Yup, That's A Thumb & Other Miscellany

Guess who's decided that a thumb can serve as a nice stand in for a pacifier in a pinch. It's funny though, he kind of gums it instead of sucking it. He'll rectify that when he gets teeth, I guess.


We're kind of backed up on pictures of this guy and I'm not sure what to do about that. We may put together a post of pictures we like without creating a narrative. I don't know, but here's one we like.


Also, here are some pictures I took that I think are fun. This is a bougainvillea on our porch that's started to wilt in a star pattern. I liked it.


This is another off the deck sunrise photo. It's slightly different from the other one I posted. If you can't find the difference, here is a hint: look for a cat.

Owen's Making Friends

We got a little seat for Owen that will help him with his sitting up and hopefully with his overall balance and strength. After we plopped him down, we showed him the various toys that he can play with and he struck an instant rapport with this bumblebee.


"Hello bumblebee. I'm new here and I'm a little unsure of what to expect. What's that? You're new here too?"


"Okay. Well come here. I want to tell you something that will make us both feel better about being in this strange, new place."


"I'm gonna eat you."

Sometimes A Nap Just Sounds Good

I was playing with Owen on the bed and he hadn't had a nap yet. I had a feeling that he was going to go down, but I expected him to get sleepy and show signs that he was going down. Then I could put him in his bassinet or at least put him in a comfy position in the center of the bed. Nope. One minute we were playing peek-a-boo, the next he's down for the count. I just think it's funny that he went down turkey-style and seemingly unconcerned with where he was. I guess when you feel like a nap, any situation seems like a dozy one.

Owen LOVES Sweet Potatoes

Carrie and I started giving Owen "realer" food the other day. This came in the form of sweet potatoes. If there's one thing I can say about Owen's opinion of this new food, it's this:

He loves it! Don't let the face fool you, he actually does get quite excited about eating baby food, it just takes him a second (or two) to get warmed up to the idea.

On another note, since I'm up before the sun these days, I took the opportunity to put the night photo class Carrie got me for Father's Day to good use. This is a picture of the sunrise off our porch that I left the shutter open for about a second on. I'm pretty happy with it, I kind of like how the power lines go through it and give a natural scene a sense of urbanization. The craziest thing about this picture is that the real (I guess lit) view off our deck kind of sucks in comparison. I'm gaining an appreciation for what you can do with photography.

Cute Little Piggies

Owen has recently discovered his feet. They have become his new favorite toy. He is constantly sucking on them. It is high up there on the "dang that is cute" meter.


Sometimes he gets greedy and tries to stick both feet in his mouth. This rarely works out but it doesn't stop him from trying. Another favorite is attempting to suck on his feet while drinking his milk. Oddly enough that doesn't work out either. Can't fault the kid for trying though.

Cutting Out The Middle Man

Carrie and I were happy to see that Owen has decided to take matters into his own hands when it comes to feeding time. He certainty doesn't hold the bottle the whole time he's eating, but he's dabbling with the idea of feeding himself. He went on in this picture for a couple of minutes, which was pretty good for a newbie.

SWB Seeks Open Minded Baby To Share Fun

Age: 5 months.

Likes: milk, naps, walks in the park, rattles, screaming.

Dislikes: the cat, tummy time, pants.

You: 4-9 months old, non smoker, no drugs, able to hold up own head, rolling over optional.

Introducing Señor Gigglepants

Note: Noises in background are Carrie blowing and popping bubbles with her gum.

Can You Have Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Divergent Begging Tactics

After reviewing some photos we took of Owen sitting up, Carrie and I noticed that we each saw a photo with a look that would pretty much get Owen anything he wants. The interesting part is that they're completely different looks. Allow me to elaborate through demonstration.

Owen: Mom, can I have a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger?

Carrie: Sorry buddy, I don't think so.

Owen: But mom, it would make me a little sad not to have a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and I promise it would mean so much to me to have it.

Carrie: Aww, okay, but just this once.

Now me.

Owen: Dad, can I have a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger?

Ed: No.

Owen: But dad, it would make me a little sad not to have a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and I promise it would mean so much to me to have it.

(Insert previous photo here)

Ed: Sorry, dude, deal with it.

Owen: Okay, okay, what if I did an impression of an evil, yet slightly disillusioned puppy begging for a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger?

Ed: Well, you earned it.

Still Workin'

We're still working with Owen to get his mobility and strength up.  I've got him on the ground a few times a day and this is what he's up to these days.  He's still not rolling over yet, but he's pretty close.  Also, he's getting better about being on his stomach.  It used to really upset him because he just had his face stuck to the ground.  Now that he's got some options, he's a little more open to the idea. 

Helping With Chores

If this guy doesn't like helping mom with laundry, he's got a world-class poker face.

Incognito, Ironically, Has Opposite Effect

We took Owen to the store this morning to get some coffee and bagels.  The impromptu trip was inspired by a nice crisp (75 degree) morning.  Since we were up already and had nothing better to do, we slapped all the sun protection we could muster on the kid and trekked the three blocks to Safeway/Starbucks.  Owen had no trouble with the glasses and never once tried to pull them off; the kid's got style.

FYI, the amount of crap you put on a kid is directly proportionate to the number of people who stop and talk to you.

Grating Cheese, Playing With Light & Kissing A Duck

Life has gotten pretty exciting around here since Owen has become a little more aware of his surroundings.  It's fun to watch this guy doing every day activities, whether they be:

Helping mom grate cheese for some mouth-watering lasagna.

Trying to wrap your mind around light being both a wave and a particle.

Or kissing a duck.

Tab "A" Into Slot "B" - Simple

Owen has no problem getting his pacifier out of his mouth.  He's experiencing minor technical difficulties returning it to his mouth, however.

Okay, this end in, that end out.  Got it.

Wait, I don't think that's right. Hmm.

Sweet.

We'll work on spatial relationships and dexterity tomorrow.

Pool Party

Jessica's uncles had a little get together yesterday so Owen got a taste of his first pool party.

Any time you have a sombrero in a pool, you know you're having a fun party.  I mean, that's the gold standard of indicators.  

Continuing with Ron's buoyancy experiments, Owen does indeed float.

A very cute picture of Jess, Oliver and Grizzly Adams.

Staci and Brandon were enjoying the festivities too.  It dawned on me that Owen and Brandon were the only two people at the pool party born in Arizona.  

Carrie's happy and Owen's fascinated by, I believe, a naked baby swimming in the pool.

O-Dogs Unite

Our good friends Jessica and Matt are in town and they brought with them their little guy Oliver.   Jessica and I have been wanting to get Owen and Oliver together just knowing that because Jess and I are good friends, they will be good friends too.  Owen was a little overwhelmed but Oliver was very sweet and kept trying to make Owen's nose beep.  We are heading back over today, along with Staci and Brandon, to barbeque and catch up.   In the past many beers would have been involved but how times change and now we will be conversing while holding a different type of bottle. 

Some Good Photos

Going over the photos from the visit from Carrie's folks, we found some photos that were good, but didn't make it on here.  

I can't remember what was going on here, but I can tell you that Owen probably lost a gallon of saliva to Ron's shoulder over the course of the trip.

This is right before they had to leave.  Debby was saying goodbye to Owen and I think it clicked with him that they were leaving.

Owen has only recently started reaching for things that he finds interesting.  This is kind of a fun one of him playing with water.  

Recapping

Ron and Debby got into town last Friday night and had a good time playing with Owen.  This is Debby feeding him solids for the first time.  Everyone's pretty happy about that, especially Owen.  

Carrie was sick the first night so we put our trip to the Grand Canyon/Flagstaff off a day.  Sunday morning everyone was feeling fine so we headed off for the 2.5 hour trip to Flagstaff where we would have some fun and spend the night.

Ron has been having so much fun with Owen and Isabella that he went and found the little brother from A Christmas Story and strapped him to his chest for a few hours.  Good times were had by all.  Well... except Ed, who got violently ill that night in Flagstaff so we had to cancel the Grand Canyon portion of our trip and head home.

While Ed was recuperating from a brutally eventful night, the gang cut their losses and decided to tool around charming downtown Flagstaff.  I think everyone's disappointment in missing the Grand Canyon was placated a little by how nice of a little downtown Flagstaff has.  It was kind of similar to Bellingham in an outdoorsey kind of way, only I suspect Flagstaff gets a little more sunshine than B-town.  

Fun Game: See if you can find Ron & the Christmas Story kid in this photo.  

The Next Michael Phelps?

Owen's first time in the pool.  He actually handled it pretty well and I suspect we have a water baby on our hands.

Grandpa Cooper testing Owen's buoyancy limits.  He floats!

All the kids at the pool.

The more this kid's able to do, the more I'm lovin' being a dad.  I think this is going to be fun.