Perks Of A Fever

Guess what you don't have to do when you're running a fever.


Wear clothes.

That photo is from two nights ago when he was running a pretty good fever. Last night would have shown a different picture altogether. He didn't stop screaming between the hours of 8 and 10. It was fun. I think in the end he just wore himself out. Being a baby must be pretty rough with all the growing, teething and shark attacks. Maybe that's why we can't remember it.

Sick Baby

Sorry for being a little light on content the last couple of days, Owen is sick and that makes everyone tired. He's had a fever the last couple of nights ranging from normal (with Tylenol) to 101 (without). I took him to the doctor today and they said it wasn't an ear infection so it was probably a fever associated with teething. His sleeping, eating and being cool have all been affected by this, probably his being cool most severely. So, we'll be back at this more diligently when we're getting a little more sleep and the kid is doing anything other than screaming at us.


The classic teething ear tug.


This has absolutely nothing to do with the post, I just like it.

Owen Really Does Like Sitting Up

Okay, there were some concerns expressed after we showed Owen looking pretty distressed that maybe he does not like sitting up. He really does. We thought we would put some photos up of him looking like it. He's coming along and can sit for pretty long periods of time without tipping over. I'd say that he's exceptionally happy to be sitting up on his own because he's a little late to the party and has been mentally ready for a change for a while.


He likes playing with stuff while sitting up.


He likes looking around while sitting up.


And he likes looking at his (apparently delicious) toes while sitting up.

We Heart The Gardens

Debby and Gail are in town and what trip to our place would be complete without going to the Botanical Gardens? It was beautiful and they had wine, what more can be said of the evening?


The girls and the baby.


Every one of these pieces are individually attached to the core. That's almost more impressive than the glass.


These are among my favorite pieces on display.


These are my first night shots with a tripod. They turned out better than I had expected but I suspect I have a lot to learn.

Owen Dabbles In Autonomy

Owen can now sit on his own for a little while, which is a very good thing. Unfortunately, that puts him about a foot and a half above where he's used to seeing the world from and apparently that can be a little daunting. He was pretty excited at first, but then he got a little shook up. He was looking around for help, but we wanted him to get comfortable with sitting up. He eventually did enjoy himself very much, but it took him working through his apprehension. Through this process has learned a life lesson: others are going to be by your side but your experiences are your own.


Dad?


Mom?


Steve Perry?


Oh my God, I'm on my own up here.

Don't Stop Believin'

In case you've ever wondered, here's footage proving that despite logical reasoning indicating the contrary, it is humanly impossible not to dance to Journey. Also, we're pretty sure this proves Owen has a soul. Thank you Steve Perry.

Hung Up

When Carrie does laundry she sometimes takes Owen in with her in order to keep him occupied for a few minutes. As the novelty of hanging out on the bed looses its luster, objects of distraction work their ways into his hands. Sometimes the distraction is a little too complete. Here's an example:


Hey, look a hanger. Hangers are fun. I like sticking my feet through the hanger. I. Like. It. A. Lot. Hanger, hanger, hanger. Feet, feet, feet. I can see my toes. I only have one sock on. Sock, sock, sock. Toes, toes, toes. Sock, toes, hanger, feet. Hanger, feet, sock, toes. Hey, wait a second.


I'm stuck.

Looking At Kids And Ducks At The Zoo

Carrie and I learned a valuable lesson yesterday (exact value:$32.00). A 9-month old baby does not care about animals at the zoo. He does, however, care greatly about all the other kids at the zoo. And ducks. Or Dalas, as he calls them. We suspect he's crossing Dada and Nala, but your guess is really as good as ours. Overall, it was a really nice day at the zoo and Carrie and I had wanted to make it to the zoo at some point, it's just going to be a while before Owen cares any more about the zoo than the grocery store and it's well behind the park, which has too many Dalas to count.


Phoenix has a pretty nice little zoo, it's just tough to get really excited about it when you have had season passes to the San Diego zoo.


Hey Owen, do you want to look to your right and see the huge camel standing eight feet away from you?

No, I think I'll keep looking at the kid on my left, thanks. Hey, let me know if you see any ducks though.


At least we did get to see some pretty cool animals.


Like cute little Outbreak monkeys.

Kiss, Kiss, Love, Love

Wishing you a cheeky Valentine's Day! XOXO

Baby Comedy

Owen has really taken a shining to making Carrie and me laugh. The best example of this is when we laugh at him putting things on his head. This started out with some stackable rings he has, but it's moved on to pretty much anything that fits into his hands. I'm not one-hundred percent that we should be encouraging him to stick anything he can get into his hands on top of his head, but he takes such delight in making us laugh we can't help it. Here's an example of what I'm talking about in celery form.







I am happy he gets a kick out of making others laugh. It's a good indicator of where his budding personality is heading.

Footage Only People Who Love Us Could Appreciate

Hello. We decided that it's been a while since we put up any video so we went and got some. Literally nothing happens in this video other than the kid being himself for about a minute. You have to really be invested in this kid to give it two thumbs up.



We especially like the part where Owen's right leg decides to have a hoe-down without telling the rest of his body. Twice.

Owen Knows When To Hold 'Em And Knows When To Fold 'Em

This is cool, I like drinking from this sippy cup you have given me. Although it would be a shame if I decided to turn it upside down and get water everywhere like - this!


Okay, so somebody thought of that. Congratulations, you foresaw a baby tipping a cup over. You deserve a cookie... oh, unless a baby were crazy enough to take the water in his mouth and spit it back into the cup like - this!


Now that is surprising that somebody thought of that. I'm in a little over my head here.


Lets just all have cookies and appreciate this fine product you call a sippy cup.

Airing Out The Baby

Every once in a while when it's an exceptionally warm day, we like to let Owen air out a little with nothing but a diaper on. We used to let Owen air out sans the diaper but quickly learned our lesson on that one.



If you look closely, you can see two little teeth poking out on the top. I'm going to miss that gummy smile.

Ninja Baby

No matter how hard I throw stuff at Owen's head, he always gets the block up before it hits. It doesn't even matter if you try to catch him off-guard, it's like he has a spider sense for these things. You just can't shake this guy up, it's like he's part ninja or something.


Here he thought I was getting his teddy bear; nope I was getting the ball to throw as hard as I could at his head. It didn't even phase him. This guy is good.


I can't even show pictures of the carnage that ensued once he got his hands on objects with which to return attacks. All I can say is he gave me this look, whimsical Eastern music started playing and I blacked out.

Interspecies Relations Improving

Although they got off to a rough start, Owen and Nala appear to be improving relations. This is a pretty one-sided improvement, being that the baby loves the cat and the cat is becoming indifferent to the baby. Indifferent is good though, and allowing him to "pet" her is even better. This considering Owen's petting consists of grabbing handfuls of fur and/or ears and tugging.


This is Owen's first unassisted contact with the cat.


I hope these aren't pictures of Nala telling herself to leave her body or anything really sad like that.

Sweet & Sour

Show me sweet.


Show me sour.


Repeat until he's 25-ish.

Becoming Proactive

We were all bummed about Arizona losing the Super Bowl last night. I think the most disappointing part was that they lost such a close game. Carrie and I decided instead of being one of the flock who just Monday morning quarterback, that we would become proactive. We are going to train Owen to be an asset to the team and we started yesterday.


They will be able to put him in at quarterback. He's got good form looking downfield.


They will also be able to put him in at running back. He's already protecting the ball and he has a pretty mean stiff-arm for a baby.


And what expectations would be complete without those of victory? In preparation for some monumental victories, we're training him in the fine art of the Gatorade shower.

With all these tools at their disposal, the team with the first pick of the 2030 draft should be pretty much unstoppable.

Enjoying The Weather

The family went on a nice little hike yesterday. We figure we have to get these trips in while the weather is habitable. This is a park called Squaw Peak. It overlooks Phoenix and provides a somewhat challenging climb to the top, especially when you have a 20 pound baby strapped to your chest.


On the way up.


At the top. Carrie is explaining to Owen why you wouldn't want to eat rocks either.


On the way back down.


This is a shot of Phoenix from the top of Squaw Peak. I can't tell if the air is really bad or if 40 miles of visibility is too much to ask. Hmm.