Happy Halloween.....

Happy Halloween from Owen! As you've noticed, I haven't posted in a few days. We went to Missouri to meet Owen's new cousin, his great grandma and many others. We have lots of stories and photos to share and hope to have some posted in the next day or so. I'm back to work and don't have as much time as I once did...so, it could be that I post every few days. Don't stop checking though....there will be more!!!




Note to self: do not dress a hungry baby in a chicken costume.

Monday; 10/23/06

Today, Owen (Voonie Bear) went on a walk to Nina's Coffee Shop and to the park with me, Lil' Voon (Adeline) and Auntie Voon. It was pretty chilly but I bundled him up pretty well. We always enjoy hanging out with the Voonies.

Check out Owen's t-shirt......he means it too (he told me so)! A bonus cameo appearance by Boo.

We moved Owie's Thursday's dr appointment to Wednesday...so, now I think we are going to leave for Missouri to meet gogo on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. We've only been on one car trip to Design Camp and it was a 2.5-3 hour trip that took us almost 5 hours. Our trip home will be interesting to say the least.

A couple things you might not know about O:

*he has a very small birth mark on his foot in the shape of a guitar
*his favorite song for a long time was 'King of the Road' (Dean Martin's version) but now it is Ella Fitzgerald's version of 'Don't Fence Me In'

Owen would like to give a shout out to Alison. Yo Ali Cat...c u soon!

Best weekend ever.....

This has been Owen's best weekend ever because his new cousin, Rodrigo, was born on Saturday! Even though he was an entire month early, he weighed a whopping 6 pounds and 9 ounces....and was 18 inches long. Since we are all still on maternity leave, we will be heading down to Missouri later this week to meet Rodrigo. We can't wait to get our hands on him....he is so cute! We are anxiously awaiting more photos of Go-go from Grandpa Bowers. :) Keep 'em coming Grandpa!

Today, Sophie, Ava, Uncle Mike and Uncle Ty all came over and we made caramel apples. It was fun and will be even more fun when Owen can join in too!

Here is a photo with Owen and his second cousin Daniel. Owen asks "aren't we cute?".

It's time to keep warm.....

We bought Owen his first coat today, along with the hat. They both look big in the photo but they fit him pretty well. The hat isn't for warmness but it's for cuteness. Grammie Bowers also sent Owen a nice snow suit for this winter....not to mention the last time she was here, she got him a stocking hat and mittens (they match his new coat). Here's a photo of Owen keeping warm in the seat cover that his buddy Tess gave him. Too cute! He really is ready for his first Minnesota winter.

Uncle Ty, Sophie and Ava came over for pizza this evening (Uncle Mike went to see a musical). Everyone made their own pizza. The plan for dessert was to make carmel apples but it got too late and Sophie fell asleep (she's good at that). So, they are coming back over on Sunday so we can do the apple thing.

Owen is excited because Auntie Terra called and said that she is in the hospital with contractions. She is also dilated to a 2 and if she goes to a 5, they are going to go ahead and deliver Owen's baby cousin, Rodrigo (aka GoGo). We are hoping everything is ok because she is only at week 35 of her pregnancy. We are awaiting a call from Grammie or Auntie Terra with some news sometime in the very near future.

Wednesday

Hi Grandma!! Owen says he misses you lots!

Today, we finalized day care arrangements with Kris (our friend's daughter's nanny). Kris will be taking care of Owen too! We are soooo very happy not to put him in a day care center with lots of other kids...all of which do not get the attention they need. We couldn't be more thrilled to work with Kris and have Owen and Tess have a special bond with each other. Tess is very excited to help Kris change diapers, feed, etc. Tess is the daughter of my late friend from college, Eric (actually it's James Eric...this is who Owen James is named after). I'm very happy that both of our children will know each other well and that my family will be able to carry on a relationship with Tess and Eric's partner, Tim.

Other than that, our maternity leave together has been pretty boring. Jen took on another freelance design job for her aunt's theraputic riding center in Colorado. So, she's been working on that the past couple days. She's done with that for now...so, Owen and I get her all to ourselves tomorrow!! We have a list of things we are going to do.

Owen is still having some tummy problems but we feel like we are getting things worked out...slowly but surely. Owen has an appointment next Thursday with his new pediatrician (we didn't like his original one). He's going to get a series of shots at this visit....none of us are looking forward to it all!

Owen would like to give another shout out! Hello to Aunt Emily (aka Auntie Em)!

The weekend......

Despite the look on Owen's face in this picture, he had a great time with all his relatives this weekend. On Saturday, Uncle Brian, Aunt Nikki, Cousin Ava, Grandma Heiden and the Moms all went to an apple orchard. It was a lot of fun. We had to bundle the kiddies up really well because there was a slight coolness in the air.


On Sunday, more family came over to Owen's house for corn chowder and curry squash soup!!

Monday: Owen and I were just about to go on a walk with Auntie Voon and Little Voon (Adeline) around 9:00 this morning, when Jen came home from work. Owen said "why is Mommy home already....did she get fired?" Actually....she thought that the rest of her maternity leave didn't start until next week but it actually started this week!! So, now Owen gets 2 full weeks with both Moms! Not only do we get 2 weeks together but that means that day care will start earlier than planned. Yikes!! We aren't sure what fun things we are going to do for the next couple weeks but I'm sure we'll find lots of things to keep us busy!

Owen would like to give a shout out to Katy! Hello Katy!

OH NO.....it's Friday the 13th!

We had an appointment with a lactation consultant and learned some things we can do to help the tummy problem. After the appointment, I wanted for Owen and I to visit Auntie Voon (Jessica) at her shop in St. Paul but unfortunately, Owen had a tummy fit. We haven't had time to do some of the techniques we learned today. It would have been too disturbing for Auntie Voon's customers. So, we went home instead and watched Oprah. We are hopeful that we are on the mend and will be able to visit Auntie Voon next week!

We are very happy because Brian, Nikki and Ava arrive today! We will spend Saturday and Sunday with them. Owen is very excited to hang out with his cousin. They will have fun for sure!

A little better.....

O-wee didn't have one tummy ache last night after his feedings! Although, he did today....but it isn't quite as bad as it has been for the past few days. His rash is still there but it doesn't stop him from being cute.

I'm hoping to have some video on this blog soon....if I can figure it out.

Today is International Moment of Frustration Scream Day....so, feel free to scream your fool head off! Owen has and I know he feels better. Until tomorrow.......

Red dots and white dots

It snowed today! Owen's first day of Minnesota weather. It's supposed to be 24 degrees tonight and to think that this past Saturday was 80 degrees. We watched the white dots come down and I explained to Owen that one day we will go skating, sledding and even build a snowman or two.

Not only did we have white dots today...but Owen also has red dots....on his face. Yep, a rash on his face. Per our pediatrician, it could be related to the milk issue. Apparently if it is the milk that is causing all this craziness, it's because Owen's system can't process the protein in cow's milk. We are hoping to notice a change over the next two weeks since I have quit consuming dairy.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us. Owen misses and loves his Grandma and Grandpa Bowers, his Great Grandma, his Aunt Terra, Uncle Daniel and Uncle Tyler (he just told me this).

A relaxing day.....

Today was a laid back day. O and I just hung out at home and relaxed. His tummy problems are still present but not as bad as they were. I have officially given up dairy and had to buy rice milk and oatscream. don't ask. the rice milk on granola isn't bad but oatscream...who are they kiddin?

we hope the tummy problem is over by the weekend because Uncle Brian, Aunt Nikkie and cousin Ava are coming to meet Owen! He's very excited to meet Ava, his 6 month old cousin! They are going to be best friends....I'm sure Boo won't mind to share.

OUCH....GAS PAINS HURT!

Today Owen had a doctor appointment because he has been having a stomach ache for about a week (or less). The doc said it could be my diet or a number of other things. This weekend, i ate a variety of delicious cheeses (port salut, prima donna, brie, etc.) and it seemed his stomach was worse this weekend. So, we decided that i would cut dairy out of my diet for the most part to see if that helps. eventhough the milk makes him gassy, he must like it because he weighs a whopping 10 pounds and 14.5 ounces! the doc gave us some drops to give owen when the discomfort occurs.

overall, today was pretty mild...lots of holding and comforting Owen to ease his pains. hopefully when mommy gets home with his gas bubble drops, they will subside and he can be a happy munchkin for the evening! those times are awesome...because he has started coo-ing, smiling and talking to us! we love it!

the united states is expected to reach 300 million americans by mid October. I like to think that on September 3rd, Owen was the 292,438 millionth American in this equation. a very special number in my book. ;)

Design Camp!

We just returned from our first family get-away together. Eventhough it was for my work (AIGA Minnesota), we had a very nice time at Design Camp!! The trees were beautiful colors and the air was cool. My favorite time of year!

We were able to sit outside and enjoy a little sun and the beautiful view of Gull Lake in Nisswa, Minnesota. Here's a picture of O basking in the sun with his Mommies!

I am very glad to be back because now I can continue the remaining three weeks of maternity leave with just me and Owen. Then at the end of that time, Jen will take her remaining 3 weeks of maternity leave. I have requested and have been given an additional 2 weeks because of the c-section recovery but haven't heard whether or not it will be paid leave. If it isn't paid, I will probably not take the two weeks.

In exchange for maternity leave, I agreed to take a break from maternity to work two weeks for Camp. If I would have known that I was going to have a c-section and that having a baby was so demanding, I would have never agreed to do this. Friday of Camp was tiring for me so we took the rest of the weekend for just ourselves. The three of us had a very nice and relaxing time.

I'm looking forward to a lot of walks around the lakes with Owen over the next three weeks! I'm hoping for nice fall weather....everything I dreamed of when planning a fall delivery date. So far, so good..........ah, I love him...and O loves his best friend "Boo" pictured below. After an unfortunate accident involving his previous best friend (the yellow stuffed Peep, which we lost en route to a doc appointment), we picked up a replacement best friend on our way to Camp. O really loves him...as a matter of fact, O has been known to give him a big hug. :)

the arrival of o-wee

On September 3, 2006 at 11:26 pm, Grandma and Grampa Bowers, Grandma Heiden and Uncle Ty (Tonander) all waited while we welcomed sweet little Owen to our family! Despite the fact he arrived via emergency c-section and gave us all a big scare, everyone is doing well! It was a very sweet time for everyone.

We are completely blessed and have enjoyed every second he's been with us.

We are hoping that this blog will help keep those special long distant friends and relatives up-to-date on what's going on here in Minneapolis with O and his moms.