25 lbs, haha!

I took Owen in for his 12 month check up today. It seems that every one who picks up Owen has to say, "Man he is heavy. What is he like 30 pounds?" I guessed that he was around 25 but boy were we all wrong. He weighed in at 22 pounds 7 ounces and is 29 1/2 inches tall. He was given a clean bill of health except for his ezcema and a bit of a low iron count. He got 3 shots and a finger prick to check lead and iron levels. He did really well considering the circumstances.

Anyway, I'm looking foward to things slowing down now that April is over. I was looking over my April archive of blog entries and I can't believe all that's happened.

Owen's 1st Birthday

All the anticipation and planning was well worth it. Owen's 1st birthday party was a hit. The theme for his party was Baby Einstein. Owen loves Baby Einstein videos. The moment that caterpillar crosses the screen, Owen's face just lights up and he smiles from ear to ear. The best part of Owen's party was the cake. It was my idea to make the Baby Einstein caterpillar for Owen's cake. I baked the cake and Barry frosted it. I had a lot of fun decorating the house as well.

Owen got clothes, mini dinosaurs, a hammering toy, cars, a puzzle, stacking cups, and a lot more. He definately got spoiled by everyone. Thanks to those who came and made Owen's day so special. We missed those who couldn't make it but hope these pictures make up for it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/barryandrebecca/OwenS1stBirthday/

Owen Walking

As promised, here is a video of Owen walking. He mostly gets up and falls down upon the first step or he takes two or three steps and falls. I caught him walking quite a few steps in this video. All today he didn't walk at all and then tonight he was going to town. Up and then crash. Enjoy!

Walking for the 1st Time

Yesterday night I was on the couch placing Owen's scrapbook pages into his album. Barry was right across from me in his easy chair talking on the phone. All of the sudden Owen just walks 6 or more steps to the ottoman in front of me and then from the ottoman to me. We couldn't get him to do it again and he hasn't walked today. It's just funny that he did it when we least excepted. I'll try to catch him on video when he does it again and post it.  For awhile now I didn't think my prediction he'd walk before his birthday would come true and here he does it just 3 days before.

Standing Tall

Here are some pictures of Owen standing. He can get up from the floor and stand there for 30 seconds or more. In the second picture he is chewing on his thumb because he is still teething. The only teething relief he likes is his pacifier and I won't give him his pacifier unless he really needs it. He has used it so much it has caused little sores around his mouth.

6PM.com

Recently my two favorite pairs of shoes, my Sketcher mary janes and Sketcher sandals bit the dust. Not that I'm complaining. I've had my mary janes since Barry and I were dating and my sandals for 3 years. So, to say the least I needed some replacements. I searched Google and found this fabulous web site called 6PM.com. I got two pairs of Sketcher shoes for 61% off the retail price. I thought I'd share this site for all you shoe lovers. You can never go wrong with getting a comfortable, quality shoe.

Owen's First Tooth!

Hours after I wrote my blog entry I decided to feel in Owen's mouth to see if one of his bottom teeth had cut through. I thought I felt something sharp but wasn't sure. Then tonight Barry's mom felt and sure enough it had cut through. It is the tooth on the right. It is just barely above the gum line so I won't post a picture until you can see it when he smiles.

Owen Developments

Nearly one week away until Owen's first birthday. I definitely have bittersweet feelings about it. I've been working on Owen's first year scrapbook and running into a lot of his pictures where he was newborn or a couple months old. I get emotional thinking about snuggling and holding that 7 pound baby who now has to be around 25 pounds. 

To think around this time, I was such a wreck and wondering if everything was going to work out as planned and then it did. It's our miracle and I hope it happens again. We are working on our adoption paperwork again. If this next baby comes in 18 months like Owen did then Owen will be about 2 1/2. That would be just right. 

Yesterday Owen stood without holding onto the furniture for about a second, attempted to take a step and then fell. It was exciting. He is also close to getting his first teeth. He has front two bottom teeth where you can see the white just below the skin. They haven't cut through yet but I bet they will any day now. He has his front two top teeth coming in too but they are a lot further behind than his bottom ones.

I took this picture of him the other day. We have this little chair that Barry's dad brought back from Mexico when Barry was little. I put Owen on it and he started to sway side to side. He just started swaying. He loves to sway to music now.

Well, hope to see those invited to Owen's birthday party. We are pretty excited.

Way to Go Barry!

I have to do a little bragging because Owen and I are so proud of our daddy! Against much opposition, Barry has finished his Introduction to Biology class and received a B-! I've mentioned before that science is not an area where he excels. Here Barry comes home after the first day of class and says he's going to fail. Then he gets better than a C! This is going to be such a confidence boost for him. He is just one English, a Biology lab, and a Fine Arts Attendance class away from getting his Associate Degree in General Studies. I don't know if he'll further his education any more than that. It's just great to have something finished that he started over 10 years ago.

Got Tagged

I was tagged by my sister-in-law Amanda. I haven't been tagged before so it should be fun. Here goes!

10 years ago

I was 17 years old and a junior in high school. I was busy maintaining my grade point average so I could graduate as one of the valedictorians (which I did). Besides that I was hanging out with friends.

5 things on my to-do list

I wish I only had 5 things to do!

1. Work
2. Organize pantry and closets as part of spring cleaning
3. Finish Owen's first year scrapbook
4. Purchase remaining items for Owen's birthday party
5. Go to the temple

3 Bad Habits

1. Procrastinating things I don't like to do like laundry
2. Eating too fast
3. California stopping at certain stop signs

Places I've lived

• Idaho Falls, Idaho
• Rexburg, Idaho
• Pocatello, Idaho
• Ririe, Idaho
• Rigby, Idaho

Jobs I've had

• Internet support technician
• Hair salon receptionist
• Web developer
• Wife and mother

5 things you don't know about me

For some of you, some of these won't be any surprise.

1. Read every Harry Potter book at least 3 times and at most 5 times.
2. I've loved working on computers since 5th grade.
3. I've owned every Nintendo system (Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Nintendo 64) except for the Game Cube and Wii.
4. Barry is 6 years older than me.
5. At one point I could name all the states and their capitals.

Back to His Ol' Self ... Sort of

Owen has made a full recovery. We didn't end up taking him to the doctor because on Monday he had only 3 non-liquid diarrhea episodes and he stopped gag vomiting on Sunday evening. Now he is back to his old self except he is still teething and that is making him cranky and clingy. Yesterday we visited Barry's mom at the Rexburg Vision Center where she works. He was being so funny in that he wouldn't smile. He was even trying to hold back a smile when the other ladies and his Uncle Steve who work there were trying to get one out of him. Now as many of you know it's not like Owen not to smile. His gums are really bothering him.

I'm relieved that his is recovered. It was such a beautiful Spring day yesterday. I'm looking forward to taking Owen on walks again around our subdivision. The snow was much needed but it's so nice to have warm sunny days now.