Owen's Birthday and Other News

Owen had his birthday last week - we can't believe he's four!! His birthday was last Tuesday, the 8th, and we had his party over Labor Day weekend. The weekend before, after Natalie's first week of school, Grandma Laura came and we all went to Austin for my cousin Jenny's wedding. We all enjoyed the wedding - Natalie and Owen hogged the dance floor as long as they could, and we all had a really nice evening. We wish the best to Jenny and Jason. Natalie and Owen kept talking about the princess bride, and Owen especially was constantly concerned with her whereabouts. Henry spent the entire evening asking "what happened?" because the fountain in the hotel lobby turned off for the wedding ceremony. Natalie just enjoyed strutting around in her floor length dress. The following week was a short school week for Owen and Henry - school closed Thursday and Friday before Labor Day. So Owen had playdates on Thursday and Friday with Katherine, Natalie's friend Madeleine's little sister, who is in his class. (Just like Natalie and Madeleine had playdates the week before school started.) On Thursday Katherine came to our house and we took them to the zoo. It was hot and we were happy to head home for lunch. After lunch they had rest time and then spent the afternoon playing until Katherine's mom came. On Friday, Owen went to their house and they played and went to the downtown aquarium. Also on Friday, Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Tom arrived for Owen's birthday weekend. Saturday was the big party. He wanted it at the gymnastics place again, and he had a lot of friends come. Afterward we all had a bit of rest, and Ike, Grandpa, and Owen headed to the Astros-Phillies game (a gift for Owen). They stayed into the 8th inning, but missed the Astros' comeback. They had fun though. On Sunday, we headed down to Galveston for a morning at the beach. We stayed long enough for the kids to splash around a while and wear themselves (and us) out a bit. That afternoon, Grandma, Natalie, and I went to paint pottery since Nat had missed out on the ballgame. Sunday evening, Owen opened his presents, and he was very excited about all of them. Grandma and Grandpa headed home on Monday, and we had a low key day for resting and errand-running. Tuesday was Owen's actual birthday, and we celebrated with cupcakes and presents from us. We had another birthday-filled weekend this past weekend, with four birthday parties between the three kids. Owen was really excited to go to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate his buddy Connor's birthday (me, not so much). Now we are getting ready for Henry's big day on Saturday.