Bernd & Jodi

Happy Birthday Owen!

Jodi — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:31:00 +0000

Yesterday was Owen’s 1st Birthday. He had a great day (I think). I have no idea where the last year went. It seems like we were just barely sitting in the NICU with our new son wishing we could hold him without wires attached to him and wishing we could take him home. And now we have a crazy little one year old that runs around the house and causes all kinds of trouble. We never could have imagined the joy that Owen would bring to our family and our home. We are grateful everyday for our son!

To celebrate Owen’s 1st Birthday we had a small party at our house. Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle came from Kansas to celebrate with us as well as a few others. Owen had so much fun opening presents and eating cake.

Happy Birthday Owen!

4th of July

Jodi — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:19:24 +0000

I’m a little late with this but life has been crazy for us lately. Bernd has been sick for a month, Owen has been getting more teeth, Birthday, funeral, working on the house… Anyway.

The 4th of July is my very favorite holiday. I look forward to it every year. I was so excited to share my love for our country and the celebration of it with Owen this year. We took him to his very first parade and he seemed to really enjoy it. It was kind of nice that he was oblivious to all the candy being thrown, I’m sure next year will probably be different!

We just spent the afternoon at our house letting Bernd rest so he would come to fireworks with us that night. We weren’t sure how Owen would react to the fireworks, if he would be afraid of the loud noises or what. But I was pleasantly surprised when he laid down by Bernd and I and just watched them. He got a little restless and went to go lay down by Papa and Grandma and then spent some time with Jake. But he pretty much watched the entire firework show. I’m hoping that means my son will share my love for fireworks!

I love this country! I feel so blessed to be able to live here and live so freely. I don’t always agree with how people choose to run this country (don’t even get me started) but I appreciate those that have served or currently are serving their country so that I can enjoy my freedom. This is a very blessed land.

Happy Father’s Day!

Jodi — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:41:00 +0000

Happy Father’s Day to the men in our lives. You are the best Father’s, Grandpa’s, Papa’s, and Uncles we could ever ask for. I have always loved Father’s Day because I could celebrate my amazing Dad. Now it means even more to me because I also get to celebrate my son’s amazing Father and my Husband. I love that Owen has two Grandpa’s that love him. It reminds me that I have Grandpa’s that love me and are watching out for me. Even though I’ve never meet them I know that they are always with me.

Happy Father’s Day!

Owen’s Daddy!

Owen’s Papa

Owen’s Grandpa V.

Uncle Josh

Uncle Jake

Uncle Kellan

Great Grandpa V.

Haircut

Jodi — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:08:28 +0000

Owen finally got a haircut today. Anyone that has seen him lately knows it was long past due.

Here are some before pictures

And here are some after pictures

Our baby turned into a little boy.

Update: Potty Training?

Jodi — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:55:34 +0000

Thanks to some great advise from Krystal, bath time has become a lot more pleasant at our house. Now before I put Owen in the bathtub I sit him on the toilet and surprisingly he uses it! I was shocked the first time he actually went to the bathroom in the toilet. We have only had one accident since we started this ritual and that was my fault because I took him off the toilet too soon. Every time he uses the toilet I cheer for him. I don’t know if he really understands why mommy is so happy. But it makes him smile and giggle when I cheer him on.

Thank you Krystal for the advise, I owe you!

Potty Training?

Jodi — Thu, 13 May 2010 21:50:01 +0000

Owen pooped in the toilet today! Now before you start thinking that I have an amazing baby that is potty trained at 9 months let me tell you the whole story.

I have been bathing Owen in the sink since he was born. We have a little sling that fits great in a single basin sink and it worked great for bathing him. But since we moved into our house I have been putting Owen in his bathtub and he loves it!

Now to the story. So every time I put Owen in the bathtub he poops. I don’t know what it is but without fail every time. So this morning I put him in the bathtub with all of his bath toys. I washed his face and cleaned his gums and tooth. I was just about to start washing him and he started making the noises. You parents know what I’m talking about, the noises and the face that indicate that your child is pooping his pants. So to try and avoid having to get Owen out of the tub, cleaning it, and then getting him back in again, I grabbed him and put him on the toilet. Unfortunately I didn’t move as fast as I thought I had and some still got in the tub. I yelled to Bernd to come help me and he came in and found his little 9 month old son sitting on the toilet pooping!

Makes for a funny story, but seriously someone please help me. What can I do to avoid this bathtub pooping? I’m begging you all for your parenting tricks.

P.S. Why is it that every time Owen wears his pink shirt people call him a girl? Yes I realize that pink is generally a girl color but the shirt is clearly male and so is Owen.

Our New House

Jodi — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:52:59 +0000

We moved in to our new house last weekend! Our house hunting story is long (and probably boring to all of you) but we finally found the right house. We have some painting to do so we don’t have everything all set up yet. But we are pretty much done unpacking.

Owen is loving all the room he has to play. He loves climbing up the stairs and walking all around the house. He has also loved pushing boxes and toys all over the house.

It’s good to be home!

9 Months

Jodi — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:14:03 +0000

Owen had his 9 month doctors appointment today. Our little guy is getting so big. Here are his current stats.

Height: 29 in 75%

Weight: 18 lbs 10 oz 25%

Head: 46 cm 75%

The doctor said that Owen is a very health, happy baby. She thinks he is doing great and was very impressed that he was walking around. Owen’s tear duct is still blocked so the doctor referred us to the eye clinic at Primary Children’s Medical Center. She said we could wait a little longer to take him but at this point it’s not likely that it will open on it’s own.

Owen has also cut his first tooth. He handled it pretty well except he hasn’t been sleeping very good which makes for long nights for Mom and Dad.

Owen Playing with Daddy

Jodi — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:22:41 +0000

Owen loves to play with his Dad. In our temporary housing (our friends basement) our living area is in the same room as Bernd’s desk. Owen crawls over to his Dad’s desk all day long and stands up to his chair until he sees him. Dad has a hard time saying no to his little son. So throughout the day Bernd gets on the floor and plays with Owen. We’ll see what happens in a week or so when Daddy has his own office again. Owen will be lost without him!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-75-VpPEjUo

Owen’s First Steps

Bernd — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:59:29 +0000

Owen took his first steps yesterday! We missed getting his first few steps on video but got some shortly after. He seems pretty proud of his accomplishment!