I feel like I just wrote my "happy 8th birthday McKay" post yesterday. That's what happens when your boys are just shy of 17 months apart, and you haven't updated your blog in months!! Owen turned 7 years old on June 12th, and has a special connection with my grandfather because they share the same birthday. Each year Owen has several celebrations. He had a large party with his friends, a family party with my side of the family to celebrate my "Papa" and Owen, another family party with Wess' family, and of course our own immediate family celebration. I figure you can never celebrate the middle child too much:) Owen has always been the baby in my eyes, so it is hard to believe he is 7! He was the smallest of my babies, weighing in at 6 lbs. 15 oz. To this day he is still the smallest in frame of his two brothers, but don't let his size fool you! He can do more pull ups than his older brother would like to admit, run until we make him stop, has a set of abs that David Beckham would be jealous of, and has been known to stir up trouble with 4th graders after school. He can hold his own and one of my friends affectionately calls him feisty! But, don't let that nickname fool you because he is incredibly sensitive and affectionate. He loves to snuggle each morning in our bed and LOVES to have his back scratched each night. He is the sweetest big brother to Chapel and truly puts his needs before his own. McKay and Owen have shared a room since Owen was 2 years old, and even today they have a hard time sleeping without each other. He looks up to McKay and wants to do everything he does! They are both extremely competitive and therefore fight like cats and dogs, but they are each others best friend. Owen loves to be with Wess and me by himself and have all the attention. In fact, just the other night McKay and Chapel were with my parents at the lake, and we had the privilege of taking Owen to dinner and spending the whole night completely focused on him. It was such a joy for Wess and me to have that one on one time with him. The next morning Owen told me it was his best night ever! It was one of those priceless moments. But, it wasn't always that easy. As a toddler, Owen was very sick with allergies and asthma. He took 2-3 breathing treatments everyday and never felt 100%. He was grumpy and rarely smiled, which is documented in pictures. I worried about him all the time. After we found a wonderful doctor who truly changed Owen's life, and thousands of prayers later Owen is a healthy, vibrant, thriving young boy. He is a miracle in my eyes. We are so blessed and grateful that God healed his sick body. Today he is confident, healthy, goofy, affectionate, sensitive, selfless, bright, full of energy, compassionate, caring, obedient, loyal, and the cutest, sweetest 7 year old I've ever seen! I am truly blessed by Owen and I look forward to see how God continues to work in his special life.
