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Showing posts with label owen. Show all posts
We decided to treat Owen to a few pieces of fudge bar for his six month birthday ... I think he loved it!
owen and the fudge bar
Feb 23, 2012
Is it true? Are you really six months old already? I can't remember what life was like without you (do I say that too often?) and yet it seems like you've only been here for a brief moment.
This has been the month of food for you. As soon as the doctor said you could eat solids at your four-month check-up we grabbed some bananas and got busy. You've worked your way through every "first food" we can find for you, moved from rice cereal to oatmeal - for the flavor, of course - and have even dipped your toes into eating rice cakes and puffs. You now eat two jars of food (or one jar and 3 tablespoons of oatmeal) three times a day, and I think you'd eat more if we gave it to you.
We're gearing up for sippy cups and even more foods as soon as Dr. Moore gives the okay. Dad can't wait for some of the combinations the "second foods" offer!
We've been practicing sitting up a lot this month. You love to check out your toys from this new vantage point, although we still have to put the Boppy around you because you love to fling yourself backwards (as seen above) and giggle like a maniac while doing it. Once you get that out of your system, I'm pretty sure you'll be hanging out on the floor with mom all the time!
As for toys, you love anything that makes noise, your green bunny, and your football. You'll bang and shake and slam anything you can get your hands on, and the more noise the better! Dad and I already agreed that once you're a bit better at sitting we'll start letting you bang on pots and pans, and maybe get you a few of those super cool baby instruments so you can make as much noise as you want, all day long!
When you're not rolling around on the floor, practicing scooting, or sitting up with your toys, you still love to play in your exer-saucer and your new-to-you jumperoo. Once Jack taught you how to use it you decided it was one of the cooler things you owned, and now spend mom and dad's dinner-time bouncing around, screeching along with the music and grabbing at the birds above you. Genius.
You also discovered television this month. We watch Sesame Street during the day sometimes, thanks to Netflix, and dad watched Ok Go on the computer with you for around 30 minutes. Now we all know about the primary colors (from their Sesame Street video), although you loved their first video best (with the treadmills).
My favorite moment from the month? Putting you into one of those wooden high chairs at Mama's Pizza and how much you loved it! You watched your buddy Jack do it, decided you wanted in on this game, and sat like a champ for quite some time. You're still a bit skinny for them and so as you got tired you slid around a little bit, but the photo above is proof of just how big you're getting. I can't wait until you have a few teeth, have mastered the art of people food a bit better, and can munch on the crust!
This has been the month of food for you. As soon as the doctor said you could eat solids at your four-month check-up we grabbed some bananas and got busy. You've worked your way through every "first food" we can find for you, moved from rice cereal to oatmeal - for the flavor, of course - and have even dipped your toes into eating rice cakes and puffs. You now eat two jars of food (or one jar and 3 tablespoons of oatmeal) three times a day, and I think you'd eat more if we gave it to you.
We're gearing up for sippy cups and even more foods as soon as Dr. Moore gives the okay. Dad can't wait for some of the combinations the "second foods" offer!
We've been practicing sitting up a lot this month. You love to check out your toys from this new vantage point, although we still have to put the Boppy around you because you love to fling yourself backwards (as seen above) and giggle like a maniac while doing it. Once you get that out of your system, I'm pretty sure you'll be hanging out on the floor with mom all the time!
As for toys, you love anything that makes noise, your green bunny, and your football. You'll bang and shake and slam anything you can get your hands on, and the more noise the better! Dad and I already agreed that once you're a bit better at sitting we'll start letting you bang on pots and pans, and maybe get you a few of those super cool baby instruments so you can make as much noise as you want, all day long!
When you're not rolling around on the floor, practicing scooting, or sitting up with your toys, you still love to play in your exer-saucer and your new-to-you jumperoo. Once Jack taught you how to use it you decided it was one of the cooler things you owned, and now spend mom and dad's dinner-time bouncing around, screeching along with the music and grabbing at the birds above you. Genius.
You also discovered television this month. We watch Sesame Street during the day sometimes, thanks to Netflix, and dad watched Ok Go on the computer with you for around 30 minutes. Now we all know about the primary colors (from their Sesame Street video), although you loved their first video best (with the treadmills).
My favorite moment from the month? Putting you into one of those wooden high chairs at Mama's Pizza and how much you loved it! You watched your buddy Jack do it, decided you wanted in on this game, and sat like a champ for quite some time. You're still a bit skinny for them and so as you got tired you slid around a little bit, but the photo above is proof of just how big you're getting. I can't wait until you have a few teeth, have mastered the art of people food a bit better, and can munch on the crust!
What a whirlwind month it's been! From Christmas and the New Year to snow and even 70 degree days, your fifth month of life has been super exciting!
Big this month was eating food - no more bottles only dining for you! so far you have tried, and loved:
You started to get a touch of stranger anxiety this month as well. We didn't notice it until your four-month check-up, but you definitely need a second in mom or dad's arms before going to just about anyone else (including your grandmas, much to their dismay).
On the plus side, you are now sleeping through the night on a regular basis. Like, we put you down by 8:30pm and you don't wake up to start your day until almost 7am. I'll admit now that putting you down awake in your crib and letting you learn how to soothe yourself to sleep was the right decision (although I fought it like mad).
You are someone who needs to wake up in the same place you fell asleep, so falling asleep in mama's arms and then waking up somewhere else was making you a bit upset! Once we figured out that you needed your own space to fall asleep and wake up in, and you figured out you liked just rolling to your side, sticking your thumb in your mouth and drifting off (it took you one night; it took me six), we've been rolling along with much better sleep for the whole family.
A bonus to this sleeping? You are eating better, napping better, and are all-around happier throughout the day.
You got an exer-saucer for Christmas, one of the greatest things ever. After you eat you spin yourself around in it for at least an hour, moving from the parrot to the froggie to the pandas to the piano to play some music, and back again. You love to stand up and squeal as you re-discover a long-forgotten friend (usually the froggie) and then lean back lounge-style while we talk to you about the animals.
There are still hard moments to be sure. When you don't want to take a nap or you don't want to be put down or you ... that's about it really, and not all that hard when I think about it. Your smiles are perfection, you love new things and new experiences, and every day I get to spend with you is a gift.
Happy five months my love - can't wait to see what you've got in store for month six!
Big this month was eating food - no more bottles only dining for you! so far you have tried, and loved:
- rice cereal
- bananas
- sweet potatoes
- green beans
- prunes
- carrots
- oatmeal (instead of rice cereal)
- apples
You started to get a touch of stranger anxiety this month as well. We didn't notice it until your four-month check-up, but you definitely need a second in mom or dad's arms before going to just about anyone else (including your grandmas, much to their dismay).
On the plus side, you are now sleeping through the night on a regular basis. Like, we put you down by 8:30pm and you don't wake up to start your day until almost 7am. I'll admit now that putting you down awake in your crib and letting you learn how to soothe yourself to sleep was the right decision (although I fought it like mad).
You are someone who needs to wake up in the same place you fell asleep, so falling asleep in mama's arms and then waking up somewhere else was making you a bit upset! Once we figured out that you needed your own space to fall asleep and wake up in, and you figured out you liked just rolling to your side, sticking your thumb in your mouth and drifting off (it took you one night; it took me six), we've been rolling along with much better sleep for the whole family.
A bonus to this sleeping? You are eating better, napping better, and are all-around happier throughout the day.
You got an exer-saucer for Christmas, one of the greatest things ever. After you eat you spin yourself around in it for at least an hour, moving from the parrot to the froggie to the pandas to the piano to play some music, and back again. You love to stand up and squeal as you re-discover a long-forgotten friend (usually the froggie) and then lean back lounge-style while we talk to you about the animals.
There are still hard moments to be sure. When you don't want to take a nap or you don't want to be put down or you ... that's about it really, and not all that hard when I think about it. Your smiles are perfection, you love new things and new experiences, and every day I get to spend with you is a gift.
Happy five months my love - can't wait to see what you've got in store for month six!
five months with owen
Jan 23, 2012
I'm watching you play with your feet in your crib - you were falling asleep while drinking your bottle, but as soon as your head hit the mattress, awake you were! But you're not upset, so in your crib you stay, while I watch you and marvel that you are four whole months old today.
In the next few days you will be bombarded with presents from family members and Santa, and I can't wait for you to not care at all. I'm not putting much stock into this Christmas - you are so young still, so interested in only your turtle and your ball that I don't think you'll care too much about the barrage of plastic that's about to hit our home!
So much has changed for you this past month, it's hard to keep up sometimes. In the last thirty days you have:
- learned to roll from your tummy to your back, mostly in an effort to avoid tummy time.
- decided rice cereal is THE BEST THING EVER!!
- put everything into your mouth you can find (see photo above as evidence)
- started learning to sleep in your own bed
- started learning to eat most of your calories during the day rather than the night
- turned a full 360 in your crib
- grown another inch - you've now grown 5" since you were born!
- grown out of your 3 month pants, and are now in 6 month sizes (for length, let's not kid ourselves here)
- started blowing bubbles and razzing up a storm
- gotten a touch of stranger anxiety
You love sitting in between my legs and playing with your toys; it won't be long before you're sitting on your own playing with toys and ignoring me completely except to ask for money before you head to the mall with friends.
You are in the 40th percentile for height, but just the 4th for weight; considering you started out under 6 lbs, you're gaining weight just fine, but you sure are tall and skinny! And as dad likes to point out, in just a few more inches you'll already be half as tall as mom!
You've started talking over us, sort of. Whenever the people around you start talking, you chime in with your vowels. You haven't mastered many consonants yet, but they're coming fast. I'm going to pick up some baby sign language DVDs in the next month so we can start figuring that all out - I'm betting your motor skills will develop before your words, so I want to give you as many ways to communicate as possible.
One third of a year ago, we were just getting done trying to flip you around for the very last time, and setting up your birthday for three days later. We were getting ready to head to trivia, unaware that you would be making your entrance into the world in superstar fashion.
Today we are ordering you geek-fabulous onesies with phrases such as "n00b" and "bazinga!" on them, excited for you to fit into them you can show off your geek roots with pride.
Happy four months birthday my love!
Four Months With Owen
Dec 23, 2011
every time we change his clothes, we have a pants-off dance-off. giggles and wiggles, kicks and coos. so much fun!
{print from Sycamore Street Press}
pants-off dance-off
Dec 15, 2011
After almost two full weeks of having a super fussy and crabby Owen, we were at the end of our collective rope. Not sleeping more than 2 hours at a time, eating no more than an ounce or two at a time, Owen seemed extremely fussy and uncomfortable, but without a temp or any signs of sickness.
On Saturday we dropped him off at Grandma Mimi's house for his first overnight stay - we were heading out on the town to celebrate Zach's birthday and took the opportunity to get some sleep as well.
When we picked him up, grandma had figured out the problem - his formula. One bottle of soy-based formula and less than 24 hours later, and Owen is ...
well, take a look yourselves!
He was having trouble digesting the regular formula he was on, and apparently sometimes it takes some time for that to manifest. Now that he's bigger and eating more formula at a shot, his tummy was beginning to protest.
With is first soy-based bottle he at 5 ounces and then slept for three hours. With his next, he ate 6 ounces and slept for seven hours. And then woke up and smiled and giggled and played and wiggled, our old baby back and ready to rock.
And both Zach and I got decent sleep last night, which was another huge blessing, and all three of us are hopeful that this little switch (so simple!) will continue to make a huge difference!
On Saturday we dropped him off at Grandma Mimi's house for his first overnight stay - we were heading out on the town to celebrate Zach's birthday and took the opportunity to get some sleep as well.
When we picked him up, grandma had figured out the problem - his formula. One bottle of soy-based formula and less than 24 hours later, and Owen is ...
well, take a look yourselves!
He was having trouble digesting the regular formula he was on, and apparently sometimes it takes some time for that to manifest. Now that he's bigger and eating more formula at a shot, his tummy was beginning to protest.
With is first soy-based bottle he at 5 ounces and then slept for three hours. With his next, he ate 6 ounces and slept for seven hours. And then woke up and smiled and giggled and played and wiggled, our old baby back and ready to rock.
And both Zach and I got decent sleep last night, which was another huge blessing, and all three of us are hopeful that this little switch (so simple!) will continue to make a huge difference!
light at the end of the tunnel
Dec 12, 2011
:: You smile with your entire face, almost all day long. But whenever I want to take a photo of you, you make the above face. I have HUNDREDS of photos of you making that exact face!
:: Your father and I have eaten at least three bags of Hershey's Kisses with Almonds in the last two weeks. We may need an intervention.
:: Every morning you get up at 6am, almost on the dot, and then you have some super amazing snuggle time with your dad. If I remember to (and want to crawl out of bed!) I get a nice hot shower in before dad has to start getting ready for his day. Usually we end up spending most of the day in our pajamas because I don't do this, and you love pjs as much as I do!
:: You wake up crabby, just like your mom. But that means we get snuggle time after each and every nap, while you come to grips with the fact that you are in fact awake.
:: Your left foot gets DECIDEDLY stinkier than your right. I cannot explain it.
:: When I make you a 4oz bottle, you drink it down and act hungry for more. When I make you a 5oz bottle, you don't even finish 3oz.
:: You love to stand, bearing weight on your straight legs until the little muscles start to shake with fatigue - and you still protest when we try to get you to stop!
:: Despite practicing minimalism for almost two years now, I look around our home and still see a mountain of stuff. I want to tame that in 2012 to a much larger degree, so you do not grow up surrounded by things, but with the idea that less is indeed more.
:: You only ever want to play with four things - your guys (the mobile above your crib, which you will talk to for 20 minutes at a time), your caterpillar ball, your Grandma Mimi rattle, and your shaky turtle.
:: While you still wear 0-3 months clothes, you are FINALLY starting to grow out of a few, but only in length. They all still bag around your skinny minny tummy, and your pants fall down while still somehow managing to be floods simultaneously.
:: You love to go to trivia (at Buffalo Wild Wings) and hang like a champ the entire time we're there. As an added bonus, you are seriously good luck to whoever is holding you, and so you get passed around the table to folks wanting to sneak ahead.
:: You are almost four months old. I cannot remember what life was like without you, and at the same time I can't figure out how four months have already passed.
remember this
Dec 9, 2011
oh, hai there internet.
so sorry for making my mom a bit crazy towards the end of last week! i was so busy learning new things that i decided they were more important than sleep - i keep forgetting mom actually needs sleep sometimes or she gets a slightly crazy look in her eyes, and daddy needs to step in!
but i love her to pieces, and so i've decided to get back to sleeping, starting with a 36-hour marathon sleep session, beginning with a 4-hour nap at grandma's house, separated only by an appearance at trivia (gotta represent!) and culminating with 12 hours of nighttime sleep followed up by a 3-hour nap!
mom said thanks with lots of kisses, and i still know how to beat tummy time at it's evil game!!
this weekend, i plan to learn to walk. wish me luck!
dear internet, love Owen
Dec 8, 2011
{finally learning to love tummy time, thanks to his mini-Boppy}
It feels much later than the 9pm that it is. Probably because we're operating on very little sleep around here as of late, catching it in 2 hour increments if we're lucky.
Ever since Thanksgiving weekend, Owen has fought sleep. Screaming, body-tensing fits of fighting. We are not "cry it out" people, so we rock him gently to sleep (or almost sleep) every night. He was at the point where we'd rock him for a minute, five at most, and he'd be sleepy to the point we could put him down and he'd sleep for five or six hours at night. Since our fun at the cabin, he's been screaming for hours (not exaggerating here) at a time before bed, only to wake up either the minute he's put down or an hour later at most.
Last night Zach held him ALL NIGHT LONG so he could sleep, sacrificing his own sleep knowing I would be gone most of the day at the Holiday Bazaar, just so Owen would get more than two hours of sleep at a time.
I know this is something that will pass; I know that he is sleeping in his crib right now, and has been for over and hour. I am hopeful that he will stay there for more than just one more. I know that I should be sleeping while I can, because he could wake at any moment and need to be rocked for a few more hours.
And I am so grateful that I get to hold him and rock him, that he loves (mostly) to be held and rocked. I am trusting that this is better than letting him cry it out in his crib alone. Knowing there is a history in both Zach and I of sleep anxiety and trying desperately to help Owen not have that - and feeling like I'm failing every time he screams until he is out of breath and can scream no more.
As I rock him I wonder so much - does he need more nourishment than the formula bottles are giving him? Is it time to start him on cereals, earlier than our doctor said we should simply to get him more lasting sustenance? Is he afraid to sleep; could he be having nightmares we don't know about; what is there that my little man could be scared of in the night? And after hours and hours ... am I a failure as a mother because he screams like this?
But then he wakes up, and even though we are all tired he smiles his ridiculously cute smile, giggles uncontrollably at Patty-Cake, and does the No Pants Dance as often as he can. And we practice sitting up with help, stretch our necks every which way we can, head out on the town for some new experiences, and pray that the next nap or bed time is met with a bit less fight than the last one.
Someday I will look back on these days, when he is so small and fits in my arms, and will long to hold him in this way again, to rock his tiny body to sleep. The crying will be pushed back in my mind, while the smell of his hair against my cheek, the sense memory of his little hand against my heart feeling it beat will remain. And I will be nothing but grateful.
But tonight? Tonight I'm tired.
are you sleeping?
Dec 3, 2011
There were several things I wanted to share today. Pictures of the tree, thoughts on owning an Etsy shop, shots of some finished knits. But instead we had a super fun play-date, a long nap, and then ...
Hooray!
Hooray!
and then this happened
Nov 30, 2011
i cannot believe another month has flown by, my little man! so much has happened - you have grown in so many ways, and yet i cannot begin to imagine just how much more growing you've got still to do!
you started out the month a very willing model for me - now at three months you HATE to be disturbed when chewing your hands or talking to your guys (the mobile above your crib) to model something for mama. i have to trick you into it, or strategically cut your face out of photos, thanks to the tears! maybe once you're sitting by yourself this will change, but for now i've let go of the thought of posed photos.
as you've grown from eight to twelve weeks, your faces and expressions have gotten larger. from your man-sized yawns (and burps!) to your surprise when you discovered your hands or that you could interact with the toys on your play gym, your facial expressions have me grabbing for the camera several times a day!
you love to "give me the eyebrows" when on your changing table, as well. the double eyebrow raise, followed by a huge grin and giggle always means something interesting is waiting for us in your pants. and you LOVE to be naked or diaper-only ... you'll sit on your changing pad forever if only you can do so in just a diaper!
Halloween was a blast with you! you love being around as many people as possible, and while you weren't a big fan of your monkey costume, once we got you into just your skeleton sleeper, you showed off your smiles for everyone we saw!
plus, because you were so happy to see everyone, mom and dad got to dine on your candy for weeks! i'm betting we won't have too many years we can sneak that by you before you start hiding your candy from us!
also new this month:
it has been a month of discovery for you - from the water in your bathtub (which you LOVE splashing!) to your hands (the perfect chewing toys) to the toys on your play gym, as you've opened your clenched fists you've realized just how much there is to touch and grab.
here's to watching you discover snow, learning how fun it can be to be awake for longer stretches, and hopefully sleeping through the night more often than not ... you still love your 2am bottle! here's to more time spent with your play gym, more big yawns and stretches, and fun hand-knits for winter!
you started out the month a very willing model for me - now at three months you HATE to be disturbed when chewing your hands or talking to your guys (the mobile above your crib) to model something for mama. i have to trick you into it, or strategically cut your face out of photos, thanks to the tears! maybe once you're sitting by yourself this will change, but for now i've let go of the thought of posed photos.
as you've grown from eight to twelve weeks, your faces and expressions have gotten larger. from your man-sized yawns (and burps!) to your surprise when you discovered your hands or that you could interact with the toys on your play gym, your facial expressions have me grabbing for the camera several times a day!
you love to "give me the eyebrows" when on your changing table, as well. the double eyebrow raise, followed by a huge grin and giggle always means something interesting is waiting for us in your pants. and you LOVE to be naked or diaper-only ... you'll sit on your changing pad forever if only you can do so in just a diaper!
Halloween was a blast with you! you love being around as many people as possible, and while you weren't a big fan of your monkey costume, once we got you into just your skeleton sleeper, you showed off your smiles for everyone we saw!
plus, because you were so happy to see everyone, mom and dad got to dine on your candy for weeks! i'm betting we won't have too many years we can sneak that by you before you start hiding your candy from us!
also new this month:
- sitting up in your bathtub, with help of course! you love to splash the water, and even have a few bath toys.
- grabbing. you grab at your toys, at dad's glasses, at mama's hair.
- easier falling asleep at nap-time. where you used to fight it, once you toss out your third yawn, i turn you sideways in my arms, you snuggle in and are out.
- bigger clothes!
- bubbles and a few razzberries! you blow spit bubbles almost constantly now, and dad's teaching you how to razz.
- you tell us so many stories with your coos and sounds. granted, you don't have words yet, but you are definitely saying something important every time!
it has been a month of discovery for you - from the water in your bathtub (which you LOVE splashing!) to your hands (the perfect chewing toys) to the toys on your play gym, as you've opened your clenched fists you've realized just how much there is to touch and grab.
here's to watching you discover snow, learning how fun it can be to be awake for longer stretches, and hopefully sleeping through the night more often than not ... you still love your 2am bottle! here's to more time spent with your play gym, more big yawns and stretches, and fun hand-knits for winter!
three months with Owen
Nov 23, 2011
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