Birthday Boy

We celebrated Bowen's 4th birthday with his friends at a Cars themed birthday party at our house.  The pinata was definitely the highlight of the afternoon.  Justin "MC'd the pinata event, and the kids were loving every minute of it.  At one point, he had them raising their hands in the air (you know, raise them like you just don't care...)!  Bowen hit the final blow that caused the candy to fall.  He was so proud!  The kids also played with car racetracks, colored a wooden car, and had cake and ice cream.  His friends at the party were Walker, Luke, Will, Jackson Rush, Mara Brunt, Brooklyn Cook, and Parker Vincent. 

The Guests!

The Cake!

We also had our own little family party the morning of Bowen's birthday.  Jackson was a big help opening the gifts, of course!  Bowen got a scooter, Bay Blades, cars, and a slip and slide.  Bowen then went to school and had a special birthday there.  He opened presents from his friends and even got a birthday crown (which he refused to wear)!  It was a great birthday for a great boy!

4 year old Bowen:

Likes all colors (except "girl colors" like pink and purple--although he secretly would really like it to be "okay" that he likes pink.  The other day he said to Jackson, "Remember when I was a boy, and I liked pink?  He said it like..can you even believe I used to like pink???)

Loves Panda Express orange chicken.  He would eat there everyday!

Likes to play with Jackson and the neighborhood friends.

Likes Kung Fu Panda and Tom and Jerry cartoons

Bowen is really good at riding his scooter and his bike (we're looking forward to Spring).  He is nervous to leave his comfort zone, which includes his family and his house (that sounds like me!).  He does great going to school and Sunbeams, but has about 3 minutes of nervousness every time before he goes.  Then, he is just fine!  He knows all of his letters and their sounds and does a great job writing them all! Bowen has good fine motor skills, so his handwriting is great, and his coloring is even better.  He's my fiesty/sensitive boy all wrapped into one!  We love our Bo-Bo! 

Bowen Turned 2!

Our little Bo-Bo turned 2 on February 3! (And, yes, I know I am a month late.) But it's never too late to put this guy in the spotlight. We had our families over for a Super Bowl/Birthday Party to celebrate the big event!
Bowen LOVES Elmo. So, of course, an Elmo cake was a must. I thought this picture was so cute; he really blew out his own candles!

Also, in celebration of Bowen's birthday, we went to the Jazz game! Bowen talks about the Bear daily. We've been to a few games as a family, and Bowen literally sits in his seat and watches the court for almost the whole game.

Round 2 with his birthday cake.

We really feel so blessed to have Bowen in our home. Having a 2 year-old around really livens up the place! He is talking so much and learning so much everyday. I love his big smile and bright eyes. He uses them when he knows he is in trouble!

Here are a few "2 year-old fun facts" about Bowen for our journaling purposes:

Food: loves alfredo noodles, Fruity Pebbles cereal, grapes, hot dogs, apples, cheese, apple juice, and TREATS. We recently went through a jumbo bag of Dum-Dums. He insisted on having 3 at a time: one for each hand and one for his mouth. Good thing he likes to brush his teeth, too!

Movies: loves Elmo, Lightning McQueen, and High School Musical. He actually asks to watch High School Musical. When the basketball parts come on, he and Jackson jump up with their Jazz balls, and dribble around the front room. It's so cute!

Words: Bowen communicates really well. One of the funniest things he does is he stands at the bottom of the stairs with a loot of toys in his hands and then yells, "Need Help!" until someone comes to help him carry the toys up. He calls Jackson, "Jack, " Justin, "Daddy," and me, "Momma."

Sports: Bowen is following in Jackson's footsteps with a love for all sports. He watches golf, basketball, and football with Justin all the time. When a commercial comes on, he gets mad until the golf or basketball game come back on. Justin already has Bowen swinging a golf club, and to his surprise, Bowen is a LEFTY! Justin was pretty upset about it at first, and tried to get him to switch. But he just keeps going back to swinging left-handed. He eats and writes right-handed.

Bowen also loves to play outside and can ride a scooter around our circle.

Sweet-side: Bowen has such a sweet-side. He loves to cuddle. He pats your back when he gives you hugs. He folds his arms and squints his eyes shut to pray, and then mutters right along with the person saying the prayer. He loves to come in with me in the morning to get Jackson out of bed. He climbs in and cuddles with Jackson for a few minutes before they set off to play. He also shares his treats with Jackson...willingly! Sharing his sports balls is another story.

WE LOVE YOU, BOWEN!