Owen, 2 Months

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Owen!

A few things to remember about Owen at 2 months:

• He's starting to do more baby talk. It's just so darn cute we can't even stand it.
• He apparently is "mobile" now. Okay, not really, but while I was writing about Cate this morning, I had him lying on the ottoman. Next thing I know he's on the floor crying. I think he just wiggled off, no rolling yet, but, uh, yeah. No more leaving Owen on the ottoman! Thankfully it's low to the ground and on carpet. And I'm pretty sure he fell feet first. And, yes, I'm just trying to make myself feel better about it.
• He is smiling all the time and is so much more responsive. Nate said last night he can smile at Owen from the kitchen and Owen will smile back. He's also "laughing" - which is more like breathing in heavily and making a funny little noise, but it definitely coincides with big smiles. (See second 17 in the video below!)
• He's starting get some chub. He's still small and I wouldn't call him chubby, but the thighs are getting lines and rolls, and his wrists are starting to look like there is string tied too tight around them. Love it.
• He is starting to throw in nights where he goes 6 or 7 hours without eating. Not all the time and every night is different, but he's getting there. I got 6 hours of straight sleep the night before Thanksgiving. It was amazing.
• Apparently he's inherited the "I refuse to open my eyes for pictures if it's too bright outside because I'm a baby" gene from his dad. Hence the closed eyes in all of his 1 month pictures today. Little stinker.
• He still loves taking baths.
• He had his first Thanksgiving! He slept in his swing all through dinner. And he didn't even tell us what he was thankful for. It was an exciting one for Owen.
• He still loves his swing.
• He sticks his tongue out a lot. Super cute. (See second 26 in the video below!)
• He's good at making a goatee with bubbles.
• He has a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, where we'll find out how big he is - stay tuned!

Here's Owen with is Growth Giraffe!

This post is supposed to be all about Owen, but when I downloaded the pictures, this one popped up from last night, his first Thanksgiving. I just can't believe they're all smiling so perfectly! Happy First Thanksgiving, Owen!

One last thing. This one's for the grandparents...a video of Owen being all cute and smiley.

Owen, November 14, 2011 from jane maynard on Vimeo.

I am thankful.

"She said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful & life was so short." Brian Andreas, Storypeople

This Thanksgiving Nate and I have been feeling especially grateful. I feel like I need to get it down on paper, to take a moment and reflect on what exactly it is we are thankful for.

I am thankful.

For Owen. Owen's birth was scary. We ended up with a prolapsed cord and from the time they discovered the problem to when Owen was out was only six minutes, six sad and harrowing minutes. Over the days following the c-section, various doctors and nurses would say things in reference to the surgery, comments that slowly made us realize just how grave the situation had been. I have shed many tears reflecting on the experience, but the one thing that keeps me together is the gratitude. The overwhelming gratitude I feel when I look at my healthy, happy baby boy. Every second we have with him is truly a blessing.

My friend Kami recently experienced a c-section eerily similar to mine. Only there was one glaring difference...while I was 41 weeks pregnant and ended up with a healthy baby, sweet Kami was only 26 weeks along. Her baby girl Afton only weighed 15 ounces. And Afton only experienced one week on this earth. There were far too many "onlys" for Afton and her family. Their experience is simply heartbreaking. And while my heart has broken a thousand times over for Kami, I also feel grateful for her wonderful example of faith and hope. It is truly amazing.

I am thankful.

For every moment I have with my three children and my husband. A friend of mine just found out her 20-month old has leukemia. The prognosis is good. But it's still hard and scary. Last night when I was talking with Angela, we were reflecting on how you never expect life to change so drastically, for these kinds of things to happen to you. When she took her daughter to the doctor for a fever, she never would have thought they'd be heading to the hospital for weeks of chemo. Life takes turns - sometimes good, sometimes not-so-good. Which is why I'm feeling so grateful this week. Grateful for each moment we have together because, as Brian Andreas put it so beautifully, the world is so beautiful and life is so short.

I am thankful.

For family who sacrificed time, money and sleep to come help us after Owen's birth. For friends, who brought us countless dinners and helped out with the girls in countless ways. I have been continuously awed over the last two months at how people step up in times of need. It's amazing. I learned to accept service, to admit that I couldn't do it all, to ask for help over and over again. And the love we've felt as a result of needing that help has been overwhelming. I am thankful that we will be able to provide that same love and support for others in need when the time comes.

I am thankful.

Cute Cateisms...and a funny Anna thing

I've been keeping notes on my iPhone of some cute things Cate has said recently, so I'm going to actually write about them before the notes mean nothing to me!

Cate's first grade has been reading all different versions of the story Stone Soup. To culminate the experience, her class made stone soup one morning and her teacher asked if I would come be the chef, which essentially involved making sure the pot didn't overflow and that bananas were saved as garnish instead of used as a soup ingredient. As we all know, I've been homebound a lot lately, so I haven't gotten  to volunteer in Cate's classroom yet this year. She was sooooo excited in the days leading up to stone soup. Well, the morning arrived. She went off to school and I told her I'd see her in an hour. When I arrived she was super excited to see me, it was so sweet. She's always quiet about her excitement...like when I went to the book fair with Owen and our stroller was surrounded by her classmates, you could tell she was really proud, but she was very quiet about it. So sweet. ANYWAY...making stone soup with the kids was a blast. They were so cute. I took it home to cook it and brought it back to serve and eat with the kids. While I was gone they had made butter in a jar, so all in all it was very exciting for them. Anyway, we had a great time, but the cutest thing was later that night, Cate was playing with Anna so everything she was saying was directed towards their play. Suddenly she said, "Mom, today was the funnest day ever!" I thought it was part of the play, so I said, "Are you talking to me?" She smiled and said yes, and I asked her if it was because of stone soup, to which she replied with a resounding "Yes!" Seriously, does it get any sweeter than that?

Another night Nate was back with the girls getting ready for bed. I can't remember the exact context, but Anna had gone somewhere with me and walked a lot. Nate said something like, "You did a lot of walking today, huh Anna?" She said, yes, then Cate said, "I did a lot of learning today!" It was just so cute. This girl loves school.

One night when I was sitting on the couch feeding Owen (it was probably about 3 am), I could hear Cate in her bed laughing in the most delighted way possible. Yes, she was asleep. Since Day One she has just been happy. I love that about her.

We had a parent teacher conference for Cate this week. She's right on track, doing well. I was telling her a few days before how when I was a kid, the one thing that I would get in "trouble" for was talking during class, that I just couldn't help myself. Her teacher told us in her report that Cate is very social and likes to talk...BUT...she knows when she shouldn't and is good at focusing/working when it's expected. So apparently she got the talking gene, but she can control it. PHEW! Her teacher said that Cate is a delight to have in class and that if she could have a whole class of Cates life would be easy. Good girl, Cate!

Okay, one little Anna thing. She has the pokey-outiest belly button ever. It's really cute. And really pokey-outey. The other day she noticed Nate's belly button for some reason (I think she was wrestling him). She stopped and asked, "Why is there a hole in front of your belly button?"  Nate and I laughed so hard...she totally doesn't realize that belly buttons that are holes are in fact the standard...to her it's unusual and doesn't make sense! So cute.

Oh one more thing. Yesterday during Thanksgiving dinner (which Anna kept calling our "feast"), she said the funniest thing. Nate and I can't remember the exact verbiage but it went something like...Owen is so cute, just like me.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Maynards!

Owen's Uncle Rocks...but which one?

Uncle Christian sent this shirt to Owen for a baby present. Super cute, right?

But the shirt begs the question, which of Owen's uncles rocks? There are three possibilities:

1) Uncle Christian. First argument for Christian is, well, he gave him the shirt. Secondly, Christian does play guitar and he wrote a pretty sweet song about our family that made all the womenfolk cry.

2) Uncle Jake. Jake is, hands down, the best guitar player in the family. There is definitely a solid case supporting his "rockage."

3) Uncle Cuyler. Is there a better Rock Band guitar player this side of the Mississippi? We think not. Plus he's always willing to play guitar when everyone else wants to sing or play drums. And he gets into it. For real. Here's the proof.

Although...when digging for photos of Cuyler playing Guitar Hero, we discovered this shot of Christian, further bolstering his case.

I don't know what to think anymore. This shirt gives me a headache.

Hijinks with Anna

Before we get to Anna's hijinks, two cute things Anna said to Mimi when she was in town, plus a funny thing that Cate just said to Nate.

1) Owen's diaper was getting changed...I don't remember the exact situation, but Anna could see his back while he was getting cleaned up. She exclaimed, "Look at your back! I have not seen your whole body!" I guess she has officially seen Owen's whole body now. So cute that she even thought about the fact she hadn't seen his whole body. Funny kid.

2) Anna says to Mimi: Let's go outside, it's really windy out. It will blow our hair. But it won't blow it off, it's not that strong. (Mimi was relieved she wouldn't be losing her hair on the outing.)

3) Nate went to the Stanford game last night. He's re-watching part of the game now, mostly looking to see if we could see our friends' daughter crying in the stands at the end of the game. Cate walked into the family room and said, "Why are you watching the game you went to last night?" Like mother, like daughter. Nate and I just laughed.

Okay, now for the really good Anna story.

One day while Mimi was here I dressed Anna in this cute little pink skirt that used to be Cate's. Apparently Anna grew while I wasn't looking because it was a little smaller than I expected and caused her to have permanent plumber's crack. It was a pretty serious case and had us laughing all day. When it was time for Mimi to go pick Cate up at school, we were running a little late, so Mimi tried to sneak out when Anna wasn't looking so she could go more quickly. Of course Anna caught on and went running to the back porch screaming...

"I. Can't. Stay. Here. With. This. Baby!!!!!!"

As if that line wasn't funny enough (apparently she's having some adjustment issues with the new baby), but this is what she looked like while she was screaming...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Maynard Kids!

Don't be scared by these terrifying little girls...and their super cute and happy jack-o-lanterns.

Cate refused to make silly or scary faces. Always picture perfect for Cate! Anna refuses to have a normal happy face. Always picture crazy for Anna! I always just do what I'm told. Right, Nate?

things to remember

just a few things I want to document and remember...

you know how babies and kids are so cute you just want to eat them up? and how you tell your kids that and then give them hugs and kisses, all the while pretending you are gobbling up their cute little ears, toes, fingers, noses, etc? yeah, that's what I've done. and anna totally plays along all the time and tells me she's going to eat me up because she loves me so much, etc, etc. the other day she said yet again how she was going to eat me up and we laughed and giggled. then a few minutes later, in all seriousness, anna asks, "mom, if you eat a person does your belly hurt?" don't worry, no one in the maynard family has actually attempted to eat another member of the maynard family...yet. ;) I told her that yes, your belly would hurt a lot and that people aren't supposed to eat other people, to which she replied, "oh, okay!" and went on with her non-cannibalistic day. glad we got that cleared up.

I feel like things that go on facebook eventually disappear forever. the following may be items you've already seen on our facebook pages. but I have to put them on here so they don't disappear into the facebook ether! so, sorry for the repeats!

today anna and cate were both playing school in their room (separately).  anna was sitting on a chair and had an illustrated version of the Bible that she was reading to the "kids" (i.e. a stuffed frog and bear). I was pulling her hair back to get ready for trick-or-treating tonight, and she just kept on playing, reading to the students. one of the things she said: "This is about Jesus' wife." already shaking up the establishment at just 3 years old...look out, Dan Brown!

when jess was here last week, she played a lot of school with the girls. amazingly cate let jess play the teacher and even told jess that she SHOULD be a real teacher. jess, you must have done a fabulous job playing! anyway, cate was writing up a report card for anna and told jess that the report was going to say that anna was doing good. when cate handed it over, jess immediately came out to the living room to show us the report...perhaps to make sure we got on top of the situation with anna immediately.

yup, anna apparently has been booing God at school. bad anna! ;) we loved how cate had no clue what she had actually written, and that God was even capitalized! sooooo funny.

okay, last thing. as we all know stanford football is doing really well this year. and as many of us know (especially me) Nate has been a true fan since we moved here years ago, so this season has been very exciting. as a result, there has been a lot of football talk and football watching in our house the last month or so. the other morning we were watching College GameDay on ESPN - they were broadcasting from USC, where Stanford would be playing later in the day. at one point Nate said, "I hope Coach Corso picks Stanford to win." Cate looked up at him and said (in all seriousness, mind you, even though it sounds like a taunt, but makes it even funnier because it is NOT a taunt), "If they don't, will you cry?"

Owen, 1 Month

Today is Owen's 1 month birthday. Happy Birthday, Owen!! I can't believe he is already a month old. Time FLIES. It always makes me sad when I can describe my baby's age in terms of months instead of just weeks or days. It means they're growing up. I know, 1 month isn't old, but it's oldER. I hate it. And love it. :)

This blog is more for me than for anyone...a place to write things down that I want to remember. So here are a few things about Owen I want to remember from Month One.

• His arrival was far too exciting for my taste. But despite the scare at the beginning, Owen has been healthy and happy ever since. When Owen was 5 days old, we went in for a weight check, where we discovered that he was drinking about 2 ounces per feeding, as opposed to the expected 1-2 teaspoons. We haven't worried that he was getting enough food since.
• The kid always looks concerned and or worried. The furrowed brow is his default face. It's pretty darn cute, actually.

• Owen has already gone through several phases. Phase 1: eats regularly, sleeps all the time. Phase 2: Eats ALL the time...like every hour, or less. Phase 3: Grumpy Gus - whenever he's awake, he's grumpy, and he has a hard time falling asleep, and he keeps his mom up for 2-3 hours at a time at night...this phase nearly killed me, but thankfully only lasted a week. We are currently in Phase 4: Far less grumpy, goes back to sleep after night feedings (which are still happening a few times a night, but whatever), just all around easier baby to deal with than the Phase 3 baby.
• We have had TONS of visitors to help out. Grandpa Hans was here the week before Owen was born and got to meet him the day before he left town. Grandma Phyllis arrived the day before he was born and was here a week to help out while we were in the hospital and during those first few days home. At that point we weren't expecting any help until mid-October, which put me in to serious panic mode. Thankfully, Auntie Anne came the day after Phyllis left and helped for a few days, then Cousin Sara Beth came for a few days as well - both last minute trips, both unbelievably helpful. I do NOT know what we would have done without those ladies. We had 5 or 6 days alone (unfortunately coinciding with Phase 3, see above!), and then Tia Hannah arrived for a week. The day after Hannah left, Jessica arrived! Jess is here now (thanks for giving her up for us, Cuyler!) and then Mimi comes next week. I believe that this has been the only bonus of having an emergency c-section...all of this wonderful family stepping up and saving the day...and we've gotten so much one-on-one time with them, it's really been wonderful.
• Owen smiled (FOR REAL) the first time last Thursday October 20. Of course he hasn't done much smiling since, so I don't think anyone really believes me...but they were real live smiles, I swear. It was the cutest thing ever.

• Since Jessica has arrived, Owen is getting stronger and stronger by the minute. Jess has noticed a difference in his ability to hold his head up since Friday already. It totally makes him seem older...which he is. The floppy newborn phase is definitely coming to a close very soon.
• Today, as a birthday present to himself, Owen tinkled all over himself, and completely missed me. He had blasted out of his diaper, so while I was cleaning his back, his you-know-what was pointed right at his head while I held his legs up. Of course I was clueless, and when I put his legs back down the poor thing was SOAKED. Hair, face, ears, chest. Jess said when I carried him to the bath, there was tinkle dripping off his ear. Poor kid! But it was really funny.
• Owen likes taking a bath. The first bath of course he screamed. The second bath, not quite as loud of a scream, but still crying. But ever bath since he's been calm and happy. In fact, he gets mad when I take him out!
• Owen loves his swing, and he loves staring up at the mirror and the birds that turn in circles.
• Owen's big sisters love him to pieces. The first thing they want to see when they wake up (especially Cate) is Owen. Cate especially can't get enough of him. It's very sweet.
• Owen weighed 6 pounds 19 ounces at birth and 7 pound 4 ounces on October 10. Who knows what he is now...probably around where the girls were when they were born!

I think that's all the "milestones" I wanted to get down, at least for now!

We love you, Owen! Happy Birthday!!!

Here is Owen and what has been dubbed by Jess as his "Growth Giraffe" - I'll take a picture of him with it each month!

Real Funny, Nate.

Last night was brutal. Owen kept me up forEVER so I'm pretty tired today. He was asleep this afternoon so I put him in his bed and he actually stayed asleep, so I was looking forward to another {mostly likely too short} nap. Of course when I went in the room to lay down, about 30 seconds in Owen started making noises, then I heard a big BLAST and sure enough, he pooped and woke himself up. Defeated, I got up and took Owen out to the family room to change him.

When I walked in the room, I said to Sara Beth (who is here being a HUGE help right now) and Nate, "Guess who's bowels woke him up from R.E.M. sleep just now?"

Nate replied, "Yours?"

Hardy har har. Actually, I did laugh. Pretty hard. Reminded me a lot of this conversation. Glad I married someone funny.