Happy Birthday, Oren!

Today our spunky, sassy, rambunctious youngest turns 3.

After I had Tovi, we thought I wouldn't be able to have more kids.  My body was in pretty bad shape after carrying him, but our doc encouraged us to try for another before having surgery to repair the damage (but end my child-bearing years).  Doc held me together with elastic and velcro (literally!), but we made it.  And on Sept. 10, 2009, Oren raced into the world after one of the easiest labors and deliveries in the history of womanhood.  And he's been racing through life ever since!

We celebrated with Lightening McQueen, Mater, Mickey Mouse, Batman, and one very interactive Superman book.

For a birthday treat, I made jello cookies (see this recipe, courtesy of Jamielyn at I heart nap time) and shaped them into long snakes, one thick for two thin, and sliced to make Mickey Mouse shapes.  They baked up in super vibrant colors and taste tangy and sweet.  I let the boys ice and sprinkle theirs, and then we served them with birthday cake flavored ice cream.  Yum!

Oren fell asleep with a bed full of Cars characters and a new turtle night light stuffed animal that plays very LOUD music (what a lullaby, right?!) and projects stars onto his ceiling after wiggling the starts around this room to make Grayson, the kitten, pounce and chase.  He smiled and giggled all evening.

And Tovi was a fantastic big brother.  It's hard to let someone else have all the fun, and we did have to negotiate some sharing, but Tovi wanted to make sure Oren had all the trappings of a happy birthday, from opening presents to ice cream.  Tovi was very worried we'd leave something out!

 I'll leave you with some of my favorite Oren moments from the past year:

Sept. 11, 2011 "At the ER with Oren since he drank a bottle of benedryl. It was very scary, but he's doing fine now and resting well. Waiting for labs to clear him, and then he should be released by 1."Sept. 13 "In our house, Batman and Thomas coexist peacefully in the Batcave on the Island of Sodor."Oct. 16 "I just found a dart gun under my pillow. Yep, I'm raising boys. :)"Feb. 18 "Oren's been Captain Goober Pants lately. Last night he stripped bare and said, "I'm going to the beach!" and pretended to swim on the floor. Tonight he put a bucket on his head and said, "Look, I'm a chicken!" Silly, silly boy!"Feb. 25 "Oren is walking around with no pants, one shoe (Tovi's) on the wrong foot, and half a plastic golf club."Feb. 26 "First thing Oren said to me this morning: "Hey Mom, cool ears!""

 March 10  Oren loves for me to rub his belly. He even sings me songs about it. He pronounces belly like "betty". And snuggles are "suh-nuggles". I live bedtime rituals :)
March 21  Oren (playing with 2 Power Rangers)... Green Ranger: Hi Power Ranger. My name Mike. What's your name? Red Ranger: Name...um...Power Ranger! :)April 7  Oren was trying to tell Tovi something, and it was taking him a little long to get to the point. Tovi said, "Uh huh. Uh huh. UH HUH!" I hid in the kitchen to laugh :)April 8 Oren recited John 3:16 for me tonight.April 9 Oren doesn't seem to really understand the whole hunting for eggs thing. He went to the fridge, opened it, and said, "There they are! I found them!"April 16  Oren is snuggling Megatron. Every time Oren rolls over, Megatron spews threats.April 19 Oren just brought Nathan Worcestershire sauce and said, "Here Dad! Here you go!"

 April 21 Oren (with his shirt sleeve down under his armpit)... Me: What happened to your shirt? Oren: It fell.
April 29 Waking Oren up from a nap is fun. He gives me random answers to any questions I ask. Me: Do you want to watch Teen Titans with Tovi? Oren: No, I want...ducks.May 27 Wait, what? We are ready for church 24 minutes early? That can't be. Oren will poop his pants or dump yogurt on himself and his brother in 3...2...1...May 31 Oren loves to be with me. He follows me around. Like into the bathroom. And he tries to help me with the toilet paper. Oh, life with toddlers! :)

 June 4 Tomorrow, Tovi and Oren will spend their last official day with the sitter they've had since they were each 6 weeks old. We have some special gifts prepared for her :) We have been so very blessed to have her!!!
June 5  When I snuggled Oren to bed a minute ago, he ripped a big one. I said, "Oren, you tooted!" He replied, with all seriousness, "No, I'm blowing bubbles."June 7 Oren has action figure Thor's hammer, and Tovi has action figure Power Ranger's sword, and they are engaged in an epic (miniature) battle.June 24 Oren pulled a knife on his Aunt Heather on her birthday and thinks swim suits are called swim soups. 

 July 2 So far for my birthday, Oren gave me Tovi's blankie :)
July 21  Oren got to start his very own memory verse chain tonight. Our 2-year-old has memorized John 3:16!Aug. 20 Boys' stats from their check ups today... Tovi: 5 years 0 months, 38lbs, 44 in (above avg height, below avg weight) Oren: 2 years 11 months, 38 lbs, 42 in (ummm...huge)Aug. 25  One of the greatest things ever: hearing my boys quote scripture to each other in the bathtub :)

Happy Birthday, Oren Kole!