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.

Catching up to here and now, oops it has been a while!

It has been a while, yes. I refuse to let Chris be right about whether or not I can keep up with a blog. There are a few others who questioned it as well. Surprise, surprise. I understand, but I will do my best to make all of you wrong, as you well know.

We have been terribly busy the end of this year. I think that all of us have been living in a blur for a few weeks. Things are going well, just busy with the hustle and bustle of this time of year.

We had a great Thanksgiving at both the Lloyds' and the Carrolls' houses. Owen was exhausted at the end of the day and quickly passed out on the ride back to Greenwood.

Owen has made some new discoveries since the last entry I wrote. He is now rolling over both directions and has been for a little while now. He is also able to grab things with one hand and transfer it back and forth. It seems that he is on his way to sitting on his own. It is quite humorous to watch him work.

Another new addition to Owen's world is the introduction of solids on a more regular basis. Owen has been eating various baby foods for the last month or so. We started with vegetables and moved into fruit. I swear, the kid will eat anything put in front of him.

It has been quite fun bundling him up since the weather has cooled off. I have to post some of these pictures, just because...

We have also begun to let the dogs have run of the house some what again rather than banishing them to the back room while Owen is out and about. It has been fun watching the interaction between the dogs and Owen. They are great with each other. It is truly the time that you are guaranteed a belly laugh from Owen. He thinks that the dogs are hilarious. Apparently, Fenway thinks that Owen just tastes good, based on all of the licking that is done. Colby is equally as good, but really does not care most of the time what he is doing. She just cares if there is a blanket on the floor that he is laying on so that she can share it. This is even the case when we go to both grandparents' houses. All animals are intrigued, kind, but protective of this new "creature" that they are not sure about where it came from, just that they like it.

Just before Christmas, we had two visitors that we were very excited about even if it was just for a few hours. Jill and Haley were in Columbia for Christmas so they made the trek up to Greenwood for a little while. We played and did lunch. It was neat to watch the two of them studying what the other was doing. It was great to see them. It is amazing what a difference 6 months can make.

I will have to update Christmas details in another post, since it is late and I should know better than to stay up this late when Owen is asleep. We hope that everyone is doing well and getting some much needed rest and quality time with those you love.

First Clemson Tailgate

Owen went to his first Clemson tailgate on Halloween. It was supposed to rain and then they changed the forecast. Surprise, surprise the forecast returned to rain for a home game. And rain it did. Thank god we had tents to hide under. The Moore's also brought their baby. We had some cute halloween babies. The costumes did not last very long, since I got humid and the were hot.

Owen did really well. He played hard and tuckered out hard.

It is quite cute, if I do say so myself. I know, I know I always said that I would not be that parent that lugged their child to a game. He really seemed to do well and it was great spending the day with him and friends. I doubt that he will make it into a game for quite some time.

Almost 4 months old

Owen has been really fun lately. He is rolling over from his stomach to his back regularly. He also has begun grabbing toys to play with.

He is on more of a schedule and we have much less crying. He is not sleeping through the night yet, but we are trying. Each night we pump him full of food. Two weekends ago we began introducing rice cereal into his night time feeding. He eats like a horse and still wakes up between 2 and 3 each night to eat again. It's okay, but it sure would be wonderful to get a full nights sleep.

He is still exploring with his hands and regularly sucks his thumb and his fist. It is awesome to watch him working.

We are at a point when bath time is a blast. It typically makes a gigantic mess all over the kitchen. Who ever bathms his ends up pretty wet as well. It really is one of our favorite things to do though.

He still loves to be outside. We got a new carrier for him that allows him to face away from us and he really enjoys it. It is a new sensation for him to have more mobility and face the world that way. He also does really well sitting in his Bumbo and leaning up in a chair. It is amazing how strong a little body can be.