David & Kim

Fall 2010

2010-11-30T20:05:00.004-06:00

Owen's first State game of 2010 season (Busted his lip at first fan fare experience too, poor guy maybe next year will be better.)

Dressed up for Halloween party at "school." This was right after getting shots at the doctor!

(As you can see an excited toddler and a camera phone don't make the best pictures)

State game #2 vs. Kentucky. Some one had a great time getting lots of attention from the little girls sitting next to us, but I won't name names.

Getting pumped up about heading to Dallas to surprise Mamere for Thanksgiving and her 60th birthday.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T16:10:00.008-05:00

Owen 16 months

2010-08-31T15:45:00.005-05:00

I've been so amazed with how much Owen is learning right now. It seems like we discover something new that he says or does everyday. Just like everyone told me — his mind is a sponge. He'll practically try to repeat anything you tell him, but here are some of the things he says on his own...

Words:
ball, dog, Dada, Mama, Bailey ("Bayee"), banana ("nana"), paci, hot, thank you ("tay-tu"), please ("peas"), milk ("muh"), outside ("side"), inside ("n-side"), uh oh, teeth ("teeh"), bath ("ba"), I see you! ("I seesoo"), yellow ("wehwo"), Elmo ("Melmo" - sometimes he says this for Nemo too), Go Dawgs!, book ("Buu"), see (he says this when he wants to watch TV), bubbles, TV ("deebee"), what's up ("uhsup" when he gives a high-five)

Animal sounds:
dog, bird, cow, cat, lion, pig, sheep, horse, snake, kangaroo (hops), working on the elephant, fish, mouse, monkey

Body parts:
nose, teeth, ear, hair, eye, belly button

I recently learned how to:

Drink from a straw
Use a spoon pretty well on my own
Recognize the color yellow ("wehwo")

Something funny things:

Pointed and told Bailey to sit.
Sometimes I'll squeeze his nose and say "honk, honk" so the other day he pointed at a car and squeezed his nose.
Obviously they're singing the ABC song at "school" because when you get to the "now I know my abc's..." part he start getting excited and flapping his arms and then lets out a big "YEA!" and claps when the song's over.
If you ask for a high five he has to go all around the room giving everyone high-fives — this boy doesn't discriminate!

Having fun outside.

2010-07-20T13:17:00.002-05:00

After discovering how much fun the sprinkler is...

Running away with the pinwheel...

Sweep it up.

2010-07-20T13:13:00.005-05:00

Owen loves to drag around this Swiffer that David adjusted to be perfect for him. It started when we were cleaning the old house getting ready to move.

Finally one day I figured why not put the dusting sheet on it, anything he picked up would be a help — and it was! Then it was kind of gross that our toddler was toting around a stick with dirt and dog hair stuck to it. Owen's going to have to Swiffer more often!

Pooped.

2010-07-20T13:08:00.005-05:00

Apparently Owen had been playing harder than I realized. He walked out with his pillow the other day, plopped it on the floor and laid down. It was too cute!

Another day, after fighting me on his nap he finally gave in. I think I could have laid him anywhere. He barely let me wake him for dinner. And he loves dinner!

Except, I guess dinner was too much for him this night. I think this may have been after a day at the pool. Who could blame him?

First hair cut.

2010-07-20T12:46:00.003-05:00

"Why do I have to wear a cape again?"

"Hey, where'd that cute little girl go?"

"I thought you said to look over there, but she's not over there."

"Hmm... kind of feel like I'm being played."

"That kind of tickles!"

Clean cut and still not sure what happened.

Finally got a smile at the grocery store.

Fun in the car.

2010-07-20T12:43:00.002-05:00

Eating on our own!

2010-07-19T18:17:00.002-05:00

Hard headed.

2010-07-17T20:43:00.002-05:00

" How'd I get this bump on my head?"

"Well I was running real fast like this... and then I tripped and went head first into a speaker. I cried a bit but Mom said I was really tough. Something about a hard head..."

"It may look nasty, but don't worry it's healing well and not stopping me from playing hard!"

Splish splash.

2010-07-17T16:07:00.002-05:00

Under the desk.

2010-07-16T20:42:00.002-05:00

Getting carried away at snack time.

2010-07-16T20:16:00.002-05:00

Helping in the yard.

2010-07-16T20:01:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile...

2010-07-16T19:55:00.003-05:00

... and there's so much to catch up on. Little man's been growing up! We've got a new house, a new daycare and a new schedule in general. In the midst of all this adjusting I've struggled to stay up to date in blog world. So this weekend I'm going to post as much as I can, and it probably won't be very wordy. So for those of you that just skim for pictures you're in luck.

And hopefully I'll also finish my project with this stuff this weekend too. Setting my goals a little high!

Owen 12 months.

2010-04-20T13:43:00.007-05:00

Has taken 3 steps in a row. But typically falls to his knees. Seems to like walking on his knees!

Learned to say "ball" and point to it in a book

Can find and bring you the "birthday book" and the "Baby Elmo" book

Is a pro at backing down off of high places like the couch. Unfortunately he doesn't realize how high our bed is so he still needs a hand even though he gets down the right way.

Still crawls fast with his head down. (Like he's reducing the wind resistance or something??)

Says "bye-bye" everytime we go to an outside door.

Blows kisses with a fist while saying "mwah!"

Recognizes pictures of monkeys and makes the monkey sound when he sees them.

Tries to use a spoon sometimes by holding it with is left hand and then putting the food on it with his right hand. I've only seen it actually make it to his mouth a few times though.

Seems to be leaning left-handed, but sometimes uses his right.

Is getting the hang of riding on his motorized "Lighting McQueen" four wheeler. Most of the time he barely holds the button and just jerks repeatedly.

Was trying to blow his pinwheel today instead of spinning it with his hands.

Sometimes tries to repeat the things we say, and at least gets the syllables right. :)

Got tubes and we're praying it will make a big difference!

Still has 5 teeth.

Thinks his toothbrush is an awesome toy and runs away with it.

Thinks grass is really cool and loves playing in it.

Learned how to clap and does it at the most random times. Often after we've told him no.

Likes Mexican food!

Knows who Bailey is, thinks she's funny, thinks it's his job to feed her and calls her "Day-dee"

Owen's First Birthday!

2010-04-19T21:10:00.000-05:00

Riding, walking and clapping

2010-04-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

The new house.

2010-04-17T14:57:00.005-05:00

Consider this the mini-tour...

Owen 11 months.

2010-03-11T20:02:00.000-06:00

Yesterday our little man stood on his own for the first time! I so wish I had gotten a picture. But in those 5-10 seconds it took me a bit to evenrealize that's what was going on, much less thisnk to grab a camera!

It's just another reminder of how he's growing up. He's about to be one!

He's gotten to be a pro at using a sippy cup. Even drinking water at room temperature! (If you know Owen's favor for hot things this is a big deal.) And he tried milk for the first time this morning. I warmed it just a bit to take the edge off and he didn't seem to really notice that is wasn't his formula. He's eating a good bit of table food now too. But there are still somtiems when he just prefers a little veggie baby food. On his own though he loves to eat: GOLDFISH, Cheerios, cerreal bars, black eyed peas, green beans, butter beans, Boca burgers, chicken, bits of sandwiches, bananas, peas, waffles and sweet potatoes. But he'll try just about anything off your plate too.

He's a super fast crawler and loves for you to get down and crawl and chase him. He'll pull up and cruise along the edge of just about anything, or down a wall and then loves to bang on whatever it is. He's recently realized the cabinets are great for a game of peek-a-boo or Where's Owen?

Exploring outside.

Flying high with Dad.

Trying real spaghetti for the first time.

Making a HUGE mess of course.

Offering to share.

Pushing it.

2010-02-28T19:56:00.001-06:00

Owen's been practicing walking with anything he can push.

Go fetch.

2010-02-18T18:26:00.002-06:00

*If dogs and babies sharing toys grosses you out, you may not want to watch this.
Don't think I'm a bad mom. It was really sweet!

Owen's First Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T21:42:00.002-06:00

Owen 10 months.

2010-02-14T20:59:00.005-06:00

It's been a fun month! We've transitioned to sippy cups and we're working on table food but somwtimes after a bit it's like he gets tired and doesn't want to feed himself anymore. But don't let this little guy fool you - he can pack it away! He LOVES cheerios and goldfish especially.

He's finally learning to play with Bailey - not just smack her - which is so much fun to watch.

He's reaching for everything, especially what he's not necessarily supposed to play with.

"I want to listen!"

He's still a silly kid who loves to laugh and make silly noises. He's been more and more curious about going outside so we're so ready for spring weather!

Between teething and ear infections he's not always sunshine when he first wakes up, but it doesn't take him long to warm up!

Snow Day!

2010-02-12T10:12:00.010-06:00

We still can't believe but we've probably gotten more than 3" of snow! It's crazy and absolutely beautiful!

You never see neighbors making snowman around here. And just to give you some idea of how thick it really is ...

Owen just checked it all out.

He thought Bailey playing in the snow was hilarious though!

But being IN the snow was of course a very different thing. It was too funny, he just lunged for it and after it sunk in he was not a happy camper.

When Owen laid down for his nap Bailey and I got to work ...

The Shirley's in snow!

Still sporting the army crawl.

2010-01-14T20:41:00.002-06:00

But we're pulling up on everything!

Owen 9 months.

2010-01-14T20:13:00.002-06:00

It has been a REALLY cold winter and it's been interesting learning how to bundle up a baby. This was O one morning on our way in to Mother's Morning Out. Too cute!

With all the fun, new pulling up and cruising we're doing these days Mr. Owen's also getting himself into some trouble. The other night David and I had set up our trays in front of the TV for dinner. At some point D and I were both in the kitchen and CRASH. Then came the cry. We ran around the corner to find O next to the fallen tray covered in water. Luckily he pulled on the tray that didn't have the hot plate of spaghetti yet. Instead he got a nice cold shower. As you can see, two seconds later he was fine. Wet, but fine.

On Mondays and Wednesdays I take Owen to work with me for a few minutes before we head downstairs to MMO. Two of the girls I work with have fun playing with him and the other morning they were making silly faces on the glass.

This is Owen and his buddies Brooks and Justus strolling around the church one morning at MMO.

After hundreds of times of tucking our cellphones away from sticky hands we got smart and got out my old cellphone for Owen. It confirmed we did the right thing after watching him promptly chew on it.

One Sunday David had a bad headache and O was still battling a cold/ear infection so we stayed home from church. I was laying on the couch watching a sermon online when little man strolled over to see what I was doing. He couldn't figure out where the man on the computer screen was. He kept looking behind the screen as if he was going to find the other half. It was hilarious! This was my poor attempt to catch him trying to figure it out.

Owen's having so much fun exploring the house these days. From room to room he crawls and pulls up and cruises and reaches and crawls and pulls up... It's fun looking at things through his eyes.

Owen 8 months.

2009-12-29T14:46:00.001-06:00

Boy, oh boy! It's been a busy month! With the holidays, and work and family visiting we've had a lot going on. And Owen's right in the middle of it all.

Owen hanged out with me at work a little again. As you can see he had fun exploring under my desk. And yep, he's pulling up - on everything! It's like a new world opened up for him.

It all started when I went in one morning to find him like this:

And man was he proud! He thought it was hilarious as you can tell. So, down drops the crib some more.

We were SO excited for Uncle Jeff and Aunt Beth to come in town. It was their first time to meet Owen. He didn't know what to think of Jeff at first (I think it was the strange beard). But as you can see he warmed up and quickly put Jeff to work on his favorite bouncing game.

When he's not getting someone to bounce him or throw him in the air he loves to play with these little plastic blocks. I say "play" but I mean "chew" really. He'll crawl all around with one in his hand. He especially loves crawling on the tile so that he hears the "clank" from the block as he moves.

First Christmas!

2009-12-24T22:09:00.007-06:00

It all started at David's work Christmas party... and Owen's first Santa encounter!

Then Owen had his Mother's Morning Out Christmas party. He did such a good job of keeping his little Santa hat on!

Then Santa came for the first time to our house on Christmas Eve afternoon!

Then Santa came again on Christmas morning at Grandpa and Mamere's house. Can you find Owen in all the wrapping paper?

Oh, and did I mention Owen had bronchitis for Christmas? Poor guy! We had to stop and do breathing treatments amidst the holiday fun!

Next, we made a stop at Aunt Cassie's house and got to visit with pretty ladies and play with some cool new toys!

Then Santa found us one last time in Meridian at Ganny and Papaw's house. It was quite an adventure with all those cousins running around!

It really happened.

2009-12-23T21:17:00.002-06:00

Just kidding Steven, we were all very proud. And I was excited I managed to catch the moment in the midst of ALL those people. Congratulations!

Owen 7 months.

2009-11-23T21:27:00.000-06:00

This little guy is really starting to get into stuff. He busting the army crawl all around and grabbing anything he can reach. Case in point:

Poor Bailey, Owen thinks her water bowl is his own little splash pool. For her sake (and the sake of some unknown bacteria) we've decided to move her food bowls to the laundry room. But still, how cute is this smile. He's going to be such trouble!

We've started trying some different foods, including teething biscuits. And by the way, they don't tell you on the box how messy these things are. And so hard to wipe off — so he only gets them before bath time now.

I guess they're doing their job though - we finally have some chompers peeking through! Owen's bottom two teeth have begun to make their appearance. He was in such a foul and fussy mood for a day or so and then boom! It took so much effort to sneak a picture of them though. He will NOT let you look at them. Seriously, you go near his mouth and he locks up. I'm guessing it's because they're still hurting, but it's so funny.

What a monkey! Just hanging out in the tree. (Yes, David was holding him up and the picture was taken at just the right angle.)

Over Thanksgiving we went to Meridian to visit everyone. I captured this cute moment at David's Aunt Cassie's house. I think David was teaching him chopsticks.

Owen also got to check out Papaw and Ganny's horses. It was so fun watching him stare at them. He seemed to have fun sitting on Dreamcatcher and checking out Harley's teeth.

It's so much fun showing this little guy new stuff!

He's on the move.

2009-10-25T20:38:00.004-05:00

Owen 6 months.

2009-10-11T20:43:00.010-05:00

At Owen's 6 month check-up we were excited to get another good report. Little man was weighing in at 18.5 lbs. (70%) and measuring 28" long (95%). I was a little surprised by his height percentile since last trip we were in the 50%. I guess these things can fluctuate, plus I'm pretty sure he just had a little growth spurt.

We've so enjoyed the 6 month stage! More and more of his little personality is showing and it's fun getting to know this little guy. It feels like he's grown up a lot in the past month too.

One of the biggest things was this:

He's sitting up all by himself now!

He's been trying to for awhile. He was great if there was just something there to balance him, but couldn't do it for more than a second on his own. But after lots of practicing it was just like a switch flipped and suddenly he could sit by himself for long periods of time. It's such a handy trick because before this he would automatically go to his stomach to play, and if he had just eaten there was sure to be many big spit-up messes. So the sitting up seems to put less pressure on his tummy and there's a little less mess.

He's becoming more and more of an explorer since his hand coordination is improving. One of his favorite things to feel though is our face. He loves to grab your nose and lips, which can be painful depending on how recently I trimmed his nails.

He's also completely obsessed with Bailey these days, watching her every move when they're in the same room. He's quick to turn in a circle which is handy when she's moving around. Unfortunately, Bailey's still not quite as interested in him. She likes to lick him, but that's about it.

Another new discovering is his ability to pull down his bumper pad. It's his favorite new trick. Most of the time when he wakes up now we find him in his crib like this:

He had his first ear infection recently and David walked in to see a new use for the bumper:

I guess it felt good to his little ears. It was a yucky week that started with a nasty cold and turned into an ear infection. Our lives were all about snot removal. I caught this post- and pre-sneeze shot, couldn't miss the drool bubble!

At the end of the week when he was feeling better, David stayed home with him and then they brought me lunch at work. Dad was having some fun with his hat though - silly guy!

Put that baby to work!

2009-10-01T22:01:00.000-05:00

So the past week has been a little chaotic in the Shirley house. Last Tuesday I had a wreck on my way home from work. A truck pulled out in front of me on Hwy 80. It was raining, my brakes locked up, we hit and I bounced into the median narrowly missing another truck in the median. Thankfully no one was hurt and Owen was not in the car with me this day. Here's what ole' girl looked like:

It just makes me so sad to look at these pictures. I love my car, she's perfect for me. Or she was perfect. I'm starting to think God's trying to teach me not to love my car so much.

Anyways, after all that fun our awesome sitter Lea Anne had some tragedy of her own. A leak in her roof led to water damage, which led to part of her ceiling collapsing, which led to extensive work on a new roof and moving into a different rental house. SO, since last Thursday we've been doing a little juggling act between friends, my mom, Mother's Morning Out, David taking some time off work and me carrying the little man with me to work!

So what do you do with your 5 month old at your office? You put him to work!

Ok, just kidding, but isn't this picture hilarious - he amazed me at how quickly he knew what to do with the mouse. Of course banging on the keyboard was SO MUCH FUN, but it took some manuvering on my end to prevent him from deleting anything. (And please note that since it was Friday Owen was supporting the Bulldogs and wearing his maroon — Dad's orders.)

I'm so blessed to work with an amazingly patient team (who had to put up with some crazy baby babbling), an understanding boss (who didn't mind Owen attending a brainstorming meeting - ha!), and to have a ton of other friends who helped me keep an eye on him. It could have been the most stressful headache but it was almost fun instead.

Happy 6 months O!

2009-10-01T08:18:00.000-05:00

It's been so much fun and we know it's going to be so much more. We love you!

Gameday #2: MSU vs. LSU

2009-09-30T21:04:00.003-05:00

This time we weren't going to let the rain get in the way of Owen's first game.

He was so GREAT! He even took two naps during the game despite getting rained on and all the noisy cowbells. Everyone around us was so amazed!

There were so many things for him to look at. He loved the big screen and then he checked out all the people around us and made some friends.

It was a heartbreaker of a game (we won't go there), and we were exhausted by the end of the day, but we got to see our Dawgs improve and we got to hang out with some great friends.

"Their tops are made out of rubber, their bottoms are made out of spring ..."

2009-09-30T20:42:00.005-05:00

" ... They're bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy,
fun, fun, fun, fun, fun,
The most wonderful thingabout Tiggers is:
I'm the only one!"
- The Tigger song

Can't get enough.

2009-09-24T21:22:00.002-05:00

Baby Bulldog.

2009-09-15T20:51:00.000-05:00

So we packed up and headed off for Labor Day weekend in Starkville and for Owen's first State football game. Needless to say David was very excited — we had him decked out and ready to go!

Unfortunately rain messed up our game plans and I didn't do a good job taking pictures because of it. (I didn't get the family pic I so wanted to take!) We had a great time tailgating, but then just as we got to our seats in the stadium the rain poured so little man and I headed back to the tailgate. I wasn't a pretty sight! (Notice the fog on the lense - it was nasty!)

But he still looked cute in his little hat.

But Owen did great at the tailgate and he loved getting all the attention. From Bryce and Joanna and Allison and Justin.

And getting to check out everything from this handy new vantage point Justin set up for him.

So we'll be heading back in a couple weeks for the LSU game and hopefully this time he'll get to see some of the game! And we're so excited to get to visit with the Oggs and meet Anne Allen!

Hiding in the hamper.

2009-09-14T22:20:00.000-05:00

Owen's first party.

2009-09-13T21:17:00.005-05:00

Happy birthday Andrew! We had a great time at Andrew's 3rd birthday, it was so much fun seeing all the family and riding on the train.

Goofing around with Papaw.

Hanging out with Dad.

Somehow I missed getting a picture of the birthday boy, we were having a lot of fun I guess!

Owen's hollywood debut.

2009-09-13T20:39:00.003-05:00

Ok, so it's not hollywood, but's it's still cute. Owen and some other babies from church were in a little video to help explain to parents what Baby Dedication is at Pinelake. Check it out, it's pretty funny!

Thanks to Steve Parten (our Family Pastor) for giving Owen a voice!

Sweet potatoes.

2009-09-10T21:05:00.000-05:00

Owen loved his first taste of sweet potatoes. In fact, the next night he had more and he fussed in between bites as if I wasn't feeding him fast enough! I think this little one is going to like to eat.

Owen 5 months.

2009-09-01T22:23:00.008-05:00

Our little man is just getting bigger and bigger! He's beginning to scoot around a little. Most of the time it's just in a circle, but if there's a toy he's really interested in he'll eventually get there. He still loves laying on his belly, and he'll kick his legs over and over again. As soon as he can figure out how to get them under him he's going to take off. He's getting grabby. Reaching for toys or things we're holding. Of course then they usually go straight to his mouth for a good chew. He's especially fond of any fabrics he can get his hands on and he still loves to play with and chew on his burp cloths. Such an easy toy!

We're eating cereal at breakfast and dinner now and he loves it. The toughest thing is keeping him from putting his hands in his mouth as he eats — big mess! He's also had his first veggies — sweet potatoes — which he loved and protested that I wasn't feeding him quick enough. We've also switched formulas which has made a huge difference to his tummy. Owen's becoming more and more interested in Bailey. He'll watch her and sometimes reach out for her. She's still a little skiddish of him though sometimes which is cute. But usually she just comes over and gives him a bunch of kisses. He still loves to stand up and really loves his jumper now. He'll bounce until you have to stop him because your arms hurt. He's still not quite sitting up on his own but he's close. His balance is still a little wobbly.

It's fun hearing him work on his speaking skills. He's recently developed this high pitched, kind of sing-songy voice that he uses. Little man's bald spots are finally growing back in, and now it looks like he has a comb-over! But at least it's not quite as patchy as it's been. We may have to even out some spot soon though.

As you can see he's still working that tongue — love this guy!

Getting to know Bailey.

2009-09-01T22:17:00.002-05:00

And what a sweet sister she is!

Welcome Ann Evelyn!

2009-08-13T19:47:00.002-05:00

We were so excited to meet our new niece Ann Evelyn Shirley! She's so adorable! It's hard to believe it was just a little over 4 months ago that our little guy joined the family. Boy does time fly!

Owen and the cereal.

2009-08-11T19:49:00.000-05:00

In goes the first bite...

... and out it comes!

"Well maybe this isn't so bad?"

"Now I'm really getting into this!"

"Mom, you've been holding out on me!"

Small Group buddies.

2009-08-03T21:44:00.005-05:00

About 2 months after Owen was born two other couples in our small group welcomed little boys to their families. This was the first time we had all three of them together and we thought it was a good photo opp. It turned out to be a pretty funny moment. Babies always make things interesting, and the simplest things more difficult.

Meet Vaiden Ware Jackson and Grady Michael Hammer. (That's our Owen in the middle with the MSU onesie — Dad strikes again!)

One baby down. Don't you love how Vaiden looks like he's dreaming about some heavy stuff — too cute! And Owen and Grady have gotten all tangled up at this point.

Two babies out! Poor Grady is having to deal with our little chunk laying on him. I guess that's when he decided to use Owen as a foot rest. Please check out how big Grady's foot is, it's the same size as Owen's — he's going to be one tall little boy!

These guys are going to be a handle and a lot of fun!

Owen 4 months

2009-08-02T21:24:00.004-05:00

Mr. Owen Hayes is just becoming more and more fun to be around. He's got the hang of rolling now, so we have to keep a really close eye on him if we lay him on our bed.

He's found his fingers and can often be found sucking or chewing on two or more of them.

He's still silly and so easy to get a laugh out of. And he's started sleeping 12 hours at night which makes everyone happy! (Now if only we can teach him to sleep in on Saturdays.)

We're so blessed to have this gift!

Enjoying a pretty day.

2009-08-02T21:03:00.006-05:00

July 18, 2009

This is what happens ...

2009-07-25T21:20:00.003-05:00

... when Dad dresses me. Never fails, it's gonna' be maroon and white — all the way to the toes!

But Little Man seems to like it too. Look at those legs go!

Swimming pools and movie stars.

2009-07-25T13:39:00.009-05:00

Ok, so maybe no movie stars — just a fuzzy, brown dog and a patchy-headed, drooling baby, but we still had fun. I bought a little blow-up pool for Owen to play in. It's been SO hot and he's so hot natured it seemed like a good way to let him be outside for a little while.

He wasn't so sure about it at first, and never really got excited about it, but he was definitely very interested in the rubber duck I put in the pool. You would have thought it was the coolest thing ever — he wouldn't take his eyes off of it.

Still staring down the duck...

I can't believe I'm posting this video — it's all for O's sake because I was nasty after mowing the grass. But I just had to share this little experience.

Poor little guy didn't like it when that water soaked through his little trunks. I think it will be a little more fun when he can sit up on his own and splash around. I can understand how having a diaper soaked with cool water and constantly having Mom holding him up may not be the most fun. He warmed up to it though.

And isn't he still so cute in that little swimsuit?!

Checking out the new play mat.

2009-07-25T13:23:00.002-05:00

My parents were given this play mat by their sweet Bible study group. It was supposed to stay at their house to be a special thing for Owen to play with when he visits. But since my mom has been watching him lately she brought it over so he could check it out. Needless to say he loves it!

"Why does that monkey keep staring at me?"

"Hit, hit the mirror. Kick, kick the elephant. Hit, hit. Kick, kick, kick ..."

"Yeah, this thing's pretty cool..."

"Thanks for the new toy!"

Tummy time.

2009-07-15T19:55:00.005-05:00

Owen turned 15 weeks today. He's been getting stronger and is able to hold his head up continuosly for more and more time. And he's finally interacting with the toys on his tummy mat, and drooling on them!

Owen 3 months.

2009-07-15T19:39:00.010-05:00

Our little man has officially graduated from the newborn phase — and boy are mom and dad glad!

He's become so much fun in the past month, it makes all the hard work and sleepless nights seem worth it. He's begun to reach and grab at toys and he likes to play with his burp cloths. We have fun watching him really interact with the objects it seemed like he never noticed until now.

He loves to talk, talk, talk! It's funny because it seems like his crying has been replaced with his "upset" talking. It's rare that he really cries, it's more of a whiny, mad "talk." He's started laughing, but most of the time it comes out as this one loud, crazy cackle. He particularly likes to make this "owh" sound — over and over and over and over...

Don't worry it never lasts long...

He's found his fist and luckily it replaces his paci sometimes when the paci falls out. It's hilarious though when he does it at night and we'll hear this loud smacking noise over the monitor. But it saves us from the trip across the house to stick his pacifier back in.

He's fitting into some 6 month cloths. And would be in a size 2 diaper but we're going to finish out the 1-2's we've already bought. We won't get an official weigh in until August 3 and our scale seems out of whack so I'm not even going to guess at this point.

A little while back Owen rolled over, but it was a bit of a fluke and he hasn't done it again until this past Monday, July 13 (14 1/2 weeks). So now our problem is that he's rolling over while half asleep in his crib and then he doesn't know what to do, and doesn't want to go back to sleep until someone flips him back.

How can you resist that smile?!

His upper body has definitely gotten stronger though. He scoots in his crib at night and wedges himself in the corners. Sometimes he'll just keep trying to scoot and he'll be bumping into the crib bumper and he'll get mad and wake us up. But most of the time it's just that we find him in the corner when we wake up in the morning. He was having trouble with the "45 minute intruder" - waking up 45 minutes into his naps. Sometimes he'd go back to sleep and sometimes he wouldn't.

Owen started truly sleeping through the night July 6 (13 1/2 weeks). When I say truly, I mean 8 - 9 hours straight, from around 9:30 to about 7 when we wake him up in the morning to eat. He had been sleeping 7 hours straight, but that still involved us usually getting up with him in the night so this new skill has been warmly welcomed.

We started giving Owen cereal in his bottle (1 tbsp. per ounce in every other bottle) when he was 13 weeks to help with what we suspected to be acid reflux. He was having some gas troubles, he would act like he was going to spit up but nothing would come up and then he'd "chew" and often he would pull and arch his back during or after eating. Apparently he really liked the cereal because he started to not want to take his bottles without the cereal. So we switched to 1 tsp. per ounce in every bottle. This seemed to level things out, but he still didn't seem interested in some feedings so we're trying switching to a combo 3-4 hour schedule to see if it's that he's just not hungry yet.

He's beginning to show more signs of teething. The drool has gotten heavy and so has the fist and bottle nipple chewing. He hasn't been fussy, but that could still be to come. I'm not sure if this could have something to do with his appetite too.

I'm not sure whether to be...

2009-07-10T13:13:00.002-05:00

... scared or laughing. There's something a little distrubing to me about this, maybe it's because of the fear I have of how weird it would be if Owen were to start walking around right now. A little too "Chucky-esqe" if you will. But at the same time, it makes me smile to see all the happy babies gliding around on their skates. Ha!

How is he sleeping?

2009-06-30T20:41:00.006-05:00

Boy do I feel like that's been the question in my life for the past 3 months! This whole no-sleep, newborn phase has been a doosey, but we've made it through — on to maybe not bigger, but defintely other "problems" I'm sure. Just for my sake I wanted to make some notes from the past few months (while I still kind of remember this stuff) so that if we're blessed with baby #2 (a long, long time from now) I'll have something to compare to. This is not meant to be advice, just a record of what worked best for David and Owen and I. It's a hodge-podge of ideas from books, websites, other moms and the results of trial and error. That's probably the most frustrating, but continuously-proven-true lesson I've learned since this whole trip started about this time last year: There's no right answer, everyone and every situation is different, get a lot of information, and widdle it down to find out what works for you.

Ah, if only that wasn't the most annoyingly true statement for a girl who likes to have a
plan!

Owen's sleep schedule break-down:

First night home from hospital: Terror! David and I were so set that O would not sleep in our room, he would just have to get used to his crib. Boy did we eat those words! Little man could not get settled in his crib, even though he was swaddled and tight in his sleep positioner. We think it was a combination of the house being cold and too quiet. He only slept that night the two portions when David or I were holding him with the Boppy in the recliner.
Night 2: Swaddled and in his swing with the womb sounds he slept soundly between feedings. Yea for fleece SwaddleMe blankets!
Weeks 1-2: Completely sporatic, didn't try to have any schedule at all. Slept and ate whenever he wanted. Was on a fairly steady 3 hour cycle.
Weeks 3-5: Sporatic. Started the eat, waktime, sleep routine which was tough because he still really just wanted to sleep. Didn't like to go to bed until 11 p.m., up every 3- 3 1/2 hours. Somewhere in here Owen started this grunting thing. He'd be comfortable and trying to go to sleep but he'd start grunting. It was enough a couple nights that he and I moved to the guest bedroom so that David could sleep. Tried to set a by the clock schedule with regular morning waketime during the day and was doing pretty good.
Weeks 6-8: Abandoned the by the clock schedule because it seemed like we were going backwards on the night sleep. Starting napping on the belly. Gas was giving him trouble so we started giving him Mylicon drops with every feeding. There was usually 1-2 nights around this time per week that he'd have a fussy night because of gas and he would only really sleep laying on my chest. I worried I was going to spoil him, but we had to get sleep.
9 weeks: Back to by the clock schedule because if nothing else mom took some peace from it — didn't seem to make his night sleep better or worse. Then there was one, glorious random 6 hour night, but most nights it was 4 hours then 3 hours. Noticed that he took best naps in the morning and afternoon, didn't really want to nap in the evenings.
10 weeks: Starting having nightly bedtime routine with last feeding at 9 and usually asleep in the crib, in his room, on his belly by 10. He quickly settled into waking around 1:30 and 4.
11 weeks: Started getting a bottle most nights for last feeding at 9 and was asleep between
9:30 and 10 until 4 - 4:30 — that's 6-7 hours!
12 weeks: I went back to work and was well adjusted to waking up once a night, but then he hit a growth spurt and starting waking up at 1:30 and 4:30 most nights, even though we had started him on a little cereal to help with reflux.
13 weeks: Varied for a couple nights between sleeping 4-7 hours the first stretch after we put him to bed. Then one night a wonderful miracle occured! I kept waking up, but I'd check the monitor and he'd be asleep. The past 5 nights he's been sleeping 8 - 8 1/2 hours!!

All I can say is, Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus!

My baby sleeps with his booty in the air. Love it!

Things I've learned:

Stick to a plan, be consistent even during growth spurts. Realize it could just be a growth
spurt, not that you're starting over. Make notes of when they happen, it will help you
determine if that's what's going on. Owen would suddenly want to eat almost every 2 1/2 hours during the day and 3-4 at night. The books will tell you certain ages they typically occur or I also read they can happen every 3-4 weeks.
Around 2 months start bedtime with routine: Owen's got a standing bedtime of 9 p.m. now. There's no more waiting and hoping that he'll fall asleep by 11 p.m. Mom had a breakdown one day worrying about how she'd ever make it at work with such little sleep. So David and I made a plan and have stuck to it and it's made the difference for sure! He eats at 9. At last feeding be quiet, no playing, lights dim, for us both fans and his waves sounds are on. Usually he starts getting sleepy while eating so we break to burp and then for a diaper change and pj's, then we finish feeding and usually he starts to doze when I burp him. I try to lay him down before he's completely out though. A lot of people recommend a bath as a part of bedtime routine but this wakes up Owen so we try to do his bath closer to 8 so he has time to settle down.
Early on don't feel like you have to always burp and change diaper in middle of the night. Especially if this really wakes them up and it doesn't look like they've pooped. It may mean you have to have to change a sheet in the morning, but that's what Ultimate Crib sheets are for, and sleep is precious.
You adjust to getting no sleep and CAN function. You may not always be nice, but you can get things done. :)
Swaddle blankets and swings are awesome. As is anything else you have to do/use those first few weeks to get some sleep. Hormones are mean enough to moms, you'll quickly become a real b***h or nut case if you don't rest.
Naps are VERY important. There is actually a chemical that is released from babies brains when they don't get enough sleep that stimulates them and only makes it harder for them to settle down. Pay attention to their "sleep cues" (ex: suddenly getting fussy when playing, yawn, droopy eyes, rubbing eyes, etc.) and put them down for their nap then. With Owen, when I noticed his eyes close slowly or this certain fuss, I would pick him up take him to his dark room with the fans and waves going, give him his paci, hold him and pat his back for a minute (literally) and lay him down.
Don't feel bad about doing what works for your baby. This is something I'm still learning and I'm sure will be a constant lesson as it will apply to many things. But in regards to sleep for Owen he needed a paci and to sleep on his tummy. Both "no-no's" according to the "experts." The paci works like a drug with him and I figure it might be a pain to get rid of later, but it works now. He already has less interest and needs it less than he used to. The tummy thing took me awhile to be okay with. We started with naps and then switched to sleep.
For some reason the toughest night feeding to me was the one just before sunrise. I could
barely keep my eyes open, and if I brought Owen to bed with me I almost always woke up a couple hours later with him asleep on my chest. This didn't seem safe so I started taking him back to the nursery or office to feed him. Just that little walk helped me to be awake enough. I've spent many nights blogging, playing on Facebook and surfing the web for tips on how to get my baby to sleep more. Ironic, I know.
Don't rush it - it will happen! I had this goal and I was SO panicked that he would not be
sleeping through the night before I went back to work that I made things more complicated. I was CONSTANTLY trying to solve the "problem" when there really wasn't a problem. He just wasn't quite ready. I just needed to continue trying to help teach him how to put himself to sleep and to be comfortable and he would get there.

I know that we're going to hit times where he's waking up again. But if nothing else the past week has been very nice.

And there's nothing sweeter than seeing this sweet face laying on your shoulder. I know these are the moments I'll miss when he grows up!

Having fun in the Bumbo.

2009-06-30T20:31:00.005-05:00

Just as Owen hit 12 weeks he got a gift in the mail from his Uncle Jeff and Aunt Beth, and he's been having fun learning how to sit up like a big boy in his Bumbo seat. It's so funny watching him, most of the time he just looks like a blob of baby rolls. But it's neat when you can tell he's seeing things from a different angle. Like this one, where he's intensely studying the ceiling fan (yes, we've gone back to an obsession with ceiling fans).

Look at those neck rolls! Then it looks like he's trying it "rodeo style" here.

Then David was making silly faces and he was trying to figure out what Dad was doing.

Different day, but still staring and laughing at Dad.

Now we're full-on, bucking bronco style. He tends to arch his back and throw his weight pulling himself up and almost out. Which means we have to watch closely so he doesn't pop himself out when he's ready to get up.

He's doing really well with holding his head up and the Bumbo will just continue to help him get stronger. Before I know it he's going to be sitting up on his own!

Motormouth

2009-06-28T20:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a little clip of Owen talking. He's become a real motormouth these days, this video doesn't show him at full speed. Once he gets going he doesn't stop for awhile. I think we're in for it when he starts learning words. But it's still really cute now. He seems so serious too when he makes certain sounds.

Back to work!

2009-06-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

I headed back to work June 24 and Owen headed off to Angie's house for a day of fun with her boys. I tried to snap a picture of us before we headed out the door. It felt like the first day of school or something so I felt the need to document it. And our little man hit 12 weeks this day too!

I love this one — he's like "mom — what the heck are you trying to do?!"

Needless to say it took a couple shots to get a good one.

After settling Owen with Angie I headed to work only to find this when I walked in the door!

And there were little cut-out footprints leading ALL the way to my desk — where I found this!

And these, mmm... (they continue to feed my bagel addiction!)

Needless to say I work with some AWESOME folks! It made my morning so great to feel so loved and it was good to know I was still needed. :)

First trip to Wal-Mart

2009-06-22T20:10:00.000-05:00

Poor little guy ended up a little overwhelmed by all the groceries! I intended this to be a quick trip, and ended up getting a little more. Our car seat doesn't sit super well on the child seat and it's too high for me to see over so I feel better putting him down in the basket when I'm in a crowded place. In turn, Owen was practically carrying the bread for me. He was a trooper though, slept most of the time we were there.

And I love that we look super healthy from this shot with all our wheat bread, baked chips, grapes and salad. Don't be too fooled though, there was a layer of Poptarts (albeit low-fat) underneath all that goodness.

Enjoying the bouncer, finally

2009-06-19T10:17:00.008-05:00

We got this cute bouncer seat for Owen but everytime we tried to put him in it up until now it hasn't lasted long. I was beginning to think it was a waste of money. He was too little for it at first, his little head would flop to the side and we had to put rolled up blankets on either side of him. But now he fits it a little better and mom figured out a fun trick. I hung this cute giraffe that he got from his cousins Andrew and Forrest on the toy bar and then pushed the toy bar down. Now it's long enough that he can kick at it. He finds this very interesting because he can hear the noises. And Lord knows this boy LOVES to kick, and kick and kick. He'll get you in the ribs, watch out!

As you can see he likes to work his arms too. And he thinks he's funny — it's too cute!

I've been trying so hard to catch him "talking" lately. He added some new noises and when he gets on a roll he just goes and goes. Usually it's right after he eats which is always a bad time for me with the camera. But here's a sample of one noise and you can kind of see and hear him kicking at the giraffe. As you'll hear me say he was starting to get sleepy so he wasn't exactly cheery anymore.

The one with the shots.

2009-06-18T18:15:00.003-05:00

Owen was a little past-due for his 2 month check-up b/c the doc was on vacation so he was actually already 10 weeks when we went in. Dr. Craig was so happy with the way he was growing and developing. Owen weighed in at 13 lb. 12 oz. and measured 24 in. That put him in the 80th percentile for weight and 75th for height. Big boy!

But then it was shot time. Poor little guy, I had prepared myself for the big moment, knowing it was going to be quick and that it was good for him. But nobody likes to see their little one hurt! I was so proud of him though he really only cried hard for a moment and calmed down quickly. I'm probably a horrible mom for taking this picture, but he had calmed down and was more upset at me getting him dressed by this point. (I thought I had picked a good outfit, but I was very wrong!) But you can see his two Snoopy bandaids on each thigh where the damage was done.

Re-organizing the kitchen

2009-06-18T09:40:00.004-05:00

So David had been bothering me to re-organize the kitchen. We needed to clean out the cabinets and wanted to make more space for the new baby items. I finally decided to tackle it one afternoon and basically destroyed the kitchen in the process. Here's what it looked like half way through:

I did find some interesting items I thought I'd share...

Some croutons that expired in 2006. Seriously, why are we hanging on to croutons that are 3 years old?

Half a bottle of Karo dark corn syrup. I'm guessing this was during pecan pie season and I felt the need to not throw the rest away even though I knew it would be a year before I'd use it again.

An opened box of Jiffy Apple Cinnamon muffin mix. I actually remember the story behind this one. I accidentally bought this when I was stocking up on cornbread mix. Went to make it one night and thought it smelled weird. So I packaged it back up with good intentions. And here it sits probably at least a year or two later.

Two opened containers of Bread crumbs. Really? You would think I breaded things often, but I so don't!

By the end of it I filled a big garbage bag full of this stuff. I HATED that this much food had gone to waste. Now, there were some old tupperwares, etc. in there too, but the bulk was food. So my goal now is to stop being so wasteful — we'll see how it goes!

The big 2-6!

2009-06-18T09:37:00.006-05:00

This past Sunday I turned 26 — still hanging on to those mid-20s!
The week started with this fun cake that Linda Green, one of the volunteers at Pinelake, made for me. So cute and super yummy!

David and I have both gotten to the place where we don't like a big fuss about our birthdays, and this year it was just about spending time with my new family. So I drug the boys around shopping with me. They were troopers (Owen slept mostly, big shock!), David even did some modeling while we were at Target.

Then they treated me to an awesome dinner at Sal and Mookies, one of my very favorite places to eat. After a big burger, sweet potato fries and a HUGE chocolate waffle cone this girl was so happy! And I had a blast hanging out with my men celebrating my b-day. Aren't they sweet?

And how could I forget? My Boo got me an iPhone. Yea! I've had his iPod Touch and loved it, but it's so convenient to have my phone and texting with it too. And I've got all these fun mom aps, it's great!

VBS at Pinelake rocks!

2009-06-12T09:17:00.000-05:00

VBS at Pinelake rocks!

Run Dad, run! Fun at the ballpark.

2009-06-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

Run Dad, run! Fun at the ballpark.

Worn out.

2009-06-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

I came home the other day and found Owen like this:

David said Stansbury worked him too hard at practice.

With chubby rolls like this...

2009-06-03T16:00:00.001-05:00

... how can you resist?! Our little man is packing on the pounds, I can't wait to get the official weight next week. We're guessing he's in the 13 lb. ballpark, but it's such a guess. It's been so hot that sometimes I'll let Owen chill with just a diaper on. He's so fun to snuggle with, all that super soft baby skin. Plus he gets to show off the "man gut" he's working on. Ha!

And he's such a happy baby too! LOVE it!

New additions to the small group.

2009-06-03T12:44:00.005-05:00

I'm late posting about this, but Memorial Day weekend we had a little baby shower for two of the couples in our small group who are expecting this month. Charlie and Christina Jackson are welcoming Vaiden Ware to their family on June 10 and Josh and Julie Hammer are welcoming Grady Michael sometime before June 20 (today if Julie has her way!).

These are a couple pic's of the decorations, but then I was horrible and forgot to get a good group shot once the party got started. We had fun as always cooking out with the group and then also having the chance to give them some of the last few things they needed for the little one's arrival.

I feel like I have to explain part of the decorations. I wanted to make diaper cakes for both girls, but then when we thought it was going to be a backyard cookout I decided to make diaper "trees" which ended up becoming burp cloth trees because I have learned you can never have enough of them! (Seriously I feel like we go through 10 a day, ugh!) So I bought some plain cloth diapers, sewed the green ribbon on them and pinned them to a foam core. That's what's sitting on top of the mantle (there's a close up below). It's totally random, but I thought they turned out pretty cute so I thought I'd share the idea. If you're like me your world is full of new babies right now!

Arms up!

2009-06-02T19:10:00.002-05:00

Too bad I can't remember what prompted this. So serious!

But I know it was quickly followed by this. Too funny!

Sleepy time.

2009-06-02T18:41:00.003-05:00

During the day Owen takes most of his naps in his crib, but we've found he sleeps best laying on his tummy. Yes, I know we're breaking "the rule," and I haven't had the guts to do it through the night yet, but he gets such good sleep this way. Plus, how adorable is that little booty sticking up in the air?
At night Owen still sleeps in our room in his swing. This swing was a lifesaver (or at least a sleep-saver) for those first few nights at home. It's totally not what David and I had planned, but it works and we all get more sleep this way.

The little guy is still a bit too little for the wide swing, hence the bunches of rolled up blankets surrounding him so that his head won't flop down in the night. Owen loves to fall asleep to the wave sounds on his swing. Provided it's no earlier than 11 p.m. Yes, it appears we have a night owl on our hands. Hopefully that will change as he grows.

Yum!

2009-06-01T19:35:00.001-05:00

There was a time in high school when everyday for lunch I had a Choco Taco and a Dr. Pepper.

Nutritious, I know.

I didn't even think they still made these. So I was SO excited to find one at Wal-Mart.

I haven't eaten it yet though. It's almost like I'm saving it for a special occasion.

I think Tuesday night might be a special occasion.

Look who was awake for his walk!

2009-05-28T19:40:00.000-05:00

Look who was awake for his walk!

I just couldn't pass this one up...

2009-05-24T15:14:00.003-05:00

*Be warned this post may be gross to some of you!

Talk about different! So there's this new product called a GoGirl that is a "female urination device" according to their website.

A what?! I know, that's what I thought. I was kind of grossed out and curious at the same time.

Basically, you use it to pee standing up. Yes - girls standing to go to the bathroom. Here's how it works.

As strange as I think it is that someone has developed and is now promoting this device, I can think of some times in the past that it would have come in handy.

All women know how "popping a squat" takes talent, and is always a last resort. This would at least make that easier.

But I still don't think you'll see one in my glovebox anytime soon like they suggest. Back in my partying-in-the-middle-of-nowhere days though I probably would have invested in one.

Owen 7 weeks.

2009-05-22T12:00:00.001-05:00

Just relaxing in the tub. We have to watch him, he typically keeps his arms like this during his bath and is notorious for bumping the handle on the faucet. So then when I'm using the sprayer he either turns the water off or makes it hotter.

Owen seems to always enjoy his baths. And he likes the post-bath lotion rub down too. What a happy baby — so precious!

They weeble and they wobble and sometimes he falls down.

2009-05-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

This is a little old, but I've been meaning to post a video of Owen working on holding his head up. As always please pay attention to Owen, not David and I.

Guess who's ...

2009-05-21T17:21:00.002-05:00

Smiling now!

And holding his own bottle!

Just kidding, this was a total fluke, but still adorable.

Reclaiming the belly.

2009-05-21T15:11:00.009-05:00

So my new mission is to get my belly back in shape. Not that I ever had six-pack abs or anything, in fact I, like most women, spend a lot of time sucking in my gut. BUT, this new jiggly, flabby, "dough" (as David named it) that's leftover from Owen's creation is just not kicking it. I'm paranoid someone will still think I'm pregnant, because try as I may I can't suck it in.

I considered a dance class, but the scheduling wouldn't work when I go back to work. I thought about joining a women's gym, but let's get real people, if you know me you've probably also never heard me say, "I'm going to the gym." Total waste of money.

Owen and I have been taking walks in the neighborhood and at the track at the nearby hospital. Breastfeeding is totally doing it's job too at helping me lose some pounds. And that's great, but I need to target these abs, and hips, and arms, and ... you get the picture.

So, in what I thought was a brilliant move, I TiVoed some aerobic thing on Fit TV. It seemed perfect. I got a good cardio workout and it targeted the areas I wanted to work on, and I didn't have to pay anything.

Or so I thought...

My thighs paid the next day. Oh boy did they pay! Sitting down was torture. As soon as I'd reach a certain angle it was like my legs totally gave out. And a sudden jolt is not good when you have a baby in your arms who you're trying to put to sleep.

So here I am, day 2 post workout and the top of my thighs are still so sore. I feel like I'm pregnant again, trying to find any possible reason to not have to bend over or get up and down. Which stinks because I had planned on doing the workout again today or at least going for a walk. But I think I'm going to stick to stretching out my thighs and working my arms while using Owen as a weight. (Another free workout tool!)

Looks like it may be awhile.

Maybe I'll just go ahead and buy one of these. Or start wearing my spanks all the time.

Shorty got low, low, low, low...

2009-05-12T11:46:00.003-05:00

Just couldn't resist sharing this one — hope you haven't already seen it — ha!

This kid's got some moves, his poor sister needs to learn something other than hopping around if she's going to continue to be in his videos. :) I just wonder where he learned all this choreography!

Great way to start Mother's Day

2009-05-10T09:43:00.001-05:00

Owen surprised me with my first Mother's Day card. It was adorable! And it turned out to be a great day. We went to church together for the first time and then out to lunch. Owen was wonderful and David worked to make the day special. I love my men!

Happy Mothers Day!

2009-05-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

And special happy wishes to all my fellow new moms!

Just monkeying around.

2009-05-09T10:00:00.002-05:00

*I'm putting this disclaimer now for any and all future baby videos — sorry for my voice and the baby talk, it's horrible, feel free to turn the volume down!

Family time.

2009-05-08T17:02:00.001-05:00

We went to visit David's parents this past Saturday and they were sweet to take some quick family pictures of us.

As you can tell Ganny did a great job rocking Owen and he slept through the whole thing.

Making friends on our walk.

2009-05-08T11:53:00.001-05:00

Learning to play.

2009-05-06T16:38:00.000-05:00

Oh! Those look like fun...

Maybe if I wiggle my arms enough I'll hit one.

It's Cinco de Mayo.

2009-05-05T15:22:00.005-05:00

And I really want one of these...

I'd settle for one of these...

But instead I'll probably have this...

(maybe I'll get fancy and put it in a margarita glass with a lime wedge — watch out!)

Because I'm not comfortable with Owen having alcohol yet, and I'm sure I'd mess up the pump and dump concept. (Sorry, that may be too much info for some of you.)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

The best place to nap.

2009-05-05T15:03:00.000-05:00

Just like Dad.

2009-05-01T17:11:00.001-05:00

Everyone says Owen looks just like his dad — what do you think?

4 weeks

2009-05-01T14:56:00.009-05:00

It's hard to believe our little man is already a month old! He's growing quickly. In fact he's outgrown all his newborn clothes and had moved up to a size one diaper. We guess he's close to 10 pounds now, but we don't have a real way to measure other than the oh-so-scientific hold him and step on the scale ourselves.

He's doing really well sleeping at night, stretching his feedings to 4 hours apart from his normal 3. Which mom loves and appreciates! He's still sleeping in his swing at nights, but we've been working on him taking his naps in his crib during the day. He still doesn't love it there unless he has his paci, which he spits out often, but we're working on it.

You can tell he's able to see more now. He's mesmerized by all the ceiling fans and lights in the house. And he'll track you or whatever you're holding with his eyes now when you move in front of him. He's also doing a great job lifting his head on his own. David and I will hold him tummy down on our chests and he'll lift and hold his head up for a good while now. He tries to turn side-to-side some but it's more of a crazy bobble.

David gave him his first bottle last Sunday and he did great. He's had two more since then and taken the whole bottle both times — our boy loves to eat! This has been great since it gives me a little freedom to get out of the house.

Owen and I have started taking walks in the neighborhood — which he loves (or at least sleeps well through). We're taking him on his first "big" car trip to Meridian tomorrow to visit Ganny and Papaw for the day. And we plan on taking him to church for the first time this Sunday. It's so fun to start taking him out of the house more!

Favorite part of the day

2009-04-26T09:25:00.005-05:00

I love getting home from work and getting to hold Owen. Usually he just waits for me to get comfortable in my recliner and he falls asleep. Still it is my favorite part of the day.

2 Weeks

2009-04-23T18:42:00.006-05:00

Our sweet little man had a great 2 week check-up. He weighed in at 8 lb. 10 oz. and measured 21 inches. In the 75% on both. It made mom feel good to know he's well fed and growing so much!

While Owen doesn't do very much yet other than sleep, eat and poop, he's very alert when he's awake. Especially when he has one of his many cases of the hiccups.

Some photos from week 2...

Owen Hayes is always sticking out his tongue! Apparently I did the same thing as a baby so I guess I have to claim that one.

Because of the two cowlicks at the top of his forehead the faux-hawk has become Owen's hair style of choice. Whenever we try to comb it down it spikes up weird, at least this way it looks "styled." The spikes on the side are au-natural though.

Little man loves to be wrapped up. And even though I've cut his nails once already he is always scratching his face — hence the mitten cuff onesie. This was my attempt to coordinate his little outfit. I think it ended up looking more like a monogrammed, polka dot cocoon though.

The first "bath"

2009-04-10T18:32:00.008-05:00

So this being our first-born and all David and I felt like we were guessing a little at how to "bathe" Owen for the first time. Luckily David's parents were there to supervise and make sure we didn't do anything too crazy.

He was the sweetest, didn't fuss at all, even after we started his wipe down and he was probably cold.

And he seemed to enjoy having two women rub him down with lotion.

He smelled so yummy afterwards we just wanted to cuddle him. But it was time to head back to the hospital for his two-day check-up. Where we got the great news that he had already gained back 3 oz.! They said his color was good so there was no concern for jaundice and they realized they had left his cord clamp on and removed it. Which made diaper changing a little easier. It was great to get such a good report!

Going home.

2009-04-10T18:03:00.005-05:00

David had a vision of his son coming home from the hospital decked out in State gear. (I know that comes as such a big surprise.) We quickly figured out it was hard to find cute newborn outfits. But he finally found this onesie and was happy with it.

Of course, as you can see, it was still too big for our little man. But he was still adorable!

Owen slept through his first car ride, of course.

When we got home we were so excited to see all the signs announcing our little man's arrival. (Thanks Mom and Emily!)

Then it was time to meet Bailey. David and I had been anxiously awaiting this moment. She was so, so sweet of course. Just gave him a good sniff and a little lick. :)

Then we all began to settle in at home. It was so nice to be home!

A Baby Story.

2009-04-09T16:39:00.015-05:00

I thought I'd start at the beginning and attempt to tell the story of Owen's arrival...

We arrived at River Oaks at 5:30 a.m. (Okay it was 5:40 a.m. — did you really think we'd be on time?)

After getting in our room and settled they hooked me up to the Pitocin and on came the contractions. I had been having mild contractions for the past week and we found out they already had me dilated to 4 cm.

At about 8:30 a.m. Dr. Sullivan-Ford came in to break my water and the contractions increased and grew stronger right on cue. Even though the contractions were very bearable, I didn't hesitate to ask for my epidural since I was progressing quickly.

The epidural was virtually painless to have put in. By about noon I had reached 8-9 cm and we began pushing around 12:30.

Our sweet baby boy arrived at 1:59 p.m. on April 1, 2009.

He gave us quite a scare though. Just as he was crowning his heart rate dropped. We had already figured out he had a hand up by his head, but we quickly learned he also had the cord wrapped around his neck.

The nurses wisked him to the warmer and started trying to stimulate him but we weren't hearing anything. It took David and I a minute to realize what was going on. About that time I looked up and saw David with his eyes closed praying and tears on his cheeks. Everyone in the room kept saying, "He's fine — sometimes they're just a little stunned." But it was almost more scary to hear that than comforting.

David told me later that he saw two of the nurses exchange a worried look that scared him to death. Just as I felt sick when I saw them lift Owen's arm up and it fell down looking lifeless, with no reflex.

They started telling us that he was pinking up. And that we'd be able to hear him if they didn't have the oxygen mask on him. But I couldn't see or hear that so it wasn't very comforting.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was probably only two minutes, we heard one little cry.

It was the sweetest thing we've ever heard.

David got to get closer and check out our little man.

And then Dr. Sullivan-Ford prayed over Owen. What a blessing she was!

And then I got to hold the little guy.

He was so laid back the rest of the day. He wouldn't really cry. They gave him his shots and got nothing. It wasn't until the first bath that he cried some. The nursery was sweet and called our room to let us know that he was finally crying.

We were so overwhelmed by how caring and supportive all of the nurses and doctors were throughout the labor and delivery. We were so happy with our experience, and so excited to finally get to hold our little man!

We're in love.

2009-04-05T16:09:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday!

2009-04-03T08:34:00.004-05:00

April 1, 2009 :: 1:59 p.m.

7 lbs. 12 oz. :: 20 1/2 in.

Owen's Birthday Eve.

2009-03-31T19:15:00.004-05:00

I'm sitting here with with wet hair trying to get myself ready to go to bed early (so that we'll make that 5:30 a.m. appointment!), and trying to wrap my mind around the fact I'll be a mom in 24 hours.

Amazing.

That sums up all of it really.

The past 9 months (and more) have been amazing.

I could have done without the morning (or all-day) sickness, the swollen feet and knees, the growing rear end and the frequent mid-night potty breaks, but overall I have so little to complain about and so much to be thankful for.

It's so surreal to think that this pregnancy is coming to an end. I've gotten used to it. But boy will I be glad to (albeit slowly) get my body back.

I'll be even more excited to hold this little guy in my arms. And I can't wait for David to be able to share in that. Sometimes I feel like I'm hogging Owen. :) I love that he's about to get to hold his son.

I'm completely blown away by how God works in all this. And I can't wait to see how He continues to teach me about Himself through being a mother.

We've been overwhelmed by all the love and support and generosity of our friends and family. It's been a true testament to how awesome and caring the people are that God has surrounded us with. I only hope that we can return the favor one day.

Can't wait for you all to meet him!

Not-so-little, Little man

2009-03-28T18:54:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we found out that our little man isn't as little as we thought. He's already measuring in at 8 pounds! And I'm only 38 weeks. In fact, his head was so low the ultrasound tech had trouble getting a great reading and that makes doc wonder if he's even bigger.

So doc looked at David, looked at me and then looked back at him and let him know it was his fault. :) Then she gave us the news, "Well it looks like we're having a baby next week!"

Even though we both kind of thought it was coming after the ultrasound tech told us his weight, I think we were still in shock a little.

We spent the next ten minutes essentially picking our son's birthday. Let me tell you how weird that was.

And after calls to the grandparents to make sure everyone was available we decided on next Wednesday. Yep, April Fools Day.

How appropriate. :)

So, while there's still a chance he could be here before that (I'm already at 3 cm), we'll be parents by April 1!

Having a "deadline" has made everything feel so different. We're appreciating this weekend in a whole new way.

We're SO excited though!! We just can't wait to meet this little guy! He really put a show on for us on Friday too. He was making these cute sucking motions with his mouth and holding on to one of his feet in the ultrasound. It made him seem so real, like the precious little blessing we know he's going to be.

So keep us in your prayers please! We'll be headed into the hospital bright and early Wednesday morning. (Yea, try 5:30 a.m. on for size. Yuck!) And we pray not too much later we'll have a healthy baby boy in our arms!

Really?

2009-03-27T19:00:00.000-05:00

This post will make you wonder what we're doing wrong now. Check out what the 1971 "You and Your Baby" published by the British Medical Association recommended for women.

The Guiness is just too much. :)