for Gramma and Papa

Ever wish you could just stick your thumb in your mouth, cuddle up with your mama, and rest for a while? I know my Gram and Papa (Owen's greats!) feel this way right now, both under the weather, and I hope they will follow Owen's lead...find some comfort and lay low for a bit. We love you both and hope you feel better soon. And Papa, Owen says his thumb is chocolate today. ;-)

6-7 month update

It's probably obvious from my lack of posting lately how busy these 6th and 7th months have been.  We've been busy with work, holidays, and foot surgery for Katie, and Owen's just been busy growing. He's still pretty small on the percentile scale, but he looks just right to us and the doctor is happy. At six months, he weighed 15 lbs, 12.5 oz, putting him in the 17th%, and 25 3/4 inches long, in the 14th%.  His head continues to rank high at 44.5 cm circumference and 81% - full of brains! 

Speaking of brains, we have seen lots of progress in Owen's development these last two months.  He pays close attention to toys and items he sees us holding (to our chagrin, he already loves phone and computer screens) and has become very adept at grabbing things and passing them between his hands. He definitely has some favorite toys - he loves Sophie the giraffe, his little boom box as we call it, and a teddy bear that plays peek-a-boo with him.  He is so responsive to us now and can easily be cheered up by some goofy parental antics. We don't hear too much giggling yet, but it is a joyful sound, even if rare! One of Owen's favorite times of day is when Kyle gets home and takes him to the basement for some guitar music. 

He has had his first few bouts of illness recently.  He had a little stomach bug in November that cleared up within a few days, and currently has an ear infection and a nasty cold, with a fever on top. He has trouble sleeping because of his congestion and keeps tugging at his poor little infected ear.  We are giving him extra snuggles and praying he feels better soon! He got his first prescription..."the pink stuff" (amoxycillin) that I always hated as a kid! 

Sleep, in general, is going fine. At his six month appointment, our doctor said we should try to cut out his 4 AM feeding, and we agreed to give it until January or so until we got serious about it.  He must have understood the doctor though, because the next night and nearly every night since he has slept past 6 AM.  Bedtime has become more challenging, though - we know we need to establish a better routine and find just the right time, but I continue to nurse him almost to sleep until things normalize around the house a little bit (it's pretty exciting right now with Aunt Tera, Uncle Brett, cousin Daphne and doggie pal Gertie living with us temporarily). 

Owen is on the verge of crawling, which is why I had my foot surgery when I did! He can get himself up onto all fours and rock, but he hasn't quite coordinated moving his arms and legs yet.  He can also stand on his own for a few seconds, leaning against a low table or steady chair. 

Overall, he continues to get cuter and even more loveable!  That's not to say that we don't have plenty of challenging moments, but they are all worth it for one of his huge toothless grins.