the boys

Just a couple cute picture of my boys. Here's Owen in a box of blocks... Sweet smiley Henry. He either loves or hates the rabbit...

And here is Owen on his potty chair. I know it's a long way in the future to actual potty training, but it's a start. I love the look... "don't bother me, I'm busy!"

Oceanside

Yesterday, me and the boys went to Oceanside. Lucas had to work. Never fear, I did not go by myself... I met up with my friends Tiffany and Eric, and their dog Huck. It was a typical Oregon coast day, cold, grey and windy... we had a great time!
Owen taking a moment from carrying stick to play with his shovel.

He decided using his hand as a shovel was pretty funny... he would take a handful of sand, carried on the back of his hand, and dump it in the bucket.

Owen was quite happy walking around with his two sticks. The sticks would vary in shape and size, he would switch when he found a better one.

Huck did amazing... it's hard for a dog to know that the sticks are OWEN's toys, not his. He only stole a stick once or twice.

Tiffy, Owen and Huck.

We had amazing timing... no rain while we were there, but it POURED on our way home! The boys did great on the drive, slept the entire way home...

So Proud.

Last night, Bob received the Beaverton Reserve Officer of the Year award. We all went to the police station that was catered by... BUSTER'S BBQ. Lucas was so happy when we saw the smoker in the parking lot, working full force. I was so sad, the stink was everywhere. But, of all the people there, I'm sure I was the only one that hated BBQ... so I'm sure it wasn't stinky to anyone else. We were just so proud of Bob to get such great recognition for all the work he does!

Bob was already there when we showed up. Owen just walked right over to him and gave him a great big wave. He sure does love Bob-Bob. Here he is eating an appetizer... I think he's either looking at Bob-Bob or a little blonde 18 month old girl that was there. Overall, Owen did great. Especially for staying up way past his 6:30 bedtime. But when the lights went out for a slide show and Owen announced, "night night?" "bye bye" we thought it was time to leave. Proud Bob-Bob and his grandsons. Henry was tired and hungry. Owen was tired, and quite enthralled with Bob's badge.

The Friedler Family.

The boys. I think of the 100 or so people there last night, at least half knew Owen and Henry's name before I even said anything. I think a proud grandpa talks about them a lot!

Left Side

Henry has been home just over eight weeks. In those eight weeks, his jaw has gotten bigger, his tongue more forward, and overall, so much stronger... I have proof, psychological proof. For the past eight weeks, he sleeps in our room, in a bassinet on my side of the bed. His saturation monitor sits on my nightstand. For each night, for the past 57 nights, I sleep on my right side. This way, I'm able to look at the monitor by simply opening my eyes, able to fix his airway quickly, with barely a movement. Luckily, I like sleeping on my right side... but I've longed to feel comfortable enough with Henry's breathing to change positions. It's like sleeping on a couch, knowing there's just nowhere to move, so why fret about it... and I really haven't fretted about it, or really even noticed it. Until last night. Last night, I woke up for the first time on my left side! I officially feel that he is doing well enough that I ROLLED OVER! Ah... it was nice.

Hello, my name is...

A tradition thanks to Nikki. I think all recent additions to the Oshel family has a "hello my name is..." shirt. I have a very similar crying baby pose with Owen in his "my name is... shirt". I don't think he's crying because his name is Henry... rather, his mean, horrible parents just gave him a bath. In our defense, he needed a bath, he smelled bad.

Cute Boys

Here's just a couple pictures from yesterday. Owen will now say "smile" when he sees the camera, and then "see see" and run to the camera to see the digital display. WHAT did we all do as kids without that magical digital display! It's hours of entertainment! He is in this cupboard "illegally"... hence the super sweet "I'm innocent" smile.

Amazed by color!

Helper

I was making a batch of Aunt Selma's Mondel Bread today... I needed a helper. Owen donned his apron and set out to measuring water. (there is no water in the recipe...shhh... don't tell Owen) Sampling water... it had plenty of hydrogen and oxygen... a perfect ratio.

10 weeks

Can anyone believe that 10 weeks ago Henry was born? 10 weeks, and he's doing AMAZING!
To celebrate 10 weeks, here are 10 facts about Henry Joseph:
1. He spent 16 days in NICU, that's 22.8% of his life (decreasing daily)
2. Nickname: Turtle. He's slow moving, mellow, and has a very small bottom jaw.
3. He is grounded until he's 16. (you can't put your parents through that much stress and not expect to be grounded!)
4. Through his cleft palate, you can see his nasal septum.
5. He has no uvula.
6. He's worth about $83,000. (though priceless to us)
7. He smiles with his eyes.
8. He loves Bob-Bob's rendition of "God Bless America"
9. He's one in 8500 kids who can say he has Pierre-Robin sequence.
10. He's taught us that everything happens for a purpose, sometimes you just have to be patient.

(yes, that's a dime on his tummy... 10 weeks!)

Cannon Beach

Yesterday, we went to Cannon Beach. It was a beautiful day. Owen had a great time... we all did. I just love watching Owen discover new things. Hence, I took a ton of pictures!

This is right when we set up our blanket... he was off! Lucas went to chase him... I stayed back for a minute to feed Henry. He wasn't a huge fan of the beach. After eating, he spent the rest of the time snuggled up to me in a front carrier.

The boys.

"Dad, I want to go deeper"

Every time Owen would stumble a little, he would reach out for Lucas. So cute.

Owen didn't seem to mind his hands and feet and legs and tummy being red and cold! He would just take handfuls of sand and put it in the water. It was a mission of his: get all the sand into the water.

What's better than cold water? Sticks!

Two sticks! The sticks even made our family photo!

Two sticks, a tired, soaked boy and his daddy.

What's better than two sticks? A shovel.

Better than that shovel? A bucket. So much concentration. If all the sand can't get into the water, maybe all the sand could get in the bucket.

Me and Henry.

Me and my boys.

And, two cute videos of Owen.

We had so much fun... and were back home by early afternoon. A perk to getting to the beach first thing! I think we may go again next weekend.

Tip-a-Cop

Today was Tip-a-Cop. This is an annual event where the Beaverton Police take over a local Red Robin to raise money for Special Olympics. What makes it even more special is that my father-in-law organizes the entire thing. It's really fun to see all the officers pouring water, schmoozing the tables and raising money for a great cause! Especially since Owen got to "drive" the cruiser! If you look close, he even has a Junior Officer sticker badge. "Bob-Bob, is that your sticker?"

So sweet! I don't know who loves who more!

Liberty Bell

What's behind the fence? Dad will show you:

It's a B-17. The Liberty Bell to be more specific. It was at the Hillsboro Airport this weekend. We got to see it from afar, tomorrow our goal is to get closer (our timing was off today). When we were leaving, Owen actually started crying saying "airplane... airplane!"

For a mere $430, you can fly in it for 30 minutes... Lucas is taking donations!

No Camo

Such a sweet picture of a sweet boy. AND, it proves that his jaw is slowly growing forward... his chin looks almost normal in this head-on photo. It's not even camouflaged by a hand or blanket!

He knows

We joke, but Henry's binkie really does keep him breathing sometimes. It pulls his tongue forward, and prevents him from choking on his tongue. It's better now, much better, but still... we find the binkie to be a life saver. Never leave home without it.
Tonight, I finally got him to sleep in my arms, then I laid him down on the couch... on his back. Which is really a no-no when it comes to sleeping. Henry sleeps on his tummy. So, I found it very cute when he was holding the binkie in place. It's like he knows... Binkie will keep me alive.

curls?

When his hair is dry, Owen has very straight hair... like me. BUT when it's wet, it's quite curly... like Lucas, when he had hair.

Pretty LIghts

Lucas' co-worker Karla got Owen this magical light stick. It's actually the second one... the first one died. Owen just loves it!
No lights:
Lights:

"did you see that mom?"