Owen 9 months

Baby boy,

You are now 9 months old!  I know I say this every month, but I seriously can't believe it.  In only 3 short months, we will be celebrating one whole year of you being alive!

This month, you have started crawling really fast.  When you spot someone or something you are excited to crawl to, you will crawl really fast, get a huge smile on your face, and start panting.  It is the cutest thing ever.  You have also learned how to pull up on pretty much anything and everything now, and recently started to use your walker to take steps.  You are literally growing up right before our eyes!

You are starting to eat a little bit more finger foods and you are not quite sure about them yet.  We love your funny face when you eat something you are unsure of.  You are eating stage 3 foods now and you are still taking 4 bottles a day. 

You have another ear infection this month and this time it is a double!  You are such a good baby that you never even let us know that you are hurting.  The only reason we went to the dr. in the first place was because you have had this cough for a long time, a runny nose, and your eyes just looked like you didn't feel well.  Hopefully after this round of antibiotics, we are done with ear infections for a while!

You weigh 20.5 pounds and are 29.5 inches long.  You are growing out of some of your 12 month clothes!  I should have known you would be long like your daddy.  It is hard to believe that you started as this tiny little guy who has grown into my big baby! 

You are saying, "babababa" all the time now and just tonight actually you finally said mama (although I don't think you knew you did.)  I loved it and almost cried though.  You are also starting to make a bunch of noises using your tongue and while doing that spit flies everywhere.  Recently while saying "baba", you will say it really loud and it sounds like a squeal.  We laugh so hard every time you do it.

You have 2 bottom teeth now, but that is it.  I think you will get more soon because you are gnawing on everything in sight.

You met mommy's grandma in October and you got to meet a lot of family in daddy's family this month at Thanksgiving including Memo.  You will get to meet all of mommy's Louisiana family next month at Christmas.  You are such a good traveler, and as usual, are the most content baby in the world.

We hear almost daily from Mrs. Shelley or church nursery workers that you are the happiest, most easy going baby in the world.  Someone told me that if she had octuplets, she would want eight of you.  You see my darling, everyone loves you so much!

We love you so much baby and can't say enough how lucky we are to have you and how greatly you have blessed our lives.

Owen 8 months

Owen pumpkin,

You are now 8 months old!!! You are such a sweet boy and our love for you seriously grows every month!

This has been a busy month because you have started crawling, sitting up, and trying to pull up on stuff!  You started out crawling really slow, but now you are so fast and we have to keep our eyes on you our little runaway boy!  You are so funny when you spot something, start taking off towards it, then turn around to see if me or your dad is watching you.  It is so cute! 

You LOVE to play with your toys and anything else you can get your hands on for that matter.  You are very content playing by yourself, but you love for me and your daddy to play with you also.

You love being outside and have gone on several walks, swang at the park for the first time, and went to the pumpkin patch with your cousins. 

You giggle so much now!  Things that make you giggle are the dogs, your daddy's funny faces, and anytime you get tickled or blowed on. 

You had your first ear infection this month.  They prescribed you amoxicilin and you LOVE it.  Your daddy says, "let's take your bubble gum."  Ha!

Also, at your dr. appointment you weighed 19 pounds.  You are such a long boy, although we don't know how long you are now.  You wear anywhere from 9-12 month clothes. 

You love to eat!  You are taking 4 bottles a day that equal 24 ounces.  You have started holding your own bottle this month.  You are on stage 2 foods now and you eat several different fruits, veggies, and meats.  Also, you have started to give yourself baby snacks.  You like the Gerber cheetos, Mums crackers, and the spiral puffs.  You have started taking a little bit of water or baby juice from a sippy cup too. 

You have two teeth coming in on the bottom.  They are almost out and we are very grateful because watching you cut teeth is no fun!

We cannot imagine our lives without you.  You are such a joy and a sweet, precious baby.  We love you "pumpkin", "beefcake". 

Owen 7 months

My little pumpkin,

You are 7 months old!!!  You are developing quite the personality and you make daddy and I laugh every day.  You smile more this month than you ever have.  I haven't weighed or measured you this month, but I do know that you are in anywhere from 9-12 month clothes you big boy!

You have started sitting all by yourself this month and when you fall, you will get into the crawl position.  You army crawl and you will also take a couple of real crawls.  When laying on a blanket or the floor, you will move everywhere by rolling around, scooting, reaching, pulling yourself, and turning. 

You have figured out we have dogs and you love to watch them.  When one of them gets in your face, you will smile at them.  It is so sweet!

You are still eating 4 times a day and you are beginning some stage 2 foods now!  You absolutely LOVE to eat!  When you see your bottle, you will start making this cute noise and the closer it gets to your mouth, the more dramatic  you get.

You love to take baths and we got you a seat that you can sit by yourself while you bathe.  You will reach for your bath toys and love to kick your legs in the water.  It is so cute!

You are still teething and there is still no tooth in sight.  But, I know that your first tooth will make its appearance any day now.  You love teething tablets and to just gnaw on things.

You are developinng quite the personality.  You make the funniest noises and will smile when you do something you feel like you accomplished all by yourself!  We love watching you just stare at something and try to figure it out and at other times you roll around and get so excited!  You have figured out your tongue this month and love to stick it out.  You silly boy!

We love you so much and can't wait to see grow up sweetie pie! 

Owen 6 months

Sweet baby boy,

You are now 6 months old!!!  Oh how the time does fly. I cannot believe you are half of a year old!  You weigh 17. 5 pounds and you are  27 inches long. 

I am back to work full time, and we are both adjusting pretty well.  I miss you a lot, but we still spend a lot of time together and you really like Mrs. Shelly and Mrs. Patsy.  They play with you a whole lot when mommy is at work. 

You are sooo close to crawling and I think it will take place any day now.  You will get on all four's, scoot, fall, and then try again.  You get the most serious look on your face when you are practicing because you are concentrating so much.  You are also closer to sitting up on your own.  Your daddy says that you fold yourself in half.  You will sit for a few seconds and then either fall forward or to your side. 

You are still eating 4 times a day and 3 of these meals are combined with cereal and/or babyfood.  You absolutely LOVE bananas and sometimes I wonder if this is because I ate a lot of these when I was pregannt with you little one.

You are starting to make a lot of new noises.  You sound like a sick dinosaur when you are tired or pooping and it makes us laugh so hard. 

You are definitely starting to teethe and you are wanting to put everything in sight into your mouth.  You like to suck on frozen fruit inside of a teething toy or pacifiers.  This is funny because since you were born you have never liked pacifiers.  We still don't let you fall asleep with them, but we let you suck them to help soothe your little gums. 

You giggle when we tickle you or when we kiss your belly or your neck.  That is the sweetest sound in the world.  You are such a sweet boy and we love having you in our lives precious baby. 

Owen 5 months

Baby boy, you are now 5 months old! I know I say this every month, but time is flying!  You are so adorable and are definitely my favorite baby in the whole world.  This month, you have started playing in your jumperoo more and love hitting it, seeing the lights come on, and hearing the music.  You also tried the toy at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's that your cousin Jada used to play in and absolutely loved it.  (Yes it is pink, but I know that you will be man enough one day to handle it.)  I love your little monkey face when you are talking to the toys and how in awe you are of new things.  You still love to shake rattles and have recently started tossing them by accident, but it is still so funny. 

You take breastmilk and formula now.  You eat cereal twice a day now and have already tasted green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas.  You love to eat and are a great eater.  You have 4 meals a day, although the last one is just milk.  There are times that we have to stop in the middle of your meal because that is your favorite time to make a poo-poo.  You also love to squeal and smile while you are eating.  You have started looking around at everything and waving your arms because you get so excited while you are eating. 

You have just started taking two 2 1/2 hour naps a day and take one catnap at the end of the day.  You are still sleeping amazing at night.  You usually go to bed around 7pm and wake up around 6am.  You have just started rolling over from your back to your stomach when being put down for your naps or for bedtime.  The problem is, one of your arms will get stuck and you will get upset.  After I go in there and help you, you will usually go back to sleep silly boy.  I love how when I get you from your naps or in the morning, you give me the hugest smile in the world.  You are such a sweetie!  I don't get to hold you very much for your naps because you are very independent like your momma (go figure), but every once in a while I can't help myself. 

You love, love, love water and we have taken you swimming a couple of times this summer.  You have a fun floatie that you sit in and you love to kick your legs. 

You are getting stronger every day and when you are on your belly, you still push yourself up and now you try to kick your legs in an effort to crawl.  I think the time is coming soon my boy.  You love to stand up on your daddy and I and will squeal in delight while you are doing it. 

Owen 4 months

Our sweet boy is 4 months old now!!!!  He has gotten so long and I think he is going to be tall like his daddy.  He is measuring at 26 inches long and is in the 88th percentile.  Whoa!  He is weighing in at 14 lbs. 12 oz. and is just growing so fast.  Our pediatrician said he is meeting all of his developmental milestones great and that he is such a happy baby!

This month he learned to roll over from his stomach to his back and from his back to his side.  When he is on his tummy, he pushes up as high as he can go and starts to look around.  He is also starting to try to move his knees in preparation for crawling. 

He started giggling just this week!  That is the sweetest sound in the whole world.  His first 3 months of life he would smile, but he was also very serious.  Now, any time he sees me, his daddy, or any other familiar face, not only will he smile, but he will giggle or start talking to them!  He loves to blow bubbles and will have a whole conversation with you for as long as you will listen.

He loves to stare at his bunny that sings "Jesus Loves Me" and will even talk to it sometimes.  I tell him that the bunny is his best friend.  He is starting to reach for things and holds rattles now (although he doesn't know he is holding them yet.)  He loves his toy cow in his carseat and will stare at it and talk to it forever in the car.  He also still loves to stare at himself in the mirror.  I think he knows that he is the cutest baby in the world. 

He is sleeping 10-12 hours at night and takes 3 naps a day.  He is down to 5-6 feedings a day now.  The pediatrician told us we could start him on cereal anytime within the next two months.  He still seems pretty satisfied with breast milk, so we might wait for him to start acting hungrier. 

Owen 3 months

Owen is 3 months old now.  Wow where does the time go?  He weighs somewhere around 13 pounds now (we have only weighed him on our scale).  He did not get any shots this month, but goes back at 4 months for his next round of them.  :-(  He is smiling a lot more now, loves to follow people with his eyes, and coos really loud!  He is kicking his legs and flailing his arms all over the place and turns his head from side to side.  He loves to watch fans, loves his play gym, and loves staring and observing different things.  Owen has figured out his hands this month and loves to stick them in his mouth and stare at them.  He has just begun grasping onto rattles, but doesn't realize he is the one shaking it yet.  When on his tummy, he will try to kick his leg behind his back, but isn't rolling over yet, although I know this will happen really soon!  He also is doing push ups and lifting his head up while on his belly.  When we hold him, he holds his head up for a long time!  He is such an easy going baby and we love him so, so, so much!  It is hard to imagine ever not having him in our lives.