9 months

The past few weeks have been loads of fun and so much is happening with my big boy. Owen had his first haircut (which was probably long overdue) at the very capable hands of his Aunt Jackie a couple weeks ago. He was happily distracted by his new favorite food - Club crackers - while Jackie snipped away.

Check out the old man toupee/comb-over "before."

Mmmm...these crackers are so good! Big smiles!

Thanks, Aunt Jackie! I look so handsome!

BOTH of Owen's top front teeth have come in and they are HUGE! They kind of look like grown-up teeth, instead of baby teeth. : ) And, just to prove what a big boy he really is, he's completely rejected the pacifier altogether, only weeks before his nine-month birthday. That was easy! He still isn't crawling in the traditional manner (up on hands and knees), but he certainly gets what he's after by doing a weird sort of army crawl all across the floor. Gone are the days when I can step out of the room for a few moments and expect to find him in the same vicinity where I left him. And just tonight, we lowered the mattress in his crib because I recently found him on his knees hanging onto the side of the crib. It's only a matter of time before he can pull himself up to a full standing position, so better safe than sorry.

We plan to close on our new house in Muscatine in two weeks. Ryan and I will work on a few projects for a week and a half before we have the movers unload all our stuff. But very, very soon, we will once again have our own home!!! Look for pictures of Owen's new room soon!

More Photos

Happy Easter!

This photo expresses O's pure glee with the new tree swing at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Family photo on Easter Sunday.

The 9-month photo with Curious George.

Some fun videos

Runny nose on the move

Poor Owen had his first cold this past week. At 8 1/2 months old, it's actually pretty impressive that he hasn't been sick at all before this! Together, we've endured the coughing, runny nose, sneezing (he thinks it's SO funny when Mommy says, "God bless you, Owen!"), and a generally cranky attitude for going on 10 days now. But, he seems to finally be on the mend, which is a GREAT thing!

Tooth number three (top front left) made its first appearance this morning and I'm certain his next door neighbor won't be far behind. Maybe that had a little something to do with the crankiness as well.

I'm not sure whether to mark this day in the baby book as his first crawl or not. He's been working so hard at it for some time now, but today he actually made some substantial distance by pushing himself forward, face and chest on the ground, by his back legs. It's like he's figured out the leg part of crawling, but his arms haven't fully caught on yet. Looks to me like a recipe for some pretty brutal carpet burns on his face, but at least he's trying!

Photos

Trying on his first (of many, if he's anything like his daddy) Hawkeye caps.

The obligatory photo with the Easter Bunny.

Videos

Owen's first time on the swing at the park. (Sorry for the bad cell phone video.)

Movin' on up

I've been waiting to make this post until I had some good news to share on the home buying front, so I'm pleased to finally announce that we have bought a house! It is in Muscatine (where Ryan works), which is about a 40-minute drive from Davenport where our families live. We officially closed on our house in Seattle a couple weeks ago, and we've been living with the Petersons since October, so we were R-E-A-D-Y for this day! (Actually, we're ready for April 30 when we're set to close and can actually move in, but we're still excited now, too.)

Owen continues to thrive and is soooooo close to crawling. (I can't wait to make that post!) He sits very well now and is eating lots of new finger foods. Some of his favorites are bananas, Cheerios, and cheese. I keep hearing that "stranger anxiety" will likely set in soon, but so far, he is a champ with everyone he spends time with. Mommy and Daddy really appreciate that both grandmas can help watch him so we can have a little time to ourselves every now and then.

The weather is finally getting nicer, so we've been able to get outside with Owen much more lately. He even got to swing at the park for the very first time just the other day with his buddy Will. The next few months promise to be very busy as we prepare for our move and participate in the various events leading up to Aunt Rachel and soon-to-be Uncle Todd's wedding. Life is SO good!

Photos

Poor, confused baby. With Mommy in his Iowa State University threads and with Daddy (and Herky the Hawk) sporting University of Iowa black and gold.

Hanging out at the mall with cool Aunt Jackie.

O loves his musical jungle toy from Aunt Janan and family at Christmas. He's finally old enough to play with it now!

Posing with Curious George for his 8-month birthday shot.

Supporting "Team Grandpa" at the 5th Annual Betts Family Chili Cook-Off. Sadly, Grandpa didn't place this year, but Daddy did take home 2nd place.

Owen's first word is...

Of course, he has no idea what he's saying, and assigns no actual meaning to it, but Owen spoke his first real word a few days ago. Much to Ryan's pleasure, and as predicted, it was of course, "dada" (or "daga," or "bada," etc.) It's pretty cute though, to listen to him really get going...he'll say it over, and over, and over. Check out this video, shot on the first night he debuted this new talent. (Apologies for the very brief nudity at the beginning :)

In other news, tooth number two has made an appearance. And Owen can now sit for much longer stretches, although he still comes tumbling down in time. He's even started making the first attempts at crawling, though no actual movement has taken place yet. He sort of rocks his butt back and forth a bit when he's on his tummy. But mostly, he just rolls around when we put him on the floor (he goes both ways now with ease.)

We are feeling a little cooped up lately and are anxious for spring to arrive. Or, if the temperatures would even get out of the "below freezing" category for a while, maybe we could enjoy a walk every once in a while. I'm pretty sure Kinnick would appreciate that as well. I am officially going on record to say that I despise midwest winters. Enough already.

Pictures

Presents on Valentine's Day

Mutual admiration.

"Thanks for the gifts, Papa Vern!"

"You're welcome, O-man."

Valentine's Day love with G'ma and G'pa V.

Mom and Dad get in on the action, too.

Hungry boy. Just how wide can this kid open his mouth in anticipation of the next bite of food? (He does this for his bottle, too.)

More, please!!!

Those peas never stood a chance!

Bath time fun!

With daddy when he first started saying "dada." Ryan was so excited!

Happy birthday, O-man!

As promised, here is O's monthly shot with Curious George, taken today. (He just can't keep that tongue in his mouth!) Happy 7 months, buddy!

7 months

Owen will be 7 months this Wednesday (photo to come) and as I sit here on this snowy February day, making updates to his baby book and calendar, I am reminded of the fun new milestones to report. For instance, about a week ago, Grandma V discovered his first baby tooth poking, ever so slightly, from O's bottom gums. It's a sharp little thing, I'm here to tell you! I guess I expected that once it made its first appearance, it would be fully out in no time, and all the others would be close behind, but so far, it's still just a sharp, stubby little nub that you can really only see when he opens his mouth really wide in anticipation of a bottle or bite of food (which is hilarious to see...he opens up SO wide!)

I work with Owen every day on sitting (unsupported) - you'll recall from my last post that he wasn't showing any signs of interest in this activity for a while - and I'm happy to report that he is finally capable of sitting for short periods on his own. I'm always nearby to prop him back up after he tumbles backward, sideways, and face forward, but as long as he's distracted with toys within his reach, he has the potential to sit for a full minute or more without falling. I long for the day (both for his benefit and mine) that he can keep himself steady for good (or at least, when he can pick himself back up after he falls). Stay tuned...

And just this morning, I witnessed (sort of) O's first successful attempt at rolling from his back to his belly. He's been doing the reverse for months now, and has gotten awfully close on many, many occasions. But today, I went to peek on him to see if he had fallen asleep yet during nap time (it was suspiciously quiet for a while, so I assumed he had), but instead, I found him on his tummy, with his arms tucked uncomfortably underneath him. He wasn't really fussing, but it appeared from a distance that he was trying to get himself back over onto his back. But when I got closer, his eyelids were heavy and he looked like he was about to fall asleep. I really thought he looked uncomfortable though (and, frankly, I'm a bit uncomfortable with the idea of him sleeping on his tummy still, too), so I gently rolled him back over and he went right to sleep. Sweet boy!

I joined a local MOPS group this past week (that's "Mothers of Preschoolers," a social/support group for moms of children in infancy through kindergarden) and am excited to get to know some of the other young moms in this area a little better. I was also planning to attend "Tummy Time," a story time/parenting advice for kids under 3 at the library today, but it is at 10:00 which is usually smack in the middle of O's morning nap time. I just couldn't bring myself to wake him today, when he was sleeping so well, to get in the car and go out in the cold to attend a story time that I would certainly get more out of than he would. Maybe if his nap schedule ever changes, I would like to try to get out and do more of that kind of thing.

For those wondering about our living situation, we have signed a deal with a buyer on our Seattle house and, assuming everything goes through, we are scheduled to close on that deal March 1. We still, however, haven't decided on where we want to buy a house in Iowa yet, so our home search on this end has come to a temporary halt. More on that later...

And now, the pictures...

Happy baby!

He recently discovered his tongue and he LOVES to stick it out at us!

Owen with his new BFF (whether they know it or not), Will Woodruff, Mommy's BFF Amanda's son, at Will's 1st birthday party.

6 months

My baby boy is 6 months old! Half a year! Not too long ago, this milestone seemed so far away, I can hardly believe it's here now. Owen had his 6-month check-up this week and the nurse mentioned that this is her favorite age because babies are generally so happy at this stage. And boy, is that true for Owen! He is so smiley and giggly!

He still loves playing on his activity mat and is a pro at grasping and pulling his toys toward him. And he spends a lot of time "at the office" (i.e., in his exersaucer), giggling and squealing as he bounces up and down. He's mastered rolling from his belly to his back and gets close to the reverse, but his arm always seems to get in his way. We are still working on getting him to sit on his own. I keep telling him how much more exciting the world will be once he can sit up, but I guess he's not in a big hurry to find out if I'm right.

We're also developing O's palette by introducing vegetables (carrots, green beans, squash, peas, and sweet potatoes) and fruit (apples and pears so far, with peaches, bananas, and prunes still to come). So far, he seems to like it all! I am anxious to start making some homemade baby food purees, but until we get our own house (and my food processor makes its way out of storage), Owen has to settle for store-bought.

Nap times have started to decrease (which makes me sad because it's the only time I seem to get anything done!), but I will not complain about our little guy's consistent pattern of sleeping through the night! He's a rock star in that department!

He now weighs 16 pounds, 9 ounces (the 4oth percentile for his age) and is 25 3/4 inches long (25th percentile), so he's right on track. Thanks for checking in on us and we'll continue to keep you all up to date on Baby Owen as he grows, and grows, and grows!

Photos

Bright eyes and rosy cheeks!

Go Hawkeyes!