It's Spooky How Cute These Kiddos Are...

Owen had a great 1st Halloween. Yesterday we had a few of his friends come over to play dress up. We know SO SO many babies in Seattle (probably at least 20.... under the age of 2), but we had to just invite a few  because we don't have tons of space!

Truman the Tiger

ROAR!!

If we had known the Cards were going to win the WS, I probably would have dressed him up as Yadi or something (complete with the neck tattoos). On that note, we are EXTREMELY thrilled with the results of last weeks' super special world series. We had an absolute blast watching the back and forth, back and forth, back and forth of Game 6 (and the entire series for that matter!)

Amity is becoming super interested in Owen. Her little face just lights up, and she kept trying to 'pull up' on him. He seemed to prefer the independent play.

Miss Peacock in the library

Shaking her tail feather

Isn't she gorgeous?

GaGa Wade, this picture of baby legs was taken for you!

O & A. Relaxing with Daddy Culbertson after a long party.

Our super cool neighbors Darin & Andy came over with their very peaceful penguin, 10 week old Dylan. He only weighs a few pounds less than Owen, but he is so still when you hold him. I already miss that stage!

Darin & Dylan. I love these little feet.

Love Halloween, I do. mmmmm, yes

It's OK, Zander (7mo), we won't let Owen take any more of your toys.

Amity and Vivian are just 19 days apart, and they had too much fun playing together. Unlike Owen who couldn't be bothered with other babies, these chicas put their heads together to conquer these wooden blocks!

"Here's how we figure them out... put it in your mouth"

Owen loves shoes. Good thing Vivian doesn't actually walk in her shoes.

Play time. Again, Owen is elsewhere. He was anywhere but the blanket. Everyone else stayed put!

Today we got dressed up in our super SPOOKY outfit.

Happy Halloween!

10 months: Tornad'O'

How is this baby boy 10 months old? I'm afraid he doesn't look much like a baby any more, either. Mike and I thought the appropriate title for this post would be 'Tornado' because he is everywhere. We are constantly looking for things (contact case, comb, A&D ointment, etc), and they are on an entirely different floor of the house than they are normally kept. He also loves to empty the Tupperware and towel drawers into the kitchen and eating area, and I usually just let him.

Our 10 month sign. I am getting better at figuring out ways to keep him from trying to eat the sign. (Though I still had to be very very quick to capture this one).

You would think that he hates this hat, but actually he just really wants me to pick him up. In the last month, I've seen this face a lot. He really loves to be held. A lot. I am trying to enjoy it while it lasts!

(p.s. This hat is too small. It was too big last winter. Maybe for babe #2?)

He still loves to ride in the stroller. This day he and daddy were picking mommy up from her 10K. I ran it last Sunday.. tweaked my right hip/knee a bit, but overall it went well!

I found this toy at a garage sale last week. He seems to enjoy the ABC song that plays. Mike loves to switch it to the Spanish setting. And would you know, that he sang the Spanish ABCs straight through the first time it played? Who knew Mike sang Spanish?

Owen will now say 'Bop' on command. I got him prepping for it here. My friend Lam says that bop is 'rice' in Korean. Owen is bilingual in English and Korean. What a Seattle baby.

On another note.. I think O looks exactly like my dad in this picture (especially in his lumberjack shirt!)

I caught this picture after Owen had climbed the stairs toward nap time. Once I put him in the crib, he didn't have the energy to fight or even lay down.

This is his one of his preferred sleeping positions. Bum in the air.

Little Mr. is all but refusing pureed foods anymore. This just started a few days ago. I'm OK with that.. he'll still eat yogurt, but he isn't interested in oatmeal anymore. He is loving his finger foods, and as of today, he has TWO teeth to 'chew' them with. Yesterday was a bit of an extra-clingy day, and I had a feeling he was uncomfortable. Today he had something to show for it!

Additional foods we've added in October: Corn, Chicken (gives him a bad diaper rash.. this has happened twice now), Egg Yolk, Oranges, Tomato (makes him break out on his face), Cheese, and Tofu.

Mommy and O. This was toward the beginning of October. Apparently his hair has grown a lot this month.

Owen loves the dog's bed. He even brings his toys with him.

In return, Oskee cuddles in to his blanket and box. I think it's a fair trade.

Owen helped me unpack in STL by climbing in to the suitcase and throwing clothes out.

Playing ball with Gaga Wade. We're still working on turning him in to a south paw, but he appears to be using the right here.

This month we made the transition to total formula feeding (3 bottles a day). He is much more satisfied with the bottle. He's even working on holding it on his own.

Owen waved 'bye-bye' for the first time on October 16th! He always saves a big milestone for STL, and this was certainly a fun one to conquer in the presence of Grandma and Papa.

O and his 'Silly Papa'!

Additional nuggets about our little nugget:

- He loves to snuggle after naps (especially the afternoon nap). Sometimes he'll even fall back asleep on my shoulder while we rock. I love this time with him! In general he loves to be held frequently. This is a total change from a few months ago.
- In a sort of 'imitation', he now sings 'Ahhh' back when I sing to him
- Stranger anxiety is slowly creeping in. It doesn't seem to be too bad, but the clinging to mama is getting worse.
- Favorite games still include throwing things into the bathtub or hamper. He now also loves to drop something and see where it lands. He'll stand on his tip toes to drop something over an adults' legs and then get so excited to bend down and pick it up.
- He LOVES to laugh. He even loves the anticipation of a laugh. He'll do anything for a good laugh, and in the last week or so he has started this new laugh which sounds like a inhalation wheeze. If I didn't know better, I would think he was asthmatic.
- He is sitting in his new, big boy, car seat now!
- Though 'mama' is making it's way into the repertoire of sounds, Dada, Baba, and Bop are still the favorite words. He's not associating sounds with any things yet.
- I am still able to use the word 'no' very frequently, though I am trying to reserve it for situations that are dangerous. I've read that it will still be a few months before he understands the word 'no', but he is already understanding the tone of voice that I use. This development is fascinating.

We love our little O, so so much. Stay tuned for future November developments!

Every True Son

"Every True Son, So Happy Hearted. Skies above us are blue. There's a spirit so deep within us, old Missouri, here's to you. Rah! Rah! When the band plays a Tiger War song, and when the fray is through (what's a fray?). We will tramp, tramp, tramp around the columns with a cheer for old Mizzou!"

Last weekend, Owen and I traveled down to Columbia for his first "in-the-flesh" Mizzou experience (as opposed to in-utero). We left my mom and her newly repaired right foot at home to rest in STL (her surgery went well, and now she's just trying to keep herself occupied in the recliner for the next 4 weeks).

Friday night was the Summer Welcome reunion. Although I did not bring my camera to document, I can attest that it was a fantastic night indeed. Most of my favorite people from Mizzou were in attendance, and O was looked after by Papa Cooper, and Claire's wonderful husband, Adam.

Saturday we tailgated at the Alumni Association and enjoyed the October sunshine. Owen loves his Auntie Britt (and the adorable Mizzou polo she bought him).

Mommy and Owen in front of Jesse Hall (my favorite place on campus). I was intentionally trying to keep him out of the sun, but the shadows don't make for a great picture.

 True Tigers

Some of my absolute favorite people in the world! (L-R) Claire (Columbia, MO), Stuth (Jenn, Omaha, NE), Becca (Eugene, OR), Britt (LA, CA), and of course, me (Seattle, WA). We traveled from near and far. Claire was so gracious to host little tornado, O, and me.  

Missing from this pic of favorite Mizzou Alums: my dear Ali (and her baby bump!)

The entire bookstore was torn down and rebuilt. The new 'complex' is beautiful.

Tired Tiger

Play time at Claire & Adam's house.

We had a whirlwind 48 hours in Columbia, and then we traveled back to STL to spend 4 amazing days with Grandmas, Papas, Uncles, Aunts, and Cousins. I long for and greatly look forward to the day we get to live much closer.

She's a Beauty. She's One in a Million Girls

Please welcome AVA ADELINE NIEDERS!!! A beautiful name for a gorgeous baby! Mike and I are SO thrilled to have a new niece, and I already know O will get her in to lots of trouble.

 She was born on 10/11/11 at 4:31 am. 8lbs even.

Visiting Lindsey, Dax, and beautiful baby Ava was the first stop Owen and I made when we landed in STL last Wednesday!

On this day, I thought she looked just like Livi. A few days later she seemed to favor Carson. Either way, she's beautiful. I am in.love.with.her.

Proud Papa Wade. He now has two girls and two boys.

More Wade Family Photos

Our photog just posted July's family portrait session on his blog. I love the way they turned out.
Check them out! http://www.fengimagesblog.com/2011/10/02/the-wades-family-portrait-session/

The tough decisions now will be to decide which photos to order!

9 months: Object Permanence and Cruising Along

Owen had his 9 month check up this morning. Here are our "big" boy's stats:

Height: 29 inches (75%)

Weight: 18 lb 4.5oz (10-25%)

Head: 17.2 inches (5-7%)

Hemoglobin: 12.7 (perfect)

Flu Vaccine: One

Teeth: Zero

Love: Lots 

Once again, there is slight concern about his extremely small head and continued decline on the weight growth chart. Developmentally he's right on track, though, so we aren't concerned that the head size is indicative of something more serious going on. The weight issue will likely be a stressor to me for a long time. She recommended bumping up the solid feedings to 5-6 x/day. We are also starting yogurt today and meat soon, so the fat content of his diet should increase soon, too.

Most of the pictures this month will highlight his 'on the move' state. It amazes me the places he crawls into.

I had to get creative about how to get a picture with him NOT eating the sign! (Check out his finger foods.. he's doing so well!)

"Mom, really, are you going to make me do this again?" (ps.. I love the way he looks in red).

Update of the Owen and Amity portfolio.

Studious Amity perfects the "Wheels on the Bus" while center-of-attention Owen smiles for the camera

(Oskee is just glad they've stopped crawling after her!)

Our Husky in the book shelf. We can entertain him for 10-20 minutes putting his books back on the shelf while he pulls them back out. In fact, he loves to pull anything out of anywhere. Books off the shelf, toys out of the box, Tupperware out of the drawer. At what developmental age do they put things back IN? =)

He loves his books. Actually, he will now, on occasion, actually listen to a book.

Posing in front of the washing machine. He loves to pull up and stick his head into  the washing machine while babbling. The echo must sound so cool.

Under the table

On the dishwasher

In the Tupperware drawer

I love the reflection in this picture. He chews on anything he can!

Owen and his sweet friend, Camille (13mo). Don't you just love her hair!?

Owen actually experiencing what it's like to be the 'Big Kid'. Baby Sam looks a little nervous.

He LOVES daddy's hats. He LOVES his daddy. like crazy. It's awesome.

Saturday football gear + a not so stylish hat. I don't know why Mike and I think this is hilarious.

A sneak peak at his Mizzou's 100th Homecoming outfit and Halloween Costume.

 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Climbing INTO the basket and going for daddy's books.

This picture also highlights the current state of the back of his head. We decided against the helmet therapy. At our follow up appointment in early September, the NP said it had a 75% chance of continuing to round out. The bottom of his skull has popped out nicely. Though the crown of his skull is still relatively flat, she thinks this is actually genetic and unlikely to improve with helmet therapy. Mike puts it best: "This is the way God made him". Flat head and all =)

Many other reasons we LOVE this baby:

- His giggles have reached an all time high. I thought we had already achieved our max giggle potential, but I was wrong indeed. He giggles across the room at whatever he is crawling toward. He giggles at my show choir moves (You were right, Chelsea, show choir was great mommy prep). He giggles at songs that he recognizes. Wheels on the Bus, Spoonful of sugar, Jesus loves me, and several other songs that I make up.
- He can pull to stand and get back down (we've been working on the getting back down all month). It interfered with nap time for quite a while!
- Once he pulls up on the coffee table, he can cruise around the coffee table (holding on) to reach his desired object. He often gets (too) brave and decides to not hold on to the coffee table. This is usually in an effort to pet the dog who is trying to assess whether or not he has food. He promptly falls, and she gets startled. It's quite the scene.
- He can reach a sitting position from crawling, lying, standing, etc. So cool!
- He does not want to be restrained at any time. The exersaucer is no longer fun because he can't move around in it. This means I need to watch him constantly, and we go everywhere together. Even the bathroom. We've also had lots of opportunity to work on the word 'no'.
- He loves.to.swing
- He has graduated to being in the 'big' tub without using the infant tub. He kept crawling out of the infant tub, so we decided it was much more safe to have him in a few inches of water in the big tub.
- He babbles frequently. Most commonly saying 'Dada'. We still have 'Ba', 'Ma', and 'Ga', but not many others. Interestingly he always whispers 'di di di di'. It's too sweet.
- He sticks his tongue out when concentrating. I can assuredly say that this comes from his Papa Cooper.
- He has no pincher grasp, but he is quite good at feeding himself small bites of food. (He will even eat bite sized green beans!)
- He is fascinated by other peoples' mouths. He's always watching Mike and me talk, and he constantly has his hands in my mouth.
- Object permanence is in full force. His new favorite game is to throw something off of the changing table and look for it. He'll also look for toys that we hide under blankets. Likewise he now cries when you take him away from something he should not be playing with, and he fusses when we leave his line of vision. Stranger anxiety is likely right around the corner, but so far he is OK with me leaving him in the nursery at church or at the gym.
- He mostly loves to play with anything that is not a toy.. but if he does play with a toy, he likes balls the best. Mike is teaching him to play 'catch' which he does fairly well with a tennis ball. He may even prefer the left hand when playing catch... only time will tell.
- In the last month we have added plums (LOVE), spinach (will eat when combined with carrots), white potatoes (not as good as sweet potatoes!), grapes, and beans.
- Sleeping, I am SO happy to report, is wonderful. He sleeps from 1930-0530 every night! He wakes up on the dot at 5:30, so much so, that Mike doesn't even need an alarm anymore. I feed him, and then he goes back to bed until around 0700 or 0730! Naps are usually twice a day for 40-50 minutes each.

We love him oh so much, and we appreciate your willingness to read these long, longmonthly posts.