I can't believe I am in my third trimester! I visited the doctor this past week and everything is going great. Baby's heartbeat continues to be perfect, I am measuring exactly right and the doctor is happy with me. Except when she asked me how much I'm working, and I got to laugh when she asked if I was working more than 40 hours a week.
We had a great weekend. My sister came to visit because my two lovely sisters-in-law threw me a fantastic baby shower. Thank you, Sarah and Nicole! It was so wonderful! And Owen LOVED hanging out with Aunt Gwen! He was so excited and very sad today when she went back to New Jersey.
How far along?: 29 weeks + 1 day
Total weight gain: Luckily, my weight gain has tapered off in the past month, so my total so far is about +20 since the beginning. I am tracking pretty close to what I was with Owen, so I guess I'm okay with it.
Pregnancy symptoms: Very tired, achy and getting larger and more awkward.
Sleep: Sleeping okay, trying not to take Tylenol PM too much but it's SO awesome.
Movement: Very active baby! She often goes crazy when I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or check on Owen. I hope that's not a indicator of what she'll be like when she comes out!
Food cravings/ weird crap I'm eating: Easter candy... mmmmm. I love me some Peeps!
Gender/ names: No recent progress here, but we are going to Florida on vacation soon and hope to whittle it down to a few names for our little pink bundle of joy. I think we are still at a list of 8.
What I miss: A nice glass of wine.
Best moment this week: My sisters in law threw me a wonderful baby shower this past weekend! The decorations, food and guest list were all amazing. My sister even came in from New Jersey to make it extra-special. Thank you, ladies!!! We got such great gifts from our very generous family and friends. Makes everything feel even more real - as if my always-expanding belly wasn't enough.
Weekly Wisdom: I am SO looking forward to maternity leave. I know it will be no easy vacation, with a newborn and a 2 year old, but I am thrilled that it will be summer, sunny and I get to hang out with my wonderful little family. I am also happy that my job is flexible and understanding enough to let me spend a nice long maternity leave making sure our new little girl gets the best start to her life. How's that for positivity?
Milestones: She is the size of a butternut squash and weights about 2.5 pounds.
Countdown: I am due 75 days from tomorrow! And, have 9 weeks left of work. That is crazy!
Hope everyone is well! xo
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
100 days till baby girl!
Just 100 days until our little girl arrives! I can't believe it's so close!
It's not something I've been focused on this week because, well, it's been a tough week in our household. Owen got some kind of stomach bug and was puking all Sunday, then had an extended recovery and just today went back to school. Poor little guy - was so sad to see him so sick! Also, hubby hasn't been doing so great the past week, possibly with the same virus as Owen but manifested a bit different. Not fun for my boys. And just in case you forgot, I'm 6 months pregnant. So it was a LONG week. Luckily today it seems like everyone felt a lot better, and tomorrow is Friday so hopefully everyone can get completely better this weekend!
How far along?: 25 weeks + 5 days
Total weight gain: Last week I only (!) gained a pound, so I was pretty happy about that.
Pregnancy symptoms: Oh my god, so tired. And some other fun things like wicked indigestion and problems sleeping due to my little bundle of pink joy kicking me every time I wake up during the night. Back pain, although not yet as bad as last time.
Sleep: Need lots of this. As soon as possible.
Movement: She is super active. I especially notice it when I get up at night to go to the bathroom or if Owen cries out (or if Owen pukes, but I'm hoping that doesn't happen anymore). She either then wakes up when I do or is already awake doing some kind of flippy things inside my belly. It's cute, but would be okay if she simmered down a bit in those wee hours.
Food cravings/ weird crap I'm eating: I had a giant frosty today from Wendy's. It was delicious.
Gender/ names: We haven't made any name progress. Maybe we'll have another round of discussions this weekend.
What I miss: Having a variety of clothes to choose from each morning. My options shrink every week and I really don't want to buy many new maternity clothes this late in the game.
Best moment this week: Tough week.
Weekly Wisdom: Not wisdom as much as decision. This time I am going to make my own baby food to try to keep baby girl loving all the fruits and vegetables. I was doing this in the UK but when we moved back to the US I was too tempted by all the Gerber baby food options. I partially blame this for why Owen had such a hard time eating textured food and therefore want to avoid the super smooth baby food as much as possible.
Milestones: Last time I had these totally down each week. This time... I'm not even sure what fruit size she is now.
Countdown: I am due 100 days from today, baby!!!!
Chris x
It's not something I've been focused on this week because, well, it's been a tough week in our household. Owen got some kind of stomach bug and was puking all Sunday, then had an extended recovery and just today went back to school. Poor little guy - was so sad to see him so sick! Also, hubby hasn't been doing so great the past week, possibly with the same virus as Owen but manifested a bit different. Not fun for my boys. And just in case you forgot, I'm 6 months pregnant. So it was a LONG week. Luckily today it seems like everyone felt a lot better, and tomorrow is Friday so hopefully everyone can get completely better this weekend!
How far along?: 25 weeks + 5 days
Total weight gain: Last week I only (!) gained a pound, so I was pretty happy about that.
Pregnancy symptoms: Oh my god, so tired. And some other fun things like wicked indigestion and problems sleeping due to my little bundle of pink joy kicking me every time I wake up during the night. Back pain, although not yet as bad as last time.
Sleep: Need lots of this. As soon as possible.
Movement: She is super active. I especially notice it when I get up at night to go to the bathroom or if Owen cries out (or if Owen pukes, but I'm hoping that doesn't happen anymore). She either then wakes up when I do or is already awake doing some kind of flippy things inside my belly. It's cute, but would be okay if she simmered down a bit in those wee hours.
Food cravings/ weird crap I'm eating: I had a giant frosty today from Wendy's. It was delicious.
Gender/ names: We haven't made any name progress. Maybe we'll have another round of discussions this weekend.
What I miss: Having a variety of clothes to choose from each morning. My options shrink every week and I really don't want to buy many new maternity clothes this late in the game.
Best moment this week: Tough week.
Weekly Wisdom: Not wisdom as much as decision. This time I am going to make my own baby food to try to keep baby girl loving all the fruits and vegetables. I was doing this in the UK but when we moved back to the US I was too tempted by all the Gerber baby food options. I partially blame this for why Owen had such a hard time eating textured food and therefore want to avoid the super smooth baby food as much as possible.
Milestones: Last time I had these totally down each week. This time... I'm not even sure what fruit size she is now.
Countdown: I am due 100 days from today, baby!!!!
Chris x
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Why hello blog, it's been a while.
It has been a very long time since my last post... sorry about that! I'm back though and have much to catch the blog up on.
Owen turned 2 years old in December!! I cannot believe it. He is a crazy-active, happy, excitable, enthusiastic, high maintenance, wonderful and more than a little defiant toddler. And he's growing like crazy... I look at him and can't imagine when he was a tiny little baby just 2 years ago. He is talking so much and it's so much fun to hear what comes out of his mouth every day (except when it's bad words he's repeating from Mom and Dad). My favorites now are: "Mommy, what color is this?", "Mmmmm that's good!" (after a bite of basically any food), "How about...." and then he picks any number of things from the bookshelf/ toybox/ basket/ etc. He also has recently shared his talent of singing the entire ABCs. Of course, sometimes he skips some letters and goes right to the "now I know my ABCs" part, but he's pretty good at it overall. Another new talent - jumping. Of course he enjoys jumping in his crib, usually on the weekends when he's refusing to nap for me. Sigh.
Here are some of Owen's 2 year pictures - from December! I know, terrible. I have been AWFUL about taking pictures since his birthday & Christmas.... I will make sure I do better over the next few months.
In other big news - I am pregnant! And have been so for a while. 24 weeks. Oops - last time I blogged every week, which is turning out to be useful for me now as I refer back to what was going on during that time period. So I am going to * try * very hard to start that again, if only so that my second child does not feel like I neglected her during pregnancy. Did I say her? Yes - WE ARE HAVING A DAUGHTER!!!! We had a scan a few weeks back and 1) baby was perfectly healthy, which of course is the most important thing, and 2) we got to find out that we are having a sweet little girl. We are so excited!!!!!!
How far along?: 24 weeks + 1 day. I have not taken 1 belly shot this pregnancy. I will do so, soon. Promise. Whether or not I share it is another story...
Total weight gain: Kind of a lot. Luckily, I don't really know for sure how far ahead of last time I am since at 24 weeks during my Owen pregnancy I refused to admit what my gain was. I have a feeling I'm around the same or a little more. Sigh. The worst is know how hard it was to lose last time.... there's no thinking 'it'll all just come off during breastfeeding' which is the lie I told myself. To be fair - this happens to some people like my super-skinny sisters-in-law. Lucky girls! :)
Pregnancy symptoms: Overall, okay. I started getting Braxton Hicks contractions many weeks ago... doctor says this is not abnormal, especially for a second pregnancy. Other than that, I am slow and tired. It's a bit harder this time since after work I don't get to chill out, but instead chase my adorable toddler.
Sleep: Eh, okay, thanks to my pregnancy pillow. The bad nights are usually due to Owen coughing or making noise over the monitor.
Movement: Lots and lots and lots! I started feeling her ridiculously early. With Owen I only felt him at like 22 weeks or something. I felt this little girl over CHRISTMAS, when I was around 14 weeks. She does not want to be ignored!
Food cravings/ weird crap I'm eating: Um... I don't think I'm eating anything weird. Just more.
Gender/ names: Well, it's a girl! It's a lot of fun knowing what is growing and kicking inside of me. Jason and I had our first name conversation this weekend and got our list down to 15 (!).
What I miss: A nice glass of wine.
Best moment this week: Hearing Owen say 'baby sister' after he kissed my belly. Cuteness!
Weekly Wisdom: It's a lot harder being pregnant with a toddler. Kind of a duh statement... but worth mentioning.
Milestones: If I remember right, we are 1 or 2 weeks away from when baby could potentially survive outside of my belly. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but it's a comforting thing to know.
Countdown: 3 months from Thursday is my last day of work before maternity leave! Holy crap!
I will do my best to make this a weekly thing.... although I'm not swearing on anything!
Chris x
Owen turned 2 years old in December!! I cannot believe it. He is a crazy-active, happy, excitable, enthusiastic, high maintenance, wonderful and more than a little defiant toddler. And he's growing like crazy... I look at him and can't imagine when he was a tiny little baby just 2 years ago. He is talking so much and it's so much fun to hear what comes out of his mouth every day (except when it's bad words he's repeating from Mom and Dad). My favorites now are: "Mommy, what color is this?", "Mmmmm that's good!" (after a bite of basically any food), "How about...." and then he picks any number of things from the bookshelf/ toybox/ basket/ etc. He also has recently shared his talent of singing the entire ABCs. Of course, sometimes he skips some letters and goes right to the "now I know my ABCs" part, but he's pretty good at it overall. Another new talent - jumping. Of course he enjoys jumping in his crib, usually on the weekends when he's refusing to nap for me. Sigh.
Here are some of Owen's 2 year pictures - from December! I know, terrible. I have been AWFUL about taking pictures since his birthday & Christmas.... I will make sure I do better over the next few months.
How far along?: 24 weeks + 1 day. I have not taken 1 belly shot this pregnancy. I will do so, soon. Promise. Whether or not I share it is another story...
Total weight gain: Kind of a lot. Luckily, I don't really know for sure how far ahead of last time I am since at 24 weeks during my Owen pregnancy I refused to admit what my gain was. I have a feeling I'm around the same or a little more. Sigh. The worst is know how hard it was to lose last time.... there's no thinking 'it'll all just come off during breastfeeding' which is the lie I told myself. To be fair - this happens to some people like my super-skinny sisters-in-law. Lucky girls! :)
Pregnancy symptoms: Overall, okay. I started getting Braxton Hicks contractions many weeks ago... doctor says this is not abnormal, especially for a second pregnancy. Other than that, I am slow and tired. It's a bit harder this time since after work I don't get to chill out, but instead chase my adorable toddler.
Sleep: Eh, okay, thanks to my pregnancy pillow. The bad nights are usually due to Owen coughing or making noise over the monitor.
Movement: Lots and lots and lots! I started feeling her ridiculously early. With Owen I only felt him at like 22 weeks or something. I felt this little girl over CHRISTMAS, when I was around 14 weeks. She does not want to be ignored!
Food cravings/ weird crap I'm eating: Um... I don't think I'm eating anything weird. Just more.
Gender/ names: Well, it's a girl! It's a lot of fun knowing what is growing and kicking inside of me. Jason and I had our first name conversation this weekend and got our list down to 15 (!).
What I miss: A nice glass of wine.
Best moment this week: Hearing Owen say 'baby sister' after he kissed my belly. Cuteness!
Weekly Wisdom: It's a lot harder being pregnant with a toddler. Kind of a duh statement... but worth mentioning.
Milestones: If I remember right, we are 1 or 2 weeks away from when baby could potentially survive outside of my belly. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but it's a comforting thing to know.
Countdown: 3 months from Thursday is my last day of work before maternity leave! Holy crap!
I will do my best to make this a weekly thing.... although I'm not swearing on anything!
Chris x
Sunday, August 14, 2011
20 months old today!
Owen is 20 months old today!
This 20-month-old-thing makes the big TWO seem so close. I even brought up the topic of birthday party themes a few days ago. My little baby boy is almost 2 years old? How can that be! But he's changing so much - he's saying SO MANY new things every day. He just started flying through the colors, which a week ago he didn't even acknowledge. We get him to count - sort of - and for some reason the number "2" is by far his favorite. He's having a great time at daycare with his friends in the big kid toddler room. Sometimes he even eats his fruits and vegetables (not often). He's currently fighting off an ear infection and the potential return of brochialitis - this nasty wheezing cough thing - but he's been so good about taking his medication and his breathing treatment. He actually gets upset when we take the breathing thing away. Funny little man. What else entertains him? He is obsessed with Cars and Toy Story. Elmo is still his favorite best friend, but these days he also is a big fan of Handy Manny and Chuggington. We were at the aquarium today - "hi fishes!" - Owen had a great time. Time is flying by!
I can't believe that the summer is almost over and fall is almost here. What will we do without the pool on the weekends?? But I find myself looking forward to fall things like Halloween, the leaves changing colors, the weather getting cooler, Thanksgiving, our trip to Disney, and of course Owen's birthday and Christmastime.
A week from Tuesday is the 1 year anniversary of my Mom's death. It is unreal to me that it's been a year already, a year since her terrible disease won. It's been a tough year. Incredibly hard. I find it tragically unfair that she is not around to see Owen grow - she would love it SO much. The grief is just overwhelming sometimes. But now, it almost feels like my new 'new year' is August 24 - and I'm hoping that the new year will allow me to do more of what she wanted, which is to remember the good times instead of the bad. That's what I'm going to try my best to do. I certainly don't want to forget (which wouldn't be possible anyway) and I want Owen to know her name and to recognizer her face. It's a matter of finding the balance so I can keep her memory alive yet also be able to carry on living without drowning in a constant sea of grief. If you know what I mean, you understand. I hope you don't.
This all connects to some of the fall and winter events I am looking forward to. I am excited for Christmas this year - last year was so very hard - I want to make it a very special one for Owen and our family. We are finally feeling more settled in our house and our jobs and our life here. I am hoping I can find a way to make it wonderful for our little family while also loving my Mom and remembering all the beautiful holidays I spent with her. Owen deserves it! He brings us so much happiness and joy every day - we are so lucky to have him in our lives.
Anyway, that's all for now... enjoy the last few weeks of summer. x
This 20-month-old-thing makes the big TWO seem so close. I even brought up the topic of birthday party themes a few days ago. My little baby boy is almost 2 years old? How can that be! But he's changing so much - he's saying SO MANY new things every day. He just started flying through the colors, which a week ago he didn't even acknowledge. We get him to count - sort of - and for some reason the number "2" is by far his favorite. He's having a great time at daycare with his friends in the big kid toddler room. Sometimes he even eats his fruits and vegetables (not often). He's currently fighting off an ear infection and the potential return of brochialitis - this nasty wheezing cough thing - but he's been so good about taking his medication and his breathing treatment. He actually gets upset when we take the breathing thing away. Funny little man. What else entertains him? He is obsessed with Cars and Toy Story. Elmo is still his favorite best friend, but these days he also is a big fan of Handy Manny and Chuggington. We were at the aquarium today - "hi fishes!" - Owen had a great time. Time is flying by!
I can't believe that the summer is almost over and fall is almost here. What will we do without the pool on the weekends?? But I find myself looking forward to fall things like Halloween, the leaves changing colors, the weather getting cooler, Thanksgiving, our trip to Disney, and of course Owen's birthday and Christmastime.
A week from Tuesday is the 1 year anniversary of my Mom's death. It is unreal to me that it's been a year already, a year since her terrible disease won. It's been a tough year. Incredibly hard. I find it tragically unfair that she is not around to see Owen grow - she would love it SO much. The grief is just overwhelming sometimes. But now, it almost feels like my new 'new year' is August 24 - and I'm hoping that the new year will allow me to do more of what she wanted, which is to remember the good times instead of the bad. That's what I'm going to try my best to do. I certainly don't want to forget (which wouldn't be possible anyway) and I want Owen to know her name and to recognizer her face. It's a matter of finding the balance so I can keep her memory alive yet also be able to carry on living without drowning in a constant sea of grief. If you know what I mean, you understand. I hope you don't.
This all connects to some of the fall and winter events I am looking forward to. I am excited for Christmas this year - last year was so very hard - I want to make it a very special one for Owen and our family. We are finally feeling more settled in our house and our jobs and our life here. I am hoping I can find a way to make it wonderful for our little family while also loving my Mom and remembering all the beautiful holidays I spent with her. Owen deserves it! He brings us so much happiness and joy every day - we are so lucky to have him in our lives.
Anyway, that's all for now... enjoy the last few weeks of summer. x
Thursday, July 14, 2011
My beautiful little boy is 19 months old today!
Happy 19 month birthday, Owen! Time is flying by with you this year, little man!
Owen is doing great. His vocabulary has exploded in the past few weeks - all of a sudden he started repeating so much of what we say and I'm not sure I can even count the number of words he says every day. Last night we spent an extra 5 minutes during reading time before bed pointing out Owen's nose, Mommy's nose, Elmo's nose, Ernie's nose, etc. So cute!
Owen also loved Grandpa's visit from New Jersey. He called him Papa the whole week he was here - it was the first time I've heard him call someone else their name consistently, besides 'Mama' and 'Dada'. So fun! We even went to the zoo - photos of that fun day are on my other computer... will post later.
Owen is doing well in his new room at daycare. It's tough getting used to a new classroom, new teachers and new kids... but he is doing awesome with naptime and sleeping for 2 hours every day in his cot with the other kids. He loves the new freedom he has, and usually comes home a complete disaster of marker, sand, dirt, play-doh (really? they are giving my 19 month old play-doh? of course he ate some of it), sweat, sunscreen, and whatever else he managed to get his cute little hands on. He also loves water days when they let the kids play with buckets of water and hoses. We've done it at home a few times, and Owen is perfectly happy playing in a bucket of water for ages. Clearly he ends up soaking wet.
Speaking of soaking wet - Owen is LOVING the pool. He's getting braver at the pool and loves going down the little kids' slide. He ends up unintentionally dunking himself multiple times per trip, but we're guessing it's good for him to get used to that. Makes me so nervous though - can't look away for a second when he's in the water. We love the weekends when we get to do fun things like this with O.
To hold you over until next time (I guess monthly posts are now my goal!), here are some of the adorable 18 month photos we got when the photographer came to our house. There are so many cute ones... here are just a few. Enjoy!
Owen is doing great. His vocabulary has exploded in the past few weeks - all of a sudden he started repeating so much of what we say and I'm not sure I can even count the number of words he says every day. Last night we spent an extra 5 minutes during reading time before bed pointing out Owen's nose, Mommy's nose, Elmo's nose, Ernie's nose, etc. So cute!
Owen also loved Grandpa's visit from New Jersey. He called him Papa the whole week he was here - it was the first time I've heard him call someone else their name consistently, besides 'Mama' and 'Dada'. So fun! We even went to the zoo - photos of that fun day are on my other computer... will post later.
Owen is doing well in his new room at daycare. It's tough getting used to a new classroom, new teachers and new kids... but he is doing awesome with naptime and sleeping for 2 hours every day in his cot with the other kids. He loves the new freedom he has, and usually comes home a complete disaster of marker, sand, dirt, play-doh (really? they are giving my 19 month old play-doh? of course he ate some of it), sweat, sunscreen, and whatever else he managed to get his cute little hands on. He also loves water days when they let the kids play with buckets of water and hoses. We've done it at home a few times, and Owen is perfectly happy playing in a bucket of water for ages. Clearly he ends up soaking wet.
Speaking of soaking wet - Owen is LOVING the pool. He's getting braver at the pool and loves going down the little kids' slide. He ends up unintentionally dunking himself multiple times per trip, but we're guessing it's good for him to get used to that. Makes me so nervous though - can't look away for a second when he's in the water. We love the weekends when we get to do fun things like this with O.
To hold you over until next time (I guess monthly posts are now my goal!), here are some of the adorable 18 month photos we got when the photographer came to our house. There are so many cute ones... here are just a few. Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
18 months old!!!!
First, let's get this out of the way: I know I haven't blogged in almost 3 months - sorry. Life with 2 working parents is a bit more overwhelming than I thought it was going to be.Not enough time for, well, anything. We are all doing the best we can to balance life. I'm not going to lie - it's hard work.
Second, and most importantly.... OWEN IS 18 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!!
Oh my god - can you believe it? It's been 18 whole months since our amazing little man entered this world.
Owen is awesome. And sometimes a bit challenging... but mostly awesome. Some of the things he's keeping busy with at home these days: spectacular overly-dramatic temper tantrums including stomping feet, fists on the ground and sobbing. Refusing all fruits and vegetables except for bananas. New words all the time - Elmo and Grover and apple are the newest cutest ones.... love it!! First big boy hair cut last Saturday.The biggest, best hugs and smooches we could ever hope for. Absolutely loves the park, aquarium, and pool. His favorite toys are his red wagon (he usually refuses to get out of it) and his toolkit. We love this kid so much. His great giggles and kisses and smiles just make life better!
He also had his first official time in the big kid toddler room at day care! I am told he did great and was only upset when they had to stop playing with the hose and water. His naps have been getting better both at home and at school - all the excitement, extra running around and activity and heat really exhaust our little man! His current teachers are very sad he is 'graduating'. Owen will miss them and all his friends in the infant room.
Starting in the toddler room means lots of changes for Owen's day, including circle time and specific 'jobs' every day, no sippy cups (!), napping on a cot (he's already been doing this in his current rooms and is loving it), and lots of kids bigger than him. I'm so excited to see how this goes... I think it'll be great. He has some great friends in the infant room but is SO much bigger and more advanced than most of them. He'll be challenged and will learn so much in the toddler room. Fingers crossed for us this goes great.
Below are some super-fun recent photos of Owen. Enjoy! I'll try not to make it 3 months before I blog again!
Second, and most importantly.... OWEN IS 18 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!!
Oh my god - can you believe it? It's been 18 whole months since our amazing little man entered this world.
Owen is awesome. And sometimes a bit challenging... but mostly awesome. Some of the things he's keeping busy with at home these days: spectacular overly-dramatic temper tantrums including stomping feet, fists on the ground and sobbing. Refusing all fruits and vegetables except for bananas. New words all the time - Elmo and Grover and apple are the newest cutest ones.... love it!! First big boy hair cut last Saturday.The biggest, best hugs and smooches we could ever hope for. Absolutely loves the park, aquarium, and pool. His favorite toys are his red wagon (he usually refuses to get out of it) and his toolkit. We love this kid so much. His great giggles and kisses and smiles just make life better!
He also had his first official time in the big kid toddler room at day care! I am told he did great and was only upset when they had to stop playing with the hose and water. His naps have been getting better both at home and at school - all the excitement, extra running around and activity and heat really exhaust our little man! His current teachers are very sad he is 'graduating'. Owen will miss them and all his friends in the infant room.
Starting in the toddler room means lots of changes for Owen's day, including circle time and specific 'jobs' every day, no sippy cups (!), napping on a cot (he's already been doing this in his current rooms and is loving it), and lots of kids bigger than him. I'm so excited to see how this goes... I think it'll be great. He has some great friends in the infant room but is SO much bigger and more advanced than most of them. He'll be challenged and will learn so much in the toddler room. Fingers crossed for us this goes great.
Below are some super-fun recent photos of Owen. Enjoy! I'll try not to make it 3 months before I blog again!
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Sunday, March 20, 2011
Black eye, bloody nose, squished finger (oh yeah, I have a boy)
So this week Owen got his first black eye, a bloody nose, and for extra fun, squised his finger in a cabinet door. The black eye came on Wednesday at daycare when he got into a fight with a 3 year old and kicked his butt. Just kidding... he fell and smacked his face on a rocking chair. Poor dude. It's above his left eye (also he's in his St Patty's day gear) and looks like eye shadow.
And today at Grandma and Grandpa's he fell on one of their wooden steps (I hate those steps!) and smacked his nose. A second later blood started pouring out of his nose... poor guy! Then when getting ready for bed he squished his finger in a cabinet door in his room, which also drew blood. Get used to it, right?
And here's a pic showing how BIG he is getting! He is full-on toddler now. He's so much fun and each day talking more and signing more and expressing himself. A few days ago he started throwing insanely funny tantrums... Friday night he got mad when we took his blocks away and ran over to his wall and threw himself against it, then collapsed on the floor and banged his fists on the ground. We were like - oh my god - how could we not laugh???
Anyway... hope everyone had a good weekend. Jason and I are SORE from our 9.3 mile runs. Half marathon is 6 weeks from today!!!! http://main.acsevents.org/goto
Chris xo
And today at Grandma and Grandpa's he fell on one of their wooden steps (I hate those steps!) and smacked his nose. A second later blood started pouring out of his nose... poor guy! Then when getting ready for bed he squished his finger in a cabinet door in his room, which also drew blood. Get used to it, right?
And here's a pic showing how BIG he is getting! He is full-on toddler now. He's so much fun and each day talking more and signing more and expressing himself. A few days ago he started throwing insanely funny tantrums... Friday night he got mad when we took his blocks away and ran over to his wall and threw himself against it, then collapsed on the floor and banged his fists on the ground. We were like - oh my god - how could we not laugh???
Anyway... hope everyone had a good weekend. Jason and I are SORE from our 9.3 mile runs. Half marathon is 6 weeks from today!!!! http://main.acsevents.org/goto
Chris xo
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Running for my mom with the American Cancer Society
Hi All - it's been far too long since I posted - so sorry!
As some of you know, Jason and I will be running the Flying Pig Half Marathon on May 1, 2011 in Cincinnati to raise money for the American Cancer Society. http://main.acsevents.org/goto/vonderhaar
All of you know that I lost my mother, Maureen Kaulfers, to cancer on August 23, 2010. She was only 62 years old and was living a life truly cut short but this terrible and devastating disease. She touched the lives of so many people - teachers, friends, students, family - but for me, the loss of my mother has left a giant gaping hole in my life. It's been impossible to know how to handle this or what I can do - so raising money for the American Cancer Society seemed like a good start.
Since January, Jason and I have been dedicated to training for the half (13.1 miles). I think Mom would appreciate that we are also getting ourselves into better shape. Last weekend we ran 8.5 miles... it took me about 1.5 hours and Jason a lot shorter. If my dear hubby will be running with me on May 1 he'll have to slow his pace quite a bit! This weekend we need to each run 9.5. It's hard but I think of my Mom to keep me motivated and how I owe it to her and my family.
We've have received some great support so far but still have a ways to go to reach our fundraising goal. Any donation would be greatly appreciated! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/vonderhaar is the link to donate.
And... here's some bonus adorable pictures of our little guy, who turned 15 months old Monday!
Owen with his FIVE Mickey Mouses (Mice?)... this picture is from February.
Cute in Chicago on Mom's lap... also mid-February...
Giant Elmo & Cookie Monster hug time!
Thanks all,
Chris xo
As some of you know, Jason and I will be running the Flying Pig Half Marathon on May 1, 2011 in Cincinnati to raise money for the American Cancer Society. http://main.acsevents.org/goto/vonderhaar
All of you know that I lost my mother, Maureen Kaulfers, to cancer on August 23, 2010. She was only 62 years old and was living a life truly cut short but this terrible and devastating disease. She touched the lives of so many people - teachers, friends, students, family - but for me, the loss of my mother has left a giant gaping hole in my life. It's been impossible to know how to handle this or what I can do - so raising money for the American Cancer Society seemed like a good start.
Since January, Jason and I have been dedicated to training for the half (13.1 miles). I think Mom would appreciate that we are also getting ourselves into better shape. Last weekend we ran 8.5 miles... it took me about 1.5 hours and Jason a lot shorter. If my dear hubby will be running with me on May 1 he'll have to slow his pace quite a bit! This weekend we need to each run 9.5. It's hard but I think of my Mom to keep me motivated and how I owe it to her and my family.
We've have received some great support so far but still have a ways to go to reach our fundraising goal. Any donation would be greatly appreciated! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/vonderhaar is the link to donate.
And... here's some bonus adorable pictures of our little guy, who turned 15 months old Monday!
Owen with his FIVE Mickey Mouses (Mice?)... this picture is from February.
Cute in Chicago on Mom's lap... also mid-February...
Giant Elmo & Cookie Monster hug time!
Thanks all,
Chris xo
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Things I miss about London... and the cookie monster.
Hi All,
Owen has some new words! He can say Cookie, as in Cookie Monster. It sounds more like Kuh-Kuh, but it's pretty darn close! He also now says "boo" when he covers up his eyes and plays peekaboo. Of course sometimes he covers up his ears, chin, checks, forehead, etc and then says boo, but we go along with it anyway. He's also walking all over the place... sometimes he tries to walk and hold things, which never ends well. It's so fun to see him walking! We love it!
These days, when I have a second to think, I often find myself yearning for London. I tried to make a list of things I miss about London... not comprehensive but top of mind:
And because I'm on my work computer and don't have the recent Owen photo handy that I wanted to include, I'll leave you with a cute picture of Owen one year ago.... the cuteness....
Owen has some new words! He can say Cookie, as in Cookie Monster. It sounds more like Kuh-Kuh, but it's pretty darn close! He also now says "boo" when he covers up his eyes and plays peekaboo. Of course sometimes he covers up his ears, chin, checks, forehead, etc and then says boo, but we go along with it anyway. He's also walking all over the place... sometimes he tries to walk and hold things, which never ends well. It's so fun to see him walking! We love it!
These days, when I have a second to think, I often find myself yearning for London. I tried to make a list of things I miss about London... not comprehensive but top of mind:
- Having tons of friends around - not that we were doing much partying after Owen was born, but it was nice to meet up with people on the weekends, or, for me, meet up with my favo new mom friends for lunch or a coffee during the week (Trish & Hannah - that's you.... miss you girls and your kiddos!)
- So much to do and so many cool things to see - I admit, we weren't frequenting the museums every weekend or anything, but it was so nice to be able to hop on a bus and wander through Harrods, or take a quick train to Westiminster and walk along the Thames, plan great day trips (that we might or might not have taken), etc
- Everything within walking distance - parks, shops, restaurants, coffee, errands, gym, moms club, trains, buses, you get the point. All within an easy walk.
- Endless possibilities of great vacation spots - again, more complicated with a baby, but still possible. I was fantasizing about a beach vacation in Croatia or Greece before we left
- Lots of different people from lots of different places - everyone has a good story for how they ended up living in London. People are so interesting and have done so many cool things!
- Just the general innocent life I was leading there. It was before my Mom got sick, so I have sooooo many great memories of Mom coming to visit in London, including right after Owen was born. It was so magical. Anyone who has kids can probably remember that crazy time right after becoming a parent.... now it's even more special to me because it was my Mom's last healthy few weeks. I think of how young and innocent I was when I moved to London at the tender age of 26, never realizing how dramatically different my life would be when I returned to the US.
- Our big, beautiful house. Shallow? Oh well. It's 5 bedrooms (most of them are empty because we don't have furniture) and so pretty. After living in tiny London flats for 5 years - the space is amazing. I am in the process of setting up a whole room for my photo albums and scrapbooking stuff.
- My job - I am really lucky to be doing the cool stuff I am doing. I work on a great brand with really fun smart people, and I get to do marketing and strategy work that is super interesting and engaging. Seriously, I really like my job.
- Being around my husband's family - one of the reasons we moved here was so Owen could get to know his family better and grow up with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.
- Being closer to my family - 700 miles instead of 3500 is a great improvement, although I often wish I was much closer.
And because I'm on my work computer and don't have the recent Owen photo handy that I wanted to include, I'll leave you with a cute picture of Owen one year ago.... the cuteness....
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Playin' in the snow!
Thank god it's the weekend! The week seemed ridiculously long, even though it was only 4 days for me because of Martin Luther King day Monday. I had an offsite meeting for 3 of the days at the Newport Aquarium... definitely need to take Owen there as he'll love looking at the giant fishes!
Owen had another great week at daycare, even taking an hour and 45 minute nap for his teachers on Wednesday! Thursday it snowed and I was working from home in the afternoon, which was great because we took our little marshmallow out to play in the snow with his sled! It took him a minute, but once he realized how fast Dad could make him go he loved it!
And here's a belated picture of Owen on his 13 month birthday:
What a cutie!
Chris x
Owen had another great week at daycare, even taking an hour and 45 minute nap for his teachers on Wednesday! Thursday it snowed and I was working from home in the afternoon, which was great because we took our little marshmallow out to play in the snow with his sled! It took him a minute, but once he realized how fast Dad could make him go he loved it!
And here's a belated picture of Owen on his 13 month birthday:
Chris x
Saturday, January 15, 2011
13 months old, Christmas story #2, story #3, and lots of steps!
Our baby is 13 months old! Wow. We went to the doctor yesterday and she said he was doing great - moved down to the 80th percentile for weight and height... slimmin' down! She was happy he is saying 'mama', 'dada', and 'ca-ca' (cat, duh). And finally - the rest of the Christmas update, delayed by only a few weeks! When we eventually got back to Ohio on Dec 29 (2 days late, which wasn't bad considering the stories we heard!), we had Christmas with Owen's (paternal) grandparents. Owen had a great time. Grandma and Grandpa gave Owen some super fun gifts, including a Fisher Price barn toy he can crawl under and around and make lots of crazy animal farm sounds with.
On Friday (New Years Eve), we had our family Christmas at home. At one point, Owen lost complete interest in opening up presents... he was so over it and much preferred to go play with his current toys. We put a bunch of new toys away and figure we'll bring them out in a few weeks when he needs a toy refresh. He does sometime enjoy watching Elmo from his big-boy Elmo chair.
Owen is kicking butt at the walking thing. He won't initiate it on his own yet - but is going really far from mom to dad/ dad to mom! Last night he did 15+ steps multiple times. Go baby!! It is only a matter of days (maybe weeks) until he is running all over the place. So exciting! Here are 2 quick videos:
In other good news, Owen had a great 2 weeks at daycare! Maybe he is adjusting? I hope so as it makes me sad when he has bad days. Hearing good news from daycare is an awesome change. I wish I could spend every day with Owen! I love my job - good thing - but I would rather be home with him. I never, ever, ever, ever thought I'd want to stay at home with my kids. I'll just add that to the list of things since being a mom that I was wrong about.
Hope everyone is having a good week!
Chris & Fam
PS - a bonus pic of me and Gwen and our boys!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
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
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.
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
Friday, December 17, 2010
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!
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
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!
xo
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
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
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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
Monday, November 22, 2010
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
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
Friday, November 19, 2010
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
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
Sunday, November 14, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, November 08, 2010
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
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
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
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
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