happy halloween!

wordle

My friend Mandy did something called a Wordle on her blog and I gave it a try with ours. Here's what it looks like.

4 month stats

Owen turned four months old this week, so we headed to the doctor this morning for his well baby check-up. He's doing great, and really growing. The stats are:

Height: 25" (50th percentile)
Weight: 16 lbs., 10 oz. (90th percentile!)
Head: 42.5 cm.

We decided to change up Owen's vaccination schedule for safety reasons and the nurse was really accommodating in helping us to think through the best way to do that. Owen got 2 shots today instead of 3 shots and an oral vaccine. We'll make up a couple at his 9 month appt. when kids usually get none, and skip some altogether. Because we are exclusively breastfeeding, he is well-protected against sickness anyway, and we are just not convinced that little babies need all of that stuff pumped into their tiny bodies. It's controversial, I know, but wanted to mention it because a lot of parents don't realize they have a choice regarding their own children and the vaccinations they are given. Just wanted to raise a little awareness!

Because it has gotten so chilly (and boy are we glad it cooled off!) Owen is now wearing his warm hat when needed.





















And here are a couple of bath pictures.

changing of the seasons

In the midst of the economic crisis and the presidential campaign, Owen and Lewis have been having fun playing and trying to synchronize their nap schedule (which is one of our long term goals).

Last week we took our last trip to Circus Square Park for the year. It seems impossible that it might warm up again to endure the cold water.

















And kind of in the spirit of summer, we got Owen a "Tummy Time Surfboard" so he can enjoy playing with the fishes while building those muscles.

















Owen is getting so heavy, he's filling out those 3-6 month clothes nicely now.






















We took a time out to try and get a picture of me and both boys the other night. It was not easy.
































As the weather has gotten cooler, we've had to get out the warmer clothes.

















I even found a cute hat in our stash to put on Owen when he sleeps to keep him from losing all the heat out of his head.






















The drooling has begun too. It seems like Owen is really working on teething. Lewis "teethed" off and on for months and never got a tooth until he was 11 months old. If I had to make a bet, I think Owen will get his first tooth much sooner, but we'll have to wait and see. Poor little guy tries to stay in a good mood, even when he's obviously in pain.

In other news, Lewis learned the sign for "baby" this week. He has also learned: help (which we see all day), book, and music.

a visit from tasha

This week's highlight was a visit from my former roommate and close friend, Tasha Caruthers. She lives in North Carolina so it is a rare treat to see her! We got to spend time together with another former roommate, Heather Morozov, and her 10 month old daughter, Annabella. Heather's hubby and son were visiting family in Minsk and didn't get to join us. And we always miss our friend Natasha when we are together and she is far away in Ukraine. :(

With two babies we didn't manage to get any photos of the 3 us together, but here's a few pictures.

Owen and Tasha. He really loved staring at her!

















Annabella (who just woke up with crazy hair) and Heather.

















Annabella, me and Owen:
















And Owen sleeping .
















Owen has settled into a nighttime routine of going to bed between 9 and 9:30 p.m. and waking up at around 6:30 a.m. He then goes back to sleep until 10 a.m. or so, which gives me and Lewis some time to get going in the mornings. It is nice! I don't know how long it will last, but it has been great getting good sleep and having some sense of a normal routine again. :)

more owen

Owen is becoming a lot more interesting! He moved into his own bed in his own room when he turned 3 months old. He continues to sleep through the night and is seriously a really happy and easy baby. Recently we tried out the Bumbo chair for the first time. He can hold his head up enough to handle it in small doses.





















Sometimes Lewis shares his ball so that Owen can have some real fun.






















Check out his fat rolls.





















He also has fun with daddy.
















He's fallen asleep laying in the floor a few times this week. It's probably time to put him to bed earlier. :)

















My sister got these jeans for Lewis, but they cut off his circulation at 6 months. We decided to let Owen wear them much earlier, and not only do they fit pretty well, but we got a huge smile when we put them on him.





















and a wider angle shot.

into october

We have been enjoying the lovely fall weather! Our church, Grace and Peace Presbyterian, is getting ready to officially begin services. To kick things off we had a launch party at a local park. Justin's parents were in town so Grandpa got to come and have some Culver's frozen custard with Lewis. They both really liked it!





















Lewis was really exhausted from a full weekend.
















We tried really hard to get a photo of the Shepherd men. This one turned out pretty good!

















Owen has been taking some interest in his big brother and his tower building skills.

















And otherwise, Owen continues to get bigger and be a generally happy and cute boy.

After his bath.