Owen turns FIFTEEN!

Dear Owen,

How on Earth are you 15 years old!?! It's crazy how quickly the years fly by. My sweet, inquisitive little boy is now a young man. 

Your birthday was pretty low key. We were going to spend a night at a waterpark per your request to celebrate the BIG 15, but we had to postpone the trip since we had a very sick kitty at home and didn't want to leave him alone. Instead, you spent some time playing your favorite Xbox games and surfing the web. You may be a tad addicted to electronics.

For your birthday dinner, you picked Chipotle. You always order the exact same thing - a bowl of chicken and white rice, no cheese, no lettuce, no salsa - hold everything else. Just chicken and rice for you.

Instead of cake, for dessert you chose Crumbl cookies. We got a 6 pack and you picked out the one you thought looked the tastiest. We sang 'Happy Birthday to You', and you blew out the candles.

After dessert, it was time for gifts. You had been saving up to buy an iPhone for quite some time. In fact, all you wanted for your birthday was cash to put towards a phone. But what you didn't know was that you would be getting an iPhone for your birthday! Trying to be sneaky, I bought an iPhone case, put the phone inside the case, then put the entire thing inside the box for the case to try to surprise you. You were excited just to see the case, but that smile grew several more inches when you realized that there was an iPhone hiding inside!

These past few months you've definitely grown and matured. You have sprouted up so tall that you tower over your siblings (and your Mama too!)  When I make comments about how tall you've grown, you are quick to point out that you're "not that tall." But of course, it seems that way to me now that I have to look up to speak to you.

You've been all about eating healthy and exercising daily. We go through our fresh fruit supply lightening fast with your new eating habits. You've also taken up cooking. It's a daily occurrence to see the kitchen filled with smoke as you whip up your favorite pancakes, leaving caked on pans on the stove and flour all over the counter. You are one messy chef.

Running is your exercise of choice. It started with just running a few laps around our house and now you are setting off down the road to get your steps in. Occasionaly you leave for a run without even mentioning it. But even at 15, your mama needs to know where you're heading. Thankfully, you are pretty good at announcing your departure, then slamming the door and off you go.

You are still a huge movie/TV buff. You love digging deep into a script, looking for hidden "Easter eggs" and dissecting the plot. Horror is your preferred genre. You love the "American Horror Story" and "Utopia" series. You were pretty crushed when they canceled "Utopia" and left you hanging not knowing how it ended (I've heard more about 'Janus' than I care to admit and still don't fully understand it.) And unfortunately, you were greatly disappointed to find out your favorite actors from "American Horror Story", Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters, won't be returning to the new season.

Your headphones appear to have been surgically attached to your head. You bring them everywhere, including the bathtub. You are rarely seen without them.

It's nearly impossible to get you to crack a smile for a photo. You do not like to show off your pearly whites even though you worked so hard to get them straight (you are a recent Invisalign graduate!) I'm always encouraging you to show off your gorgeous set of teeth. Most of the time you do not oblige and instead give your typical closed mouth grin. But every once in a while, you'll flash that handsome smile!

Despite complaining about your little siblings, I know you are secretly thrilled to be a big brother. You can be quite the big stinker and love to push their buttons. Chasing them around, bopping them on the head or wrapping them up in big bear hugs. You may complain about the constant squealing, but your actions tell otherwise.

A very happy 15th birthday to you, Owen! We love you forever and for always.