Lake Chelan

We had a lovely time in Lake Chelan.  We drove to Leavonworth and spent Thursday with Pam and Don.  Friday morning we continued on to Chelan and enjoyed three nights there.  As per our summer routine, we took along our fabulous nanny and best friend, Rachel.  We enjoyed spending time with Alex and Patrick.  Aside from Saturday morning's 10K race and one afternoon of wine tasting; the weekend consisted of swimming, drinking, cooking, chatting and lounging in the sun.  Owen handled the disruption in his routine like a champ.  Every time we travel with him I am surprised by how much easier it is than anticipated.  This is the first summer since I moved to Washington that I've gotten a tan without leaving the state.  It's been fabulous.

7 months

It has been an atypically warm and wonderful Seattle summer.  Owen is growing and changing every day.  He eats solid food, has two teeth, babbles, sits up and crawls.  We have been having a blast and basking in all the joys of summer.   

We still aren't on any type of schedule.  I thought that one would naturally develop but it hasn't yet and it has actually been working out quite well for us.  It's nice because I feel like we can go out and do things as the mood strikes us.  We're not tethered to the house during nap time and Owen sleeps on the go in his carseat and/or the ergo.  When he goes down for a nap I never know if its going to be 30 minutes or 2 hours but he usually takes at least one long nap a day.   He generally saves the 2 hour naps for when we have somewhere to be but they are glorious none the less.  It's so nice to have the days of battling over 30 minutes naps behind us.  That being said, it is getting harder and harder to get him to nap outside of his crib and I think these days are gradually coming to a close.  We follow his lead and will start staying home during nap time once he indicates to us its necessary.  

Nighttime sleep has gotten much better.  He puts himself to bed without a fuss between 6:30 and 7:00, wakes up to nurse between 2 and 4 and gets up for the day between 5:15 and 6:30.  It's hard to believe it has been 7 months since I've slept through the night.  Although O is sleeping a good 7-8 hour chunk, I don't go to bed until 9 or 10 so I am still sleeping in 4 hour blocks.  I am defiantly fantasizing about an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep and feel like Owen is waking up out of habit rather than hunger.  Our plan is to start giving him a bottle at night so we can gradually give him less milk over a few weeks and then we'll cut him off.  It's kind of bittersweet because I do love nursing him at night, but it's time.  After he starts sleeping through the night maybe we can find a way to tackle to 5:15 wake ups, but we'll pick our battles for now.  Our biggest success in the last month is that Owen has figured out how to put his binky back in his mouth independently.  That saves us a lot of trips in and out of the nursery.  

Ty had his first major parenting fail a month or so ago when he let Owen fall out of his swing.  I had mine last week.  Owen was in his crib going down for a nap and I was eating trail mix.  He was fussing so I went in to check on him and accidentally dropped a walnut in the crib.  Some kind of motherly intuition prompted me to check on him again and when I went back in he was smiling and chomping away on it.  Luckily he didn't choke or go into anaphylactic shock so I guess all is well that ends well. 

Feeding him solids has been really fun.  So far he has tried avocado, sweet potato, banana, strawberry, carrots, green beans, broccoli, and pear.  Bananas seem to be his favorite thus far.  I have been mashing up his food and introducing a new one every three days but now I feel like he's ready to start eating whatever.  I'm attempting to start feeding him what I'm eating in small chunks.  I want to give him a variety of beans, chicken, and salmon in the next few weeks.  

To sum up what he is up to these days; he is rolling like crazy, sitting up, has two teeth, says mama all the time, reaches for everything, loves watching and petting Jake, cracks up when tickled, usually falls asleep in the car, is starting to hold the bottle to feed himself, rolls onto his stomach and kicks on the changing table (it's almost impossible to change his diaper and put pants on him) loves to drink water out of a cup-- he laps it up like a dog, went in the pool for first time, loves the swings at the playground, 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed is his new favorite song, he's an iPhone fanatic, and favorite toys seem to be water bottles, fun size chip bags, paper and the remote control. 

Rach has taken over as our summer nanny.  Her and Owen are having a wonderful time together.  I love how enamored with him she is and that she gets to see him grow and change every week.  She has been teaching him sign language and is a total natural.  We are incredibly blessed to have her.  I can't wait for her to have a little one of her own, she is going to be an amazing mama one day.

Lake Wenatchee

We kicked off the summer with an overnight trip to Lake Wenatchee.  All the camp sites were full so we booked a condo on a golf course close to the lake.  It worked out perfect because I don't think we are quite hard core enough to camp with the little guy and the Mosquitos were awful. We went with Rachel and Josh.  They are such a fun couple to be around, plus now that Rach is watching Owen its like traveling with a nanny.  The Lake and weather were both beautiful.  

We arrived Saturday afternoon, checked into the condo and heading down to the lake. We sunbathed for a few hours and took Owen for a dip in the lake.  Despite his skipped nap and the glacial water, he loved it!  I think he is going to be a water baby, just like his daddy.  After Owen fell asleep we drank beer and played the game of "Things."  

Sunday morning Ty and Josh golfed while Rach and I took Owen on a nice long walk. We had lunch in Leavenworth and headed home.  Traffic getting back to Seattle was horrible so we didn't get home until after 7.  Lesson learned, always allow extra time  with a baby on board.  Poor Owen was loosing his mind stuck in his carseat and ready for bed.  The only thing that could make sitting in traffic more miserable is listening to a screaming baby simultaneously.  Rachel's stomach was upset and with nowhere to stop going over the pass she was ready to poop her pants.  I'm not sure which situation was worse but laughing about that helped us pass the time. 

Getting away even for just one night is always so much fun.  We don't have any big trips planned this summer so we are determined to make the most if all there is to do around here.  Next up, Lake Chelan in July! 

First Foods

We started Owen on solids over Memorial Day weekend.  His first food was avocado.  It was a huge mess and he loved it.  We are doing a new food every few days, so far he has also tried sweet potato, banana, pear and carrots.  Banana is his clearly his favorite. We have also been giving him water in a sippy cup and he LOVES it.  He obsesses over those cups.  I'm pretty sure he'll be ready for college by tomorrow.

Baptism Sunday

May 26th, 2013
We had Owen baptized at Peninsula Lutheran Church in Gig Harbor.  The church that we attend in Seattle is non-denominational and they do baby dedications, rather than baptisms.  We really wanted Owen to be baptized Lutheran and Peninsula is significant because it's the same church Ty was baptized in.  Owen loved it.  He didn't cry while we were standing at the alter or when Pastor Jon held him and poured water over his head. He looked quite dapper in his suit and tie and it was a lovely service.  We are looking forward to him growing up knowing Christ and hope he learns to understand church as a place of love, kindness, healing and peace.  My faith is a fundamental part of who I am and has always been extremely important to me.  I pray that we're able to impress those same values upon our sweet Owen as he grows.

Ty is telling proud God parents Rachel and Chris
that Owen blew out his diaper and has poop all over
his back as Pastor Jon is showing him off to the congregation :) 

5 1/2 Month Love Letter

My sweet Owen,

Wow. 5 1/2 months. You have already grown and changed so much in your short life.  You get more and more fun all the time. Your favorite things these days are singing songs, rolling around, playing on the activity mat and in the exersaucer, going for walks in the ergo, taking baths and playing with your mom and dad.  It's pretty awesome that now you clearly prefer us over anyone else.  I see you search for my face and lock eyes with me when you're feeling overwhelmed.  You pretty much always breaks into that beautiful, all consuming smile when I walk into a room.  You've started laughing a lot, which is the best sound in the entire world.  We will do anything to get you to giggle.

We have made some serious progress in the sleep department.  You are now sleeping un-swaddled in your crib and only waking up to nurse once.  We still have a rough night here and there but things are continually improving.  If I'm being honest, I love nursing you in the middle of the night.  Especially on days I work and barely get to see you there is something sacred about the two of us silently connecting while the rest of the world is asleep.  Since I've been back at work I've been taking naps with you most days.  We snuggle in bed together and catch up from some of the sleepless nights. 

We are going to start feeding you solids soon, I can tell you are more then ready.  When we eat, you stare in awe.  The plan is to start with avocado.  I hope you grow up to be an adventurous eater. It won't be long before you're sitting up on your own and you're starting to show signs of wanting to crawl.  I also think you may be starting to teethe.  It's hard work being a baby! 

You dad has been amazing with you and is equally smitten.  Watching him with you makes me love him even more.  I have amazing moments with you every day but the ones that are most vivid in my memory are the ones we've shared as a family.  Mother's Day was this past weekend, my first.  Being your mama is the most amazing gift I've ever been granted.  It brings me more joy than I could have imagined.  I love you in a way only a mother can, my sweet baby Owen. 

xoxo,

Your Loving Mama