Owen 8 Months

This post is coming a bit late...but my notes and photos were already to go when Owen hit 8 months. Better late than never! (Grandma Phyllis noticed the absence of a post on May 25 - what a good Grandma!)

A few things to remember from Owen's 8th month:

• He really started "jumping" when in his exersaucer!
• Owen went to MIAMI! I had a business trip and Owen came right along with me. He was an angel the whole time. No crying on the long plane rides, he smiled at pretty much everyone he saw all weekend, and he even partied it up in style at the Versace Mansion on Cinco de Mayo. How many 8 month olds can make that claim? I've decided taking Owen on that trip was the best thing ever for my blogging career. Everyone wanted to talk to me (Owen) and remembered me (Owen). The crowning moment? When the editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart Living held Owen over her head to play with him. Go Owen! Way to network! He also enjoyed dabbling his feet in the warm Florida waters, as did his mother. I haven't ever touched a warm ocean...it was awesome! Owen beat me to the experience by 32 years! He really was a joy to have on the trip, it will always be a sweet memory for me.
• Owen enjoys sticking his tongue out. Not all the time, but he has discovered the trick. 
• Owen waved for the first time this month! Nate and I went to the Macy's furniture store and the very kind and very talkative furniture saleswoman Paulette waved at him at one point, and he totally waved back. Then when we were leaving he did it again! It was really cute. He's done it only a few times since, but he definitely did it.
• Owen has stinky stinky toots. We don't remember the girls having this charming trait. It's official, boys are just stinkier.
• Still not super interested in real food by 8 months. He's taking after his big sister Anna in that regard!

Here are some shots from his 8 month birthday! Apparently not being able to open your eyes outdoors is genetic...thanks, Nate. ;)

Only one shot with his eyes open out of about 20!

Owen 7 Months

This post is a few days late, but it's here nevertheless! Happy 7 Month Birthday, Sweet Owen!

A few things I don't want to forget from your 7th month:

• Owen can officially sit up all on his own! Actually, it was pretty funny...right after he turned 6 months, I was giving him a bath and let him sit up to splash a bit. I was expecting to be holding him up the whole time, but he was pretty much holding himself up. I thought it was the cushiony sponge he was sitting on helping him out, but when we got out of the tub and tried sitting on the floor, we realized he could actually sit on his own! It was a fun and unexpected discovery! As the month has progressed he's gotten better and better and his head has only had a few encounters with the floor.
• Owen's swing is right by my desk, so if we turn it the right way he can see the screen. The screen saver is a family photo slideshow, which he already loves watching. A few times we've caught him laughing as the pictures come up on the screen. One night in particular he was laughing hysterically, especially when pictures of himself popped up. It was so funny!
• Owen is really discovering his voice. The kid can be LOUD when he wants to be...whether it's happy noises, jibber jabber, anger, crying, whatever...his vocal chords are getting exercised well.
• He raises his arms now when we approach and he wants to be picked up. Maybe one of the cutest things ever.
• Owen loves to give his mom kisses. If he's in a kissy mood, all I have to do is kiss his cheek a bunch of times, then turn my head and he attacks my face with his wide open mouth. He totally thinks it's funny and loves doing it. If I say "Are you gonna give mama kisses?" he totally does it. It's hilarious. He hasn't done it much to anyone else yet...we think Dad's beard is just too scratchy!
• Owen has stinky toots. We don't remember the girls having stinky toots. Owen's got 'em. And as stinky as it is, it's pretty endearing, too, for some strange reason.
• Owen has started laughing really hard when other people do silly things. We were at the girls' swim lessons a few weeks ago and a little boy was playing with his shirt and Owen would not stop laughing. Then a few days later we were leaving Happy Hollow (a little amusement park) and a boy was running silly in front of us and again Owen was in stitches! Just last night Annie Pants was doing a silly dance and Owen started laughing it up. It's so cute!
• Okay, this last thing is still up for debate...but there have been three occasions where Owen is wanting me, and when he just can't take it any more, we SWEAR he said "mama." the first time he did it and one of my friends heard it. the second time nate heard it. the third time nate and anna heard it and anna even said (without ever having heard us say anything about this), "owen just said mama." I KID YOU NOT as I was typig this very bullet, owen is in the swing behind me starting to get fussy. he turned his head and said "ma" and when I looked at him he smiled. okay, that's four times! maybe he really is saying it? I don't know! seems crazy!

And now, the pictures! And I did in fact take these ON his 7 month birthday, even if I didn't post them until a few days later. :)

Owen is growing!

Mom. Really. Do I have to lay by this 'growing giraffe' AGAIN?

Just hanging out. Still no effort to crawl, which is just fine with Mom!

Sitting up like a big boy!

A boy and his sister's truck.

"Okay, this is the last picture, right?"

Happy Easter!

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.