Up and At 'Em

One minute he's crawling around, the next he's pulled himself up. This is the first time I've seen him do this. I knew he was close since he has pulled himself up on things that were waist high for him. Super funny that the first thing he went after was the tv remote. He takes after his father!

Oh Christmas Tree

Aunt Cat helped us get our Christmas tree up the day after thanksgiving, only after Dad spent too long trying to get proper working lights on it. This might be the earliest I've ever gotten our Christmas tree up. I'm just so excited to be celebrating with our little guy. Surprisingly, Owen isn't that interested in the Christmas tree. I've seen him crawl up to it a few times and touch a branch, then quickly crawl away. I guess he doesn't care for the feel of it. Super bonus for us since we don't have to worry about keeping him away from it.

Black Friday

We got up and out of the house early today to do some Christmas shopping. Owen was a good sport about it all. Who doesn't love eating breakfast in the car?

Owen's First Thanksgiving

Owen wanted to help out with cooking the turkey. Lately he has been really into playing with wooden spoons. Great for teething.

We had a fun, low key Thanksgiving with just the 4 of us. Yummy food and a relaxing day.

On a whim, we decided to see if Owen would like a taste of turkey. I tried giving him a tiny piece. He would stick out his tongue to taste it, then make the funniest look of disgust on his face.

Eating Out

We have developed a tradition of eating out at the North End the day before Thanksgiving. So we got bundled up and headed downtown. In my rush to get out of the house I forgot to grab a toy to entertain Owen during our meal. So I bought this wooden maraca at a store in Faneuil Hall. It wasn't really a toy for infants, but Owen loved it. He did a great job of entertaining us.

Aunt Cat and Owen were looking so cute together. Maybe those smiles were because of the box of canolis we picked up from Mikes!!!

Aunt Cat Comes to Visit

Aunt Cat is here visiting for Thanksgiving and Owen took to her really well. His stranger anxiety seems to be short lived. Here they are just chillin on the couch. I wish I could get him to do that for me sometimes!

Ready for T-Day

Owen is excited about Thanksgiving!

Elizabeth Marie Menges

Owen got a new cousin today. Congratulations Mike and Leslie!

Chew on this!

Owen has been a little bit fussy today because he has an upper tooth coming in. When he's fussy he wants to be with Mommy ALL THE TIME. This wasn't working since I was trying to steam some squash and apples to puree for his meals over the next week. I got him in his pod chair on the counter to help me cook, where he tried to grab anything that he could within a 5 inch distance of his chair. This lead to me giving him a piece of apple, knowing full well it would end up in his mouth. It was a Granny Smith apple which is tart, so I didn't think he would care for it. I was totally wrong. He was chewing like crazy on that thing. He totally loved it.

My Little Buckeye

Ohio State 42, Michigan 7. Way to dominate, Buckeyes! It might be the most lopsided rivalry with our Bucks beating the Wolverines for 5 years in a row. Owen wasn't interested in watching the game at all, but he would laugh at me when I would chant, cheer or yell at the TV. Maybe next year the game will be more exciting and he'll want to pay attention?!!!

First Finger Food

We gave Owen some cereal to try for the first time tonight. Not a lot made it in his mouth, but he had fun pushing it around on the tray of this highchair.

Gearing Up

A big game is coming up on Saturday. Owen can't wait...he says Poop on Michigan (if he could talk). Go Buckeyes!

All Bundled Up

The weather has gotten quite cold here, and today we had to bundle Owen up in his fleece suit before heading off to daycare.

Exploring

Owen has a new found freedom now that he has learned to crawl. Lucky for us, he hasn't strayed out of the family room yet. One thing that he has gone to a few times is the shelf under our coffee tables (we have two square table right next to eachother). He climbs right in and gets stuck. It's so funny...Brian has to rescue him out, but he keeps going back for more!

Owen's Current Favorite

Owen has two baskets full of toys and what is his favorite thing to play with? The Boppy Pillow, of all things! It's the cutest thing...to watch him climb all over it, push it across the room, rest his head on it. He never gets tired of playing with it! As you can see, I couldn't pick a favorite photo from today's play session. He's just so adorable!!!

Time for a Change

Owen thinks a change is a good thing. Being a "blue state" is cool!

8 Months Old

As Owen continues to grow older, we get to know him more and more. His personality is really starting to shine. We have more and more fun every day. As I try to keep a list of the new and exciting things that he has learned just in the past month, I just shake my head in amazement at how quickly he is growing. It is difficult to recall everything as it seems there are new conquests each and every day.

Owen's 8 month milestones:

• He’s now exploring objects more thoroughly by shaking them, banging them, dropping them, throwing them, but putting them in his mouth is his preferred tried-and-true method. His recent favorite thing is paper. The newspaper, a book, my grocery list…anything paper and he wants it. Then it eventually ends up in his mouth. Yuck!
• Rolls both ways, sits up straight without needing any support and stands while holding on to something. Most noticeably, Owen is now crawling.
• When lying on back, Owen likes to brings his legs up and over chest and grab his feet. So far he hasn’t attempted to put his feet in his mouth, but I’m sure that will occur to him soon.
• Works to get objects that are out of reach. This is especially true if he sees paper. He gets a one track mind to get his hands on some paper. He’s crawled right under our coffee table to grab the newspaper.
• Responds to hearing his name.
• Interested in mirror images. We’ve always enjoyed holding him up to the mirror to get his reaction. The daycare teachers are always writing on his note that he enjoys looking at himself in the mirror. Let’s hope he’s not vain!
• Owen has recently developed stranger anxiety. Our poor neighbor, Elizabeth, who is one of Owen’s biggest fans, gets a cry from Owen when she first sees him now. On the positive side, after you warm up to him he is fine. It’ll be interesting traveling back to Ohio at xmas.
• Frequently laughs, smiles and squeals in delight. Sometimes it’s hard to know what he finds so amusing but there’s nothing better than hearing him laugh. Lately, people have been telling me that Owen seems like a very happy baby. I agree with that, but I have nothing to compare him to. He has his moments of unhappiness, but there’s always a reason for it (tired, hungry, or dirty diaper). Aren’t all babies like this?
• Responds with eyes and facial expressions. His reactions to new food tastes are especially funny.
• Favors Mommy in a big way. He will hold his hands out when he wants me to pick him up. I think it kills Brian that he doesn’t do that for him. I find it adorable that he wants me, but I’m sure some day that will change.

First Bathtub Bath

Owen has gotten too big for his sink tub, so tonight was his first bathtub bath. It would have been sooner, but I really needed to scrub our bathtub! It took him a while to relax and get used to it, but I think he did okay.

Owen is Crawling!

I'm going out on a limb and say that Owen is officially crawling. He has been inching his way around for the longest time, but now he is really on the move. Instead of pushing himself backwards, he's pulling himself forward. He seems to have a lot more upper body strength. There's a lot of up and down from his belly up onto his knees and he's figuring out how to synchronize leg and arm movements. It's very cool to watch him, not so cool that you really HAVE TO WATCH him. He is getting good at figuring out what he should not get into!

Holy HUGE TV, Batman!

We had an early xmas gift delivered today. This all started with me wanting to get a new cabinet to put away all the audio/video equipment. Somehow we ended up with all of this. Some day when Owen is older, he'll laugh that we were all excited to get a flat panel TV. At least he can't get into the cabinet...yet!

Bedtime Routine

Owen gets a bath every night, usually right around 7 o'clock. He has always loved his bath. We still do it in his infant tub in the kitchen sink, but he's outgrowing it so that is going to have to change soon. Then I give him a baby message thanks to the instructions that Aunt Leslie gave us. Owen loves his message. Then he gets swaddled and nursed to sleep. Nice, predictable routine.

First Artwork?

Okay, I know this is a far cry from an unassisted, original piece of artwork but I can see his palm and fingers in there. Is there anything about this kid that I don't find fun and adorable?

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We had a fun day celebrating Daddy's birthday. He got the new Guitar Hero, so yeah to a bunch of new songs! Owen and I dance around the family room while Daddy plays the songs. Family fun!