Owen, 6 months

WOW! Today is Owen's 6-month birthday! Amazing!!!

On one hand, six months seems so long and I can't believe we're already here, but on the other it seems like Owen just barely arrived.

A few highlights from the month:

• Owen is just as happy and smiley as ever. Sure he gets a little grumpy if he gets hungry or tired, but it never last long, and he almost always smiles at everyone he sees wherever he goes. It's really sweet.
• He moves his arms a lot. You know, in that baby way where both arms move up and down fast. It is soooooooooo cute.
• He is definitely trying to talk to us more. And the noises he creates make my heart melt.
• He is a champ at rolling over and can get all over the room with his rolling skills. Only one hitch...he can only roll to the right. So funny.
• He's started sleeping in his own bed this month. We set the pack n play up in the girls' room and he does a good job sleeping in his own bed. Only one hitch...he still gets up to eat at least once each night and his silly mom often falls asleep before putting him back to bed, so she is still not getting a great night's sleep herself. But we're getting there...this kid is so spoiled, by the way. Anna and Cate NEVER got to snuggle with mom in the middle of the night. The third kid may get dragged around a lot and miss lots of naps...but they are DEFINITELY more spoiled. ;)
• Owen watches food very intently. You know, watches it on the plate and then follows it all the way up to our mouths when we eat. He is certainly interested. We haven't started any solid foods, but will do so this coming month.
• Owen can often be found scratching stuff. His little fingers are always busy scratching, scratching, scratching. He may be part cat.
• Owen LOVES it when people say BOO!
• Auntie Anne moved here this month...she said that Owen has changed SO much since she moved here just three weeks ago. He's just getting older and a lot more steady. The jerky, involuntary movements of a newborn are almost all gone. Honestly, it makes me so sad...but it is also so much fun to watch him grow and develop.

Happy 6-month birthday, little guy. We love you!

The 6-month photo shoot began with Owen rolling away...to the right, of course. (P.S. can you believe the legs in black pants at the top of the photo is Cate?!?!)

And, as you can see, he was super happy when we rolled him back on his back for the photos.

This was the best shot we could get...

...before he rolled away.

This is all he wanted.

Since he just wanted to be on his belly, I took a bunch of shots of him this way. May as well go with the flow. And of course, he looked adorable. I'm not biased or anything.

When he started eating 'the set,' the shoot was a wrap!

And, of course, Owen with the "growing giraffe." Owen has discovered that he is bigger than the giraffe and that he can take him.

Snapshot

Just a quick snapshot into what's going on with us Maynards right now!

Anna lookin' silly in her St. Patrick's Day garb

More silly.

Cate trying to look silly. This is seriously her being silly.

Owen happy that his parents protected him from the shamrock glasses.

See that little string around Anna's neck? Nate tied it on around when Owen was born. She just decided this week to cut it off. It was kind of sad to see it go for some reason.

Does she suddenly look a lot older to you, too?

Cate got to do the "Marvelous Me" poster this week in her class. Here's the poster! Click on it to see it larger and read all about Cate.

The next Vanna White?

We got to go to Cate's class and watch her present her poster and special items. She practiced at home over and over, loud and clear. Then suddenly, in front of the class, she was super soft spoken. But she got in a groove and ended up doing a fantastic job presenting! 

Mrs. Sullivan took a quick picture of us when the presentation was done. Owen really enjoyed having the entire class stare at us, and as soon as the picture was taken, Nate and Owen were suddenly surrounded by 1st graders. Owen is very popular at Encinal School.

Auntie Anne has moved to Menlo Park! We are all SO excited to have her  here! The girls had a sleepover at Anne's Cottage the first chance they got. Also, Auntie Anne has a new nickname. Annie Pants. The girls came up with it. It just might stick.

Auntie Anne likes it when Owen is in just his diaper...because, well, it IS pretty darn cute. We love his little rolls! Owen likes it too.

Just look at that little guy!

And now, for a bunch of pictures of Owen from this morning. He's just too cute, we can't stand it.

 And a little iPhone art by the great Anna Maynard.

In other news, Nate and Jane gave in and got a minivan. We resisted kicking and screaming but have come to terms with the fact that we are parents. ;) We are LOVING the car. It is awesome.