1 month stats

Owen had his 1 month check up today. Weighed in at 12 lbs 8 oz. Growing nicely...off the charts!

Friends

Today I invited over a couple of nurse practitioners that I work with who have recently had babies. Here's Owen on the left with Colin in the middle, born Feb. 8th and Teddy born March 4th. Owen and Colin are big bruisers compared to Teddy, but they promised to play nice.


Here is my friend, Emily holding Owen with her daughter Ellie. They came over last night to bring dinner and eat with us. Ellie has an interesting way of getting around. Instead of walking on her feet (which she can do) she likes to walk around on her knees. Over the course of the night, Anne started walking around on her knees too. It was actually quite hysterical. What a ham!

Here are Anne and Owen with their friends, Abigail and Rebecca who live a few blocks away. Rebecca was due the day after Owen. She came 10 days early and Owen came 10 days late. Abigail will be 2 next month and is just a few months older than Anne.

Here's Owen showing how much he truly enjoyed the playdate!

Brothers and Sisters

Anne loves to hold her baby brother. Doesn't she look proud here?

I think in this pic Owen is thinking, "Well, if she wants to hold me, who am I to protest? Whatever..."

Owen Holds His Head Up

Owen is getting stronger every day. Here you can see that he is getting better holding up his head as mommy points out his better attributes.

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Tummy Time

We haven't had much time to film Owen by himself. Usually his sister is nearby eager to take the spot light, but we finally had a chance to film just Owen while on his tummy. This video is a gem and I encourage you to turn the volume all the way up to enjoy it.

Grand Canyon

Over a year ago Jon (Jody's father), Jason (Jaime's husband), Tony (Jason's father), Greg (Jody's Uncle), and I made a reservation at the Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We were lucky to get one night in a dorm at the ranch. Unfortunately this date fell 3 weeks after Owen's due date. We weren't planning for Jody to come when the plans were originally made, but being so close to Owen's due date did cause a brief panic. Fortunately, Jody is awesome and told me I had to go (everybody thinks I got in trouble for going, but honestly Jody wouldn't even let me discuss the possibility of not going especially after Owen was 2 weeks late and came by c-section).
So off I went with my fellow adventurers on March 7th at the top of the Kaibab trail. We hiked down in about 5 hours taking many breaks for pictures and to just enjoy the stunning view. At the bottom we enjoyed a great steak diner, a bunk bed, some sleep, and a hearty breakfast. It took us about 7.5-8 hours to hike out the next day on the Bright Angel Trail. By the end, I took over 400 pictures with my HD camera. Here are a few of my favorites. Keep in mind that no picture does the Canyon Justice.

Anne Helps Burp Owen

Anne really wants to help out with every aspect of Owen's life. Here she eagerly helps burp Owen after a feeding. She then goes on to perform other tricks. There has been a language explosion lately. It seems that her vocabulary is growing exponentially. Tonight is Purdue's first game in the NCAA tournament. Go Purdue!

Anne Counts

Anne counts almost every time she climbs the stairs. In the video, I have to prompt her, but she starts almost immediately. You can hear her say 1, 2 and sometimes even 3. She also immediately says 'Cheese!' once she sees that I am filming. It is really cute and mommy and daddy are really proud of their little counter.

Daddy Returns

Jeff had an amazing trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and came back bearing gifts for all of us. Anne liked her red rock t-shirt so much she wanted to put it on right away.


Jeff took tons of pictures and some videos. Here he is giving Owen and I his presentation.


The past couple of nights Daddy and Owen have been watching b-ball together. Owen had his track pants on yesterday after his workout.

Owen went for his 2 week check on Tuesday. He was up to 11lbs 1oz. Dr. Krueger gave us the green light to let him go as long as he can at night. He's been doing great. I feed him at about 10:30pm and he sleeps until about 2:30 and then we're up to start the day about 6:30am. I can't complain too much about those hours!

Out and about

Yesterday we ventured out of the house to the Museum of Science. I was happy to get out and it was good to get Anne out too. Ellen wrangled Anne while Owen and I just hung out. They have an infant area in the Discovery Center with a boppy pillow and a rocking chair. So, I sat and fed Owen and watched all the kids running around. Anne spent over a 1/2 hour playing at the water table. She was sad to leave. We all had a great time.

Visitors

My friend, Anne, and her daughter Carolyn stopped by on Monday to visit and bring us dinner. We enjoyed the tasty stuffed shells and salad that Anne made. Annie enjoyed having a little person over to visit. Though Nana Reifenberger is highly entertaining.

A future babysitter?

Anne's been working on her baby care skills, carefully observing Aunt Darcy and practicing with her dolls. Also, notice she's very organized. All of her diapers are lined up in a row.

A Visit From Aunt Darcy, Uncle Matt and baby Ellie

Calm babies

Crying babies in unison

Owen has the cutest chin dimple, just like his daddy...precious!

Our first few days at home.

As I write this, Jeff is on his way hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. How awesome is that! I'm so excited for him. I got to talk to him last night and he sounded super excited. They were advised to get crampons for their hiking shoes as there was going to be some ice on the trail. He's with my dad, uncle, brother in law, Jason, and Jason's father.

Sounds like a total guy trip as they stopped at BW3's on the way to their hotel near the canyon.

Jeff's mother, Ellen, is here to help me out while he's away She's been amazingly helpful. Can't tell you how many diapers she's changed. It's great having someone here who can get on the floor easily and play with Anne, who often requests someone to sit down with her to play.



Anne is an amazing big sister and has been super helpful and somewhat interested in her little brother. She's totally in to role playing and can frequently be found "changing" her baby's diaper or putting her babies in the car seat or swing. We're still working on not touching the real baby when he's sleeping. She's constantly wanting to give him his paci and help out.

Owen Comes Home

Owen enters a milk coma immediately after a feeding and nothing can wake him up. I am soooo tired...



Owen puts on his take home outfit. His hat barely fits his head (it is a 6-12 month hat). Need to keep warm Owen, it is very cold outside.



Putting Owen into the car seat. The Colts car seat cover was a 'big' hit in the hospital!



Owen is home! Mommy is going upstairs to sleep and Daddy is going to watch Owen in his carrier until his next feeding. I will get Nana tonight from the airport and then pick up Anne from Bethany's. Welcome home Owen!

Matt, Darcy, and Ellie Visit Owen

Matt, Darcy and Ellie visited last night. As you can see, Ellie and Owen are almost the same size despite Ellie being ~ 11 weeks older.



Here are all three of the Reifenberger grand kids. Ellie was really excited to meet here new cousin Owen.



Owen was really excited to meet his Uncle Matt.



Ellie was really tuckered out after hanging out with her cousins in the hospital.

Visting Mom Last Night (3/2/11)

Sorry, but daddy is a little behind in his posts. Anne and I visited Mommy and Owen in the hospital last night. We enjoyed each other company and a warm meal. Mmmm hospital food!

Good Night Owen

Good night Owen, we love you.