Christmas story #1

Owen had a great Christmas in New Jersey! It lasted a little longer than we had originally planned due to the Armagedon-type snow storm (2 feet!), but he loved seeing his Grandpa, Aunt Gwen, Uncle Jim, Cousin Matthew and other NJ family!

Owen and his cousin Matthew made what was a really painful time for my family so much more bearable. We all missed my Mom so much - her absence was overwhelming and completely unreal, even 4 more months later. I kept expecting her to pop around the corner on Christmas Eve and clean up some dishes or say something to me or Gwen or dance to her favorite Christmas songs (which I can't bear to listen to) or pour herself some wine. Count your blessings today, everyone, because things can change so fast. One year ago we were celebrating the birth of Owen with my parents in London. Mom was pulling night shifts for me so I could get some sleep. She would make me food, clean my kitchen floor, do the laundry, tell me stories of when I was a baby, and generally take care of me and the baby while Jason was at work. It was an amazing and blessed time. I had no idea it would be the last happy and care-free time I had with my mother. I am so lucky I had that time with her - that was my blessing.

In New Jersey, Owen was happy and sweet and impressed everyone by walking a few steps and 'mooing' when asked what a cow says. Owen loves the cat. Whenever he saw Simba he said "Ca-Ca", which I was pretty impressed by (my child is clearly a genius). He loves opening up presents, one little piece at a time, and then playing with the paper. Or, getting paper poured all over him:

Owen also still loves Mickey Mouse! He got several for Christmas... below is Owen staring down the dancing Mickey he got from Grandpa. It's insane! We will definitely take pics of him and all his Mickeys later.

And because I'm mean (festive?), I dressed my adorable little guy up in a Santa costume on Christmas day. He was beyond cute.

So many more cute pictures... I'll post more later.

Also, we have Christmas #2 this afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa in Ohio, and then tomorrow is Christmas morning! Yes, it's also December 31... a few days late. We probably won't get away with that in the future but Owen hasn't complained yet!

More updates and photos later. xo

Owenfest 2010

We had a great Owen weekend!

Friday, we had our NJ family arrive. Grandpa was here already, but we got to welcome Aunt Gwen (also Godmother), Great Aunt Carol and Great Uncle Jeff. I took a half day from work so got to spend the afternoon hanging out with the family and preparing the house for the weekend festivities.

Saturday was Owen's birthday party! He was a bit overwhelmed but had a great time. He particularly liked opening presents. I was sure he'd only try to open 1 or 2 and then get bored, but he powered through his whole big stack. Mostly tearing off little pieces of wrapping paper and trying to eat them, but still, a great time. He loves all his gifts! He got a ride-in little red car - the one we all had when we were kids - from Grandma and Grandpa V, some great Elmo and Mickey Mouse DVDs, lots of clothing, a fun sled that he immediately loved, a great fischer price milk truck (a favorite!), a fun puzzle letter mat to play on (and chew on) and lots, lots more. Owen loved it when we sang to him, except when I tried to put his party hat on. Not a fan of the party hat. Also, he wasn't the biggest fan of his cake (an adorable Mickey Mouse cake made by Grandma!), but he played along and we got the fun pics of him smearing cake on his face. Thanks to everyone who came, brought food, and helped celebrate!

The fun didn't stop there - Sunday was his baptism. Owen was so great during the ceremony and smiled so nice for us. He only cried a little bit when the priest put the water on his forehead for the 3rd time. Do you blame him? He thoroughly enjoyed the after party back at our house, and again loved opening some more presents.

Tuesday was Owen's actual birthday! We had some big plans to go to the acquarium for the first time, but he wasn't feeling great so we just hung out at home. I took off this big day to hang out with the family. Owen had a pancake for breakfast and some mac 'n cheese for dinner. I tried to give him a cupcake I made - but he wanted no part of the cupcake nor the icing. Where is his sweet tooth? He is destined to have one given who his parents are!

We have been so blessed with Owen over the past 12 months! He has been our shining light and a reason to hope and laugh and believe during the most difficult time of my life. I am treasuring every moment with him! Thanks to everyone who has been so great to us - Owen loves you!

xo

Santa hat cuteness and a big birthday and christening weekend for Owen!

I cannot believe our little boy will be one year old in less than a week! We have a huge Owen weekend planned. Saturday is his birthday party! Sunday is his christening! Go Owen!!! Grandpa is on his way to Ohio as I type! Owen can't wait to see him!

Here's a sneak preview of his one year photos, which were taken on Sunday by a great photographer who came to our house and got adorable photos of Owen www.rvp-photography.com.

I'll try to post some more this week and of course will post tons of the great fun we'll have this weekend.

Owen gets cuter and more fun every day. I know he drives his dad a bit crazy at home sometimes as he crawls faster and faster and demands attention. His favorites these days are macaroni & cheese, cruising around the furniture and standing up in his crib (especially while we're trying to put him to sleep). Oh, and Mickey Mouse, which is the theme of his birthday party. His least favorite thing is daycare. ):

Being a working mom is hard! I really want to be home with Owen and don't want to miss anything. Luckily, I really like my job and the team I work on, or else it would be a lot harder. I wish I could clone myself so I could work and also be a stay at home mom.

Have a good week everyone! xo

Mom's birthday

Today would have been my Mom's 63rd birthday. I wish it would have been a happy birthday... love you and miss you so much, Mom. x

Weekend - move & sad news from an old friend.

First - some happy news. We moved into our house this weekend, which was just amazing. It's so nice to have a whole big house all to ourselves! Owen is adjusting well and actually slept pretty good both nights so far. I am loving unpacking and organizing all my clothes - finally in one place after many, many years scattered - in my giant walk-in closet. Jason has his own walk-in closet, smaller than mine but still way bigger than the amount of clothes he has!

Unfortunately, I got some sad news that an old dear friend from high school's dad passed away on Sunday from a short and terrible battle with cancer. He was only diagnosed in August. Here's her blog: http://theclous.blogspot.com/. She was very close to her father and he was a wonderful, generous person who took care of himself really well throughout his life. He was 61.

In case anyone hadn't realized this - cancer is one of the worst ways to go.

The past year has changed me so much... I feel like I was living in a happy little bubble and the possibility of losing my parents was just so far in the future... I just kind of assumed I'd have them until they were old and crickety. Losing my mom not only shattered that bubble, but made me realize how many people go through this and how awful it really is. I've told so many people to have them say that they lost a parent at a young age, or their spouse has. It's so sad. I'm still mad... I look at little old ladies and just don't understand why that can't be my mom. It's just not fair. And even so, I know how lucky I am that my Mom got to see me get married, and got to meet Owen, especially since the few weeks she spent with me in December and January were her last healthy, care-free weeks.

Anyway - send all your happy positive thoughts to NJ for my friend Ericka please. And if you have spare ones pass them along to my family too. x

New house!!

It's Friday, and for that I am very grateful! Poor little Owen has been sick all week with high fevers... 104.3 makes for a very hot little potato.

Not the best week for him to be sick, as Jason had to keep him out of daycare and deal with all the house stuff at the same time. We move in tomorrow!!! Sooooo excited. We've gone from London - where we had a tiny little 2 bedroom flat - to staying with parents, and now to a big beautiful 5 bedroom house. I can't believe it! I'll post a photo or two this weekend after we get moved in!

While I am looking forward to next weekend having 4 days in a row off to unpack and organize our house, I am dreading dealing with Thanksgiving without my Mom. I know there's plenty in my life to be thankful for - my wonderful son, husband, father, sister, inlaws, etc - but I am overwhelmed by how terrible the past months have been since Mom got sick and we lost her. How can I be thankful for anything yet? And a few days after Thanksgiving - on Tuesday, November 30 - it is Mom's birthday. I miss her so much. The time leading up to her passing and the days after were horrific, but trying to accept each day without her is deeply sad and incredibly hard. The reality of it just f'ing sucks.

Anyway... I am looking forward to 2011 and hope that it will be a new beginning and a fresh start and a better year. Hopefully our new house will be a big step forwards. x

How did we pick such a popular name?

We thought we were being so creative.... it was on our last big holiday in Mallorca, Spain, before baby arrived that we got down to a short list of girls and boys names for our little bubba. We both had separate lists, created after combing carefully through a baby names book... Jason suggested "Owen" and it made it through each rounds of cuts and became the winner. Noah was our #2 name. Payton was our girls name.

Now.... I have heard of SO MANY Owens, Noahs, and Paytons. How did that happen? What's funny is Owen is a really rare name in the UK, where we were when he was born, so it truly was unique. Then we get back here and every time I'm out I hear moms yelling at their Owens and hear stories about other baby Owens all around. And Noahs. A boatload (or an ark-load...ha... this why Noah didn't win, by the way). And Paytons. My roommate from college, as a matter of fact, had a Payton in August.

Turns out, Owen was the #36 most popular boys name in 2009. Well, Noah was #6, so I guess between the 2 we chose right. http://www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names-2009

I still love the name Owen, but have come to accept that his kindergarten class will be full of other little Owens. There's no way they'll be as cute and wonderful as my Owen, but still. They will exist.

The cutest little pumpkin pie....

I often call Owen my pumpkin pie, and what better time to do so than in October? I challenge you to not oooohhh and aaaahhh at his cuteness.

In very exciting news, we close on our house 1 week from today! Owen can't wait to test out his new bed and room! We are hoping it's magical and gets him to sleep through the night. Any day now, baby. It's true dad mostly has to deal with brutal night duty these days (I only get 2 days a week at the moment), for the sake of all of us we are hoping a sleep cure arrives soon.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Chris x

I'm back.... if anyone decides to read.....

Hi everyone,

I am back after a 4 month break from the blog. A few things have happened:

1) We moved back to the US so part of the reason for having a blog (so far-away family and friends can keep up to date on Owen) disappeared,

2) I've gone back to work so am thoroughly overwhelmed with life, and

3) My wonderful, loving, generous, caring and selfless mom got sicker and sicker and died in August, which I couldn't even begin to think about how to address on my blog. In way it feels wrong to blog about my mom, but it feels wrong not to blog about her as well. It feels wrong not to think about her every minute of the day - which I generally do - but it is overwhelmingly suffocating also.

I thought I'd at least share a few recent photos of Owen during the weekend my Dad visited us in Cincinnati. We took Dad to a pumpkin patch when he came to visit, and last weekend we all went to a Halloween party... Owen was the cutest monkey there every was.

I'll write again, maybe.... xo

Baby sleep torture.

My baby is cute. Adorable. Everyone tells him so. Strangers on the street, in the supermarket, the hospital, Kohls, Walmart, etc etc. Even I think he is absurdly cute... almost always.

These days, the time when his cuteness wears thin is between about 10pm and 7am, when he uses a special form of torture he has developed especially for me. It's called, Wake Mom Up Every Hour torture. Seriously, I am tired deep down inside my soul these days. Ok, it's not as bad as it was the first 12 weeks of his life, but still, after living for a few months of pretty good sleep, the last 5 weeks have just beaten me down. I am a broken woman.

Anyway - he's still pretty darn cute.

7 months old today!

I cannot believe our little baby boy is 7 months old today!!!!!! He is changing every single day and it's amazing to witness. He's a little personality and I can't wait to continue to get to know who our little Owen is.

This isn't his 7 month picture, but one Grandma Connie took last week. He'll have to have a 7 month + 1 day photo as Mom forgot to take one today (busy day) and baby is now asleep. Owen had SUCH a great time with Grandma Connie, Uncle Michael, Friend Chris and Dad in the past 10 days! He was overwhelmed by all the love and cuddles. It was very sad saying goodbye - especially to Dad last night - but he can't wait to see everyone again.

Owen is loving the pool these days. Check this hysterical video out of him going crazy splashing everywhere. Adorable!!!!! Jason and I were cracking up!


In the meantime, we'll be hanging out in NJ spending as much time with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Gwen, Cousin Matthew and everyone here! We don't get to see Grandma as much as we want as she is in the hospital again and it's not a very baby-friendly place to be in. Please everyone keep Grandma in your prayers!

First 4th of July

Non eventful - that's how Owen's first 4th of July was! We went to see Grandma in the rehab center and went into the pool with Grandpa. Now I'm eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to celebrate our nation's birthday. Haha - maybe next year we can go to a bbq??? I am just hoping the big party next door and the evening's fireworks don't wake up our little man! Fingers crossed!

We are excited to see our other Grandma and Uncle Michael tomorrow! And then... Dad next weekend!!!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Sticky hot

Owen and I are now sans Dad in New Jersey. We were really sad to see him go, but loved the bonus 12 or so hours we got with him yesterday when his flight was delayed.

Our little man is having a really hard time adjusting, so much harder than last time we were in the US. Last night he was up every 30-45 minutes.... oh my goodness. And he is the crankiest ever! His two little bottom teeth are really coming up so maybe that has something to do with it. Oh, and the crushing NJ heat and humidity isn't helping. We attempted to go for our first run with our new jogger stroller this morning and didn't even make it down the driveway. I think Owen is also really worried about Grandma, who is still in the hospital and hasn't gotten to hang out with him very much. ):

Owen did have his first pool experience yesterday!!! It is undecided if he enjoyed it... he didn't hate it, but wasn't smiling very much. Especially when Dad dunked him, much against Mom's wishes!

Hanging out with Dad:

After getting dunked:
With his Mom:

That's all for now. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers please!

6 MONTHS OLD!!!!!

Owen is 6 months old!!!! We can't believe how fast time has gone by and how much our little man has grown. Just look at that face..... the cutest little guy I've ever seen!

We had a great long weekend with Dad as he took off yesterday to celebrate Owen's 6 month birthday. We are looking forward to seeing the NJ family this weekend! Owen can't wait to be on US soil again!

Owen now officially loves his rings...

We also played ball with Dad for the first time this week!

Have a good week everyone!

Daddy?

First word? Yeah, we know it's not really, but it definitely shocked us when Jason was trying to make Owen say "Da-da" and he repeated him amongst his babbling. I think he's just prepping for Father's day in 2 weeks. I'll try to get it on video soon. Also, maybe Owen wanted to reward his Dad for playing his favorite new game, called Throw-Me-Up-In-the-Air. Mom and Owen had some great photos taken in front of Big Ben and Parliament with our friends Hannah and Hadley (3 weeks older than Owen). Here's the best one of mother and baby:

Owen is doing really well with the sleep training we started about 10 days ago. We now put him down to sleep awake and he falls asleep within about 10 minutes to his little musical seahorse, a gift from Grandma Connie. He's waking Mom up less to feed during the night, but still every other night or so. And eating - wow! Owen is getting the hang of it and loves his baby rice and apples. Carrots - not really sure about them. Today we start sweet potatos, Mom's favorite vegetable! I pureed myself a nice serving while I was making Owen's. (: I have high hopes he'll like this one.

Anyway -today we are off to baby yoga and Mom's diet meeting. I am now back to my pre-pregnancy weight and can fit into my old clothes... woohoo!

Have a great week everyone! xo

Happy Monday off!

I hope everyone is enjoying their day off - in the US and the UK. Owen and I have loved having Dad around this long weekend. Owen is 24 weeks today - almost 6 months old!!!

We've had our first vegetable this weekend - homemade-by-mom carrots! Owen is doing really well and seems to actually be eating the food we give him. This photo doesn't show his love of carrots but it's funny anyway. A lot of it comes right back out of his cute little mouth but his orange-tinted spit up prove he is swallowing some. We are on day #2 of carrots... we'll start apples on Wednesday. We also went to one of the markets near London Business School, Camden Market, and picked up a few great London themed wall hangings and photos. Then we had lunch at the Windsor Castle pub and swung by school where we got some photos of our little man.
Finally... today Owen rolled over from his back to front. He's been sooooo close for ages, spending half his time with his bottom half rolled over and his top half almost there (darn arm gets in the way). He did it with Dad on our bed. Go Owen!

That's all for now! x

First food, a wedding, and lots of laughs!!

Hi everyone! It was a gorgeous weekend in London. We had lots of adventures - a friend's wedding yesterday and our first solids today!

Our family went to a wedding yesterday about an hour outside of the city - Owen was a big hit! He wore his bow tie and everyone was super impressed with his cuteness and how well behaved he was. He slept through the whole ceremony and didn't have one meltdown. It was chaos on the train though - 2 stops before we got back to Clapham the train filled with drunken rugby fans. Owen had a little meltdown then fell asleep amongst the chaos. Today we tried baby rice - Owen did great. A few funny faces but he was pretty receptive to the whole process. I tried it - not super tasty - but I guess he doesn't have much to compare it to! I'll give it to him all week then maybe next week we'll have some carrots or apples.
Another first today - giant, huge, hysterical laughter. I mean, he's been giggling and laughing for months now... but this was insane. He was laughing so hard he'd sort of start crying. Jason and I were cracking up! The best part is I got it on video. Watch the whole thing for full effect. (:

That's all for now. Have a great week everyone! Happy Anniversary to Sarah and Kenny and Happy Birthday to Jim!

Who loves to stand?

Owen does! This is one of his newer tricks. I have a great video of this moment but can't figure out how to rotate it. If I do, I'll post it for all to enjoy. (: Hope everyone had a great weekend! x

5 months old today!

Oh my god, the months are flying by! I cannot believe Owen was born 5 months ago. He is such a big guy these days - weighed in at 17 pounds, 6 ounces on Tuesday at his check. He is developing just perfectly, said the health visitor (the people who run the baby clinics). He is staying happily in around the 70th percentile of little baby boys.

Owen got his first bottle of half-formula-half-breast-milk today. I'm going to start a very slow process of weaning him to make it the least traumatic for mom and baby. He was totally fine with me giving him the bottle and was even holding it himself! What a cutie. This afternoon we did baby salsa, which thoroughly entertains Owen. Seeing his mommy try to dance salsa is funny anyway - add a 17 pounder strapped to her chest and it's freakin' hysterical.

Unfortunately, teething is causing a bit of chaos for us these days. Owen doesn't understand why his mouth hurts and he's been super cranky this week. I am predicting one of his bottom teeth come in first as I feel like I can see one just under the surface. Of course, it's pretty hard to get the baby to open wide so you can check out his gums!

Stay tuned for some cute photos of our little guy. He is such a great stander these days - he'll be running around before we know it.

Happy Friday! xo

Our gigglin' 20 week old

Just a quick hi, and a video from last week. The first few seconds are dodgy (will he laugh or will he cry?) but it's well worth watching through to see the little man giggling at dad. Owen was 20 weeks old on Monday... I can't believe how time is flying.

Off to buggy fitness today (a trainer chases a bunch of moms and strollers around the park) then baby signing. We are very busy and important people!

Hope everyone is well! x

Hanging out in the park

How cute is our little man? We hung out in the park on Saturday with a few friends. One thing we are finding... Owen does NOT enjoy the sunshine in his eyes. That was a fun day. Yesterday was mixed for the little guy... we had another round of vaccinations and Owen had 3 shots. 3. He really, realy didn't like it. Poor thing! But I tried to make it up to him by taking him to mum and baby yoga, which he is thoroughly entertained by.

Ok - baby crying - have a great Tuesday!

Shifting pounds

We've had a seriously busy week!

Monday, Owen and I went to a mum and baby yoga class. It was so fun! Owen loved it. There were songs and fun and lots of good stretches for mom and baby. We joined this great Mom's club called Cupcake. There is a mini-gym, exercise classes for mom only, fun classes for mom and baby too. Today I did a buggy fitness class thinking it would be easy and OH MY GOD I am seriously out of shape. They had us running with our strollers and doing all sorts of crazy stuff. I will be so sore tomorrow. Then we did a baby signing class - also so fun.

At 18 weeks, Owen now weighs 16 pounds 6 ounces, hanging out just under the 75th percentile. And I'm happy to report that mom has finally started working on losing weight and lost 4 pounds last week.

Anyway - baby is whining and moaning right now so have to run! x

Guess what this 4 month old did?

Owen is 4 months old today!!!! Here's his 4 month glamour shot:And, guess what he did mere seconds after this shot was taken? HE ROLLED OVER! Yay. I took the pillow away and he pushed himself way up on his hands, and then I think he really just lost his balance and more fell over than rolled. Still, he ended up on his back.

As hard a day was yesterday, today was really good. He has that cold still but slept better last night (as did Mom - Dad let me go to bed at 9:30 while he fed and put Owen to bed) and has been in a pretty good mood all day. Thank god!

Ok - gotta go feed the little cutie! x

Baby having a cold = not fun.

First, sorry for my lack of posts! I'm not going to offer any excuses.

So baby has his first cold, and let me tell you, it's not really that fun. Sneezy, snotty, phlegmy, coughing, etc. Last night he was up five times between when we put him down at 10pm and got him up for the day at 9am. Also, that whole "he's sleeping 11 hours a night" thing is totally over.... he has done it once since we got back to the UK but generally has been waking up twice during the night. Not sure what happened, but I guess it really was too good to be true!

Today we went on a 2 hour walk to try to stop the screaming. It's hard to explain to baby what to do with the phlegm (spell??) and that he'll feel better soon. He was good for the walk - although only slept for 30 minutes of it - but the SECOND we got back in the house he started crying again. I go back and forth between feeling so bad for him and feeling so bad for myself.

Oh, and as of last Tuesday he weighs 15 pounds 10 ounces. Good boy! Tomorrow Owen is 4 months old - I can't believe it. I'll do my best to take some cute pics to put up on the blog. x

Cincy fun!

Our little family arrived in Cincinnati on Saturday and have had a really busy few days! Saturday we got a family picture taken - Owen even managed to smile.

He is talking soooo much these days... gooing and cooing and babbling along. His little personality is coming out.... he's so darn cute it's hard to keep from hugging and kissing him, even when he is crying. And he is very close to rolling over. Go Owen!

Sunday we celebrated an early Easter in the afternoon, and in the evening we were thrown a fun baby shower! Owen was a super star and calmly hung out with a ton of new people. He was great. Everyone was really generous - we got so much stuff. Here's a picture of him getting his Easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa. He loved it! This week has been so fun so far. We've got to hang out with all of our new family - including cousin Brooke tonight! Owen and Brooke are only 2 weeks apart so are destined to be good buddies.

Off to bed - another fun day is waiting for us tomorrow!

Too good to be true?

11 hours sleep? Two nights in a row? Could it be our little man takes after his momma, who looooves her sleep?

Don't even pretend you can handle the cuteness below. Photo credit: Ericka Clouther, taken during her visit to us last weekend. Thanks for coming to visit and taking some great photos, Ericka!!!!

Owen is getting psyched to see his Dad tomorrow night and the Cincy crew on Saturday! He's pretty sure Saturday is going to be a looooong day but he told me he will try his best to be a happy camper. No promises though.

Age: 15 weeks, 2 days
Weight: Must be well over 15 pounds by now! My arm aches when I carry him around for too long. Which was the case quite a bit today as he was super cranky.
Best and worst nights sleep this week, in longest stretch of sleep: BEST - 11 hours (Tuesday and Wednesday night - oh my god!!!!); WORST - I think it was 9.5 hours. Wow. Fingers crossed he keeps this up!
Best moment this week: For me? Owen sleeping 11 hours. Sorry to keep harping on this but it's freakin' amazing.

Sleep champion (knock wood)

So last night, I put Owen to bed at 8:40, and got up to feed him at 6:30. Now, he was up a few times in the night sucking away on his hand and thumb, but he never cried so I didn't pick him up or bother him. Almost 10 hours sleep little buddy! Can we really be that lucky?

He's also been doing his exercises on cousin Matthew's bouncy chair. Check it out!

Today we will meet Ericka, Chris's high school friend whose wedding Owen was at (in utero). Then, we attempt to babysit cousin Matthew... with Grandpa's help.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

NJ fun!

We are hanging out in NJ! Happy St Patty's Day!

We've had a great few days meeting family and bonding. Went for a nice walk yesterday and today - once the monsoon passed it's been great weather here. Keep it up. Also, we would like to order some more nice weather for Cincy. Thanks.

Unfortunately, Dad headed back to London a few hours ago. Owen and I miss him SO MUCH already. ):

Age: 13 weeks this past Monday!
Weight: Last Tuesday Owen weighed in at 14 pounds, 5 ounces. He is a big guy now, moving from the 25th percentile up to almost the 75th percentile. Woo!
Best and worst nights sleep this week, in longest stretch of sleep: BEST - 8 hours (several nights!); WORST - my memory has blocked it out, so I kind of forget, but I think the shortest was on Monday night which was 4.5 hours, but then he slept another 3 or 4 after a short feed, so not too bad!
Milestones: Sucking his thumb - so cute. He wakes up most nights after 4 or 5 hours sleep but sooths himself back to sleep by eating his hand/ fingers/ thumb. He's been in a crib with us the past 4 nights and as Jason put it, "goes to town on his hand" in the middle of the night.
Best moment this week: Meeting Aunt Gwen, Uncle Jim and Cousin Matthew. Owen loves meeting the people he's just seen pictures of until now!

Frequent flyer

Maybe not. While Owen did great on his 14 hour door-to-door journey from the London flat to his grandparents' house in New Jersey, no baby is an angel for that long. He had his meltdowns... but didn't use all of the 15 diapers I packed (1 for every hour, just in case) nor the 4 spare outfits. As a matter of fact, he made it to NJ in the same outfit he left London in. And, he was a pretty good sleeper that first night, sleeping for 8 hours with 1 4am feed. Last night - 8 hours. What a great little guy! Fingers crossed he keeps it up for the rest of the trip.
He's had so much fun hanging out with cousin Matthew! Owen was fascinated by Matthew. Matthew was good with Owen too, petting his feet and his head, very gently.

This has been such an exciting trip so far. We also made our first family outing to Babies R Us - wooooaaahhhhh retail overload! I could have spent hours and hours in there, but Owen's tolerance was quite a bit less.

Anyway... that's all for now! Hope everyone is having a great week! x

Coming to America

Good news... we've booked our plane tickets home so pretty soon little Owen will be meeting the rest of his family! He can't wait!!

Owen was not impressed with his mom on Tuesday. I took him to the doctor to get his 12 week shots. Poor little guy was completely asleep in my arms when the first jab came. He SCREAMED bloody murder... I calmed him down just in time for the second one. He was so upset, I fed him for a few minutes, then took him to the clinic to get weighed, which entails me stripping him naked. Owen was not a happy camper. But, he is getting fatter and cuter (if possible)! Owen now weighs 14 pounds, 5 ounces. The health visitor (the people who run the clinic) was disbelieving that I am only breast feeding as Owen started out in the 25th percentile in weight and is now almost in the 75th percentile. Go little man!

Here's our little rock star wearing a drummer shirt given to him by Grandpa Dan. Is he a future sports guy? Or a band guy? Not sure if this means anything in that regard, but he puked on the shirt moments after I put it on (and seconds after the picture was taken). (:

One more thing... last night Owen stayed in his bed for over 7 hours. Holy crap! I got him out of bed when he started fussing, fed him and put him back, where he's now been for another 1.5 hours so far. I need to adjust his sleep (he currently goes to bed at midnight and sleeps with a food break till about 10) but will wait until after the US trip. Jet lag will not be fun. An 8 hour plane ride with an infant... oh good lord....

12 weeks old!

We hope everyone had a great weekend! We had some good sun but it's still pretty chilly here. Dad worked some long hours last week which was tough for everyone, but hopefully things will let up this week. Ok, I'm going to try a new structure for my posts a la my pregnancy posts.

Age: 12 weeks on Monday!

Weight: 2 weeks ago Owen was 13 pounds 2 ounces... Tuesday we will have an update but our bets are on almost 14.5 pounds

Best and worst nights sleep this week, in longest stretch of sleep: BEST - 6 hours (Friday); WORST - 1.5 hours (Saturday... ouch)

Milestones: Owen is talking to us so much more these days! His 'goos' are getting louder and stronger. We have conversations with him every day. It's awesome! He's starting to put his hands together but hasn't quite figured out he's got them.

Best moment this week: We babysat on Friday night for friends who have a 1 year old and a 3 year old. They had a balloon and Owen was playing with it and talking to it. SO CUTE! We got it on video.

Here are some photos from the week. Highlights are Owen in his Bengals tracksuit, hanging out with his friend Conor who is 2 days younger than him (neither were impressed with the other), and spending some time by the pond on one of the nice days last week.

http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3269566010/a=159224501_159224501/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

Wow!

Another 6 hour night last night! So awesome. Thanks Owen!

That's all. (:

Sleep progress?

We might have made some sleep progress! Owen had 3 nights in a row of 5.5+ hours sleep, with Friday being the lifetime record of 6 hours sleep in a row. It was amazing, especially as when he woke up at 6am on Satuday, I was only up for about 20 minutes to help dad with the bottle and pump (to ensure availability of future bottles), then went back to bed... I got about 8 hours total sleep Friday night. I was a normal human being!

Then, last night, I messed with it by (finally) moving Owen into his own room from the living room. The living room faces our backyard and a quiet side street so is really quiet.... his bedroom, as ours, faces a busy street. He woke up after 3 hours for a quick feed, then was restless for 3 more hours, then woke up for a feed again, then restless for a few more hours. Total time in his bed was good, but he was tossing and turning a bunch. Hopefully tonight will be better! Fingers crossed, everyone.

We are still waiting for our passports back from the UK Home Office with Owen's visa, but soon after that we'll be booking flights to the US. Owen can't wait to see his grandparents again and meet all his aunts, uncles, cousins and friends!

Here are some cute week 11 photos, including Owen "helping" with the laundry, smiling at Dad at our favorite Sunday morning coffee shop, bathtime, and in general being super cute:
http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3157022010/a=159224501_159224501/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

Big Scream

Hi all, sorry it has been so long since my last post! Check out Owen's 10 week photo on the right - what a cutie!!

As of Tuesday, Owen weighed in at 13 pounds and 2 ounces, creeping up into the 50th percentile for boys. Go little man! He's also firmly in 3-6 month clothing, although some of the 0-3 are still hanging on... likely to be retired soon. We are also making some good progress on the sleep front. Last night he slept for his longest single period ever - 5 hours and 20 minutes!!! Wow. Several other times this week he'd slept for a bit over 4 hours, which I was pretty happy about. Thanks Owen! Makes Mom's life easier when you let her sleep for longer!

Yesterday, Owen went to the movies for the first time. A local cinema - about a 25 minute walk from our flat - has an event they call the Big Scream every Thursday morning. They show current movies and offer entry (at normal matinee prices) to moms with babies under 1 year old. It's fantastic! I saw the Lovely Bones. There were at least 50 moms and babies in the room... at some points it was eerily quiet, but at others there would be many kids screaming. Hysterical. Such a great way to see movies that are out but that I generally have no hope of going to. I'll definitely be going back next Thursday!

Right now Owen is 'watching' cartoons. I recently added the kids channels onto our cable package, so I don't feel as bad when Owen stares at the TV and it's something inappropriate for little babies on. I am enjoying learning about all the kids shows, an education started by Miss Molly with Dora and Handy Manny. (: Thanks Molly!

That's all for now. Hope everyone has a good weekend. I, as usual, am psyched because weekends mean Dad help during the day (I qualified 'day' because Dad is very, very helpful at night during the week when he gets home).

xo

First doctor appointment

Owen was a star for his first official doctor's appointment and 8 week vaccinations! Dad came with us too just in case we had an Owen meltdown, but he was an angel.

He weighs a whopping 11 pounds 12 ounces - that is up 1 pound from a week ago! Wow. That's some good eatin'. His head is a bit disproportionately bigger than his body, but not by too much. He's still freakin' adorable. The doctor was very impressed by his head control and overall happy with how he's getting on.

Owen handled his vaccinations like a rock star, just a few seconds of screaming for each shot. One in each thigh - poor guy! He doesn't seem to be bothered by them so far, so fingers crossed tomorrow his little legs don't bother him.

Just a few photos from this past week. We definitely need some more Dad and son pictures!
http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2679366010/a=159224501_159224501/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

OK - time to feed the little guy! x

8 weeks old!

I can't believe our little guy is 8 weeks old today. Almost exactly 8 weeks, as he was born at 7:11pm, so in about half hour just 56 days ago. Wow! Here's Owen getting ready to watch the superbowl. Well, so he didn't so much watch it. Also, he pooped in this outfit before we even got close to kick off.

He has officially outgrown his Moses basket. This morning when we woke up, his head was all the way at the top of the basket. Tonight we start trying to get him to sleep in his pack n play instead of the basket. Fingers crossed! He is currently napping in the pack n play... but it's only been 10 minutes so I'm not holding my breath yet. (:

Tomorrow is Owen's first big doctor's appointment. He will get his first round of immunizations... should be fun. Dad is coming along to the appointment to give both Mom and baby moral support. None of us forget how Mom handled the circumcision (not well).

Owen is becoming more and more fun every day. He is smiling more and it never fails to completely and utterly melt our hearts when he does. What is not quite as cute are the poop explosions... I had the pleasure of one at Starbucks today that required a complete outfit change. Luckily I was there with a friend who could watch my stuff when I booked it for the bathroom with baby and diaper bag. Then he peed on me TWICE when we got home while I was changing him. Who would expect the second pee? After it happens once I generally feel pretty confident letting my guard down. Mistake. Ah, parenthood.

The boss is still napping, so I'm going to lay down on the couch. Uh 0h, heard a whine and saw a flailing arm. Off to check it out. x

Witching hour

Midnight to 5am... that is my son's witching hour. I beg, cry, bribe, pray, etc. for the little guy to catch some ZZZs in his bed. Usually to no avail. When do the nights start getting easier? Should be around now, right? We're almost 8 weeks old. I'm not asking to sleep through the night, just to sleep, and not only in my arms. Please, little baby?

Here are week 6 and 7 photos:
http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2601847010/a=159224501_159224501/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

Fingers crossed for sleep for mom and baby (and dad, of course)! x

Growing big and strong!

So, our little man is growing big and strong! We got him weighed yesterday, at 7 weeks and 1 day, and he was 10 pounds and 12 ounces, over 3 pounds up from his birth weight. Good job little buddy! He is smiling a little bit more every day and continues to be absolutely adorable, especially as he gets fatter and grows his double chin. Now, if he would only sleep a little more at night for Mom...

We are celebrating St Patty's Day early in our house for fear the cute outfit we have won't fit him on March 17. For your viewing pleasure:

I'll post the link to week 6 and 7 photos tomorrow - if Owen lets me. (:

6 weeks today

Hi there!

Owen is 6 weeks old today! He is winning us over more every day. He is cracking smiles at the weirdest things - like Dad playing with his lower lip (while wiping a little spit up off) and Mom accidentally playing peek-a-boo with his bib. This picture is Dad teaching Owen TOUCHDOWN! So cute and absolutely melts our hearts every time.

Grandma and Grandpa left this morning. Owen loved his time with them this past week! He was a bit confused today as he only had Mom to hang out with. We did okay... met up with another mom and her little boy - who is 2 days younger than Owen - at Starbucks. We also napped, put some photos in one of Mom's new albums, and spent most of our time doing the usual (feeding, burping, nappy changes, repeat).




Tomorrow Dad is working from home - woohoo! - but leaving for Greece at 4pm. Luckily he's only gone for one day. Everyone please pray for Mom being alone with baby for 30 hours. (:




That's it for now! Hope everyone has a good week!

Big man!

We just got back from a trip to the baby clinic, and our little man is now 9 pounds and 8 ounces. Wow!!!! Over 2 pounds up from his birth weight. He's even out growing all his newborn stuff and is now officially in 0-3 month clothing. He's also healing well from last Tuesday's... incident. I think he's mostly forgiven us.

He is so darn cute and enjoying his time with Grandma and Grandpa!

Here are some week 5 photos. There are some ridiculously cute ones in there!! I offer no apologies for the fact that there are like a zillion pictures of him in almost the same pose. I just couldn't handle choosing between the pictures when they were all so cute. (:

http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2513456010/a=159224501_159224501/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

Big week for baby Owen!

Wow - this has been a big week for our little man, and it's not over yet!

Dad is home this week for his second week for paternity leave. Thank god, because we've had a lot going on, all of which is so much more complicated with a baby, feeding schedules, etc.

Yesterday was a tough day for the family. Owen had his circumcision. I won't go into any details, but the whole family was upset. Not sure if Owen or Mom was more traumatized. Mom (that's me) had to leave the room when it was being done. It's also made diaper changes a bit more complicated and difficult for the next few days - hopefully he heals fast and forgives us.

Today Owen became an official US citizen! The family headed up to North London, taking Owen's first train ride, black cab ride and tube ride! We woke up this morning and there was a few inches of snow on the ground which causes complete chaos in this country - made the journey, um, fun? Anyway, we got there and submitted all the forms for his US passport, US birth certificate and social security number. After feeding him, we took him to a few of the stores on Oxford Street. Owen was an angel!

Tomorrow we have a few local errands to run, and we are prepping for Grandma and Grandpa to arrive on Friday morning! Can't wait to introduce them to their grandson! It's also Owen's 1 month birthday tomorrow. Expect a cute month birthday photo soon. (:

Week 4 photos:
http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2463131010/a=159224501_159224501/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

Week 3 photos:
http://www3.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2360219010/a=159224501_159224501/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfishuk/

Grandma leaving town!

I can't believe Grandma is already getting all packed up to leave town! She flies out tomorrow to a land where she can get much more sleep and not have to manage a (very very cute) screaming infant, projectile poo/ pee, spit up, etc. We'll miss her!

Luckily, I only have 1.5 days on my own and Daddy is on paternity leave next week again. Yay! Let's see how Mom manages.

We did try to take a field trip yesterday to get little Owen's passport photos taken... it did NOT go well. We left the photo shop without pictures. All we needed was Owen to pose for just 1 little second with his eyes open... no luck. What the heck. He screamed his head off on the walk to and from the photo place. We didn't even stop for Starbucks. Complete meltdown.

On the bright side, Mom got almost 5 hours sleep today!!! Owen slept for Grandma on and off for those 5 hours. It was awesome, although I still feel deeply exhausted. I guess one 'good' nights sleep isn't going to fix that.

Hope everyone is having a good 2010! x

Up 5 ounces...

Little Owen has been eating like it's going out of style. He is now 7 pounds 12 ounces - 5 ounces up from his birth weight. Seems like it should be more, given the hours and hours and hours I spend feeding him every day!

Owen thoroughly enjoyed meeting Grandma and Grandpa K. Grandpa left on New Years Eve, but Grandma is here till Thursday morning. Then I'm on my own for 2 days (gulp) until Jason's on another week of paternity leave. Not sure how I'll cope on my own! But, it's only for a few days. How bad can it be. (:

Happy new year, hope everyone is well! x