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. 
Owen still loves his nightly bath. After the bath, Scott wraps him up in the hooded towel and we call him, "Oh Wise Sage - O P One Ka-baby." You know, like Obe One Kenobi in Star Wars? Okay, maybe we are lame, but it cracks us up. Parenting must change your sense of humor...
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.
Things that will put Owen to sleep:- Riding in the car (usually)- Riding in the front pack (every time)- Sitting in my sling while I vaccuum the house (worked today)- Rocking while I read a story or sing (normal nap method)- His bedtime routine: take a bath, change clothes, nurse, calm music and rocking with Dad, swaddle and... SLEEPThings that will wake Owen up:- Hunger- Wet diaper- 7 AM- Moving the carseat from the loud car to the quiet house - go figure!
Another sign you are a parent: Your time clock and method of accomplishing tasks totally changes. It seems everything I do these days is crammed into the shortest interval possible: Eat lunch standing up; Sort and start the laundry in 30 seconds; Race through the shower; hair dryer? Forget it! Flyby checks of my email throughout the day. All this comes from not knowing how long Owen will be down for his nap. My brain says, "get it done NOW!" no matter what the "it" is. I'm thankful that Owen is relatively routine in his sleep/wake cycles, but I just never know if a nap will be 45 minutes or 2 hours. For the last week, he's been napping for an hour max, but now he's been down for nearly two unexpected hours! (Hence my chance to blog!)
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!
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.
