Touch your toes!

I forgot to mention in my last post that Owen figure out his toes. Unless he's really into something else he will grab his toes whenever I ask where they are. Love it!

He's started pulling up on more things, crawling on all fours and on a few separate occasions has stood on his own for a few seconds. His mobility has taken off scary fast in the last week. He also knows how to sign "more" but is very choosy on when he uses it.

Sleeping, standing, and discipline

I can't get over how much Owen has changed in the last couple of weeks. He's becoming more coordinated with walking and crawling. He pretty much only army crawls when he's not on carpet. After watching him I think it's because it's too slippery to stay on his knees so he just sticks to using his arms. He still doesn't really venture out of the living room which is good and bad. It'd be nice if he would just crawl into the kitchen if I'm in there instead of crying for me but at the same time it's nice to know where he is.

Now that he knows how to pull himself up in his crib he does it all of the time. Getting him down for a nap has become more of an ordeal because of this. He hasn't been sleeping as much lately and I'm thinking he maybe needs to go to one nap instead of two. I'm going to start that tomorrow and see what happens. I moved his bedtime from 7 to 7:30 last week for reasons I can't really remember. He's been napping for less time (today was 45 minutes each) so we'll try 1 nap and if that doesn't work we'll move his bedtime back to 7 and see what happens. I'm not thrilled about the prospect of only one nap but I remember saying that about going from 3 to 2 and it ended up being okay.

We've started to discipline Owen for a few things when he's doing something he knows he's not supposed to do. He falls apart when it comes from Pat but when it comes from me it's almost like he's thinking "is that all you got lady?!" He'll stick his bottom lip out when we say no and when the "no" comes from dad it is quickly followed by many tears. All I get is the lip and a straight face which can be hard to not laugh at at times. Pat has learned that he has to be extra loving after the "no" since it seems to affect Owen so deeply. We definitely have our work cut out for us with this guy!

I've become obsessed with watching Owen play lately. Now that he has some mobility he's exploring everything and it is fascinating to see him try and figure things out. Sheesh. I love that kid so much!

Check out my new skill!

He's a pasta with pesto over mac n cheese kind of kid. 

Sitting on his own

Owen learned how to get from lying down to sitting this week which is super exciting for me! So often he'll be on his back or stomach and just whine until I sit him up. I'm super excited about this one. He's also cruising along the couch a little bit more. I'll stand him up on one end and put something that he's interested in on the other side and he'll get to it eventually. He'll take a step then reach as far as he can and if he can't get it he'll take another step and reach again. A lot of the time he tries to reach too far and then falls over.

Today I found him standing in his crib. I had put him down for a nap and he didn't want to sleep so I let him cry for a while and when I went in there he was standing up hanging onto the rail.

I had gotten Owen some baby food that was apple/mango/kiwi and discovered that it's a big no-no. We had the same issue as we did with the pineapple. Fortunately I figured it out sooner so we got his diaper changed sooner which saved a lot of pain for Owen. I think Owen had that same combo of fruit when he had the pineapple so it's quite possible it was the mango or kiwi rather than the pineapple that caused all of the problem.

In other news we've been shopping for flooring this week. Our basement flooded on Sunday which is not fun. We're just thankful that the carpet was the only thing that was ruined. We're hoping that it will be fixed this week so we can get the house put back together before Owen's birthday party on Saturday.

Loves those pancakes!

I made great effort to push Owen's sleeves up while he was eating an avocado to keep his onesie clean but he managed to managed to get it underneath his bib.

Reading Go Dog Go while grocery shopping.

Baby Cakes

I made this recipe this morning:

Finger Foods for Baby - Veggie Cakes

From Jannah in the United States

1 cup (4 oz) flour
1 egg yolk
3 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp oil
3/4 cup (6 fl oz) milk (or formula)
2 jars of your choice of veggie baby food (note from editor - you could substitute an equivalent amount of homemade veggie puree here)

Just mix all the ingredients together and then pour onto a hot griddle (medium), turning them when ready just like you would a regular pancake!

Read more:http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/finger-foods-for-baby.html#ixzz2J7DCDhCZ


Owen LOVED them. I used sweet potato and an apple/banana blend, some pumpkin puree that I had in the fridge (maybe a 1/4 cup), a bunch of cinnamon, some nutmeg and some cloves. I also used whole wheat flour and a whole egg since I didn't want to divide it and Owen hasn't had a reaction to egg whites. The mistake I made was using coconut oil. My brain didn't put together that coconut oil gets hard at a pretty low temp (like 70 some degrees) and I was pouring cold milk into this mix. I ended up with hard chunks of oil that I tried to break up into smaller pieces. It ended up okay but I'll do it differently next time. I wanted to have something in the freezer to give him for breakfast or snacks that he can feed himself when we're in a hurry (i.e. Sunday mornings). It made quite a few so I'm hoping that Owen continues to like them. He's been a little picky lately. I think he ended up eating something like 3-4 pancakes. Not sure if they were that good or he was that hungry. He was up for a while last night then woke up at 6:40 this morning which was too early for a Saturday so I nursed him and put him back down hoping he would play for a little bit then get up. Well, he decided to take his morning nap then and not wake up until 11:30. 

And just because he's so dang cute here's a picture of what he likes to get into now...

Dad said that Saturday's are for playing video games.

(He didn't get there all on his own. He'll walk while holding my hands and stand if he has something to lean on.)

Ear infections and teething

To say that this week has been difficult would be an understatement. We took Owen to the doctor on Monday for the cough that doesn't end and found out he had an ear infection. He seems to be feeling better for the most part. The antibiotic was not so nice to his digestive system yesterday so we went through several outfits. Owen hasn't had any trouble today which I'm glad for. The worst part of yesterday was all of the tantrums I had to deal with. Owen throws a fit during almost every diaper change so having to change him more than usual as well as having poo everywhere made it even more difficult. Did I mention he'd been up from 12:15-1:45 the night before? Yeah, that was great. Fortunately he napped well yesterday so I was able to make it through the day. I think Owen's eye teeth are working their way in which I'm told can be a nightmare. The left side looks a little swollen and he keeps chewing on his bottom lip. He let me feel around in his mouth yesterday but I couldn't feel anything. Owen's waking and sleeping has been all over the place this week and the unpredictability is wearing me down. He's woken up between 6 and 8am this week which then means that his naps are not at the same time. I've tried to keep bedtime around the same time but there have been a couple of nights where he was down at 6:30 because he was so tired.

I've decided that as soon as Owen is done with the antibiotics we're going to work on weaning him off his middle of the night feeding. The reason I was okay with it was because he was waking up later with it but now that he's waking up earlier with it it's time to drop it. My other reason for wanting to end it is that it's taking a lot longer than the 10-15 minutes that it was. Now it seems to consist of me going in for 10 minutes then trying to go back to bed but then having to go back in there at least once. It's exhausting.

Owen has started throwing his pacifiers out of the crib when he wakes up. It's kind of comical because he's always in the same position when I go in to get him: on his stomach with an arm out of the crib pointing at the paci's on the floor and whimpering.

Over Christmas Owen started soaking through his diapers so we bought a box of overnight diapers and now that we're home he's barely wet in the morning. Ah well...

Here's a little video to show how could Pat and I are as parents...

11 months

One more month and Owen will be 1! I did a little reminiscing over the last few days since it was around this time last year that pregnancy got a little more eventful. January 6th was my 34 week appointment and when the blood pressure issues began and I had my first NST. It's so hard to believe that it was that long ago.

Here are a few updates on Owen since I haven't updated in a bit:
Owen has 2 more teeth on the bottom that are almost completely through.
Owen learned how to clap on Christmas Eve and has decided that it is more fun than waving. He's also started this cute little bashful face when people say hi to him. He'll tuck his chin into his chest for a bit then flash a big smile. It's super cute.
Owen loves pointing and especially loves lights and fans. He's learned how to sign fan so wherever we go he immediately locates the fans and tells me. He's pretty good about pointing to the lights when I ask where they are.
Pat taught him about light switches so we have to stop at every one in the house.
He's learning to get around more and more. He'll take steps if I hold his hands while he stands in front of me. He loves standing too and will let you know when he doesn't want to sit. It cracks me up. He'll bend his knees but hold the rest of his body straight and will stay that way until I either stand him up or lay him on his back. I've caught him up on his hands and knees a few times lately. Usually he leans forward and is on one knee and the other turned under him and as soon as he gets that other leg out from underneath him he straightens out. He's learned how to scoot forward in the last couple of days. It takes a lot of effort and is pretty slow going (I would liken his movement and speed to a snail). He's great at spinning in circles on his belly and rolling all over but I am still his preferred mode of transportation.
Owen now has a Flipper laugh when he's being silly. He also started making this silly sound with his mouth. I think he's squishing his spit through his teeth. I just know that I can't replicate it. I've tried!
I've been trying to give Owen more table foods now. Mostly because it gives me a chance to eat at the same time. The other night I made turkey burgers that had green onions and parsley in them and I didn't think he'd like it but he ate half of a burger! I bought some avocado's this week so he's been scarfing those down. He seems to like foods that have a little more flavor.
I learned over Christmas to not give Owen pineapple. He had maybe two or three pieces and then one night before bed he was just crying and crying and he had a terrible rash that was bleeding. I tried to put him in a bath but he just screamed so I had him lay on a towel with no diaper for a while and he seemed better after that.
The not so fun development is the tantrum. We're still trying to figure how to handle them. He's been using the Bumbo during meal times and if he throws a fit he throws his head back and hits the chair which then causes more crying.

Owen did great while we were gone for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Years. He slept in 5 different rooms but was very flexible every time we had to move him. The last couple of nights while we were at my parents were the worst. He was waking up 1-3 times and would be awake for 45 minutes to 2 hours. He would wake up and just want to play and would only be still if I nursed him. Needless to say I was exhausted. I think it was mostly due to being tired of sleeping in a pack 'n' play but I think he was also wanting to practice all of the things he's been learning. The last night we were there he woke up at 4am and was awake until I put him in bed with Grandma at 5:30 so I could get a little more sleep.

Last night I made the mistake of putting Owen on the bed while I went into the bathroom to fill his humidifier. I thought that since I could see him that I could get there quick enough if he started rolling. Well, he started rolling faster than I expected and I made it just in time. It turned into a pretty dramatic event with me banging me knee into the space heater (which was incredibly painful) and then slipping on the floor because I was wearing socks while grabbing him off the bed. The things you go through to protect your child. Sheesh!

I went to my first KU game while Owen stayed with Grandma & Grandpa

We saw Martina McBride with Pat's mom and sister

Pat with Eric Winston - he plays for the Chiefs hence the huge smile on Pat's face

Serious conversation with Grandpa

Who's hiding under this hat?

The cutest sheriff I've ever seen!

I think he was telling someone to slow down

We maybe shouldn't teach him that bears are friendly...

"not the shark mom!"

"hi everyone!"

"Are all of those presents for me, mom??"

Our Christmas bouncer

More interested in snacks than opening gifts

Cheerio free for all with his cousins

Little shepherd boy for the nativity skit at Grandma and Grandpa McFarlands. I grew up doing this at my grandparents with all of my cousins. So happy that the tradition is being carried on!

All five cousins - Emma 2, Max 15 months, Owen 11 months, Ella  3, Weston 18 months.
Family gatherings are just going to get more fun the older they get!

No matter how many games the Chiefs lose they will always be number 1 in our hearts.

Meeting some book characters at a library event

Curious George

Berenstain Bears

Not so sure about Llama Llama at first....

...but he warmed up. We love the Llama Llama books