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I *swear* that I just posted but, alas, it's been almost two weeks already. So much has been going on...let's see.

Owen seems to be figuring out the sleep thing a little bit better. He's only waking up 2-3 times most nights (though we still have our rough times) and is a good napper when we're home. He has at least six teeth trying to break through, so he's a little grumpier than usual, but I can't really blame him. He has started doing what I call his "smooshie face" and shaking his head "no" - both serious 'tude developments! He is still obsessed with airplanes and birds and the moon, all of which he calls birds. It actually sounds more like he's saying "bus" but he knows what he's talking about.

Window patrol:



Bed head after a nap:



Popsicles for teething relief and snacking on Dan's toes:





Here's a picture of his smooshie face:



Other than that, he's really enjoying all of his play dates. He loves interacting with other babies and playing with other people's toys. In the community center, he figured out how to climb up the plastic slide into the toy tree house. Getting down still needs some work!



Owen is going through a little bit of separation anxiety and likes to check in with me pretty often during the day, where ever we are. He also LOVES being out on our front porch, looking for airplanes, puppy dogs, cars, garbage trucks, trees, birds, bicycles, kids...you get the picture! He loves to point to everything, ask Dan, "What's that?" and then do it all over again.

We're still walking with another mom and baby team most mornings, but he's rebelling against his stroller this week. So I end up carrying him most of the way around Greenlake (2.8 miles in circumference) which is killer on my back. As I'm writing this, I've dosed up on ibuprofen and I'm leaning up against a heating pad. Ouch! I bet he's broken through the 22 pound mark at least, maybe 23. He seems to be eating nonstop, so maybe it's his 12-month growth spurt 5 weeks early.

Wait, did I just write 5 weeks?!? 5 weeks until my little tiny sleepy hungry bug is turning 1? I can't even believe how fast this year has gone. I can't wait to see what year number 2 holds in store for the Mudgetts!

Fun New Things

Owen is so much fun these days. Don't get me wrong...he's always been fun. But he's getting so much more fun every day! If he does something to make us laugh, he'll do it again to get more laughs. He points at anything and everything that he wants or hears or sees or is curious about. And airplanes don't stand a chance at flying by unnoticed!

Owen loves climbing our stairs, crawling through the cat door on the baby gate to the laundry room, looking out the windows, chasing the cats and eating whatever snacks he finds on the ground. He is IN LOVE with books these days and will hand us a book to read over and over again, even at 6:30 in the morning. He likes being chased now that he's crawling so fast, and you just have to come at him saying, "I'm gonna get you!" and he takes off giggling.

He hasn't started walking yet but he is practicing standing by himself. We can tell he thinks about walking, but crawling is much easier right now. We moved our couch over in our living room so that he can pull up on our front window -- he kept crawling behind the couch to get to it, so instead of fighting it, we made adjustments!

He is also showing that he remembers situations and objects. He has this talking, singing learning puppy (thanks, Grandma!) that he'll go searching for if we say something that she normally says. He will clap at the right places if you sing "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" He also does some of the motions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider." He's a smart cookie, that's for sure!

Sleeping is still tough. He's settling back into only waking up 2 or 3 times a night (yes, only!), which he got away from for a few weeks after the whole croup incident. Oh, and he's working on cutting another 2-4 teeth, poor guy! I bought him a homeopathic amber necklace that's supposed to work as a natural painkiller, but he's only worn it one day and I'm not sure if he's feeling better yet or not. I guess time will tell.

Ten Months!

Today, Owen is 10 months old. Double digits. That is CRAZY! I can see how parents say that they blinked and their kids were all grown up. I can't believe it's been so long already. I can still remember the first few days and weeks so vividly, it's as if it just happened. Okay...enough of that...time for pictures!!

More bath time fun:











Hanging out with Grandma and Steve:





Climbing the stairs for the first time as if he's been doing it for years:



And the endless pursuit of the "kikkies":





Happy 10, Mr O! I guess it's time to start planning a BIRTHDAY PARTY!!

Cutie Pie

Owen is such a cutie!! We let him have some diaper-only time this week, and Dan got some great shots. Here are some of my favorites:









I love him! He also has been feeding himself more and more, so that means more and more food on the floor. Later on, Owen finds the food that we miss and snacks!



And Owen loves playing with his redheaded birthday buddy, Connor:

The Croup

Owen has croup! :( Wikipedia describes croup as this:

It is characterized by a barking cough; a whistling, obstructive sound (stridor) as the child breathes in; and hoarseness due to obstruction in the region of the larynx. It may be mild, moderate or severe, and severe cases, with breathing difficulty, can be fatal if not treated in a hospital.

So, we spent 4 hours in the ER last night (well, 3ish hours there and another 1ish getting there and home). Triage put us first of everyone in the waiting room and it STILL took that long. Owen woke up at 10 screaming and having trouble breathing. Dan and I have never been so scared...ever...not even that time I woke up in an Amazonian jungle camp with a tarantula hanging on the ceiling above my head!! Luckily, the triage nurse could tell right away that it was croup, so we felt a little better right when we got there. But, of course, then we had to wait. And wait and wait and wait. Owen had to get chest and neck x-rays to rule out any other problems, and that was the worst part. We had to hold him down, naked in a strange room, and he wanted NONE of that. That was the worst thing we've gone through...Dan had to hold him down, I had to wait behind a lead wall, and Owen didn't understand any of it. You can't blame the kid. It was the middle of the night, he couldn't breathe right, we strapped him into the car, took him to a crazy place, made him go through scary tests, and then we had to WAIT. At 1:30ish, the doctor asked if we wanted to wait a few more hours for observation, but we just wanted to go home.

Anyway, we've made it through the first full day. Owen is (kind of) sleeping now, we're watching trashy TV, and looking forward to a restful, full night of sleep.

As Dan put it this morning, we signed up for all kinds of scary moments when we decided to have kids. I'm sure there will be many more to come.

I love you, Owen!!

Our Big Boy

I see that I've been slacking on posting info and pictures. Sorry!

Owen is doing really well. We had his 9 month appointment last week - he weighs 20 lbs 9 oz, is 30 inches tall, and his head circumference is 47 cm. For comparison, at birth, he weighed 9 lbs 12 oz and was 22 inches tall. He's done some great growing over the past 3/4 of a year! He only had to get one shot - the H1N1 booster. His next appointment will be a couple of days after his first birthday, and there will be A LOT of shots at that appointment. I'm not looking forward to that at all.

Let's see...what else?

Owen is crawling like crazy, much to the cats' dismay. His new favorite activity is chasing the furry critters around our main floor. He is also pulling up on everything and cruising around. He's letting go when he's standing up, figuring out the balance thing. Dan and I are betting that he'll be walking within a month. It's nuts!

Also, as a safety precaution, we bought Owen a twin bed. Well, a twin mattress on the floor. He's been in bed with us since we brought him home, but now that he's crawling and more curious, it's too dangerous to let him nap alone on our bed. The transition has gone really well, and gives us some good sleep at night until he wakes up and we bring him into bed with us. It's weird to have him sleeping so far away, but I guess it has to happen sometime.

Here are a bunch of pictures from the past few weeks. He loves sharing sandwiches with Dan, playing with his friends at my moms' group, chasing the cats (even under the table), jumping in his bouncer (though, not so much any more), and Dan and I LOVE it when he's sleeping. ;)

Happy 2010!

Another year has come and gone, and here we are in 2010! Our little guy is 9 months old today, and I can't believe how fast that went. Owen is VERY mobile now, crawling anywhere he wants, pulling up on everything, and he's getting braver about standing with only one hand as support. We're probably only a month or two away from him walking and that is amazing to think about!