Talking

This past week, Owen decided he was finally ready to start saying some real words (I think he heard that his Cousin Kate was talking up a storm, and didn't want to be left in the dust!). He says "mama" (actually, it's usually more like "mom"), "out", "up", "bye" - and a few other words that we've only heard once or twice ("light"). It's clear that his verbal comprehension is picking up, too. We can ask about an object in the room (e.g, Owen, where's the balloon?) and he'll go get it. Owen has also started balancing while standing up more and more - mostly when he's concentrating on holding something in his hands and forgets that he isn't holding onto anything for support. We'll take it as a sure sign that walking isn't far behind.... Unfortunately, video action of all of this is hard to capture, partly because whenever O sees the camera, all he wants to do is reach for it. And he doesn't yet seem keen to speak on cue. (Baby Kate, we're impressed with your skilz!)

The spring peepers started singing here about a week ago. I hope they don't get shocked by a late-spring cold spell, but it seems likely that the warmer weather is here to stay. Over the weekend, Nate filled our raised beds with 4 cubic yards of topsoil and cow manure. They're ready for planting!

We joined a bunch of friends with their kids at the beach on Saturday - here are some photos of our fun.And a parting video of a little bit of cruising action and a "ma-ma-ma" caught on tape!

Another Title for Titletown

We watched Superbowl XLV with extra excitement this year, as it pitted our beloved Green Bay Packers against another classic football team, and the 'home' team for much of my extended family, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Owen had long-ago outgrown any Packers gear he was given at birth, so I dug out my fabric markers and made him a new jersey. And what a game it was! We wish we could be back in Green Bay to see the celebrations.

Last Friday afternoon, Owen and I attended a birthday party for a friend's 2-year old daughter. A bunch of helium balloons were the main entertainment (until most of them ended up in the cathedral ceiling), and Owen also enjoyed a lovely head massage from his buddy Eli. Clearly, Eli takes his massage technique very seriously.


Here are a few more recent photos of our little guy - a funny face while wearing his owl hat (a Christmas gift from Aunt Rosie), and some fork action at the dining room table.

Eating, tree stumps, babysitting, etc

We've thrown a beach towel under Owen's chair and resigned ourselves to the messy times ahead as he learns to feed himself with his spoon. See for yourself:

"Eating is FUN!"
"OK, time to get serious..."
"Forget this - you feed me, Mom"



On Friday night, Nate and I went out on our first date-night since Owen was born (I'm not counting a smallmouth bass/walleye fishing trip we took with Papa Dusty last summer, since Owen was already in bed when we left). Our good friends Jeff and Christine came over to watch him for us. And to our delight, it was Mission Successful!! Owen definitely seemed skeptical as we put on our coats and slipped out the door, but our experienced babysitters quickly got him distracted with toys and books and by all accounts, not a tear was shed and they had a great time together (with a self portrait picture to prove it)! We're already planning our next adventure out...

Saturday afternoon, our friend Greg came over with his chainsaw to help Nate cut down a couple of trees in our backyard. Greg is an avid woodworker, so we traded his labor for some nice hunks of red maple and dogwood. Then Nate set about to dig up the stumps - he got the dogwood stump out on Sunday afternoon, working in a t-shirt and shorts in the 60 degree weather! He started on the maple stump last night (picture below), but it will take a number of days to get that one out of the ground. When I took Owen out for a quick check of the progress on Sunday afternoon, he laughed in delight every time Nate swung the ax. Who knew manual labor could be so hilarious?