Owen: 12-15 months

It is a little ridiculous that I haven't updated this blog in so long.  That is just an illustration on how busy little Owen keeps me!    He turned the big O-N-E on May 13th.  A while ago.  He seems to have grown so much since then!  He had a "Muppets" themed party because he loves that movie.  I will do another post about his party (I promise!).

 At his one-year check-up, his Iron levels had gone up to almost normal.  Yea!  We worked so hard at giving him iron-rich food for a while and it slowly went up naturally, without having to fortify his diet with liquid iron.

 Shortly after his one-year birthday, Owen took his first trip on a plane.  He did pretty good considering it was a 5-hour flight with several stops along the way!  He didn't cry at all on the way there and on the way back, only a few times, and it wasn't too bad!

 One of Owen's first words was "Kitty" and that still is one of his favorite words.  He loves to spend time with our kitties, although we recently had to give one away (pictured).  He also loves to say "doggy" and "daddy" very clearly.  He is now imitating his brother and sister as well.  Jackson thinks its funny to get Owen to say "hot dog" in a really deep, raspy voice.  Owen finds it amusing, too!  He is also saying "sentences," although we can't understand most of what he is saying.    As for calling me "mommy," he doesn't yet.  :(  He loves to say, "Daddy!" though!

 Owen got a water table for his first birthday and he loves to play with it!  It's the next best thing to Disneyland!

 One of Owen's favorite things to do is wrestle with his daddy and Jackson.  They get so into, giggling and grunting as they roll on the floor.  I love that they can experience this with their daddy.  What a precious memory!

 Owen took his first trip to the pool back in June.  He really enjoyed the water.  He loves splashing and floating in his little baby chair.

 Hats are entertaining to Owen right now.  He won't keep them one, but he thinks its funny to wear them!

 I think this photo illustrates Owen's sweetness.  He has such a sweet personality.  He seems to love to light up everyone's day!

 He also loves his siblings!  He and Madelyn have a sweet relationship for the most part, except for when he thinks its funny to pull her hair or she pushes him because he is getting into her stuff.  That is a brother-sister relationship for you!  He and Jackson have a great relationship as well.  They are always making each other laugh!

 Books are a regular part of Owen's life.  I have baskets and shelves full of them and he loves to sit and "read."  I treasure his enjoyment of them, even if he reads them upside-down.

 The park swings are definitely a favorite for Owen.  He loves to climb all over the playground as well. He is too, brave, though, I have have to be a step behind him!

 Owen quite possibly is the messiest eater I have ever come across.  He seems to think that what he is eating passes as hair gel.  That's right.  He puts what he is eating in his hair at nearly every meal!  It's a good thing I have washcloths near by.  Although, sometimes that is pointless and I just have to put him in the tub.

 This little boy gets a thrill out of animals.  He loved going to the OC fair this summer and looking at all the farm animals!

 Owen went into the water at the beach for this first time and he couldn't get enough of it!  He kept running in!  He is a bit too brave, so Troy had to hold onto him because otherwise who knows where he would have tried to run!

 Owen at 15 months.  He is a little ham.  He loves to smile at people and he will do so just to get a reaction from them.  He has proven to be very social.  Sounds familiar, doesn't it?  :)

 This is the same bear he started sleeping with at 4 months old.  He finally has shown attachment to it all of a sudden and snuggles with it when he is awake as well.  I love to see him show love for a stuffed animal!  So cute!

 These are the most recent photos of Owen.  He is always smiling.  Over the summer, he got "Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease" pretty bad and was somewhat miserable, but through it all, he tried to be happy and smile.  In the photo below, he is breaking through his first molar.  The only reason I knew is that he opened his mouth wide and I saw it.  He was still his happy self!

Owen is still a pretty small baby, but he has seemed to grow a bit since his 12-month check-up.  His one-piece outfits in 9 months are finally too small and some of his 12-month one-piece outfits are getting a little snug.  He still hardly fits into 12 month shorts/pants.  They have to be rolled up because he isn't big enough around the waist.  Oh-well!  I guess he gets to wear clothes longer than expected!
Some more facts about Owen at 15 months:
~He loves brushing his 6 teeth.
~He loves to run, especially when being chased.
~He climbs onto EVERYTHING, no matter how high or dangerous.  He favorite climbing spots are the kitchen tabletop and the top of the TV cabinet.
~He seems to love to watch Curious George, just like his brother and sister.
~He loves to chew on Legos, although if I catch him and ask them to spit them out, he obeys.

~He loves his daddy so very much!  He runs to him when he gets home from work, fusses when it leaves, and cuddles with him every chance he gets.  Troy eats it up!  So do I, as this isn't the norm for all babies his age!  He even sings songs about him in a sweet voice... "Daaaddeeeee....Daddy!  Daaaaadeeee!"  :)
~He makes the "vroom" sound when playing with cars.  I guess he got that from Jackson!
~His favorite foods are: strawberries, grapes, carrots, mangoes, pretty much any fruit, chicken nuggets, waffles, Trader Joe's Oat bran Muffins, frozen yogurt sticks, and anything with ketchup!
~He still takes two naps.  An hour and a half nap in the morning, and the same in the afternoon.
~He has really blonde hair.  It got lighter and longer over the summer.  It may be time for his first haircut soon!  He also has a little bit of curl in the back.

Hope you all enjoyed the update!  I will write soon about Madelyn's 3rd birthday and both Madelyn and Owen's parties.  Sorry it took so long!!!

Easter!

This year, Easter was a pretty relaxing day.  We gave the kids baskets in the morning before church and they had an egg hunt after church.  Jackson was sure to tell us several times that the day wasn't about candy, but about Jesus raising from the dead.  :)  He wanted to be sure we remembered!  He has shown much interested in Christ lately, and for that, I am very thankful!

 "Tintin!!!"

 Cheese!

 This was our only family photo together on Easter.  Notice the robe?  Nice.

 Cousins!

 Yea for egg hunts!

Owen @ 11 Months

It feels as though Owen is running a marathon and I am running with him, only I need to stop to catch my breath and he keeps on running.  He is only a few short days from running that marathon of his first time circling the sun.  I know.  Sounds like a lot for his first year of life, right?  His eleventh month has been a milestone for him.  He started walking this month.  He also started saying  few more words ("nana" for banana," and he continues to say "ba" for ball and "keekee" for kitty).   He began to explore more things, which keeps me on my toes!  Yes.  He opens every cabinet, especially the pantry, several times a day, and will get into trash cans, toilets, or cat bowls, if given the opportunity.  Of course, I take those temptations away from him by closing bathroom doors---yes, we learned the hard way on that one---and getting trash cans and cat bowls off the floor.  I need to put locks on the cabinets, but have yet to do that.  

As you may guess from his exploratory behavior, he is interested in EVERYTHING.  He is a curious little boy with facial expressions to show off that curiosity.  He makes a "monkey face" when he gets excited about something or finds something of interest.  The "monkey face" I am referring to is when he gets wide eyes and puckered lips while making the sound "Ooooh.  Ooooh."  

In addition to the words Owen is speaking now, he also has learned some "signs."  I don't practice a huge array of sign language with my kids.  I just teach them "more," "all done," and waving goodbye.  He now does all three.  Oh!  And he started clapping this month as well!  We are working on blowing kisses.  So far, he just pats my mouth to blow the kisses. :)

Another thing that stands out in Owen's personality as an 11-month-old is that he is extremely cuddly and he loves to cuddle with his daddy.  When Troy comes home, Owen walks (or runs) to him and holds up his hands for Troy to pick him up.  Then he just sweet lays his head down  on Troy's shoulder and keeps it there.  It is so sweet.  When he gets up from naps, he cuddles me in the same way.  I really do treasure that.

I know that this time when he is small enough to hold in my arms is such a short time, and it still amazes me how fast it goes!  It doesn't seem like a year ago that I was a few short days from delivering my little Owen.  But, at the same time, it seems like life has always been with him.  He is such a part of our lives!  We thank God for the blessing he is to our entire family!

As with every post, here are some photos from this month to enjoy!

Owen's favorite thing to do: get into the pantry.  On a side note, the Gyro bowl doesn't always work the way they say it will in the commercial. 

 Owen never liked to be IN the walker, but it loves to hang around outside of it!

Owen also learned to clap this month.  Here he is clapping for his cornbread.  Like father, like son.

 Owen's first Easter basket included a board book about Jesus, a Sesame Street bath book, some organic cereal crunchy things, and an O ball.  He was impressed.

 Yes.  Most of Owen's baby pictures are with food.  He really likes food and is in his highchair eating quite a bit throughout the day!

 Yea for clapping!

 One of Owen's favorite chores is helping Mommy with the dishes.  :)

Owen and his daddy!

Owen when he first was walking.

And again. 

Owen likes to put food on his head.  I keep washcloths by his highchair for this very reason.

Again, his favorite place to get into is the pantry.  This time, I wasn't fast enough!

Owen @ 10 Months

I can barely believe it myself.  My youngest child, my last little baby, is only two months away from turning one.   Owen is ten months today.  He is still such a sweet little baby.  I am trying to cherish these last days that he is an infant, but he seems to want to become a toddler all too soon!  He still is crawling, although he took a couple steps on his own this month.  His main goal of crawling it to get to an object to pull himself up on.  He loves to stand next to his brother and sister while they play or watch TV, like he is one of them.  It is so cute.  Owen gets such joy out of his siblings.  I know I say that every month, but the expression of his joy keeps increasing.  When he sees his brother and sister now, he makes a deep chuckling sound.  Certainly it is a sound of satisfaction because he does the same thing when he discovers he can climb something or open a new cabinet.

Owen's attachment to me and only me has dwindled a bit, which is nice.  I can still be in the room and not be the one holding him.  Although, he still prefers me, he just doesn't make as big of a deal of it.  He is definitely a social little man.  He thrives on crowds.  He doesn't want to miss a thing, which is why it is very hard to put him to bed when we have guests over.  He is also very content.  He will play on his own in his pack-n-play for 30-45 minutes, as long as someone is in the room with him.  This really helps me get the dishes done!

Owen's favorite sounds to make are "dada" and "ba."  He says "BA!" when he is referring to an object or thing, like our cats.   His favorite things to do are crawling, standing, getting into cabinets, playing with his brother and sister, eating, and going outside.  He makes an "Oh, oh!" and jumps up and down when he hears the keys when we are going outside.  Speaking of going outside, he loves going to the park and swinging on the swings.  He giggles and laughs the whole time.  It is simply precious.  He also likes to bounce/dance when he hears music.  Owen loves to drink from his sippy cup, and everyone else's sippy cup if it is in reach.  He still loves to smile at everyone who he sees.  He loves to eat food in general, but his favorites this month are chicken nuggets, meatballs, homemade beans (Yes.  He now rejects canned beans---in fact he prefers his meatballs homemade as well!), banana spears, sweet potato spears,  and any sort of sliced fruit.  He also still loves broccoli, so much so that I have to hide the broccoli if I want him to eat anything else.  I'm not complaining about that!

Owen is still pretty small in size, but the doctor said he really just thinks he has a really, really fast metabolism.  So, fast, though, that he goes through nutrients like iron quickly.  He was anemic at his 9 month appointment and in a few days he has a iron check, so I'm hoping with all the red beans and meatballs that I've been feeding him, that has improved.  He is just now growing out of some of his 6 month and 3-6 month clothes, although some of that is still too big around the waist.  The doctor mentioned that with boys, their size now may not matter in regards to how big they will be as an older child or adult.  Who knows?  He still could grow up to be 6'2" like most of the males in his family.  He got in two teeth this month, but he seems to be working on a few more.  I will be telling people this for the next 2 years.  :)

It is a bittersweet knowing that this sweet baby only has a few months of infant-hood left.  I am soaking it in as best as I can.  I have seen with my third child how fast this time really goes!  So, without further ado, here are some photos from the last month for your enjoyment!

Owen tried a homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookie the other day.  He liked it so much, he went cross-eyed.  

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this cute diaper-butt!

One of Owen's favorite toys. 

Big boy standing up!

Soak in the cuteness!  :)