play ball

We took Owen to his first Asheville Tourists baseball game on Thursday night. Thankfully Danny arranged clubhouse seats for us and our good friend Bell since it rained during most of the game. Owen wasn't too sure about Bell's scruffy chin.



A very over served lady took this picture of us.

2 toofers

Have you missed me?

details later

We started the weekend off with a Pool Party for Elizabeth Stroup's 1st birthday. Owen didn't know it was a Luau when he picked out this shirt. What a smart kid! He was dressed second best only to be outdone by the birthday girl who was wearing a coconut bra and hula skirt. We could only stay at the pool party for an hour and then we had to leave for Charlotte. My Aunt Debbie was celebrating her 50th birthday. My mom had this cake made for her with Mike Douglas on it (he was a talk show host back in the day). Undoubtedly, he was one of Debbie's favorites. She missed her best friend's birthday one year because she didn't want to miss the Mike Douglas show. Lesa, my cousin, googled Mike Douglas to see if he was still alive. Come to find out he died August 11, 2006 and was 81 years old. It was all too ironic considering Debbie's 50th party was held on August 11, 2007.
On Sunday Me, Danny, Owen, Mom and Chip went to Carrowinds. None of us had been there in years ,so we were all a little excited. Danny and I rode several rides when we got there while mom and Chip watched Owen. Mom nor Chip do well on roller coasters, but we were able to get them on the Gold Russher. After lunch we went to the water park and spent the better half of the afternoon by the pools and enjoying the water slides.

Here is Owen and Danny under one of the Mushrooms in the kiddie pool area.

Let's Play

Poor Sam and Molly. They went for a hair cut on Tuesday and the groomer had to shave them due to all the mats. Peter saved their ears and tails. They seem a little embarrassed. We missed their last appointment when Danny's grandfather passed away.

9 months old

It keeps getting harder and harder to take posed pictures of Owen. I thought the block idea was cute and wanted to try it again this month. After several attempts with most of the blocks being picked-up, moved or knocked down, this was the best I could get.
I still wanted a few close-ups, so I put him in his crib.

No more pictures please (or as Harper says, "No cheese, mommy," "No Cheese")

At 9 months, Owen weighs 20 lbs 4 oz (50%) and is 29 inches long (75%). While at the doctor today for O's well check-up, I asked about the bumps on his skin that I thought were a heat rash. Come to find out, he has something called Keratosis Pilaris, which is a skin disorder that results in acne like bumps caused by a buildup of protein called keratin in the openings of hair follicles in the skin. Dr. Love suggested we start washing Owen with Dove or cetaphil. Other than that, he got a perfect bill of health.

Here's what O's been up to this month...
* can pull himself up to the standing position (and does it over and over and over)
* can walk along the furniture
* began doing the inchworm and now crawls on his knees...all over the place
* can make a clicking sound with his mouth and will imitate you if you do it first
* says dadada, mamama, and bababa
* loves to blow raspberries (especially when he's finished eating)
* can sit on his knees
* has two teeth
* ate his first biter biscuit
* very interested in cords
* has began to take interest in our house plants (all plants need to find a new home)
* plays with door stoppers
* loves to beat on and climb up on our bathroom scale
* can walk really well with our assistance
*can push doors closed and pull them open (if they are not closed completely)
* sits in the grocery cart
* no longer uses his swing, bouncy seat, jumperoo or infant carrier
* can pass items back and forth from one hand to the other
* bangs his toys on the table, floor and on other toys
* pushes arms through sleeves when getting dressed
* has discovered "himself" making for difficult diaper changes
* went for an eye exam through the Infant See program
* is still not sleeping through the night. Dr.Love suggested the cry-it-out method. Perhaps we'll try it again. AHHHHHHH! Will I ever get any sleep? I can't complain too much, other than not sleeping through the night, Owen is a picture perfect baby. He is always so happy; smiling and belly laughing ALL the time. We really do have a lot of fun together.

Busy, Busy, Ball and bubbles

The last day of July was a busy, busy day for little O. We began the day like we always do, with breakfast. I noticed it was a little quite out in the sun room while I was in the kitchen getting Owen's cereal ready (Owen is very chatty, so I knew he must be up to something.) When I peaked into the room, this is what I saw....

I quickly ran to get the camera....
I thought the look of mischief on his face was priceless, and I just love his light blue jammies.
After breakfast, Owen took his morning nap and then we went to visit with Laura and Meredith Peek. Laura made a delicious lunch for her and I and then we took the kiddos out to the pool to splash around.
When we were visiting inside Meredith and Owen attempted to play together. Meredith wasn't into sharing (I guess this is pretty typical of a 1 year old.) Whenever Owen had something in his hands, she would quickly take it from him. By the end of our play date, Meredith had a pile of toys and video cases that she had snatched from O.
Owen enjoyed dancing with Laura.
Later that afternoon, Kelly and Charlotte asked if we wanted to come by and throw water balloons. After Charlotte busted all the balloons, we went inside to blow bubbles.
Isn't Charlotte the cutest little girl? She is by far the SMARTEST 2 1/2 year old I know!

"B" for Baby

Yesterday Danny and I threw a baby shower for our friends Kelly and Koli. We spent most of Saturday and Sunday morning getting the house, yard and food ready. Danny was such a huge help! He would watch Owen for me while I cleaned and prepared the food I was making and then I would watch Owen while he did yard work. Danny had seen Tyler Florence make a zucchini carpaccio on TV and decided he wanted to make this for the shower, so he and Owen went to Target early Sunday morning to buy a mandolin. It was very tasty (the zucchini, not the mandolin)! Second to the zucchini, the cake was probably the next best thing!

I took one of the plates to our local bakery and had them recreate the giraffe on the cake. I was so excited about how it turned out. The cake tasted as good as it looked!

Here's Kelly and Koli opening one of their gifts.

Me and Kelly

Owen and Kelly's niece, Lauren

Owen really liked playing in the tissue paper

After the shower, Owen practiced his walking in the living room.

and finally, here's a picture of me and the little guy after a long day and just before we went to Moe's for dinner.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

It's official.....football season is here.

Danny informed us last night that football season had begun. So you know what this means, I will not only be a golf widow, but now a football widow as well.

I thought we would kick off the season by putting Owen in his Carolina Panther's Pj's. Thanks to the folks Danny works with, Owen will be outfitted in Pather's gear until he's 2.

*If you click on this picture and look very closly, you can see his second tooth*

Weekend adventures

This past weekend Danny went out of town for a bachelor party,so I thought it would be a great weekend for my mom and I to spend some time together (it was also her birthday weekend). We asked my two aunts, cousin and grandma to come, but my aunt Linda was the only taker.

Mom and Linda arrived around 7:30pm on Friday and Owen and I met them at Blue Sky Cafe for dinner. After dinner we came back to the house and visited. Saturday morning we got up, had a few pots of coffee and then grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at Carrabba's followed by a trip to Target to pick-up a new toy for Owen. On Sunday we drove to Weaverville for breakfast at Stoney Knob Cafe. Danny usually does the driving, so when I got to Weaverville I realized I didn't know what exit to take. After driving around the world, we finally made it to the cafe. We met a very friendly nature photographer (George Humphries) while we were eating.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Grandma & Owen

Owen & Great Auntie Linda

Owen giving mommy kisses

Owen's new toy
(thanks Grandma!)