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.