Owen's big week

I don't actually know how Owen feels about this week. I'm guessing for him, it's been a week just like every other, but he has grown so much this week. He has accomplished the delicate art of sitting, and is getting his first tooth.


The sitting thing is awesome. He is really starting to get tired of the various contraptions we have to entertain him. Everyday when I drop him off at school, he just watches the bigger kids that sit in their little pin, and it's so obvious he wants to be there. This week, he finally figured it out. He can sit for a while without falling, unless he moves too quickly towards something. When he does fall, he just lays there and starts playing with something new. It really looks like he is just playing it off, like he had wanting to lay down all this time.


The teething bit is not as awesome. This caught us by surprise, although it does explain some recent bouts of fussiness. He has been a major drooler since he was born, so we've always just written off drool as something he does. Like he drools puddles and puddles. Most weekend days when we are going to be around the house for awhile, I let him hang out in just a diaper. It's easier than having to change him 5 times in one day because his drool soaks through the bib and his shirt. It's gross. So a little drool in our life is not indicative of teeth, it just means Owen is Owen. And he has always been a pretty oral baby. He chews on everything around. One day last month, before he had completely figured out the whole hand to mouth situation, I caught him chewing on a toy hanging from a little baby gym. To get the toy in his mouth he would move his head around until the rings fell perfectly into his open mouth. It was really funny to watch, and he probably spent more time attempting to get the toy into his mouth than anything else.

Lately, he has enjoyed chewing on his feet. There are times we will pick him up and his socks are soaking wet. So socks are another item of clothing that I don't bother with anymore if we are just going to be at home all day. Thank goodness it is summer in Houston, perfect weather for a diaper baby.
Madeline didn't start getting teeth until she was about 9 months, so I had not thought about the possibility of teeth. Yesterday Owen was sitting and drooling, and he started doing this weird thing with his tongue where it looked like he was trying to lick his bottom gum. I didn't even catch half of the weird faces he was making. It was so funny, I could not stop laughing!



Then, he reached for my hand and put my finger in his mouth, and immediately I could feel the tiny tip of a new tooth under the gums. Randomly, I'm kind of excited for him.

Summer

I have heard so many people wax poetic about summer. I'm going to be honest, it's not my favourite time of year. I really prefer spring and fall. I love spending time outside, and summer in Katy is not made for outdoor activities. We go swimming, and go to the park , and we take evening walks, and eat outside. Ok, that last sentence made summer in Katy sound magical. But all of those are early morning or evening activities. Daytime is brutal. We usually spend the hours from 11-5 hiding out inside doing crafts and trying to keep the house somewhat orderly (ok, Andy and I are the only ones trying to keep things orderly, Madeline loves a mess). But in a spirit of optimism and looking at things from a positive light, I am choosing to concentrate on the things I like about summer.

I love early morning visits to the playground.




I love bubbles and pajamas.




I love swimming. I love the smell of sunscreen on my little ones.




I love bringing Owen outside so he can do the exact same thing he always does, except outside. And I love his new set of faces he's learned to make.




I love setting up the sprinkler toys and inflatable pool in the backyard and watching Madeline and Nelson go crazy.




I love flowers in full bloom.




I love sno cones, and red tongues.




I love that the time gets all jumbled up and an afternoon visiting with friends quickly turns into evening and night. Afternoon swims quickly lapse into dinner and popsicles.




I love evening walks as the sun starts to set.




And I love summer naps, and summer nights.

Thursday Nights

One of my favourite things about our neighborhood is all of the activities at the nearby shopping center. They have a beautiful outdoor space with fountains that are made for kids to play in. They sponsor a farmer's market every Saturday morning, and during the summer have a concert series on Thursday nights. Each week brings a different kind of music, but always the same atmosphere. There are kids, so many kids, running and playing in the fountain. And parents visiting. And all smiling and having a good time. I am hoping to go as often as possible this summer.

Happy Father's Day

Andy is probably one of the world's best fathers. He loves both of our little ones with all of his being. He is so helpful with all of the practical stuff. He is exactly what I never knew I wanted, but always did. It makes me so happy to know that our children will grow up with such a great role model and loving father. Because that is exactly what Andy and I both had growing up, and we are so thankful everyday.

Dining Al Fresco

My favorite warm weather activity is outdoor dining. I think everything tastes better when the sun is shining on your skin. We try to have picnics at different parks as often as we can, but for weeknight dinners, we are big fans of backyard dining.



Madeline is a little too small to comfortably eat on our patio furniture, so we usually just spread out blankets and have a picnic. It's kind of fun and feels very comfortable to just sit and eat watching the sun set on another day. When there is a quiet minute you can hear the joyful screams from neighborhood kids playing or the daily conversation of a couple walking along the trail near our house.



After dinner Andy and I take turns playing with Owen and talking about our day. Madeline usually plays with Nelson, ro invents some game to play. This past week she acted out animals as we named them. It was so funny to watch, and pretty hard to photograph, but I kind of think some of the blurred ones are cool.




For a moment I always forget that I am not in some sort of wonderful movie and that this is indeed my life, and then I smile.

Found

You know that wonderful feeling you get when you reach your cold hand into a old jacket on the first cold day of winter and find a $20 bill. That $20 is like the best $20 ever. It is the best way to start a day.
I hardly ever use our point and shoot camera, but I usually keep it with me for those random moments I don't have our nice camera around. Tonight, I reached for it and realized the memory card was full. I was amazed because I hardly ever use it. When I uploaded the pictures I realized I had pictures on there since Halloween! It was kind of fun to find all these pictures. These random snapshots of our lives the past 7 months.
So much has changed. Madeline's hair is so much longer. Her face looks so much more mature. Mine looks so much less puffy (I hope). Owen is alive, and has grown so much.
These are by no means all of the memories from the past few months, but some of the random moments that I'm so glad to relive.


There were laughs at home, rode trips, fun with dogs, and holiday parties.


There was fun with boxes.


There was snow in Katy!


There were Christmas wishes, and Christmas gifts.


There was fun with family.


There was swimming and love.


There were walks to the turtles.


And there were naps for all.

These pictures are certaintly not the best photos we have, and not at all a culmination of our last 7 months, but tonight they were as sweet as those hidden dollar bills just waiting to be found.

Rice Cereal

I am in total shock that Owen is old enough to start on solid foods. I know this is so cliche, but it really seems like yesterday I was packing his bags for the hospital. But it's time for cereal. He tried his first bites this weekend, and was very typical baby. He was insanely interested in the spoon, and seemed really into the concept of eating. I think of the small tiny bowl of cereal we tried to feed him, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 of a baby spoonful made it into his tummy. The rest we wiped off of every inch of his body.

We tried again a few days later and had a little better luck. This time I mixed in just a little bit of applesauce, because let's be honest, that rice cereal does not taste good at all. I figured maybe he just had a very mature palette and was too sophisticated for rice cereal. OK, not really, I just thought the applesauce would taste better. And it worked, for like 3 bites. Then he just spit the rest out. I let Madeline try and feed him a few bites. She was lecturing him on the importance of eating and getting good nutrition so he can be as tall as her one day. That didn't really work either. He was very cute as he spit out his food, and seemed like he had fun. Maybe next week he'll get the hang of it a little better.
I am pretty sure we will look back on this day in 13 years and laugh at the little boy who didn't really eat his food. From my understanding of boys, this will be the only time he doesn't eat.

Another Awesome Weekend!

I am so lucky, I have had such an amazing May. I love the weekends, who doesn't. It's so nice to be around the people I love all the time, not to put down my coworkers, because I really do like all of them, but they can't compete with my two little ones, and Andy. This weekend we had lots of great family time. Saturday was filled with farmer's market adventures, a golf outing for Madeline and Andy, scrapbooking, and an evening picnic.


Sunday I didn't take many pictures, because a lot of it was spent at the pool, and that just doesn't seem like a safe place to bring my camera. If you had been there, you would have seen 2 very cute little girls (my best friend, Breck, and her boyfriend and his daughter were in town and we all went to the pool together), and the most adorable little boy in the world. Every time I looked around people at the pool (mostly other moms), were pointing towards us with giant smiles on their face. Owen loves the water. He loves baths, and he most definitely loves swimming. He just relaxes and takes it all in. Next time I need to remember my point and shoot camera to take pictures of Owen. And Madeline is really starting to get the hang of swimming. She has work to do, but I'm predicting a short solo swim by mid-summer. We did have some pajama time at the end of the day that I caught on camera. Madeline and Owen are really amazing siblings. They truly enjoy each other so much. They both light up around each other. It's very cool to watch their love grow every day.

Our next two weekends are already full, and then I'll probably have to work through the following weekend, so this weekend was especially nice and peaceful. And how awesome is it that we got to spend the whole weekend together.