Owen @ 5 Years

On September 28th, our first baby turned 5!! 5?! 5 sounds so much older than 4.

Owen at 5:

• weighs 43 lbs (75%) and is 42.5 inches tall (45%)
• wears 5T tops and 4T bottoms
• is still a great eater..loves all fruits and veggies
• loves superheros, Ninja Turtles, and Legos
• still has to wear a pull-up at night
• loves playing with his brother and sister
• likes to help cook

Owen is still receiving speech therapy 2x a week for 30 minutes.  He continues to struggle with certain constants, like s and k, and sh. His studdering and mumbling  have improved. They are working with him to talk louder so people can understand him.  He will continue to work with his service coordinator on some academic areas, like counting consecutively and letters.  (He'll also get help for that in preschool.) 

He continues to attend preschool still 3x a week and is enjoying it, though he can never really tell me what he did when I pick him up. He will start kindergarten next year!! So crazy!

I did a little interview with Owen about his favorites.  This is what he had to say...

What is your favorite color? blue
Favorite food? Hamburgers and hotdogs

Least favorite food? Olives
Movie? League of Incredible Vegetables (Veggie Tales)
Book? DC Superfriends Flying High

Animal? Giraffe
Toy? Superhero and Ninja Turtle Action Figures
Sport? Baseball
Favorite activity? Playing with Legos
Who is your best friend? Samuel

Where is your favorite place to go? Papa and Nana's lake house
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Play and watch tv
What about with Mommy? Playing games on the computer

What do you want to be when you grow up? Helicopter Pilot

What are you really good at? Jumping on 2 feet

We love you buckaroo! We feel so blessed to call you ours!

Owen is 4!

Our sweet oldest boy is 4!! I told Jeremy the other day that sometimes I feel like he's been with us longer than 4 years then other days, I can't believe he's already 4.

At age 4, Owen:

• weighs 38 lbs (68%) and is 39.5 in tall (31%), short and stocky evidently
• wears 4T shirts and 3T bottoms, and size 9 shoe
• loves superheros, esp. Spiderman and Batman
• eats just about anything
• still has to wear pull-ups to bed at night
• likes wearing hooded sweatshirts, his green crocs, and gym pants
• loves playing games on my iPhone and Nana's iPad
• loves puzzles, sandboxes/tables, and playing with his Daddy
• would watch movies all day long if you let him

Owen is still receiving speech therapy 2x a week for 30 minutes.  He continues to struggle with certain constants, like s and k, and sh. He still struggles with studdering and mumbling. They are working with him to talk louder so people can understand him.  He will continue to work with his service coordinator on some academic areas, like counting consecutively and letters.  (He'll also get help for that in preschool.)

He continues with physical therapy once a month just to work on his strength.  According to his PT, he can do everything required of him, but he may not do it to the degree that his peers can.  For example, he can jump but not as high as other 4 year olds. We are going to continue working on his core strength and hopefully can get him involved in some extra curricular sports soon.

At his 4 year checkup, Owen failed his hearing screening. His doctor noticed his left tube had fallen out into his ear.  The hole (where the tube was) is still in his eardrum.  This could be causing him not to hear or it could not.  We will be following up with an ENT soon. 

Now Owen's world, according to Owen...

What is your favorite color? green
Favorite food? bananas
Movie? Lightning McQueen (Cars)
Book? DC Superfriends Flying High (he just got it for his birthday)
Toy? Superhero Action Figures
Sport? Soccer and baseball
Favorite activity? Playing with my Batcave
Who is your best friend? Samuel
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Make houses/castles out of couch cushions
What about with Mommy? go to Target :)

Funny things he says these days...

Mommy: Owen, would you like to take swim lessons?
Owen: Maybe when I get big and have a dog.
(We told him he couldn't have a dog until he was bigger and could help take care of it.)

Mommy: Owen, you're a silly nut.
Owen: I'm not a silly nut, I'm just a boy.

We love you buckaroo! May the Lord continue to bless you in the year to come!

Owen Goes To Preschool

Last year was my first year teaching the Morrison YMCA's Children's Academy.  One perk of working at the Y is that the boys got to go to their free staff childcare program.  While the program is great, it's not as structured and as academic as preschool  

I'm excited this year Owen is actually a student at the Academy! He is going Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Because of his birthday is in the 3s class right beside me (I teach the 4s).  

September 10th was his first day of school and of course, I had to have the first day of school pics. Thanks to my sweet husband for creating this chalkboard for him to hold!

One perk of working there is that I get to peak in on him in his classroom.  Here he was decorating his name tag.

After school, he was all smiles.  He climbed in this tree by the parking lot and asked me to take his picture. :)

He loves preschool!! Every day he is so excited to show me what he has done and tell me what he has done. I'm so thankful he loves school!

Owen's First Trip to Dentist

On August 23rd, Owen made his first trip to the dentist. Yes it's kind of late but I was apprehensive on how he would do. But as usual, he surprised me and did awesome.

His dentist office was so kind and kid-oriented. Owen's favorite was that he got to watch a movie while they cleaned his teeth. He also was very excited about the goodie bag full of teeth cleaning tools.

Dr. Beth said his teeth looked great and she was so impressed how well he did Hopefully he'll always love the dentist.

First glance at the tv on the ceiling

Mouth open wide for the hygentist 

So mesmerized by the movie, he's not even paying attention to the hygentist

Getting his teeth cleaned

Dr. Beth counting his teeth and looking for cavities (There were none!) 

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day this year, our long time friends the Williams asked us over to their new lake house.  We all had a great time playing on the water and the dock, fishing off the pier, and eating yummy food.

Oliver enjoyed riding around in the wagon with one of the Williams' grandsons Griffin. 

Owen and Daddy fishing

The two Papas fishing for our dinner

 The women and kids enjoyed hanging out on the dock

 Amy and her son Grant

Grant found the lake very relaxing

Griffin enjoyed the chips and salsa

Owen then moved onto fishing with Papa

Owen caught his first fish!!

Thanks Williams family for letting us share the day with you.  We had so much fun!

Owen @ 3.5

Our firstborn turned 3 1/2 this week and surprisingly it seems a little sad.  He's getting so big and he constantly reminds me how much of a little person he's become. 

Owen at 3.5:

• is 38 lbs and wearing mostly 3T clothes, but could use a few 4T.  He is such a healthy boy..rarely does he get sick.  (Watch me jinx us now!)
• He is progressing well in his language development. He is talking more and using complete sentences.  He still leaves out articles and will drop the final constant off of words.  As his mom, I can understand most of what he says, but I feel like his translator when we are in social settings. 
• He is very inquistive and will always ask where are we going or what is that. If we watch a movie or read a book, he asks what every character's name is (even if he already knows it).
• has a great memory and is very observant of the world around him.  He often identifies stores/houses/places we have been.  He can tell you who we went with and what we got there. 
• He continues to be a great eater.  He loves all kinds of food; honestly I don't know a food he doesn't like. 
• He is pretty much potty-trained yet he still has difficulty always using the potty to poop. He has done it (finally) but he still poops in his pull-up over night. He is finally telling us when he needs to go rather than us taking him all the time.  Potty training has been a long struggle for us and I'm glad we are finally coming out on the other side.
• The trait I most love in Owen is how kind, sweet, and lovable he is.  He loves to give hugs, kisses, sit in your lap, or hold your hand.
• He also loves to help do things (except clean up toys).
• He continues to love books and wants to read numerous times a day.  He also still loves puzzles and he's really good at them! 
• The boy loves to watch a movie and would do it all day if I'd let him.  We limit his screen time though which causes many tantrums. 
• He recently has gotten into baseball.  He got a glove, tee, bat, and balls now and I love it. 

When asked, this is what he said were his favorites:

• Food: Hotdog
• Color: Blue
• Sport: Basketball (I say baseball)
• Books: Sally (it was the last one we read..I don't think he really has a favorite, right now)
• Person: Daddy 
• Movies: Toy Story 3 
• Team: Basketball (I asked him who is favorite basketball team was then? and he never answered me)
• Friend: Samuel 
• Thing to do: Play all day

He really is such a sweet and fun little man now. I feel lucky to be a his mama and thank God every day that I get to be. 

Moving On Up

For almost a year now, Owen has been sleeping in bunk beds.  A few weeks ago he just randomly decided one night that he wanted to sleep on the top bunk.  Having gravitational insecurity has made him a little afraid of heights, so we were excited when he decided he wanted to do this.  Of course, I had to document it. :)

Climbing up (yes he is still wearing his Christmas pjs 2 months later)

So proud of himself..he looks so big to me in these next 2 pictures.

Reading a bedtime story

Time to go to sleep

He has done amazingly well up there. He gets in less trouble because he doesn't like to climb down in the dark, which is a plus for all of us. :) My little man is growing up!

Owen is 3!!

(This post was set to publish last Wednesday, Sept 28 on his actual birthday and it never did...boo!)

Happy 3rd Birthday precious Owen! I can't believe it's been 3 years since your early arrival that cool fall weekend.  Since that first day, you have shown us you do everything on your own timing. This year has been a big year for you and you are growing into such a big boy.


At 3 years old, you:

• weigh 35 lbs and are 37.5 in tall
• are wearing 3T shirts and 2T/3T pants. 
• are sleeping in a bunk bed now. We are so proud of how you have conquered your fears and can climb the ladder all on your own.  You still like to sleep in weird positions though. We have found you sleeping on the floor, in your reading chair, your whole body on the pillow, etc. Daddy and I never know how we will find you. :)
• are beginning to think you don't need an afternoon nap. Personally, your crankiness around 4:30 tells me you do. 
• are the best hugger. You are just an all-around affectionate kid and I love it!
• love to eat anything.  You seriously will eat anything I put in front of you. If asked, your favorites are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bananas, yogurt, and pancakes/waffles. You also love to eat cereal out of Daddy's bowl. 
• still love to watch Curious George, but have added Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Super Why, and Arthur to your list of must-sees. You're a fan of Clifford the Big Red Dog and Martha Speaks too.
• continue to love books. You always point out the library when we drive by and you love to visit and pick new books. Curious George and Dr. Seuss books are still your favorite.
• are finally starting to seem interested in the potty.  You have successfully peed in the potty twice so we're hoping you're close to wearing big boy underwear.
• have a love/hate relationship with your little brother.  One minute you will be hugging him, giving him toys, etc. then the next minute you've pushed him over or stealing his toy.
• have become quite defiant lately and have started throwing more fits (I think it's lack of naps)
• love all the men in your life.  You constantly talk about Daddy, Papa, BP, and Grandpa. 
• continue to love your kitchen.  Though you don't always use it for cooking, you find a way to play with it everyday. You love pouring and hiding stuff in all the holes in it.
• love to dig in the sand and being chased around the house by Daddy.
• love going to the Y and going to your class. Every time I peek in at you, you look like you are having such a good time.
• love to howl now for some reason. I had a little video we shot one day of it, but stupid blogger won't upload it. Not really even sure where you learned it, but you love to bust it out when Oliver is sleeping. 

We love you little man and feel so blessed to be your parents!  We pray that this year you will continue to grow stronger, wiser, and closer to God.  Kisses!

Owen @ 2 and half

Monday, the 28th, our biggest little guy turned 2 1/2! I know I say this with every milestone, but I can't believe how fast the time has gone. **I have tried to post this since last week, but Owen wouldn't cooperate to take a decent picture, so here's what we we have.**

His stats (measured by me, since there is no doctor's checkup)
Weight: 32.5 pounds
Height: can't keep him still long enough

He is:
-wearing 2T/3T tops and 2T bottoms for the most part
-no where close to potty training, so he's now up to size 5 diapers

My friend Courtney uses this form and I really like it so here is Owen in a nutshell.

Enjoys: reading books, anything Curious George, watching Daddy play t

he Wii, digging in the sand at the park
Turn Offs: being told no, having to wait his turn, having to clean up his toys
Strengths: good problem solver, can entertain himself, shares well with others
Vices: temper tantrums, bites anything around when he gets really angry, doesn't listen very well

Favorites:

Foods: honestly the kid eats everything we put in front of him... so thankful for a kid who eats so well and so healthy. His favorites though are cottage cheese, Papa cheese (old fashioned hoop cheese from Smith's Red and White in Dortches), bananas, and peanut butter/honey sandwiches.

Songs: Mommy's silly songs she makes up to get him to do things, like brush his teeth
Shows: Curious George, Cat and the Hat knows Alot about ThatBooks: Again Curious George (we have to read one at every bed time/nap time), Cat and the Hat
Toys: tool box, guitar, his play kitchen and food
Activities: transferring these from one thing to another, coloring, playing play dough, digging in the sand at the park, Mr. Potato Head
Person: He is definitely a daddy's boy. He does the cutest dance and song when Jeremy gets home from work everyday. He wants his daddy more than anybody. Honorable mentions: Papa, Katie, and Samuel.

Language:
His speech is improving daily. He is saying more two word phrases. He has mastered the word please. :) He tries to imitate whatever you say but he is missing some key letter sounds, like w, s, and r. His therapists says he has low muscle tone in his tongue and he can't see

m to move his tongue to the proper places to make the sounds. He also is working on making his lips into an o shape.

Gross Motor:
He is making huge progress. He seems less timid changing surfaces, yet still doesn't want to walk the stairs or swing at the park.

Sleeping:
He still takes a 2 hour nap. :) He seems to be taking forever to go to sleep at night these days. Some nights he'll be up talking to himself for over an hour and half.

Sunday night was his first night in his toddler bed. Really it's just taking the front side off his crib but still it's a big difference not to be trapped in.

He has done great with it! We turned his bookshelf around and locked the closets to keep some of the distractions away. He has only really gotten up twice to play in his dresser and both times he got his pajamas out and was trying to put them on. I guess he thought you had to wear your pjs anytime you are in bed. :) He thinks he's hot stuff in his new bed too. I am glad that transition went so well.

How he is like his...
mommy - he is very social and loves having play dates with friends, he's a morning person, he gets obsessed with a certain food and wants it every day, gets excited when daddy walks in the door from work
daddy - his laid back personality, constantly likes to have a drink with him, his obsession for football

We love our little man and feel so blessed to have him as part of our family.

Happy 2nd Birthday Owen!

Two years ago today, the Lord changed our lives in more ways than we could ever imagine. At 11:06 pm, this little guy entered the world.

September 28, 2009- 1st Birthday
September 28, 2010- 2nd birthday
2 years later, he is such an amazing little guy. We love his sweet little personality and how he just loves on anyone. He greets everyone he meets with a wave and hi and uses his long eyelashes to his advantage. When I was pregnant with him, I prayed that the Lord would give me a baby who loves to snuggle and by golly, I got it. He loves to snuggle with you and be held. He is so laid back and low key. At times, he can be lazy in the sense that he wants you to do things for him instead of doing them himself like walk down the stairs or feed himself dinner. He is a lover of fruit, milk, dogs and all things Curious George. He loves his family and asks for them constantly. Lately we have learned that he doesn't require as much sleep as most kids his age. He also loves to wake up at the crack of dawn and take mid-day naps. He loves music and his new favorite song is Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.

He still isn't talking at the same level as his peers but he is making progress. Though he can't always use his words to express what he wants, he has found gestures (his own sign language) to tell us what he needs.

Owen, you are such a joy to us! You have taught us so much about ourselves and what it means to love unconditionally. You have taught me what it means to put others needs ahead of my own. We can't wait to see how great of a big brother you are going to be. Lord willing, we look forward to celebrating many many more birthdays together!

18 month checkup

Owen went in for his 18 month checkup finally.

He weighed 26 lbs. (33%) and was 31 in long (55%). He evidently has a big head as he is in the 95%. He got 1 shot, which is the last one he needs until he's four.

Though the doctor doesn't really seem worried about his development I have been. While he is walking now, he still behind in his speech and a few motor skills (like stacking blocks). A couple of weeks ago, after getting advice from a few trusted friends and family, I contacted the Child Development Agency about my concerns. I talked to their awesome director and she thought an evaluation may be necessary. She assigned us a service coordinator, who visited us this past Tuesday. The coordinator asked every thing about Owen, from his birth story to all of his routines. She took down all this information and then presented it yesterday to a team of evaluators. They have set up a hearing test on the 20th and an in-home evaluation for the 27th.

Even if nothing is wrong, I'll be glad to have a professional's advice. The evaluation is free so it doesn't hurt to have it done. I look forward to getting the results!

Walk Like a Man

18 months old!

It's so hard to believe but our little man turned 18 months old on the 28th. He rang in his 1 1/2 year birthday with a double ear infection. :( Because we had to make a trip to the pediatrician on Monday for the ear infections, his 18 month checkup had to be moved to a later date. I realized I never posted his 17 month milestones, so we'll do a combo post.

At 17 months, he..

• wears 18 months clothes, wears size 5 shoes
• obsessed with bananas. He has always liked them but he has an abnormal obsession with them these last 2 weeks. I think he's really a monkey.
• teething again (Finally!). I think he's getting quite a few on the bottom. This has made him clingy and whiny, which is not typical for him. This is also causing him to bite, which we discussed in the previous post.
• really likes the l sound lately. We've been singing a lalalala song together.
• discovered Poptarts thanks to his daddy. He loves them!
• got another haircut
• likes to pretend he is talking on the phone. Everything becomes a phone that he puts up to his ear. When someone actually tries to talk to him on the phone, he freezes though. (Do you think his mom talks on the phone too much? :) )
• is still not walking on his own but will walk holding onto your finger.
• loves to pull everything out of a cabinet and sit in it.
  
• says: book, done, mama, dada, hey

at 18 months, he ...

• weighs: 26.9 lbs. (I don't have the other measurements; will post after appointment)
• is wearing 18 to 24 month clothes depending on the brand
• walks with one adult's finger. He has taken a few steps on his own but is still timid about letting go and walking on his own full-time.
• follows directions well.
  
• has learned how to feed himself with a fork and spoon, that is if the food stays on it.
• loves to dip his food in all kind of condiments. Yesterday he dipped his cheese stick in his ketchup.
  
• can point to multiple body parts. His favorite are belly, feet, and mouth.
  
• can somewhat throw a ball. It's not far but he can palm it and throw it in the air.
• has become more aware of the tv. We now have to make sure we are intentional about turning it off or making sure the show is appropriate. He loves PBS, esp. Curious George and Dinosaur Train. (We try not to let him watch a lot of tv though).
  
• has become a daddy's boy. He wants to be with Jeremy all the time. While sometimes this is a little disheartening for me, it is really sweet to see them together.
  
• scribbles with a crayon (also likes to taste it before he colors with it)
• continues to love books and has great print concepts..meaning he knows how to hold a book correctly, he can locate the front, and turns the pages in the correct direction.)
  

I still have concerns that he is missing some milestones, like walking and talking, that we will discuss with the pediatrician at his next appointment. No matter what, we love the little guy and feel very blessed to have him in our lives.