9 Months

Time for another marathon post! I know I say this every time, but I CAN'T believe how fast little Owen's first year has gone. It's probably because we've had so much adventure and change lately. We found a neat little family practice out here that I'm going to take the boys to, and Owen had a checkup on Monday. Owen, aka "Chunka" and "Owenewskie" is almost 25 pounds and 30" tall! He's getting to that phase that we hit with Eli when people look at him and wonder why in the heck I'm still carrying him around - not realizing he is as young as he is.

One major difference though is that Owen is trying hard to WALK. Eli didn't bother until 15 months, but Owen has been at it for nearly two months. He DEMANDS to be walked ALL DAY. Owen honey, I love you, but this activity is wearisome for your mama! At least he is starting to be able to hold just one hand instead of two, but in all truth we spend HOURS a day just walking laps around the house. He bawls when I don't let him try the stairs. My back will be thankful when he can finally do it on his own! As for crawling? FORGET IT! Owen HATES being on his belly and throws a royal tantrum if he ends up in that position. His mode of movement is to sit on his bum and use his feet to spin himself around and around in circles. We joke that he is going to wear holes in the carpet! Oh and his feet - he uses them like little feelers. Anything new that he comes across he has to touch it with his feet, it's so funny! He's actually quite the soccer player already!!!

He got his two bottom teeth at 7 months, his two top at 8 months, and is working on the next two top ones. He loves to BITE with his teeth (he has attacked Eli on more than one occasion) and he loves to EAT! This kid will eat ANYTHING you put in front of him, and he gets extremely offended if you have food and don't share. He'll eat oatmeal, avocado, squash, pasta, lunchmeat, beans, salmon, broccoli, lettuce, chips, bread YOU NAME IT! The kid can EAT! Hopefully he keeps it up. As of now, he out eats his big brother.

Owen also loves BIG BOY toys. Forget the basket of baby toys we have - that stuff is junk. He wants anything that Eli has - especially big trucks and things that make noise. He also loves books - especially ripping pages out of them. He has a good time looking at himself in the mirror, and he gets a kick out of bathtime... in fact that's the ONLY time I can put him down without a scene. That's right, for all of his adventurousness the child is a CLING-ON. If I even twitch a muscle or look like I might be THINKING about setting him down and walking away, he pitches a full on fit. Now, I love baby holding etc but remember he's 25 POUNDS?!?! Oh man! I have a lot of neck/headaches from lugging him around, and I'm totally worn by the end of the day from all the shrieking and crying he does (because I DO have to put him down once in a while - a girl has got to use the bathroom and get lunch now and then). I have been using my wraps more lately just to give my arms a break - it has become the ONLY way Owen will go to sleep for a nap unless we are in the car. He just wants to be up and involved all the time.

Eli and Owen are still developing their relationship - sometimes they play together and it's adorable - oftentimes they push each others' buttons (already!) and it's maddening! I do think Eli gets the raw end of the deal because Owen is pretty demanding of my time lately. So he does tend to torture Owen as an attention getter, which gets him in trouble. I try to say proactive and positive (Eli responds well to praise) but sometimes a mama's brain can get too fried to think of anything better than "everyone knock it off!" But I do love my little "Chunka!" I love his silky blonde hair, his funny faces, his giggle, his determination, and getting to cuddle him next to me all night when he's actually still and quiet. He is a pretty good sleeper - goes to bed around 9pm and nurses once before midnight, then usually not again until around 6am. I also love that he can say "MamaMOM!" when he wants me, and he can say "Dada" and "Uh Oh!" Even though he is DE-MANDING, he is also ADORABLE and part of what makes our family unique!