Parker Swings Into Town

Our buddy Parker was in town for the night on her way to Vegas (baby) so we had her pose for the obligatory picture with the O-meister.  We put her up for the night and were delighted to catch up on Bellingham's current events.  Parker worked with Carrie at Stop-N-Go many moons ago and got to chit chat about some of the customers who were near and dear to Carrie's heart.  It was weird having her describe some of the happenings around town and being able to know exactly what and where she's talking about.  I love knowing multiple cities around the country (and the world for that matter), it makes me feel well traveled.  Anyway, it was great to have her here even if it was for one night.  

The Kids

It was fun to have all of the cousins on my side get to know each other a little bit this weekend.  I doubt that Tejas or Owen will remember the trip, but I'll bet Suneela will.  I was very happy to get to know Tejas, he's both a very sweet little boy and a handful (which I doubt is a unique combination at this age).  This is the first time that Trina has seen Owen as well, and she couldn't have been more sweet to him.  Suneela went swimming as often as she could and at some point her dolphin inner tube made it around Owen's head.  We contemplated leaving it as a safety precaution with all of the kids running around here, but ultimately we decided he would be fine without it.

Happiness Is A Full House

1 - three month old

1 - three year old

1 - ten year old

4 - (wine drinking) adults

1,000 SF space and 110 degree weather

You understand why we haven't posted in awhile.  Please forgive.  We will soon.  :)

Owen Shakes His Fist In The Air In The Land Of Hypocrisy

A.K.A: Home.  

Owen has to concentrate pretty hard to keep that melon of his upright.  It kind of makes him look rebellious.  I suppose he'll go live with that look in about 15 years, give or take.

Big, Baby Blues

One of the first things people do when they meet Owen, besides say, "my what a big boy", is compliment his eyes.  More specifically, the size of his eyes.  He has these wonderfully large, expressive blue eyes.  You can tell exactly what he's feeling just by surveying those baby blues.   We know there is a good chance they are going to turn brown (sorry buddy, you can blame that one on your parents too) but until then, we love reading those baby blues. 

Boo First Illness

Carrie and I suspect that Owen has his first illness.  We think he has gout.  Wait, no, we think it's croup... yes, croup.  You see the reason I got confused is because I thought that illnesses like gout and croup and whooping cough and bubonic plague were archaic illnesses that science had eradicated long ago.  Shows what I know, but I'm sticking to my guns on bubonic plague.  It just seems like these things don't fit into life 2.0.  Well, they do (at least some of them) and Owen's symptoms fit the bill for gout... jebus, croup.  From what we've found, it seems like it's mild so far but we're going to keep an eye on him over the next couple of days to make sure he's okay.  It doesn't seem to be bothering him too much, but he coughs and it sounds like a seal barking.  It makes you sad to hear it, then he gives you a look (see above) and you just wish you could make him better.  We don't want to approach this with a cavalier attitude, but we think he's just got a couple of days of not so much fun ahead of him and he'll be fine.  

Welcome Isabella Mae Cooper

Congratulations to CJ and Alexis!  Today my little brother became the proud papa to a beautiful little girl.  Mom is doing well and rumor has it Baby Bella lucked out and did not get the Cooper nose. (Owen: Sorry for the schnoze, between your father and me you were kind of screwed in that department.) It's kind of fun that Owen and Isabella are so close in age.  It's times like these that living far away is hard.  Ed and I wish we were there to welcome Isabella to the world.  The thought of the two babies together crawling around my parents house makes me smile.  But on a positive note, we all plan on meeting up in Montana over Christmas so Owen and Isabella will meet then.  

Congratulations again!

Two finer fathers never walked the earth.

Ode To My Maternity Leave

Well it is finally here.  Today is my last day of maternity leave.  I start back to work on Monday full time. I was lucky to have 11 weeks off with this guy.  I kind of have mixed emotions on the subject.  I enjoy my job and find it challenging so I miss that stimulation.  On the other hand Owen and I had a pretty good routine going down and I am going to miss that. Plus there is the whole daycare aspect.  It's weird to imagine being away from him for 9 hours a day.  I already have photos of him framed and ready to be hung in my office so I can stare at his cute mug all day.  Luckily Owen won't be in daycare for the full 9 hours.  With Ed's work schedule he will only have to be there for four hours which makes this transition a little easier. Just a little.

So here it is.  The ode to my maternity leave:

- Note to self: Plan maternity leave around Arizona summer if possible.

Being on maternity leave during the Arizona summer was a little challenging at times since I didn't feel comfortable taking a newborn out in 100 plus heat.  So needless to say we became very familiar with the apartment.  Meaning we never left it.  If you had the pleasure of visiting us, you soon learned that. 

- Thank God for Target.

Did you know 90% of the people visiting Target during the week are moms with their kids? The things you find out when you are on maternity leave.  It worked out though because I had no problem taking a crying baby there and it gave us a nice break from the apartment.

- I. Love. Twin. Peaks.

Why did I not know about this show before?  Ed and I watched all the episodes on-line after Owen went to sleep.  That is the craziest show I have ever seen.  

- I do not love breast pumps.

I won't go into this one  for the male readers out there but man that thing sucks. Literally and figuratively.  (Boligrafo.  Boligrafo. Boligrafo.)

- Miscellaneous inside jokes of Team Wilhelme.

Aaron Neville, clouds, cat spray, saving the "job" for when dad gets home, the 7:00 PM wail, Rick rolled

And finally,

- Mid-Afternoon Siestas.

I will miss those the most.  I managed to time Owen's afternoon nap so he would go down when Ed got home from work.  So Ed, Owen and I would curl up in the bed and take a nap for an hour.  The nap is definitely part of Owen's routine now.  You place him on the bed and he almost immediately curls up into your side and falls asleep.  Ed has promised he will keep that routine going.

Yes.  Monday is going to be hard.  Le sigh. 

Well That's Different

I was pretty surprised when I came home from work today and Carrie had Owen in shorts and a T-shirt.  I knew he had these, I picked the outfit out, but seeing him in a miniature regular outfit was a little bit of a shock.  It's just a little crazy how big this guy is getting, or maybe it's just how much he's changing.  He's eating like mad.  I have suspicions that he's part gorilla (if you knew my Grandpa Wilhelme, you'd probably agree he could be at least part chimpanzee).  He's becoming much more in control of his facilities these days too, so it's fun watching things click for him.  You can almost see the gears turning in his head.

Owen Makes A Discovery

We were giving Owen a bath tonight and realized that Owen has reached a milestone.  He has put together the fact that he has a tongue.  More to the point, he understands that he controls his tongue.  It's his new best friend.  

You'd be surprised at how many of this picture you have to take to get one that makes him look cute and not a little slow in the head.  We feel we've succeeded.

A Face Only A Mother Could Love

This is one of those posts that Owen will look back on and say, "Seriously mom, that is so embarrassing."   But I have to document it before he stops doing it. Before you continue reading, I must warn you, it could be something only a mom finds cute. 

You see every single time he goes poop, he makes this face.  Yes.  I said  it.  This is Owen's poop face.  This face is always accompanied by a shoulder shrug.  He will be sitting contently on your lap and gradually his eyebrows get furrowed and he gets this little smile and his shoulders start shrugging.  For his first few weeks he would usually clasp his hands and shrug his shoulders like it took just that much effort to do the job.  The hand clasp is pretty much gone but the smile/ grimace, eyebrows and shoulder shrug are still there.  This post is in the interest of remembering the little things, but it doesn't hurt that I find it so cute. 

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone! Carrie and I don't have a lot planned, but it is very nice to have a three day weekend.  We're going to make some hamburgers and corn on the cob tonight and that's about as festive as we are getting.  We're hoping to be able to see some fireworks on our walk tonight.  On a side note, Owen has been chowing down even more than usual so we're thinking he's on another growth spurt.  At this rate, he's going to be taller than Carrie by Christmas.

Good Times with Family

We are having a wonderful time with Jen and Shannon.  It feels so natural to have them around and it has been great to catch up.  Ed and I take turns watching Owen while the other goes out and about with the girls.  Ed took them out to dinner to our favorite restaurant Cibo in downtown Phoenix.  (Houses converted to restaurants!)  I was able to go shopping with them.  I had decided since I am almost 30 and now a mom, I should start wearing a little make-up. Who better to buy make-up with then Jen and Shannon?  We had a great time raiding the Bobbi Brown counter and me trying on make-up while the girls critiqued.  Later Jen showed me the fine art of applying the make-up.  I will soon be a pro like her.

We are finding that Owen has a weak spot for Jen.   That and country music, much to his father's dismay. 

Jen and Shannon watched Owen one night so Ed and I could have date night.  So while Ed and I were relaxing at the pool doing some night swimming, Shannon and Jen fed Owen his bedtime bottle.  When we came back from swimming, Owen was peacefully asleep on Shannon's lap.  Ed and I used to go night swimming fairly frequently.  It is one of the perks of living in Arizona. You can swim at 10:00 at night and when you get out of the water it is still hot.  We had been missing it so it was great to have a chance to do it again.  

Today we are going over to Ellie and Dick's to barbeque and swim in their pool.  Jen and Shannon leave tomorrow (insert sad face here).