Happy, Happy Birthday My Sweet Little Owen...

Two short years ago at 8:19am, Dan and I welcomed a sweet, cuddly, little ball of a boy with jet black hair into the world. Our lives have never been the same since.

I remember going into the O.R. that morning thinking how in the world could I possibly love another as much as I love Anna. It happened...

I wondered how I would take care of a little boy. I was used to raising a little girl. I have learned that raising a boy is just as much fun. To be honest, I love playing cars and trucks and trains...

I wondered what we would call him. We took one girl name (which I still totally love) and two boy names to the hospital: Bennett and Nathan. Well, neither seemed to work for him. We ended up with 11 or 13 (I can't remember exactly) names on the hospital wipe-off board. Owen ended up being his name, although, we didn't name him until our last day at the hospital. His name means "young warrior." We used Paul as his middle name after my great-uncle Paul, who was a wonderful man and such a positive influence in my life - a strong, gentle man...

Two years ago, Owen was 7 pounds, 15 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. Today, he is 23 pounds, 4 oz (3 %) and 34 inches long (50th %).

So many things have happened over the past two years... This little cuddly, boy now has blonde-blonde hair and the deepest blue eyes... He LOVES his pacifier (nuk-nuk) and LOVES his mommy. Never, ever try to take either away from him. He's a watchful little guy. He doesn't talk much. He LOVES his trains, cars and trucks, and balls. He loves being read to and doing puzzles. He LOVES his big sister with such enthusiasm. He screams with joy with his hands over his head when she comes home from school. He still LOVES to cuddle (especially with Mommy). He runs everywhere he goes. When he wants you to play with him, he uses one hand and motions for you to come and then pats the floor next to him. He says "peez" with both hands under his chin when he wants something really badly. He is a little boy, through and through... my little boy...

I wondered how we would work as a family of four since we were a family of three for so long... God is soooo good to us. He is sooo good. Our family is truly complete and He knew long before Owen was a hope in our hearts, he knew that he would give us this precious gift, this precious boy that we would raise in a home with laughter and love...