four years, four months and more

Let's see if I can cover everything with one post.

First of all, Owen turns four today.  I was thinking about him on my way to work this morning and it's amazing how I can see both Brigette and I in him.  He got the best of us because he is smart, funny, kind and compassionate.  And we aren't the only ones who think so...his teachers have told us this on several occasions.  I'm not usually one to brag, but he is a wonderful big brother and loves Oliver as much as we do. 

He never gripes when we tell him we can't do something for him because we are feeding Oliver, or changing him, or putting him to sleep.  He rolls with the flow, and that is all we ask of him.  That, and for him to bring us a pacifier, a bib and burp cloth, the phone or the remote when we sit down forgetting one of the above.  He brings us laughter each day and I can't hardly remember a time when he wasn't here.  I also can't remember much of when he was a baby, but we are re-living much of it now that Oliver is here.

Speaking of Oliver, he is now four months old.  Well, he was a a few weeks back.  He is a shrimp, especially compared to Owen.  He weighs 13.8 lbs (25th percentile) and is 25 inches long (50th percentile).  Dr. P says he's a very healthy shrimp though.  He is the opposite of Owen in every way.  He's anything but predictable...we never know if he's going to nap well or not and he's still spitting up.  He usually does well at night and goes right to sleep.  He's a wiggler and normally gets himself wedged in the corner of the crib and cries out for help even though he's completely asleep. 

He's "talking" more and more each week, and smiles all the time.  He's not heavy enough to start solids, but maybe next month.  We never had that problem with Owen.  He started eating solids before he was four months old.

I'm not going to apologize for not blogging more...life happens and this is usually the last thing on my mind.  However, I do need to take more pictures b/c that is important to me.  A few other things that have happened since I last blogged are below:

1.  Our SUV's transmission went out and we now have a Honda minivan.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I love everything about it...mostly that it drives like our accord and it's so easy to get the kids (and their stuff) in and out.  Owen's favorite part are the magic doors and my favorite part is the Bluetooth.

2.  Our water heater, which was located in Owen's closet,  was leaking so now we have a new tankless one outside (yay!) and a propane tank too (boo!).  We don't have gas in our n'hood so this was our only option.  I didn't have all the details, or maybe I didn't ask the right questions, but it's done now.

3.  Owen still likes soccer, especially when he makes a goal.  Note:  They are 3-4 so they aren't actually playing soccer or scoring goals!

4.  We took Owen to the circus this week and he was completely fine with all the fire, fireworks, smoke and explosions.  He is getting past some of his fears and I am so thankful for that.  Some of the acts were good, but we all agreed there was too much filler.  One time when the clowns were out, Owen asked me if it was supposed to be funny.  You know it's lacking when your almost four year old is bored.

I think that's it for now.  Owen had birthday cupcakes in his class yesterday (courtesy of mommy) and his party is on Sunday.  I will take lots of pictures and will try and get them up ASAP.