Sprinkles

Bowen and I made sugar cookies for a little neighborhood lunch at my neighbor's house.  I gave him four cookies to decorate while I jumped in the shower.  When I got out and went and checked on him, this is what I found.  He used the entire bottles of sprinkles on 4 cookies!  But they were very neatly placed on each cookie.  I couldn't help but smile and praise him for his great work.  Needless to say, I told him he could have those cookies all to himself!  For a kid with a big sweet tooth, I think he was in heaven.

A (small) Taste of Spring

It was 50 degrees today, and it felt so good!  So, of course, we spent a lot of the day outside.  Alivia walked around the whole circle with her walker (a first!), and Bowen enjoyed riding his new scooter!  Please Spring, come a little faster!!

Every once in awhile, during her walk, Alivia would get on her belly and look at the little "treaures" (aka rocks) on the ground. 

I have to write down what Bowen said to me today.  He was playing Brickbreaker on my phone.  He handed the phone to me, and told me it was my turn to play.  I handed the phone back to him, and told him I didn't want to play because I wasn't very good at the game.  He then handed the phone back to me and said,

"Come on, Mom.  I believe in you.  You can do it."

Thanks, Buddy!

Cold...Snow...More Cold

Why does it seem like kids don't feel the cold?  I wish I were like that.  Bowen has his pajama shorts on--which isn't unusual.  But it seems unusual that he has them on while outside playing in the snow.  (If you were to visit our house in the afternoon even on the coldest day, Bowen would be wearing his pajama shorts.)  Jackson could spend all day out in the snow with his snow gear on.  When I call him in, he always claims, "but it's not cold!"  I think I actually have some memories of the days when I didn't mind the cold and snow.

The other thing I love about my kids and the snow is how darn cute they look in their snow clothes! They have reached the point where they can basically get themselves bundled up to go outside.  When a good snow storm hits, they (along with the rest of the neighborhood kids) meet to go sledding between our two neighbors' houses.  It's a great hill that entertains them for awhile. Jackson is always so good to help Bowen.  Sadly, I have to admit, I haven't put on snow gear this year and joined them in the fun.  What would I do with Alivia?!   

My Buddies

I lost one of my buddies to first grade this school year.  We miss Jackson so much, but he is loving his independence and even loving school lunch!  But lucky for me, I still have two buddies at home!  I love spending my day with Bowen and Alivia.  We have a nice little schedule.  We run errands after Alivia's morning nap, and then spend the rest of the afternoon after lunch at home.  As Alivia has "grown-up" a little more this winter, she has become quite a fun friend for Bowen.  He is very sweet with her, and it's plain to see Alivia adores her Bo-Bo.  (I just noticed Bowen is doing the "peace" sign!  When Justin leaves for work in the morning, he says "peace out," and "peace in the Middle East.")

Bowen loves to play with cars.  I walked into the room the other day, and he had them looking like this!  He is such a good independent player.  He is creative with his play; it's fun to watch.  But he also loves the second Jackson gets home from school!  He plays non-stop with him the rest of the afternoon.

Our little Alivia is so fun to have around.  I am reminded of how much I love this age!  She is napping well, she is crawling everywhere as she explores the house, and she is pulling herself up to everything. We love to hear her little whispers, and her louder babbling!  She does say "mama" too.  And how could I forget her love for eating!  She's such a fun little girl! 



Bowen's Tricks

What a terrible crash!, you might be thinking. But don't be fooled. Bowen loves to ride scooters, but he also loves to stage his crashes too. It is pretty entertaining to watch. However, it can be pretty alarming to see a 2 year-old laying on the ground next to a fallen scooter. Crazy kid.

This is Bowen's signature trick. If you tell him to do a trick, this is what he does. The one on the rock was the funniest because we were at Megan's for an Easter dinner. When we realized we hadn't seen Bowen for a minute, we looked outside only to see his pants off and his performance going on right on top of a rock. He didn't even know he had an audience!
I Love Boys!

Bo-Bo

I definitely need to spotlight my cute Bowen, who is turning into a little boy right before our eyes! He started walking last month, and since then, has turned into a little guy who attracts messes---and "owies" on his head! He is a pretty mellow kid, with a little "spunk" when it comes down to getting what he wants. We love him so much!

"What! You haven't seen a kid play in dirt before?!"

I couldn't find Bowen one day when we were out working in the yard. I ended up finding him here! This is a little "cave" made by two big bushes we have in our backyard. He wasn't visible unless you actually crawled behind the bushes. I guess he just needed a little snack!

We have been loving summer! Most of our afternoons are spent outside with the neighborhood kids, either playing in the sprinklers or eating popsicles.

I try to feed Bowen while I cook our dinner. I turned around one evening to see why I should keep a closer eye when I serve him Ravioli!

Just two of the many injuries he has sustained this summer. Walking is tough work!

BIRTHDAY BOY!

I have been looking forward to this little Birthday Boy tribute for my little Bowen. Bowen turned the big ONE on February 3. So in honor of this special occasion, we had a SUPER BOWL BIRTHDAY PARTY! As you can see from Bowen's face, it was so much fun!

I LOVE having a little one-year-old around. It just seems that they are learning and developing so much that it is so exciting to see what they are doing next. Just to capture this time for me, here is a list of the things Bowen is doing right now:

*waves "hello" and "bye-bye" while saying "ba-ba" (genius)

*claps when you say "good job" or "yah!" (genius again)

*says "Oooohhh! with a look of amazement when something intrigues him (did I say genius?)

*pulls himself up

*crawls everywhere! He is so independent. A lot of times, I have to walk around the house to find him. Basically, if you look where any shoes are, you'll find him (he likes to eat them).

*he loves to open and shut doors. Most of the time, he shuts himself in a room and sits right in front of the door so you can't help him out. The other day, he trapped me in the shower!

*he loves to give hugs. I like to think of them as "Pit Stop Hugs" because he interrupts his play to crawl over to us, climb up on our laps, and give us hugs. Then, he wants to get down and contniue playing. Sometimes during these hugs, you also get a love scratch (or four) on your face!

*he loves his brother Jackson. Their loving and playful (most of the time) interaction makes my whole day.

*he is starting to develop a little attitude! Lately, he has been giving me a few whines throughout the day to express his displeasure with something.

We love Bowen so much and feel so blessed to have him in our family. Here are a few pictures to capture his special day.

THE CAKE!

Thanks to Aunt Joanna for helping me make this cake. Her creativity saved us as I realized, one again, that I am lacking in that department!

Grandpa and Grandma Bailey came to visit us for the weekend since Grandpa's birthday is only a couple of days before Bowen's. They enjoyed some quality cake-eating time together!

THE PRESENTS!

What a spoiled little boy! Bowen received his first 4-wheeler from Grandpa and Grandma Mauss along with his first phone and fire engine! I can't decide who likes them all more: Jackson or Bowen?!

THE GUESTS!

We have such a wonderful family! Those who came to the party were: Mark and Katie; Joanna and Chris; Grammy and Papa Mauss; Jake, Megan, Annie, and Luke; Jake, Tey and Walker; and Grandpa and Grandma Bailey came up for the weekend to see the birthday boy! Thanks to you all for being so great.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOWEN!