Mr. Independent

Owen decided this past week that he prefers to feed himself. He does NOT want to eat from a spoon anymore. So, we've had to get really creative with finger foods. He's eating all kinds of new things now: cucumbers, cheese, cantaloupe, watermelon, peaches, kiwi, crackers, and basically any veggie/fruit sliced up. This has made meal time VERY messy! Because of this, Owen has been taking a lot more baths lately!

GET ME OUT OF HERE!

Playing peek-a-boo with the shower curtain.

First Steps!

I cannot believe I'm actually writing this......Owen just took his first steps! It's taken us both by surprise. We knew he was going to walk early, but this early???? Jeez, we are in trouble! Micah was doing dishes and Owen walked from our trash can (3 steps) to the open dishwasher. He loves to play with the dirty dishes. And he's taken a few random steps since then. CRAZY!!!

Look at those teeth!

A few nights ago Owen picked yellow squash from our garden. Then he played with them before we cooked and pureed them.

We know this is gross, but Owen loves to play in the dog's water bowl. We try to keep him away from it, but sometimes he's just too quick!


Just Owen laughing......

Family Pictures

Owen had his 9 month doctor's appointment yesterday and he is still a BIG boy! He weighs 21.5 pounds (70th percentile) and is 31.5 inches long (100+ percentile). So he's tall and skinny. Today we had some cheesy family pictures taken. We hadn't done this since Owen was born, so it's fun to have a few.






We had this picture taken for Owen's Grandma Willems (Kelly's mom). She made this quilt and stuffed hippo before Owen was even born! Is she talented or what??? Nine months ago when we brought Owen home from the hospital, he was smaller than this hippo.

Asheville, North Carolina

The reason we haven't posted anything new lately is because we've been on a vacation! We went to Asheville, North Carolina to visit our friends Kim and Corey and their precious daughter Natalie. We were supposed to get home yesterday, but we missed our connecting flight in Denver and had to stay the night (with no bags or anything). This is extra hard with a baby, but Owen is a trooper. We even ran out of diapers on the flight home today. But I think I was most upset about not having a brush to comb my hair.

Natalie is only 2 months younger than Owen and they were fun to watch interact with each other. Owen would get so excited around her and just grab her shirt and pull her towards him. We've got to teach the boy some manners!

Asheville is a gorgeous area....very green and lush with tons of trees (basically the exact opposite of Nevada). Downtown Asheville is filled with great local shops, restaurants, and interesting architecture. Kim and Corey also took us to the Biltmore Estate, which was fabulous! Our favorite thing about the Biltmore Estate was the gardens/conservatory. It was absolutely stunning!

9 Months Old!

Today is Owen's 9 month birthday! It's amazing that he's been out in the world for just as long as he grew inside my body. Wow! Oh, and he has 2 teeth now. I need to try to catch them in a picture.



Here Owen is getting a driving lesson and it doesn't look like it's going very well. Don't worry, he's only pulling the car into the garage (we promise).

Reno Balloon Races

Yesterday we took Owen to the annual Reno Balloon Races! This is one of our favorite events to attend and Owen really enjoyed looking at all of the balloons. Our friends Kristin and Jack met us there bright and early at sunrise. We got there just in time to see all the balloons taking off for a mass launch. Afterwards we went to our friends Enid and Cory's house (who live right down the road from the park). They had a great breakfast party for all their friends who attended the balloon races. Owen had so much fun playing with all the other babies and kids that were there.

Here is a cool video Micah took:

Owen & Friends

Ryder came over to play a few days ago. They spend 3 days a week together and have become buddies. They really like to wrestle each other.



Here's Owen and Brock playing in a cool sand/water box.


As you can see, Owen is quite a bit bigger than his friends.....well, Kirby still has him beat but he's catching up fast! We weighed him today and he is about 22 pounds.

Playing at the Park

It sure was nice having Micah home with us today for Labor Day! We went to a park and relaxed this afternoon.

Chase, Finger Foods, and Ribs

Owen is so much fun these days! He's learned how to play chase and hide & seek! He loves it when we crawl after him and also when we hide from him. He's recently starting eating finger foods. Right now he feeds himself these little puff things.....kind of like cheerios except softer. He loves them and it sure keeps him busy. And the dogs have already learned that Owen drops some of them on the ground.....so anytime Owen eats, the dogs are close by! :o)

Here's Owen helping his dad bake cookies.

We went to the Rib Cook-Off in Reno on Sunday. It's a huge event every Labor Day weekend. Last year we went when I was pregnant and this year we went with a friend who is 8 months pregnant. Amazing how quickly things change......