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!"