A Little Update on Owen

Well, Owen is now 9 months and he has been very busy!

The first big milestone was when he started crawling at 5 months. He has been very motivated to get up and move! He will probably be very active like his big sister.

The biggest news is that he is WALKING! He took his first steps right before he turned 8 months and started walking at 8 months, 5 days. He did a combination of walking and crawling for a few weeks and then only walked after that. After 3 months of crawling he was done being on his hands and knees!

This last week he had a doctors check up and weighed 18 pounds, 1 oz (12%) and measured 29 in (79%). He is becoming a big boy! He still has the sweetest demeanor and is very easy going. He is very social and laughs all the time. He also loves to cuddle. This is the best for me. He will nuzzle into you whenever you pick him up and give you the best hugs and kisses. Sometimes he will be playing and then walk over to you and curl up at your feet to take a little rest. I love it!

He and Avery are such good friends and have so much fun playing together. She is an outstanding big sister. She takes really good care of him. As a mama it is one of the best things to witness.

Sledding!

We went sledding at Phillips Farm three weeks ago and had a blast! It is the perfect sledding hill with kids. The slope is excellent and you can sled for a great distance. Owen loved his first time sledding! It was a gorgeous day and filled with tons of fun. Couldn't ask for much more.

Christmas

We celebrated Christmas at home this year and it was wonderful. Grandma Cindy came from Kansas and Uncle Jesse and Aunt Shelly came for Christmas Eve. It was so nice not having any travel obligations and to sleep in our own beds!

Avery had quite the princess Christmas. I think almost every present she received had something to do with a princess. Owen had lots of fun on his first Christmas opening presents and playing with the wrapping paper and boxes.

On Christmas day we went down to see Uncle Jesse at the Lewiston Fire Department. He was very excited to show us around. Owen and Avery had a great time "driving" the fire trucks. We even got to see Uncle Jesse head out on a call. It was very exciting.

We traveled to Boise for New Years and had a wonderful time with all the cousins, Grandma Sally Jo, Grandma Gary, Aunt Karen and Uncle Paul. We got to ski a few days which was so nice. I was very happy to get back on my skis again this year. This is Avery's third season skiing and she is doing great! Next year its Owen's turn!

Avery's gingerbread house! Thanks to Aunt Shelly :)

Mary Cathrine helping.

Grandma Cindy helping too.

Owen, Uncle Jesse and Aunt Shelly.

Avery and Uncle Jesse

Opening a few presents on Christmas Eve.

Owen helping too!

A princess dress up chest from Uncle Jesse and Aunt Shelly!

Trying it all on.

Santa brought a princess tent!

Hopscotch from Grandma Sally Jo and Grandpa Gary.

Princess castle

Owen got a barn from Grandma Sally Jo and Grandpa Gary.

At the fire station with his favorite gift, a firetruck from Uncle Jesse and Aunt Shelly. 

LOVED "driving" the firetruck!

They make a good team.

Owen and papa.

Avery and Uncle Jesse.

Grandma Cindy and Owen.

Christmas Tree

We ventured out to cut down our own Christmas tree again this year. It is always so much fun to hike around the woods looking for our tree. The scenery is beautiful and Avery loves to explore and play in the snow. The dogs love to get out too. I think Owen enjoyed himself as well. It was his first time to experience this little adventure and he was all smiles!

Avery playing in the snow.

Owen and papa.

Snow angel!

Christmas tree!

Halloween

That's right, Halloween. It is the end of January and I am finally posting Halloween pictures! It is so hard to find the time to update this blog! I am going to make a better effort though because I know how much you all love to see pictures of the kids and to know what's new.

The real reason why I haven't updated in a while is because our USB cord for our camera was not working and I was unable to download pictures. Now that we fixed the problem you'll see more frequent updates!

So, Halloween. Avery wanted to be Tinkerbell this year and I found a great costume and a great deal on ebay. For Owen I found a pumpkin costume at Goodwill for .97 cents. The costumes worked out wonderfully and we had a great time getting dressed up. We walked downtown to go trick-or-treating with some friends the day before Halloween. It is always a wonderful experience as local business owners hand out candy and seeing the crowds of kids all dressed up.
On Halloween night we went to a friends house and ate pizza then went trick-or-treating around their neighborhood. This was the first year Avery really got the whole concept and was so into it. She got lots of candy this year and we actually still have some!

It was a wonderful fall and a fabulous Halloween!

Avery and her buddies!

Little O in the stroller.

Owen fell asleep in the stroller.

This one's a little blurry but I thought it was still cute.