Owen's New Tricks

Owen at 7 months

There is so much to share as it has (again) been 2 months since my last post.  This little guy keeps me so busy that there isn't much time for blogging!

Owen has learned a lot of new tricks since my last post.  He is now sitting up, crawling (Army style), and trying to pull himself up on things.  He loves to play patty cake and has learned to clap his hands on his own.  Now that he is mobile, he is into everything!  In a room full of toys, he always manages to find the one thing that he shouldn't have--a dog toy, cell phone, remote control, outlets, or cords.  He also loves "talking".  He says da da da, though there doesn't seem to be any meaning to it yet.  His favorite toy is his Johnny Jump Up (thanks Kara!).  Jumping is probably his favorite new trick.  He is very proud of his jumping skills.  His favorite person is probably himself.  He loves to smile at himeself in the mirror. 

This month Owen was fortunate enough to get tubes in his ears.  He seems much happier since then and we are thankful to be ear infection free.  The procedure only took about 10 minutes and he recovered quickly.  He is still getting eye infections.  We're planning to see a specialist in about 6 more weeks.  He will have to be 9 months old before anything can be done to open his tear ducts.

Owen was spoiled by 2 family Christmases this year.  It looks like Toys R Us exploded in his room.  Most of all he enjoyed playing with his cousins-Nathan, Emma, Alex, Josh, Brady and Cody.  He just loves being around other kids.  I think that he will be happy to be a big brother in late May.

Next week Owen will get to have a lot of quality time with Dad.  I will be out of town for 5 days.  This will be our first time being away from each other for a night.  I think it will probably be harder on me than on him.  Maybe we will be able to video chat on Skype :)

Long Overdue Update

What a busy 2 months.  I can't believe that it has been that long since I have updated Owen's blog.  Since my last update Owen has started a new daycare center.  He seems to like it there, but has trouble napping as it is pretty noisy.  With 11 other little ones there, he has a lot of babies to play with, but I'm sure you can imagine the noise level in that room.  There is always someone that needs something and expresses that need by crying, screaming, etc.  There are usually 4 care givers in the room, so there are lots of hands to help and to play with.  We've been pretty happy with it so far. 

While we have been working with Owen to teach him to roll from his tummy to back (has has mastered from back to tummy) and to sit up, he has learned a new skill that we wish we could change.  He has discovered that it is fun to make a high pitched screaming noise...for hours on end.  He screams when he's happy, he screams when he's mad, and he even screams when he's bored.  The neighbors probably think that we beat him.  His scream always results in his desired effect...we pay attention to him.  Is 6 months to young for planned ignoring...probably.  Guess I'll buy some ear plugs for now.

Owen is very excited for Halloween.  We tested out his costume last weekend and he thought it was pretty funny.  He loves Riggins so much that we thought he might like to dress up like her. Thanks for the costume Angela!

I haven't been as good about taking pictures of Owen regularly.  Below are a few from the past couple months.

He still loves bath time.

Hawkeye time!

Owen has tossed his pacifier to the side and now prefers his thumb.

Owen has tried a few different baby foods--and likes them all.  This was our first attempt wth sweet potatoes.

Little Packer

Owen is getting ready for football season, so he tried out his Packer shirt today.  So cute!  Thanks for another great picture Amy!

Growing up fast

Life is busy these days.  Between work, daycare, and hanging out with Owen, there hasn't been a lot of time for blogging.  This post is long overdue. 

These days Owen is changing so fast.  Tonight we discovered that we either needed to cut holes in the feet of his pajamas or get him bigger clothes.  While he is still wearing some 3-6 month clothes, he's definitely ready to move on.  When we checked his weight a couple weeks ago he was already up to 16 lbs.  We will be heading back to the doctor next week for another check up and round of shots.  I wouldn't be surprised if he puts on another pound by then.

Owen has 2 more days with Amy and Meghan. Kaden has moved on to Kindergarten. It's been a great month.  I'm sure that Owen thinks he has 2 moms and a brother and sister now as they treated him like family.  We are going to miss them!  We're hoping that the transition to his permanent daycare is successful.  He will have 2 other baby boys to play and grow with there. 

In the past few weeks Owen has started grabbing and holding objects.  He especially likes rattles and his Tigger toy.  We have been working on getting him to roll over.  He rolled over on his own twice yesterday for Amy (his second mom) but hasn't done it for us yet.  I don't think it will be long.  He also likes to hold babble conversations.  Sometimes he will just sit and smile and baby talk to whoever will give him attention for up to 30-40 minutes. 

I hate to admit it, but one of Owen's favorite activities is watching tv.  Like father, like son I guess.  The picture  below is of Owen and Riggins watching golf together. 

Another Great Pic of Owen

More Pictures

We are so lucky to have such a great photographer as a friend and child care provider (for 2 more weeks). 

Frank the Tank

As you can see from his pictures, Owen has grown into a little tank. After wearing 3-6 month clothes for 4 weeks, he's already ready to move on to 6-9 month clothes.  Last week Amy took Owen out to the baby pool for his first swimming outing.  She attempted to dress him in his brand new 6 month swim shirt. It covered everything but his little tank of a belly.  Too cute!

We have survived 2 weeks of being back to work.  It has really helped that I have been able to spend my lunch hours with Owen at Amy's house.  Owen also loves spending time with Meghan and Kaden--they show him so much love and attention all day long!  He is really going to miss them when he moves on to his permanent daycare in a few weeks!

It seems like Owen is trying new things everyday.  He tries to hold conversations...through baby babble of course.  He likes to shake his rattles if you help him put them in his hand.  He loves his tigger and tries to pull him into his mouth.  Owen recently started watching a Baby Einstein DVD and it keeps his attention for a full 30 minutes.  He also really loves being read to...we read lots of books. 

Uncle Ben came to visit!

Someone looks like Daddy...

Finally caught a smile.  He likes to hide them from the camera.

Swimming!

Back to Work

Monday marked my first day back to work and Owen's first day of daycare.  As expected, he did well, and I did not.  I did manage to visit him over my lunch break and was happy to hold him for the entire night...even when he was clearly sleeping and ready for bed.  While I expect it to get easier for me at some point, I missed him just as much on day two as I did on day one.  I miss his smiles and little giggles.  I'm thankful that he gets to share them with Meghan and Kaden and Amy though!

As I was feeling sorry for myself this morning I was summoned out of my office to check out an event in the UNI Dome next door.  My co-workers and I were able to watch a send off ceremony for troops headed for Afghanistan.  While I've been working closely with the families and children of deployed soldiers for many years now, I was especially choked up by the other new moms in the crowd, feeding the baby with one hand and drying their tears with the other.  If these men and women can serve in a war zone away from their new babies and families for months at a time, I guess I can manage leaving Owen in daycare while I work.  It was a humbling experience.

In other news, we were happy to see a lot of family this week.  Grandma and Grandpa Beck made a visit on Thursday night and Grandpa Kennedy and Uncle Ben made it over for a visit on Sunday.  It was nice to see everyone!

Hanging out with Grandpa Beck.  We still like him even though he is a White Sox fan.

Owen loves playing with Grandma Beck!

The Johnson Family Reunion

Just a couple pictures of Owen enjoying the Johnson Family Reunion this weekend.

No More Pictures!

I'm hoping that this face from Owen just means "No more pictures" instead of, "I don't like the Hawkeyes".

Owen loves bath time, but in true Owen fashion, he wouldn't display his happiness for the camera.  He likes taking pictures about as much as his Dad does.

Last week Owen spent a few hours at Amy's house.  It was good practice for how he will spend his time when I go back to work next week.  While I was nervous that he would be his usual fussy self, he did great!  When I came to pick him up I saw him be adored by three little girls.  He was LOVING IT!  I even left for another hour because he was having such a good time.  I'm feeling very confident that he will do well at daycare. 

He finally fits into his Hawkeye gear!  Now he's ready for football season.  41 days to go...