More videos

A couple more videos that I couldn't get to save to my last post:

Crawling on his hands and knees (sort of).

Lightning McQueen!

10 months old

I can't believe we're getting so close to that one year mark! I'm really looking forward to it (and all that lies ahead in Owen's world), but I'm also a little sad that my sweet baby won't be a "baby" for too much longer.

Here's a few things to know about Owen Ryan at 10 months old:

• I caught him crawling on his hands and knees (instead of his usual army crawl) for the first time on Mother's Day. He seems to switch back and forth between the two styles, but definitely gets where he wants to go with ease now.
• He'd much rather be standing and cruising, though, so no matter where you put him (today he was near the vacuum and pulled himself up), he will find a way to pull himself up to standing. Time to secure the furniture to the walls!
• O is very interested in the piano. Even at a very young age, Daddy was always able to calm Owen down by sitting him on his lap while he played the piano. And now that Owen can get himself to the piano himself and reach up to tap the keys, he still shows signs that he enjoys it. (See the video from last week's post for a sample of his sure-to-be musical genius!)
• One of his new favorite games is pulling each and every book off of the bookshelf in his room. Now if only we could teach him to put them all back!
• He's also recently become interested in electrical outlets. Good thing we've got those plastic plugs in most of them, but when he spots one, he loves to investigate.
• Opening and closing drawers and cabinet doors is, evidently, loads of fun to a 10-month-old. He hasn't figured out yet, however, not to put his fingers over the edge of the drawer or door before slamming it closed. Ouch!
• Just this week, O started showing the first signs of shyness around strangers. Nothing too bad, fortunately, but when friendly people at the grocery store or library say hi to him, he's started to scrunch up his arms against his chest and turn his face into me. But then he inevitably peeks back at the stranger and usually flashes that famous, toothy smile.

Photos

Livin' for the weekends and hanging out with Daddy!

Even the piano pedals fascinate this kid. I just know he's going to be tickling those ivories soon, just like his Daddy.

Move over, Kinnick, there's a new star in town. (Poor, neglected Kinnick!)

Enjoying some homemade banana bread for the first time. O loves all things banana, and this was no exception.

I happened upon the Sprout channel, which plays Sesame Street and other age-appropriate shows, and was pleased to see one of my very favorite skits from when I was a kid – Bert, doing "The Pigeon." Owen was less impressed with this find than I was, but danced along nonetheless.

Videos

Getting frisky with Curious George!

Pulling himself right up to the piano bench.

Back online

Alright all...we finally have Internet set up at our new place (as of last night), so here is the long overdue update.

To sum things up, Owen is SO MUCH FUN right now! He is moving all over the place, babbles and giggles nonstop, and is just very alert and aware of life and things around him. I'm not sure he'll ever figure out how to crawl on his hands and knees, but his version of the army crawl seems to get him where he wants to go. The other day, he did take a few steps on his hands and feet (so cute!), so at least he's showing some initiative. He can also now pull himself up (and does so every chance he gets) and is cruising around furniture like crazy. And gone are the days of falling down and being stuck until Mommy rescues him. He can finally get back up to a sitting position from lying down. So, most mornings, I find him standing in his crib, holding on to the railing, babbling happily about his silly baby dreams (at least that's what I presume he's talking about!)

We are now about one week into our new home (with furnishings, that is. We spent the first week of ownership cleaning, painting, etc.) I think this is going to be a great house for our family - very conducive to our current lifestyle. (Much more so than I now realize our last house would have been.) Still not sure how the home's location (Muscatine, Iowa) will suit us, but time will tell on that one. Owen joined us here permanently last Sunday after spending the weekend with Aunt Jackie, who he (and we) LOVES!!! They must have bonded because his face just lights up when he sees her now! It took a good day or so before he seemed to settle in, but I think he's adjusting just fine to his new surroundings. I know I promised pictures of his new room (the painting project came out really cute!), but until we get it all set-up, I want to wait. I was hoping that would be by now, but our initial burst of settling in energy is starting to wane a bit...

Unfortunately, I don't have many photos since my last post, and most of the videos I've taken recently are longer than 30 seconds (which seems to be the max that I can post on here), but here's a few fun ones...

Photos

Owen's first night in his new home.

Enjoying some carrot & raisin salad at Chick-fil-a with Grandma V. What a mess!

Having a cracker snack on the kitchen floor. Good times.

Videos

I think we may have a young prodigy on our hands.

So pleased with himself for figuring out how to open and close a cabinet door. Good thing this one is currently empty! Let the baby-proofing commence!

Giggling with Grandpa

No new info to share, but I just HAD to post this video of Owen cracking up at Grandpa V this weekend. I think they are in love with one another. I've never heard O laugh this hard! Sooooo cute! (Be sure to turn up the volume.)

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.