Happy 1st Birthday Owee!

 

Owen David, my precious baby…  and you are less of a baby every day...

Happy birthday carmel cake with Papa Dow

 

·         Dr. Fletcher report: 19 ¼ pounds (10^th percentile) and 31 inches long (70^th percentile). 

You seem to be following the same growth pattern as your brother (and your parents) and we are supposed to “keep doing what we’re doing” as you are “perfect”.

·         I think you have a sense of humor and you have a cute laugh.

·         You definitely have a “look” about you.  You often knit your eyebrows together with your lips parted, as if you are unsure about something or asking a question.

·         We love the big gap between your two front teeth.  For the past four months you have just had four teeth (two on top & bottom) but you have suddenly gotten two more (top) and are constantly gnawing on your pointer finger or other objects.

·         You like to imitate facial expressions and mimic sounds.  When I scrunch up my face and breathe loud through my nose, you do the same thing and then laugh.  When Kaden or I let out a high-pitch shriek, you simultaneously sit up taller, raise your eyebrows and let out a piercing scream… and then smile.

·         You don’t have many, but your temper-tantrums are comical.  You let out a high-pitch scream, bend forward and place your forehead on the floor.  This has somewhat stopped as you’ve recently done it in the bath, only to startle yourself when submerging your face in the water.

·         You often babble “ma-ma-ma,” “da-da-da,” “ba-ba-ba,” mixed in with other  “sss” sounds.

·         You are a good eater (not too picky) although you don’t like green things: avocado, green beans, peas, etc. 

·         You like music and like to DANCE!  You’ll bob your head, rock your torso, or bounce when you hear music, whether it’s in the car, grocery store, or on TV.

·         You don’t seem interested in learning to walk.  When we try to get you to hold our hands & walk, your legs suddenly turn to noodles.  BUT when we lift you several inches off the ground you kick your legs like mad.  We’ve both caught you briefly standing on your own without the support of anything.

·         You cruise the furniture, slowly & thoughtfully sit down, speed-crawl to the next piece of furniture and pull up again.

·       Weirdly enough, you seem to enjoy being upside down.  Our best family pictures this year were the ones where you were inverted.  I think that was the only one where you were truly smiling.

 

·         You are finally sleeping through the night—meaning about 12 hours at a time.  You usually don’t take more than 1 big nap during the middle of the day.  God love you because you are completely on OUR schedule so you don’t have a set-in-stone naptime.  You are, however, getting better about staying asleep when being transferred from your car seat to your crib.

We can't keep covers on you either. 
You always rip them off and pull them over your face when we put you down for bed or for a nap. 

·         You are a fairly light sleeper.  We have always had the blue (noisy) fan in your room to block out sound (Kaden) but you can pop awake at the sound of me tip-toeing across your room.  On more than one occasion, I’ve “hit the deck” when trying to get a peek at your while you’re sleeping.

·         You don’t seemed bothered by strangers & never cry when people come up to say hi or want to hold you.

·         One of my favorite times of the day is when you hear my voice after being in the gym nursery for an hour… you turn your head, see me, and then SPEED crawl to where I’m standing.  Makes my day!

·         You enjoy bath time and being naked.  You giggle when I take off your diaper.

 

·         I’m still not sure if it’s being exposed to every pre-school germ imaginable or allergies/the constant dust in the air, but you are in a constant need of a tissue.

·         You still seem to be extremely ticklish and laugh hard when we slowly take off your socks at night.

·         You are tough.  Lord knows how many times you’ve been kicked, stepped on, drug (across the floor) or knocked over by your over-zealous older brother.

Owee, you so WONDERFUL, fun and easy-going;

we cannot imagine you not being a part of our family!