Beuler...Beuler...

A post not about Owen? How can it be? I know, I know, but humor me. This is really interesting. Check out the trailor for Ben Stein's new movie.

www.expelledthemovie.com

Easter, Etc.

He is risen, He is risen indeed!

We had a great Easter weekend. Kyle was post-call Thursday and had Friday off (which was a last minute surprise) so we had a much-needed 4-day weekend! He's been working soooooo hard this month w/ ridiculous hours and studying, so it was great to have a break.

Church was great too. Wonderful message and some of our favorite songs, which is always fun. And Owen did GREAT! We opted to go to the early service because of lunch plans w/ our Bible Study friends! This has become (like our Christmas meal) somewhat of a tradition--its a pot luck and everyone tends to bring "their usual" so its easy and so nice to celebrate/fellowship with friends.

Owen milestones:
1) He's able/willing to take a bottle! Kyle has now successfully fed him several times and the nursery helper (a stranger to him) fed him at church--wow!

2) Owen has successfully transitioned to an earlier bedtime. We start at 7:30 and he's usually down by 8:15 or so after his bath, feeding, etc. And he's still sleeping through the night. He's waking up a little bit earlier too (not too much though) so we are able to go to early church and avoid him getting fussy b/c he needs a nap (the problem the last few weeks). Another benefit is that we're able to hang out with friends after he's asleep. We spent Saturday night staying up late with Christal and Phil watching the TX Aggies almost prevail over UCLA. (Part of Kyle's TX interview preparation!)

3) Owen took a nap in a pack-n-play at our friends' house after Easter lunch yesterday--went down just fine and actually slept for over an hour and a half! (I told our host that we may be back every day if he naps that well at her house.) Yea for being able to nap at other places! (One funny note about his naps these days: he sleeps in a "sleep sack" but likes to have a thin cotton waffle blanket to play with...he rubs it all over his face as he's falling to sleep and leaves it there covering his head and nothing else--like Bee's "softy".)

All three of these things mean more and more normalcy/freedom and its wonderful!

Here are a few photos after church/lunch/nap:

Next year there will be Easter eggs in Kyle's beautiful green grass for the little guy to pick up!

For any of you that remember "study face"...this is his new one. He sucks his bottom lip in and looks very contemplative. What a serious baby!

Stay tuned for a video we're hoping to catch of Owen's belly laughs. Very similar to my quest to get him to smile (and catch it on camera) a few months ago, his real laugh has made appearances, but is not regular...so we'll keep you posted.

And a prayer request: we're travelling to Austin next week to see family/friends and (drum roll) for Kyle's 2-day interview w/ a practice there. We are sooo excited and are trying not to get our hopes up. We know God has a perfect plan for us...

SPRING!

We are soooo excited about the warmer weather we're having. Bring it on Spring!

Last Thursday we took our first family hike--up to Hanging Rock (one of our favorite places). All things considered, Owen did pretty well. We kept thinking he would fall asleep in the car, then on the trail, then in the car again, but no...he fought it pretty much the entire time. He likes his backpack and there is just soooo much to take in--who can blame him?


No napping (or very little) means he was pretty tired (and cuddly) which I got to enjoy on our lunch break. He doesn't look very happy, but I was. :)

And back at home: we're trying to spend as much time outside as possible. We're really enjoying our walks with our favorite neighbors (you know who you are) and spending some playtime on a blanket on Daddy's nice grass in the backyard (ah, a dream of Kyle's fulfilled). Here, Owen is practicing his "unassisted sitting" as well as his "unassisted toppling over". Grass is soft.

Rebel

Owen got "kicked out" of baby Sunday School today. We were in church and 703 (his # for the morning) flashed up on the screen in the corner, meaning we were needed. His first rub with authority. Some thought he might be hungry, others tired, or that he needed a passy. He was just being (unpredictable) Owen, and he needed a little mommy. Luckily, there is no three strikes and you're out policy or anything...so he'll be back. :)

Adventures with Rice Cereal

Our voracious eater now has something new on his menu...Rice Cereal. Yippee! We gave Owen his first taste of something w/ a spoon last Saturday and it went well. He gobbled it right up. He wanted to hold the spoon himself but that only made it more difficult. A+ for effort. You can't see it, but his bib says "drool" and that was very appropriate.



In other news (still about Owen, surprised?), I feel like I can't keep up with all the new things he does on a weekly basis (so forgive me if I repeat myself)...Here are some "what he's doing now" updates:

He's really into sighing a lot these days. Still squeals when he's happy or we're playing, but now he also has these really mellow sighs when he's just hanging out (say, in his swing, or in bed in the morning after he wakes up but before I come in and get him). Surprisingly, he'll lay there in the morning for quite some time just "talking" (sighing) to himself. It's really sweet.

He's also started loving to play with our faces. If you stand him up on your lap he can't help but put his hands all over your face (beware if you have glasses--they're coming off). It's good motivation for me to keep his nails trimmed!

Also, he's getting closer and closer to sitting up unassisted. His "tripodding" is getting steadier and he really likes to sit in between our legs and play.

He has started playing with his duck in the bath and actually splashing about a bit (in an attempt to grab the duck, which he can't because it's wet and it moves around when he goes for it).

And he has another fun toy...we borrowed a bouncer/"johnny jump-up" that goes in the door. He hasn't quite figured out he can bounce it himself (he sort of just spins/slides around w/ a little bounce here and there) but he really likes it when we help him. Oh, for the moments when he plays unassisted!

He spent his first Sunday in the church nursery and the sweet lady who kept him said he did great. He was asleep when I went to pick him up. Somehow, I don't believe her (that he didn't cry), but it will make it easier to leave him there next week. (To clarify, I'm not worried about him as much as whoever has to deal with him if he has a melt down!)

Whew, that's it. We're hoping to take an actual little hike w/ him tomorrow (if the weather is nice and Kyle has an easy call night)...we'll let you know how it goes.

Firsts

Owen had two firsts today...

1) He rolled over (tummy to back) by himself. It was definitely an accident--he had no idea what exactly happened, and couldn't repeat it, but it happened nonetheless! Mobility is just around the corner! (Be afraid, be very afraid!)

2) He laughed a real-deal laugh! It was great--not a baby coo, but a real laugh. I'm learning that for Owen (most babies?) there is an inverse relationship between the amount of clothes he's wearing at a given time and the likelihood of lots of smiles/coos and in this case laughter...

Play Time (New Toys!), Bee & Owen's First Cold

So, we've had a very eventful few days...most notably, some new things at play time, a visit from my mom, Bee, and Owen's first cold.

Here he and I are last week (Valentine's Day--waiting for Bee) after a few minutes of playing in what was left of the snow. I think all he knew was that it was much brighter outside than usual and he wasn't really a fan.

Oh, how long we've been waiting to use this toy! His exersaucer is such a hit! He's technically not quite big enough for it. We put a little towel in his seat to help support his little body a little better, and have one of Kyle's biggest anesthesia textbooks under his feet so they touch the bottom. But with these minor adjustments, he's good to go and LOVING IT! For Owen, the only improvement would be if he could somehow manage to get these new toys into his mouth! (Smiling at Bee.)

Tummy time, tummy time! (Smiling at Bee.)

The other toy we've been waiting to use for a while is the baby backpack we got ourselves for Christmas! Kyle has been especially excited for its innaugural voyage! Owen took to it like a little champ and happily endured quite a long walk around the neighborhood.

Of course, it's easy to endure almost anything if you can sleep through it (which he did).

So, Bee got to spend time with Owen and his new toys while he was still healthy and happy on Friday (yea!) and help us take care of him for a few days with his first cold too. He really has been quite pittiful. Since he can't blow his nose, he's just a snotty, drooly, coughy, watery-eyed mess. He hasn't run a fever which is great, but he definitely hasn't been like himself. I'm noticing a slight improvement today, so hopefully he's through the worst of it.

FYI: If anyone needs help 1) making tasty but ugly chocolate-chip cookies shaped like numbers, or 2) help understanding the super-deligate situation, Bee is the person to ask! :)