Flag Football

Ryder has been my little soccer player up until this Fall when he decided he wanted to play flag football. I had my reservations about it since I am not a football fan and we had JUST spent money on new soccer cleats for him. But after lots and lots of begging from him (and Jon) I gave in. And of course Jon had to be the assistant coach!! But I love watching my boys play catch together and it's so cute to watch Ryder out on the field no matter what sport he plays. He is my lil athletic stud. I wonder all the time if Bowen will be the same way or if he will be into other things. But I won't be surprised if he follows in Ryder's footsteps since they are pretty much obsessed with each other.Love my boys!!

Bowen is ONE!!

Bowen had a birthday, shout HOORAY!!! I still can't wrap my head around how fast this year has gone. Bowen turned one on October 17th, which means we no longer have a baby in our house! Well...I guess you could still consider him a baby until he's walking. We didn't do a whole lot to celebrate since we had a huge birthday part for Kendra's first birthday and it was kind of a bust. She was tired and cranky and cried most of the time. HA! Jon had to go to school that night so we went to my parents' house with my sister and her kids and had dinner followed by Bowen eating a cupcake while we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. This pic is from the aftermath. Here are some things about our big boy:

- He is still a squawker and very fussy. Is it possible for a one year old to still have colic? LOL jk (or am I?)
- He is a total Daddy's Boy. When Jon comes home, he goes CRAZY and starts screaming and flailing his arms and legs all over the place. If Jon ever tries to put him down or walk away, he gets VERY upset.
- He is still obsessed with Ryder. He continues to light up whenever he sees Ry. It's the cutest.
- He loves any kind of fruit I give him and he tolerates carrots, peas, and sweet potatoes. Ha!
- He crawls all over the place and walks along furniture, but no real independent steps yet.
- He tries to wave, but for now he just mostly sticks his hand out like he's going to give you a high five.
- He has learned to point his finger.
- He can say "dada" and I SWEAR he tried to say "Ryder" a few times.

BoBo (as we like to call him) has been a challenge every single day since his birth, but we love him like crazy. He is so different from his brother and sister, and I think he is going to run us ragged when he gets older. HA! He definitely has a very outspoken and wild personality, but he can be very sweet too. He's kind of like a sour patch kid. LOL. We love watching him grow and learn and bond with his siblings. We are hoping his second year of life goes by a little slower than his first year. We love you, Bo!

Bowen's 6 month stats

Welp! Bowen is turning out to be JUST like his Daddy; tall and skinny. I took him in for his 6 month well check today and here are his stats as well as Ryder's 6 month stats just for a little comparison :)

Bowen - 17lbs 1oz  (40%)    27.5in (75%)     46cm (95%)
Ryder  - 21lbs 7oz  (95%)    27.75in (90%)  head 80%

So Ryder was tall AND chubby, while Bowen is tall with a large noggin :) Bowen is doing GREAT! He rolls all over the place from tummy to back and then back again. He is doing better all the time at sitting in his bumbo seat. He now eats solid food twice a day and I just got the okay to switch him to a regular formula! WOO HOO!!! Best news ever. From the food he has tried so far he loves peaches, applesauce, and peas. He does NOT like avocado or green beans. He never has taken a pacifier (sad day for me) but he cries a lot less than he used to so that is good. Bowen and Ryder ADORE each other. They are 5 years apart and still best buds. When Bo is sleeping Ryder asks me repeatedly when he will wake up so that they can play. I love it. Can't wait to watch Ryder teach him things and bunk them in a room together. It will be so fun. Bowen also grabs his little toesies now and laughs a ton. He is growing up so fast! Too fast almost! We are excited to watch how much he grows and learns in the next 6 months!

I like to ride my bicycle, I like to ride my bike

Wish we could've gotten a face shot, but oh well. Kendra learned to ride a tricycle!! YAY! She loves her bike, especially because it is pink and has a bell. It came with a handle you can attach to the back to push her along and it teaches kids to pedal. She caught on super quick. Within a week we took the handle off and she could pedal alone. This picture is actually kind of old, but was taken sometime in the last 6 months. She is just growing up so fast! I wonder if she will be able to ride a big kid bike without training wheels as soon as Ryder did.

Bowen Levi Stowell

So this post is extremely late and I realized just now that I haven't blogged in over a year but better late than never, right? Bowen is actually 4 months old now but this picture was taken in his first few weeks of life. We had a rough start with this little guy. When he was just one week old, I got a nasty virus that made my milk supply go WAY down and he just wasn't getting enough to eat. At his 2 week well check, he hadn't gained a single ounce since the hospital. We were advised to start supplementing formula but just like I did with my other two, we switched completely to formula. I had switched his formula too many times and he became extremely gassy and fussy and would NOT sleep at all during the day...which made long days for me. Anyways, after many days and nights of no sleep and lots of screaming and crying, I finally found out that Bowen had acid reflux. I got him on baby Zantac and also switched him to a hypoallergenic formula and since then he has been awesome. He sleeps all through the night and is happy as a clam. He is already rolling from his tummy to his back, laughing, sleeping in his own crib, and has recently tried to hold his own bottle. He's growing up really fast.
Rewind to me at 38 weeks pregnant...I went into the hospital because I didn't feel Bowen moving around as much and I was really worried that something was wrong. I spent about an hour in a hospital bed being monitored only to be told he was just fine and that I could go home. At about 9pm that same night, I started getting pretty hard contractions. They were coming faster and harder as time went on and by 10pm I couldn't take it anymore. Jon called his mom to come and stay with Ryder and Kendra and we went to the hospital. As soon as we walked in, the nurses asked how far apart my contractions were, when I was due, and what number of child this was for me. Once I answered all their questions, they checked me and I was already at a 5. I got into a delivery room and hooked up to an epidural pretty fast. He was ready to come. The nurses checked me again and said I was a 10 and his head was literally right there, but that I couldn't push because the Dr. wasn't there yet. As soon as he came in, I pushed twice and Bowen came out. He looked JUST like Ryder did at birth. He weighed 8lbs 5oz and was 21.25 in.
The kids love him, especially Ryder. He kept thanking me for having a baby brother for him and said he was so happy Bowen was finally out. Bowen loves him too. When he sees Ryder, he just lights right up smiling and kicking. It's the cutest. Kendra loves him too but doesn't really pay much attention to him. We are so glad to have him be a part of our family and look forward to watching him continue to grow through his first year of life.

Easter 2012

Better late than never, right? Here are my little cuties in their Easter attire.

Mary's 4th Birthday Party

Jon's aunt Belinda had a baby girl one month after Ryder was born and they have become great friends. Mary had her 4th birthday party at Freestone Park and we were so excited since we live so close. I don't think Kendra has ever been to the train park there but she had a blast.
Ryder got a hat, blow toy, and cupcake!
Kendra got a balloon :)
Ryder loved meeting some new kids his age...
and of course riding the train with his cousin Adam.