Owen's First Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! It is so crazy how Christmas takes on a whole new meaning when you have a child. I can only speak for myself, but this year has completely refreshed my love for the holidays. It has been so fun to come home with presents for Owen... take Owen to see Santa... and to sing Christmas songs with he and Kate. Owen helped put up the Christmas tree the other day. He can be such a good helper when he wants to be.

After a while he did start to get a little bit grumpy so we let him play with a candy cane. You try taking it from him!

Although he doesn't quite "get" what Christmas means yet, we think he is surely having a fun Holiday Season.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving From the Owen, Kate, and Nate

A Scarecrow and his Little Lion

My husband loves Halloween. One of his most cherished childhood memories was the way his own dad would dress up with him on Halloween. Nate's dad was always in FULL costume and always put a lot of love and creativity into making costumes for Nate and Steve. I couldn't help but think that Nate's dad was smiling down on him this Halloween as he dressed up as a scarecrow with full face paint to be our little lion's sidekick. So special.

 

 

Pumpkin Patch

I LOVE the pictures from our first trip to the pumpkin patch with O. He was so excited to be there, so interested in all the orange pumpkins, and so excited to be around all the festive people. Needless to say, he gave us LOTS of big smiles for the camera. My favorite shot is of Owie and Cameron sharing a big laugh. You can't help but smile when you look at this picture. So much joy. I will frame this picture and bring it out every year as a special fall decoration and a reminder of our very first trip to the pumpkin patch.

 

 

 

 

Mmmmm, Rice Cereal

Owen got his second tooth last week and we figured he was ready for some rice cereal -- Boy, was he ever! The moment he got his first taste of "real" food - he slipped into an animalistic trance and tried to wrestle the spoon away from mommy. Next time we'll remember to use a bib.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Tummy time has finally paid off! O has learned how to whip his giant head with enough torque to flip him from front to back. He's on his way to becoming a world class roller over. We're such proud parents!

Having Fun Watching the Huskies

 

Owen and Dad have been having fun watching the Huskies so far this year. This picture was taken three weeks ago right before the Nebraska game. Unfortunately the Huskies got beat badly that week. What we won't show you is the "after the Nebraska game" photo in which Owen is seen crying with spit-up all over his shirt. Luckily this week's game turned out better as the Huskies beat the Trojans, an outcome that both Owen and Dad were very happy with. I have a feeling though that in 18 years we'll be rooting for opposite teams when the Huskies come to town. I'll enjoy the Husky love while I can.

Fun with my cousins

Owen had fun with his cousins and his Uncle Todd at nana's house.

Owen Laughing

O is almost 5 months old! Turns out kids this age want to be entertained. Huh? Go figure. Kate and I have made more than a few trips to Babies R Us to try to find the most entertaining, and least annoying, toy. We searched high and low, far and wide. We came home with more than a few options, none of which held O's attention for more than a couple of minutes. So you can imagine our surprise when Dad shook a cup of ice, which sent O into a hiccup inducing fit of laughter.

Still snackin' on my hands.....

Yum

Don't you just want to eat him up! ha.

4 Months Old

So, we're a little behind in posting O's 4 month pic. The last few weeks have been pretty busy around here as the fall semester began and Nate and I both returned to the classroom. I am so grateful for all of the time we had with O this summer -- and I can't believe how he has become his own little person in just 4 months.

Who is the Cool Kid?

O really likes to talk about what is on his mind now. Here is a video of him telling you about the walk he just went on with Mommy... and all the people who stopped to comment on his shades.



And another video of him telling you just how tired he is.

Nekked

Owen started grabbing his feet a couple of weeks ago. While we realize it will soon be inappropriate to post naked pictures of our O -- for now it's still really cute - so here you go.

Owie's First Football

 

And so it begins.... Football season is only 2 weeks away but Owen is already excited for it to start. Dad is super excited to watch Washington Husky and Penn State games with Owen. We might have to find him a smaller (and softer) football to start off with though.

Pool Party at the Wilson's!!

 

We took O to the Wilson's for a "Pool Party". As you can see, we got him all dressed up in his bathing suit for the first time. He can now be considered a Southern California Boy.

 

Here is O wearing his "sun shirt". Gotta keep him protected, because he is also now officially the whitest Southern California Boy around.

 

O loved the pool water... okay "loved" might be a bit of an overstatement. Let's say he liked it, liked it.

Toys! Toys!

While Owen has been staring at us (and the ceiling fan) for months, he hasn't really been interested in his toys. Not at all. But just a week or so ago I caught Owie staring at the brightly colored bird dangling from his changing table. That same day O actually noticed his little monkey rattle that I have been putting on his wrist for weeks. This has been such a fun month with our little guy -- he is becoming more and more aware of the world around him.

Beach Day

We took Owie to the beach this past weekend -- I have to say that he looked pretty comfortable lounging in his seat with his sunhat on and feet in the air.

Three Months

I spy......

Nate and I are having a lot of fun spying on Owie in his "big boy" bed. O slept in our room in a Moses basket for the first 10 weeks of his life -- all wrapped up in a swaddle like a little baby burrito.(see below) But just a few weeks ago we moved Owen out of our room, into his crib, and out of his swaddle. Although we miss having him as our roommate - we have a lot of fun watching him on the monitor - kicking his feet, chewing on his hands, and drifting off to sleep. Our baby boy is becoming a great sleeper -- we'll keep our fingers crossed.......... :)

 

Owen "Talking" on his 3 Month B-Day!

Kate and I awoke this morning at 4am to hear Owen "talking" to himself on his 3-month birthday. He has apparently found his voice because he has not stopped talking all day. He's probably trying to tell us what he wants for his 1/4 birthday. We wonder what his first word will be. $50 to whoever guesses correctly, or $50 to Owen if it's Mom or Dad. We are imagining all of the fun conversations we are going to have from here on out... bicycles, school, girls, sports. Take a listen....

Owen and Cameron Meet!

 

Owen and Cameron were looking forward to their big meeting for months, but...

 

All the build up might have been too much for these two.

Below is a pic that Nana took a week or so later. She swears that she didn't pose them this way and that they locked arms on their own. So fun.