Owen's Fifth Year

Today (17th - I started this post in draft form on the 16th) is Owen's 5th Birthday! He has had quite the year and grown into quite a boy! His year in pictures tell nearly the whole story! He's athletic and strong, a clown yet shy, and 100% devoted to his family and close friends.

Silly Owen Facts:

• Loves to collect + trade football cards with his big brother and the Schillingers
• Shows affection by tackling or climbing on those he loves
• Enjoys being silly and making others laugh
• Has unique facial expressions and choreographed dance moves
• Prefers to have his back scratched before bed each night
• Never wants to take a shower but could stay under the warm water for an hour

• Favorite Color: Green
• Favorite Lunch/Dinner: Hot Dogs
• Favorite Fruit: Pears, Nectarines, Cherries, Little Cutie Oranges (Can't keep any in the house for long! He gobbles them up!)
• Favorite Vegetable: Salad (I didn't know this one.)
• Favorite Breakfast: Breakfast Sandwiches (Eggs + Sausaage, with or without the bread)
• Favorited Drink: Chocolate Milk, then Rootbeer
• Favorite Dessert: Chocolate Cake + Chocolate Ice Cream

Here we go:

March 2010 - jumping on my bed in jammies, cowboy hats, bike gear, and sporting six-pack abs.

Tent Camping in the Bedroom

March 15, 2010

Owen LOVES to ride his bike - on the road and on trails. He's known to do stunts, such as pop wheelies and ride with his feet up on the frame.

Spring Soccer - Owen snuck on the team for his second season, a full year younger (minimum) than his teammates and competition, and our team's leading scorer.

Point Defiance Zoo Park - March 31, 2010

At the zoo, Owen rode a camel for the first time and all by himself! He recently took this picture to school for "share day" to tell all his friends all about it!

Owen made Kate this birthday crown for her 2nd birthday, April 7, 2010.

Soccer Stud

Owen mastered his name and the other 22 letters of the alphabet this year. He also can write his letters (fours upside down) up to at least 48 (that's how many squares on the back of a Yahtzee scorecard). Pic from May 6, 2010

Lake Padden - May 12, 2010

Above + Below -- in our garage on a rainy June 6, 2010

We camped at Moran State Park on Orcas Island June 29 - July 2, 2010

Then we moved over to Lopez Island and camped at Odlin Park July 2-5, 2010

July 18, 2010, Owen competed in his first mountain bike race. He took second place in the 10 and under division.

Owen also participated in All-Comers track over the summer - at 4 and a half - taking first place regularly in hurdles and short distance sprints!

July 23, days after Owen celebrated his half birthday, he became a big brother again.

Boating around Shaw Island August 4, 2010

August 23, 2010 we visited our friends the Sorensons in Yakima, and the boys ate and ate fresh veggies from the garden! They picked so much that we went home with more than of cooler's worth of fresh produce!

Owen was eager to introduce Eli to the game of football.

August 31, 2010

September 16, 2010

Owen loves to help and is constantly calming and entertaining Eli when E needs it!

Fall Soccer - Southside Super Dragons

October 3, 2010

This face shows one of Owen's signature expressions, which he makes especially to evoke a laugh from me!

Owen made a lot of puppets in the fall of 2010.

4 3/4 Years Old

October 16, 2010

October 31, 2010

We made great friends of the Schillingers and Parsons this fall!

November 5, 2010, Collin and Owen sat together working on their print and spelling.

November 24, 2010

Owen enjoyed his second Seahawks game November 28, 2010 against the Kansas City Chiefs (we lost but that didn't razzle the fans!).

December 3, 2010, Owen visited Santa and rode the Westlake Carousel, both annual holiday traditions.

Pic: December 11, 2010

"I am special because my mommy loves me, and I was born to my family." Quote: January 13, 2011

Owen's favorite drink is chocolate milk. His next favorite is rootbeer.

December 18, 2010, we went to our first Solstice Party!

Owen loved the holiday festivities and got very involved in decorating the gingerbread house and making Christmas cookies!

Christmas Eve was lots of fun! Owen got his annual Christmas eve jammies and posed with his favorite people for a holiday pic:

December 24, 2010

Owen's favorite movie is still Cars, but in close second is Toy Story. He also love Curious George, Cat in the Hat, Mickey Mouse, and Scooby Doo.

Owen is a trickster and loves to make people laugh! In this picture, he'd wrapped an empty box for Grandpa to open Christmas Day.

Collin is without a doubt Owen's BEST friend. Then Kate. Then the Schillinger boys.

Remember I said he was always going for the laugh? Here he is tricking out Eli. December 29, 2010

Owen enjoyed his first play at the 5th Avenue Theater December 30, 2010

The boys LOVE to wrestle and play tackle football - indoors and out. December 31, 2010

January 4, 2011

January 8, 2011

January 9, 2011

Corduroy visited, and Owen loved the experience!

January 15, 2011

Last day as a 4 year old - January 16, 2011

January 13, 2011 Quotes:

Things I am good at: playing Wii, running fast, making airplanes, riding my bike fast, playing football, soccer and basketball, being a brother

I was born in the state of: New York? Kansas City? Can you just tell me? (Bellingham, Washington)

Favorite things that did when I was 4: when we went to Uncle Brian's for New Year's, when we went to the Seahawk Game and saw Uncle Jared, any time we played with the Schillingers, when we rode a camel at the zoo, when we camped on Shaw Island

When I grow up I want to be a football player.

Owen's Turning 5

If anyone had told me five years ago that I'd wish I had a football cake mold EVERY year for five years running, I'd have laughed. But football, soccer balls, basketballs, golf balls ... these balls just go hand-in-hand with our sports-enthusiast: Owie.
Owen is a true goofball! He loves to laugh and to do things to make others laugh!
But, strangely, he's also quiet and shy - the most shy of my four kids (at least at this stage). He is most comfortable in small groups of close friends.

Which he confirmed yet again when this year, when we asked Owen what kind of party he wanted to celebrate the Big 5, he voted for an intimate gathering with the Schillingers ... doing the same thing we've done almost every Sunday this past fall: watching football and hanging out! We kept the guest list limited but amped it up a tad and split it over two days to make it a bit more "birthday special": a round of bowling this afternoon and a breakfast brunch watching the Seahawks in the Playoffs tomorrow morning. *It was originally going to be his first slumber party, but everyone's been too sick - us and them.

We had a great day, and I am pumped for tomorrow's football festivities! Happy Birthday, O, and Go Seahawks!!!

**Those who know me know that this cake is a big feat for me! Don't worry - I tried to make it hard and do a round cake and a square cake and cut and carve and puzzle them together. But then my friend Jen brought me back to my own kitchen (in other words, she reminded me that I am not Martha - in a very nice way), and I realized that it was really an easy project that did not NEED to be hard! Duh - carve out a football shape from a rectangle. Ha! I think it turned out great! Owen thought it was "AWESOME!!!" (And he and Kate helped by eating plenty of the frosting and licking the utensils along the way!)

Dinosaurs Before Dark

Collin just finished his first Chapter Book!! It was the first in the Magic Tree House series: "Dinosaurs Before Dark" by Mary Pope Osborne. He loved it and told me all about it after he finished each chapter! He was shocked by "how easy a chapter book really is" and by how much fun it can be to read a longer story. As soon as he finished the book, he picked up book number two and got started. We have a reader!!!

Sick Day at Home

Is it bad that I am psyched that my kids like Scooby Doo because I do too? Is it unfair that I won't let my kids watch Dora, Diego, Barney, Wiggles, etc., because they are annoying to me? Is it ok that my kids - even my six year old - are still totally into Mickey, Donald, Pooh, Tigger, Curious George, Cat in the Hat, Dinosaur Train, and Clifford the Big Red Dog in great part because I think they are cute and funny?

Normally I don't worry about those questions. I just take for granted that my kids roll with my silly grounds for what we watch when and why. ; ) But today, we're going to be watching a lot I think, and it occurred to me that we could expand our viewing selection. But probably we won't. Afterall, I have a two year old in that mix too, and she can't watch Spongebob, for example. Hmmm ... I'm just trying to make it through a sick day without poor influence on them and without going crazy myself.

Yep, I'm home with my four (sick) kids. Only Owen is in top-notch health, and I am so grateful because he's vowed to be my Super Helper today (and so far, so good!!). *Who am I kidding, it's only a matter of time before his fever sets in and ruins his birthday ... **The sick pessimism is setting in.

So I'm going to turn it around and enjoy this opportunity to be home with my kids! I have many goals for the day:

• catch up on laundry
• finish my "Owen @ 5" blog post
• change everyone's bed sheets
• read with Owen
• paint with Kate
• send birthday cards to our many January birthday folk
• participate in 3 meetings by phone
• rearrange my kitchen cabinets so that our Magic Bullet and its many parts find a real home
• call my mother - today is her birthday
• pay my business taxes

Dang! I better stop. The list is exhausting me! I'll be back later - hopefully to strike some of that off the list!

*Good news! Since it's already done, I'm adding "do a science experiment with Owen and Kate" to the list! They made their own pancakes this morning and used our primary color food coloring to make green and purple pancakes!

There's Kate ... "Mom!!" Love that little lady! Off to dance with her. (add that to the list) (add wash syrup out of Kate's hair to the list too)

Another Toilet Bowl Update

It continues to spread. Now my friend Rebecca has it. I hope we didn't give it to her. We didn't see them until several days later ... but at any rate, she's down and out. Wonder how quickly her kids and hubby will follow her lead. Not cool at all.

If you've had this bug, you know it is awful. You know why I empathize.

Better days ahead, Rebecca. I promise.

Corduroy's Visit with Owen

Corduroy came home with Owen Monday night to stay for a few days and live a little bit of "Tepker Life." Owen was thrilled! First on the agenda: the BCS Bowl at the Schillingers! Talk about jumping into crazy! Put these 7 kids together, and you'll have a LOT of fun, a lot of laughs, and a crazy good time! Welcome to the mix, Corduroy!
That night it started snowing! Owen bundled up and showed Corduroy the snowflakes before we headed home. Owen was so excited to have Corduroy visiting:
Then it was time for bed. Owen and Kate had a "sleepover" on the floor with Corduroy:
Owen really enjoyed Corduroy's visit! He said "It was so fun! I would help him find his lost button! He is so snuggly!" We have loved reading Corduroy's books, so his visit was a treat!
Owen and I wrote out the details of Owen and Corduroy's adventures the last two days in Owen's class journal. We then pasted in the pictures you see on this blog. Owen also drew a picture of the two of them in the journal.
Owen shares his additions to the class journal today at school! He is so excited! And tonight, Corduroy will head home with another friend to experience another adventure!

Plagued with Icks

Eli, when he's upset - as he is now, fitful in his crib with a fever, - says "da-ya-ya." Cute!

But my poor little babes! Kate and E are both ill with fevers - a mere week after the finale of the Toilet Bowl. I hope we're getting all of our colds for the year out of the way this January so the rest of the year is one of great health!

Looking forward to healthier days.

Kids' Loveys

Project Blog -- Does your kiddo have a lovey or something special that they keep close? If they don’t now, did they as a baby?

Collin: was a pacifier baby! He loved that little thing, and I, of course, was convinced that I was a bad mom for allowing him to have it, that he would talk less because it would hinder his desire to open his mouth and let sound out, that others would judge me, and that his teeth would be forever destroyed, necessitating years of expensive orthodontia. Needless to say, at 18 months, we tried to wean him from the Binkie. He cried and cried and hung on the drawer that held the darn things - or it did until he started hanging on it. Ultimately, we gave up and gave in. He loved the Binkie until he was exactly two years old. On that date, we took it away, and he hardly even noticed. By then he was in love with Old Blue, the blanket my sister made him for his first birthday. It still sleeps with him every night; we aren't allowed to touch it, lay on, or otherwise disrespect it. It has been well-loved and suffered many holes and much repair stitches. (Still hasn't reached the status of my childhood blanket yet; I wore that thing down until it had three holes ... one for my head and one for each arm ... I wore it around like a poncho!)

Owen: loved a wooden ladybug rattle, which he drug around the floor as he crawled from room to room until it cracked open from too much wear! The second one ultimately also cracked. The third is in his keepsake box. Then he loved a red Ferrarri "matchbox" car from the movie CARS. We had three of them because they kept getting misplaced or lost in his bedsheets. Then he loved a little lime-sized football. We had eight of those. Owen always was carrying around something he loved in his hand! He never took to a pacifier or a blanket, although he does have an Old Green that still sleeps on his bed each night.

Kate: has many special loves! First, she loved a stuffed bunny. Then she added love for her "polka dot gankie" (she now says blankie, but it'll always be "gankie" to me). Around that same time (one?), she fell for a stuffed giraffe that she called "rabbit." Now she's added her unicorn Pillow Pet and a fuzzy green fleece blanket "that my grandma made to me." (Actually, the blanket was for ME to use in the middle of the night if I got cold nursing Kate. It matches the diaper bag and curtains in the nursery.) Kate still sleeps with each of the listed loves and OFTEN adds others to her bed (to the point that I can rarely find her or her mattress under the mound of animals and blankies)! She never took to a pacifier really either.

Eli: so far loves having a soft 1'x1' blankie ("lovey") covering his face or rubbing against his cheek as he falls asleep, sucking a pacifier. This is exactly how Collin used to fall asleep, except Collin also would rub the top of his head in a back-stroke motion with the top-side of his hand as he drifted off. Unlike Collin, E doesn't seem at all interested in the pacifier outside of the five minutes it takes him to put himself to bed. He's much more content sucking his fingers or toys or his own tongue during the day! (I used to - who am I kidding - still suck my tongue when I'm tired! If you see me doing it, it's a sure sign that I need to pack it in and hit the hay!)

Boundaries, Pressure, Resolution Time

It's a New Year! 2011. Seems like just yesterday Jacqui and I were standing at the bottom of the Space Needle, freezing our tushes off, and ringing in the millennium! That was eleven years ago ... and for me, another lifetime ago! Pre-marriage, pre-career, pre-kids ... basically pre-grown-up.

Back then I could make a Resolution and meet it pretty easily. My list of responsibilities was super short compared to my list now!

So here's how I now - as a grown up (sounds funny!) - make New Year's Resolutions: I choose a goal that has very little real means of measurement so that it is very difficult to determine on any regular basis whether my action meets my resolve. I like it! No stress, no pressure; and I have just enough pride and motivation that it'll keep me accountable but not drive me crazy. Follow? Ha! (I'm in a nutty mood right now, can you tell?!)

I resolve to post on this site more frequently and diligently than I did last year.

There you have it! When I resolved November 2010 (one month) to post daily, I ended up loving it! I didn't quite make it daily, but I was close, and it was fantastic! I wanted to keep it up. Then December hit. Busy time to be blogging, as you know. Then the Toilet Bowl hit. But we're all better now, the holidays are over, and the decorations are all packed up.

So here we are: resolving. To post and chat. And when my mommy brain freezes, and I just don't know WHAT to chat about, I'll pull out a "Blog Topic" from Being5's Project Blog.

Like that? Notice that I didn't resolve to be a regular Project Blogger (too much pressure and stress) BUT I did resolve to participate when it works for me? Nice.

I seriously have a book at home entitled something like "How to Say No." It's all about boundary setting. Right now, I'm setting a boundary for myself because I know that if I say I'll post every week (seriously how stressful is that?), the pressure will mount and by May I'll be ready to cry. Not cool.

I have a tendency to over-commit and over-schedule. I'm working on it. Really. In 2009 my calendar literally had weekends labeled: "Stay home; No Guests." You see, I'm the opposite of a commitment-phobe. But the truth is that keeping those commitments is SO unfair and unfun for my whole family. So I have toned it down. I'd say a lot. Kevin might say still not enough. Depends on the month. Constant balancing act. But he's a good sport. He loads up the car, gets in the driver's seat, and says something like: " Ok, so where to? For how long? And after that? And are we doing anything else while we're there? Are we supposed to be doing anything else? Are you wanting to squeeze something else in? Spill it, Jen, I know there's 'something else.'" And there usually is. Like, for example, I may want to sneak in a stop at Ikea between my mom's in Puyallup and a birthday party in Kent. We might have 15 minutes "to spare;" just walking through Ikea takes 45 minutes. Totally doable. Right?! Wrong. Or I might want to squeeze in coffee with a girlfriend in West Seattle - at 6 a.m. so it doesn't mess up the rest of our day, and so I still get to see her. Huh? What's going through my mind when I think of things like that?? What about sleep?

It's about a half hour time gap that gets me every time. That "spare time" time does not really exist!?! But God forgot to tell my brain. So I over-commit.

And now I have digressed. Back to making commitments - that are keep-able.

I will post more frequently this year.

I have a commitment at the courthouse in 5 minutes. I gotta scram if I'm going to keep it. Probably shouldn't have tried to do this now, on my lunch break as I gulp down a smoothie and grab my files. But I think I squeezed it in ...

Toilet Bowl Update

New Year's Party Exposure 12/31

18 Sick: Teppies x 6, Brian, Christi, Brannon, Kim, Jordan, Darsha, Megan, Gabby, Janae, Marley AND new to the list: Nella and Jim (who wasn't at the party but did give me a hug when I got to the party property 12/31 and then the next evening watched Gabby and Nella while Megan was ill)

5 Good Health: Piper, Jared, Tracey, Chrissy, Taylor

Jacobs Christmas Exposure 12/30

4 Sick: (in addition to Teppies) Corums x 3 AND new to the list: Lani/Grandma

1 Good Health: Dad/Grandpa

We also saw GGG 12/30, and when she and I spoke 1/1, she was in good health. I haven't heard differently ... yet. (please, no!)

Of the 23 People We Saw 12/30 and 12/31, 16 came down with the Toilet Bowl Bug ... so far ... that I have confirmed.

New Year's Bowl

I wish I were speaking of a bowling tournament involving a little round, heavy ball. Or even the many College Bowl games we watched over the weekend. Alas, we Tepkers brought in the New Year over the Toilet Bowl. Literally. I heard the countdown as the party-goers laughed and drank a floor below, heard the excitement as fireworks blasted in the sky, and I dashed to the Toilet Bowl. Kate woke up and joined me 10 minutes later. Owen was just behind her. By 4 a.m., Collin was in on it too. About 5 p.m. the next day (thankfully just as I was starting to come out of my "haze"), Kevin joined the sick-crew.

Imagine fevers, chills, diarrhea, vomiting, excessive thirst, extreme drowsiness (helpful that the sick kids were so tired! they slept nearly the entire illness!), tight chests, hoarse cough (for some), and a grumbly, nasty tummy. Imagine feeling like you'd been stripped of everything. Weak, weak, weak. And dizzy. And unable to keep anything - including water - down. But you want the water anyway. And then you want to sleep. Forever.

Eli had already been sick all day the 31st. Unfortunately for everyone, I didn't realize that he was as sick as he was because he was a total trooper, had only a super mild fever that the thermometer didn't seem to read and only I believed he had, and he'd only thrown up once - on the 30th (and you know how sometimes after nursing, they suddenly just spit/vomit it all back up on a bad cough or something?). Anyway, when his diarrhea hit on the 31st, we were already at Brian and Christi's. I looked at Christi and mentioned that I might keep him away from Piper and her toys - just to be safe. I debated keeping him away from everyone, but the thermometer said he was otherwise ok. After a few hours of no other symptoms and no more bad diapers, I decided his tummy had just been upset (obviously), and he was just "under the weather." His glassy eyes and red face told me he was sick, but it didn't seem like reason to leave; I held him close and got ready to enjoy the party. But I had no idea what we were all in for, and I wish I could turn back the clock for at least the other party-goers (my clan was destined for illness). By the end of the 1st, too many had joined the Toilet Bowl.

At last update, Captain Sick had chosen many more players than Captain Good Health:

16 Sick: Teppies x 6, Brian, Christi, Brannon, Kim, Jordan, Darsha, Megan, Gabby, Janae, Marley

6 Good Health: Piper, Nella, Jared, Tracey, Chrissy, Taylor

We're all in recovery, but who knows if it will last. Collin went for a second round yesterday, after 30 hours "puke-free." I battled hard last night against a rematch (I mostly won). Eli continues to have intermittent diarrhea. I saw a post on FB that suggests Round 2 may be making callbacks of others as well.

All I know right now -- this was a New Year's turnover to remember! (And it really was a nice party, too! I missed the majority of it, but the laughter was booming up the stairs ~ truly a fantastic sign of good times!! Thanks, Brian and Christi!)

*I should point out that we saw my brother and sister-in-law (Zac and Carolyn) and Baby Greta on the 30th, and they ended up bringing in the New Year super sick too. Somehow my parents and my grandmother (GGG), who we also saw on the 30th, escaped the bug. Lucky!

**I also want to note that this bug is everywhere! FB is littered with posts of whole families "down for the count" this New Year's Weekend! Yikes! Beware!