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.

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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. :)

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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.

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.***

The final countdown

Not too much too much to share this week.  It's my last week of maternity leave, so I am just loving on and cuddling up every second I can with this little bug:

This last weekend, Owen and I took a trip down to Beloit for a lunch date with my best buddy Court.  We did some awesome talkin' and lots of catching up.  Big O was amazing and if he wasn't sleeping through our chit chat, he just stared at the tin ceiling and ceiling fans that the restaurant had.  What can I say, the kid loooves ceiling fans. :)

She loved his arms in this one. :)

On Wednesday this week we stopped in at our temporary daycare center to meet with Owen's teachers and to set up his cubby.  I dropped off diapers, wipes, butt paste, extra clothes, and his paperwork so that everything is all set for next Monday.

I've been stressing myself out SO MUCH over going back to work and Owen starting daycare.  Honestly, I can barely sit still and just enjoy these last few days with him.  I can't stop thinking about missing him,  how many bottles to send each day, not being able to hug him anytime I want, worrying about him being left in a corner alone all day, worrying over him not being held or cuddled enough, worrying that he'll forget who I am, or worse, cry when I bring him home because he will get more used to his daycare people.  Ugggghhhh.  I can feel a nervous breakdown or at the very least a panic attack creeping up on me..... : (

Ok, let's try to be positive Steph....here's another cute video of Owen.  I was shaking my head back and forth at him, trying to get him to laugh and he started copying me. :)

Owen is thiiiis close to rolling over.  He'll roll onto his side and then either hang out like that for a while, or he'll give himself a push, then startle and roll back onto his back.  We keep hoping he'll do it for the first time at home and not have to hear that he did it at daycare first.

He also has been spinning around in his crib at night.  I'll put him to bed in the middle of the crib, with his head pointing a certain direction and when I check on him when I go to bed (about three hours later) he'll have spun 180 degrees and have wedged himself into a corner.  We bought one of those breathable mesh crib liners to keep his limbs corralled and accounted for.

We're still working on tummy time....and he still hates it.  Even though he can hold his head up pretty well, he seems to forget some of the time and just give up and scream.

I swear I can't do it...

Ok...if I pick it up a little bit, will you leave me alone?...

Seriously Mom, is tummy time over yet?  And get that GD camera out of my face.

Otherwise Owen and I have just been hanging out and cuddling lots and lots and lots.  He LOVES peek-a-boo right now.  And if I repeat anything over and over really fast while shaking my head, he giggles  a lot. :)  Today he liked "Gagagagagagagaga" and "DaddyDaddyDaddyDaddyDaddyDaddy."

Supervising kicking time

Since it hit 40 degrees today, I ventured out for a walk with both dogs and Owen in the stroller...the dogs are terrified of the stroller, so it was an adventure. 

All bundled up for our walk! :)

Posts will probably be coming out on Saturdays or Sundays from now on, since I'm going to be devoting all my evening time to Mr. Owen.  Oh, some good news on the work front, I got approved to work 7:30-4:00 since his temporary daycare doesn't open until 6:00am.  Later in March I'll be switched to 8-4:30 while we try some new procedures in the lab.  I'm hoping to be on the 7-3:30 shift eventually so I can have some time with Owen after work.  The crazy little man has been sleeping straight through from 7pm to at least 5am the past two weeks!

oxoxoxo,

M, S, and O

***Please send Owen and I happy thoughts next Monday....I think we're both going to need them.***

Giggle pants!

Ok, I'm going to jump ahead over last week and into this week first.  Mr. Owen has started laughing!  Seriously, the cutest thing I have ever seen or heard in my entire life. :)  Here's a super short and not so great video of it, but you get the idea. :)

He laughed out loud for the first time last Tuesday (2/19) when we were on a playdate at my friend Heather's house.  He was on the floor, staring at a painting on her wall and suddenly laughed out loud.  It was the cutest, most confusing thing ever.  Apparently mommy shoving different toys in his face, while making crazy noises wasn't that funny at the time.  Thankfully, he has since found Mommy and Daddy hilarious. :)  The video is from Sunday night (2/24) and he laughed about 6 times.  I'm so happy Matt had his phone ready to catch the video.  He has a longer version on his phone that I'll try and get up next week.

Ok, back in chronological order.  Last Monday (2/18) Owen had his 2 month doctor appointment...and as most moms know that also meant he got his 2 month shots.  He was really relaxed throughout the entire appointment until they stuck him.  He got 3 shots, 2 in one thigh and 1 in the other.  He let out two, piercing 30 second screams and then thankfully I was ready with a bottle to help calm him down.  He was not a happy camper, but seemed to do alright through it all.  He is still considered to be tall and skinny with a big head. :)

Grandma Bell came to visit last weekend.  She go in lots of cuddle time and play time with Owen, including getting him to laugh out loud with her. :)

Suzie loves Grandma Bell too

I've been working on trying to get Owen on an eating and sleeping schedule throughout the day since he starts daycare in less than two weeks (cue loud sobbing and frantic baby hugging).  So far we have the eating schedule down (every three hours throughout the day) and he always takes a morning nap after 2nd breakfast (which he eats about 2 hours after 1st breakfast, which he gets when he first wakes up) and he usually falls asleep sometime in the afternoon for an hour or so.  But I've just been letting him do that as he pleases.

Here's a few photos from the past two weeks.

This cute hat was too big for home when he was born...now his head is too big for the hat.  Not a fan.

Hanging out with Ty Cobb...They had been napping together right before this.

Owen has really started to focus on individual objects.  He used to just flail about hitting the hanging toys, but now he will look at the hanging cat (black and white toy) and then move his hand to hit it.  He'll do this over and over again to hear the jingle noise the toy makes and to watch it swing. :)

Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with Daddy....it's their favorite show. :)

On Matt's last day off he taught TY Cobb that he can see over the foggy part of the window.

Thanks for that by the way.

First Baby Bjorn walk around the neighborhood with Mommy and the puppies.

Waiting for Mommy to stop taking pictures and just give me my GD bottle already.

~M, S, and O~

***Weekly words of wisdom: While on a walk with your puppies and baby, one dog will definitely climb to the top of a snow bank to poop and of course the owner of that house will be outside, so you will have to climb the 4 foot snow bank, with your baby strapped to your chest, just to pick up your cat sized dog's poop.***