A Long Day!

Ugh, the end of a long day... Owen got his 3rd molar yesterday and his 4th molar broke through today. That makes 13 teeth! Oh my, we're going to be talking tooth fairy soon, right??? But the poor kid is drooling like a champ, and still fighting those pesky ear infections at the same time. It's making for a cranky eater, and even having difficulty napping (very unlike Owen)!

Yesterday morning, we hit the park before the cold weather returns. Then we went to our last sign language class. The class has been very helpful, I'm very glad that Owen and I did this class. We (Mommy) learned over 40 signs that I use frequently - Owen has picked up about 5-7 signs, but also about 3-5 extra words. It has really helped with the frustration and was really enjoyable.

In the afternoon after Owen's nap, we went with Granny to visit Great Aunt Ellen in Bel Air. Aunt Ellen decided Owen had enough trucks, and should learn to vacuum... She gave Owen an adorable Fisher Price Learning Vacuum, and he pushed it all over her apartment. Too bad the vacuum wasn't real, because Aunt Ellen could have used someone doing her apartment. But he had a ball. Wish he would learn to use my Dyson! Nevertheless, Owen loved the vacuum, and it was a great distraction in her apartment.

The vacuum is really cute. Owen has several push toys which he pushes through the kitchen, dining room, living room etc. The vacuum however, he pushes back and forth, and back and forth, just as you would do when you vacuum a carpet! It's too funny. It makes the sound of a real vacuum, and tonight when I vacuumed Owen followed me around. Too cute!

Tuesday night, Owen was really tired, we had to wake him from his nap early to go visit Aunt Ellen, so come dinner time he was wiped! He did eat some veggies (we had fajitas for dinner) and then ate some of Grandma's pudding.

He had a restless night sleep, and woke around 6am, and just started talking on and off until I finally got him around 8am. It's a school day, so he had to get up and dressed on time. He fought me tooth and nail over breakfast, just not in the mood. Between the molars, the medicine (supposedly suppressing his appetite) and general sleep deprivation, he's been a bit much to deal with.

He did have a good day at school, he is really going well. They keep telling me that he's having a great time, and adjusting well. When I showed up, he was sitting at the table while the other kids have lunch. I guess I have to decide if he should start eating lunch there, because they seem to be eating earlier and earlier!

After lunch at home, I thought we were in for a champion nap... not so much. Owen went down for about an hour and then talked for 3 hours off and on. Usually he sleeps for 3 hours straight, especially after school. But not today! He was chatty katty, but then would settle down for like 20 min, the talk up a storm again. Not sure his deal was. But he was ready for bed after dinner, and we had to do every trick we had to keep him up till 8pm.

Anyway, it's been a long day, and ready to hit the hay...

I Just Don't Sit Still...

Phew... another busy weekend. Friday evening we decided to head to Boston Market for dinner, Owen wasn't exactly in the mood to dine out - he never really is. It's not exactly easy to dine out with a toddler. Now that Owen has this new sense of freedom and can walk around, he doesn't to be contained in a high chair. When he was crawling we never really let him out of the seat and he was fine, but now with him walking he just wants out - there is way too much to explore to be contained in a high chair. After dinner, we walked through Toys R Us, and Owen had a ball, we let him be the guide, and he could have stayed there all night. He finally settled on a new fire truck, and we saved that for Saturday morning.

Saturday morning, Grandma came down to watch Owen for the day, so Mommy and Daddy could head out and explore. Owen has been doing much better with his separation anxiety, he didn't even fuss when we left, and was very good all day for Grandma. We decided to use the afternoon for some house hunting, and if our house was sold right now, it would be a no-brainer to move forward. Never the less, it was fun to get out and know that Owen was in good hands. Only time will tell how the cards fall, and what we decide to do... Back at home, Owen had a blast, he played all morning with Grandma and his new fire truck, and played well into the early afternoon before finally conking out for a nap.

Saturday evening we played at home, Grandma made her famous delicious pot pie for dinner, and we gave Owen a bath. He was so goofy, and having so much fun.

Sunday morning Grandma watched Owen again so Mommy & Daddy could run errands. We hit Costco and Target before heading home for Owen to nap. We had Great Mom-Mom's birthday dinner, so it was important that Owen get a great nap. Grandma went home, and we know she really enjoyed playing with Owen this weekend. He is so much fun, and very interactive.

Sunday evening, we had to wake Owen from his nap to head out to dinner with Mommy's family for Great Mom-Mom's birthday. So unfortunately he didn't get any time at home to stretch his legs and play. He literally woke from his nap, got dressed and headed out to dinner. That made for a pretty frustrated Owen cooped up in a crowded restaurant. He did pretty well for the first hour, but the second hour was brutal while we waited for dinner. Finally by the time dinner came, Mommy pulled out her secret weapon and gave Owen a lolly pop, which allowed Mommy & Daddy exactly 10 minutes to eat as much dinner as possible.

After inhaling our dinner, we headed out, while everyone else enjoyed dessert. Just as we were cleaning up, Mommy realized that during the wrestling match with Owen that I sat on a gummy fruit snack and it had melted into the chair and my pants. Who knows if even the dry cleaner can remove that mess... It's worse than gum, yuck!

We came home and opted not to give Owen a bath but rather let him play and have fun. He played for about an hour and then we started the bedtime ritual, because it was a school night and he still needed a good night's sleep. But he would have played easily for another hour.

Today was a gorgeous day. The weather was nice and warm, and he had a great day at school. As I said earlier, he's getting much better with separation anxiety, I think he's starting to understand school is part of his routine, and that yes, Mommy will come back. It's a great deal of maturation that has occurred, because he used to cry even when I left the room. Some toddlers don't understand until much later. He had a great school day – this month’s theme is food – GOOD maybe they will inspire him to eat more! Today they got to play outside on the playground, they had science and circle time and did an art project.

After a nice nap, Owen and Mommy headed off to one of the area playgrounds. Now that Owen is walking, we didn’t want to go to the neighborhood playground because other than the swings, there’s nothing Owen can climb on. The Perry Hall playground has a toddler area with smaller slides and equipment that he can climb on. It’s perfect, and so much fun! He had a ball, walking around, climbing, sliding, and of course swinging. He giggled and had a great time on the swings. He’s always enjoyed the swings, but today there was more of a sense of pure excitement. I hope the weather stays nice so we can go again very soon.

Before dinner tonight, we tried to take advantage one more time of the nice weather. We played a little soccer on the deck and watched Sam Dog chase the Frisbee.

Poor Owen is recovering from a double ear infection, has a little bit of a cold still, and on top of that is getting a BIG nasty molar, and 3 other teeth are also trying to poke their way through. It's no wonder he's drooling like you've turned on a spigot!

It’s been a fun few days, and really enjoyable! Here's just a glimpse of the fun he had on the swings.

Storyville

Because of the ear infections, we decided not to send Owen to school today. He had a restless night, and woke up really early, and determined he wouldn't be in a very good mood at school, and it probably wasn't fair to send him when he just wanted Mommy... So we did some laundry - Owen is a big help pushing the basket around the family room, while Mommy tries hard to fold it.

Then Mommy dug into the last of the Christmas presents and dug out a winner. Now that Owen is walking so well, I thought he'd be ready for his Hot Dog... And he was, it took him a few minutes to figure out the difference between pushing a toy and pulling a toy, but he got it. And walked his dog around the whole first floor. It was very cute, but made Sam Dog very jealous. This dog is very calm on the leash, and doesn't bowl Owen over or take his toys. Oh, and most important, this dog doesn't bark!

After a nice nap, we went to Storyville at the Rosedale Public Library with Ms. Robyn and Sofia. They got there before we did, because Owen had a tough time waking from his 3+ hour nap. But we got there and had a ball. The place is incredible. It's totally free, and geared completely to kids under 6. They have a grocery store, garden, theatre, post office, construction zone, "toddler bay", and even a house with a kitchen set. We were there almost 2 hours and didn't get to see everything. It's a great facility and so close to our house, I have a feeling we'll be there often!

Sofia and Owen had a ball exploring. Now that Owen is walking everywhere and has given up on crawling, he really enjoyed being able to explore. And so frequently we go somewhere and Owen is so shy for the first few minutes, but this time he opened up right away, he didn't cling to me at all, which is how he normally would react. I think he was overwhelmed at first but he wasn't scared, which I think is a positive of him going to school - the negative of course - recurrent ear infections.

But what a great place. Owen and Sofia really had fun. I can hardly wait to go back!

After Storyville, Owen came home and played some more before an afternoon nap. I've been trying to teach him how to jump. He knows how to jump on a trampoline at Gymboree, but he hasn't figured out how to jump on the ground. But you'll see this video - he's getting major air!

Despite the fact that he's under the weather, he's been a trooper and so much fun. I taught him today how to hit a ball with his golf club. He enjoyed chasing the ball around and hitting it over and over. Hmm, maybe a future Tiger Woods on our hands??? I am really enjoying this stage of his life. Seems that every day leaves me exhausted, but with great memories. I hope he's feeling better soon, so he can stop the moments of pain and just really enjoy himself.

We have a busy weekend ahead. Grandma is coming down to spend the day with Owen tomorrow while Mommy & Daddy head out for the day. She's in for a treat and a surprise when she sees how well Owen is walking. It's going to be a fun weekend, and hopefully Owen will finally get a good night sleep to enjoy it.

Another ear infection and more words

This week has certainly had it's ups and downs. Tuesday morning, we were very relieved to find that Owen's ear infections had cleared up. We went to our sign language class (just one more to go next week), and the played at open gym. Owen is being so silly lately, he's cracking himself up by putting things on his head, or making a silly face.

Wednesday was a major milestone at school - when I dropped him off, he had a tear free drop off. It was so nice, to know that he's starting to get used to the routine and enjoying the time he's at school. But Wednesday night he took a turn for the worse. During dinner, he just started screaming. He started off eating well, but then just wouldn't calm down. We figured he was over tired, so we took a nice bath, and then got ready for bed early. After 45 min in bed, he woke screaming. We tried to give him some milk to calm him down thinking he had a bad dream, but he just wouldn't take it, we barely even considered that he might be sick, because we had just been to the doctors. We gave him some Motrin, thinking his teeth might be hurting, so he went to sleep for another 45 min, and then started screaming again. He cried himself back to sleep but did the same thing at 2:30, 4:30 and 5:30.

At 7, I finally went in and he was very warm, he had a fever and so I called the doctor. I couldn't believe he was sick again, but sure enough he has an ear infection in both ears... again. Got him some strong antibiotics and some decongestants, and by this afternoon after a nap he was getting his appetite back and being more playful. He ended up taking 2 naps today, probably because he was tired from last night and not feeling well. He's been very cuddly which is so nice.

He also is learning and understanding a bunch of new words. He says "thank you" back when I say it to him (comes out more like "dat u") but he will repeat it when I say it to him. He's starting to understand when I give him something to say thank you. I'm starting to work on yes and no, and generally just repeating and repeating words over and over again. Owen will frequently parrot something similar back to us, but doesn't often "get" what he's repeating... but he's getting there. We've been saying "love you" a lot, and he says back (ya u)... I don't think he understands, but it's nice to hear.

He also is saying Mama again, which is so nice, tonight when I picked him up he cuddled into me and said Mama. It melted me, especially since we'd had such a tough day.

The other word he's picked up and really understands is "bubble", yes, very practical communication, but he loves the bubbles in the tub, and tonight he was signing more, and I didn't know what he wanted more of, so I asked him, what do you want more of, and then he said buba, and so I made some more bubbles and he splashed excitedly. I got him to repeat it several times - see video - it's adorable.

Hopefully now that he's got the antibiotics in him, he'll start clearing up and feeling better. With any luck 3rd time is a charm and this will be the last of the ear infections for quite some time.

Another Manic Monday

The weekend started with a snow day. It was kind of cheesy to even consider it a snow day, because there wasn't much snow. The weather man was forecasting the worst, and Mommy decided to go into work on Thursday afternoon, just to make sure that everything would be covered in case Owen's school closed Friday. Sure enough the light dusting and freezing drizzle was enough to close Owen's school (and most of Maryland). The news kept saying - It's coming - but it never really materialized. But we made the most of it, and played at home all day, did some art projects, finger painted and played with play doh, and had lots of fun.

Owen has been feeling much better this week and we hope that the ear infections are all cleared up. We will know officially tomorrow morning after his doctors appointment. He had great days at school on Monday and Wednesday, and that makes me very happy.

Saturday morning, we went out to breakfast, yes, good ole McDonald's now constitutes going out to breakfast... Owen ate like a champ - even after already eating his breakfast at home! He loved the griddle cake from the Sausage McGriddle, and ate almost a whole cake, plus some of the cinnamon bun. We ran some errands and then came home for a nap. Owen needed to be rested for his classmate Naomi's 1st birthday party. It was nice, they had a clown, and the kids played well together. And it was nice to meet some of the other parents.

Saturday night we bravely ventured out to dinner to the country club. Owen walked around the entire restaurant, not wanting to stop for even a moment to eat. He had a ball, I was exhausted! He got to bed very late - almost 9:45 - and thankfully slept in until 9:10 the following morning.

Sunday we went grocery shopping, and the usual errands, and had a nice dinner at home. It was very pleasant. Owen has been walking every where, has been pushing toys all around, and generally exploring our house. I'm still working on baby proofing, as he seems to find every nook and cranny I've missed.

So back to school today, and he did great again. He didn't sleep very well last night. He's got a little diaper rash, and his bottom molars are coming through, but he managed to put it aside and have fun at school. I've even relaxed on my mid morning phone call to check on him. I'm fully confident that the teachers will get him engaged and having fun. Today he was so cute when I picked him up. He saw me, stood up and walked to me and gave me the best welcoming hug ever. I LOVE picking him up from school. He was very chatty, and talked the whole way home. He is always so hungry when I pick him up from school, that we stopped at Wendy's to pick up lunch.

This afternoon was very relaxed, Owen took a nice long nap, and we had so much fun afterwards. He loves to be chased, and Mommy & Daddy just love to play the game with him.

Here's a video I captured of Owen pushing his lawn mower around the kitchen. He is SO CUTE!

Standing Unassisted

I finally captured a video of Owen standing on his own (without pulling up). He's been able to do this for about a week, and this isn't even his best attempt, but it's very impressive.

14 Months!

It's hard to believe the little man is 14 months old today. He is growing and maturing so rapidly. Every day he seems to understand more, and talk more. His comprehension is getting much stronger.

We had a great long weekend. Owen had a great day at school on Friday, despite the fact that he woke up on the wrong side of the crib, and was a total cranky pants all morning, he was an angel in school. He took a nice long nap in the afternoon and we decided just to stay in for the rest of the night. Friday evening, Granny and Pop came by for a quick visit. Granny had a valentine's present for Owen, and Pop still hadn't seen Owen walk. They stayed for about an hour, had some good times with Owen, (Pop loves to chase him and it's quickly becoming Owen's favorite game for someone to chase him....) then they went out to dinner. We ordered pizza and just relaxed.

Saturday we did some errands in the morning and in the evening we picked up carryout from Pei Wei and headed to visit the Alvarez family. We had dinner at their house and then the kids and adults got a chance to socialize. These are really becoming our favorite nights out, because we get to have a good time without the pressure of heading to a restaurant. No one understands the challenges of dinner with a 14 month old, better than the Alvarezes who are in the same boat!

Sunday we went to church, grocery shopping and then joined Costco. We had carryout again (Mommy is on a cooking strike), this time from Liberatores. It's just so difficult for us in a restaurant these days, but cooking in every night also takes it's toll, so we took advantage of the long weekend to put the pots and pans away. We ordered in a fantastic meal and really enjoyed it.

Monday was a holiday for Mommy & Daddy, but we wanted to keep Owen on his routine, and we took him to school. Mommy & Daddy enjoyed a nice breakfast out, and then drove around running errands. Daddy enjoyed meeting Owen's new teachers and seeing the art projects that Owen has done at school. He had another good day, and we are really feeling that we made the right decision with putting him in school. We're still glad his time there is limited, but we feel very comfortable with the environment and feel he's enjoying himself.

In the afternoon, Mommy had a doctor appointment, so Daddy and Owen hung out at home. When Mommy got back we did some craft projects and had dinner. Owen has been in a much better mood today, I think his ears are finally less painful, and also his bottom molars are starting to come through so maybe he's getting some relief there. Either way, it's nice to have him pleasant again, vs. the cranky little man we've seen a lot lately.


Owen seemed a little hungry after his bath... So we tried a snack - even a graham cracker is heathier than a toe...

He always signs "more" now at mealtime and snack time when he wants more of what we're offering. He is one smart little guy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

First thing this morning, Owen discovered his Valentine's present. We bought him a craft table and its now in our family room. He has been loving art projects so much, I wanted a place where we could do them here at home, and Owen was very excited to sit at it.

Owen is feeling much better today, you can tell he's much more himself, because he's been walking all over the place, playing well, and eating again. His fever has been down now for 2 days, and he's also getting more talkative again.

We went to Owen's class party, there were other parents there that came for lunch, so it was nice to meet some of the other Mom's & Dad's. Owen was afraid that I was going to leave at first, but he started to warm up and played independently, even ventured away from me and had fun.

It will be interesting to see how he handles school tomorrow when I actually have to leave again. But it was nice to see him there and having fun. All the kids had a good time, each Mom had brought in a treat, Owen and I brought in Jello Blocks. The kids loved it.

Then we left there and went to Gymboree. We were about 10 min late, but we still had plenty of time to have fun. We got to see Sofia and Ms. Robyn who had a very scary night last night - Sofia got a bout of Croup, and ended up going to the ER in an ambulance. She's OK, and not contagious, but they were very scared last night. Hopefully their Valentine's day only got better.

Owen was very cute, I know he was getting tired, because this was our 2nd party, and well past his nap time, but he was just adorable, loving the bubbles.

After a 3.5 hour nap from Owen this afternoon, we exchanged some Valentine's cards and presents. Owen gave Daddy the photobook he had made, it was so cute - I gave it to Owen and said - give that to Daddy, and he walked over and handed it to him, it was adorable. Owen and Daddy gave Mommy some flowers and a nice new bag for my laptop.

We then cooked a nice dinner, and Owen gave Daddy a very nice gift. He has stopped saying Dada and is now very clearly saying Daddy... Mama has never been more jealous.

Owen's walking is getting much stronger also. He is really developing a desire to walk everywhere vs. before when he would walk some places and crawl others, now he pretty much toddles all over the house, only crawling if he is playing or fallen and can't get back up. He's also started standing up unassisted. He's not doing it consistently yet, but when the will is strong, he can actually stand and maintain his balance with out pulling up. This is very impressive to see, because he has seemed to master it so quickly after starting to walk.

Here's one more from today, Owen loves to echo Daddy, and one of his favorite words is UhOh, when he drops something or falls down. Can't help but post this cute video.

What a wonderful and fun Valentine's Day.

Home Sick

Yesterday, we went to the doctor for what we thought was a check up from an ear infection 2 weeks ago. However, just before arriving at the doctors Owen started with a fever and a bit lethargic. By the time Owen and I arrived at the doctors, Owen was burning up, and just sat on my lap waiting for our turn. I was concerned that he was coming down with the flu, but fortunately he didn't have the flu (test was negative), but he did have a double ear infection. The doc gave him a stronger antibiotic and prescribed some Benadryl for the nasal congestion to clear it all up.

Daddy took the prescription to Target and then he had to go to Richmond for a trade show. But it was very very icy, and he was in the car over 6 hours and didn't make it much farther than Washington DC. So he ended up checking into a hotel down there, and then drove to Richmond today.

Our night wasn't much better here at home. After the doctors, we came home, Owen was so tired he went straight down for a nap. When he woke, his fever started to climb. By bedtime it was 103. I got very worried about that and called the pediatrician. She assured me that Owen would be OK, put him to bed and check on him in an hour. I took his temp an hour later, then continued to keep checking on him. He woke very upset at 11pm, and I brought him downstairs with me and we drank some juice and I gave him the Motrin. Put him back to bed, and then he slept for about 45 min, then cried for an hour. I continued to check on him all night. His fever broke in the early hours of the morning, and continued to be low or normal all day today.

I decided to keep Owen home from school today, so that he could get more of the antibiotics into him and be feeling better before going to school. We spent the entire morning in our PJs, and then Owen took a 2 1/2 hour nap (I wish Mommy would have done the same). We played with so many toys, and he was in very good spirits despite not feeling well. I can tell his ears were bugging him today, and you can also tell that his equilibrium is off, because he wants to walk but he's got more of a swagger/sway and his balance is way off. He even took a nasty tumble in the kitchen right into the corner of the island. But overall we had a nice sick day. I even broke out a toy that was unopened from Christmas and Owen was entertained with it much of the day.

I am pleased to report that Owen was much better tonight and seemed to feel much better. I hope he sleeps well tonight and continues to improve tomorrow morning. I also hope that I get more sleep tonight, because I'm exhausted!!! We have his Valentine's Day party at school and I get to play room mother, so we're looking forward to that. Then we have the Gymboree class, so we hope to make both.

Walking, Walking, Walking!

Ready or not, here I come!!! We have been on the go since Friday! Daddy came home early Saturday morning (around 1:30), long after Owen had gone to bed, so Owen was happy to see Daddy on Saturday morning. We then left for Grandma's up in Hershey to pick up Sam Dog. Owen fell asleep when we were about 10 minutes from Grandma's house, so we tried to transfer him to the crib, but he had woken up and was afraid, not knowing were he was. So he ate lunch and played for a while, and then napped later in the afternoon.

Grandma made Owen some homemade pudding, and Owen was in heaven, he often turns his nose on things that I make for him, but not what Grandma makes... Owen was shocked to find that Grandma's cabinets don't have locks on them. He explored as many as he could!

Grandma also made Chicken Pot-Pie (Daddy's favorite) for dinner. Owen tried some of the noodles, but was a big fan of the bread and butter pickles. He also loved Great Grandma's homemade applesauce. Owen ate 2 bowls on Saturday, another bowl on Sunday, and yet another today. It's delicious, and Owen LOVES it.

It was a really great and relaxing evening, Owen was so cute toddling around all the house and exploring. His walking is improving so much every day.

Sunday we left Grandma's and headed home. Again, Owen fell asleep about 10 minutes before we got home, so we decided to run a few errands and let Owen sleep a bit longer. When we got home, we transferred him successfully to his crib and he slept another hour.

After he woke, we played hard for several hours. Then Owen seemed to be very tired, so we put him to nap in his crib for a short time before having dinner with Granny and Pop. Owen fell dead asleep. We went into his room to wake him up, and talked, turned on the lights, opened his shades, even touched him... he just didn't want to wake up! Finally he woke and we headed to Sabitino's for dinner. It was delicious food, but Owen wasn't exactly in the "dining out" mood. But that's what life with a toddler is like, you just never know what to expect!

Today, Owen had school in the morning, he did really well again. Ms. Kathy was missing (she was upstairs making copies) when we arrived, and Owen just didn't want to let go of me, so I stayed about 5 min longer than normal, and sure enough, Ms. Kathy showed up and took Owen from me and he had a GREAT day. Again, the teachers reported that he loved art, and Ms. Kathy reported that he had a PERFECT day, ate his snack, played well, no fussing, just a perfect day. That makes me so happy.

Uncle Alex came over for dinner tonight, and he was also impressed by how much Owen's walking has improved since he saw last week. Owen also ate a great dinner, which also calls for celebration in this house.

Owen is walking all over the house, gaining confidence by the hour. He even is working on standing up with out pulling up. Although right now he loses his balance and falls down, it won't be long before that milestone is reached.

Tomorrow is yet another busy day - this whole week is busy - we have Sign Language and a follow up Doctor appointment (from his ear infection.). Daddy also has another trip and will be back on Wednesday night. We are so busy this week it's crazy. Already looking forward to the weekend when we don't have many plans.

Another good school day...

Today got off to a rough start, Owen slept until 8:30, and I finally had to wake him so we wouldn't be too late for school. He was NOT happy about being woken up, he was dead asleep in his crib and I had to talk and turn on the lights, and then he just started yelling at me.

I'm not really sure why he was so tired, yesterday evening my friend Val came over for dinner, but we still got Owen to bed on time, and he went down at 8:15, but he really wanted a bit more sleep today! That followed up with Owen not wanting to eat breakfast. (He often doesn't do well when we have to rush, he prefers a bit of time to wake up before he eats). But he started coming around when I gave him his OJ. So we headed to school with low expectations, and I told the teachers Owen was having a rough morning, and left the room. He barely cried once I was gone, he was playing with Ms. Kathy, and that worked really well.

When I went to pick him up, he was tired, but in a good mood. They had done hand prints with blue finger paints. Naturally, he has blue everywhere, in his nails, up his arms, and all over his clothes. So I think we'll be taking a bath this afternoon. But the teacher again commented on how much Owen LOVES the art projects. I have some play doh, and think maybe Owen and I will play with that this afternoon. It's been such a busy week, I don't feel like leaving the house any more today.

I can hardly wait to bring home Owen's art projects. His hand prints are really good! It's so cute, and I'm so glad he's now enjoying his time there at school.

Here's another really cute video that shows how well Owen's walking is progressing.

Daddy comes home tonight, well after Owen will be in bed, but I know tomorrow morning Owen will be so happy to see him! We can hardly wait.

Pajama Day!

This month, the school is having Wacky Wednesday. So today was the first, and it was pajama day. Owen looked at me strange when I took him out of his PJs and put him into clean PJs - like what are you doing? I had to cut the feet out of his PJs so they would fit in his shoes. And it was more than 70 degrees outside and he was in fleece all day. Naturally he was sweating, and the teacher had enough common sense to change him into something less warm.

Drop off today went very well. Ms. Kathy is great, she comes right over to Owen everyday and gets him settled down now within minutes. He is walking around very consistently, especially at school and this new activity is causing him to be very tired. He slept over 12 hours last night, and was exhausted when I got there to pick him up. He was fussing when I arrived, but as soon as I picked him up he stopped and melted into me, just trying to say, please put me to bed. So we got home and he took a 3 hour nap.

Then we went to visit Granny to show off our walking. Owen was so cute walking around and showing off, all over their house. Aunt Lizzie came over, Uncle Alex was there, and Owen was very proud to show them his new skill. He's walking so well now, it's hard to believe the difference between now and Sunday. Daddy is going to be so excited to see him so mobile!

After visiting Granny, we headed to play date with Sofia. Sofia's Daddy works late on Wednesday, so we decided to have an evening play date and dinner. It was so much fun. Despite Owen eating much better for me at home this week, he barely ate a bite at Ms. Robyn's. Guess he doesn't like Mommy's favorite GT pizza. Or just was boycotting the booster seat, he likes his new chair so much. Anyway, he had good meals today and when we came home we had a bath and some crackers for a snack before bed.

It was really nice to play date with Ms. Robyn & Sofia tonight. I am so impressed by Owen's walking I just enjoy sitting back and watching him explore, which he did plenty of in their house which was full of toys and things he hasn't seen. It was great. He and Sofia have the same Zebra, and both "claim" it when they visit the other's house. Tonight was Owen's turn. They are so cute together...

Sign Language Class & More Walking

Today was a lot of fun. We had a good morning, did lots of playing and really enjoyed the time at home. Then Owen took a nice nap and after lunch, we ventured out to Sign Language Class at Gymboree. Today is class #3, and we worked on signs with bath time. We're doing very well with the meal signs, and starting to get some of the bedtime signs. To help the kids understand today's lesson, Ms. Denise brought out tubs of water to illustrate the signs. She warned us to bring a change of clothes, and Owen sure needed it. He soaked himself, the teacher, Kyle, me and the other mother. It was really funny.

After the class, we had Open Gym. Owen got a lot of practice walking around the mats. Sofia and Ms. Robyn also came to open gym, so Owen got to show them how well he is doing.

It's amazing how quickly he is gaining confidence and control. Tonight, I put him in his room, and told him to play at his table, he walked towards it, but then turned completely around, and walked after me into the bathroom where I started his bath. That's a long way! I'm so proud of him, and he is so adorable as he is walking around.

He's really doing well, this video shows him almost skipping to get to me in his play area!

School Day #5

I have to admit, this has been a great day for Owen and I. Grandma left with Sam Dog about 7:45. Daddy had to leave for California before Owen woke up. Owen had a great night sleep, he ate a terrific breakfast. The kid is starting to eat like I may never feed him again! Not that I'm going to complain. He went to school today, he only fussed about 3-5 minutes, after I left. I was very relieved to hear that. Maybe one of these days I won't feel the need to call and check on him...
Owen had his new teacher, Ms. Kris, start today. She's still learning the school and the kids in the classroom, but she seems OK, I have to admit I really liked Ms. Rebecca, but Ms. Kathy is my favorite, and she's still there, so this will be just fine. I think I'm very critical on first impressions, yeah, I know that's new for me :). I just want the best for Owen. The teachers reported that Owen did great today. It was rainy and wet, so the didn't go outside this morning. They listened to a story and sang songs. The theme this week is Zoo Animals. They are making lots of art projects to decorate the classroom - today they did a collage with glue and marshmallows, so cute. He was even invited to a little girl's 1st birthday party in 2 weeks... That should be nice to start to meet some of the parents.

I'm relieved to feel that Owen is finally adjusting and starting to enjoy school... It makes me feel better knowing that we're not traumatizing him, and that he is engaged while he's there. It's such a short day for him there, but still, I don't want him to be upset at all. I think dropping off will always have a little sting, because Mommy is leaving, and that's good, I'd much rather want him to be with me than at school, but I have to admit, there is nothing better than that little face spotting me having entered the room when I come to pick him up. It's WONDERFUL!

With Daddy out of town, Owen wants to know where he is. Owen keeps walking/crawling into the office looking for him. He also going to the gate upstairs looking for Sam Dog... saying Dug, Dug (his word for Dog)... he doesn't get that he's just stuck with me! I know later this week he's really going to miss Daddy (and Sam). All evening he's been saying Dadadadadada... My mission this week is to get MAMAMAMA back into his vocabulary!

Owen is continuing to improve his walking, he's much less dependent upon me coaxing him to walk, and just knowing and confident he can do it. He can walk all the way across the family room and into the kitchen, even when he stumbles he regains his balance. The fewer distractions around the better he walks, but it is so cute! He is so proud when he does get to where he wants to go. It's adorable, and I am so proud of him.

He also was a champion eater today, great breakfast, ate a good snack at school, we didn't eat much lunch, because he was tired and ready for his nap, but he ate some fruit and crackers with cheese when he woke up, then we ventured out to Barnes and Noble. He really enjoyed pulling all the books off the shelves, he was giggling the whole time. He ate a wonderful dinner - almost a whole plate of tortellini’s and then fruit, and then a popsicle, and then milk!

By the end of the meal, he was covered in red (sauce), blue (popsicle) and whit (milk mustache)... he should have done this yesterday and maybe the support would have helped the Patriots win.

We definitely miss Daddy, but there's a sense of accomplishment in getting through a tough day with such a positive spin.