Owen is 1.5 years old!

Dear Owen,

I cannot believe you are a year and a half already. You have grown and changed so much in the last six months, I sort of wish I had continued the monthly blogs after your birthday, just to keep track of all your little changes! You have always had a lot of personality, but as you've become less baby and more little boy, we've seen even more of that personality take shape. 

I've done my best to jot down some of my favorite little quirks of yours along the way, so that I'd remember to include them now. So, here goes...

Your vocabulary has expanded quite a bit since your birthday. The only real sentence you say, is "I dropped it", which is often proceeded by an "Uh oh". You use it at appropriate times, but have also been known to say it just prior to you intentionally throwing something down. :)  You say "Da Da" and "Ma Ma", and Pop Pop which sounds more like "Bup Bup".  When excited, you often say, "Whoa!" and "Oh Wow!"  It seems you come out with a new word almost every day now, and I love it! 

We've been praying with you before meals and at bedtime. You often fold your hands, but can't resist sneaking some food in. 

When we say "Amen", you respond with your version, which sounds nothing like Amen. :)  When you finish eating, you proudly say, "AAAALLLLL done."  Every now and then you throw in an "All done" instead of an Amen. You can be so silly at times, and seem to love making us laugh.

You've adopted some of your father's cleaning tendencies. You LOVE the toy vacuum you got for Christmas, and spend hours vacuuming every day. When finished, you usually ask to put it "away"- in the vacuum closet, of course. :)  You love watching Daddy empty the trash, and have been saying "trash" for quite some time. 

We've been working on animal noises. Your favorite animal sounds to make are the doggie, the elephant, the duck, and then there's the giraffe... I don't know why I taught you the giraffe makes a chewing sound, but you've adopted it and smack your lips whenever referring to or playing with your giraffes. Sorry bud.

You are definitely a rough and tumble kind of boy. You've already experienced your first trip to the ER after slipping and hitting your head on a door hinge, of all things. It seems every other week you are splitting your lip or showing off a new bruise. 

You love wrestling with daddy, playing chase, hide and seek, giving high-fives, banging toys around, and throwing things... We're working on the throwing problem. You went through a biting/hitting phase, but thankfully seem to have come out of that for the most part. You also LOVE to dance. It seems you almost can't help yourself when you hear a little tune, you immediately start dancing. It's hilarious! 

We've seen you lose your temper, and boy is it a sight to see. You wave your arms and stomp your feet, while crying about who knows what. I have no idea where you got that from... ;)  

You are full of curiosity and love to explore... often. 

If we set you down to walk, you immediately take off- it's a struggle to keep up with you!

Despite your rough-housing, you are also incredibly sweet and loving. You love to cuddle now, which I am obsessed with. You prefer to have your blankie and Zibby with you throughout the day. When you're tired enough, you grab both of them and look for us to snuggle with you. 

You give us kisses when we ask, and blow kisses as well. You still suck your left middle and ring finger. Your ring finger is always missing part of the nail due to your sucking it. I'm sure we'll have to address it at some point, but for now I still think it's cute. You've learned "gentle" and if you start to get too rough, we'll remind you to touch gently, which results in you stroking our face lightly. It's so cute. When you can't find something or are confused, you will hold your hands upside down in front of you, clearly signaling your confusion. 

Your favorite foods include: scrambled eggs, pancakes, jelly sandwiches, chicken nuggets, cheese, hot dogs, corn, broccoli, carrots, macaroni & cheese, pesto pasta, and essentially any kind of fruit. You love to snack on craisins, animal crackers, and gold fish. You usually take whatever snack you are given over to your toy kitchen and put in the frying pan. :)

I seriously can't handle how much I adore you. We often go to bed at night commenting to each other what a cute little boy we have. We pray for you daily, that you will grow into a wonderful, Godly young man, and trust the Lord with all your heart at the youngest possible age. We love you so, so, so much, my sweet boy.

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Love,

Mommy