Strawberry Patches

Owen missed me while I was at VBS Monday night.  The boys stayed home with daddy because it runs rather late (9:00!!) and I volunteered for only two nights.  Thank goodness :)

  

 This is how I found my boys when I got home.  Owen had cried for an hour and half straight.

 I nursed right away, and Owen was then happy as a clam and went right back to Daddy and laid on him again.  I think their bonding time was needed and special.  :)

In other news.  For the last two days the kids have been wanting to do school.  I don't know what they think school is, really, but it basically means they want to follow our "summer schedule."  It's pretty basic and this was about the third time we've done the summer schedule all summer.  Maryn does SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER on a structured routine.  And they get a lot of choice in the matter.  For example, 9:30 is Arts and Crafts time and Maryn decided we should make something having to do with strawberries since that was their favorite thing from the farm last week.  We went strawberry picking at Huber's.  So I just googled for some strawberry activities, and we made these cute strawberries out of paper plates.

 Here's our own strawberry patch!  We mixed strawberry scented soap into the paint to make them smell like strawberries.  The scent wore off, unfortunately.  I read that strawberry Jell-O works better.

It's very good to experiment with a school schedule right now, as I get used to doing things around Owen's naps and such.  Man oh man, I don't know HOW I will do this school thing 5 days or whatever a week.  It's ex.haust.ing!  But really we have had much better behavior.  It's a challenge--I kind of have to let the house get messy and hope I'll get to clean it at quiet time.  Which I normally do. ;-)

The glass is half....

"I get to wash laundry today because I have three beautiful, healthy children who play outside and an awesome husband who works so hard."

I don't really understand this way of thinking.  It doesn't make me feel better about laundry.  I think this is why I'm so grateful for FlyLady and why her habits work so well for me.  I don't even think about doing laundry anymore, or dishes, really.  I do it because it's a habit and I just do it so I can get on to the sweeter things in life.  You know?  What do you think?

Owen Michael

Little Owen is now one year old.  We just had his one year doctor appointment so I figured I should share his stats and some little tidbits about him, his personality, and how we are getting along with three little kids under five years old.

First, this is all just surreal.  I feel like Owen just can't be mine, and he is too big to be my baby, and he's grown way too quickly.  Doesn't everyone say those things, like "Where has the time gone?"  But really, it's true.  I feel it more strongly now that I have one child who has nothing baby about her.  All of Maryn's baby-ness is gone.  She was holding my hand on the couch the other day, and not a single dimple or chubbiness is on her hand, her arms, or her face.  Of course, I knew she'd grow up.  But watching my kids grow up is sort of like dealing with a loss.  I have "lost" my baby girl, Maryn, and now she is almost five, and she will never, ever, ever be a baby again.  Never.

So that realization has made me yearn for more cuddles with my baby, Owen, but time passes quickly, and here he is already one year old and where has the time gone?  Many mothers wean at 12 months and I can't even bear to think of weaning.  He could probably walk if he wanted to, but what's the rush?  In another few months, I won't even have a baby to carry.  Possibly never again will I have a baby of my own to nurse or carry or sleep on my shoulder.  In some ways I look forward to that day, believe ME.  But in other ways I mourn the loss of my babies.

Weight:  22 lbs. 3 oz.  (50th percentile)
Height:  29.5 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference:  19 3/4 (25th percentile)
Teeth:  Owen has six teeth.  I think.  Maybe eight.  :)

Words:  cock-a-doodle-doo, quack, duck, woof woof, Mama, Dada, banana, Maryn, Josiah

Owen loves to throw balls back and forth, loves to take off his diaper, loves to try to touch his poop, loves to eat almost anything, loves to drink water from his straw cup, loves to throw things down the stairs.  He loves to swing, play in the sand, play in the water, go swimming, he loves to slide, too.

Owen can stand up without any assistance but has not taken any steps on his own yet.  He loves to crawl on his feet and hands, bear crawl style.  He puts everything in his mouth for inspection.  He gets into the cabinets all the time.  He likes to try new things, like bugs.  He likes to try to bite his siblings when they have a toy he wants.

I think Owen may be our shy child.  He will stay on my lap for quite a long time in a public place and usually when he goes to play, I suspect he does because Maryn and Josiah are there.  He usually does well in church nursery now if familiar teachers are there, but he doesn't say much or vocalize much when in a new or different place than home.

Owen has the smarts and perseverance of his sister and reminds us of her a lot, but he has the athleticism and bravery of his brother.  It makes for an interesting combination.  He doesn't mind getting in trouble, thinks the word no is pretty funny, and usually doesn't mind to have his hand swatted.  But when someone takes a toy from him, he usually goes and just finds something else to play with.  Or he might scream and try to bite, if it's something he really wants.  He's pretty good at manipulation already, and is good at figuring things out, being sneaky, and being cute.  :)

Owen plays very well by himself, too.  Yay :)

We love our sweet baby Owen.  I'm so glad he's ours!