Well, just one more month to go till the big birthday! I can't believe that almost a year has gone by already! It has been such a fun year and such a learning experience!
Owen is bright eyed ad busy tailed right now! He just woke up! Owen usually goes to bed around 8:30 and he usually sleeps until about 8 the next morning! I'm sure he's tired with all that growing he is doing!
Owen walks along everything! Walls, tables, kennels, you name it! He had to say good morning to Maddie the dog! Maddie loves Owen!
Here Owen is eating cheese! He loves the stuff! When I give it to him, I cut it up into little cubes and he stuffs all of them in his mouth at one time! I have to limit how many I give him for fear he might choke!Daddy got Owen a new toy recently and Owen loves to play with it! He can either ride on it or push it in front of him when he walks. He does so well with that!
Not too much has changed this month. If I think of anything else in the meantime, I will post it! :)
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.)
Owen had his 6 month check up and again, the doctor was very pleased with his growth and development! Owen now weighs 17 pounds and 3 ounces and is 26 inches long. His head is still ranking in the 90th percentile at 17.8 inches but the doctor is not conerned at all. That just means that 90% of all babies at Owen's age have a head that size. As far as weight at height, he is at the 50th percentile.
We have been feeding Owen Rice Cereal and baby Oatmeal. We also started Sweet Potatoes, Beans, Squash, and Carrots. So far we don't have a picky eater but the doctor says that can or will come when he is a little older. We can start giving Owen fruits and fruit juices too. The doctor even said that it's ok to start using a sippy cup if we want! One day, the night after we fed Owen carrots, Doug was taking care of Owen while I worked. When I got home, Doug had saved a diaper that had dark orange poo in it. He was concerned that Owen was bleeding internally! Owen is starting to use his high chair as well. He loves it! We still have to tuck blankets on both sides of him, otherwise he will lean to one side.
We are realizing that Owen is much more aware of his surroundings and get's bored very easily. This proved very difficult when we were trying to get the house ready for an upcoming baby shower. So many people have baby jumpers and exersaucers, that we decided to get one for Owen. He likes it pretty well and he can be entertained for quite a while! Gotta love all those gadgets!
Nap time is taboo. Sometimes he will take a nap, but not often. If we are lucky, we will get one 2-3 hour nap, every 2 weeks. Otherwise they are 5-10 minute naps. I have captured one nap from daddy and Owen! It was Doug's birthday and I was downstairs making Doug's birthday cake. I went upstairs to check on the two and this is what I found!
