Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pumpkin Patch

Clearly I haven't been very motivated to blog lately, but we have been having some good adventures.

We went to the pumpkin patch again this year. Nana and Papa joined us for the fun. Last year it was beautiful and sunny and Owen slept in the front pack the whole time. This year it was beautiful and COLD, and Owen was ready to run everywhere. He was still too little to do a lot of the activites, but we did do the tractor ride and picked our our pumpkins.




I've been going through some rough mommy patches lately. Owen's doing great, but he's had a rough couple weeks - a little teething, poor sleeping, and general toddler frustration has resulted in a very short fuse. Last week, it seemed he spent all of his time screaming in frustration, crying because mom said "no," or running in the exact opposite direction of my requests. A couple days of short fused Owen lead to a short fused mom. By Saturday, I was trashed. I honestly felt like I did a year ago when we were in the middle of colic and messy reflux.

Thankfully, I had a good cry on Saturday night, Scott affirmed my frustrations, and I was able to remember that "this too shall pass." Owen finally took a good nap Sunday afternoon and a few days later we had a happy kid again. Today has been a good day with a walk, playing in the yard, trip to grocery store, good nap, building Ikea furniture, play group, and swimming. (Yes, all that activity actually makes for a BETTER day than if we try to sit around the house - have I mentioned this kid is BUSY???)

Parting Shot:

Friday, October 17, 2008

Hugs

We're still here. We've been a bit out of our normal schedule, but doing really well. I spent 2 days in Florence (Oregon Coast) last week for work, my parents were here last weekend and my mom stayed through the week, Kate got into town last night, and I'm leaving to see Amy and Liz in Portland over the weekend. Fun, fun, fun!

There will be lots to update when I get back!

For now, the best new thing that Owen has picked up is HUGGING! I love it. Last weekend, he loved running back and forth across the room to give mom a hug, dad a hug, mom a hug, dad a hug... over and over. Who are we to say no to hugs? They are the best toddler hugs, too. He wraps his arms around my neck, buries his face in my shoulder, says "ahhhhh," and seems like he'll never let go. I'm happy to embrace every second. Something tells me we won't get the same snuggles when he's 12 and running out the door for soccer practice...

(Owen's hugs also remind me of my time in Siberia. There was a little girl there - probably 2 1/2 - who gave the most amazing hugs. She was selective in her recipients, but if you were chosen, you could have a snuggly Melanie wrapped around your neck for 20 or 30 minutes. I saw a picture a while back of the team still working in that area. Melanie must be middle school age now. Crazy!)

Sunday, October 05, 2008

15 Months - Truly a Toddler

Way back when, I was trying to do monthly updates to track what Owen was up to. That fell by the wayside somewhere around a year, but Owen is still changing so fast. It seems every week he acquires new skills, and makes new discoveries about this amazing world. I love watching him come across a new experiences - he has this awesome face that says, "Hey mom, did you SEE this?" It's pure wonder and awe.

At 15 months, three words to describe Owen:

BUSY. Walking, climbing, shaking, running, kicking, dancing, chasing, wiggling, reading, tossing, laughing, squatting, throwing, splashing... our day is one constant active word.


SNUGGLY. Owen loves his mom. First thing in the morning, he just wants to sit close and read books. It's heart-warming and I wouldn't trade those moments for anything. (Except on some weekend mornings when Scott gets up with Owen and I trade those moments for extra sleep.) The snuggling also comes with a bit of stranger anxiety, but Owen's getting better about being left at the church nursery and gym daycare.


ASSERTIVE. We are certainly on our way toward that tell-tale toddler attitude. The positive word is "assertive." The other words are demanding, frustrated, and angry. Owen threw a pretty good fit yesterday when I wouldn't let him go outside to play bubbles, and he had his first "time-out" last weekend after the third foray into the dog dish.

Owen's language has made a pretty big jump in the last month. A few weeks ago, the only "words" he would say were Dog, Cat, and Duck (and all those sounded strikingly similar). Now, he seems to be picking up new sounds all the time and finally adding some double syllables. I'm not sure if anyone other that Scott and I could translate his babble, but I understand when he says:
Dog, Cat, Duck, Truck, Book, Bubbles, Turtle, Mm-mm (tastes good), Choo-Choo, and other "all boy" noises when pushing cars and trucks around.
He also does signs for Dog, Duck, More, Fish, and gestures for the bottle, binky, and crib.
Note that the words for Mom and Dad are conspicuously missing from this list.

Favorite Activities:

Chasing and tackling Cisco the Cat

Petting the dog

Pulling foam letters out of an empty Kleenex box

Having tissue paper streamers "poured" over his head

Running across big grassy fields
Hiding under blankets

Pushing the stroller around
Wrestling
Playing "ring around the rosey" when "we all fall down"
Getting tickled and laughing, laughing, laughing
Owen is a daredevil. He tries to climb onto everything and often shocks me at what he can haul himself up on. It's probably good he's short and his legs can't reach higher or he'd be up on the couch and probably escaping out of his crib. We've been working hard on the concept of sitting down, or spinning around onto the belly to get down from high objects, and he's FINALLY starting to try it out instead of walking straight off the edge of play structures, slides, or stairs. Yikes!

No longer a baby, Owen is a full toddler. What a kid!

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Fall Picture Day

We had another picture day at "school" today. Since Owen doesn't go to daycare on Thursdays, we made a special trip over there to get his picture taken and participate in the group shot. I also spent the hour as an extra set of hands to help the teachers - getting 15 babies and toddlers lined up for photos is not an easy feat!

I forgot to snag a picture of Owen until right before bedtime, but he was still a good sport about it. I don't think he cracked a grin during the school photos, but we'll see when the proofs come back.

Ever wonder what happens when a toddler wants to feed himself yogurt?