Wesley Michael Owens

Wesley at 6 months
Wesley at 2 1/2 years old with what looks like cornstarch (see story below)
smeared in the background
Hmmmm, maybe it's time to clean off the scanner.

How do I describe my Wesley? So sweet, so cute, so seriously funny. So stubborn, so willful, so difficult. Bless his little heart. Somedays he's lucky he's so cute. He'd get in a lot more trouble if his sweet eyes weren't so good at melting my heart. Then, there's his hair. I got away with not cutting it at all for the first 15 months of his life. But you can't have a grandpa who's a barber (Grandpa Joe, Tim's Dad) and have long hair, even if it is adorable and curly. So, I got used to getting it cut. After the original haircut, I thought the curls wouldn't grow back. But alas, his hair is still completely curly but only in the back. It gets so puffy somedays that it doesn't matter if I comb it or not. It just starts taking on a life of its own. I'm always getting comments like, "Wow. What a head of hair on that little guy!" (Can you relate, Leslie and Cath? FYI-my absolutely adorable nephews Van and Tate both have the tons-o-hair thing going on, too!!)

Anyway, this photo was taken last Monday when all the kids were home from school for MLK's b-day. I was feeling like I was getting so much done. I got on the treadmill for my jog. Lindsay made waffles for everyone. #2 and #3 (Miles and Samuel) were keeping busy. I should have known things didn't bode well for me. I come downstairs to find my Wesley like this. At first I didn't even know what it was. Then, I discovered my now-almost-empty box of cornstarch. I was so proud of myself (Did I mention that my New Year's Resolution is to learn how to control my anger?). I just forced out a laugh and ran for the camera.

Yesterday I had my pile of mending out and was sitting at the sewing machine. He wanted to help but was supposed to be sitting at the table finishing he dessert. So I said, "Finish up, and then, you can come help me." He ran back and finished and then came bounding down. "Can I help now?" "Honey, your hands are all sticky. Go wash your hands and then you can help." "But I can't!" "What? Why can't you?" He pauses, and you can literally see the wheels turning. "Because...I'm a little bit big. But, I'm a little bit little." So adorable. He's right, too.

And....how can I post without a picture of my dolly? Here's a picture of her in the sweet outfit her Aunt Leslie sent her. You can sort of see what I mean about Wesley's hair from this picture.

Our Bathing Beauty

This is funny that I'd actually post about bathing Julia. I think she's had all of three baths in her 8 weeks of life. Poor 5th child. Bath time pictures are so adorable. I just had to post a few.

Being properly modest...:) Actually, the only way to keep her calm and secure is to keep a warm cloth on her little belly.

The gang's all here.

Fun in the Snow

Okay, so one of the reasons we liked Colorado was that it has all four seasons, but (at least down here in what they call the Front Range) the four seasons aren't all that extreme. People kept saying. "Yes, it snows, but then it melts off the next day." Or things like, "We hardly ever get a white Christmas, and if we do, it's melted off right after." Not that we mind the snow. I mean, this is a half Buffalo, NY family. (Samuel is constantly running outside in freezing temperatures without his coat yelling to me, "Mom, I don't need a coat. Remember? I'm a Buffalo boy like Daddy!" He was, after all, born in Buffalo like his Daddy.) So, last year, when we got pummelled with a foot or two of snow every Friday for about 4 weeks in a row, we were all delighted. I think it was during Uncle Dan's visit around Christmas that we came up with the idea of pulling the kids behind Tim's junker car in tubes on the snow-packed roads around our neighborhood. Now, before you go looking up the number to Child Protective Services, we go slowly. And only once has Tim taken a corner so fast that it whiplashed Miles all the way around the car by the front wheel...:):) Let's just say it's moderately safe, wholesome family recreation.


Here are some pictures from this year's excursion. Now that I think about it. I'm pretty sure I posted some from last year's trip, but I'll save you the bother of scrolling down through a year's worth of posts (which for me is really only about 10...) and put them here.

Lindsay and Wesley

Samuel and Miles