Patty-Cake

I've played this game with Owen a few times, but I've never gotten quite this reaction. So cute.

Rolling Over

The holidays have been so busy, I'm still trying to catch up on things I've wanted to blog about.

I looked at some video of Owen from August. Owen would have been a week old. It is wierd to see him so helpless. Even though his eyes were open, he barely looked at you, and he had no real control over his arms like he does now. I kind of miss how little he was back then. It made me realize just how MUCH he's changed in 4 months. And yet, at the same time as I miss how little he was, I'm impatient for him to reach the next milestone. How strange...

We drove home from Saskatoon on Saturday and again arrived around Owen's bed time. I didn't feel right about putting him to bed right away so before dressing him for bed, Kris and I played a little tummy time with the boy. After seeing him one time about a month ago naked on a towel before bath time rolling on his side by himself, I've discovered he likes tummy time better when he's naked. And since he was already stripped down, I figured it would be good to take advantage of the opportunity. Within 2 minutes, he had rolled over on his back! He hasn't rolled over unassisted since late October. We put him back on his back, and he rolled over again, this time to his left (the first time was to his right). And he did it a third time, again to his left. By then, he was too tired to do it again and kind of squawked to be put on his back.

I tried the naked tummy time again tonight, but he didn't roll over at all. I guess I'll wait a little longer for him to get closer to being a "big boy".

Owen and the Jolly Jumper

On December 22, the day before driving to Saskatoon, I ventured down to Southcentre mall (way down south) to meet a mom selling her Jolly Jumper on kijiji. The day was quite an adventure - part of the last minute Christmas shopping extravaganza. More on that in a later post. I videoed Owen in it last night having a pretty good time. I helped him figure it out by jumping with him for a while. I think he really enjoyed the independence of it all. Now, whenever I stand him on his feet, he jumps.

I noticed the other day (might have been yesterday, might have been a couple of days ago) that Owen now has a full on elastic around his wrist. He's really starting to pudge up.

Christmas in Saskatoon

Owen did pretty well driving in the car. He loves to sleep in the car. Even if he's really awake, if I put him into his car seat and drive around, he's out like a light. The only thing that will wake him is his belly, and only when he's really hungry. We only stopped 2 times to feed - once in Hanna, and again in Rosetown. We got to Kris' sister's place in Warman at 8 pm Alberta time. Just in time for Owen's bedtime! I knew I'd have to give up the idea of a regular routine when we were there. Too much is already screwed up. Plus, there was way too much cuddling that the relatives would want to do before he could go to bed.

It was a really nice first night. We had a nice dinner and visiting. It is nice to be surrounded by family. Owen lasted until about 9:30 before he begged to be put to bed. I still don't really get that. How is it that you sleep all day and are still tired enough for bed at around the same time? The next day, Christmas Eve, Owen got to open an early Christmas gift - a Christmas themed sleeper. Perfect for waking up in to open gifts. Of course then we had to put him into the Christmas sweater. He actually helped out opening some of the gifts.

We ate Christmas dinner in Saskatoon, at the other sister's place. All I have to say is mmmm... turkey. Then we broke out some games - always a tradition when the "relies" (short for relatives) are over. This picture is from the previous night, where there were also games... Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the games on Christmas day.

Also a Christmas tradition is staying up very late and partaking of some libations :). Owen was pretty obliging. He slept through the whole thing.

Dec 26th, we woke up to do some quick Boxing Day shopping at Pier 1. They have some beautiful Christmas deco's and they're half off after Christmas. Then it was back on the road to Calgary. Again, Owen fed 2 times on the road back. Once in Kindersley, and then at a crossroads on some small Alberta highway, right beside what I'm pretty sure was a pig farm. It was pretty rank smelling. Thankfully, not much of the smell wafted in the car so long as the doors were closed. It was too cold for that anyway.

Merry Christmas!

Crazy Christmas

I have never really been a "plan ahead" kind of person. So naturally, Christmas really sneaks up on me. But that is nothing compared to the sneaking up that has happened this year. The time has just flown by. August feels like yesterday, and yet it also feels like a million years ago.

Today, we're going to get a picture with Santa. Truthfully, I waited because I didn't want to take that moment away from Kris. We never really did the Santa thing growing up, but Kris did, and so I thought he might want to see him with Santa. I did ask, and he didn't seem to mind either way, but by then it was already getting late in the season. So now, here we are, the day before we drive to Saskatoon, and I'm hauling Owen off to the mall for his picture. Why do I do this to myself?

Eggnogger

We attended Alana & Dean's annual Eggnogger on Saturday night. My how times have changed. The first time I went, Kris and I were living together and I was flying solo that night. I spent the night there as I was in no condition to drive. The next year, we were there together, although I can't recall if we were married yet. It might have been just before the wedding. The party went well into the night... Next time, we had just - and I mean JUST - found out that I was pregnant. And now this year, we had a 3rd small person with us. We had a good time - well, Kris and I did. Owen, not so much.

Catching up

There have been so many things I wanted to post over the last few days, but no time to post them. But tonight, I have finally found some time.

Last Sunday we were invited to our friend's, Megan & Darren, for their daughter's birthday party. Peyton is now 2 years old. We've never really been to a kids party... well, at least, not since we've been kids. I had forgotten how different they are from adult parties. For one, the grab bag was something I didn't expect. We got this little frog bath toy that lights up when it hits the water. Super cute. The party was lots of fun, not that you can tell from the look on Owen's face.

We also went to "Santa at the Drum" after the birthday party. Our friends own a bar and have a little girl, Sidney, so they host a kids Christmas party for all their friends who have kids. And there's Santa! Owen met the big guy and there were no tears. I'm pretty sure he just things that he's being held by a big red blanket. No problem there...

On Tuesday, my Mom came over so I could make some cookies for a cookie exchange I did with some of the ladies at work. I made 8 dozen cookies! They were delicious.

Last night we bathed Owen. Afterward, I like to put some baby butter on him. He's just a little baby, but already his skin is dry! So I laid him on a blanket on the floor and rubbed him down. Kris took some pretty cute photos of him on his tummy, so I just had to share.

The other day Owen was sitting on the couch playing with his fish. He obviously likes it because I tried to start something else with him and when I took it away, he immediately started crying. When I gave it back, the crying stopped. I'm amazed at how good he's getting at grabbing things.

Owen slept last night in his crib. We've been trying to transition him for some time now, having him take naps in the crib, but we hadn't been so brave as to try to put him in there at night. Even though we knew he needed to go in there eventually, I think I was subconsiously wishing it wouldn't happen. It was just so sweet to hear him breathing at night as I fell asleep. And, even though we only have a small place, I worried that I wouldn't hear him if he cried at night. I even bought a baby monitor so that I could hear what was going on in there. I knew though, that it would be best for everyone if he went into his own room. We needed our bedroom back, and I'm sure we sort of woke him up when we came to bed each night. Still, last night I cried a little from missing him... and then had probably one of the soundest sleeps I've had since Owen's been born. He again slept straight through - 8pm to 8am. He stirred once around 10:30 last night and I thought, maybe this isn't such a good idea, but I sent Kris in there to help him out. He popped the soother back in, rubbed his side until he stopped struggling, and then left. We barely heard a peep out of him again through the night (Kris says he heard him on the monitor... I didn't hear a thing).

They grow up so fast. :)

Party in the Bumbo

I hope this works... I have been trying to figure out how to add video to my blog for the last hour. Gotta love technology.


I captured some pretty cute moments of Owen in his bumbo. He seems to be having such a good time after he pukes. HAH!
You have to turn the volume up near the end of the clip to hear what he does while he's sitting. His face is hillarious and tells a tale of it's own.

He found his thumb

Owen slept through the night last night! I mean really slept through. We put him down at 8 o'clock last night, and he didn't wake up until 8:30 this morning! When we went to bed, he was making some sucking noises, and I wondered to Kris, what is he doing? Then, this morning, I think I figured it out. I saw him, in his bassinet, sucking what I thought was his thumb. And, when I look at his thumb, the end of it looks a little red. Not to mention that he seems to have it stuck out like a hitchiker all the time now. Whatever gets you through, I guess.

Raspberry

Owen has discovered how to buzz his lips. Since we got home today from the mall, it's pretty much the only vocalization he's made. We had a good conversation - maybe 15 minutes of solid buzzing - until my lips felt numb and I had to stop. I wonder what his lips felt like? Of course it's not really helping the spit situation. By the end of our session today, he had completely soaked the front bib of his overalls. I'm in total denial of him needing a spit bib as it covers over his super cute clothes.

We went out today to meet up with our friend Dee-Ann at the mall. It was a nice visit. She is the one who took the great photos of Owen when he was born. I'm super excited because we're going over to her place next Monday for some more photos.

Hey you guys & getting grabby

I think that a switch has been turned on in Owen's brain over the last couple of days... literally.

For one, he's getting WAY better at grabbing at things. Before, he would grab them, but could only hold on for a little while. Now, he holds things for a long time and seems to have way better control of where he's moving his hands too. The destination is still his mouth.

He's also been drooling a lot for a while now, so Kris and I bought him a Sophie. For those who don't know, Sophie is a natural rubber latex squeeky giraffe that is colored with food dyes. It's all the rage as the best teething toy out there. I havent seen any evidence of teeth yet, but it's bound to happen soon. Anyway, Owen LOVES Sophie, partly, I think, because he can really hold onto her and her hooves fit nicely into his mouth.

The other thing that's different about Owen lately is that he really seems to be figuring out who Mommy and Daddy are. He used to smile, sure, but it didn't really seem to matter who was smiling. Now, it feels like he really knows who I am when he smiles and coos at me, or at the very least, that I'm important. In a way he's been more sucky, which isn't great, but I get pretty warm and fuzzy when he gives me that special smile that says "Hey Mom. I LOVE YOU!"

Braving the storm, Bumbos, and Teething

Kris took the day off today. Owen's been a "pre-sitter" for a while now, and I figured it was about time to get him a Bumbo. I've been trying to get items on Kijiji whenever possible, for cost and environmental reasons - re-use being the R with the most impact. Obviously from the picture, you can see that I was successful in my quest. I got this one, and a feeding tray for it, for $45! But, we had to brave the storm to go out and get it. I had a couple of other things I wanted to do as well - pick up some diaper liners, get a new ironing board (ours won't fold properly, so stays out all the time... it adds to the growing clutter in our house). Kris wanted to get Owen some teething toys, as he's been putting things in his mouth, and most of his toys are fabric... not very satisfying. So we also picked up a Sophie the Giraffe, and 2 other grabby, teething toys. We didn't really anticipate there would be such a snowstorm. By the time we were heading back home the roads were pretty icy and a few times on 16th Ave the snow started to blow and we could barely see the car's lights in front of us. We crawled down 29th Street to our house and got home safe and sound.

Grey Cup

Owen and I went to a friend of a friend's place to watch the Grey Cup. Kris was at the game. Of course, since we're honorary 'Saskies', we wore green. Owen was really good (was there any doubt?). He even had a short nap while we had some chilli for dinner. I'm not super into football, but it was a pretty exciting game, especially in the second half. The Roughriders almost pulled through for the win, but got caught with too many men during the final play (I write this for all of you who don't watch sports :) ). There was some pretty loud cheering, which scared Owen. He was pretty upset, but it was kind of cute as well. First, his face went really still. Then, the corners turned down. Next, the lip came out, and then he decided he would cry. It took about 30 seconds for this to happen, so you could really see all of the steps. It was like, at each step, he was deciding whether to be upset or not.

I read somewhere that you should video your child crying because one day you'll think it's adorable. I now know why. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

Milestones... pictures

I was a bit lazy the other day with the post on milestones. I had taken some pictures, but didn't get them off my camera. This post rectifies that laziness.

Milestones

Owen rolled over for the first time today. He was on his tummy, doing a "mini-pushup" like he's  been doing for a while now. He swayed back and forth, which he's also been doing for a while now, and then he rolled over. I'm not sure he realized what he had done, but I was sure happy and let him know it by praising him. It was pretty cool to see, so I thought I'd try to get it on camera, but he didn't want to perform. I guess that pushing probably took a lot of strength out of him, so when I put him on his back again, he just squawked and cried a bit and was generally just pissed off. I guess I shoulda known better. When I get video, I'll try to figure out how to get it onto the blog.

On the note of milestones, Owen has finally started grabbing at things and putting them... you guessed it, into his mouth. He's got a couple of favourites. One is the Whoosit. I attach it to the bar on his bouncy chair and he will grab hold of the hanging bits. He prefers to look at the back of the Whoosit, which has black and white concentric circles on it. He doesn't care as much for the frontside with the face, but soon enough this will be his favourite.

The other toy he likes to grab and hold is the Skwish. He can really wrap his fingers around the elastic and on Saturday he started grabbing with both hands and squeezing it. Hence the name, the skwish. The ball ends are small enough to fit inside his mouth, but big enough not to cause any trouble in there.

Long Walks

I had decided today that I should take the new (not so new now) stroller out for a real walk. Also, Kris and I had enjoyed a bottle of wine over the last few days that we had purchased from Kensington Wine Market and I wanted to pick up some more of it if I could. So, why not combine the two and walk to Kensington... so off in the stroller we went. We walked along the river on the way there, all the way to 10th Street. On the way we saw 4 loons, a HUGE mallard duck, and a flock of seagulls on the water. It was nice, if a little windy. The Flames cover really came in handy, and when Owen fell asleep - about 5 minutes after we started walking - I flipped the lid down and he had a really nice nap. I thought we would stop in at the Mom Store to pick up some new pacifiers for the little guy, since he's been having some trouble switching between the "daytime soother" - a latex Nuk, and the "nighttime soother" - a silicone Born Free - they are different shapes. By then, Owen had woken up and was gnawing on the soother with a little too much ferver so we had to stop at Starbucks for a coffee and milk :) Then off to KWM. People there thought he was pretty cute and he was fighting to stay awake as best he could, but the sleep finally got the better of him. I didn't find the wine I was looking for, but they were having a big sale, so I made due with a few other wines. It was a lovely day and the walk really did both of us well. I will have to do it again soon.

Photo Albums

I am working on adding some photos to my Picasa web albums. You can preview some of the pictures to the left. To view them all, click "View my Gallery"

Enjoy...

(I'll keep adding more as I have free time - ha!)

The passing of a dear friend.

Yesterday, we attended the funeral for Mrs. Valente. She was my brother's Godmother, and my God-grandmother - her daughter, my Mom's best friend in high school, is my Godmother.  She was a lovely woman, very funny, and made the best food. She always had food to feed us when we came over. I remember going over there as a kid (about 12 or so) and sharing wine with her and her husband and their family. I'm pretty sure the first time I got drunk was at their place. :)  She lived a very full life and was surrounded by friends and family always. I will miss her dearly.

Owen was very good during the funeral mass - a full Catholic mass with 3 priests - he slept right through it. I heard afterwards that's called a 'High Mass'. There was lots of cooing and smiling at Owen from all the Italian Nona's at the reception, where he was more alert. Of course, I delighted in telling them how good he was and how he never cried. (There's some foreshaddowing in that last sentence). Maria, my Godmother, was happy to meet Owen, and also has a new grandson herself. Sarah, her second daughter, had a baby on August 16th! He is also very adorable.

By the time lunch was served, Owen was getting sleepy again, so I laid him in his carseat while we ate, during which time I heard him poop. Before we left I wanted to change his diaper,since we were heading to Costco before going back home. The facilities were sorrily lacking - no change table in either washroom. I did happen to find a small table behind a curtain in the hall, next to a stage. Nothing fancy, but it would do for the purpose at hand. Well, let's just say that Owen wasn't thrilled to have been woken up. He cried pretty hard from the moment that the diaper came off, which is when I realized that he'd had a poop explosion! So in addition to the diaper, off came all his clothes. For those of you who don't already know, Owen doesn't really care for (hates, really) being naked, so the crying got worse and louder. Then, just as I had finished cleaning up the poop, which had made it's way all up his back, he peed. All over Grandma (my mom), who was holding his upper half so he wouldn't squirm his way off the table. So, newly wet, and round 2 of wiping just beginning, he cried more and harder... then he peed again! Round three of wiping... I now have almost no wipes in the diaper bag... he was so upset that all I could do was pick him up and hold him to calm him down. It was very traumatic for all of us - Owen, me, and Grandma.

I've heard that babies love to prove their parents wrong. I guess I've learned my lesson. :)

Sneezing

Lately, right after he sneezes, he lets out this cute "ooooh" sigh. It's the same pitch every time and seems to say something like "ooooh, that felt really good". Kris and I both think it's the most adorable, sweet sound we've ever heard. It warms the heart.

Flames Fan

We went out today to buy some new covers for Owen's diapers and to get a couple more pieces of fabric for a "colors and textures" fabric book I'm making - I'll post pictures when it's done. It was the first day I had the Flames car seat cover on. What comments we got. First, a lady in Fabricland said, "Nice cover, too bad it's the wrong team." To which I replied, "Nope, it's the right team". Another lady in Fabricland also said it was a nice cover. And in the line up at Starbucks, a man in front of us said, "Wow! He gets to be a Flames fan all the time now." Funny, I hadn't realized that the comments about Owen had died down a bit. Well... not any more.

Big boy clothes

As I said in my previous post, I was told that Owen's old enough that he should be wearing daytime clothes. Up till this point, I've been putting him in sleepers, because that's what fit him. I don't want that person to feel guilty for what they said... I don't know, I've never done this before. So yesterday I went out and spent $70 on some "Big Boy Clothes for the boy. I figured I'd check out some second hand shops to try to save a little bit of money. Plus, he's busting out of clothes left and right these days. When I heard people say "I forgot how small they (babies) are. Enjoy it. They get big so fast," I didn't really get it. But now I do. He's a bruiser! He's 12 weeks today and already lots of 0-3 month clothes don't fit him. Anyway, I went to a store called Once Upon a Child - dangerous - I probably could have spent more. I don't feel bad though, most of the stuff was baby gap. I also found a car seat cover that is licenced Flames wear. Kris loves it. Now he can be a Flames fan every day we go out. And it was only $15. The downside is that on Sunday, I bought some fabric to make one... and spent more than that on the fabric. Now, I've got to figure out what else I can make.

Truth be told, I'm glad that the person said to dress him in big boy clothes... he is absolutely adorable in them.

Okay... so not all days are great.

Owen's having a rough go of it today. He's unusually sleepy... and hungry... and cranky. He can't get enough of his soother, so when he goes down for a nap and knocks it out of his mouth - or it falls out in his sleep - he wakes up and is upset. This makes for not so good naps, which makes him more tired and more cranky. I think he might be going through a growth spurt. Not that he needs to get any bigger. He's busted out of a bunch more clothes. I almost felt like going out and buying him some new ones as the only things that fit him are some sleepers. I've been told recently that it's time he started wearing actual clothes, and he doesn't really have any that fit him now. I've got lots of 6-9 months, but not much for the 3-6 month time frame. I'm not sure how that happened.

Then and Now Pictures

October 13th

November 2nd

Edmonton

We took a trip to Edmonton on Wednesday. Kris was up there for work, and had a free upgrade to his room, so we stayed in a suite at the Hotel McDonald. I've never stayed in a Fairmont hotel before. It was very elegant. I find the old sandstone and marble buildings very nice to look at, but the traditional styling is not really my cup of tea... If I can say that. Still, it was cool to valet park, which I've never done before, and to be called Mrs. Matheson, and not by a 13 year old!

Owen and I went to West Edmonton Mall on the Thursday. We spent nearly all day there, going from shop to shop. I really did try to spend some money, but most of the stores are the same as the ones in Calgary, so there were really only a few places I really wanted to go to. I spend a lot of time in Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister, but none of their clothes fit me... I think you've got to be a stick person to fit into the clothes there. I did find some jeans at a place called Aeropostale. I'm sorrily in need of casual clothes to wear while I'm off work. I also spent some time in the Rocky Mountain Soap Company, since the one in town is still closed during the Eaton's Centre renovation. It was a long day, but worth it.

Kris had a hockey game Thursday night, so Owen and I were on our own for dinner. We ate at the hotel. I had a delicious fish chowder and rack of lamb. It's been a while since I've been to a fine dining establishment. I ordered a glass of wine and my server poured a sample, which kinda threw me off, but I quickly recovered and gave it a swish, a sniff, and a sip. I'd also forgotten that fine dining is not fast food, so by the time dinner arrived at my table, Owen was ready for his dinner. Luckily, his version of a 'melt-down' is other babies version of mild fussing. I was able to enjoy my dinner and then beat it back to the room to nurse.

He slept in his crib for the first time today, for 2 hours! What a great baby.

Herniated Bellybutton

We went to the doctor today. I've noticed, for about a week, that Owen's bellybutton appears to have become an "outie". I'm pretty sure it wasn't an outie before, so we had it checked out. Sure enough, he does have a minor herniated bellybutton. She asked me if it got bigger when he cries, and I said, well that's tough, because he doesn't really cry. It does kind of push out when he flexes his stomach or grunts. It's less than 1 cm across so the doctor is pretty sure it will close up before he's a toddler. No big deal, and quite common. He still has a future in modeling, she says. I sort of figured as much, but I wanted to be sure.

Smiling

Owen smiles a lot now. For about 3 weeks. It's the game de jour. He also coos and likes it when you make the same noise back to him. We can usually play for about 20 minutes to half an hour. We've played twice already today.

Lately he's also been cooing at himself. I can put him down in his crib or on the activity mat we have for him and he'll laugh and make noises all by himself. I'm so glad he can entertain himself sometimes. He really is a great baby.

Halloween Pics

Owen and I went to a halloween party with a bunch of people from our prenatal class. I made Owen's costume. He went as a lamb. I found the idea on Martha Stewart's website.

The costumes of the other babies were pretty cute. Here's a group photo.

The ears and the hat really pissed him off, so that part of the costume didn't last long. We had a really great time and it was great to catch up with people. It's funny that in a city of over a million people, how closely people can be connected. The host of the party invited another friend who has a baby and it turns out that she did her teaching practicum at the school where I teach. Wierd...

Later that evening, we went to a party at Mike and Kelly's place. Owen and Kris went as Dr. Evil and Mini Me. They were pretty cute too.

And, of course, I had to dress up too :)

Here we go!

I've been meaning to start a journal of my year off with Owen and I've decided to make it into a blog. That way, people will be able to visit and see pictures, which I'm really bad at emailing out to people, and see what we're up to lately. I'll be able to cronicle Owen's many milestones this year, and be able to look back and remember all of the little things.

Enjoy.