"A Bold Undertaking"

I mentioned in my last post that we had a crazy week last week...

But first, what you're really here for--an update on Owen. :)

He's doing great, of course! He continues to get easier and easier on the fussy scale, and more and more rambunctious, interactive, fun, etc. He's a sneaky little booger--getting into anything he can--opening the fridge (he gets mad at me when I close the door and he can't get in), trying to get in the toilet to splash his hands around (we now have to keep the lids down). He's definitely "cruising" around furniture and love to pull up on us, which makes walking difficult! Beyond the crawling and standing up (and letting go!), his seemingly favorite move is one we like to call the "sit n' spin". He sits and spins himself around by kicking/scooting his feet. Sometimes he actually uses the move w/ a purpose to face something he wants, but sometimes he just goes around and around and around...

He's enjoying his big boy finger foods and doesn't like to be fed anymore. He's also taken to trying to feed us--grapes are a favorite.

This probably won't sound like a big deal to anyone else, but he's just in the past week or two starting sleeping in a new position. For 10+ months he layed flat on his bag with his blanky on his face, arms up over his head. Truly hysterical. Now he's got a 2nd position: a funny little side position--almost pike-like, and sometimes his feet are in the bars of his crib. Either way--why are babies so stinking cute when they're asleep? Ooohhhhh, the nights of rocking him and rocking him and trying to get him to stop crying so we could all get some shut-eye! Seems like SO long ago (thank goodness)! There was that 3rd position today, but I'm hoping he'll outgrow it (see post below)...

I feel like toys are becoming a bigger part of his life--I guess becuase he is actually playing with them and sometimes even by himself. We have a few new balls and a couple of borrowed push toys that are a big hit right now! Our favorite non-toy entertainment is peekaboo (I never thought there would be so many ways to play this game, and that it would never cease to be fun for him) and clapping. Boy, do we love to clap! (Seriously though, it is amazing to know that he understands what we're saying/doing and he can follow a simple instruction!)

Okay, enough about Owen, right?

THE BEACH TRIP: A BOLD UNDERTAKING

So, my neighbor and good friend Ann realized that Kyle and her husband Terry would both be gone for several days last week and she had a hankering to get her two kids (David, 2.5yo, Lauren, 7mo) to the beach one last time for the summer...It didn't take much convincing. We started talking Monday and decided on Tuesday to leave that night w/ the kiddos asleep in the car.

We tried to do things to make the trip as easy for ourselves as possible...we had a house rented at Holden Beach (where we went in May), bought easy food; all things were going according to plan...

Until her SUV battery decided to die while we were driving through Greensboro. It was now or never w/ a very excited toddler who HAD to get to the beach...so we had to rent a mini-van (actually a blessing in disguise) at the nearby airport and transfer all the stuff and three kiddos (1 sleeping, 2 too-wired to sleep). Back on the road. Until I got pulled over for crossing the center line at 2:30 in the morning on a small neighborhood street at the beach while going approx. 20 miles an hour trying to find the beach house in the dark w/ poorly lit address numbers--4 houses from our destination. No ticket, but he wasn't very nice and he woke up all the babies w/ his loud speaker and flashlight. Ugh. I think we all got to bed about 4:30 and I know they got us up at 7:30. Let's go to the beach beach beach! (Did I mention that all of this was only barely pre-hurricane?)

The next two days were a blur--sunny beach time, nap times (for me, not for Ann since she has two--that makes you think doesn't it!), toddler discipline, "family" meals, lots of tag-teaming and fun mommy conversations at night (over a glass of wine). Owen is fascinated by David--who needs toys when you have at toddler to entertain you? David brought us make-believe coffee from the coffee shop. Owen demonstrated his ever-increasing maturity by studying the sand, but not putting it in his mouth! And Lauren, well, she's just an angel.

Seemed like some other things went "wrong" while we were there--but I can't remember them which means it was a good trip. Except one: Ann's wallet got left behind at an ice cream shop and they closed early and we couldn't get it back and then she got a call from one of her cards saying someone was using it. Not a fun way to end the trip. Oh, and she got pooped on in a major way on the way home, with no accessible change of clothes--so two things.

In the end, we got the mini-van returned, her cards cancelled and reordered, the poop cleaned off, and the kids had a wonderful time (heck, so did we!) and we didn't even get any rain until we got back home! Lots of work, but well worth it. Although next time we're bringing our hubbies!

David and Owen playing in a puddle on the beach at sunset. Good times. By the end of the evening Owen was COVERED in sand-mud (most of it put there by David). :)

His face doesn't look happy, but trust me, he was.

Ann and sweet Lauren.

Mother and son w/ bad beach hair.

So Pittiful, So sweet

I intend on blogging and posting pictures from our CRAZY last week (impromptu beach trip!) tonight when I've got a little more time...but in the meanwhile, I have to share a quick story.

I put Owen down for his morning nap. Twenty minutes later he woke up crying. I thought-- bummer! what a short nap! But I waited a minute and he sounded like he was putting himself back to sleep (a certain type of cry/wimper). A minute or two later he was quiet. Yea! I went upstairs to check on him and found him sitting up in his crib but slumped over completely-- head laying on his feet. Sacked out.

So pittiful, so sweet. I almost laughed out loud.

I scooted him over and layed him down and he didn't make a peep.

He can get from standing to sitting in his crib, but he can't yet get from sitting to laying down (without falling over), so he was sort of stuck, but soooo sleepy. Again, so pittiful, so sweet.

Top Ten

Fun things Owen does (w/ my help) every day:

1) touch the big tree, then the little tree
2) read some books
3) play "ball"
4) sing some songs (all made up on the spot, rarely making any sense)
5) stand up using 1 hand to balance (sometimes letting go and sitting back down)
6) make sure all the cieling fans are still there (turn them on and off)
7) wave bye bye (on cue and just because)
8) clap and shake head "no"
9) squeal, giggle and talk as best I can
10) open the refrigerator door all by myself and wreak havoc...this is a new one

Puppy Tricks

It's been over 2 weeks since my last post, but it might as well have been months. It seems like Owen is changing so quickly these days. He's learning all sorts of new things (mostly "puppy tricks") and Kyle and I are really can't get enough play time with him (especially Kyle who isn't home all day). Kyle is very proud that he taught him how to do "high five". It's not totally consistent, but he's getting there. His bye bye wave (now outward facing) and fan recognition skills are still top-notch. He's also starting giving mommy "kisses" = his open mouth to my cheek. I'll take it!

Owen is finally standing up in his crib (hard to do in a sleep sack, but he finally figured it out)--this put a real cramp on his sleeping/napping because sitting/standing up in bed was so much fun! Luckily the novilty has warn off a little so his sleeping habits are mostly back to normal.

He's keeping me on my toes throughout the day-pulling books off bookshelves and trying to eat the paper before I can get to him; pushing furniture around--chairs, ottoman, laundry baskets, getting into cabinets, drawers; putting his fingers in anything that looks like a hole; pulling up on everything--his favorite is me I think. There is so much to explore!

Here's another of puppy trick Kyle taught him: mimmicking the "No" head motion (as seen below in this video). He seems to understand when we say No--at least it gets his attention and he stops whatever he's doing temporarily. The head shake is just a mimmick of the motion, but it's pretty funny. We think he likes the way it feels because sometimes he does it without prompting--will just start shaking fanatically.

His #1 favorite game these days is "playing ball". We had no idea a flat tennis ball could be so much fun! This goes hand-in-hand w/ his 2nd favorite game which he can play by himself--he "spikes" various toys to the ground--he particularly likes using his stacking rings. Throwing things on the ground (whether he's in a chair or on the ground) seems to have almost taken the place of putting things in his mouth in terms of frequency which is impressive.

In food news, Owen is taking well to his "sippy cup" and big people food which means we're in the weening process. It's a good thing and he and I are both adjusting well. :)

Owen had his first real (non-relative, paid) babysitter last weekend which was a treat for us. It was after he went to bed, but it was still a treat to get out of the house and go to a movie. At some point we'll get brave enough to leave him w/ a sitter while he's awake but we're not there yet...

Owen has had several opportunities to play w/ older kids recently and it is sooooooo fun to watch. He is enthralled. Our neighbor David (2.5) crawls/hops around him like a frog and Owen belly-laughs. We're really really really really excited (for many reasons) that our small group Bible study has decided to start meeting on Sunday afternoon/eveninings but partly because it means all the kids get to come and play--there are several toddlers and a few new babies younger than Owen, so it's perfect. Then we all eat together. We've only done it twice, but it's been awesome! We're really excited to see how this helps shape our group over the next year, and although we'll be extremely sad to leave it, we're hoping we can take what we're learning in this growing process and apply it to a small church/neighborhood group when we get to Austin.

TTFN.

Texas and back again

Whew, what a couple of weeks! Where to begin? Owen and I had a great trip to Austin. Even though we were there a week, it seemed busy! We got to see lots of family and friends. Owen had a great time playing w/ cousin Bailey (and all of her toys--new things!) and Aunt Melissa was kind enough to babysit him so I could get a message w/ my mom and my Auntie Joycie from Stratford--what a treat!

Here is AJ w/ Owen--her first time to meet him! (He might have been a little confused b/c she sounds exactly like my mom and looks an awful lot like her too!)Owen decided this trip that he really liked Sido (it was bound to happen)! He would flash him a huge smile every time he saw him, but then sometimes would sort of act bashful and hide. Sido let him play with his shiny gold watch, and sit on his lap. Owen returned the love by breaking a "4000 year-old Mayan relic" that Bee plans to super-glue back together. No one will ever know... Here they are in matching outfits! :)

Ice cream. It has to be the perfect (albeit temporary) solution for sore teething gums. Here is my dad (temporarily "Grandpa Stan") and his girlfriend Pam giving him a little sweet medicine. Owen figured out how to climb up a small step (you can sort of see it in the photo) at her house. Down is a different story--we're still working on that.
Oh, the pool. We played at the neatest central Austin municipal pool (and playground). They have a great little kiddie pool w/ a big fountain and a regular play/lap pool. Bee enjoyed taking him in both. You can't tell, but he is splashing up a storm in this photo. (I forgot his bathing suite so he's just in a diaper--something I'm sure the other patrons appreciated.)
Other Austin news. We got to see my dear friend Taylor (who is currently residing in New York--how did I not get a picture of her w/ Owen?-arg!). We also saw other Austin and San Antonio cousins. I also got to hang w/ my bro at his new place--I'm thinking future babysitting should happen at our house. Mel, Bailey, Owen and I visited Kyle's grandma BB--I'll post a picture when I get them from Mel. It was such a great to get to hang out at Luke and Mel's new house (which he built, which is awesome) and it's super-close to my Mom's (where we stayed). They have a playroom to die for! Our friends the Fosheas came over one evening (you remember them from our beach stories, no?) and we got a little taste (minus Kyle) of what life in Austin is going to be like once we move--the hanging out with our friends part. It was great. And the brownies were delicious.

Um, I cut my hair. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to share w/ you...Let's just say that it's a mom-do. I need a mini-van now (Noooooo!!!!!). Seriously, it's okay, but my pony-tail is retardedly short, so I'm already willing it to grow back. The grass is always greener.

Oh, this is huge: Bee taught Owen how to wave bye-bye! It's very Pavlov's dog. He scrunches up his hand (facing himself) when we say bye-bye and wave at him. (He just did his bye bye to a toy that says bye bye when it turns off--how cute!) Add this to FAN and we're well on our way! Oh, I don't think I blogged about that--Owen knows the word fan (as in ceiling fan). He can't say it (yet), but when we say "Owen, where's the fan?," he looks up at the ceiling and sometimes he even points. It's great!

Okay, I think that's it from Austin. After we had been there for a week, Kyle flew in. Yea Dada!!! Luke came with us and we drove to Meridian to see Nana! Since Franny is planning her move to Austin (yea!) it was time for Kyle to go back up some of his childhood things. We had a lot of work to do, but had such a fun time going through boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes (ad infinitum) of memorabilia, junk, and everything in between. While Kyle worked on that, Luke and I rearranged the furniture in just about every room. And I played the role of the "throw-that-away" drill Sargent. Tough love! Franny had a showing after we left and she said it went well. She's enjoying her "new house"...but she had better not get used to it!

Here is Kyle hanging out w/ Owen in his childhood backyard. Note the shirt--it was Kyle's. Very appropriate for our big boy. He was "little Kyle" to us all weekend--playing w/ Blue (Luke's dog), trying to get into every box we opened, eating Texas BBQ, staying up late!

And here is Owen playing w/ our his very own "Uncle Fun"...I actually intended on posting a hilarious little video we have of Luke feeding Owen paper (yes, paper--which he loves) from one of the memorabilia boxes, but it is too big a file. You'd think it would be my brother (the one w/out a child) doing this isntead of Kyle's brother who is a parent, but no...

Baby Danger Radar

I cannot Owen-proof fast enough. I have a list, and it seems Owen has one too...and his is one step ahead of mine. Perhaps for the past nine (immoble) months he's been taking mental notes about what looks fun, if he could just get there...now he can. It's like he has a radar that helps him narrow in on the most dangerous thing in the room (not even the most interesting, just the most dangerous) and that's what he goes for. He seems to know even before I say "No" and race after him, what he shouldn't be messing with. It's really pretty comical (and scary). He is soooo much faster than he was a week ago! Wish me luck as I try to keep up...

Owen and I leave for Austin on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, Kyle has to stay here and work until the next weekend, when he'll meet us in Meridian to see Nana. In the meantime, Owen and I have fun plans to see family/friends. I'm sure he'll show off his new crawling and big-boy eating skills, as well as get into some stuff he shouldn't...

Until then. :)

Order Shmorder

1) Roll tummy to back (anything to get off the tummy)
2) Repeat, repeat, repeat (months go by)
3) Put in a crawling position, figure out how to get off tummy--sit back
4) Finally crawl!
5) Realize this tummy thing is the way to FREEDOM!
6) Roll from back to tummy (usually the first to happen)...

So, after Owen's nap today, I found him in his crib in the crawling position which means he rolled off of his back (how he goes to sleep) onto his tummy! Yea Owen!!! He's a full-range roller now! When it rains it pours! And yes, we're baby-proofing this weekend!