Owen

 In exactly one week Owen will be FIVE years old. He is getting so big and he is truly a boy. There is no baby left in him and no toddler either....he is just a big, big boy. He is handsome, smart, lovable, sensitive, charming, funny and the list just goes on and on. I love this boy more than I ever thought I would be able to love a child. Me and him just have fun with each other. I miss him like crazy when he is gone and he literally melts my heart. I tried to find a few of my favorite pictures of him, or the two of us or him and Kris over the last few years. Enjoy!

In South Haven picking blueberries. He thought this was great!

 At the local balloon fest. He loved watching those balloons, we are going again in a few weeks and I can't wait to see his excitement again.

 Cuddling while away at a hotel. He is a good cuddler.

 Eating lucky charms....he loves picking out cereal at the grocery store.

 Owen as James from Thomas and Friends with Kris.

 Riding the tractor at a local Cider Mill.

 Hanging out on Lake Michigan.....camping at one of our favorite places to go, PJ Hoffmaster.

 I just love this little baby face of his!

 Hanging out on daddy's creeper. He looks up to Kris and wants to help him and learn as much from his daddy as he can.

 Camping at another favorite destination, Camp Barakel.

And the pictures could go on and on and on.......I have so many of him.

Owen- I just want you to know how much I love you, how proud of you I am, and that I am looking forward to watching you grow up, I would love for you to stay this age forever....but I'm okay with you getting older. I can't wait to see the man you will become. I can't wait to see the husband you will be and I can't wait to see you be a father to your own kids one day. You are the best big brother to Wyatt, the best! Even people we don't know comment to me about how good you are with him! You are so patient and kind towards him and I love that about you! Your daddy and I pray for you and your brother everyday and thank God for both of you....the best blessings by far that we have in our lives. I never thought I could love someone SO much. But I know now that it is entirely possible. You make me happy! And even though sometimes I get frustrated with you, please know that it is all because I am trying to make you the best you possible. Thank you for being you and all that you mean to me! I love you with all of my heart. Happy almost 5th birthday! Love, Momma

Wyatt's big boy bedroom......COMPLETED!

Here are the after pictures of Wyatt's bedroom as promised! Enjoy!

He sure does love his new beddie! He is sleeping really well for both nap time and bed time! He is such a good boy!

A big boy bed for our big boy!

After a little more than a month of Wyatt climbing out of his crib and busting through the gate in the hallway like it is nobody's business.....we finally broke down and decided it was time for a big boy bed for our brute of a boy. So today Kris headed to Costco and bought the mattress and I took the boys shopping to pick out the bedding and decor. We always seem to do things on impulse around here so our selection wasn't that great in regards to the bedding. But we found three good choices and this is what Wyatt decided to get. A stripped bedding set with a construction theme. 

We were invited over to a friends house to swim today so we rushed home and had a quick lunch and I loaded up the boys again and off we went while Kris was doing some "design on a dime" for Wyatt. This is how it looked when we got home. Kris did a great job. I still have a lot of finishing touches to add but for now it is great. I will post an after (after) picture hopefully within the week.

 Saying "cheese" in his big boy bed.

 And Owen was so excited for Wyatt.....so excited that he wanted to have story time in Wyatt's new bed tonight.

It is about 11:30pm now and we just got Wyatt to sleep within the last hour. He likes his new bed but I think he was a bit overwhelmed.

It was hard to do away with all of the Jungle theme stuff. After all that's all I've seen everyday for about five years now.....to take it all down brought tears to my eyes. Especially taking out the glider and some of the jungle theme stuffed animals that I touched everyday while making both Owen's and Wyatt's beds. I'm all sappy just thinking about it. My boys are big! Big enough to need big boy beds.....there is hardly any baby stuff left in my house. Kris was talking tonight about donating the car seat and stroller and the pac'n'play. I had to stop him while he was talking...i need more time to process the idea that we will only have TWO boys. They are two amazing little boys and I love them to pieces, but it is so hard to think that there won't be anymore "Jungle" in my house. Okay I have to end because I'm getting too emotional again.

Congrats to Wyatt on getting his own big boy beddie! Next step.....potty training!!!

We had an amazing four days in Silver Lake/Mears. We took our nephew, Nathan with us and the boys had a blast....so did Kris and I. It was just so beautiful and very relaxing. We did so much yet it didn't feel rushed or overwhelming at all. We will for sure go back to this beautiful town. After we got the camper set up we took the boys for a bike ride down to Silver Lake. Check out the sand dunes behind us. Super cool!

 Nathan and Wyatt sticking their heads through the Yogi Bear display. Owen didn't want anything to do with it.

 Owen and Nathan getting ready to make some s'mores!

 Movie night!!

 Hanging out by the campfire.

 Little Sable lighthouse. This was about a five minute drive from the campground. Owen was a bit hesitant to climb up the 135 stairs....let's face it they are a bit intimidating. And Wyatt, though tall enough was screaming and crying and WOULD NOT go near the steps. Kris stayed on the beach with him while I took Owen and Nathan up. Owen was a bit afraid at first and had to hold hands going up and coming down but Nathan was a champ and was practically running up and down the steps.

 Here is my view from the top of the lighthouse. Look at Kris and Wy on the beach....they are mearly a dot!

 Here they are again zoomed in as far as my camera would zoom.

 Walking up to the lighthouse and Wyatt pointing and saying "ighthowse"

 Owen looking out into Lake Michigan.

 Playing with chalk in front of Little Sable lighthouse. Owen drew a train. Weird!!

 Little Sable lighthouse......pretty cool!

 Nathan with Little Sable behind him. He found these little mini dunes next to the lighthouse and it was so fun to chase them around....up and down, back and forth.

 All the boys hanging out for a nice picture.  I'm not really sure what the boys are pointing at.....

 A beach view of Little Sable.

 Another one of all three boys on Lake Michigan being goofy.

 Wy looking at Lake Michigan.

 Beautiful!

 Me and Owen....thanks Nathan for taking this picture!

 Hey there Nathan! Thanks for smiling so nicely!

 Wyatt playing in the sand. He had sand EVERYWHERE!

 Wyatt playing on the sand dunes.

 They had so much fun at Little Sable lighthouse that we decided to go to Luddington to see the Big Sable lighthouse. Little did we know that it was a 1.8 mile walk each way from where we parked. And we didn't take a stroller for Wy or bikes for the boys. It was quite the adventure but we made it and survived!

 Wyatt trying to keep up with the older boys. He kept falling down. Poor boy...his knees were all scrapped up and bleeding.

 And yes he didn't walk the whole way or even half of it...Kris and I took turns carrying this lug the 3.6 mile trip.

 Finally we could see the Big Sable lighthouse....very cool!

 Kris stayed down with Wy again while I took O and Nathan up to the top. Love how timid Owen is looking through the railing. It was windy and a bit creepy up there, I'm not gonna lie about it!

 Nathan playing on the dunes again!

 We also headed into New Era and visited a dairy farm called Country Dairy. We took a tour of the plant/farm. We had to put hair nets on and shoe protectors because we were going in to the bottling room and we needed to sanitize our shoes.

 Me and Wy man.

 Nathan and Owen.

 Nathan and his new friend Katie.

 Both boys petting Katie. All the cows had names....it was cute!

 And Kris was super excited because he could take his truck off roading on the sand dunes. It was gorgeous out there!

 The boys thought it was pretty cool too!

 We decided to take a picnic dinner one night to the sand dunes and ate right on Lake Michigan. It was super cool! Definitely a memorable experience.

 And what would a trip be without a ride on the go karts? Kris took Nathan the first round.

 And Owen on the second run.

 Owen and I went putt-putting while Kris took Wy and Nathan to the arcade.

 Here Nathan is scoring some huge points!

It was such a beautiful time away. We can't wait to do it again!