nap

I woke up from my nap yesterday wondering why Owen hadn't gotten up after his normal 30 minutes. Then I looked at the moniter and after moving it around a bit, I found this. Thanks daddy for letting me get a little more shut eye.

 

Prairie Farm

Owen has been really starting to love animal noises.  He says moo very clearly and is definitely partial to cows.  So, on Friday, I decided it was high time that Owen had his first visit to Prairie Farm. I have such great memories of this place as a kid. Many of you may not remember this, but it used to have this great place you could jump off into piles of hay. They probably stopped that due to liability reasons or something. I even got to volunteer there one summer and I remember fondly my duties of taking care of the bunnies. Here's a few (not so great) pictures from the day.  Of course, the cows were sleeping tucked back in their pen so we couldn't see them.  Guess we'll have to go back.  Maybe with friends.

excuse the dirty spot on lens.  he liked the piggies.

chickens!

umm, mom what are you doing?

best of all the terrible self-portraits

but i wanna go over there!

Owen was fascinated and yet terrified of this little horse in the petting area

new toys, new moves

Owen got a new little push toy from William's parents for his birthday. Since he's walking around furniture, we thought he'd love it. And we also got the other one out that the Melby's got him when he was born. I was thinking I'd see which one he likes best and maybe give the other one away. Oh no. This little man doesn't want to play with just one. He needs both of them. At all times. He has to hold onto one and push the other back and forth. It's pretty hilarious actually. So thanks to MeeMaw and Pawpaw and J&H for the new favorite items at our house. Here's a pretty boring video of it in action.

Happy 1 Year!

 

Whew, little bleated I know!  It's been really busy around here as William's parents were here for a week and the whirlwind of house/mortgage related activities.  I am really having a hard time believing my baby is 1 year old!  I will also blame the lateness (and lack of many non iphone pictures) for the fact that this little guy is BUSY! 

Stats:
We went for his 1 year check up and he is 22 pounds, 6 ounces which puts him in the 44th percentile.  He's 30 inches long and in the 61st percentile.  And his head is still puny at 44.7 cm, which puts him in the 9th percentile.  We didn't get his shots as he had a runny nose, so we'll go back this week for that.  But Dr. Tripathy said he looks fabulous and his ears were all cleared up from the infection a couple weeks ago.  As noted on my FB status, I'm not too thrilled with Dr. T, so now that we've made it a year and I still don't love her, I'm making a few phone calls and thinking about switching.  There were several doctors that got many recommendations, so I hope to have that in place before he goes back in 3 months.   

Milestones:
No big new ones this month, but lots of progress on the skills he acquired last month.  He's a super crawler now and can get anywhere very quickly.  Sophie is not so sure about this new development but she has been great so far about him chasing her, pulling her tail, and tackling her with hugs and kisses.  He loves pulling himself up on anything that stands remotely still.  He's cruising around the furniture and will occasionally let go, especially if a toy is involved.  He still has a little trouble getting down from a standing position, but mostly just falls over and then starts crawling where he wants to go.  Funny story of learning how to be a mom of a crawler:

He was playing nicely in the living room, so I ran to my bathroom a few feet away to finish getting ready.  It suddenly got pretty quiet, so I ran out and didn't see him in the living room.  And where did I find the little bugger?  Playing in the toilet.  I'm sure my laughing and taking pictures didn't help reinforce the idea that playing in the toilet water isn't something I'd like him to do.

Other new skills:
Not a new one, but he still LOVES to point.  And it's usually a little crooked finger point.  So cute.  But he loves for you to name the thing he's pointing at and will usually whine if you don't recognize what he's doing.

He is "talking" up a storm and his receptive language is growing by leaps and bounds.  The only real word that other people would be able to recognize is 'mom.'  It's very clear and only directed at me, so I wrote it in his baby book as his first word. As mom, there are a few more words that I recognize.  Anytime he sees a cow or plays with his toy cows, he'll say mooo.  His Auntie Jenna would be so proud.  Then when he sees Elmo, he'll sometimes say Mo.  The other big one is when we're playing cars, he'll try to mimic his voice when I say vrooom or do a siren noise.  All adorable.  As for what he's understanding, that's pretty amazing to watch.  If you ask him where mommy or daddy is, he'll look around and point at us.  He'll also point at his teddy bear, big truck, high chair, fan, and of course his passy to name a few.  Cannot wait to hear his little voice making more words!

He can consistently point to noses, eyes, and mouths.  He does this on someone else's face or on a doll.  He can point to his own nose with no problem.  He still signs "more" regularly, waves hi/goodbye all the time, and has started blowing kisses.

Food/Nursing:
We're pretty much done with baby food, but I still keep a little bit around to supplement a meal if he's not eating a ton.  For breakfast, he still doesn't love any form of baby cereal.  But he loves strawberries, blueberries, and grapes and will devour toast with butter or bites of my Eggo waffle.  He also really likes scrambled eggs.  For lunch and dinner times - he loves cooked carrots and peas, hot dogs, cottage cheese, yogurt, fruit, macaroni and cheese, chicken, mushrooms, and any kind of pasta and sauce.  The only foods so far that he doesn't love is watermelon, banana, melon.  And the biggie: milk.  We introduced it a few weeks ago and he doesn't love it.  Water in the sippy cup, no problem. He downs it.  But he's not loving the milk.  We've tried is cold and warm and it doesn't seem to make a big difference.  I'm just going to keep trying at every meal.  I've basically dropped the noon nursing, but I was hoping he'd be drinking a little more milk before I drop other feedings.  But I guess I'll have to drop them first, and then see if he'll pick up the slack with the milk.  I'm really in no rush as of yet to get him weaned.

He would still nurse until the cows come home if I'd let him.  And by that I mean, all evening, all night, and for a long time when he gets up in the morning.  I know that I have created this sleep monster, so we're working on dropping any night time feeds since I know he doesn't need them at all.  This little guy's in for a rude awaking when we move to the new house in 2 weeks!

Poop
Every time we sit in the high chair for lunch, he starts grunting away.  At least he's consistent for the most part in this area.

Likes/Dislikes
He still LOVES reading books and really likes bathtime.  Loves our little pool and his big teddy bear from Auntie Du.  Loves playing peek-a-boo.  Hates getting out the bathtub and getting dressed in general.  Really hates when you tell him no to playing with the printer, or banging his drum sticks on the coffee table.

All in all, it has been the most amazing year of my life with this little guy.  I have another post in review but I keep crying when I write it, so it may not be ready to for awhile.  I am continually blown away with how much I love Owen and I thank god everyday for blessing us with him.  I cannot wait to see how his personality continues to develop and look forward to see what God has in store for his life.  Happy 1st birthday little man.

I love hiding things in my new big truck from Grammy and Grandpa

I love playing with my new letters from the Mac's

I'm loving this road trip with my car seat facing forward (more on this in a later post)

Mommy and I are so cool with our sunglasses

Happy Father's Day!

Happy father's day to the 4 most important dads in my life.

To the love of my life. I am so thankful that I get to be on this adventure of parenting with you.  You are not only a hard working, dedicated, loving husband, but you are the best daddy ever!  I love every minute of watching you with Owen and can't wait to raise this family of ours together.

To my dad.  What to write without writing a book and crying?  Thank you for being a great example to me all my life of what is means to love Jesus and follow after him with everything.  I have learned from you the importance of where I spend my time, energy, and money.  Thank you for showing me what a great husband and father looks like so that I could spot one in William.  Owen is so lucky to have such a great hero to look up to.

To my Grandpa Hoerr, and Owen's middle namesake.  We have loved getting to spend more time with you lately and look forward to Owen knowing you well.  Thank you for being such a Godly man who prays for each one of us, everyday.  We know those prayers have had a powerful impact on our lives.  We love you so much!

 

And to my father in law, Elmer.  I'm so honored to share your initials. EJP. :)  I'm so thankful that God brought me such a great pair of in-laws that bless us in so many ways.  Thanks for loving us and Owen so well!

And to end, a video that Carrie posted that made me cry.  Some may find it corny. :)  And by some, I mean my sister.

my cousin's wedding

Yesterday was a big day for my cousin (well and for us). Audra and Eric got married! The wedding was so reflective of Audra's personality and she looked like she had stepped out of bridal magazine. Please excuse the terrible iphone pictures.  We're so excited for them and we love our new cousin, Eric!  It was a big night for us in the sense that we were baby-free. We left Owen with Sarah, who I used to babysit for when she was little. What a strange feeling. But he did great for her and even went to sleep without too much trouble. Here's a few (terrible phone) pictures of the awesome time we had with friends, family, and an open bar:

they're married!

William was the one who suggested he wear his pink tie to match my dress.  Aww.

yes, this is a pic of nothing, but it shows the cute yellow color scheme.  the girls all got to pick their own dresses.

a horse drawn carriage.  but don't get me started on the grumpy lady whose horse is in the wrong business.

s

the ice sculpture.  yes, their monogram spells AWE.

his (other) birthday party

It was a busy week for my little man as William's parents were in town all week after his party. He's been getting so much attention! Here's how we celebrated on his actual birthday, which was last Friday!

his birthday shirt from Auntie Du!

Dad's home - let the party begin!

cake time!

Birthday party rundown: the crafts, food, and games

I'm ONE!

It's hard to know where to begin with Owen's party! I was so happy with how everything turned out! It was pouring all morning and I will admit to having shed some tears. I knew it would work in the house/garage, but it definitely wasn't the vision I had for the party. I told God I knew he had (much) bigger things on his plate, but if he could make it stop I'd be ever so grateful. And what do you know, around noon I saw the sun. It was hot and humid, but I'd take that over rain any day. So here's the run down on most of the things I made or organized for the party:
The invite:

The wardrobe: 

What, you don't plan your outfits for your parties? ;)  Ok so I let William dress himself, but I got the blue dress from Target because I fell in love with the flower on the neckline.  It did make me look pregnant in a few pictures, so just saying that no, I'm not pregnant.  Man I should start working out. And the orange shoes are also from Target.  

I bought Owen a plain white t-shirt from Hobby Lobby. I think I should have gone with the 24 months instead of 18 because it was tight.  I actually just used fabric, iron-on adhesive, and a pair of scissors to make the letters and numbers on his shirt.  My silhouette supposed can cut out fabric, but after a few failed attempts I just cut it out the old fashioned way.  The 1 is outlined in blue stitching as well.  You wash all the fabric, iron on the the adhesive, cut, peel the backing, and then iron it on the shirt.  I did the same thing for his tie on his bib for cake time.

 

Decor:
Another reason I really wanted it to be outside is because Pam and Kevin have a GORGEOUS backyard that needed very little decoration.  I focused on the inside table where the favors were and went for a few big things outside.  This was what people saw when they came in.  It held all the favors, a large picture of Owen, a set of balloons, the bulletin board with his 12 monthly pictures, and the sign in frame.

This is going to be framed in his room.  The whole thing is full of fabulous things people wrote to him:

For this display, I bought a bulletin board the the Habitat HomeStore for $1.  I spray painted the edge orange.  I hot glued fabric to the middle of the board since it was kinda in rough shape.  Then I cut out some triangles out of the scrapbooking paper I used throughout the party and glued them to a ribbon for the pennants.  Lastly, I just cut all the pictures the same size, rounded the edges, and glued them to the board. Such a fun way to see how he's grown this year.  I did the same pennants for his high chair for cake time.

Outside, there were of course balloons on the mailbox.  Then Jenna tied a balloon every so often along the porch banister.  She already had the great lights hung.  Then I made the large pom poms using Martha Stewart's directions.  I used 1 pack of tissue paper for each large pom pom and made 3 of each color.  $6 for a great punch of color!

Above the food table, I made a banner that said "Happy 1st Birthday Owen."  I cut out 2 sizes of circles and then let my Silhouette cut out the letters that I glued on top, then strung them on ribbon

This was one of my favorite decor pieces, and I'm wishing I would have hung it in a different place.  It kept turning, so I'm sure people didn't really see it.  Each circle was my favorite picture of Owen from each month of life. I hold punched the circles and tied them together with different colors of ribbon.

Favors:
The kids went home with 3 main things.  They had little blue tins from the Target dollar spot that held some of their goodies.  I used my Silhouette to cut out orange vinyl with their names.  Inside were crayons in the shape of O's (tutorial) and a coloring page of themselves (tutorial).

The next thing they had were the jars of homemade play-doh (tutorial).

For the adults, I used the same blue tins.  But they got all edible goodies because I couldn't see adults wanting the crayons. :)  I made caramel candies using this recipe.  They were fabulous, but warning, they take a REALLY long time to make and wrap!  Along with the caramels, they got some beautiful pretzels that were covered in chocolate in the colors of the day.  No, I did not make these.  I first saw them at Bella and found out that Andrea is a local gal who makes them.  The company is called PrepZelz by AnZee.  They were as tasty as they were pretty!

Of course, the host and hostess had their own large blue tin filled with the pretzels, wine, and a gift certificate.  Gotta love Pam and Kevin for sharing their beautiful home with us!

The Food:

I kept the menu very simple.  Although the people around me will tell you that I was definitely freaking out that we wouldn't have enough food.  But alas, all was well and bellies were full.  We did hot dogs and brats (which Kevin so graciously grilled), fruit and veggie trays, a few kinds of chips and this great Mexican dip.  We also did animal crackers, m&m's, and had stuff for smores around the fire pit, but it was much too hot.  For drinks, I borrowed my aunt's cute containers and we did lemonade, water, and of course had beer.  I had to bribe some of the husbands who were reluctant to come to a 1 year old birthday party.

 

Owen's cake was made by Pam and my sister and I don't think I could have ordered a more adorable one!  They took his invitation as inspiration and my sister free handed the lettering and piping.  Yeah, they're good.  Owen loved it too!

I made the cupcake display thing and like I said in that post, I decided to use box mixes for the cupcakes.  No one cared, especially the kids.

 

Games for the kiddos:

I know how important it is for kids to be kept busy at a party if the parents are going to have any fun as well.  So here were the things I had for the kids to do:

• large frisbees from the dollar section at Target
• kid golf set
• large blue bounce ball
• plastic horseshoe game
• water table - I  got this one on Craigslist for a great price.  He actually got one for a present, so this find is getting gifted to another friend!  This is the best picture of it.

• bounce house - An old friend that I used to teach with in Rantoul actually bought this for her family.  So I asked if I could just rent it from her!  Worked out great!  Even though Owen was a bit too small, it was the perfect size for all his friends, 9 of the 11 which were girls!

Ok, I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I'll do another post of his guests and all the great gifts he got. Even though I said NO gifts on the invite. Sheesh, people can't follow directions. ;)  It was an absoluetly fabulous day being surrounded by people who love us and Owen.  I am so thankful for such wonderful friends and family and I know Owen is going to grow up to be a better person because of all of their influence in his life.