Closing a Chapter

After 16 months, Owen and I are done breastfeeding. Over the past few months, we've cut down from 8-10 times per day to 2-3 times before naps and bedtime. In the past week or so, nursing has only been once a day, and only for a few minutes. With Owen eating so much real food and it getting more and more uncomfortable for me to nurse him, it was time to call it quits.

In the first few weeks of Owen's life, I couldn't imagine making it out of the first month without giving up and switching to a bottle. Now that well over a year has passed, I can't believe how easy it turned out to be and what an amazing experience we had together. It probably sounds silly, but I already miss that special quiet time with my baby boy. In four months, I'll start all over with our newest son and I know it will be hard all over again, but I think I'll appreciate it more in the beginning, knowing that it won't be forever.

I love you, Owen! Thank you for being such an amazing kid and a loving son. ~Mom

Wading Pools and Boy #2

We've been having a great summer. The weather has been amazing and we've been spending a lot of time at parks and the local wading pool. I think the wading pool is Owen's favorite summer activity, and I bet he'd go there every single day if we had the energy for it too!









Now for an update on Boy #2. He is an active little guy!! He kicks and rolls all day and night, and seems to have the same spunk as his big brother. I'm just past 22 weeks pregnant with him now, and it has been going so quickly already.

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Wow! We're at squash already! This is where we started taking belly photos last time, so here goes... Here's me at 22 weeks and 2 days pregnant with our new sweet little guy:

Lone Star Trip

Friday was the 20-week mark on this pregnancy. We celebrated with a trip to Texas!

We spent this past weekend in Dallas, meeting up with more families that I met while I was pregnant with Owen. Yes, it was nuts to go to Dallas in July, but that's where people wanted to meet, so that's where we went. Owen did amazingly well on the 4-hour flights...better than us probably! We went to a children's museum, an aquarium, and two different Chuck E Cheeses. It was crazy hot and humid, so we had to find shelter inside the whole time. We met some great people, and had a fantastic time.

Here are some pictures!

It's a...

BOY!! Owen is going to have a little brother, and I get to be queen of our castle! We had our big ultrasound today and got to see our little man again. He's grown a lot since our last ultrasound 6 weeks ago, and is pretty active. He has all of his fingers and toes, a big head, strong heart, and he's already practicing breathing. He is also measuring 3-4 days bigger than our due date, and is 6 inches long.

Here are some pictures of the little guy:

Profile:


Spine:


Feet:


Boy:


Now to find a name...

18 Weeks Pregnant with #2

I'm 18 weeks pregnant with Owen's brother or sister already! I realize that I haven't posted on here much lately, especially not about the pregnancy, and I feel really bad about that! It's not that it's not as exciting or amazing to go through this again -- it's more that we're too stinkin' busy with Owen to sit down and collect our thoughts. I'll try to give more pregnancy information as we go along!

I've been feeling really good this pregnancy. I've been really tired, but I skipped morning sickness altogether. I've got a little bit of a tummy (and I promise to post pictures as things progress), but I haven't gained any weight. I feel the baby moving and kicking, mostly while I'm nursing Owen to sleep (one of the few rare cases a day where I can truly relax with my thoughts and pay attention), but so far, this one isn't quite as active as Owen was. At least, not from what I can remember. But this baby is also only 5-6 inches long, about the size of a bell pepper. There is plenty of time for him/her to boogie down!

As for Owen, he's doing great! Summer finally arrived here in Seattle this week, with temperatures breaking 90 degrees and setting records for this early in the summer. We've been keeping cool by playing at the local splash park, and we made it to the Greenlake wading pool today for the first time. I was on a walk with a friend, so we weren't prepared at all, but that didn't stop us from letting our kids go crazy in the water. Next time, I'll remember the swim suits and camera!

Also, and I don't want to jinx it but I'm going to talk about it anyway, Owen is finally sleeping!! He has been a sleeping champ for almost a month now, including pushing his wake up back from 5:30 AM to anywhere from 6:30 to 8:30 on really good mornings. He and Dan have a great morning schedule that involves lots of breakfast, watering our new garden, making blanket tents, playing with toys, blocks and balls, and enjoying the company. Most of this happens while I'm still snoring away, and I can't thank Dan enough for the extra sleep after all this time!

And what would a blog post be without lots of pictures of our adorable little guy, who, by the way, will now correct you if you don't call him Owen!?

No More Shaggy Dog

It was time again -- for a haircut! Dan got out his clippers last night and we trimmed him up. He wasn't a big fan of the buzzing near his ears, but after a little bit, he calmed down and let it happen.

Look at this big boy!



And a Happy 2nd Father's Day to my wonderful hubby and Owen's awesome dad. We love you, Dan!

Goof Ball Cutie Pie

Owen has always had a very fun personality, but it is developing so much more these days. He has a huge vocabulary and knows what he wants. Some of his favorite things are: the "ack-yoo" (vacuum), the "oh blocks," his "bups" (books), his "boo" (boots/shoes), the "mee" (cat/meow), "cack-cack" (crackers), and "cook-cooks" (cookies). All day, he wants to visit the vacuum, pet and feed the cat, put on his boots, eat, and go outside. In fact, if he wants to go outside and you aren't on it that second, he'll sit down, double over, and scream into the ground. We don't encourage that behavior, but he wants what he wants when he wants it!

We spent some time at the park on Friday, where Owen got to play in the giant sandbox and kick a ball around with his dad. He's really good dribbling a soccer ball, and likes to yell, "GOAL!" as he's running around. I've added a video of his skills to the left column.

With the weather finally turning to summer, we're going to get out the kiddie pool and the sprinkler for some fun. Look for those pictures in the next month or two! Until then, here are some pictures of our recent fun.

















I've also added a short video of our first ultrasound of Baby #2 to the left column. Very exciting!