The Silly Pig

Owen's a high energy kind of guy.  He will definitely sit still for a couple minutes to draw, but usually the end result looks like a frantic scribbled eruption of color.  Then, he promptly rolls, folds, and/or rips it up. 

The other day he'd been upstairs alone for way too long and everything was much too quiet so I went up to investigate.  I found him in my room on the floor, surrounded by markers and a piece of paper, grinning ear to ear. I was shocked when I saw that he had actually drawn a real picture!  His creation?  The silly pig.  He went into great detail explaining this picture to me.  My favorite parts are definitely the hearing aids and the suspenders.  Priceless.

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3 Gifts Unmeasured

Oh, how we love these little people! What a blessing it is to be their mama...even on days like today when I know that I have been more irritated than grateful, more exasperated than kind. Lord, help me see them as the gift that they are when I wake up tomorrow (or in the middle of the night).  

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No, I Haven't Had the Baby Yet

I am quite inspired by the happy rumor circulating that I've had the baby. Considering that both of our babies have been "late" so far, I find it especially encouraging that anyone would think it possible for me to go over a week early. Thank you, friends! I'm grateful for the moral support. We'll try and post an update as soon as we can when I actually have had the baby.

Onto other news, here's a short clip of our current baby singing one of his favorite tunes and a little info from him about what all the ladybugs around here are up to. (Are we the only house that's been swarmed with those nasty asian beetles?)

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That Dreadful Iron

It's been a long time since I ironed any clothes. My poor husband has been sticking his shirts on hangers and hanging them in the bathroom while he showers in an attempt to get the wrinkles out (it only sort of works). Well, today I finally decided to put his interests above my own and break out the good ole' iron.

Owey was sitting in his pack-n-play watching while I put the ironing board up and plugged in the iron. Immediately, he started shaking and crying. The poor child was afraid of the ironing board. Does that not tell you something? Um, the sweet boy had never even seen the thing before. I think that he thought it was some kind of vicious creature or something.

Yep. I need not grow proud in my homemaking skills; it appears that I've still got room to grow.

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My One Year Old

An entire year of looking at this sweet boy's face...it's hard to believe that it's all ready been a year. My little Owey-O had a rough start. The first four months were not easy ones for him, or for us. But by God's grace, a year later this little buddy is one seriously happy dude. Definitely God's kindness. We are grateful for the way that you've stood by us and prayed for this guy.

Owen has such a fun personality. He loves to hide behind things and then say, "BOO!" He cracks up at random things that he thinks are hillarious-usually sounds like "whoo-whoo" or other noises Tali will make. Every morning when I get him out of bed he says, "Sss! Ssss!" because he wants his "Sissy." He loves Tali a ton and wants to do absolutely whatever she is doing. He also loves to suck his thumb and to snuggle. He's so much fun.

So, some stats so that I don't forget (and for the family members who like the numbers!):

Weight: 21 pounds (he's bumped up to the 25th percentile which is a huge leap from the 10th.) Now that he's about 13 months old, he's finally started wearing 12 month clothes a bit. Up until now, he's been in 9 months or 6-12. Little guy.

Height: Oops, I don't remember but he's really short. I think he was at 10th percentile for height.

Mobility: Walking!!!!! He is unsteady, but he can take 5-10 steps now. He is sooo determined and never cries when he falls, just shoves himself back up to try again.

Foods: Loves pretty much everything he gets, especially Chex and crackers. He's still on a bit of a restricted diet. We're working with an allerigist to try and figure out what was going on with his little digestive system earlier in life. So far, all the foods that we've tried have worked well except tomatoes (bothered his reflux). Maybe we'll get to try dairy soon! Sure hope it works because he doesn't want to drink soy and I'm not excited about nursing him for an endless amount of time!

Reflux: It's still there but so much better. About a month ago we noticed a significant change. He still has "bad days" where lots of liquid will come up but it's nothing like the large puddles that he was leaving everywhere. Those of you who think your child spits up a lot don't know what spit up really is until you've had PUDDLES of it all over everywhere. I'm talking at least a cup, often MORE out all over clothes, floor, etc. A little drip, a couple blobs...those are nothing, folks. Count your blessings.

Words: Yep, it's true. My kids just like to talk. It's sort of inevitable, I mean...look at their parents! Owey's not quite up there with where Tali was at a year, but he's close:

Mama
Da-da
Papa
La-la (Tali)
Ssssss (Sissy)
Bah (Ball)
Bayyh (Bear)
By (Bite)
Byee (Bye)
Ny-ny (good night)
Zee-uh (see ya)
Rah-ry (all right)
Noooo (no)
Eh-mo (Elmo)
Be-Beanz (Green Beans)
Da-doe (cereal)
Wah-wah (water)
Peee (please)
Jew (shoe)
zah (sock)
bih-boyuh (big boy)
dee (tree)
no (snow)
muh (milk)
ly (light)
rah (rock)
bugh (book)
nana (banana)
ah-ah ah-ah (all done)
hah (hat)
oh (coat)
a-uh (pants)

Signs:
grandma
please
hot
flower
more
banana
all done
light
tree
snow

And for the record, his favorite person is his Papa Red. He loves his parents but to be honest, no one compares with Papa. He talks about the guy ALL THE TIME!

We love you so much, Owey. You are a blessing to our family!

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A Reason to Smile

Need a reason to smile right now? One look at this little guy should do the trick! Isn't he just adorable?!

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Almost 5 Months

Our little guy is almost 5 months old. I am shocked! The time has been zipping by.
Since I haven't given any updates on him lately, here ya have it:

Hair: still not red
Eyes: a beautiful shade of blue
Temperament: Generally very cheerful. He smiles whenever he is smiled at, grins if Tali comes within 5 feet of him, loves to be held, and is just a very sweet guy.
Favorite Things: His sister, getting his clothes changed (he's ticklish), chewing on his hands, being held, going outside.
Reflux: Praise the Lord, there has been improvement!!!!! He is still in pain, but he is spitting up less and he doesn't seem to be in as much pain as often. We still pray for continued healing for him, though, as he is still hurting.
Sleep: Praise the Lord, he is actually sleeping through the night!!!!!! He sleeps from about 8pm until 7:30am. He is much better rested now and I am finally able to carry on a conversation without drifting off to another planet.
Stomach: He's got a really sensitive one. After months of yucky mucusy diapers (sorry for the detail) and his pediatrician believing it's due to some kind of food allergy, I'm on a really restricted diet. (And I mean REALLY restricted.) The prayer is that this will give his tummy time to heal and then I can add back in foods to see what the culprit(s) is. Please pray that he starts having normal poop and that we can determine what he is allergic to.
Teeth: He's getting 2. Tali got hers even earlier than Owen but he seems to be in much more pain than she was. Poor little guy.

We can't thank you enough for all of your prayers for Owen and for us. This has been a rough season but the Lord has given us much grace and we've felt so cared for. Thank you!

Back to the posts on thankfulness tomorrow. :)

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