Owen wants to play the guitar

We have an army crawler

That looks fun.


Here I go...


Lunge for it.


Almost there!



CRASH!!!


Margey is going to call him "GI O."

He is presently showing me how many electrical cords we have that I need to do a better job hiding so, no time for the mother of a crawler. I will add more when I can.

Camping

Owen did great and had a fabulous time on his first camping trip. His mom and dad, however, are feeling very old and tired after the weekend. We had so much fun but man, I need a vacation to recover from the vacation. Granted, I did have a marathon house cleaning day after we got home which was unnecessary but camping is officially put away until next summer.


Jason is hoping to start a club called "the Wilderness Scouts" to teach the kids about the outdoors, respecting the environment, etc. He started this weekend by bringing supplies to make bird feeders and teaching the kids how to roll up their own sleeping bags.

Owen really liked having his diaper changed outdoors!


Bryan doesn't like to be caught being cute with kids, so how could I resist a picture of him reading Jangie her Fairy book.


Owen going for a ride on Daddy's shoulders

Uncle Jason and Super Owen hanging out in the woods.


We have also been working hard on food. He was on a bit of a fast over the weekend, could he have been a bit distracted??? I think so. Since we have been home he has been eating much better. He is eager to be able to feed himself so I am having to let go of my need to have things clean. He is messy but so stinking cute!

6 month checkup

18 pounds (65%), 27 inches (75%), and head circumference 44 cm (60%). We need to start him on fluoride now but only a couple times a week.

I love, love, love our pediatrician. She has an amazing talent of making me feel so confident while still giving me suggestions on how to keep my boy healthy. The new thing for us to work on is getting him to sleep through the night. He basically has been the past few nights, only waking up for one feeding at 2ish and another early morning between 5 and 6. But, Dr Pritchard thinks we can fade the 2ish feeding, which will be nice considering that I haven't slept more than 6 hours straight in SO LONG!

Feeding him solids is going well. We now have rice cereal, avocado, carrots, and bananas on the menu. I am going to stop at these 4 until after our camping trip this weekend but I am having so much fun trying and making new food for him.

Doing great, having fun and trying to figure out scheduling now that Steve is going back to work but we have faith it will all work out.

Pictures of Owen's first camping trip to follow!

Eating "solid" foods

After a long, but worth it, road to August 21st, Amy and Charlie are now married. The wedding was beautiful. Short and sweet with a lot of partying into the night. Owen and Steve hung out at the barn the whole day. Owen still managed to be a crowd pleaser even with being a tired baby. Now, I am adjusting to having "free time" and wondering which of my gazillion projects to address first.

As for the latest Owen developments, his new favorite thing to do is throw toys and lean over his exersaucer/bathtub/bumbo to see where they land. It is quite adorable. He also had been showing all the signs of being ready to eat so Mommy had to let go of her stern 6 month mark and we let him try some avocado today (5 months, 3 weeks so I wasn't that far off).





Next on the list of Owen's firsts will be camping over Labor Day with a big group of our friends. I am nervous and excited so we will see how it goes. Owen definitely loves nature but, sleeping outdoors may be interesting.

Adventures in July

Oh boy have we had a busy month...

Weekend in SunRiver for the 4th of July,



First weekend away from parents. Mom went to the beach with some ladies and Dad had a soccer tournament in WA. Owen stayed with Grandma T and did very well, only being fussy at night which isn't unique to Grandma's house by any means.

Then, off to Chicago and WI to meet the rest of the family.







We went to 2 museums, hiking (TONS of mosquito this year), out to eat at several restaurant.





Owen loved playing with his cousins, listening to his Dad play music and just hanging out.







Owen's parents ended up having a lot of date time as well thanks to grandparents who were eager to babysit. We got to go to a Brewers game, a movie, and out with Steve's high school friends for his 20th reunion. What a busy, fun and well needed vacation for all of us.

Sorry so long!

It is amazing to me that I haven't updated in over a month! Sorry!

We had our 4 month appointment this morning and everything is looking great. He is 16 pounds and 25.9 inches tall. Everything is going just as it should. He is meeting all the milestones (most on the early side) and looking healthy.

I have been busy adapting to being a working mom. Beyond missing Owen and constantly worrying about pumping, it hasn't been all that bad. Some days I even enjoy feeling back in a routine. Steve is having fun staying home with Owen. They are taking lots of walks and cutting flowers from our yard to give to the working Mommy. The next step is to figure out our schedule once Steve returns to work but, I think we will manage just fine.

As for summer plans, so far we have taken Owen on a couple of hikes, to the beach and to Sun River. Next on the agenda is flying to Chicago/Wisconsin to introduce Owen to the rest of his family. Then starts the wedding month...we have 3 weddings in August which is going to take up most of my time. Then, Baby Miles will be arriving so really, no down time for the Schroeder/Gerlt family this summer!!!

We had Christina Gilchrist come back and take pictures of Owen at 3 months. If you want to see a sample, she posted them on her blog at http://christinagilchrist.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/heres-owen/
It was great to have her in our home again. I love her!

As for our amateur pics, here are a few of my favorite.