Milestones

Owen Plays his Xylophone while Floppy the Penguin Looks On

Owen has become a lot more mobile since Thanksgiving. He's rolling all over the place, spinning like a top, balancing next to furniture, reaching for Mom and Dad, trying to crawl, pushing up from a sitting to a standing position from my lap... and some teeth have decided to come in. So far he has two that have pushed through his gums, and I've had the shocking experience of being nipped by them while nursing. Wow that hurts.

Child development experts say that walking and talking usually go together. For Owen, it's mobility and mimicry. The other day I said, "Hi, Arlo" in a singsong voice, and Owen looked at the cat and said, "Aye Oh" in the same singsong voice. I almost fell over. Being a parent is just so awesome.

Kind of Like the Zoo

Are we REALLY going to the zoo?

We decided to take Owen to the zoo last weekend. We set aside a whole afternoon... and then it poured cold rain from the sky. No good. What to do on a rainy Sunday when you promised the zoo?

You go to the pet store, of course. The SPCA was present with crates of kittens, the parakeets were awake and flapping all over the place, the guinea pig drank some water from his bottle, and a woman pulled her brand-new puppy around by his leash because he refused to walk any farther. Two hound dogs got into a howling match at the counter, and a squawking parrot chewed on toys. Four turtles munched on lettuce. It was kind of like the zoo. Owen didn't know any different.

Homemade Toys are the Best

Further proof that homemade toys are the best. Since I created this toy last week, Owen has reached for it time and time again over other toys, and it still makes him laugh.

I made the following out of an aluminum tea canister, dried beans, and duct tape. I think one thing Owen especially likes about this toy is that the canister is shiny and a bit reflective, and it is cool to the tongue. And that you can bang it with your hand like a drum. And tilt it like a rain stick.

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday morning I dropped Owen off at daycare and passed the center's director wearing a mouse costume. Then I walked into Owen's class and saw every single person dressed in costume. Every person except Owen. Babies had become chickens, devils, penguins, firemen... and both of Owen's teachers were also dressed up. Somehow we hadn't gotten the memo that everyone dresses for Halloween at daycare, and poor Owen looked like such an outcast. Later in the morning, they had a class picture taken of everyone (minus Owen) in costume - Owen wore some deely-bobbers shaped like pumpkins that they had on hand. Ergh. Owen is definitely going to nominate Dave and I for bad-parent-of-the-year awards.

Halloween kind of snuck up on us this year. We didn't even carve pumpkins. Luckily we had a giant bag of Tootsie Rolls ready for trick-or-treaters. And Owen dressed up as a pile of leaves, which he didn't mind at all.

Owen and Myah's Play Date

We are lucky enough to have friends who can take Owen on a random Sunday morning while Dave taught Sunday School and I had a bar review session. It helps that their daughter is only four weeks older, and she teaches Owen all kinds of big-kid things, like how to crawl. Myah just started, and I'm sure Owen will not be far behind, because once she started sitting up, Owen just couldn't stand to watch her and not do it himself.

We have come to accept that Owen likes going over to Myah's house because Myah has better toys. In fact, last week I saw a Fisher-Price commercial with a really fun toy, just perfect for Owen's age, and I excitedly described it to Dave and said, "I hope Myah gets one!" I use the excuse that our apartment is too small and Jim and Dina have room for all these fun toys, but really, it's because I'm a toy snob who has a child who loves all toys that make noise and flash lights. So it's really to Owen's benefit to play with Myah, because he has a great time. And his mom is a snob who really needs to get over herself and buy him that noisy crazy toy that he will love. But only once Myah tries it out herself and approves.

Disclaimer: Please do not send us noisy, crazy toys as a result of this post. Please don't. No, really. Please.

Growing, growing... but still no rolling

Owen is growing, growing, growing. At his 6 mos appointment, he weighed a little over 18 pounds (55th percentile) but he is now 27 inches long and in the 67th percentile for his height. His 6 mos clothes are getting a little tight - last night he wore his brand new dinosaur pjs that are size 12 mos. Gulp.

We know Owen can roll over, because we've seen him do it - both rolling front to back and back to front. He just chooses not to. So when the pediatrician asked us about it, we fibbed by saying, yes, he rolls, as though he rolls all the time. He doesn't. Only a few times each way. But he's doing lots of other things - like standing up on his own two feet for a couple of seconds, as you can see in the picture above. So despite his no-rolling rule, he's sitting up like a champ and reaching for objects and using his fingers to hold apple slices. We've also stopped swaddling him at night because he seemed like he didn't need it as much anymore and because - no surprise here - he's outgrown the swaddle blanket.

Owen's Half Birthday

Owen on October 1, 2008

You hear this all the time: I can't remember what my life was like before the baby. But it's true. I have a fleeting memory of my gym membership, attending movies, nights out past 10pm. Bah. All of this is nothing compared to sharing giggles in the bed with Owen and Dave in the mornings, learning how to wash a sippy cup without a dishwasher, and staring in wonder at clouds and trees and dogs.

Here we have a list of six things we've learned since Owen arrived, one for every month he's been here:
1. If Owen is pooping while nursing, and I am also eating a granola bar, then we are multi-tasking.

2. Baby cereal tastes like cardboard, but sometimes Owen likes cardboard.

3. Never underestimate that your pet can act as a diversion while you wash dishes/ fold laundry/ start dinner.

4. Owen likes toys that great-grandmothers give best.

5. White baby clothing is a horrible idea. Orange baby clothing is a wonderful idea.

6. Nothing else, especially not law school, is as important as the family.