a few things...UPDATED

Owen has an ear infection.  It wouldn't be Christmas without one, so we aren't completely surprised.  We had a rough Sunday night, but by Monday afternoon (and a long nap) he was back to acting normal.

Just in case we doubted that Milo and Owen love each other...

And this guy is getting bigger everyday.  I finally got a good pic of him smiling.  He is a very happy little guy most of the time, but stops smiling every time I pull out the camera.  In case you didn't notice, or in case I forgot to mention, he has red hair.  It isn't obvious inside the house, unless he's in the swing which is next to a window, but it's very obvious in the sun.  Owen had reddish hair when he was born but then it fell out and came back blonde.  Oliver lost some on the top but it seems to have stopped falling out for now.  We go for his two-month well check this afternoon so I'll come back with stats later.

Here we go...weight is 10 lbs, 13 ounces and his height is 23 1/2 inches.  He hasn't gained a ton of weight, but he has grown over 3 inches since he was born!  

Tigers Christmas

No, this is not a post about Clemson...:) 

Owen's last day of school was yesterday and they had a little Christmas program.  I sat in the front row so I could get it all on video just in case he participated.  I was very surprised to see him up there doing his thing.  I thought he would just stand there.

Afterwards we went back to their classroom for pizza and cupcakes to celebrate the birthdays of Daisy (classmate) and Jesus. 

deep thinker

Ok...so I spoke too soon.  Oliver went to sleep around 9 (still too early but we tried) and got up around 1:30.  Not too bad, just not as good as the night before.  We are experimenting with his formula intake based on how ravenous he acts...and he acts likes he's starving to death.  Can't wait until we go to see Dr. P on Tuesday so we can see exactly how much he weighs and adjust accordingly. 

He did wake up this morning in the same pajamas he went to sleep in...so no spitting up all night long.  Progress!

a little sleep

Oliver was eight weeks old yesterday and he celebrated by giving us some rest.  Of course it wasn't that perfect 10-5 or 11-6 slot, but we'll take it anyway.  He normally eats at 10 or 10:30 and goes to sleep after that until 2:00 or so but last night was completely different.  His schedule was wacky so I fed him at 8:00 and put him down at 9:00.  Other than a few outbursts while he was still asleep, he didn't wake up fully until 2:45.  Can I get a woop woop?  Are you virtually raising the roof with me? 

I didn't go to sleep until midnight thinking he would wake up any minute, but at least we are making progress.  Let's hope this wasn't a fluke and the trend continues tonight.

two months and camera talk

I misplaced my favorite camera lens sometime during the nursery transformation.  I had looked for it several times with no luck, but this weekend I was determined to turn over the entire space until it was found.  I was looking in Oliver's closet (which used to be an everything goes in here spot) when it hit me...under the changing table/armoire!  And there it was...and I am so glad to have it back.  We didn't have this camera or this lens when Owen was a newborn and now that we do, I want to make sure to use it to document Oliver's growth.  We did the whole portrait studio thing with Owen and after the one year mark I grew tired of the same looks over and over again.  Don't get me wrong, some of those pics are my favorites of Owen, but some of the ones we've taken are more special b/c they take us back to a specific place and memory.

While still a novice, I feel like I have grown a little in the photography department in the last three years.  I know what light works and what doesn't and I know that I prefer outside shots as opposed to the ones taken indoors.  Of course it was freezing outside this weekend and I wasn't about to take these two out for a full blown shoot.  I was determined to get a good shot for our Christmas cards even if it killed me.  Owen was slightly uncooperative, but I was also refusing to attend a weekend birthday party unless he straightened up!  Oliver was very cooperative (much to my surprise) but I tackled this early in the morning, when he is his happiest.  I won't reveal the shots until our cards have gone out, but here's a few I shot trying to find the best light.

And now to the other topic...our little one will be two months old this week.  My how time flies.  I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but he is a spitter.  It has gotten better, and it's not projectile, but annoying nonetheless.  We've washed nearly his entire wardrobe every day for the last eight weeks...and his sheets...and countless bibs and burpclothes.  Just when we think he has a great spit-up free feeding, he turns on us and we have to change our clothes too.

We are due to go for his two month well check next week, but I thought about calling and seeing if there was something else we could do.  On Friday I did and we got the go ahead to switch up his formula.  It wasn't the miracle I was hoping for, but it has helped a little.  We still had tons of the other stuff left, so for now we are doing half and half until the old stuff is gone.  I also thought it would be a better transition than switching him over all at once, b/c the last thing we need is a constipation problem.  This stuff is much thicker and we've actually had to go up to the next size nipple for him to get it out.  When we first switched he was taking 45 minutes to get through a feeding...now it's more like 15-20.  It's a win-win for us and him b/c he has quite a temper when he wants to be fed.

I wish I could report him sleeping for longer periods, but it hasn't happened yet...maybe if we all could cross our fingers?  If something changes I will pop in to give an update.  That will be the B E S T post ever!

Thanksgiving week

Happy belated Thanksgiving!  Just popping in to post a few pics from the last week.  Of course I am very thankful we are all healthy and happy.  This week is supposed to be the height of fussiness for Oliver.  Please send some good vibes our way that we make it to next week!

Owen Gentle Deer and his buddy Joshua Little Cub at their Thanksgiving Feast at school.

Oliver finally starting to enjoy bath time.  He completely passed out...but don't worry...even though it looks like he couldn't breathe, his nose was not pushed into the headrest.

Brotherly love?

We've had an artificial tree for the last five years but thought Owen would like to go and pick out a tree at a tree farm.  He was more interested in playing with the random sticks on the ground. 

 

The winner!

one month

Oliver is now one month old.  This means only one more month until he sleeps longer than two hours, right?  Please?  We would take anything longer than two hours at this point.

While I was attempting to get a decent shot of his brother, this guy actually wanted to sit and smile for the camera.  He got a new haircut on Friday, but this pic is from Sunday and I'm fairly certain it was a) right after a sweaty nap, b) dirty, c) not brushed at all that day, or d) all of the above. 

stuff owen says

Last night, right before bed, Owen and I were snuggling in the recliner.  This was our conversation:

O:  Daddy, I want to be a boy mermaid when I grow up.

Me:  (laughing on the inside) Oh really?  Well, you know mermaids aren't real.
They are just pretend.  Why do you want to be a mermaid?

O:  (with a really confused look on his face)  Because I want to swim in the ocean with the sharks and stuff.  And Olivia (a girl in his class) wants to be a mermaid when she grows up.

Me:  Oh, okay.  Well, you wouldn't want to swim with sharks would you?

O:  No...(pause)...Daddy, I want to be a fireman when I grow up.

Me:  I think that's a better choice.

the last two weeks

I am back at work today after two weeks at home with the family.  Compared to that, this feels like a vacation!  Seriously though, we've had many ups and downs, laughs and tears, but we are still chugging along.  Here's a glimpse of the last two weeks...

Oliver has his first sponge bath at home...let's just say he wasn't thrilled.

I chaperoned Owen's first field trip to the West Farm Corn Maze. 

Owen and Mommy did some Halloween baking

Owen and I visit the "scarecrows" in town square

And then hit one of our favorite playgrounds

Owen has recently re-conquered his fear of the slide

Halloween came and went in a flash.  Owen is also trying to get past his fear of "scary" things and did a great job trick-or-treating.  He would like everyone to know his favorite part of Halloween was when the skeleton took off his mask and there was a real person underneath!

Oliver Bennett

October 19, 2011

8:38 a.m.

8 lbs

20 1/4 inches



Our lil' pumpkin

First pic of the brothers...big "O" and little "O"

Waiting patiently to go home.  It took no less than 5 hours to get the paperwork processed.



So glad to be home!

Renovation reveal

As promised, it's the big reveal!

First we have Owen's room.  If you recall, Santa brought him his big boy bed for Christmas.  Yes, Christmas...as in December 2010.  And now it's October 2011 and I just finished his room.  As I've said before, it takes some serious planning to get a room renovated while your child occupies the room.

I knew I wanted to paint his bed red and when we found his quilt (at The Target) it all fell into place.   I made a rail that matched the bed, but he jumped on it until the screws finally had enough.  I do still have it, but it needs some work before it goes back on the bed.

I made the five signs above the bed and found the square frames at one of those craft stores.  I can't ever remember which one is which so I just give up.  They were black and I painted them silver.

He clearly likes the finished product...

We've had this vinyl stuff for this wall forever too and it just went up.  It's cool b/c he can take them off and move them around at will.

Owen's "art wall" is on the far right.  Some are things he makes at school and some are things he's made here.  This is his favorite thing to show people when they visit.

Next is the nursery.  Everything in here was in Owen's old room except for the glider and stool.

We bought this glider and stool off of Craigslist.  It was a natural color and had to be sanded and refinished.   I went with white to offset the other dark pieces in the room.  Sadly, I don't have any of the "before" pics of the glider or the 80's fabric.

We opted not to paint this room when we found out it was another boy.  It's always been a favorite color and I knew I wanted orange for contrast.  The fabric search was exhausting, but we found both of these at GDC.  Of course we found them for much cheaper at fabric.com.  My Aunt Sibby (whatever the level above master seamstress is) made the curtains and re-covered the cushions for the glider.  I handled the stool.

And there you have it...they aren't perfect, but I snapped the pics while I had good light and they were both sort of clutter free.

***

Welcome to the Double O Zone

Well...here it is...our new blog.  If you're reading this, you obviously made the jump (click, whatever) from The Owen Zone.  While I hated to leave our blog home for the last 3.5 years, it didn't feel right to keep it the same since we have, or will have, two children and they aren't both named Owen.  I know this isn't a big deal to some (cough, Brig, cough) but I didn't want the new baby to ask why the blog only carried his brother's name.

After some research, and several months of trying to find a name, this is where we landed.  Some day I'll share the other names we tossed around.  It's rather easy to back up your blog and even easier to migrate its contents, pics and all, to a new blog.  Who knew?  Maybe you did, but I did not.

We have less than 36 hours before the other "O" is scheduled to arrive and we are as ready as we can be.  I have taken pics of their finished rooms and will post them tomorrow.

One week to go

We only have one week before our family of three becomes four.  I put the blog this way b/c I have been looking back at the start of it and Owen when he was a newborn.  I think it's so interesting to look back and see how much he's changed.

I'm so glad I started this in March 2008 b/c it's become the scrapbook of Owen's life and our lives with him at the the center.  Sorry, but I don't have pictures of the boys' rooms...that's odd to say.  They are done, per se, but I haven't gotten around to taking pics yet.  We are trying to get everything ready for our new addition.  I will get to it, so calm down...:)

There will be some blog-related changes coming too, but I'll save that for another day.

Cool down, please and thank you

Wow...no time for blogging these days.  It's the final countdown, only two weeks away! Then I really won't have time to blog. 

We have been getting the nursery ready...hopefully that reveal will come this weekend.  The curtains are hung, the glider is covered, the rug is in place.  Just a few things left to do.

Last weekend we took time to enjoy these fall temps and made it down to the playground with J.J.

 

I haven't talked about it much, but Owen is really enjoying school and "lunch bunch" this year.  He can write his name and recognize almost every letter of the alphabet.  He is also starting to spell.  I inadvertently taught him to spell "no" last week.  That should come in handy.  

When he came home yesterday, he told us about this note in his bookbag:

 

 

He was grinning as big as the smile on this paper.  Not sure if they sent this home with all the kids, but I'd like to think it's true and not just something they do. 

***

Kite flying and t-ball practice

Although we would have been happier with more sun, the temps this weekend were wonderful.  Owen insisted on flying his kite even though it wasn't windy enough and we certainly don't have enough room to get a kite flying.  He was overjoyed anyway.  And the best part were no mosquitoes!  Hallelujah!

He also worked on his t-ball skills.  We keep thinking about signing him up for something, but don't want to commit with the baby coming in four (holy moly!) weeks.  Maybe in the spring.