8 is GREAT! ... unless you're a mom and then sometimes it really s**ks to see your baby grow up...

  I have a lot to post. 

A lot to remember. 

Best to undertake it one small bit at a time. 

Milestones make me sick to my stomach. Which is probably why I am terrible about blogging them: Birthdays, Christmas, holidays, big time events most likely only to happen once in a lifetime... you will be hard pressed to find many of those documented on my blog. The sheer stress and importance of "these will never come again" makes me want for words and more importantly struggle against feelings of inadequacy and regret. Not to mention the fact that I hate, HATE, the fact that, without my permission, my children continue to grow older and farther away from this stage of life with every passing day. 

No such milestone of this magnitude has happened in our lives as parents before. And, as it always goes, looking back you find you would have done a million things differently... but that ship has sailed and the ship of regret has docked in harbor. (I wax poetic don't I? I've been sick so I've been reading a lot. My manner of speaking has adjusted for the time being. apologies.)

I'm talking, of course, of Kameryn's baptism and confirmation as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Now, make no mistake, her baptism I do not regret, not in the least. However, I strongly regret the amount of thought and importance I put into things which, looking back, offer no amount of importance.

One such casualty of my skewed logic rests in the fact that I have no pictures of Kameryn in her baptism dress on her baptism day. Nor any pictures of me with her from that day. A wound I am most likely never to forget. 

So, let this be a lesson to me, never to place the trivial fluff of an event above the weightier meat of it.

However, one of the happy happenstances of my veritable event planning OCD is that I have a whole "photo shoot" of photos of Kameryn in her baptism dress taken prior to the day.

Of that I am blissfully grateful. 

And this post is, at it's heart, an excuse and opportunity to assault you with pictures of the little girl I love more than anything in the entire world.

 

This picture was one of our favorites (hence the fact it's bigger than the rest) It accompanied the grandparents invites and a few others and was blown up to a larger size for me to keep. Grandma "Big House" (my mom) specifically requested this picture because it is one of the few we have that captures the true essence of joy that Kameryn is. Most of her other pictures, as you will soon see, offer her more "demure" belief of good picture taking etiquette.

  

  

 

 

She (Kameryn) was most partial to this picture with the coy smile and pearl necklace. Along with several other where she had tilted her head and placed her hands "just so" and looked very much like a girl prepared to get her portrait painted. She is ever much a lady at heart I believe.

 

 

This is one of my favorites simply because of the joy I take just from staring at her perfect little face. 

My beautiful little girl.

This picture is the one that accompanied her invites and it makes me happy every time I see it. Brandon thought it was cheesy. So, if you agree with him, keep it to yourself. It makes me smile.

I have also attached her testimony which she wrote to be accompanied with her invites and we will end this post with that. 

It is by far one of the things I will treasure most.

Max. Sept 9, 2012

Life is...

 Back to school:

 

Kami is in 3rd grade. Which is impossible. And scary. And she is gorgeous. Naturally.

 Don't ask me about this face... I have no clue... maybe he's a tough guy?

Cooper is in 1st grade. And he LOVES the cafeteria!

Other odds and ends:

We have a dog, he's still fat. And he barks at people for no reason other than to give me stress and anger issues.

Bowens are great!

Anatomy

Two mornings ago Cooper constructed a masterpiece of cow anatomy from playdoh and a citrus squeezer (not sure if that is the technical term). I then sent the following picture and text message to my husband (who was away on a business trip) and one of my favorite friends, Gwen (who was a natural first choice because her husband owns a dairy)

Text #1:

"Look Mom, I made a cow penis! 

...

They should call these milk penis's because they are penis's that give milk. 

...

Instead of udders."

Someone should really stop laughing long enough to teach my son the anatomy of a cow.

Text #2:

I would post it as my facebook status except it requires the repeated use of the word penis. And in light of recent events  I feel to do so would confirm that the Bowens are on a fast track to spiritual destruction.

(Brandon's facebook status was hacked and "he" was repeatedly stating that a picture of a very buxom woman in her underwear was "awesome")

A Big Wet One

I posted this as my facebook status. But my Mom continually informs me that the blog MUST be updated. Enjoy!

Along with learning how to walk this last month, Max has also learned the art of kissing.

It's a big deal in the Bowen household soley based on the fact that we aren't exactly known for our overly expressive children. ;)

Not only can Max now effectively blow kisses, he can also full on maul your face with his drooling open mouth headbutts. 

Also known as kisses.  

(he gets it from his dad)  

Super adorable and pretty messy. 

The following make-out session happened tonight.

Allow me to paint for you a mental picture.

Brandon was laying on the carpet in the "nursery" (We have a nursery now. As in an entire room whose soul purpose is to sleep the baby. N.B.D. WHAAAT?!?!) Max was having the time of his life using his dad as a human sized jungle gym. And he was feeling extra loving; repeatedly planting huge slobbery kisses all over Brandon's face.

One time in particular the kiss was extra slobbery (coincidentally it coincided with a Daddy, Mommy, Landon, and Max dog pile)

Come to find out, all the extra liquid in Brandon's mouth was not slobber...

How does one put throw up delicately?

You probably don't huh?

...

So baby blew chunks in Brandon's mouth. 

...

I'm still dry heaving over it.

Landon, in witnessing his mother's distress, offered to get me a napkin to throw up in. Upon delivering it he offered the following logic:

"You know Mom, if you're going to throw up, it would be best if you did it in the sink."

ps Mom, you had to have known throw up would be the thing to bring me out of blogging obscurity.

May 7, 2012

Tonight for FHE we played outside in the dirt.

Brandon was a weeding machine and when he was all done he planted my peonies (I hope they grow!).

Max tasted dirt for the first time (okay, honestly, we are in the middle of a renovation and so Max probably tasted dirt for about the bazillionth time)

A cute little Hispanic lady happened to walk by our house and she was enamored with our baby. He was clad in only a diaper, sitting in the flower bed, and drooling dirt.

"He's so cute!" she said in her broken English "Go get your camera and take a picture."

She was the cutest!

Also, she was very smart and so I headed her advice and got out my camera and took a picture (or a thousand)

 

A farmer in the making.

 

The face that started the madness

And we know Landon's got to get in on this... (however, he was done after one picture)

 Kami has decided that blowing a kiss is the ultimate best pose to strike for a picture.

 I, however, prefer this smile.

Kami was striking poses for the camera and Cooper had to join in. 

This is BY FAR my favorite shot from the evening! 

He kills me!

 

Of course, he couldn't stay "serious" for long.

In fact, it's nearly impossible to get a "normal" picture of this boy.

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

 

...and C.

 

and D. (also known as "the ghost: OOOO!")

 

 

Want to know where he gets it from?

ShaZam!

 

Handstand.

 

Blurry deliciousness 

(and no, I don't believe in wiping my children's faces... or combing their hair... thanks for asking)

 

And that was the sign we had had enough....

 

In the words of Cooper:

"PEACE OUT!"

 

Mischief Max: a Children's Tale

Once upon a time in a very remote land there was a small little house with a dill pickle door. This small little house contained several funny creatures. Most notable (for this story in particular) was a small little boy. A baby, to be exact. A baby named Max.


There wasn't much to Max by way of size. In fact, of all the house creatures, he was the littlest. Even the dog outweighed him. He was a runt, if you will. But what he lacked in girth he made up for in seduction and appeal. You see, Max not only was smaller than most, he was also far handsomer than most. A trait to which you will soon see he was expert at employing.


But we will get back to that. Besides being blessed with innate charm and charisma Max had several other talents at his disposal. First and formost, he was a fantastic drooler. He held the record for the most ear infections in a month. And, he could wiggle his way out of any pair of pants, even skinny jeans.
But, it was mischief Max was best at. Max was a very clever boy. He knew where his strengths lay. For starters, he was tiny, and so he could maneuver in and out of tight places. He was quick, it only took him seconds to reach any given target. He had recently learned that by standing on his haunches he was far taller then he was on his kneecaps. And he could be stealthy quiet like a mouse or ear splitting loud like a siren. Best of all, as we've mentioned, he was ridiculously good looking and so could charm his way out of nearly any situation.


I found this post saved in my archives. Obviously I never finished it. But I'm posting it anyway. Maybe one day I'll remember the story I had set out to record. ;)