ONE

Dear Owen,

Please stop growing up so fast! Where has this first year gone? The simple fact that we moved from Arizona to Massachusetts while I was pregnant with you, then from Massachusetts to Missouri when you were 7 months old has made time fly, but you are also bound and determined to be older and bigger than you are. I can only imagine the conversations we will have in the coming years with the desire you already exhibit to grow up faster than I want you to. Please, can you stay my little baby just a wee bit longer?

You are now walking like a champ, and have been an official biped since you were ten months old - you completely SKIPPED crawling! Stairs are the enemy to your safety right now, but you don't believe me. I have lost count of how many times you have tumbled down the short 4 step flight between our living room and kitchen, though thankfully I finally got a functional gate for our basement stairs. You have also started climbing the stepstool, and the open dishwasher. Your determination is unflappable. You have had countless bumps and bruises from your adventures, including a bruised EYELID from falling into the babygate I put up for your SAFETY. I am really hoping that your adventurous nature does not land you in the emergency room this next year.

Thankfully, you still love to be wrapped when you are tired, or carried in our Ergo when I'm at the store. You are also still nursing strong, though you are down to 3-4 times a day. Whenever you want to nurse, you fling yourself into my lap, nod your head vigorously, and grunt "uh, uh," or "sss sss" for nurse. You also LOVE food. You will eat ANYTHING, and I've gotten good at the baby heimlich maneuver because of it. You sleep cuddled right up next to me at night, and you are quite the little heater. Even though the weather is turning colder, you can sweat a puddle in the bed in no time! I am pleased that you still enjoy being rocked to sleep with the sound of our ocean waves cd playing, though you won't usually stay asleep for long if you are put to bed alone.

I am also pleasantly surprised at what a Mama's boy you are becoming at this age. You run to me over and over throughout the day to be picked up - usually because you need rescuing from whatever tiff you and big brother have gotten into. I must say, you want to do anything and everything Eli is doing, and he is not always (or even usually) pleased with that. I hope that you two will learn to play more nicely together in the coming year. You are never far from my side though, and will follow me from room to room - if I manage to somehow walk out without your knowledge, immediate screaming and hysterical crying ensues. I somehow manage to get ready every morning with you right under my legs, pulling on my clothes, opening and closing the cabinet into my knees, and rifling through all of my drawers. The other day while I was showering, you proceeded to empty the dirty clothes hamper INTO the shower with me. You also really love toilet paper, the toilet bowl scrubber, and the toilet itself - thankfully you can't open the lid yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

You also LOVE books, and have thankfully started to rip them less, and bring them to me to actually READ more. It is ADORABLE when you haul one of our large books that you can barely lift across the room to me, and then proceed to thrust yourself into my lap no matter what I am doing/holding. It melts my heart, and I can never put you off for long.

Owen, I want you to know that you light up our lives! I know I get worn out too easily and get exasperated too often, but I ADORE you and I'm ever so glad that you are with us. It seemed that you just could not wait to join us (last year really was tricky timing to have a baby!), and that has shown through in your personality this past year. But we are even more of a family with you here, and love watching you grow and learn. We can tell that you are intelligent beyond your years, that you are ambitious and determined, physically and socially inclined, and as SWEET as PIE. I love you my little baby, and look forward to another year as your Mom.

Love,
Mommy

Balloons!

Presents!

Cake!

Your Celebration

Your birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so we took you to the park the day before. You ended up falling asleep on the way there, so we let you snooze for an hour while Eli played. When you got out, you certainly enjoyed the slides, the sandbox, and the fallen leaves! That night Eli stayed up til 11pm with me helping to decorate. He was so excited about all of it he kept saying "oh, it's my birthday party!" and had to be reminded that it was for you. He was pretty excited about that too, thankfully.

The next day you awoke to a living room full of green balloons, and were so excited that you were shaking as you squealed and picked them up! After church we had naps, and then our friends the Ellingsons came over. Emily (mommy's friend) shares a birthday with you, so we had a lovely steak and mashed potatoes dinner together, opened presents, and had cake and icecream. Thankfully, Eli was gracious about you receiving presents and not him, though he was pretty quick to help you open the gifts when you fell behind. You received crayons and a BIG roll of newsprint for coloring from the Ellingsons, a shopping cart and Curious George movie from Grandma and Grandpa K., Dino Pets book and some toy Dinosaurs from Mom and Dad, and bean bags that Mom and Eli made for you. You love pushing that cart around and filling it with things! I made your cake - a green Dinosaur! You loved grabbing fistfulls of it and throwing it onto the floor! When you finally got a taste, there was no stopping you! The chocolate also gave you a second wind, and you ran around the house full of energy until 10pm!

Your Favorites at One

Toys: Matchbox cars, Anything in drawers and cabinets, books, balls, anything Eli is playing with, my cell phone!, baby dolls

Food: So far, you like most things! Oatmeal, bananas, carrots, turkey, mashed potatoes, fish crackers, stirfry (WITH soysauce please), pizza, eggs, salmon, pesto and pasta, chili, etc. I really haven't noticed anything you don't like yet.

TV: I don't let you watch TV yet - other than Oprah with me in the afternoons =).

Books: Barnyard Boogie (a puppet book about the farm - you try to copy the animal sounds in it), The Little Engine that Could, Ten Little Ladybugs, The Icky Sticky Frog (you copy the slurping sound from this book)

Play: Going in and out of the Pirate Ship Playhouse we have - over and over again! Bringing things to me and saying "hee go, kaykoo" (here you go, thank you), running around the living room and screaming with Eli, exploring our playroom, doing "vroom vroom" with cars, climbing stairs, dancing to music

Places: Library, My Bathroom, Kitchen =)

Friends: So far we are the center of your world! You really like to follow and copy Eli, but you love to be near Mommy, and you BEAM when Daddy walks in and screech "Daddy!" - screaming in indignation if he does not immediately pick you up!

Words: Ree - Read
Whee!
bebo - bubbles (in the tub)
bah buh (bath)
hee go, kaykoo (here you go, thank you)
Yi Yi - Eli
Hi!
Uh Oh!
Boo!
Hewo (says this pressing the cell phone to the back of his head)
vroom!
Bay Bee (baby - picks up baby dolls and talks to them)
Da da doo! (cockadoodledoo!)
Ee aw! (hee haw - donkey sound)
ahah! (monkey sound)
Wick a wee (Trick or treat)
Up (says it over and over as he climbs the stairs, or anything)
Dop! (stop!)
Dee Daw (Ding Dong from The Little Engine that Could)
Owen is learning new words everyday! The sounds he tries to imitate already really impress me!

Songs: Owen loves music and singing. He perks up whenever we sing primary songs, and has also shown approval for Michael Jackson music! He bends his knees and bobs his head in rhythm to any dance worthy tunes.

Stats: Haven't been to the Dr. yet for weight but I'm guessing 26 pounds. He wears a 2T in shirts and 18 month pants - pretty much what Eli wore at this age. He has silky, golden blonde hair that curls up in the back, and blue eyes. I love his chubby cheeks and his award winning smile - four adorable teeth on top and two on the bottom. I also love his smell - I enjoy burrowing my nose in the top of his head as I rock him, or cuddle to sleep.