Silly Faces & Funny Giggles

Owen's growing up. 

He's soo adorable, and I'm quite certain it has nothing to do with any sort of mommy bias.. 

He is becoming quite the little talker and just loves looking at anyone and talking and telling them his life story. 

And, as one would expect from one of my children, he's becoming quite expressive. 

First Look-See of the 'Naki

Marco and I took a weekend visit to check out our new home base (or what will be our new home base if we ever finish and sell our house).

We dropped the girls and the dog off at various locations, boarded a plane and headed off for 2 nights of peace and quiet. Or, as much peace and quiet as one can get with a 3 mo baby in tow - but he's sort of attached to his food source, so taking him was a necessity.

It was Owen's first time flying, so we took the customary first picture. However, the lighting was a bit off, so imagine, if you will, that we went for a arty look. :)

As expected, Owen did great in the plane. he doesn't seem to like boarding the plane very much, but then again, who does?! But, as soon as we were sitting and he was eating, he was lovely again. 

We didn't arrive in New Plymouth until 7ish, so, we quickly made up a bed for Owen (I LOVE my safe t sleep that allows him to sleep in a normal bed without costing us extra for a cot).  After a feed and a change, he was out like a light. I also LOVE sleeping babies. :)

 And, after a feed and a change, we were out like lights too. After the customary wine in bed, of course!!

Saturday, we drove. And drove. And drove. 

Over the whole weekend we put 370 km's on the car, and the large majority of that was done on Saturday. (we'd be lucky if we put 50 km on the car on Friday or Sunday). 

We drove through wide roads and narrow roads. flat roads and hilly roads. paved roads and gravel roads. Road with pig farms, roads with chicken farms, roads with houses, roads with ocean next to it.
We drove.

 Oh yeah, and it rained. and it stopped. And then it rained some more.
So, there were rainbows.
We joked that if we were driving somewhere and there was a rainbow it was a good place to live. No rainbow meant bad place to live.

 We did a bit of sightseeing too. :)

 Look, we tried to see the mountain!! (its behind the cloud)

 And through it all, Owen was cute.

 And cuter.

It really was a good weekend for us.
On Sunday we had the opportunity to attend the church that we hope to become a part of when we eventually move. It was good. The pastor was gone, but an elder preached and did a pretty good job. The congregation was friendly and lots and lots of people introduced themselves. I hope they don't expect me to remember all their names in several months time! yikes!
But, we had a lovely lunch with a couple who live on a gorgeous rural property. They have a 5 & 7 year old who they home school (and who are really eerily well behaved - but I'm sure my kids will cure them of that when they get to know them!). Anyway, they also invited 2 other couples around for lunch so it was a great chance for us to get to know a few different people and ask lots of questions.
We eventually had to head home again, where Owen was another pro-star at flying. But, what else can you expect from a "nearly-captain"'s son?! ;)

I think I can now say that I'm looking forward to moving to the 'Naki. it has stores, beaches, places to walk, playgrounds, (i even saw rumour of a mall!). It should be a good place for us to raise our kids, meet new people and make new friends!!

We did however, have a good laugh at the local slogan:

 - really? that's the BEST slogan you could come up with?? it's "like no other". WOW! Owen just had a poo "like no other", you don't hear me bragging about it?? :)

Owen's 3 months!!

I can't believe how quickly the time is buzzing by!! My baby is a quarter of a year old already! oh my!

Owen is brilliant. He's smiley, sleepy, hungry... practically perfect - just like his mommy :)

he's still as seriously expressive as ever. 

 The Plunket (well-child) nurse came by the day after Owen turned 3 months (13 weeks). He weighed in at a healthy 6.19kg (13 lbs 10 oz)  which is not quite double his birth weight, but more than double what he dropped down to after birth. And, he's moving perfectly along the 50th percentile graph. So, we're happy.

Actually, I think sometimes that the girls are growing just as fast as Owen. scary. 

 Owen, measured in at 63 cm now. That means he grew 2 cm in 4 weeks. Again, I'm pretty happy with that..

Owen's been sleeping great. So well in fact, that I'm contemplating dropping the "dream feed" (that feeding you do before you go to bed at night, without waking the baby).  but, its a scary feed to drop - what if the baby really can only go 10 hours and starts waking at 4/5am - ugh. COULD. NOT. HANDLE. THAT!!!!!
But, I'm waking him for every single feed during the day, so I'm thinking its time...

 Owen's also laughed a few times. I LOVE baby laughs. They are SO cute. The cutest, though, is as they're learning to laugh, it sort of scares them. He laughs, and then gets this look on his face like, "who did that?!" hilarious.

Owen likes cuddling with his sisters and being "one of the big kids"

2 months on..

Well.. Owen's getting SO old that I've decided to switch from weekly updates to monthly ones. This decision has nothing to do with how busy I am. None whatsoever. (insert sheepish grin here)

So, here we are with a 2 month old. And, he's doing great! We don't get weekly weigh ins anymore so I have no idea how much he weighs, but I can see evidence of constant growth - no worries with this kid!! 

He's starting to smile a LOT more. Which is lovely for his mommy. 

He's also starting to sleep a lot more. Which is even more lovely for his mommy. Last night, for example, he went 10 hours between feeds!! Woo hoo!! 

I love watching a sleeping baby. 

Owen still has a few "grumpy" periods - but I use that term loosely because after having 2 girls going through 3 year old hormone tantrums, NOTHING this baby does seems that bad. And, I know, the worst thing in the world is for someone to say to you, "you think THAT's bad, wait till they ..... " but honestly, a baby crying for a few hours is nothing compared to irrational 3/4 year old girls! Sheesh!
Anyway, typically, he's pretty fussy around dinner time - which is a bit unfortunate and difficult (especially when I'm solo parenting through the dinner hour) - but its still doable. And, if all else has failed, I chuck him in the bath - a nice warm bath. I made the mistake the other day of making it a bit on the cool side. Master Owen wouldn't have a bar of it. Fuss pot.

However, this blog wasn't supposed to be soley about Owen. It was supposed to be about our whole family and everything we do. So, let's not forget these 2 goons! 

Kelsey & Morgan are best of friends. 

Kelsey and Morgan are worst of enemies. 

Kelsey and Morgan are typical sisters. 

But they are definitely goons!! 

We just got all the bedrooms moved around last week, and now the girls are finally in single beds. (SOooo much easier for sheet changing!). The new room has lots more room for playing too. So, they're pretty excited about that. And, of course, they love sharing a room (not that they have a choice). 

Kelsey is 4 1/2. She is still highly emotional. We're praying this changes soon. Kelsey LOVES drawing & coloring. She spends hours every day at the chalk board or at the table just creating her little masterpieces. I love watching how her people drawings are constantly evolving over time. Just in the last week her people have stopped getting round circle noses and have started getting C's for noses.
When Kelsey's trying to pester her little sister (which is pretty much always), she'll tell her that's she's drawing a picture of Kelsey but not Morgan. Ugh.
But, in this picture she drew (from left to right): Daddy, Kelsey, Mommy, Morgan, Oma, (and bottom row) Opa and Owen. Grandma and Grandpa are on vacation (she said. I laughed). I'm not sure why only 2 people have fingers. Nor am I sure why Owen has no arms. 

Morgan is hilarious. I'm curious to see if this will change as its usually a last born trait, but I won't be surprised if it doesn't, she just seems to have a unique (and pretty cool) sense of humour. Just yesterday, I went into her room to wake her from a nap and I just paused to watch her for a minute. She's often difficult to tell if she's sleeping and just the day before I'd walked in and watched her fully talking in her sleep with her eyes open. So, on this day, I watched her for a minute and she was just lying there really still with her eyes opened but they didn't seem to be fixed on anything. So, very quietly, I whispered, "Are you awake?" There was no reaction from Morgan, but very slowly her eyes started to get wider. And, just as I was about to walk out of the room, her eyes got really wide and she shouts, "BOO!" and jumps up. I laughed. 

Morgan is, however, just starting to get highly emotional. She'll burst into tears at the slightest confrontation, or if her feelings are hurt in the least. I hope it is much more short lived than a certain older sister!! 

Morgan loves being the center of attention. She'll do anything to get her picture taken. She'll do anything for a laugh. I realized the other day that she only wants to hold Owen because she thinks I'll take a picture every time (which I pretty much do). 

And, last but not least, there's Piper. Piper had a big week this week. She got spayed. She was so completely docile (and drugged up) when I picked her up from the vet that she could barely walk the 2 blocks home and I was actually contemplating putting Piper int he pram (stroller) and carrying Owen the rest of the way!! Thankfully, it didn't come to that. However, I seized the opportunity for a picture while she was all drugged up and not moving much!! 

And then today when I was taking Owen's 2 month pictures, Piper wanted in on the action too!! At first she gingerly crept on to the blanket... 

but within seconds she was trying to completely cuddle up to Owen. Oh brother, what a suck!!

I had to answer a million and one questions from Kelsey in regards to Piper's operation. 

what's an operation?

Its where a doctor cuts you open and takes something out

what does Piper need out?

The doctor will take out the bits to make babies. 

Ooh, but babies are so cute. Why can't she have babies?

Its irresponsible pet ownership. 

Why?

Because there's too many puppies already and not enough good owners. 

But you're a good owner?

Yes, but we don't want anymore dogs. 

{insert new thought}Will Piper look different?

No, she'll just have a little line on her belly.

Why?

Because that's where the doctor went in to get her bits out. 

It seriously kept going. I'd like to wear one of those clicker counter things one day and count just how many questions I actually do get asked in a typical day. I just try to keep telling myself: It shows she has a brain. It shows she has a brain. 

Anyway, clocks go back an hour tonight.. let's pray the kids' clocks move back an hour too!! 

Busy, Busy 7th week

What a crazy week we've had!

7 weeks old

Owen had Plunket (the well child nurses) come and visit him for the first time, a Dr's visit, his 6 week vaccines, his last visit with my midwife, his Oma and Opa came for the weekend AND he as baptized! Whew, I'm tired just remembering everything!

All three different health professionals deemed Owen healthy and fit. Phew, what a relief! :) he even did really well for the vaccines.  He screamed bloody murder for while they were poking him and then just as abruptly he stopped and was fine. But just for good measure, he gave the nurse a really good sneer! He only put on another 250g or so, but he's at a full 11 pounds now. Yippee!

7 week cutie pie

And, because he's healthy and putting on weight, he's started to sleep longer stretches! For the past 3 nights, I've managed to put him to bed around 7, give him a sleepy feed before I go to bed (around 10), and he's slept until between 4-5 and then with incredible precision, he wakes up at 7:30! Long may his perfectly timed precision continue!!

And, speaking of sleep, we just moved all our bedrooms around today, and Owen is officially in his own room! Woo hoo!! He's already slept there for 2 naps, and now I've just put him down for the night. I'm so excited to get our room back! We are just not cut out to have babies in our bedroom!

Our newest family picture

Owen in the baptism gown that his daddy also wore. (He has a tie underneath to "man" it up a bit!)

Oma & Opa. 

Marco's parents came for a visit this weekend and we had Owen baptized. Nothing overly exciting happened over the weekend, it was just a great time spent with family and letting them cuddle Owen and play with the girls. The baptism was nice. Great sermon about families. Kelsey refused at the last minute to come up on the stage with us. Morgan was happy to come, but had a minor wardrobe malfunction. As we got up on the stage, Marco pointed out that I needed to fix her skirt as it was all bunched up around her waist. Turns out while she as sitting in the pew, she had been playing with her stretchy necklace and got it around her waist somehow, and all tangled up with her skirt. So, while the entire church waited patiently, I fumbled blindly with her dress and necklace, until the necklace finally was flung across the stage and the skirt hung free again. Owen, meanwhile was oblivious to everything and staring up at the ceiling. He's a lovely little baby.

Baptism - minus Kelsey

If you're interested, you can watch Owen's baptism here. 

We did receive one other piece of news this week. Marco was offered (and accepted) and Captain's position with his company!! Yippee!! We've been waiting for a position to be offered to us. And, we'd decided a long time ago that when a position was offered to us, we would trust that it was God's timing and God's will for us to go to that place. So, even though it doesn't seem like good timing for us to move right now, we believe it is God's will for our family. So, on with our plans. 

Owen, announcing Daddy's new job

Marco will start training next week and be away from home a lot for that. When he is home, he NEEDS to keep working on finishing the house. We have a LOT of work to do before the house can be sold. Plus, we have plans to go to Canada in June, so we're going to go ahead with that plan as well. Hopefully when we get back from that trip, we can finish off the last two rooms in the house and get the house on the market in the spring. So, we would covet all your prayers over the next few months as we prepare for this huge transition. 

And so begins a new week...

And now we are Six.. (weeks, that is)

Owen is 6 weeks old!!

.. and currently he's sitting in his swing wailing inconsolably. I know he doesn't need anything. He's fed. Clean. Frankly, he doesn't even really want to be held. So, he's putting himself to sleep in the swing. And, at 8pm, I'm ok with that.

He put on another 350g this week. Ok, so he's not my mathematical genius. But, I'm still happy with his weight gain. His latest weight gain put him at 4.750kg - that's about 10 1/2 pounds! which might also explain why last night (for the first time ever) he went 8 hours between feedings! Woo Hoo!! Momma got some sleep!!

Of course, now that he's 6 weeks old, we've got a busy week ahead of us. This is the week that we see our Plunket nurse for the first time, we say goodbye to our lovely midwife, and Owen gets to meet his Dr and the lovely nurses who're going to stab him with the first of his vaccines. Fun times!

We're also prepping for his baptism next Sunday. So, we have a meeting with the pastor this week. Plus, Marco's parents are heading up for the weekend. So, Owen gets to meet his namesake for the first time!! I'm excited.. even if Owen isn't.

As one would expect for the son of a pilot, we have a small airplane theme going with Owen. Just so long as he doesn't become a pilot when he's big, we're ok with indulging him now :)

Thanks Groete Tante Wendy! 

Thank-you Karla for all the lovely clothes!! 

 i have a small obsession with his hands. Actually, its really sweet, but Owen loves having his hand held. If he's upset, all you have to do is hold his hand and he immediately calms down. Of course, its hard to get any work done around the house if you're holding a little tiny hand, but I suppose it won't be long before he won't even want to be near me, let alone hold my hand!

And, of course, Kelsey & Morgan still absolutely adore Owen. Actually, I think their love for him grows more every day. The more they learn about babies, the more they get to know Owen and what he does and doesn't do.
Cute story: Kelsey was "napping" in my bed the other day, with strict instructions to "BE QUIET" as Owen was sleeping in the same room. Well, just before 3pm (wake up time), I hear Owen wake up and start to cry. It was a bit before he was due to eat, so I was hoping he'd just settle back down. However, moments later, his cry turned into an all out, full blown scream! I go into the room, to discover, to my shock and horror, Kelsey standing at the foot of my bed overlooking the cot, and viciously shaking a toy in Owen's face. I, of course, react badly, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" And, of course, she starts to cry. "C'mon out" I reply, much calmer now, "let's talk". So, while I feed Owen, I attempt to get out of Kelsey what exactly she was doing. Finally, after many tears, she whimpers, "I was trying to make him happy." Mommy heart break moment. So, we talked some more about how right now only mommy can make Owen happy and just because he cries doesn't mean we always have to get him. We have to listen and think about what he best needs. And, right now only Mommy knows best what he needs. (if only I always felt that was true!)

And, as for me.. well. frankly.. I'm tired. If my memory serves me right, I get this way around week 6, so it shouldn't surprise me. But, I feel like I've hit a brick wall. I start to do silly (slightly dangerous) things. Words are harder to find. My Words with Friends games are going awfully bad. See how serious its getting?? I need sleep!! I think its even harder this time around, because there's just no break in the day. I had hoped that having both girls still "napping" every day from 1-3 would be enough of a break, but typically, Owen needs one feed during that time, plus dinner needs to be prepped, lunch cleaned up, laundry done.. you know, family stuff. I think I need to be more purposeful about sitting with my feet up and closing my eyes during my breaks. That might mean putting my ipod down and not playing as many WWF games, but I don't know if that's possible...  :)