Owen is 16 months

Dear Owen,

 Wow! You're doing so much right now. You are a fun-loving and happy boy! You have a dozen words or so- Mamma, Daddy, Babba (brother), kitty, doggy, cup, ball, balloon, bobber (yes bobber- we fish a lot), bubble, and plane- I think a few more I am forgetting. You like the word doggy right now and call everything a doggy :-)  You have four teeth left to come in, and I think they are coming- we have seen a lot of hand chewing this week.  You have a great sense of humor.  One of your favorite games to play is when Mommy tries to get you to say "Mamma", and you say other words instead of Mamma.  You laugh and laugh at this game!  You also love tickling and wrestling games; you and your brother make me very nervous with your wresting!

You love to look at books.  I think we must read "Busy Doggies" about two dozen times a day.  You never get tired of it.  You are a climber, you are in the climb on chairs and up the stairs phase... lots of falls and boo-boos for you!  Your newest adventure is to climb on the train table and then cry until someone helps you down.

Outside is also a fun time for you; you mostly follow your brother around and do exactly what he does :)  Unfortunately, you aren't as good at picking out the ripe tomatoes, so you spit out a lot of green ones... Mommy does not find this funny!

We love you and enjoy you every day.

~Mommy

An Amazing Summer

Dear Boys,
  We have had one amazing summer!  A few things we have done...  Thomas and I have been taking weekly trips to Range Pond to work on swimming.  We meet up with some friends of Mommy's from school.  Owen and I have gone to Bear Pond a few times, you are so brave in the water that Mommy doesn't dare to take you two to the beach alone!

We've made many ocean trips, Pine Point, which was very fun with low tide and hardly any people, and Popham Beach, always a favorite of ours.  We went to Thomas the Train in Boothbay Harbor, something we enjoyed last year too.

We had our first camping trip at the Cathedral Pines Campground in Eustis, Maine.  We were fortunate that this trip was so successful and that both of you enjoyed sleeping in a tent :)  We squeezed in many other fun events, like a trip to the Children's Museum in Portland, the Maine Wildlife Park and the Smiling Hill Farm.

School starts next week, and as you can imagine we are all going to miss the summer fun!

Until next summer,
  ~Mommy

First Steps

Dear Owen,
You took your first steps last night! We are so proud of you. It's really about confidence now, you have been standing up for a week or so, but haven't trusted yourself to walk. Last night you were standing with Mommy and Daddy was just a step or two away, and you walked to him! Tonight you walked a few steps to Nana. It will be no time before you are running after Thomas outside!

You love being outside. We haven't been able to let you crawl around much; the ground is still cold and wet. You are more than willing to get dirty creeping across the driveway as fast as we can walk behind you! You also love wagon rides and stroller rides. We have been walking as much as possible to give you fresh air and keep you clean at the same time!

You love to eat. You only take two bottles a day now, we will be eliminating these soon too. It shouldn't be a problem with your love of food. Some favorites are... actually you love everything. You will eat a whole apple down to its core; you love these oatmeal muffins Mommy makes for you; potatoes, carrots, beef stew, strawberries, peaches, pears, peas... as long as you can chew it, you like it! I can't wait for your one year appointment to see your weight... I think its up there!

We love you so much. You are such an easy going and happy baby! Tooth number 7 came in last week, 8 should be here soon.

Love you,
Mommy

Snails

Dear Thomas,

You have invisible pet snails. It's awesome. Here are some things you have told me about your snails: they are shy. they eat lettuce and fruit. when you take them to the grocery store you let them touch everything and don't say no when they ask for something.

You hold your snails in your hands, especially at bedtime. They tried to make an appearance at daycare this week, but they decided they were not ready for that. (they are very shy) This has to be the most entertaining thing you have done since your birth! We love it!

Walking... almost

Dear Boys,

Owen you want to walk! You have mastered the art of walking behind the fire truck (or any other toy that can roll, slide and hold you weight) We are following you back and forth from one end of the room to the other, keeping you safe. You laugh the entire time! In addition to walking, you have decided to climb the stairs. I have been trying to teach you, "No" by saying it when you try and climb. You pause, look at me, smile your biggest smile and continue climbing... here we go!

Thomas you were so excited this year for Valentine's Day. You remember things now, and you ask about them again and again. We made Jello for your friends at daycare this weekend. You were very excited to bring it in and share it; you remembered that we had to wait until Valentine's Day and on that day you were so proud and excited to share.

Yesterday you said (exact words), "How can you be sure that the money will go in the bank?" When we were waiting for a deposit at the drive up teller. You amaze me sometimes!! Last weekend it was, "Can I have some fresh milk please?" I don't know how you got such a well developed vocabulary but your adjective use is amazing.

We went ice skating for the first time this weekend. You hated it! You cried a lot, asked to get off the ice, but true to your spirit (you did this during swim lessons) you claimed to love it and said you wanted to go again. We will stick to the rink out back now, we just wanted to give the general idea :)

Brother's play

To My Boys,

You are such a pleasure! Although Daddy and I are incredibly busy at night with you two, you make it worth it. Yesterday, we looked over at you, Thomas, and you had sunglasses on and a cell phone about an inch away from your face. You looked like such a goofball! You say the funniest things, like; "I think tonight is a good night for a movie," always buttering us up to try and watch Bugs Life, Toy Story or Nemo :) You talk constantly while you play (a trait you get from Mommy) so we have a nice running commentary about what you are doing. You love to make your brother laugh, and you are always asking to feed him. We moved your seats at the dinner table next to each other and you reach right out and hold Owen's hand. Such a love.

The tubes have made a huge difference for you Owen. You are sleeping well and much happier during the day. Lately, you have started to chase your brother around and sometimes you tackle him- pulling his hair and trying to bite him. You are so playful :) Mommy really has to keep the floor clean now, you love to pick up your brother's dropped snacks and eat them. The cheerios we can let go, but tonight you ate a goldfish cracker... not quite ready for that yet! Boy are you anxious though.

Love you,

~Mommy

Standing strong

Dear Owen,

I should have posted a while ago so that I could have focused on all the great things you are doing! You pull yourself up to standing, climb stairs (yikes) and love to stand and play at tables now (although you still need to hold on for support). Your belly laugh is incredible! You laugh so hard sometimes at the silliest things. Your brother is the best for getting laughs out, but Mommy can too and the bathtub always brings on the laughs as well.

All that is far from our minds now because we are so focused on healing you. You are having a lot of trouble with your ears. Just like Thomas, you are going to have to have tubes. You have pretty much had an ear infection since December. We have tried many rounds of different antibiotics, but none seem to help. We were scheduled to see an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor for February 20th. Luckily, this week while we are at the doctor's again getting antibiotic shots, the doctor made a phone call and moved your surgery up. So, tomorrow is the big day.

Daddy and I aren't too worried. We went through this with Thomas and we know what to expect. It is still going to be hard though, and I am anxious to have it all behind us! I wish I had been keeping this blog when we went through it with Thomas so I could look back and know exactly what to expect!

You are such a happy and good-spirited baby, even wi

th all the ear pain. I can't imagine what a pleasure you will be once you feel better. Maybe you will sleep through the night :)

Sounds you are making: dadada babababa... no mama yet :(

Love you

~Mommy

Merry Christmas Baby

Dear Thomas,

This was the best Christmas with you so far. You finally got it this year; you understood Christmas, Santa, the whole bit. It was so exciting to see you open your gifts and look forward to playing with your new toys. Unfortunately, you seem to like your brother's toys more than your own. You take them from him all the time.

We got to meet Santa three times!! You were so brave every time we met him.

You have really developed quite an imagination. You run and fight the monsters in the house, using whatever utensil you can find. You love to talk as you play, so we always know what is going on. Your narrations are quite funny for Daddy and I to listen to!

Move It!

Dear Owen,

Two weeks ago you finally did it! You finally crawled :) I gave you the motivation you needed by lying on the floor across the room and you crawled to me. You were so happy with yourself you giggled and laughed. Now, there is no stopping you. You just needed that first "step" to get you going. You follow me all around the kitchen and explore the house as if you were waiting for this very opportunity. I am so proud of you!

Your ear infection just cleared, we were doing a second round of anti-biotics. That means, you have been quite grumpy for almost three weeks. I am so glad to have my happy little boy back now that you are feeling better. Your two top-front teeth also came through this week; poor thing.

We had such a nice time tonight in the bath. Your brother helped and you two giggled and splashed, it was so much fun. I love this age, I think its one of my favorites.