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.

Owen, 5 months

He's done it again...Owen's gone and aged another month! Happy 5 months birthday, little guy!

A few things to remember from this past month:

• He's starting to learn how to put his pacifier in the right way all by himself. This was a trick he impressed Grandma Blomquist with, leaving her to think he's a total genius...which he is, of course. He actually did it today in the car while I was putting the stroller in the trunk. All of the sudden I could hear all this yelling and was convinced one of the girls was crying about something, but when I opened the door it was just Cate yelling with excitement about Owen sticking the binky in his mouth. Pretty cute.
• On January 31, Owen sat up for the first time...and Cate cheered! (Are you sensing a theme here? Cate is the best cheerleader in the family by far. even when she was totally drugged out with her broken arm and could barely talk, when I told her anna had gone tinkle in the potty all by herself, she sat up and faintly said, "Oh, Anna!" with pure delight. I love that girl...but I digress) So, anyway, Owen sat up for probably a good 20 seconds or so, did it again, and THEN dad came in the room and he wouldn't do it again...of course. He has definitely NOT mastered the skill, but he did it again yesterday, so I think he's getting closer!
• On February 3 Owen finally rolled from back to front all by himself! As the month has progressed he can now keep rolling all the way across the room. I think he still only rolls to the right, which is pretty funny. 
• He is always grabbing his toes. I think this might be the cutest thing ever, next to puppy dogs of course.
• Owen is getting very good at reaching for things and picking them up. Still doesn't have total control, but he definitely can do it and he loves playing with toys. It's amazing to me how that skill has developed over the last month. Babies just change so fast!
• Owen took his first plane ride! Grandma Blomquist had a rough January, so we decided to surprise her for her 83rd birthday with a little visit from Owen, her second newest great-grandchild (way to steal the spotlight, Sophie...just KIDDING.) Owen and I had to fly through Phoenix to get to SLC (dumb) but he was an ANGEL for all four flights on our trip. As we would leave the plane people (including airline employees) kept saying he was the best behaved baby ever. Go Owen! He was actually an angel all weekend...he didn't cry at all until we landed in SFO at the end of the trip. The first day we were in Utah he hung out with the Findlays for the morning (Linda is an excellent babysitter), then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Blomquist's. They had no idea we were coming, so I just walked back into their room and surprised them...Grandpa didn't even know it was me for a little bit! Owen laid next to Grandma on her bed for I think SIX hours that day, just being cute and napping. It was the best birthday present he could have ever given her. I am so so so glad we went on this trip...we had some fun with the Hansens down in Provo for a bit then headed back up to SLC for Grandma's birthday and to see Auntie Anne and Grandma Phyllis, who also came in for the birthday surprise. It was a wonderful day filled with lots of great family time! 
• The next weekend Owen came along on a girls' weekend to Carmel. What a good sport. He was, again, totally well behaved, despite having gotten shots that very day. 
• One of the funny things about Owen (besides all the raspberry blowing that goes on) is that he's always pulling blankets and burp rags over his face. He often does it right before he goes to sleep. It's sooooo funny. I need to get a good photo of it. The other night he pulled it over his face and then tooted. I think that might have been the funniest use of the technique.
• At his 4 month appointment he was 13 pounds 13 ounces
• He loves playing patty-cake and buzzy bee - makes him totally laugh
• Owen has discovered his voice. If he wants something, he now knows he can yell about it. And so it begins...

I've decided the term bouncing baby boy was created to describe Owen, as was the word scrumptious. 

We love you, Owen! I can't believe you're 5 months old already! We are SO happy and thankful to have you in our little family!

Owen and Grandma Blomquist hanging out

There's one of his dimples!

Owen and the Growing Giraffe! 

Cate & Ramona

Cate this morning with her beautiful bedhead.

The first chapter books that Cate and I read together were the Ramona Quimby books. I remember loving those books as a child and can even remember specific scenes from them to this day. Since Cate is pretty much my clone, I figured she would enjoy the books as well.

We read all eight books and we both loved them. There is just something so sweet and innocent about the books and also very relatable and timeless. Although, Cate is not really anything like Ramona...they both have big imaginations, but that's where the similarities stop. Cate would never squeeze an entire tube of toothpaste into the sink, not even if you offered her dessert for dinner, which is saying something. And when we read that scene, Cate was physically squirming and saying, "no! no!" because she just knew it was naughty, even though Ramona wasn't doing it for necessarily naughty reasons. It was adorable. While Cate probably relates to older sister Beezus more than Ramona the Pest, she loved all the characters and all the stories. It was a pure delight to share the books with her, snuggled on the couch or in my bed.

Since we finished all of the books, Cate was allowed to watch the movie "Beezus and Ramona" with me. We arranged to have Anna go to a friend's house to play (Thanks, Wendy!) since Anna has to read the books herself one day before seeing the movie (I have a feeling Anna may relate to Ramona's character traits on a deeper level than Cate...heaven help us!). Today was the big day, we finally got to watch the movie!

Watching the movie with Cate was almost as sweet as reading the books. First off, the movie is adorable...they combined stories from all 8 books into one movie, so you're not constantly comparing the movie to the book, which was nice. And I felt like they stayed very true to the feeling of the books. Anyway, back to Cate. She actually got scared at some parts (like when she knew Ramona was going to crack a raw egg on her head...she wouldn't even watch the screen!). And she cried FOUR times during the movie...when the cat died, when Uncle Hobart declared his love for Aunt Bea, when Ramona ran away from home, and during Hobart and Bea's wedding. Oh my goodness how my heart melted watching tears roll down Cate's cheeks. She just has such a tender heart, I love that about her more than anything.

As the final credits started to roll, I couldn't help but cry myself. I did a good job hiding it, Cate had no clue (ironic since I kept telling her it's okay to cry in books and movies, that I do it all the time). But...I don't know...we're done with Ramona. She'll maybe read the books herself again one day, but our journey with Ramona together is over. And, like Ramona, Cate is growing up. I'm so happy I get to witness it and watch her personality blossom and grow...but I can't help but tear up knowing she won't be my little girl forever, that she won't always be discovering books (and the world) with me. I know, it's the way it's supposed to be...but a mom can cry, can't she?

I love you, Cate. I love the time we've spent together with Ramona and I love your sweet, innocent heart.

Owen, 4 Months

Happy 4 Month Birthday, Owen!

I can't believe we're one-third of the way through his first year. It completely blows my mind. Here are a few things we want to remember from Owen's fourth month:

• On Christmas Eve (I suppose that was technically his third month, but close enough!) Owen grabbed and held a toy for the first time. Uncle Christian and Aunt Cora had sent him a wooden ring toy for his Christmas gift...we handed it to Owen and he actually held on. It was kind of a big deal. ;) Ever since then he's been holding on to things more and more and actually is now reaching out for toys and items held in front of him. He LOVES chewing and sucking on things, especially blankets and burp cloths. And his favorite thing to grab onto is his binky and the fabric strap for his pacifier clip...must to his own consternation! He can often be found unwittingly popping his binky out of his mouth because the strap is so fun to grab on to.  He still "knits" and doesn't have full control over his hands (or his whole body, really), but it sure is fun to watch his dexterity develop so quickly.
• On January 8 Owen was steadier than he'd ever been sitting up on my lap at church (he did a good job flirting with the ladies in the row behind us). The rest of that day he kept trying to pull himself to a sitting position. He was sitting on my lap at one point, with is back leaning against me, while I was reading to Anna...suddenly he pulled himself up to a sitting position. This was the beginning of Owen never wanting to just sit back and relax...he always wants to be sitting up and is constantly trying to sit up when he's lying down. Of course, normally once he gets up he keeps on going and falls forward, so he's not quite to the point of actually sitting on his own, but if he has anything to say about it he will be soon! Needless to say he enjoys the Bumbo a lot. And I kind of love the Bumbo, too, because he looks so tiny when he's sitting in it. He may be growing, but he's still our little guy. And he's still as wobbly as can be. I'll be sad when the wobbliness goes away...
• Owen just continues to laugh more and more. In fact, he started this morning off with a great burst of giggles while I was kissing his face. Im pretty sure there isn't a better sound in the world.
• January 20th was the first time he rolled from his stomach to his back. Go Owen!
• On January 23rd, we tried "peek-a-boo" to see how he'd react since it had been a few weeks since we had tried it. Whenever I said "Boo!" he would laugh hysterically, and the laugh was exactly the same each time. Nate and I couldn't stop laughing ourselves. I think this may be my new favorite pastime...playing peek-a-boo (or just plain old 'boo') with Owen.

We love this little guy. He is still such a happy baby and he causes each one of us (including the girls) to declare is cuteness multiple times each day. We love you, Owen!

 The growing giraffe...Owen's totally growing faster.

My favorite picture from the entire month.