6 months old

Well, seeing as I'm about to turn 7 months old, it's about time for mommy to get on my six month old post, aye?

6 Month Stats (Dr appt. on 6/18/13)
Height: 27.5 inches long (82%-ile)
Weight: 17 lbs 9 oz (49%-ile)
Head: 44.2 cm (71%-ile)

So, as always tall and skinny with a big head, but the numbers are all evening themselves out more and more each month.

*6 month doctor appointment with 2 shots! :(  I screamed on the top of my lungs, then stared into Mommy's eyes with tears streaming down my face.  Mommy was pretty sad too.  But after some cuddling and a bottle I was just fine.
*Still rolling like a machine.  And I can finally get from my belly to my back!  Mommy and Daddy have yet to witness it...I'll be on my tummy, they'll look away for one second and then I'm on my back.
*Sitting up on my own!  A little wobbly at times, but I'm getting stronger everyday! :)
*Mommy started strapping me into this chair high off the ground and pushing nasty, gooey, stuff into my mouth twice a day.  I usually spit it right back out...I think she's trying to poison me, though it tastes ok sometimes.  Not too sure about this eating food thing yet.
*Went to my first Farmer's Market on the Capital Square in Madison.
*First 4th of July celebration.  We went to the DeForest parade and then the town festival, or so I'm told.  Apparently I fell asleep after the parade.
*Started holding my bottle on my own, but still prefer Mommy to hold it after I pull it to my mouth.
*Mommy and Daddy had their first day away from me/night out and I got to hang out with Grandma Bell all day! (Mommy and Daddy were both in a wedding.)
*Trying so hard to get up on my hands and knees and start crawling.  I can get my butt up in the air, but then I just flail back and forth with my head down.

~M, S, and Big O

Treading water

Sooo, remember last month's post where I promised to keep on top of things with the blog?  Yeah me neither.  What can I say, life got in the way again, in the amazing, yet sometimes stressful way it can.  I've been busy working at work and working at keeping this face alive and well.

*Instagram*

Like the last catching up post, I'm going to give you mainly photos from the last 6 weeks.  Because, well, not a whole lot has happened around here.  A few firsts for the little man, starting a new school, and a bit of this and that.  Here we go.  Consider this your warning...lots of Owen pics to follow.

This month, Owen was rolling up a river like no one's business.  He would do it sporadically in his fourth month, but just like that we couldn't keep him on his back for anything.  Lately I've been up with him several times a night since he'll roll onto his stomach, sleep like that for a bit, but then panic when he wakes up because he can't get back onto his back.  Luckily after I flip him over he goes right back to sleep.

He's also learning to like tummy time more, since he's spending so much time on his belly with all the rolling.

But then that happy face inevitably turns into this...

And then this....

We did some highchair shopping last month at Babies R Us.  After trying out a few at the store and reading many many online reviews (what can I say, I love me some review reading), we decided on this one, approved by Owen himself:

The weather in Madison finally turned nice, so we were able to introduce Owen to the outside world.  Lots of time in the shade and a dorky fisherman's hat were a must.  He especially loves to sit on our laps, with his toes in the grass, watching the puppies play.

And you can't forget some sweet shades...for blocking the sun and looking sexy.

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Bouncing in his JumperRoo continues to be one of Owen's favorite past times.  He goes NUTS in this thing.

Even when he's exhausted, he just can't stop bouncing.  There's a video to go along with this picture, but it would't upload.  I'll try it again another time.

**

And just a few random cute pics.

First lunch at The Old Fashioned

Thanks for the cute onsie Auntie Laura and Uncle Brandon!

Crazy napping positions, now of which includes face down on his belly.

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Grandma Bell suggested letting him gnaw on a cold carrot to help with teething.  Which worked great until Ty Cobb snatched up the carrot.  (No teeth yet, but they're very close to popping through for good!)

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Whenever he's super crabby and fights napping on the weekends, going for a walk is a sure fire way to knock him out.  We got over 2 miles logged in on this outing.  Angry sleeping at its finest.

Snazzy shorts!  They're originally from Baby Gap, but I got them for

$3.50 at Once Upon a Child in La Crosse.  Love that place.

And check out this strong man!  He can stand on his own (holding onto the table) for about 30 seconds now!  Thighs of steel...probably from all the bouncing.  Sorry for the blurred photo, I was afraid he would fall while I took a quick picture.  And he's betting stronger and longer at standing every day. :) 

And Owen also loves to wake up at 5am on Saturdays, because obviously that's the perfect time for some bouncing.  This kid loves bouncing so much, he can't even just stand in our laps, he has to be bouncing/jumping constantly.

We also just started Owen on food, but I'm planning a separate post about how we went about all that, including making all of his baby food from scratch.   Here's a preview though. :)

**

Oh, we also started Owen's new daycare/school on May 28th.  And we're loving it.  His teacher, Emily, is so nurturing and sweet.  Though I still 100% hate leaving him every morning, leaving him with her is much easier than it was at the last place.  It's not even that the center we were at was bad, because it wasn't.  But over there Owen was one of 5 babies under the age of one.  Plus 4 or so other kids under 2, all in one room.  And now it's just him, a 9 month old, a 2 year old, 3 year old, and like 3 kids after school.  He gets a lot more one on one time and seems much happier when I pick him up at night now too.

We're working on Owen's sitting skills right now...which thanks to his larger melon is a little tipsy, but he always seems very excited when he sits on his own for about 10 seconds.  Last weekend I looked away for a split second, and then back again just in time to see him tip over and thunk into the floor.  Luckily he seemed surprised more than anything and there weren't any tears.

Ok, I think I've got you all pretty much up to speed around here.  I had a couple videos to add, but they wouldn't upload for some reason.  I'll try again with them another time.  I also have a bunch of post/update ideas brewing away for you all, so don't fret we're here to stay. :)

~M, S, and Big O~

All of the photos above with ** under them are from Instagram.  If you would like to follow me or Matt, request one or both of us for lots of Owen pictures, with a few puppy and randoms also thrown in.

5 months old

On May 14 I turned five months old!  And like Mommy exclaims in every other monthly post, she CANNOT believe I am getting so big and old so fast.

Oh man, check out those thunder thighs. :)  Mommy just loves their chunkiness. :)

*Rolling like a crazy river!  Can't get back onto my back yet, but I'm getting close.
*Learning to like tummy time, since I'm always rolling onto it these days.
*In LOVE with my feet.  Love to pull on them, grab them, chew on them.  Especially love to put them behind my head when my diaper is being changed. Love 'em!
*Started my new school on May 28th.  It's just me, a 9 month old girl, and two "big" kids during the day.  Now I get a lot more one on one time with my teacher, which makes Mommy and Daddy much happier.
*Wearing 9 month pajamas (which barely fit anymore), 6-9 month onsies and 6 month pants.  Still tall and skinny. :)
*Teething has started.  My shirt is rarely drool free and I stick everything I can get my hands on into my mouth.

And Mommy's favorite outtakes from the photo shoot:

Ok, we'll be back soon with a photo bombed post, catching you all up to speed yet again.

~M, S, and O~

Catching up

Yes we are indeed still alive over here.  I'm so sorry for the one month hiatus.  Being back to work was partially to blame.  And then Owen got a really bad cold less than two weeks after starting school, which resulted in two major meltdown days (8 hours of screaming/crying NONSTOP) and a sick day at home with the little bugger nose.  Plus my grandmother passed away, which resulted in a sad, but good trip to Minneapolis.  But anyway, all excuses aside.....we are back and ready to get back to the business of blogging.  This post will be mostly pictures from the last month, with brief explanations/stories with them.  I plan to do some serious blogging from now on.  (Fingers crossed)

Ok, last you heard from us Owen had just turned 3 months old.  And then you heard really quickly that he turned 4 months old this last weekend (4/14).  Here's what you missed.

Owen's new toy!

It's the Fisher-Price Jumperoo.  And he loooves it.  Well for about 10 minutes at a time anyway.  He's feet don't touch the ground yet, so we have to put a pillow underneath him, but after playing in it a few times, he now understands that if he uses his feet, he'll move and bounce around in it.

Mr. Baby Kendall is also rolling with his homies every chance he gets.  He'll only go all the way to his stomach towards the left, but finally started rolling onto his right side a couple weeks ago.

And he loves his Bumbo Chair too.

I don't think he could look more like Matt if he tried. :)  Owen also loooooooves the keys he's holding in the picture above.  Well, love may be an understatement.  God help us if we ever loose them.

We bring them all over the house with us and everywhere we go when we leave the house.  He'll grab them wnen offered, and then shake them up and down, over and over, usually hitting himself in the face, then the belly, and then usually one of us.  But he doesn't seem to mind.

Owen also got his first cold....less than two weeks after starting school.  He was absolutely miserable.  One Saturday he cried/screamed for EIGHT HOURS STRAIGHT.  Nothing would console him except for Matt or I holding him to our chests, and then bouncing on the corner of our bed.  He would fall asleep for about 5 minutes, then wake up screaming.  Over and over.  For eight hours.  Then on Tuesday of that next week, school called me at work to say that the same thing was happening.  So I left work, picked him up, and was able to get him into the doctor that night.  Owen screamed so hard for so long as his doctor tried to look in his ears, that I was almost crying.  But at least he didn't have an ear infection, just a really bad cold.  I stayed home with him the next day, and he got a lot of napping done.  But it took him a good week to get over the cold.

Super sick little guy :(

Owen is laughing all the time lately. :)  His latest thing is watching Suzie bark and hop around on the floor and laughing his butt off at her.  And anytime we do a dance and sing for him, it's the funniest thing he's ever seen.  That's what I'm doing in the background of this video.

We also made a trip up to Minneapolis recently.  My grandma passed away, so though it was a very sad occasion to be up there, it was wonderful to see my family and some of Matt's too.  Including Owen's cousin Arianna.  She is so good with him. :)  She likes to tickle his feet and play peek-a-boo.

Owen also finally got to meet his cutie friend Isabel, my friend Briana's new baby.  They were best buddies right away. :)  He looks like such a giant next to little Izzy, though they're only 8 weeks apart.

Sooo crazy think we're both moms now and responsible for those little stinkers

becoming normal adjusted members of society...or at least members. :)

At school this last week, it was Week of the Young Child.  Dorky name, but Owen got to dress up for theme days with all the other kids.  Monday was hat day.  Unfortunately, besides his stocking hat, this was the only one he had that kind of fit....

And Wednesday was wacky outfit day.  And in our house that apparently means 56 kinds of stripes day.

And I'll leave you with my favorite picture of Owen to date.  Seriously, how can you not love him? :)  That face will never do anything wrong. :)

Love you all and mean it (thanks for not forgetting about us!),

Matt, Steph, and Owen

***Weekly words of wisdom: You know you're a mom when you are at work for a couple hours and notice something smeared all over the shoulder of your black shirt....and realize you've been wearing baby puke as an accessory.  Then you just casually wipe it off and continue on your day.  Ahhh motherhood.***

Got milk? Nope.

We've made a pretty major change in the Kendall household over the last week or so.  We've cut any and all dairy out of our diets (for the most part anyway).  Our choice to embark on this journey is 100% blamed on this guy:

Who me?

Over the past couple of weeks, Owen's sweet/happy little baby disposition had transformed into a fussy-I'm never happy-waaaawaaawaaawaaaa-you'll never make me happy sort.  His stomach would bloat way up, which had to make him uncomfortable, which led to non stop fussing.  Or we would feed him and he would be unhappy.  We would hold him and he would be unhappy.  He would lay down for kicking time and be unhappy.  He also had a slight rash/skin irritant, lots of dry skin, and he was spitting up more often.  (Disclaimer...I know babies spit up...but Owen doesn't really.  Spitting up for him is having a small amount of milky drool come out of his mouth after a feeding, like once a day.  And suddenly he was spitting up more than that many times a day)  After doing some research, I found that all his symptoms could be pointing to a possible dairy allergy.  And since he's on a 100% breast milk diet, he was getting the dairy proteins through me.  And the only way to help him out was to cut all dairy out of my diet.  Since we had a doctor appointment scheduled for 2 weeks later, I figured it couldn't hurt to cut dairy out, just to see if it made a difference in the little man.

And, no joke, within a day we could see a difference.  Mostly with Owen's belly not being bloated anymore and also his fussiness level went way down.  It can take up to 10 days for dairy protein to completely leave your system, so it will be a work in progress, but he honestly seems more like his old happy self.  About 5 days in I had a little bit of cheese for lunch one day (part of me thought maybe I was being crazy about the dairy), and just like that his stomach bloated up and he was Captain Fussy Pants that afternoon. (Gas drops also help a little bit when his belly gets hard) His doctor appointment is this coming Monday, so we'll talk to the doctor more about it then.  But until that time, I figure it is 150% worth it to cut dairy out of my daily food, if it makes Owen feel better.

Other than that, we haven't been up to too much around here.  Matt goes back to work next week and I have just under a month left of Maternity leave (boooo to that).  So, we're just trying to get in as much family time as possible....which pretty much means we've been stuffing our faces all around Madison.

***Congrats to my buddy Briana on her daughter, Isabel, who was born on the 8th!  Owen can't wait to try out his smooth baby moves on her! :)***

Here are some photos of the little man from the past week or so, since I'm sure that's why most of you check in with the blog anyway :)

Testing out the Baby Bjorn...took us about 10 minutes to figure out how to work it.

Napping with daddy...drinking half a bottle is hard work.

Ty Cobb and Suzie LOVE me :)

What's up ladies?  (I'm talking to you Isabel :)  )

Future Badger :)

Helping mommy with the laundry...such a good sorter.

Pound it.

Happy Valentine's Day!  The three of us went out for breakfast and then had pizza for dinner, like Matt and I have done every year for the past 10 years....only mine was without cheese.  Pizza without cheese sucks.

~M, S, and O~

***Weekly words of wisdom:  Guest wisdom from a friend..."How can Steph go dairy free if she's feeding the baby breast milk?"***

Handsome McSmiley

About two weeks ago, Little Mr. Owen graduated to his next baby milestone....smiling at Matt and I. :)  And can I just say, if I could have possibly melted anymore, I would be a puddle of liquid goo right now.  Matt too, though he'll hate me for sharing that.  :)

A day or so before, Owen had started smiling at his initial (O X K) blocks on the wall next to the changing table.  Yup, we were superseded by homemade art.  Matt got his little gummy grin to show first, by shaking his head really fast back forth and saying "OwenOwenOwenOwenOwen."  While Matt nursed his headache from doing that 56 times, I got Owen to smile at me by make my hand look like it was monster, while making "RaarRaarRaarRaar" sounds (in a baby friendly way) and then "Boop"ing him on the nose.  Yup, he really makes me work for it.

Capturing it on camera proved to be quite the challenge.  Here's the best one we got.

Hahaha just kidding. :)

Haha, that last one cracks me up. :)

We've also been working on getting Big O on some sort of a schedule during the day.  We're loosely following the Baby Wise Plan, which is "training" your baby to sleep on a schedule during the day that will help them sleep throughout the night.  The sample plan I found online wants you to put your baby on a three hour schedule.  Meaning that every three hours you do the following:

Wake up baby

Diaper Change baby

Feed baby

Lay down baby (or we call it "doing some kicking" because Owen loves to lay down on his play mat and kick up a storm)

Nap (about 90 minutes)

Repeat

The 90 minute nap doesn't ever really happen.  He either naps for about 45 minutes or 3 hours, there isn't a whole lot of middle ground.  But, otherwise we follow this the best we can depending on Owen's mood and also if we're at home or out and about.  And so far it's going well.  We've been doing it for about a week now and I think he's been sleeping better at night.  We usually put him to bed around 8pm (after feeding him) and then he sleeps until 12:30-1:00am, then its a diaper change and feeding.  Then another change and feeding around 4:00am.  Then he's usually ready to start the day around 6:45 or 7:00am.  When I'm up with him during the night, it's normally only for about 20-30 minutes too, so I'm not too exhausted during the day.  And he slept for his longest stretches ever, 6-7 hours three times thi last week!  :)

According to the baby books, this week Owen should also have been able to grab on to an object, when we handed it to him.  So we tried it and low and behold he grabbed the baby key set we offered him.  As long as we put it up to his hand, he'll grab on and then start shaking it.  Pretty amazing, huh? :)  I can remember my brother marveling at my niece doing this and Matt and I not being too impressed.  To which RJ replied, "Just wait until your own baby does it."  And yes, I can now agree, it is a momentous event. :)

We also finally found and signed Owen up for his temporary daycare.  We've had his permanent daycare set up for months, but he can't start until June 1st.  So, we needed to find a place for him from mid March (when I go back to work) until June.  We toured a center in town a couple weeks ago and thankfully they had room and it seeed like an amazing place.  He'll be one of three little babies, with a couple under 2 year old kids in there with him too. (All the kids are divided up by age, into different rooms).  Having found and nailed this place down has been such a relief.  I was getting worried that I would have to strap on the Baby Bjorn and bring him to work with me....hmmm now there's an idea. :)

~M, S, and Big O~

***Weekly words of wisdom: I wish I would have listened to advice from friends that Owen would only need 5 or 6 newborn outfits/pajama sets.  I went crazy and bought a ton (granted a lot were from garage sales) and he ended up wearing the same 4 or 5 pajamas the entire first 3 weeks or so....and then he had grown out of all his newborn clothes.  And it's soooo much easier to just dress him in cute little pj's instead of an actual outfit (though I do pull out the outfits a couple times a week).  Having to take pants on and off everytime he needs to be changed is a pain in the buttocks.  A couple cute pajamas and you'll be set.***