Sunday, August 31, 2008

Favorite fingers

Owen has finally found his favorite two fingers: his left pointer and middle finger... both at the same time. He has tried other combinations: right pointer finger, right pinkie and ring, left pointer, middle and ring... once he tried all four. But I think he has finally found the perfect combo. Here he is discussing his new finding with his "friends" on the swing.

Here is a little video of him and his fingers... if you listen real close you can hear the sucking. His fingers are also the only thing that will keep him on his stomach. Usually after about 7 minutes he is DONE with "tummy time" But with his fingers, he's going on 15 minutes right now!

Friday, August 29, 2008

3 month birthday

Owen is three months old today! It's flying by so fast... as mom says, "he's a quarter of the way to being one". To "celebrate" his (and our) accomplishment, we went to the Oregon State Fair with Tony, Deb and Tony's mom. We had a good time. The best part was looking at all of the animals. It didn't even stink too much in the barns. We saw cows, goats, a ewe, more goats, some pigs, a few horses and more goats. Owen slept when we were looking at all the vending booths (boring) but actually stayed awake while looking at all the animals. Maybe, just maybe, he's starting to appreciate some of the places we take him!

Here is Lucas and Owen "mooing" with the cows. (a cow produces 70 pounds of milk a day)

Deb and Owen with a mommy pig
Lucas and Owen with a most definite boy pig... the picture just cuts off the proof.
Deb and Owen again, this time with a ewe and her lamb.
After looking at all the animals, Owen fell asleep. It sure is hard being so alert for so long!
He talked and talked most of the car ride home... I think he said his favorite part was the "ShamWow" info-mercial demonstration... and I thought he was sleeping!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Professional


We went to JC Penney's this morning and got some professional photos for Owen's big three month birthday! (alright, he's not quite three months, but close enough) He didn't smile for any of them, but gave quite cute "pensive" looks. Of course, when they were done taking his pictures, he was all smiles. I get to pick them up on the 10th... so I'll be mailing off some soon after that. Keep your eyes on your mailboxes!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Another First

Tonight during bath time, Owen did an "Old Faithful". He peed in the bathtub, and made a nice geyser. But then the dilemma, to continue the bath, or cut the bath short. We figured since urine is sterile, we would continue... but use a clean washcloth for his face. Dilemma solved.

I plumb therefore I am

Our kitchen sink broke. It worked, and then 10 seconds later, it was spraying water faster than you can even imagine. Luckily, Lucas and I were smart enough to turn off the water from under the sink... but that's about as much kitchen sink plumbing we knew. (I have fixed two toilets in the past... once by using my "how to fix everything" book, and once by just looking and knowing how to fix the broken handle... but kitchen sinks were new to me.)

I tried the "if I just unscrew this one screw, maybe I can tell what broke". This failed me. So, we invited our friend Dave over. Dave is the handyman/electric engineer/all around good guy in our life. He came over last night with his tools, rag and plumber grease. (notice in the picture the tube-o-goo). He found the broken piece: the black and white tube thingy on the right of the picture.

We first went to Fred Myers (the one stop shopping store) but they did not have the piece.

We then went to Lowe's... they were rude, and did not have the piece. By this point, it was after nine, and everything was closed. So Dave told me what I needed to do, and I set off on my plumbing adventure this morning.

First we went to Home Depot... they were nice, but didn't have the piece.

Then to George Morlan (the water heater king). It took them a while, but finally found the replacement for the broken piece. Twenty buck later, I was on my way home. (while 20 buck seems like a lot of money for a tiny piece of plastic, it's still cheaper than a whole new faucet, and I knew how to fix my sink with this piece, I still do not know how to replace an entire faucet.)
On the left is the part that broke away from the white round piece.
Now that I was home with my round white plumbing piece, I went to work. I did it just like Dave said, lube it up, hand twist this one piece, then finish with a quick flick of the wrench. Placed everything back as we found it. Problem one: the hot and cold were backwards. I fixed that by taking of and replacing the handle. Problem two: a leak, a drippy leak. This hadn't been talked about by Dave... so I took everything apart AGAIN, and put everything back on. Finally my sink is back to normal. I am a plumber! Of course, I couldn't have done this without Dave... but maybe now I'll know more for next time the house breaks!

Finally, the cute picture of Owen.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Chinese Gardens

I am surprised that we have never been here before, but today we took our first trip to the Chinese Classical Gardens in Portland. It's right in the Pearl District, smack dab in city... but once you enter the garden doors it's very tranquil and beautiful, you barely remember that you're in downtown.

The most amazing thing is that Owen actually stayed awake during our adventure. It must be all of the trees, he loves trees!





Friday, August 22, 2008

Zoo day

We went to the zoo today. I love our zoo pass (thanks mom and dad). It's so nice just to go for an hour or two and leave, without feeling bad that we spent the money. Today we focused on the polar bears, mandrills, and the elephants.

Big news in the elephant department: Rose the elephant is in labor! A new baby elephant will be born today or tomorrow. While we couldn't watch the labor, we did get to see the expectant father, and talk to a very knowledgeable lady about elephants. Facts we learned:
  1. the other female elephants are acting as midwives to Rose
  2. the baby elephant will weigh between 150 and 300 pounds
  3. elephants don't have recreational sex... only business sex
  4. elephants are only fertile three days every three months
  5. elephants will breast feed for 24 months
  6. if the baby is a girl, she'll stay at the zoo. if it's a boy, he'll need to go to another zoo when he's 10.
  7. the dad elephant doesn't care about the baby. His job was done 22 months ago.
  8. elephants communicate in tones that are too low for humans to hear

Owen sat in his stroller today for the first time. Usually he's in the car seat that fits in the stroller. He didn't like it at first, must be crazy to see the world coming at you that fast. Then he took a 10 minute nap. Then he discovered he liked it.

You can see the expectant father in the back ground...just left of center.

Owen slept through the polar bears. (my favorite animals)
Very close up picture of the mandrills... this one made eye contact with Lucas.


Thursday, August 21, 2008

In case you lost track

Owen is 12 weeks old today!! For his present to me he did two things. 1. He slept for six hours (it would have been better if I had slept for six hours too!) 2. He "gave" me a booger that was the size of a pea. I'm not exaggerating. It was huge, right out of his right nostril.


Bob stopped by this morning on his way to a presentation in Hillsboro. Like father like son like grandson. I know what Owen will look like in 30 and 60 years... unless any of my genes get a say.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Jury is out

I don't know if I like overalls or not. Sometimes I think they are cute, other times they seem a little silly. I like how they look on hangers, how you can mix and match the undershirts... but with the bib and the attached pants, I think they sometimes look dumb. (sorry if this offends all my overall wearing friends) My friend Tiff got Owen this very cute ensemble. Again, it looks great on the hanger, so I thought we'd try them out today since it's a rainy cold day... and the outfit consists of long pants and long sleeves.

I'll be the first to admit I don't know the easiest way to put on baby overalls... better from the top, or better from the bottom. I got them on with no problems, we stepped into them. But then the diaper change...please note the obscene amount of snaps. There are NINE snaps. I bent two nails back, and muttered curse words under my breath.
But, there is a cute design on the legs, so how can I hate to overalls too much?
And, I have to say Owen can pull them off quite nicely.
He seems to like them.
I had baked some brownies for Lucas and his co-workers (very Betty Crocker of me), so Owen and I drove up to OHSU to deliver them to Lucas. Lucas was able to take his lunch break while we were there. Owen was all smiles for the other nurses. Owen really liked looking at all the trees while Lucas ate his lunch. He's such an outdoorsman.

Monday, August 18, 2008

I don't mean to brag but...

Owen is very handsome. I'll say it everyday, and I don't think it's all just "mom eyes". I can stare at him for hours, and still find him handsome. I am not alone. When we were in San Fransisco his handsomeness crossed nationalities. Here are a few examples:
  • When we were eating dim sum, we were the only white people in there. It was a huge restaurant, filled with Chinese (the best way to pick out an ethnic restaurant, be the only Caucasians there). We sat next to a mother and daughter, the mom was 90. She kept smiling at Owen, and told her daughter to tell us he was very cute. The daughter agreed.
  • On the cable car, a Frenchman took a picture of sleeping Owen. I found that a little odd... taking a picture of my baby, but then I remembered how cute he was... and how could he NOT take a photo. Who knows, maybe the photo will wind up in a photo album of his trip.
  • Two different sets of English travellers gawked over him while standing in various lines.
  • Many nice Americans also commented on his cuteness.

I don't remember ever making so many friends during a vacation. I think it's all Owen, he's just so handsome... Oh, and he has a great personality!

We can still do it!

Lucas and I love to travel. Heck, we found out we were pregnant in Prague. We told ourselves that we would continue to travel when we had a kid. So, with me going back to work soon, we decided it was a perfect time for a quick weekend getaway: hop on a plane and play for a couple days. We didn't tell many people, just in case we chickened out. But we did it, we went to San Fransisco for the weekend. Owen did great on the plane rides, and did great overall. He is a very good baby.

Here we are on our way to Alcatraz



Us on a cable car. I had to sit with Owen, while Lucas got to stand on the back. This is our family self-portrait.
We walked the Golden Gate Bridge.
I think Lucas could eat his weight in fresh crab from the wharf.


After spending so much time in the Baby Bjorn, Owen loved the stretch we gave him in the airport. I think he loved looking at all the airplanes too.
Things we learned on our trip:
  • Owen likes airplanes (just like his dad).
  • While I still think it was a good idea not to take a stroller and just carry Owen in the Baby Bjorn, my back is killing me!
  • Owen doesn't mind a little dim sum, crab juice, syrup or balsamic vinegar spilled on him. (all due to eating with him between me and my plate)
  • Lucas loves to eat chicken feet. Well, maybe love is a strong word, but he was happy to eat all of them during our dim sum lunch. No, I did not try them.
  • You can try everything to prevent a sunburn on a baby and still fail. In Owen's case he burned his left cheek. It made me very sad, he didn't seem to mind. I can't wait until I can use sun screen on him!
  • Owen likes to sleep through most of the tourist activities. We got lots of pictures of Owen sleeping at Alcatraz, Owen sleeping on the cable car, Owen sleeping on the bridge. Not to worry though, I don't think he would remember the trip anyhow. But we got lots of pictures to prove he was there.
  • Owen's nails feel like razor blades against my sunburn.
  • While we know travelling with an 11 week old will be easier than travelling with him when he's older, we did it, and it was a success!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Yipes Stripes

I love that just two minutes before this photo he was on his tummy CRYING!! Then a quick flip, a toy and a head rest and he's happy as a baby!

Just look at his serious face. I don't know if he's trying to figure out how to escape or what he did to deserve playing in the horse again. Today he made it about three minutes before he started crying... I'm sure he'll like it sooner or later!







Sunday, August 10, 2008

Air Show

Oregon has had an airshow for the past 21 years (I think it's been 21 years). Lucas has been to all of them except three: the first year, because he just moved to Oregon. Two years ago, because of Jill's wedding, and this year because he was on call for work. So, instead of us standing in line at 0800 for the gates to open at 1000, for the show that starts at noon, we packed a little picnic and watched the show from about three miles from the airport. Although we couldn't see much of the show, we did see the F-18, the F-16 and a formation flying team. We took quite a few pictures trying to get one with Owen AND a plane. So, here is Owen and an F-18 at his first airshow... the first of many. I only hope for both Lucas and Owen that Owen loves airplanes nearly as much as Lucas.


Saturday, August 9, 2008

I'll buy you a pony

We built a "Galloping Fun Jumperoo" for Owen last night. Basically it's a bouncing horse, that "doesn't require a doorway!" It's supposed to help teach cause and effect, some leg strength, and heck... it's cute. Owen may be a little young for it, but today he stayed in it for about 5 minutes before he started crying. Last night when we tried it, he had a complete meltdown within 10 seconds of being in it.

So, we'll start with a couple pictures from today...




And this is a picture from last night, after the meltdown. He held onto Lucas' fingers with a death grip as if to say "please don't make me do that again!"



Hey, did you all watch the opening ceremonies last night? I will admit I had chills, and a cried just a little!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

10 weeks

If decade means 10 years, than Owen is decweek today. He's TEN weeks!! He posed for his weekly picture. The first one he looks as though he's reflecting on his "long life". The second, he must be remembering something good... maybe his last bottle, or a joke his dad told him.

We then shot a little video. I'm trying teach him about his tongue, sometimes he tries to stick his out to mimic mine. He was so talkative and smiley until the camera came out, then he got a little camera shy,but I still think we got a good one!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Being a mom

Here are some things/reasons I know me and motherhood are getting along:
  • I can stare at Owen for HOURS and not tire of him.
  • I think he's cute when he cries, but cuter when he's awake and happy.
  • I pick Owen's nose.
  • I only find in moderately gross when Owen wipes his nose on my arm and leaves a booger.
  • I don't mind getting Owen's poop on my hands... I don't even find it that gross.
  • Owen has peed on me (a few times), and I don't feel I immediately need a shower. (if either of the previous two things happen at work, I do the heebie-jeebie dance, change my clothes and scrub down)
  • I think he's the cutest kid on the planet. I mean, look at this guy, he's adorable!


Sunday, August 3, 2008

Two years running

Lucas did it again. Two years in a row. A nice birthday surprise. It started off with a nice hour long massage. I thought we were going to a wine festival, but then he "had to go to the bathroom" Hewouldn't stop at Burger King, but insisted on the Grand Lodge. I new from last year I had a massage waiting for me. Though, I should have known sooner since he made sure I had had a shower (he "spilled" ice cream in my hair), thank goodness I took the time to shave my legs! He also made sure I knew I had coffee breath, so I brushed my teeth again before we left the house. It was a wonderful massage.

After that, we went to the Rose Gardens of Portland for the afternoon. It's beautiful there right now and it always makes me think of my grandma. Owen did great and was fun and playful when we were sitting on the grass.Then he fell asleep before I wanted to take some pictures.
He did great for a little while, for a few pictures, then he decided he had enough! Maybe the rose garden is too "girly" for him. Sure is pretty!


Lucas took a couple very nice photos of some of the roses.

After the rose gardens, Lucas and I headed out for dinner at a family Italian Restaurant. To my surprise, both sets of parents were also there (last year he surprised me with friends and family at a Mexican restaurant). TWO YEARS IN A ROW! A surprise massage and surprise dinner! He's such a good liar, thank goodness he only does it once a year... at least I hope he only does it once a year!