Daily Dosage of Owen

This week things returned to normal in terms of work schedule. That means whenever I have somewhere to go, Owen comes with me - as well as Alexa of course. Owen had his first playdate at the mall for lunch and romping in the play area. We joined Alexa's good friend Zack and his sister, Leah who is Owen's age. Thankfully the experienced Miss Dana helped me manage lunch - Alexa was a big help simply by not needing much help! Bill Cosby was right, you aren't a real parent until you have multiple children! Owen did great and only made a small, manageable mess on the floor. Sufficiently fed (at least the children), we headed to the play area...

The play area has one entrance and about a 4-foot-high wall enclosing it. Owen wasn't intimidated by the large group of children in the small play area - ages ranged from nearly newborns to 6-7 year olds. However, he did quickly figure out how to exit and this became a game for him. He would head in a random direction and enter the closest store, then I would pick him up and zoom him pack to the play area. Alexa and Zack entertained themselves while the parents stayed close to the little ones. Leah and Owen played near each other (we'll pretend it was on purpose) and Dana got some great pictures. Everyone had a good time and each family went home with a tired baby!

Here are some other random notes about the week for Owen:

- I decided to do some vacuuming while the kids got there bath with Tracy. Suddenly the very naked Owen came walk/running toward me and the vacuum sound did not phase him a bit. My recollection is that Alexa didn't like loud noises as a baby, so this really surprised me. In fact, Owen was trying to help me vacuum by holding the hose! The little guy is fearless...

- Owen is now able to pick up his bottle and serve himself - finally tilting his head back when the liquid gets too low. I really appreciate this one for numerous reasons: Owen violently turns his head sideways when he is done with a swig, it is hard to distinguish being "done" versus just "needing a breath", and for some reason it makes me uncomfortable to stick a bottle in his mouth with his head tilted all the way back while standing.

- We are officially crediting him with his first word - up! Monday, Owen was playing with one of his toys that says "up" and "down". I thought he was saying "up" on his own, but he would never repeat it when I said it. Today, Tracy was asking Owen if he wanted to come up and he said "up" very clearly. I could hear this from the kitchen but he refused to say it when Tracy called me over and when I tried to elicit it later. I almost credited him with his version of "doggy", which comes out as something like "da-a". He clearly knows he is referring to the dogs and says it while following one around (Speaking of which, he was doing that to Archie today and would hug him or lay his head on him whenever Archie stood still). The problem was twofold: he is inconsistent with how he says it, often running it together and sounding like dada, and he calls our cat the same word. If you've ever met our cat, Wojo, you'd know he ACTS more like a dog than a cat, but I have to maintain his integrity as a cat!