10 Months

Wow...this month went by fast! Owen is already 10 months old. He is soooo much fun these days and has developed quite a little personality...

Owen is getting so big...you definitely can't tell he ever had trouble gaining weight. At his most recent weigh in, he weighed 19 lbs 14 oz and was 28.5 inches. He almost weighs enough to ride in his big boy car seat! I can't believe how fast the past 10 have gone by...he'll be 1 before we know it! We've already started preparing for his first birthday by learning how to bake low fat/fat free cakes. Wish us luck..at least he doesn't know what cake is suppose to taste like!


Things you're doing now....

• You are wearing 6-9 and 6-12 month clothes
• You wear size 3 pampers during the day and size 4 up and ups at night (they are the only ones that keep you from wetting the bed)
• You are officially walking...you've taken about 8 really good steps at a time, but you like to dive forward when you get close to mommy and daddy
• When you're cruising, you like to let go and take off after whatever catches your eye
• You are falling a lot these days...you're constantly getting bumps and bruises
• Your top right tooth finally came in! You had a runny nose, fever, and were really fussy for about a week before it finally broke through

• You are completely off of baby food and only eating "real" food...you really really like to eat now. Your appetite amazes mommy and daddy and it's definitely helping you pack on the pounds
• You like to yell at mommy and daddy if we don't get your food to you fast enough once we put you in your highchair
• New foods you're eating: bread, turkey, fat free cheese, yogurt, diced fruit, fat free fig newtons, pasta pick ups, and rice are just a few. The fig newtons, cheese, and bread are your favorites
• You've tried rasberries and blue berries but weren't a huge fan...we'll keep trying!
• You are drinking out of a sippy cup during the day and a bottle at night
• You still love bath time and are now trying to climb in the bathtub by yourself. You also really like the basketball goal in the bathtub and have figured out how to dunk your bath toys
• You are looking more and more like your daddy everyday

• You love to raise your arm (like you have a question) to show us what you want
• You like reading books with mommy and daddy before bed but you make it really hard for us to read because you are always opening and closing the books
• You have learned to point...you like to point to all the animals in your "100 First Animals" book
• You are into everything and love to climb

• You are learning what NO means...When you do things like try to get in the fireplace, play with cords, or hit mommy's computer, we tell you NO and then redirect you...you cry for a second and then go right back to whatever it is you are not suppose to be doing
• You have become very vocal over the past month....you say dadadada ALL the time. Sometimes it sounds like you are saying Hi Dad!
• You have started going to the nursery at church. You really liked it but mommy and daddy were sad to leave you, although I'm pretty sure you never realized we were gone
• You really like to blow raspberries with your tongue when you are walking around.
• You smile all the time and are laughing a lot more...especially when mommy and daddy tickle you
• You like to play hide and go seek with mommy when you're in your walker...you have figured out all the places I hide and get really excited just before I jump out and say BOO...it is so funny, we've tired to get it on video but you stop playing every time you see the camera
• You and Honey are big buds...You like to lay on her bed, pull her hair, talk to her, give her kisses, and look out the window at her when she's outside

Snow Day #2

We've had a lot of snow and ice the past couple of days. It started on Thursday night and when it was all said and done we had ice and about 5 inches of snow. So we've been cooped up in the house and loving every minute of it!

We finally decided to venture out and play in the snow today. While Owen was taking a nap, Josh and I started building a snowman. It was so much fun...we felt like little kids again! Owen joined us after his nap and really seemed to enjoy it, he actually crawled around and played in the snow. He was really curious about the snowman..he also tried eating a little bit of the snow.

mommy and daddy's little helper...
"What is this thing?"
"What is this"
"Here goes..."

"This stuff is COLD"
"This is fun!"
"Yummy"
Writing Owen's name in the snow...
"I can do this better with out these gloves..."
Owen's Snow Angel

Laughing!

We got this video the other night when we were filming Owen walking around. He laid down and I started tickling his legs and he was laughing so hard! It was too cute not to share so here is a little of Owen showing his "baby laugh".

Owen's Walking!

Owen has been trying to walk for a while now. He took his first steps the Sunday after Christmas, but just a couple between mommy and daddy. He had been doing this for a while and last night he finally decided to let go and take off on his own. Usually when we get the camera out he stops doing whatever it is we are trying to get on film, but last night he actually cooperated long enough to get some video of him toddling around. Our little boy is growing up so fast! With this new development I think we better get on the baby proofing...FAST!

9 months

Owen was 9 months old on December 26th...so we are still a little behind on the updates. He's growing up so fast that I just can't keep up. It's also becoming a lot more difficult to keep him entertained for the photos.

Owen has become such a big boy over the past month, both in size and in his new found independence. At his 9 month check-up he weighed in at 18 lbs 9 oz and was 28 inches long. This put him in the 25th percentile for height and weight and in the 75th percentile for head circumference. Yeah! He's moving on up! Now that he's eating "real" food he's really started packing on the pounds. The "real" food is so good that he's always wanting to eat! Now Josh and I have the challenge cooking fat free. Our way of shopping has definitely changed...now we just go down the isles at the grocery store looking at the nutrition guide on the back of EVERYTHING! It's crazy how much fat there is in most food.

We had an appointment with the geneticist and metabolic nutritionist back in November. They thought Owen looked GREAT. They ran Owen's blood work and everything came back normal (well, normal for Owen). This was good news, because we had added 1 oz of breast milk to each of Owen's bottles (which means that we increased his fat intake) and there was no change in his blood work. Yeah! They also did mine and Josh's DNA at this appointment. The results came back showing that Owen officially has VLCAD. This was not a surprise, just confirmation. We also learned, through our DNA, that one of Owen's defective genes has a protein attached which will help with the breakdown of fat. This means that we may be able to add a little more fat into his diet when he stops drinking his special formula and starts drinking skim milk. According to the doctors, this will all be trial and error. I'm not sure how we feel about this, but for now we are sticking to a no fat diet.

Things you are doing now.....

• You weigh 18lbs 9oz


• You just started wearing 6-9 month clothes and are still wearing size three diapers

• You've mastered crawling and are constantly on the move

• You are pulling up on everything and cruising everywhere

• You've started eating "real" food and seem to like it a lot better than your baby food

• You've started drinking your milk out of sippy cups during the day and only drinking out of your bottle at night


• Your feeding schedule for now: 8:30 - 2.5 tbs cereal and 4oz milk, 11:30 - lunch (fruit and veggies) you're in the process of transitioning to real food, 1:00 - 4.5 oz milk, 2:30 - snack (cheerios, puffs, veggie dips, yogurt melts, bitter biscuit) 4:00 - 4.5 oz milk, 7:00 - dinner ("real" veggies) and 4.5 oz milk, 10:00 - 6 oz. milk, 6:00am - 4 oz milk


• You love playing with all your big boy toys

• Your favorite toy changes frequently, but at the moment...you really like your Dunk and Cheer basketball toy and blue car that mommy and daddy push you in


• You still like you walker...you are now running around the house in it!


• You and Honey have become big buds...you like to crawl over to her bed and pull her hair while she cleans up the food that didn't make it into your mouth.
  

• Bath time is still a favorite....You've learned to splash really big and love playing with all of your bath toys. You cry every time your bath is over


• You have developed you're own way of waving. You just stick your arm up in the air like you have a question...it makes us laugh everytime

Snow Day

I think Owen enjoyed his first snow day. Daycare was canceled so he got to stay home and play all day. We wanted Owen to really experience the snow day, so we got him all bundled up and went to play. I think we spent more time getting ready than playing in the snow. Owen was not very excited about all the layers he had to wear, but enjoyed touching snow! After a few minutes, he was ready to get back inside where it was warm and he could play with his toys.

Christmas Night

We continued our Christmas celebration in West Memphis with my family. Owen had taken a pretty good nap on the way so he was ready to go when we arrived. Christmas night was just as busy as Christmas morning just with fewer people....We opened presents, put together toys, opened more presents, played with toys, ate a delicious meal, played with more toys, and then we all crashed. We had a wonderful, busy, fun filled Christmas and are very thankful that we got to spend time with both of our families. I think Owen really enjoyed his first Christmas!

"Can we open this one?"

"Please"

"what's in here?!?"

Daddy's little helper

posing in his new car....

playing with his new toys...

Aunt Anna, Papa Bart, and GiGi

looking at Owen's book

All the new toys couldn't compete with the box...

"can we take this home?"

cruising in his new car..

Emma Gayle and Watson came over to open their

Christmas presents and play

with all the new toys.

Owen (9months) and Emma Gayle (3 years)

Owen was fascinated by all of Emma Gayle's

play food..it was just his size

Owen and Watson sharing toys...

We had a special visit from Santa on Christmas night. Most kids would be really excited to see Santa, but Owen was scared of him...his little lip started quivering and his eyes teared up. He had to warm up for awhile in mommy's arms before he would let Santa hold him. This is very unusual for Owen...he's typically very friendly and will go to anyone. I guess he didn't realize that Santa was the one who brought him all those new toys!

"I'm not sure about this"

"don't go Mommy"

"help.."