11 months

Owen turned 11 months old last Sunday.  I cannot believe how fast the past year has gone.  He has been really into waving for about a month and pointing for a few weeks.  This week, he started clapping. It sounds so simple, but each new skills is so exciting to me.  It's great to see him interacting more and more.  He still babbles lots of mama, dada, and baba.  He pointed to a picture of Marcus the other night and said "da" and says "mamama" if I leave the room.  He loves his pop up toy and thinks it's funny to use his foot to play with it.  He also loves blocks, taking things in and out of containers, and his stacking cups.  I love that most of his favorite toys are simple and not overstimulating. He has also been very interested in Heinz. He will get one of Heinz's toys and hold it out for him to get.  He also likes to crawl toward Heinz and try to head butt him, luckily the poor dog watches out for himself pretty well. Owen loves to eat, just like his mama.  He wants to try everything I eat, and really loves to get to try whatever it may be from my big fork.  The fact that he's eating more "big boy food"  is helping me to eat a little better.  I'm definitely trying to have more fruits and vegetables around.  He LOVES his bottle. I'm concerned about the transition of giving up the bottle.  He will drink some water from sippy cups, but mainly thinks they are toys.The one thing that baffles me is his sleeping pattern.  He was sleeping all night the majority of the time for months, but starting in July was waking up 1 (sometimes 2) times each night.  I was exhausted and considering the cry it out method, when he suddenly started sleeping all night again (for 5 nights in a row).  The past 2 nights, he has gotten up once.  When he does get up, he just eats and goes right back to sleep.  I just can't figure out what causes him to sleep all night some nights and not others. He loves going to daycare and Bible class and doesn't mind at all when I drop him off. 

He recently started riding in his big boy carseat.

He loves to chew on/taste everything

He loves to hang out with his friend Ronan. He doesn't have a bottle in his mouth all the time.  I promise!

Using his foot with the pop up toy

He is so sweet, happy, and loving!

Labor Day Weekend

Owen has enjoyed his first Labor Day weekend. The weather has been AMAZING with highs in the high 70's and low 80's Sunday and today.   Friday night we went to a Tulsa Shock WNBA basketball game.  The team is terrible, but my friend Katy was able to get the Universtiy of Tulsa suite.  It was fun to sit up there and there was tons of room for Owen to play and look around.  The Power Team performed after the game.  Google them. : ) My parents and brother came to visit.  It was their first time to visit since we've moved to our new house. They arrived Saturday afternoon. We (well, mostly the guys) watched football and Marcus grilled hamburgers for dinner. Owen loved playing with his grandparents.  He showed off his waving skills quite a bit. : )  Sunday we went to church, Jason's Deli for lunch, and ran a few errands.  That afternoon, my parents and I walked to our neighborhood park with Owen and Heinz.  That was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me.  We went out to dinner and played more at home.  My family left this morning. Owen and I have just played at home and Marcus had to work half the day.  I was planning to go shopping, but opted for a nap instead.    I'm hoping for another walk and park visit this evening!

Marcus couldn't wait to see the Power Team.

My uncle Kevin sent this chair with my parents for Owen.  My uncle and dad sat in it when they were little. I'm so glad we get to use it now.

Swinging at the park

10 months

Well it has only been a couple weeks since I wrote the 9 month post, so not too much has changed.  Our little pumpkin prince does have a few new tricks though.  He's crawling everywhere and into everything.  He loves to get into Heinz's  dogfood and water when I'm not looking and yesterday he pulled a doorstop out of the wall. He can also climb stairs. Yikes! He's as sweet as ever, just a busy boy.  Three more teeth have come in (one on top  and two on the bottom) bringing us to a total of 7 teeth. That seems like alot to me for his age.  Sometimes he says bye-bye and waves and gives high fives.  So cute! Owen loves pretty much all food.  He is able to eat alot more table food now and does a great job with finger foods.  I can't believe it's only two months until his birthday! 

9 months

*I have alot of blogging to catch up on: our new house, our new dog, and various summer activities. I'll start with the most current though.

Our little pumpkin is 9 months old.  Yesterday was Owen's 9 month checkup and here are his latest stats:  He's 29 inches (71% ile) tall, and 21lb 12oz (67%).  He's wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 12 month clothes.  He is crawling and pulling up.  It makes me so happy when I'm in the kitchen and he comes crawling around the corner with a big smile.  He signs "more", but not consistently.  He is babbling more and more too-  lots of mamamas, dadadas, and buhbuhbuhs.  He loves bubbles and books.  If I get a book out and don't start reading, he will fuss. He still loves his bottles, but is eating all kids of baby food and starting to try more table foods.  He doesn't like it if I leave the room when we are at home, but doesn't mind when I drop him off at daycare or Bible class.  He' so friendly and makes friends wherever we go.  Here are some favorite pictures from the past month. 

He loves bathtime-especially in Mommy and Daddy's big tub.

This is how he sleeps. So precious. : )

Showing off those crawling skills.

Heinz doesn't usually get this close to Owen. For some reason, he doesn't like getting his fur pulled.

7 months

Our little guy is 7 months old as of yesterday.  He is really into sticking his tongue out as you can see above. It almost seems like he poses and smiles when I get out the camera. He has been working on two more teeth.  Teething has been really rough for him.  It is so sad to see him hurting.  Owen still loves to eat (when his gums aren't hurting) and loves every kind of baby food we've given him. He can sit up by himself now for as long as 10-15 minutes before falling over.  He's still not a fan of being on his tummy, so he may just skip crawling and go straight to walking when the time comes.  He loves to be in the standing position and to play in his exersaucer.  He also loves bubbles and looking out the window.  His six month checkup was 2 weeks ago. He was 19lb 14oz (79%ile) and 27.5 inches (75%ile).  He is so friendly. Everywhere we go , people stop to talk to him.  I'm so happy to be his mommy. : )

Mother's Day

I had a pretty good first Mother's Day.  I say "pretty good" because our air conditioner was broken and Owen's gums were hurting. Marcus and Owen did their best to make me feel special. Here's what I got:

My favorite surprise was the cute flower craft that Owen's teacher made.  She comes up with the sweetest ideas. :)  Marcus and Owen got me cards, pretty roses, and a book. I also got cards from my family and Marcus's mom.  We didn't do anything too exciting, but it was a nice, relaxing day.

I also wanted to share this picture of Owen.  I put it on facebook a couple of weeks ago and it is my current favorite. He has such a sweet, funny personality. I love that baby so much!

Positive Thoughts

Ok, actually I have to tell the not so positive stuff first. Saturday I woke up with a red, crusty eye-lovely, I know.  I started using antibiotic drops and stayed home from church Sunday and work Monday.  My eye never hurt or itched, it just looked really red. Yesterday I went back to work and it looked much better, even normal.  By the afternoon, my OTHER eye was feeling irritated and looked so red.  Today, it looks terrible and I woke up with a super hoarse voice and stuffy nose. Needless to say, I'm home again today AND Owen isn't feeling well now.  He's been really fussy around bedtime the past two night and this morning he's sleepy and just sad.  Last night I was feeding him some baby food and he made the saddest face, softly said "goo" and had one little tear rolling down his cheek.  It broke my heart. His eyes look fine though, so that's something, right?

 Anyway, I want to post about some things that are making me happy this week to balance things out a little. 

1. I'm reading one of the best book series I've read in a while.  It's called The Luxe series.  There are 4 books and I just finished number3.  I can't put them down.  Poor Marcus is tired of me having my light on to read so late each night.  Late for us is 10:45. : )

2. Owen's favorite book this week is "Where Is Baby's Belly Button?"  He giggles when I lift the flap on each page and especially on the last page when it says, "There he is."  He thinks it's the funniest thing ever.



3. I have the best husband!  Marcus has been so helpful around the house this week.  He's been doing alot of the cooking and helping think of bugdet friendly meals.  That makes me very happy!

4.  I really enjoyed being at work yesterday.  I'm so thankful to have a job that is so flexible with hours and allows me to work and be a good Mommy too.  I love all my kiddos and have wonderful coworkers,

That's all for now,  Hopefully, next time I post all the Shorts will be healthy again.