Peanut Butter Boy

It's been a fun week! I can't believe how much Owen's temperament has changed over the past 3 weeks. We're still having some temper tantrums, but the quantity is certainly decreasing. It's awesome, we're having so much fun, and just enjoying every minute of it! We're no longer battling over little things (like a jacket or shoes), he is understanding more and more and is much better able to communicate -- I think he's now tripled his vocabulary, and he's putting 2 and 3 words together to make phrases. It's amazing what he has absorbed and can remember.

Last week Grandma came over to baby sit Owen so that Mommy and Daddy could catch up on some errands and have some nice dinners out. It was great. Owen was very good and Grandma enjoyed getting to spend so much time with him. Grandma bought Owen an Eagles outfit - and he wore it, and the Ravens lost... I mean got slaughtered... But he sure looked cute in his Eagles outfit, even I can admit that...

This week we've been relatively busy doing a lot of fun activities. Owen has been having a blast playing outside and riding his fire truck up and down the side walk, so we've been trying to enjoy this amazingly warm October weather. We also had our gymnastics class on Tuesday, and it was awesome. Owen listened so well, and followed directions. He is getting so big and so strong, it's hard to recognize him! He can almost do a pull up unassisted, he can swing on the rings, and can walk the length of the balance beam without help. It's incredible. He loves to play in the foam pit, and loves to swing on the trapeze and jump into the pit. So cute! On Tuesday he also swung like Tarzan on a rope swing. Of the 12 kids in the class, Owen was the only kid to try it and succeed. Amazing! His shyness is starting to diminish a little, and he's feeling more comfortable in a group, which is so nice to see! He's still wary around strangers, but not panicky shy.

We've also all been fighting a bit of a cold. I started with it, and now Owen is trying to shake it. I feel bad, but it's that time of year, where the warm weather but cold nights, cold season is inevitable.

Last night, we went to dinner at the country club. Owen didn't want to play with toys as he normally does when we arrived, he wanted to sit in his booster. So he wrote with a pen, played with stickers, colored, and was a champ the entire dinner. He even ate - which is something he rarely does when we eat out. It was such a pleasant meal, I still am in shock. He even tried new things and stuff off our plates. He sat at the table for over an hour, and just was such a good boy. Dare we try it again this weekend???

Today was also a milestone day. Owen had his first taste of peanut butter. We've been waiting and waiting to attempt it (because you're supposed to wait until 2 years old), but since he doesn't eat meat, we figured it's another great source of protein not to mention give him a little variety. He LOVED it. Was licking the crackers and kept asking for more.

He's usually very timid to try new things, but this week, he's been more interested in what we're eating. He's been in a "rut" of about 10 different foods he'll eat, but this week he's added noodle soup, pineapple, mozzarella stick (kinda) and today peanut butter. Tonight at dinner he even tried chicken (granted we dipped it in chocolate sauce, but seriously)... who is this kid???