Happy Birthday, Owen!

One Giant Cupcake

It's Owen's first birthday! Hooray!

Due to some fortuitous class cancellations, I do not have my evening seminar tonight, so Owen, Dave and I are going out to dinner with Myah and mom Dina at a restaurant that brings cake and singing waitstaff. We have to get it in before he becomes too cool for such things.

This first birthday is as much a celebration of Owen as it is a celebration of parenthood. Last night in class I received a text message from Dave that said, "Happy Waterbreaking Anniversary!" It was so funny to receive at that moment, because that's exactly what I had been thinking myself!

Then after we ate a late dinner, I looked at the clock again and thought, We were just checking into the hospital, and the staff asked, 'Where have you been? We've been expecting you!' but how could I tell them that I had been cuddling with my cat and eating macaroni-and-cheese?

And then we crawled into bed and I looked at the clock and remembered, "A year ago today, my mom was driving through a snowstorm in Oregon to get on a red-eye so that she could be here for Owen's birth."

Thanks to everyone who's sent good wishes to us. Our little "April Fool" has been an awesome addition to our family.

Food Milestones

Owen Wears His Dinner on His Head

Owen had his first restaurant meal last weekend - we ordered him a grilled cheese sandwich with an applesauce side off the menu at our favorite sports bar. The sandwich was cut into two triangular wedges, and Owen held one in each hand and kicked his legs out everytime he wanted some applesauce. He was happy. No, it was more like giddy.

Then two nights later we found ourselves out for sushi with friends, and ordered Owen (and Myah) an avocado roll. Owen ate not just the rice and avocado, but the seaweed also.

Yesterday morning Owen and I had the exact same thing for breakfast - waffles with blueberries and bananas. He loves eating big people food. Enough with the baby food - you have to sneak a spoonful into his mouth for him to eat it.

Purim Fun

I've added two photographs taken Monday night at our synagogue. We were celebrating the holiday Purim: Owen is a gorilla, and Dave and I are adults dressed up funny.

The Purim carnival was held during Owen's nap time, so he wound up sleeping through most of the event and dinner. As I was awkwardly holding him and eating dinner with my left hand, a woman came up to me and said, "Oh, I thought you'd brought your dog." She thought Owen was a dog cradled in my arms, rather than a child. I guess that's what happens when you dress a baby as a gorilla and let him take a nap.

First Word Update: Kitty!!!

And the winner is... KITTY. On Thursday, I pointed at Arlo, said, "Arlo," and Owen pointed at Arlo and said, "Kitty." Ooh, I was excited to tell Dave. And then Dave heard it later. And Owen's said it a handful more times, too. Yay Owen! You're talking!

I heard Owen say "ball" yesterday. Not sure yet if it was coincidence or not, so I'm reserving judgment on that one.

THEN today, I was talking to Dave on the phone, and Owen heard Dave's voice and said, "Dada."

THEN today, Dave and I both conferred and decided that Owen has been calling me "Mom-mom."

I had this feeling that once Owen started talking, he'd be rolling. And I was right. What a funny little guy.

Owen and I went to the zoo today, and surprise, surprise - his favorite animals were the lion pride.

Owen and His Cats

Owen loves his cats. And his cats tolerate him, although in the above picture Purna looks put-out that this little dude is trying to climb up into their window seat. Regardless, it's been interesting to watch the progression of their interactions as Owen has gone from newborn to baby to babbling toddler.

We're convinced that Owen's first word will not be "momma" or "dada" but "kitty." This is because, although he thinks that we are great, the cats really hold his attention and love and general admiration. Also, he is beginning to mimic our sounds, and the other day both Dave and I were saying, "kitty" over and over again. And Owen was babbling back and said, "Titty." We about died laughing. So his first word COULD be "kitty" although it might come out sounding like something else.

Give Me Chocolate!

We made brownies last weekend for a brunch we were attending, and decided to let Owen have a little taste from the bowl. Wow! He loved chocolate - he must take after his mama. This is the first really sugary thing Owen has had. 

We decided it was time - especially since we are attending baby birthday parties for the next two weekends. What were we going to do- deny him cake? I don't think that's fair. And, if this video is any indication, neither does he.

And sleep goes right out the window

We have confronted a large stumbling block in our household - sleep. Owen doesn't like it. He screams and thrashes and makes himself pretty miserable for a couple hours every night. We are currently trying to determine every possible thing that could be causing such behavior, and how to confront it and still get enough sleep on our end. 

Our daycare teacher, Tara, said although Owen seemed a little young to be experiencing them, it was probably night terrors.  A little investigation does seem to point to them as the culprit. We have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday to go over this with our pediatrician, and hopefully we'll come to some kind of resolution or action-plan. 

Until then, please be nice to us. We are very, very tired. Last night after an hour of rocking an inconsolable, sobbing Owen, I finally wrapped him in his blanket as tight as possible, and he fell asleep for the rest of the night.