(Above picture taken by Joy Neville Photography.)Well, it's been a fabulous year! We have been so blessed with this little guy! You cannot truly understand the joys that children bring until you experience it for yourself! When Owen was born, I knew that time would fly by...too fast so I took every moment to cherish everything!
Owen had a very fun and exciting birthday! Doug had to work so the festivities really didn't start until Doug got home. We got Owen some balloons, a cake, and went out to eat with some friends and family at Fuddruckers. Owen was given many birthday gifts and we are thankful for the generosity of everyone. Thanks again!
(Teddy Grahams, mmmm, yummy!)
(Owen had a blast playing with Ice at the restraunt. He would slide it across the table.)
(The dreaded Busy Ball Bopper! Owen hates this thing! He cries when we turn it on!!)
(Did I mention Owen had neon green poo for a few days??)We went to Minnesota for Christmas this year and got to have a little birthday party with Owen's cousins and Aunt and Uncle, and grandma of coarse!
(An Engelbert family picture on Christmas Day.)
(This is Christmas Day. Opening presents with Owen's cousin Luke.)
(An Engelbert family picture on Christmas Day.)(This is Christmas Day. Opening presents with Owen's cousin Luke.)On December 23rd, Owen took his first steps! It caught all of us by suprise!!! Doug and I assumed it would be a few months yet before he would walk because he just didn't have any interest in it! :) Nothing more exciting than an early Christmas Present! :) Thanks Owen!
When we got back from MN, Owen had his 12 month doctor's appointment. Owen is now a whopping 22 pounds and 30 inches tall! The doctor said that he is doing really well and very pleased with his progress. The doctor also gave the ok that Owen can eat pretty much all foods now. He also told us that it's best to wean from the bottle. So, there is the battle of the bottle. I'm all about eliminating it and Doug wants to give it to him. Hmmm, any suggestions? :)
We think that Owen is saying a few words too. Doug thinks I'm crazy but I think that Owen can say "kitty." It's more like "tete" to him but he says it when he is looking at the cats. We aren't sure if he recognizes us as mama and dada and can seperate the two, but he says those words all the time!
When we got back from MN, Owen had his 12 month doctor's appointment. Owen is now a whopping 22 pounds and 30 inches tall! The doctor said that he is doing really well and very pleased with his progress. The doctor also gave the ok that Owen can eat pretty much all foods now. He also told us that it's best to wean from the bottle. So, there is the battle of the bottle. I'm all about eliminating it and Doug wants to give it to him. Hmmm, any suggestions? :)
We think that Owen is saying a few words too. Doug thinks I'm crazy but I think that Owen can say "kitty." It's more like "tete" to him but he says it when he is looking at the cats. We aren't sure if he recognizes us as mama and dada and can seperate the two, but he says those words all the time!
We decided to take a few fall pictures of Owen while we were up there! He didn't know what to think of the pumpkins! He tried to put his mouth on it. Of coarse, everything new has to go in the mouth!
Owen also got his first haircut because we saw Aunt Becky. He basically got his bangs trimmed and the hair that was growing over his ears. We took the opportunity because we wanted the first haircut to be done by his Auntie! :)
Now that Owen is a little older, he seems to be having a little more stranger anxiety. He was a little skiddish at first but would warm up to the family quite quickly. Below are pictures with Grandpa and Grandma.
Owen had his Baby Dedication on September 13th. We were blessed to have so many friends and family members that could attend. There was 4 other kids that were dedicated at the same time to there was a big group of family members on the stage. After the dedication we went out to eat at our family's restaurant in Celina. We had a wonderful time and as always, the food was awesome! Thanks to everyone that came and supported us! 
(More Pictures to be added)
Now that Owen is crawling, I have been reassured that the bruising on his forehead is normal. I was tempted to tape a bath towel around his head for a week before his doctor's appointment so that the doctor doesn't think that we are abusing him! It's just a matter of time before we will start seeing bruises on his legs too! (At least that's what I have been told!)
Now that Owen weighs so much more, we are unable to carry him in his baby car seat. It was time to graduate to a big boy car seat! And this car seat is huge! I think he likes it a little better because he sits up higher. I know it will be even better when we can turn it around! He has to be at least 20 pounds and 12 months old before we can do that. Not too much longer till that happens! (At Owen's doctor's appointment the doctor said that he wanted us to wait to turn the seat around until he was 30 pounds....Ummm, we will try!)
The tooth count is now up to 8! I can't believe he has a mouth full of teeth already! He loves to bite things off like crackers with them! He does a really good job of mashing food in his mouth so we are giving him dried yogurt drops, small pieces of cheese, and cut up bananas! He loves it! He does such a good job of picking things up with his fingers and putting them in his mouth!
On the first part of the trip, we saw friends and family in Rochester. Below is a visit with Grandma Engelbert. We stayed with her while we were in Minnesota.
We got the chance to see our friend Nicole for only one day while we were there. Nicole left for a mission trip to Cambodia the following day. Nicole has come to spend Thanksgiving with us the last two years while we have been living in Texas. Last year when Nicole came to visit, she had this huge fear that I might go into labor while she was here. She really didn't want it to happen then, and it didn't! This was Nicole's first meeting with Owen!
We also got to see a lot of other friends as well. Unfortunately there just isn't enough time in the short time that we were there to cram everyone in. And the time we did have was just not long enough to really get to spend some good quality time! On Sunday, or halfway through our trip to the Midwest, we went to Wisconsin. Here we got to see more family! Owen got to meet Aunt Becky and Uncle Jon, and get to see Aunt Amy again!
When we were in Wisconsin, I also wanted to take "4 Generation" pictures. The first one is my dad's side of the family and the second one is my mom's side of the family. I also wanted to include a picture of my grandpa!
As you can see from some of the pictures, Owen has mastered a new task! He can sit up on his own! This has been fun, exciting, and stressful! Fun-because it's something new. Exciting-because he can see so much more now. And Stressful-because he ends up hitting his head on something when he falls over! He has constant bruising on the sides of his forehead now.
And last but not least...Owen has more teeth! He got his two top front teeth while we were on vacation and I found another one on the bottom last weekend and another one on the top today! As you can also see, we have a ham on our hands. When he see's the camera come out he is all giggles and smiles!
We have decided to finally have Owen sleep in his own bed in his own room. He has been in the bassinet in our room since birth. We were keeping him in the room with us downstairs because we thought we could get away with not cooling the upstairs. Well, after two nights of not wanting to go to bed until after midnight and waking up crying in the middle of the night, we said enough! Owen hasn't been put on a routine until now. I thought for sure that I wouldn't get any sleep with him so far away but it happens. Sleep overtakes you and you fall into a deep coma. So now I pray diligently that Owen sleeps well through the night and that God protects him. Now Doug and I sleep better at night and so does Owen! He has been sleeping 10-12 hours a night!!!!
I have been trying to take off weight since Owen has come. To accomplish this, I have decided to try running again. Funny, I know, but don't worry, you won't see me doing it! :) Doug took some pictures just before I was ready to go for a run. I wanted to see what Owen would look like with a bandana on his head!
We took Owen on his first trip to the swimming pool. It was so funny to watch him. He is such a people watcher! At first, I don't know if he knew what to think of the whole ordeal but after he got used to it, he had a blast! Grandma MJ bought him is little swimming outfit and daddy got him the cool airplane floatie!
We met up with my cousin's Haven and Steven again and took some more pictures of the boys. It was a blast to see how they interacted with each other. We can't wait until little Knox is older so he can interact with Owen a little more! (Knox is 3 1/2 months old in this picture and Owen is 6 1/2 months old.)
