movie for Owen while he enjoyed his cake.

After the movie, we were on our way outside to enjoy the beautiful grounds at the nature center.  But wouldn't you know it, it started to rain.  Of course that didn't stop the kids (and a few brave adults!)  They had a wonderful time playing outside in the rain.

Owen and his cousin Jaden

Cole playing with Nana Judy and Great Nana Dineen

Owen going for a stroll in the rain

Soon the party was over and we bid a fond farewell to all our guests and drove back to the hotel.  Unfortunately (for us), there would be no napping for Owen on his big party day.  He had too many new toys to play with!   First the trains and then the roller blades.  And what a better place to try roller blading for the first time, but in a hotel hallway!

Owen was a natural on his new skates.  I'm sure the couple years of ice skating lessons he's taken helped him out.

Owen had so much fun on his new skates that Cole wanted to give them a try too.

To end the fabulous day, we all went for a dip in the pool.  Once again, the boys had a wonderful time splashing around in the water.  It was a great way to wrap up a long day of festivities.

This past year has been a very busy one for Owen.  He spent every morning during the week at preschool (either 'Church School' or 'Spanish School' as he calls them).  He really enjoyed school, although he definitely had a preference for Church School.  Owen loves writing and is always asking us how to spell a word so that he can jot it down.  He's even starting to read a few simple words.   He is very creative and his imagination is endless.  He loves working on projects and is always making something very elaborate.  At home he'll dig out paper, tape, a scissors and markers and soon he'll have made an intricate train complete with engine and freight cars or a cross with Jesus (no, he's not your typical little boy!)

Owen is a big napper (even though he despises naps) and will sleep the afternoon away napping for 2 to 3 hours.  He is still very attached to Froggy, his security blanket.  He's had it since we went to Colombia.  It goes with him to school nearly every day and sleeps with him each night.

Owen's talking is non-stop.   He will go on and on telling stories that last 30 minutes or more.  And beware the wrath of a very mad little boy if you even think about interrupting him!  The stories he tells are very detailed and accurate, many explaining all the fascinating facts he has learned about dinosaurs. 

For some reason, these days, Owen's outfit of choice is his undies and only his undies.  He'll be completely dressed after getting home from school, and before I know it, he's lost his pants with his shirt soon to follow.  When he's sporting his undies, he then refers to himself as "Naked Owen"!  How very fitting!

"Naked Owen" eating a popsicle

Perhaps "Naked Owen" is his super hero name... "Look up in the sky! Is it a bird?  Is it a plane?  NO!  It's Naked Owen!!"  Over this past year, Owen has become very interested in super heros, his favorite being Spiderman.  Unfortunately for him and due to his terrible sleeping issues (he hasn't slept alone for over a year!), we try to limit his super hero exposure (with a super hero usually comes a creepy villain and we don't need more sleep problems!) 

Owen loves trains.  It's one of his favorite toys to play with.  He will happily play with them for hours at a time, attaching several train cars to an engine and driving them around on the tile floors or building detailed railroad tracks on his train table.  He is very serious about his trains!  He loves it when we venture out to the Jackson Street Roundhouse or the Twin City Model Railroad Museum to play with even more trains.

Only one thing can beat out trains when it comes to Owen, and that is dinosaurs.  His love for dinosaurs has definitely grown.   Lucky for us, the dinosaurs came for a visit at the Minnesota Zoo this year, so we of course had to see them.  We went to visit the dinosaurs twice over the summer and each time we were there, Owen had to go through the dino exhibit not once, but twice!  He paid such close attention to the dino exhibit at the zoo, that when we got home, he set his dinosaurs up just like the exhibit (he has quite the memory and attention to detail!)  He'll spend hours on the iPad watching various videos on YouTube all about dinosaurs.  He knows many by name, including what they like to eat.  Although his all-time favorite dinosaur is the T-Rex, which he'll quickly tell you that "T-Rex is the king of the dinosaurs!" followed by "I want to know everything about dinosaurs!"

A "DINOSAUR MUSEUM" sign written by Owen

Owen's Dinosaur Museum

Owen has continued to amaze us each and every day.  Even the smallest things can be so exciting to him.  It is incredible to see the world through the eyes of a child.  He has been such a wonderful blessing to our family.  We thank his birth mother each and every day for making the world a littler brighter by choosing life for her unborn child.   Many lives have been forever changed by this little soul.  Owen is truly a miracle and we are overjoyed to be able to call him our son!

Happy birthday, Owen!  Te queremos!