Owen enjoyed his lunches in Grandma's High Chair. Carrots and Sweet Potatoes were both big hits.
A rare family photo after brunch with Scott's family. It was fun to see Cousin Chris, since we visited with her in San Diego when I was pregnant.
Opening presents on Christmas Day at the Lake. Shoes from Aunt Kate.
Favorite Toy #2 - the Cement mixer. Owen is still playing with it every day - it won't be long before he's pushing it across the floor.
Montessori Party - Despite predictions, Owen didn't spew on anyone all evening.
Can you believe we've been having a holiday party with these families for over 25 years?!
Nana teaching Owen to play the drums - he loved it and now is banging on our tables, counters, etc. Cool noises!
Christmas Eve walk in some rare Seattle sunshine.
Favorite new toy #1 - the soft book with chewing pieces. This one came back on the plane.
No matter what you get a baby, they will always decide what they consider a toy. Owen's current favorites are the Christmas oranges on our counter and his rings. Oh man, those things are amazing. You know the linking rings you use to attach toys to your crib, play bar, or car seat? Owen could care less about the toys, but a string of rings - pure heaven! They make rattle together, fit in his mouth, have lots of colors - what more could a baby want. Owen got a huge pack of new rings for Christmas and gets these huge, wide eyes ever time we hand them to him. So cool - so cheap!
Since we're headed to Seattle for Christmas, Santa paid us a visit on Sunday during Owen's nap. We felt kind of silly having an actual present opening with a 5 month old, but Owen totally surprised us by really paying attention and enjoying the experience. Mostly, he wanted to eat all the wrapping paper - shiny, crinkly, so fun!
In some ways, I'm excited for Owen to start exploring new foods. On the other hand, it's a little sad to realize how fast he is growing up. We're prepared though. Santa already delivered Owen's Christmas gift - a high chair. Looks like he has a little growing to do before we'll use it. Thankfully we have a bumbo chair and his swing that should work for feedings for now.
Can it really already be December 5? Owen is 5 months old today. When he was born, 5 months seemed so far away. For some reason, a 5 month old baby sounds ages away from a newborn. It's amazing to me that we're already there. Sure enough, Owen is changing before our eyes, and is so incredibly different than the baby we brought home from the hospital. I tell Scott that he's not a baby baby anymore - he's now a growing infant.
Finally, here's a picture of our whole family at Thanksgiving. Owen had all his grandparents, aunts, and uncles in one place. Scott's Dad made a great dinner, and we found enough chairs for everyone to get a spot at the table. It was fun to spend a weekend with our family and introduce Owen to his Uncle Todd (how crazy does that sound?!). We're thrilled that Ryan and Sara are expecting a baby in April, so Owen will have his first cousin. And, it's a girl - hooray!
I guess it's been a while since I've posted anything new. Both families were here for Thanksgiving, so we were busy prepping and recovering. I'll post some photos from the weekend soon. In the meantime, we had our first snow here in town yesterday. Owen and I only ventured out for a few minutes, but today we're going to bundle up and go walking with a couple of my mom friends. 
Owen's also been trying rice cereal a couple times/week. He seems to love the IDEA of eating - everything else goes in his mouth these days anyway - but not much actually goes down the hatch. We're not in a hurry, but I am looking forward to making some of my own baby food once he figures it out.
Neither Scott or I are much into Halloween, but after seeing all the kiddos (and teachers!) dressed up at daycare, I can see why this holiday is much more fun with kids. We didn't invest in the baby Halloween costume (though they are darn cute!), but I did make sure Owen celebrated the holiday in style. We took Owen to a couple friends' houses, but then shut our lights off at 7:30, so the doorbell wouldn't wake the baby. Lame? Maybe, but we'll be more into it next year.
We went to the Pumpkin festival a few weeks ago. The Parks Dept owns a big empty property outside of town. Each year, they turn it into a big family day with food booths, kids games, face painting, pony rides, and of course, the pumpkin patch. Owen's not very into the games yet (maybe in 2-3 years!), but we feel like this is as good a time as any to start some family traditions. Plus, the view of the mountains is great out there and Owen always enjoys being outdoors.
We did think the "pumpkin patch" was a little strange... where are the vines? At least this makes it easy to find the one you want. And who can pass up pumpkins for $2.50? We probably won't get around to carving them before Wednesday, but at least our porch looks festive.
Now that we live in Oregon, we have to work a little harder to represent our purple and gold. We had Dan and Jill over with their baby, Joseph to watch the UofO game. Joseph had his Duck gear on, and Owen worked hard to show his Husky spirit. The game ended ugly for our dawgs, but we feel better knowing that UofO beat USC this weekend. Let's just hope that Jake Locker leads our team to some more wins over the next couple years - Owen needs a reason to learn the fight song...
Both sets of our parents were in town this weekend. My parents (Nana and Poppo) stopped by on Thursday and Friday to visit with Owen and rock him to sleep for his afternoon nap. Nana is teaching Owen the multiplication tables - puts him to sleep every time!
Scott's parents (Grandma Ethel and Grandpa Jeff) stayed with us Friday and Saturday night. Scott and I got to go out to a movie on Friday after Owen went to bed! Jeff and Ethel were thrilled to see how much Owen has grown and get some new pictures of his toothless grin.
On Saturday, we went to the Fall Festival in the cold and wet. Bend is full of babies, and it was fun (and educational) to see the different ways people are bundling them up and toting them around. Owen slept peacefully in the carrier, but woke up in time to enjoy this mirror in the t-shirt shop. The festival outing was also affirming for me - since moving to Bend, I've struggled to establish my own friendships, but I've been really trying to throw myself out there since Owen was born (a baby is a great way to meet people, right?). It's paying off - we ran into quite a few people we know perusing the food and craft booths.
Last week, Owen hit the three month mark. I cannot believe how fast he is changing. He seems to have grown out of the fussy baby stage that required near constant soothing into a fun baby stage. He is now smiling, laughing, and making all sorts of great noises. I love getting him out of bed in the morning because he is all smiles and so intrigued with looking around the room and out the window. He loves studying faces, watching his mobile, and looking in the mirror. Any day now, he will probably start reaching for toys and rolling over consistently. 
At 11.5 pounds, Owen is now dwarfing the stuffed dog we use for comparison. No matter how big he gets, I think these first photos will always be some of my favorites.
I have really been enjoying my time at home with Owen lately. Now that I know his cues and rhythms, the stress of caring for him is greatly reduced. When he is happy, he is SO HAPPY - squirming, smiling, and kicking his legs all around. (Of course, when he is sad, he is SO SAD, but we're focusing on the positive today!) I love seeing his smile when he wakes up in the morning and watching the wonder in his eyes as he explores the world. Plus, every night we are so thankful for "our good sleeper" who goes down before 8 and only wakes up once for a quick feeding before sleeping until 7. Ahhh... What a kid!
We're doing some food experiments this weekend to see if we can get to the root of the "messy problem," but for now, I wanted to post some new photos of Owen. The other day, I noticed how much he is starting to look like Scott. His head and face are changing and even his hands are starting to look like Scott's. He's smiling a lot more lately, but it's just too hard to capture on camera.
Lately, we've been having some Family Music Time in the evenings. Scott figured out he can keep Owen calm with the guitar - Donovan Frankenreiter, Death Cab for Cutie, DMB, Jack Johnson, David Grey - it really doesn't matter - Owen loves it all. It's fun to watch the two of them together, and I'm sure it's better for all of us than having the TV on... Just wish I could sing better.
Last weekend, my parents were here and we took Owen out to Smith Rock to watch Scott rock climb. It was my first real hike with the baby (other than walking some flat trails along the river with the dog), and Owen did great. He loves being outside. Plus, we think Owen already has hands like a climber and he proved it the other day by holding one of Scott's quickdraws - those things are heavy!
And finally, here are my two favorite guys. We think Owen looks funny with his legs all folded up ("where's his other half?"), but he loves hanging out in both our slings. We read somewhere that carrying babies around puts them, "...at the center of the action, but not the center of attention." It's so true! He is really content to sit in there and watch me cook dinner or read the mail, but put him on his playmat and he's bored/frustrated within 10 minutes.
I guess they're not watching very closely. 
Much less spewage these last couple days. No Cheese or Chocolate? I must be crazy... or just a mom who loves her kid.
After a particularly good week last week, Scott and I were able to venture out for a more "normal" Friday evening. We went to dinner at the Bend Brewing Company and then walked around downtown Bend for the monthly Art Walk (businesses stay open late and display art from local artists). Owen did great at dinner and crashed asleep in the baby carrier as we wandered around downtown. We took this photo especially for Grandpa Jeff, who asked us to promise we'd never take our baby to a bar... Thankfully, we make a big distinction between the four breweries in town and a bar. You can't truly live in Bend without enjoying a good burger and a micro brew.
Getting Owen comfortable in the front pack is a great milestone. It lets us be more mobile and he sleeps better in the pack than in his stroller. This week I've used the front pack to grocery shop, attend a United Way fund raising kickoff, and this morning took our dog for a long walk. Those that have met Hudson can imagine the challenge of talking him for walks while pushing the stroller. I've been doing it for the last 6 weeks and I wish I had video...
Owen reached his two month milestone yesterday. Though we've had our weeks where time seemed to stand still, as a whole these first two months have flown by. We are gaining a better understanding of the little guy each day. He wants to "face out" when carried, so he can see the world. He's having some good stretches (well if 5-10 minutes counts as a good stretch) of self amusement on his floor mat or in the swing. And he's figured out that night is for sleeping - mostly.
Owen's favorite thing to do is to be naked (I think we're in trouble when he gets old enough to undress himself). The bath, not surprisingly, is a huge hit.
