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.***

4 months old

Sososo sorry for the longest delay ever in updating you all.  Stay tuned for a post full of catching up.  But until then, a certain little stinky pants just turned 4 months old last Sunday (4/14). :)  Seriously, how is he possibly that old already?  He had his 4 month doctor appointment on Thursday (4/18) where he got his 4 month shots. :(  Luckily he was so wiped out from not napping that morning, that after one loud shriek and come shaky sobbing into mommy's shoulder, he fell right asleep.

4 month stats:
Height: 25 3/4 inches long (70% ile for his age)
Weight: 15.1 lbs (39%)
Head: 42.2 cm (68%)

So he's starting to even out a bit, but he's still a little tall and skinny with a big head for his age. :)

The doctor also talked to me about starting him on people food.  I went into the appointment with every intention of doing just that, but left not wanting to start it up yet.  I want our little baby to stay a baby for a bit longer.  Maybe next month we'll start on the rice cereal.

4 months old

But again, stay tuned for a post chalked full of photos and info catching you all up on the last month.

Thanks for sticking with us! :)

~Matt, Steph, and Owen~

3 months old

So this last week I went back to work and Owen started going to school (what we call daycare...seems less traumatic that way....for me).  To say Monday was hard would be an understatement.  I was feeling ok Monday morning, starting our new routine.  Tears were being kept at bay....until Matt left for work and said, "I'm proud of you guys, you'll do great."  Ughh stupid jerk being all supportive and nice to me.  And then the tears started a little bit.  Once I got to school with Owen, I took him out of his carseat, handed him over to his teacher, opened my mouth to tell her something and burst into tears.  Owen took one look at my face, his little lip popped out and then he started crying.  I gave him a quick kiss and literally ran out the door.  I knew if I stayed another minute I would have ended up calling in sick.

Matt called about 2 minutes later....and the conversation was pretty one sided, pretty much just him trying to calm me down.  Once I got to work I was a bit better.  It was good to see all my coworkers again and everyone was super nice and seemed happy to see me (aka good distraction).  When I went to pump for the first time, sitting in a handicapped bathroom alone (with no shirt on), thinking about Owen being at school, made the tears return.  The rest of the day was ok.

When I got to school to pick him up, his afternoon teacher was great and brought him right over to me and put his face right in front of mine so he could see me and he just lit up. :)  All smiles and flailing about (that's his happy dance).  Buuuuut then we got home.  And every time I looked at his little face all I could think about was not being with him.  And not seeing him for more than two hours a day, 5 days a week.  So the tears returned.  And didn't stop.  And didn't stop.  And just wouldn't stop.  I cried from the moment I got home until I finally fell asleep around 11:00pm.  I'm pretty sure Matt thought I was either a). Going to quit my job the next morning, or b). I was having a nervous breakdown, or c). Possibly both.  Not gonna lie, option C was buzzing around in my mind.

Tuesday morning I didn't cry at school, but then Matt in all his wonderfulness called to check in again right after I dropped Owen off and the water main broke down.  That night, Owen fell asleep only 90 minutes after we got home...which almost pushed me over the edge again.  When I looked in on him before going to bed, again all I could think about was being away from all day everyday.  And maybe cried for an hour...

The rest of the week was a bit less dramatic, but only made me realize how much I wish working part time was a more viable option.  My department at work is short more than 2 people right now, and will be short even more very soon.  And we were all already overworked before being shorthanded.  Part time is a zero possibility at this point.  And I really like my job and all my coworkers, so hopefully everything smooths out over time.

Anyway....That was the last week for us.  Owen seems to like school.  He's in a room with about 8-10 other kids 18 months and under.  There are two other little babies around his age for him to play with and there is one little girl (about 14 months old I think) who seems to have a crush on him. :)  She always wants to rock his carseat when we're packing up and likes to gently pat his hand goodbye. :)

And to end on a happy note....Owen turned 3 months old on Thursday (3/14/2013)!  Ahhhh I can't believe our little bug is growing up so fast!

He's pretty excited for opening day just around the corner. :)

Seriously, check out those chunky little legs. :)  

Owen and his bear...Bearemy. :) (Thanks Uncle Seth!)

And because we're such responsible, mature, adult parents, Matt and I also thought this was a good idea...

And then this.....

Just a glimpse into his future. :)  He's such a good sport too, he just kept smiling at us laughing at him. :)

~M, S, and Hispter O~

***Weekly words of wisdom:  Everyone I know who has been through bringing their kids to school/daycare claims, "It gets easier."  But I'm pretty sure they're lying to me at this point.  Quit lying to liars.  Gosh.***

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.***

Dairy-Free Update 1.0

Totally forgot to give you all an update on being dairy free.  I talked to Owen's doctor about my concerns over him possibly being allergic to dairy at his 2 month appointment last week.  She said that though there is no true way to test for a dairy allergy, the symptoms I told her he had had sounded like a possible minor allergic reaction.  She said that it could be the dairy allergy or possibly just that he was going through a "phase," since babies change so much and so quickly.  She said that if I plan to ever use formula, that I should try to very slowly add dairy back into my diet, because most baby formula has milk in it and the non-milk formulas a verrry expensive (like double the cost).

So, I tried adding a small amount of dairy that day by getting my favorite Noodles & Company dish for lunch.  It has a small amount of cream in the sauce and a small amount of Parmesan cheese on top.  And like I feared, Owen's stomach bloated way up and he was fussy all night.  Just like he had been after the I had cheese on my sandwich the week before.  So, this momma shall remain dairy free for a while longer.  Since I'm planning to breastfeed/pump a while longer, I'm not too worried about it, but hopefully he grows out of it eventually.

Being dairy free hasn't affected me as much as I thought it would.  The first week was definitely the hardest - all I thought about was pizza, mac n cheese, and sour cream.  But since it's been about a month now, I honestly don't really miss it that much.  And for a major TMI moment, I literally have almost no gas (aka farts) in my body.  It also made me realize how much dairy I was adding to my regular food that I probably didn't really need, like cheese on a sandwich or cheese and sour cream in chili (no judgement to any of you out there that add these....I can pretty much guarantee that I'll add it all back in once I'm able to again).   We started buying vanilla almond milk for cereal, Earth Balance Buttery Spread for bagels and things, and getting soy milk in my lattes.

One funny thing, so Matt has never been too picky about what food I out in front of him.  When the dairy free ordeal came about, he jumped on board too.  He hasn't stayed 100% dairy free the whole time, but he's probably about 80% free.  Anyway, so earlier this week he requested mac n cheese for dinner (which I made him describe to me as he ate it) and he ended up getting sick from it.

Sooo, for the next few months, don't expect a whole lot of grilled cheese sandwiches or delicious cheese dips from this lady if you visit.  Boooo.  At least this guy will be happy. :)

And this guy. :)

~M, S, and O~

***Words of wisdom: Pizza....seriously why are you so much more desirable when I can't have you?!  Stuff your faces with it while you can folks.***

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.***

2 months old!

On Valentine's Day, Owen turned 2 months old!  I've been annoyed that the 14th doesn't fall on a Friday every month, because I don't always know how to answer the question, "How old is he?"  We had been going by the weeks, but then suddenly he was 8 weeks old, but it wasn't the 14th.  Stupid calendar.  So, now I just add an "About" before I answer.  About 8 weeks.  About 9 weeks.

But anyway here is his 2 month old picture. :)

The little stud was all dressed up in honor of his "b-day" and also for Valentine's.  The three of us went out to breakfast for the best pancakes ever and then had pizza for dinner.  Minus the cheese for me.

Hasn't he grown a ton since last month?

  

Ok, I guess you can't really tell from those particular pictures....but trust me, he has. :)  And look at those chunky little thighs! :)

~M, S, and O~