Monday, June 30, 2008

Correction - Stomach Flu

Turns out stomach flu (not the lentil-barley soup) is to blame for Owen's messy crib last Friday morning. We got an email from daycare on Friday afternoon warning us that an illness was going around. Sure enough, Owen is still sick today (Monday), and I came down with my own version yesterday. Scott even stayed home from work part of today to take care of us. I hate being sick, but Owen is surprisingly upbeat - you would never know his tummy is churning. He's roaming the house, chasing the animals, walking more and more, and today climbed our whole flight of stairs for the first time. Scott thinks maybe he's a happy because he's so used to having a yucky tummy. I, on the other hand, am not happy, but seem to be recovering. Being sick is very low on my list - being sick in 95 degree heat is even lower.

We're just hoping that Scott and John (who was visiting for the weekend) don't catch the funk as well. Also hoping we recover quick, so we are ready to host our family for Owen's birthday this weekend.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Cat Tolerance

We have always said that Cisco is a cat that really goes with the flow. These days, we are just marveling at how amazingly tolerant he is with Owen. These pictures show a typical scene that happens MULTIPLE times a day in our house.

What we didn't capture is Owen burying his face (drool and snot included) in Cisco's back, patting him not so gently), tugging his ears and tail, or using the cat as a support to pull up to standing. For whatever reason, Cisco puts up with it for a while, walks away, and returns later in the day for more baby wrestling.
There must be an award for a cat like that...

And yes, he does have claws.

How do you sleep when you smell like...

Owen woke up happy this morning. As I was brushing my teeth, I could hear him in his room stirring and chatting to himself. He is usually good for 5-10 minutes on his own, and I like to leave him alone for a bit to reinforce that is perfectly okay and normal to spend some alone time in his crib.

When I did go open the door to his room, my first thought was, "Phew - he must really need a diaper change." However, after I opened the blinds, I saw this...


Yes, that would be lentil-barley soup with carrots and sweet potato. Ground and flattened into the sheet and scattered all over the crib. Of course, Owen is standing just outside the photo jumping up and down grinning and laughing. He was wearing this:


Now the kicker, the sheets and his PJs were totally dry. He must have tossed his dinner and then slept RIGHT ON TOP OF IT for a good portion of the night. I don't know how that's possible. How did he not wake up?

I just took in the whole site, stripped him and the bed and tossed everything in the laundry. Seriously, haven't I seen enough vomit over the last year? On the other hand, it was strangely encouraging to think that he was sick-sick and not having a bad reflux spell.

He's actually pretty happy today (though not interested in eating anything other than graham crackers). We went to the pool with all our mom/baby friends and celebrated the first birthday for Will and his mom, Sarah. Hopefully Owen feels better by dinner, but I think we'll pass on the lentil-barley soup tonight.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Father's Day 2008

Since Scott was gone last week, we celebrated Father's Day a little late. Saturday ended up being a jam packed day - we went out to breakfast, attended Scott's company picnic at the park, and grabbed an early dinner at the Bite of Bend. There is nobody who can light up Owen's face like his dad can, and there's nobody else I can imagine sharing this parenting journey with.

We love you, Scott!

Taking in the sites at the park.

Already taking after dad - our little climber in training.

Pure Bliss

When you are 11 months old, it apparently does not get any better than this...

Smith Rock two weeks ago

Sitting in the dirt

Eating Rocks
Trading licks with a puppy

Monday, June 16, 2008

Soloing

Scott is out of town for a few days, so I'm "soloing" with Owen. I cannot imagine how single parents do this without near constant family support. On the other hand, this has been a great opportunity to see how far I have come in my parenting journey.

Last fall, Scott was considering a weekend trip up to Seattle and I was completely overwhelmed at the thought of spending one or two nights by myself with Owen. Though we miss him this week, it feels great to know that we are doing just fine over these few solo days. Owen and I have a routine and he now knows what to expect as he moves about the day. I think he's also old enough to trust that I'm going to take care of him - meals will come, naps will occur, and fun times will ensue - no need to panic and freak out. (Though he still does on a regular basis if I do something crazy, like gasp!) leave the room to grab a pair of shoes or use the bathroom.) We had a fun weekend going to the pool, playing at the park, taking the dog for walks, and running random errands.


These last few days, I've found myself watching Owen. Just sitting and observing him at play and realizing how quickly he is growing up. Yes, it's totally cliche, but I wouldn't be a good parent if I didn't have moments to realize it on my own. All those "baby baby" moments are done and there will be no more snuggling and swaddling a little one that is just going with the flow. Owen is now aware and engaged in, well, everything!


One of the little things I realized is that Owen has moved from a good sleeper to a good napper. Yes, there is a distinction. We used to go through a nap or bedtime routine to lull Owen to sleep and then rejoice knowing he would stay asleep for a good while. Now, I can tell Owen that it's nap time, take him upstairs, give him his binky and blanket, and set him in the crib. Then...he puts himself to sleep! He also wakes up at the end of naps and spends quiet time chilling in his crib. A small, but significant milestone as it results in much less screaming. Hooray!

I love sleeping baby pictures!




Of course, the sleeping baby is harder to catch this day. This was a particularly sleepy morning when I opened the windows in Owen's room and had time to run and get the camera and snag a few shots before Owen woke up.

Let's hope all this talk of sleep doesn't curse me to a night of wakefulness. =)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Two boys

New skills exhibited around our house lately:
- learning how to walk behind his activity cart
- figuring out how to crawl up a short set of steps
- taking 3-4 steps at a time to walk between mom and dad

One of Owen's friends at daycare started really walking this week. Kaden is the little boy that Owen loves to follow around all day
, so I'm sure it won't be long before we're seeing real toddling ourselves. A couple great Owen/Kaden stories:
- The boys are only 6 days apart in age.
- I met Kaden and his mom, Tracy, at a mom's group when Owen was only 5 weeks old, so it's pretty great that we ended up at the same daycare.
-
When I dropped Owen off this morning, he saw Kaden and got the biggest smile on his face. Unfortunatley, Kaden is going through some separation anxiety, so being dropped off is not high on his list. We walked in the door this morning with Owen grinning and practically diving out of my arms to tackle Kaden, and Kaden returning the excitement with a "leave me alone" scowl. Pretty funny.
- Owen bit his first kid at daycare, and it was... Kaden! Of course, Kaden was trying to do the nice thing and "sharing" his crackers with Owen, and Owen did what any 10 month old does, and chomped down on the crackers... and Kaden's finger. Oops. Thankfully Tracy was cool with it and we were able to laugh together the next morning.
I wish I had a picture of the two of them together. I'll have to get one in the next month or so.


We got a request to post a video for Aunt Kate before she heads to the DR for the summer, so here's Owen showing off one of those new skills. Like any active boy, I think his favorite part is running over the blocks and crashing into the furniture. We wanted to post a video



We get a kick out of helping him practice walking after Scott gets home from work. He love trying to walk between the two of us. Of course, right now, it's "step, step, step, dive!" He's so trusting that we will catch him when he pitches forward and not let him pound his jaw into the floor (though that's happened a few times...). I just keep thinking that we should enjoy and embrace that faith he has in us. I'm sure it won't always be that way, but we'll try to always do the things that will reinforce that trust. We're here for you Owen!