Our sweet boys are keeping us as busy as ever, and finding the time to write about how funny they can be is proving itself a challenge. But, I promise to continue to sit at this computer as much as I can...I never want to forget their hilarious conversations. Of course there have been thousands over the past two months...and I can only remember a handfull of them. I wish I had a way to record them all day long. I honestly think it would be a pretty funny reality tv show...perhaps there's an idea there!
Ski season
January, February and March were filled with weekends in the mountains. We tried to play in the snow as much as we could, and spent most of our time in Steamboat skiing Howelsen Hill. Spring skiing is our favorite time to hit the slopes, and the boys are at an age to join us now. Much like watching Owen learn to ride a bike, watching him figure out how to turn, stop and speed down the mountain was a moment Kipper and I will never forget. After about four weeks, he was skiing on his own, riding the chair lift and riding down with us like our little ski buddy, trying to go over jumps and through tree trails. I'm so proud of him! Bodhi did so great for his age too! He wears the harness and we ride behind him to allow him to feel like he's skiing, but we control his speed. He is so adorable in all of his ski gear, he looks like a little snowman, and he had so much fun. He typically likes to take two runs, then go have "hot cwocklet wif marshmewwows" in the lodge, then take another two runs. Sounds perfect to me!
Ryland, Owen & Bodhi
We also got to see GranDude for Owen's acutal birthday and weekend in Steamboat. He made an impromptu roadtrip, and it worked out great. The boys loved getting to show off their Legos, wrestle and ski with their Grandpa!
(Owen, GranDude, Uncle Erock, Bodhi & Kipper in Steamboat 2012)
OWEN IS FIVE YEARS OLD!!!!
I still can't believe I have a five-year-old boy. I still think back to Owen's birthday, and how sure we were that he was going to be a girl. We were 100% positive that he would not be a boy...and we were very wrong, and so overjoyed with every single square inch of him. I will never forget that feeling I had when I first saw his adorable little face, crooked pinky toe and dimple in his right cheek. And, now five years later, I can think back to March 8, 2007 at 2:38 pm and it's like it was yesterday.
This year, he wanted to have a pirate party (well, actually he wanted to have a "knight" party with swords...but party supplies with that theme are limited, so I asked him to pick the next best thing). It was adorable. He dressed up, and we had a treasure hunt and pirate ship pinata at the YMCA. Aunt Erica made him a fabulous pirate cake (it was GOOD!), and we were lucky enough to have Aunt Stephanie, Gunnison and Ryland come to town. It was an awesome birthday week, and he got lots of Legos! He couldn't have been happier!
Tonsils & Aednoids
So...after listening to Owen snore like a bear for the last five years, and several conversations with our doctor, we decided to have Owen's tonsils and aednoids out. His airway was blocked by 70% because his tonsils were so big. He had the surgery in March. It was a quick procedure, but recovery was tough. The doctor told us he'd have a solid ten-day recovery because of the size and position of his tonsils, and she was right!
We had some tough days and nights - which included pain management for ten days, ear aches, night terrors, stress over him refusing to eat/drink, etc but he's back and sleeping peacefully! We were lucky enough to have Mimi in town to help us through it, thank goodness for Mimi's! It's so hard to see your kids feeling pain, and I'm so grateful to see his smile everyday.
(Owen right after surgery)
Night terrors
So, Owen had a couple of nights of night terrors after his surgery, and we have recently learned that they can be a side effect of anesthesia. This perhaps explans why Bodhi had them too (after his hydrocele surgery). Bodhi has spent a good portion of 2012 waking up with night terrors. If you have experienced night terrors, you probably just felt a wave of anxiety come over you...I totally understand! I know I was more than relieved when he began phasing out of these about three weeks ago. Night terrors are when your two or three year old (typical age) wakes up in the middle of the night...sort of. They appear to be awake, because they argue with you, yell at you and sometimes hit and kick you...but all the while, they are not really awake. It's sort of like sleep-walking. In B's case, he would wake up and say something like, "no I don't want to eat my peas!" At first Kipper and I would spend the next hour trying to console him by trying to get him to actually wake up so he could see that we were in fact not trying to get him to eat peas. After about a week, we realized that if we just agreed with him, he calmed down much faster and went back to sleep. So, if he said, "I don't want the Batman cup, I want the Spiderman cup," then we would say, "ok, here it is...you can have anything you want." And, then we would all go back to sleep. Thank goodness, these night terrors have passed...as all of our friends told us they would, and we are finally getting some sleep around here.
Community Garden
We joined a community garden this year about two miles down the road from us, and we are so excited. We've been working hard, growing seedlings to plant, and will be spending a lot of time in the summer there watering and playing. It's a wonderful concept with community garden plots, a playground for the kids (our plot is right by the playground, yeah!), and fun community events. I'm so excited to have a full garden with fresh veggies all summer long! We chose to share our 15x15 plot with our friends the Cadwells - Emily, Todd, Makenna and Addison are our wonderful garden family, and we are really looking forward to watching our food grow together!
Easter was pretty low-key for us this year. The Easter bunny visited our home, left a trail of dirt in our house, and hid the boys Easter baskets in the bathroom cabinet! We are so fortunate to have such great neighbors to spend this fun holiday with this year. We walked over to the Lindholm's house, and they welcomed us into their family's Easter brunch. We were so grateful to be with great friends, and enjoyed some amazing weather! Thank you to Eric, Kat, Ella & Avery! It's so nice to have such genuine, great friends around when you don't live near your biological family!
I have to add a section in this post for my amazing husband. Seriously, Kipper is such a wonderful Dad. When he walks in the door after a long day at work, he ALWAYS goes straight to playing with Owen and Bodhi. He is instantly in character as the "bad guy," or "Captain America," or whatever the boys want him to be, and he doesn't miss a beat. He never complains, he always brings me coffee in the morning, and he is the most supportive, encouraging, breath of fresh air in our lives. There is a reason the boys ask me over and over everyday "How long before daddy comes home?" They feel so loved by him (as do I), and it's because he is so selfless and humble, and makes them feel so validated with his attention. There are times when they want their mama, but there is no substitution for their daddy! It's inspiring to watch him with his kids, and I'm so grateful to be on his team. I love you honey!
Paint
We got our house painted, and here is the before...
And, here's the after...
It was a stressful week, but we're happy to have some color in our lives! We are loving it!
Bodhi loves candy, ice cream and waffles. That is what he would eat for every meal if I would let him. It totally fits his feisty little adorable personality. Every night when we start talking about dinner, he says, "I want kittles," or "I want waffle!"
(Bodhi...I mean Batman)
People often tell me that his name fits him so well. Even strangers we meet at the park, etc...they watch him play, and then ask him his age and name...and they so often say, "he looks/acts just like a Bodhi," and it's so true. His name fits his little dare-devil personality. He ALWAYS tries what he sees Owen doing, and most of the time keeps up just fine. He bangs his head on countertops and falls off his bike...so often without any crying at all. People just look at me like I'm crazy for not freaking out...but I'm so accustomed to it, and I just shrug my shoulders and say, "he's ok," because he usually is! Maybe it's the second kid thing...maybe he's just tougher than Owen was at that age...but he definitely didn't get my low tolerence for pain! That we know for sure!
"You hep me." (you help me)
"Is it time for bid?" (bed)
"Home Steamboat" (Home Depot)
"Our cowl is dewty" (our car is dirty...he tells me this all of the time because it's always true!)
"Piderman" (Spiderman)
"Pit" (spit...he says this at night when he's brushing his teeth, and needs the "tool" aka "stool" so he can reach the sink to "pit.")
"Cout" (Scout our dog)
"Keying" (skiing)
"Ice Keem" (ice cream)
"Pot-mo" (popcorn)
"Toclet" (chocolate)
"to to bid" (bed)
"I wuv you ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoooo bunches!" (I love you whole bunches)
* We recently went to a theatre show for kids about pirates, and when it was over, I asked Bodhi which part was his favorite...he said, "the candy." (there was no candy...but he loves candy so much, he just can't help himself)
* He pronounces the "f" sound with the "s" sound...for example when he says, "come wook at my dinosaw sorest," he means "come look at my dinosaur forest."
"Soot" is foot
"I picked you a sour," is "I picked you a flower.
He is cute stuff...that is all I can say.
Owen
Owen is really growing up, and he's such a great big brother to Bodhi. He's getting more and more patient with him, and he's really starting to learn how to help teach Bodhi things. O's preschool teacher told Kipper and I at the last parent/teacher conference that you know when your kids are learning things when they begin to teach other kids around them. That is what Owen is doing with letters, house rules, bedtime routine, etc...he is Bodhi's little mentor and it's adorable to watch them together.
Owen is doing so well in school, and really loves learning. He's so close to reading, and can sound out small words. He's definitely going to love kindergarten!
Owen's funny stuff
(Owen at Tucker Lake 2012)
"Tip-o-chlay" is Chipotle (we eat there on Tuesday nights after his swim lessons)
* He often tries to say "of course" after certain phrases, but instead pronounces it "acourse" all in one word, such as..."I'm going to play with my Legos after I eat this sandwich acourse," or "I really love you acourse," or "I ride my bike really fast acourse."
* The other day Owen told me, "When I was little, the Muppets movie was my favorite show." (like six months ago...)
* "Chinguards" for shinguards (He's in soccer camp, and he's doing great! He is totally the kid who listens, watches the coach, and does exactly as he's told. Bodhi on the other hand is running around in circles pretending he's Batman! Ha!)
* We recently made a list of rules for our backyard because we are sharing yards with our neighbors, and we want the kids to be respectful of their friends' toys, etc. I told Owen he was breaking a rule by not having his shoes on, and reminded him that there are a list of rules posted by the back door. He threw his hands up and shook his head, and said, "Mom, I can't read!" (whoops!...I guess he's right!)
* Kipper and I were asking Owen about school over dinner, and he began to tell us about the new Centers at his preschool. He said, "There is a school, a libary, a post office, a repair shop and a hair salarm." Cracks me up when he says words like this...totally mispronounced, but with full confidence on his face as though he's saying, "that's right...I said it."
* Our fence blew down between our yard and our neighbor's yard, and our neighbor's have been sharing their swing set with us. (It's been so nice actually, and we are putting in a gate between yards...yeah for great neighbors...again!) Anyway, Owen was over there playing, and our neighbor said, "Hey Owen, are you going to play on the swing set?" And Owen said, "Um...it's called a play structure!"
(yep, he's rolling his eyes at me!)
* Owen loves his Daddy, and lately has been talking about being just like him when he grows up. Today at lunch he saw some banana peppers on our plate, and said, "When I turn 33, I am going to eat peppers just like my dad." 
The future Mr & Mrs Stiever
Recently we had our sweet friends, the Hermsen's over to celebrate Erica's birthday, and Bodhi and Hattie fell asleep together. Cutest thing...we had to get a pic!
(Bodhi's soccer camp)
Scout turned 13 years old this month, and I can't believe it! He is the sweetest, most lovable dog, and he and Macy are very much a part of our family. He is getting slower, can't hear anything, and the stairs are getting tougher for him...but for the most part he's doing so well. We love him so much. Happy Birthday Stinky!
