Owen's 1st Birthday!

Owen, today you are one year old! Yay!! You are getting to be such a big boy!!! And so handsome too :)

I can't believe how fast this first year with Owen has gone! I have been so blessed to be able to stay at home with him and really get to enjoy every moment of this first year with him! It has been such a gift for both of us.

When Owen was born a year ago today, I was completely overwhelmed and so afraid of how little he was! Three children was more work than Mike and I had bargained for! :) We weren't prepared for the sleepless nights followed by the activity filled days. We are so thankful for all the help and support we received this year!

 Owen's personality has really developed this last month or so. He loves to laugh and clap and dance. And man can this kid eat! He is thriving on his solid food and whole milk - no more baby food or formula!! And his reflux has finally let up much to my excitement! Perhaps I can go out now without wearing most of Owen's meal on my clothing!

Another new development in Owen is his independence. All of a sudden, he has opinions about things. These last two weeks or so, things that never bothered him are starting to became an issue. Like laying still for a diaper change or sitting in his car seat. He wants to be free and move! And when he can't we are seeing the little temper he has. The moment he is done eating he screams to get out. My mellow and go with the flow baby is starting to get a little demanding! But he has good company in our family so I am sure we'll adjust :)

On the physical side of things Owen is finally crawling the right way and he's pulling up with ease. He is even cruising a little. He seems much happier now that he can go where he wants to and follow his sisters around. I still can't imagine him getting up and walking, but I know that day is not far from us.

Owen, I am so proud to be your Mama and I am so proud of the little man you are. I can't wait to spend another year with you watching you grow! Happy Birthday Owen Joseph!

Owen's Progressive Album

Here is Owen's progressive photo album!

 

He is one year old!!! It has been a wonderful year with our little man!

Ice Cream for Tough Chicks!

Yesterday Mike took the girls for their yearly physical and vaccination appointment. I took them last year and Savannah actually kicked the nurse who gave her the shots so I decided it was my year to take a break :)

Of course, they both did great! No one got kicked so they both earned a treat!!! We were off to Chick-fil-A. It sounds like a ridiculous thing to reward, but I was so embarrassed last year that I would have promised her just about anything to not have a repeat experience!

Poor Savannie had to get three shots while Kate only needed one. I am so thankful that they are both done with shots until middle school. If only I didn't have to take Owen for shots next week!! :(

And check out Kate's new glasses! So cute :)

Christmas in July

For Christmas this past year Owen received a new toy from Uncle Ben and Aunt Renee. It was a little too advanced for him at the time and knowing that Kate and Savannah would most definitely break it before he could use it Mike decided to put it up in the attic.

The problem is that we try to avoid our attic at all costs :) So when Mike finally had to up there a couple of days ago he brought the toy down. And Owen loves it!!!

Not only does it have balls that pop out and go round and round, it also has music with it so he can dance! His only issue now is fighting the girls to play with it! It's a hit times three! :)

Thanks Uncle Ben and Aunt Renee!

Just Another Morning at the Oliver House

This morning was a pretty typical summer morning. Mike was off to teach Driver's Ed and the kids and I were taking it pretty easy. Before long they were all playing together in the sun room. I love that my kids all play well together (for the most part) and it seriously warms my heart to see Owen in the mix of it all. The girls are so sweet to him!

Another New Behavior :)

In addition to his new love of dancing, Owen has picked up another new behavior - head butting. It first started when I would go into give him a kiss. Then he'd crawl up to my leg and head butt me. This week I have seen him randomly crawl up to walls and repeatedly head butt them.

Notice at the end of the video when he crawls to me, he actually head butted the camera! What a funny little guy :)

Dancing Baby!

The other night, I noticed Owen dancing to his little musical toy while I was fixing dinner! So cute!!!

I seriously can't believe that in a week he'll be one!! My baby is getting so big! It makes me so sad and so proud at the same time.

Savannah At Play, Savannah At Rest :)

Playing with her frog....

Sleeping with her monkey....

It's all about the animals with this girl! :)

Savannah's Social Life

Since I started Savannah in the Pre-School program in January she has been invited to two birthday parties! She is starting to have her own friends and her own little social life :)

This morning it was her best friend Devyn's birthday party. She was so excited!!!

Savannah won the limbo contest!!! :) Way to go low Savannah!

They played pin the ear on pluto! She didn't fare as well in this game.

Then it was on to the bouncy house and the pinata.

Owen even managed to find some entertainment :)

And after cake and presents it was time to go! It was a great party and Savannah held up pretty well :) I love that she has little friends who love her back!!! :)

A New Home for Cherry

The other night, Savannah caught a huge frog that she named Cherry. It was such a big frog that it really wasn't even happy in her official frog habitat that she bought. We told her that she would have to release him after a day or so.

We knew she would fight it, and when she started up last night Mike and I both felt bad. She worked so hard for it and she was having so much fun playing with him. Mike remembered that we still had an aquarium in the attic so we agreed to pull it down. Today we went to the pet store and got the necessary materials to create a great place for Cherry!

Check it out:

We already had the pink rocks and the castle so all we needed was the large rock and the reptile moss! It was a pretty easy transition!

Cherry seems to be much happier in his new place! He even got a new batch of crickets to munch on. Yum yum!!

I am not sure how long I am willing to keep this whole reptile thing going but one thing is for sure - my girls LOVE it!

Frogs and Feeding Issues

So I really thought that this whole insect, lizard, and frog obsession thing was a phase that we would pass relatively quickly but it's been an entire year since Blueberry the Beetle (our first insect) and things have only intensified.

Blueberry - we actually had to tape a wing back on after it died and fell off!

So last night we were at my Dad's house getting ready to leave when Mike noticed a HUGE frog sitting on top of the drain pipe and it had turned almost white to blend in. So of course when she saw it, she had to have it!!! She caught it by herself and was very proud!
Here is our newest frog Cherry:

I was shocked this morning to see how green it was! Last night it was almost white!

In other news, Owen has stopped eating baby food and has started eating all table food. He is doing really good with one exception. He is too wiggly.

He gets antsy in his booster chair since it takes longer to eat now. When we were at Carrie and Jack's house he nearly flipped the chair completely over and then on Monday morning he did flip it! He leaned so far over to one side that the entire chair fell over in it's side. Thankfully he was strapped in and wasn't hurt but that was enough for me. We invested in a real high chair.

I have to say, even though it is an expense we didn't want to have (especially since we aren't having any more kids), he looks so much happier in his big high chair and I know I feel a lot better about it's stability!