Owen has a new cousin!

Owen has a new cousin - Lillian. She was born on Thurday, May 7 at 8:49 am and weighed in at 8 lbs 7 oz and is 20" long. She's healthy and cute and we can't wait to meet her this week. Congratulations to Nanny Laurie, Uncle James, and Elliot! Here's a picture for you to see and we hope to take lots more when we visit in a couple of days.

a little eye candy...

Our yard is full of spring time blooms and I just love what they look like up close. Here are a few for you to see.

butterfly bush

purple spiky thing (not really sure)

hibiscus

Louisiana iris

Louisiana iris

squash flower - I may have over planted this one - I didn't realize how many squash/zucchini these plants produce on a single plant and I planted a total of 6!

impatiens

mint - I love this plant!

and here are a couple of pics of the little guy sittin' in his "big boy" chair and his high chair

The last few days (read: week) have been kinda rough - Owen had another cold, another trip to the doctor, and more nebulizer treatments for more wheezing. We even had to start an oral steroid which made him more than a little "awake" for the past few nights. So far today he's taken a cat nap, nursed several times (yay!) and even eaten some rice cereal (double yay!). He had stopped eating food and began clamping his mouth shut and shaking his head from side to side every time I offered food so that makes today pretty good! He seems much happier today and his lungs sound clear to me (I've gotten pretty good with the stethescope after a crash course at wheezing identification) so hopefully he's getting over this last illness. I'm really crossing my fingers that I can keep him well for the next few months because I have a feeling this fall/winter is going to be a doozy... That's all for now.

7 months!

Owen is already 7 months old and I can't believe it! He's changing every day it seems and continues to grow and grow and grow. He's fully recovered from RSV and bronchiolitis and we're five days without a single breathing treatment - yay! His latest accomplishments include the following:

• eating bananas (his favorite), pears, apples, peas
• sitting in a high chair at a restaurant
• sitting alone and playing with a basket of toys
• holding his arms up to be picked up
• grabbing your face and snuggling in with his
• laughing to gain your attention and at toys that entertain him
• saying "dadada"

We had a nice Easter and I've included some pictures from Easter "eve" and Easter morning - we left carrots and water for the Easter bunny and he must've liked them because he left Owen lots of toys, two books, and even a pair of sunglasses! Mr. Bunny brought him a few treats at Aunt Steph's and Bee-bee's as well.

Mommy helping Owen paint cookies

Owen painting cookies by himself

Easter "Eve"

"The grass is okay but what am I supposed to do with it?"

This Easter stuff is great - look at all I got!

I wonder what I'll get next year....

RSV stinks...

Yep, you read that correctly - O has RSV! Shocking - my stay-at-home, no daycare, breastfed baby with a compulsive hand-washing, purell-wielding mother has RSV!!! We made a trip to the ER last night because he started wheezing and sounding really bad over the course of a couple of hours. He was diagnosed with "bronchiolitis" and was given a nebulizer treatment in the ER and sent home with a prescription for more of the same with instructions to follow up with his pediatrician today. So today we go to the ped. and she does a quick swab of the nose and within a couple of minutes I'm looking at a bright pink stick that means "we've got us some RSV!" Luckily O is a "happy wheezer" meaning he doesn't seem to be bothered by the illness other than the obvious - he'd like to breathe through his nose and not a nose full of yuckiness and isn't thrilled with the bulb thingy going up the nose to retrieve yucky stuff. He's still eating, nursing, and playing. Last night, lying on the bed in the ER, he was talking to the doctor and trying to get his attention while bouncing his legs and feet non-stop! The doc says that this should run its course over about two weeks so since we're on day 5 of it we're still on the downhill and then hopefully we'll see an improvement in a couple of days and continue going uphill.

Well, let me go clean something (and y'all thought I was nuts about anti-bac stuff before!).

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

Just wanted to say Happy Spring and an early Happy Easter from a cute little bunny!

I spy a...tooth!

Well, our boy is growing and he has something new that popped up - his first tooth! It is one of the bottom ones and it showed up on Friday of last week. He'd been gumming everything like crazy for about the last six to eight weeks (not to mention that he's a "mouthy" kind of baby to begin with) so I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. He plays peekaboo, sort of, he pulls the towel off of his face when I say, "where's Owen?" and then he laughs when I say, "there he is!" He's waving "bye bye" and babbles a lot - oohs, aahs, gaas, and goos, along with lots of syllables and volume play. He LOVES to blow raspberries and tap his hands on things - his highchair tray, your arm, you name it... He's sitting up with little to no assistance and will catch himself if he leans on one side or the other about half of the time.

So far his menu has consisted of rice cereal, bananas, apples, and just today, pears! Along with breastmilk, of course. He seems to be a great eater (he comes from a long line of food fans) and I am loving the food mill that I use to grind up the fruit for him to eat - thanks Ash! It's not much trouble, cheaper than jar food, and smells better!

The three of us went to Owen's first Bach lunch last Friday and he seemed to really enjoy it. After the band ended, we took a walk downtown to a little shop and luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), they were having a GREAT sale! I stocked up on some pants and shirts for next fall/winter at 75% off! (I even got something for Owen's baby girl cousin who'll be here soon)

Well, here are a few pictures of the little guy...

I'm ready for a day out in the sun!

Sweet boy

I'm such a cool dude!

Keepin' the chair warm for dad

Owen is 6 months old!

Today we went for Owen's 6-month check-up and the doctor reported that he was the biggest 6-month old she'd seen today! He weighed in at 20 pounds 13 ounces and 27 inches long. He continues to be in the 90th-95th percentile for height/weight and right at "normal" for head circumference. After we got home we fed him rice cereal for the first time - I'm not sure if it was a hit or a miss since he got a little irritated after a few minutes. We'll try again later or tomorrow.

His new skills include imitating "bye-bye" waving, sitting for about 30 seconds to a minute and sometimes catching himself by propping on one hand while sitting, rolling from back to side (the boy just can't get those big thighs to roll with him all the way over!), and grabbing EVERYTHING! We cannot believe that he is 6 months old - it feels like we just brought him home.

He is definitely a happy kid who loves his walks in the sling or the stroller and snuggles with mom and dad. Here are new pictures for everyone...

reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear (a favorite) with Ashlie

hanging out on the hammock with mom

enjoying the warm breeze

I'm so happy

What's up?

silly face

First Solid Food

Ok, I'll try it but I'm not saying I'm gonna like it...

Wait a minute, where's the milk? This isn't lunch!

This is ridiculous. Waiter!!!

You people are nuts if you think this is good eatin'!