Owen's 1st Birthday

Ok, so it's been over 2 weeks since Owen turned 1, and I am just now getting around to posting pictures and an update. Oops! We had such a fun time at his party. Both sets of grandparents were there, plus Aunt Rachel, Aunt Jackie, Aunt Janan, and Uncle Brad (and their respective families), and Amanda and Will Woodruff. Owen got lots of neat gifts, had a blast playing with the other kids, and got to eat cake and ice cream for the very first time! He was all smiles all day long (which is pretty typical for him anyway.)

This picture was difficult to get (and it's certainly not the best one we've taken this year). Owen is so full of energy, it is challenging trying to get him to sit still for any length of time. He'd much rather play with Curious George than sit next to him, or climb on the chair than sit on his bottom. This will probably conclude the monthly birthday photos. Sad!

So, you saw the practice cake in my last post. Here's the final product. Not too bad, if I do say so myself!

The look on Owen's face while we were singing "Happy Birthday" was priceless. He was probably thinking, "why the heck is everyone standing around looking at and singing to me??"

Owen was not too sure about the cake, and especially the ice cream, at first.

"Oooo, ice cream is COLD!"

"Ok, I think I've got the hang of this now."

"Yum! Mom, can we have cake and ice cream every night?"


This picture just doesn't show how adorable and hilarious O looked blowing kisses on the glass patio door, but I'm sure you can imagine.

Opening presents...

Our summer is still going very well. Owen is so much fun now that he is walking well and getting into everything! He sure keeps me on my toes, but I have to remind myself that's what I'm here for now. (The roles and responsibilities of "Mom" keep changing on me!) We've visited Niabi Zoo in Milan and the Children's Museum in Coralville, have spent many an afternoon splashing in either our sand/water table or backyard baby pool, and have had some fun play dates with O's new buddies Jacob and Will.

I realized recently how much our little imitator is listening to us even when we might not realize it. For some time now, I've noticed that O likes to imitate sounds that he hears - like squealing fireworks on the 4th of July, the snores of an old man fast asleep, and Daddy burping, for example. Although he's not saying any words yet, I'm sure it won't be long, so we really need to start watching what we say around him.

The O-man is an excellent eater. He will literally eat anything I put on his tray. Just today, I gave him kidney beans (yuck!) and he ate them up right along with his grapes, bagel, and peas. I'm trying to expose him to as many healthy and nutrient-rich foods as I can now before he starts to get picky.

And just this past weekend, on an evening that Ryan and I went out (of course!), my family managed to finally teach Owen how to wave - something I've been working on with him for months! He is so cute when he does it - he waves his whole arm, and he just grins from ear to ear as if he's accomplished the most incredible feat (which, of course, we let him believe he has).

Here are a few more pictures from the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Blowing bubbles with Grandma Vera

Swimming! We love it when Grandma comes to visit, but we wish her summer wasn't over so soon.

Check out those baby blues! That is probably the single most frequent comment I receive from strangers when we're out and about - "such big, bright, blue eyes!"

Making a big mess with Will in the sand/water table he received as a birthday gift...and loving it! (I've since removed the sand and declared it simply a "water table." Maybe we'll try sand again next year, but it was just too messy for Mommy and Daddy to deal with.)

Still putting everything in his mouth (when will that end?), Owen experiments with his first puzzle.

Owen loves taking baths!

Headband and muscle tee. This boy is styling!

"Mom, why is there a giant jar of cheese balls in our living room?"

Road Trip Warrior

We're back from a wonderful trip to Kansas City for a much-overdue Betts Family Reunion. I was pretty nervous about taking Owen on his first real road trip - he's flown to Iowa from Seattle when he was 3 1/2 months old and slept the whole way, so that doesn't count. And he's driven to Des Moines at least once, but it's been a while and that's not really all that far, so that doesn't count either. For the most part, he did really well. He doesn't mind being passed around from person to person (in fact, I think he likes it since he will reach out to nearly anyone). And he slept great each night in the pack & play, even though he was in the same room with us. Naps were a little lacking (he really only ever had one a day instead of his usual two), but he has definitely caught up on his sleep since we've been home. Every day so far, he's slept until at least 9:00 a.m. and I am NOT complaining about that one bit!

The car trip was about what I expected. We rode with my parents on the way down and with Ryan on the way back. Here are some photos that show the progression of his mood:

I didn't take very many pictures while we were there (I left that up to everyone else!), but here are a few:

Being naughty with Grandpa and Uncle Bobby.

Playing ball with Harrison and Jack Betts. Those boys sure loved O (as did all the kids)!

We are getting pretty excited about Owen's first birthday (and the party) coming up this Saturday. Hopefully all of our family (or at least those that live in the state) will be here to help us celebrate. Owen is walking more and more and more every day. Sometimes I just watch him noodle around a room and marvel at how far he's come! I'll be sure to post the details of his big day (and hopefully LOTS of pictures). Until then, here are few more to enjoy from the past couple weeks...

More Photos

"Pasta: The Aftermath"

This boy can fall asleep in just about any position!

Hanging out at the zoo. Owen was less than enthused about the animals, but enjoyed the stroller ride and people watching.

O's first dip in the backyard pool.

Baby butt!

I don't let Owen hang out naked very often (I'm too afraid he'll pee all over everything!), but after his swim, he was too squirmy for me to dry off and get dressed, so I just let him hang free for a while. Obviously, you can see that he enjoyed it!

I finally did get a diaper on him.

Owen: "Mom, what am I doing here?"

Mom: "I ask myself that same question almost daily."

A practice version of the new cake I plan to make for the party on Saturday. This one isn't decorated very nicely, but I just wanted to make sure that I'd be able to cut the cake into the right shape. Not too shabby!