Our Time in Hilton Head

We took a later trip to the beach this year. We were there for the Fourth of July and it was as crowded as one might think it would be, surprise, surprise. We hoped that Owen would like the water more than he did. We did try though. He finally got interested in playing with the sand. Thankfully, we took a beach umbrella and he seemed to enjoy his time.

My mom, dad, and I ran in the Firecracker 5000 the morning of the Fourth. It was a good race, but very hot even that early. We went out for dinner on the Fourth and waited for the fireworks on the docks after dinner. However, when they started Owen was not a fan. We left, but got to watch them on our way out.

The trip was definitely too short, but we had a good time and great weather. Maybe next year, we will be more willing to get in the water.

Birthday Party #1

We had a great birthday party thanks to friends and family. Owen had a great time with everyone who came. He did get a little bit overwhelmed at times with all that was going on during the party.

We started the party with some bubbles outside. It was very humid even though it was 10 o'clock in the morning. There was a neighborhood cat that kept trying to come visit. The girls kept wanting to pet the cat, but we encouraged them not to play with it. The bubbles were a hit.

We then went inside to eat some lunch. Of course, this was just a way to get to eat cupcakes. Owen was intrigued by his cupcake, but he did manage to grab the candle right after we blew it out. That was terribly upsetting. Once he tasted the icing, things were better.

Things slowly got better. He experimented some with his cupcake but then lost interest.

We then opened presents. I guess I should say i opened presents while Owen sat on my lap and the girls took the toys to decide if they were going to be fun. Owen was very blessed by all of his friends. He received a lot of great new toys and clothes. He even got some good books.

After all of this, it was finally nap time and we all crashed. It is amazing how much a two hour birthday party can take out of you. We had a great time and want to make sure that all who were a part of the day know how appreciative we are for everything.

May was busy! Can't believe it's June.

Obviously, we have been super busy lately. Owen has been so much fun. We are making progress to try to walk some, but I don't think that he is really into it completely. He will pull up with no problem and is quite nosy when he has pulled up on something or someone. He will walk with assistance, but will immediately sit down if let go. He has begun to practice a little bit with his Radio Flyer walker.

He has learned how to sound like an Indian and sometimes how to give "high fives". He gets a kick out of those two things. He also has gotten quite interested in big people food, which can be difficult since we still have no teeth. He has been really good about eating anything we put in front of him. He seems to be getting sick of baby food. He does well without the teeth. He will crawl over to one of us if we are eating to see what it might be and if someone will give him some. He knows that I will definitely let him try things that I am eating. Dad, however, is not always as willing to share.

For Mother's day weekend, Owen and I went to the beach with my mom, aunt, and cousin. We went to Kiawah and it was great. Owen was not a fan of the sand on his hands. We then tried the tide pool and he was trying to crawl up me to get out of the water. I was surprised because he went back to the house and immediately took a bath with no problem. We will try again this summer when we go. He was very interested in the sea shells though.

I cannot believe that he is almost 1. It has gone by so quickly. I know that is what everyone always says, but when it is reality, it is more shocking. He has been so awesome to watch grow. I will let everyone know when we finally get some teeth though. I think that he will still want his night time bottle despite teeth.

I am on top of the world

It has been a while since our last post. Surprise, surprise, right? We have had several changes in development since the last update. I am quite proud of where Owen is and what he has been up to lately.

I do want to post some pictures from Easter Sunday. Chris and I took Owen down to Falls Park to hang out for about an hour since it was so pleasant. We were able to get some really good pictures. We had a great day spent with both sides of our family. It was a really full day and we were all exhausted by the time we got back to Greenwood that night.

Since then we have attended a wedding, another first for Owen. He did really well for a kid who refused to take a nap, who had to go to the doctor that day, and who was overwhelmed with all that was going on. He ended up falling asleep at the reception, but who can blame him.

Owen has made some strives to become more mobile. He has been doing what we like to call an injured crab crawl, but it certainly does get him where he wants to go. Owen is surprisingly quick when he gets moving. He has also begun to pull up on anything that he deems to be the correct usable height. We have only had a few spills. Nothing that was not easily recovered from shortly afterwards. He very quickly got good at sitting back down. It is funny though when it is time for bed and he's not quite there or maybe even a little bit too tired and we have to go back into his room only to find him standing in the crib and whining as he stands there. We also did invest in a new coffee table to prevent some injuries. We very soon need to invest in a new TV stand, because as it stands right now, the buttons on the satellite box are very interesting. This is of course despite all of the toys that are at our disposal to play with at all times.

He also has begun to feed himself at times as well. He has gotten really good at drinking out of his cups with straw. He also enjoys some real food at times. Frozen bananas are great, fresh ones are just as good. He has tried zucchini and asparagus. Owen really enjoys cheerios and rice puffs. Those seem to be the easiest to put in his mouth, in his opinion anyway. With how much he eats right now, it really is surprising that he is not a little chunk. I can only imagine how much he will eat once he really starts moving.

We also have ventured to the park for the first time. We only tried the swing. Owen was not too sure about it at first, but then was okay with it. He then wanted to watch other kids while in the swing. We then played ball on the grass next to the playground. We tried the swing again and it was not as successful. It seems that we were worn out. When we got home, there was a great nap that took place. He does wear himself out with all of the playing that he does constantly. It is amazing what he is capable of already.

Let it snow!

Well, it finally snowed in Greenwood. The powers that be actually called school early Friday afternoon, which made for a chaotic Friday especially one that was going to be crazy anyway with all of the Valentine's parties occuring.

It really started coming down. Chris picked Owen up from CeeCee's and we watched it come down. Before we had dinner, we ventured outside.

Owen was not too thrilled with it. He really just did not care about it. I thought for sure he would be more involved in what was going on. He was much more interesting in eating when we came inside. He did watch for a few minutes. It does not help him that the snowsuit that his Gramps bought makes it hard for him to move at all. We tried again on Saturday morning. We decided to get out the wagon that we got for Christmas and take a ride around the neighborhood. Owen still was not too enthused about the snow, but was more interested when we took off his mitten and handed him a snowball. He did get irritated because he did not let it go before it go too cold. It was neat to watch though.

Sickly weekend, but other than that

We have had a rough weekend. Poor Owen has been sick all weekend. We had to visit the doctor today and ended up with a breathing treatment and some antibiotics. He has been a trooper though. I am so impressed by how resilient he is and how willing he is to still play, despite not feeling great. He does, however, prefer to take a nap on Mommy.

We have been working hard other than our sick weekend. Owen is sitting up regularly now. He has only toppled over a few times. I have found that it is important that I not overreact to him falling. He is also getting quite fond of switching toys from hand to hand. The pacy can easily find it's own way back into his mouth without a parent's help now, which is nice.

There has been no crawling yet, but we feel that we are not far. There are also no teeth yet. We have been drooling for the last 3 months which everyone assures us that it means he is teething. He could just be a drooler though.

We are also mischievous at times. I walked out of the room to work on dinner one evening and when I came back to look at Owen, he was playing but had worked his way partially out of his shirt. The humor of it can not fully be appreciated through this picture, but it does show what a funny little guy we have on our hands.

Owen is still eating quite well. We are using the high chair and enjoying it greatly. He really has no problem just sitting there to play while dinner is being cooked, even though we do not want it to become a place associated with playing. It is almost too cute to stop. I am sure that in time the banging will become more annoying, but for the time being we like it.

I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!

Christmas is over and with a blur. We did get a tree a few days after Chris's birthday. It was put up immediately, but it took a few days to get decorated. Owen really liked the lights once they were put on the tree. Once we went to Greenville, Keith was kind enough to allow Owen to see the lights up close.

Christmas eve, we exchanged gifts with my mom's family. Owen got to unwrap some presents. He really enjoyed the wrapping paper, of course.

Santa was very good to us this year. Owen got a lot of good toys and even a few clothes. There was no staying up late on Christmas eve for Owen. However, I managed to stay up entirely too late with my family playing Scrabble making the next morning feel even earlier. I did wait an hour before I woke up the other snoozers upstairs. I received the response, "8 o'clock, are you serious?" It was great when we did go in the living room and Owen was able to begin playing.

It is definitely nice to be able to relax now that things have begun to calm down. Owen is having to get used to not being held 24/7 like he was when we were in Greenville. We are trying out the exersaucer often and introducing new toys constantly. It seems that he is getting closer to sitting on his own like I mentioned yesterday. It is going to take more practice, but I think that he will become much happier.