Owen at One Year!

Oh what a difference I've seen in Owen in just the past couple weeks.  It's as if him turning one year old just mellowed him out.  Since his walking is almost perfected he can concentrate on other things besides worrying what he's going to fall onto.  I think that alone would make me happier too!

Before we go too much further here are Owen's stats from May 10th at his one year well check.  Looks like he's healthy!  Yeah, I can tell that Owen has been growing a lot and it is also evident by looking at the below stats.  

Height - 31 1/2 inches - 96%

Weight - 25lbs 10oz - 96%

Head Circ - 18 3/4 inches - 88%

We haven't been pushing the baby sign language and he seems to just fine without it.  If it happens, it happens but with how much he is babbling once he starts talking he will have a lot to say!  Besides uh-oh we don't really have any words yet.  But I think these are going to be some of his first words because he is making grunts that sort of sound like these: Ball, Mama, Daddy, Megan, and Hi.  

Owen's favorite things right now are balls, balloons and anything with wheels.  Doors or anything with hinges like even books are close behind.  He loves putting balls in holes and he could do this activity for a long time with very good concentration.  Same with books, he could go a long time just turning pages.  Owen is also beginning to learn how to stack objects, both big and small, and he also likes to put covers on things such as water bottles or cups.  It's so fun to watch him learn!  Oh, and his newest thing is learning that he doesn't have to hold onto objects but instead, he can throw them!  He doesn't just have to hold the tennis ball in his stroller, he can bounce it at Mommy.  He can throw clothes into the hamper himself and most importantly, he can throw balls and books down the stairs!

Because Owen is now one we can transition over to whole milk instead of formula.  Right now I've been doing bottles of half formula/half whole milk and he seems to like it just fine.  Once this canister of formula is gone I'm going to see if we can just go straight whole milk.  This should be a smooth transition but the one I always dread is weaning off the bottle.  Hopefully by the 15 month doctor checkup we will be off the bottle.

Owen is becoming quite a good eater.  He loves crackers and Cheerios as snacks but has a really good appetite at meals.  We haven't really found a meat that he won't eat and also loves beans, bananas, peaches, oranges, applesauce, yogurt, peas, green beans, asparagus, bread - the list goes on and on!  He even gave corn on the cob a try one night!  Oatmeal, eggs and noodles still aren't appealing which is odd since those were staples for Megan at this age.  You can tell by this picture that Owen owns meal times and is also adamant that each cup goes back in its spot.  I sometimes forget but he also appreciates having a fork or spoon on the tray so he can practice coordination.

I have been so much happier with Owen lately since he is finally sleeping through the night again!  Plus, since he is in a crib he can't leave and crawl into Mommy and Daddy's bed like his sister does...  It's still taking an 8-10 ounce bottle to get him to bed but he's sleeping about 11 hours straight!  Who knows if it's he's filling his belly better or maybe some teeth have moved and aren't bothering him as much but whatever it is, I'm thrilled to get whatever extra sleep I can!  Speaking of teeth, Owen must be one of the slowest teethers out there.  He still just has the three on top and three on bottom.  It has probably been four weeks ago that we noticed the fourth top tooth was coming and it is finally now just days away from cutting through.  

When you see the two kids together it's evident that they are best friends.  Owen is in awe over Megan.  He wants to do everything she does.  If she sings into the fan, he wants to try too.  If she runs down the driveway, he is trotting right after her.  If Megan is playing a game, he will play his own version of it as best he can.  No wonder they say the second children pick up on stuff so fast - they're always trying to match what their older sibling is doing!

Since turning one, Owen has become very whiny and will throw little bucks.  Not quite tantrums but enough noise that you know he is not happy.  If a favorite toy gets taken away be sure that he will let you know that he wants it back!  Also, if he sees you going outside and you're not with you will be in trouble too since Owen is a true outdoors boy.  Just as we know when he's upset we also know when he's in a good mood or in agreement with you by watching his little head bob.  Actually it's kind of like a whole body groove in agreement.

Here are a few random pictures from the past month.

 

 

Playing outside on Mother's Day.  We need lots of fun outdoor toys to keep this guy occupied!  You can't see his forehead with it being covered up, but it has a big scrape from him falling onto the cement trying to get out of our kiddie pool by himself.  Ouch!

 

We don't have any real parks we can walk to from our house but are blessed to have so many great ones in our town.  I have a feeling we will be going to lots and lots of parks this summer!