Pittsburgh Zoo

We finally made it to the Pittsburgh Zoo yesterday and it was a great success. The zoo is clean and beautiful, and it wasn't even that big a deal that it was 90+ degrees. I think I want to go back in a couple of weeks with my mom, since Daddy is going back to work next week. YEA!

The sea lions were awesome. We liked listening to them bark. The baby sea lion came to check out the baby Owen. He actually got more from the animals this time. He was pointing at them and yelling. He "got it."

The kangaroos there were slightly less entertaining than the Kangaroo Senior Portraits at Oglebay, but still cool.

Elephants. There is a baby hiding under one of the bigger ones. It was so cute. They were throwing dirt on themselves to cool off because it was so hot. This silverback gorilla (behind the dude in the orange shirt) was just hanging out staring back at the people staring at him. It was pretty awesome, although the gorilla looks ticked.After an outfit change because it was so hot, we had a carousel ride and decided to head home.

It was necessary to stop at Sarris Chocolate Factory on the way home for a milkshake. Owen finally figured out how to use a straw, and he loved Mama's chocolate and banana shake.

The highlight of the trip, was very obviously the polar bear. We were walking under a glass tunnel looking at the sharks, when we realized we were now under the polar bear exhibit. Clint and I were quietly praying that the polar bear, Owen's favorite thing in the world, would make an appearance in the water. After only a couple minutes, he jumped down in the water and started swimming above us. It was so amazing. Owen immediately recognized what it was and started yelling at him and pointing. I managed to get a pretty decent video. This was a few minutes after he came down into the water. Owen is yelling at him and talking almost the entire time. And if you will notice, he's also holding HIS polar bear. I am pretty sure he loved it.

And the trip was all the more awesome because we went up in my new car! :) Last week, I ended up getting a 2010 graphite-colored 4-door Civic. It had 21 miles on it when I bought it. Now it has 350. I love it love it love it.

Some new little things, to distract us from the heavy stuff.

Some recent pictures:

Owey doesn't know what to do... He doesn't like to get his hands dirty.

First time with shaved ice... Don't let that face fool you, he loved it. He sad because I'm taking pictures, not feeding him.

Down at the waterfront.S.S. Volunteer.

In the park in Warwood. I played in this park as a first and second grader.Runnin'Thirsty at the Warwood Pool.

Last weekend, Owey got to have a hot date with his future wife Lily. Their time was spent snuggling on Virginia's lap, having a meal and dancing.

Actually, Lily did NOT want Owen sharing her mama's lap, they both scrambled to get their fair share of raisins, goldfish and a banana. The dancing part was all Lily.

Also, Clint and I made a deal that when he got a job, I could get a car. I wasn't exatly planning on a new car, more like a 3ish year old CRV. However, I went and test drove a brand spanking new Civic today and Mama Like. The payment would be the same for a brand new Civic as a 3-4 year old CRV. I need to figure out what I want.

The brand new Civic is very very very nice. But a CRV would have more space for Owen +1 in the back seat. Since we have no immediate plans to buy a house now, and since Clint is going to be working again, we really need to do this soon. Unless I want to be stuck at home, all day, every day. (no.)

I took a big walk with Owen today. I haven't walked in awhile, so it was good to go. Then after we walked for a half hour, we took a break to play on the mega-playground in downtown Wheeling. Owey liked.

Owen's bedtime! Peace out!

This pretty much made my week.

Over a breakfast of muffins and fruit this morning, Owey decides he is going to hide behind his plate. We play along. He giggles for a solid 15 minutes. You can hear him giggling behind the plate. It was an awesome mommy-moment.

Eating broccoli like a champ!

I love this kid.

When he gets up from his naps, he always looks like a little cherub. Today, it was especially warm in his room during his nap, so he got a little warm. When he gets a little warm, the hair gets a little curlier than usual. I love it, personally.

We say, "allllllll done!" and he's starting to get the hang of it as well. It's pretty much adorable.

I will let you down, I will make you hurt.

Emily and Krista were in town a few months ago. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden, and Emily took this picture of Owey. I love it, he's so cute. He's got a dirty little face, but he was so tired he had to snuggle that puppy. Whenever he's tired, he puts his face down on something soft and sucks his thumb.

The monkey seems to be developing his mind rather quickly these days. I think his size is pretty similar to where he was a month ago, but he's doing things that surprise me every day.

• He gives me five.
• He says "all done!" when he is done being changed.
• The other day I caught him swiping his hands together like he was cleaning them off after touching something dirty.
• If he doesn't want to eat something on his highchair tray, he will hide it under his sippy cup, or grab it and stick down in the seat beside him.
• If he wants me to hold something, he grabs my hand and turns it over and puts whatever it is in my hand.
• He stacks blocks like a champion.
• He treats everything like a telephone when he sees me talking on my cell. He holds remotes up to his ears and says, "hi daddy." The video below is from when he first started doing this - his phone skills are much more sophisticated now.
  

Having a baby is the hardest work I've ever done, but it is also the most rewarding and adventurous experience in the world. Thumbs up for having kids.

The Little Things - There's Nothing Bigger.

Favorite things about my son's first year of life:

• His left thumb is almost always wrinkled up like a raisin, because of how frequently said thumb is inserted in the mouth.

• His eyes are so very blue.

• He's a good eater.

• He likes to swim already.

• His curls are turning into tiny ringlets. I think of him as always having a lot of hair, but even looking back at his 8 and 9 month pictures, his hair is ridiculously long now. He has little wings on the side.




• He's such a good sleeper. I know how thankful I should be about this. He has slept about 12 hours every night since he was 3 months old. I attribute this to the thumb and his bedtime routine.




• He always smells like Neutrogena Rainbath. I bought a ton of that Johnsons Bedtime Bath and all that stuff. They used Rainbath on him in the hospital, and he smelled SO good, that I went and bought an enormous bottle at Sam's Club when he was a month old. It's still 25% full. The Johnsons Bedtime Bath is still in the linen closet.



• Since he has been born, he's only been really sick one time. When he was seven weeks old. I had to spend the night in the hospital with him. Longest night ever. When I think about all the things that can go wrong for children, I thank God that I have a healthy child.




• He hits all his milestones. He has teeth. He talks. He plays. He walks. He bangs stuff together. He's perfect.



• Watching him walk is like seeing a little tiny drunk zombie. It's priceless.

• When he's sleepy, he likes to curl up on something fuzzy and soft, like his polar bear. Or his back-up polar bear that he got for his birthday in case anything ever happens to the original. (that's the polar bear under him...)

• He's so ticklish. Making him giggle from tickling, it reminds me how happy I am to have him. His giggle is infectious.
  
  
• It appears as if his favorite food is meatloaf of all things. He also really likes pears, noodles, carrots, broccoli, graham crackers and gnocchi.
  

• When we read to him, he follows along and "reads" too.
  
  
• His favorite show, (really the only show he pays much attention to) is Little Einsteins. I know all of the songs. They get stuck in my head at work at 3am. I love how he raises his arms when Rocket blasts off. He loves it.
  
  
• He just learned how to give kisses. It's more of an open-mouth head-butt to the face, but... he's learning. And he gives kisses away on demand, so.
  
• He flirts with random women. He still has stranger anxiety, but if he doesn't get too worried, he is all smiles and shy glances. Already a ladie's man. He's going to give the girls some trouble. (Especially that Lily Dilly)...

• Some days he looks like Clint, some days he looks like me. He's the perfect hybrid.

• His learning to walk has been a crazy adventure.

It's been an awesome year.

My little man.

He's making some serious progress. He can pull himself up to standing at the coffee table and at the ottoman. Most days now when we get him out of bed he is standing in his crib. He's also starting to crawl like a champion. It also appears as if he is trying to stand from a crawling position. It's like he is crawling and then he tries to push straight up on all fours. Not quite there yet.

Some cute little things.

This video could be a lot shorter, but I don't have any way of editing it!

He has his 9-month doctor's appointment tomorrow. I can't wait to see how much he weighs.

It's been a long time.

So, the most exciting thing, is that Clint is back to work. He was called back on September 1st and has been working a few weeks now. I'm so relieved. The only downside is that our insurance ran out on August 31, and instead of just continuing once he got called back to work, he had to open a new plan that will not be active until October 1. So we don't have insurance this month, and Owen has been battling a little cold. I'm praying that it doesn't turn into a big cold. We only have 9 more days until we are insured again!

And the kid is 8 months old! I can't believe he's 8 months old. I have given up on taking pictures with the bear, because he will barely sit still long enough to take a picture. I manage to get him every once in a while. Some big milestones this past couple of months include standing (with support), he rolls over extremely well, he can get up all fours and scoot around (not exactly crawling yet, but very close), he makes a lot more noise, he says dada, mama, hi and sometimes he says no. He is very close to pulling himself up in his crib and against the coffee table. He also apparently loves fruit. If I have an apple or nectarine or something, he will actually pull himself up my body to get to the fruit. If I set it down beside or behind me, he will crane his neck around trying to find the fruit.

This was the first time he had the fruit. I was eating a nectarine while getting him ready for his bath. I was holding him and taking a bite of my nectarine, and he leans in his head and starts biting the nectarine at the same time. It was so cute.

This was the apple. I'm trying to get him to eat cut up bananas in his high chair, but he apparently only wants what I'm eating.

The other big news is that I went to Iowa this past weekend. I left really early in the morning on Friday and had a flight out of Pittsburgh. I had a decent sized layover in Detroit, where I had some fantastic lobster bisque. There is a hallway in the detroit airport where the walls are backlit and the colors change according to the music. It's really neat. I arrived in Iowa to be picked up by Christopher, MJ and Nicole. We all hung out at Krista and Emily's apartment for a while. Then I got checked in to the sweetest hotel I have ever stayed at! The Coralville, Iowa Marriot Conference Center is SUCH a nice hotel. I got to have a king sized bed all to myself, flat screen TV, and all the toiletries were from Bath and Body works! The rehearsal went very well, and the dinner was awesome. I ended up reading "A Marriage" by Michael Blumenthal.

Afterwards we all went back to the Herbert Hoover Presidential (Sweet Ass) Suite. I drank a lot of wine and local beer. It was good times. Below is a picture of me and Krista. I'm in love with my pumpkin orange sweater. It was a great night. The next day, I spent most of the day by myself. I didn't really do much except hang out in the hotel room and relax. Had a good lunch in the hotel restaurant, and all of the staff everywhere was so nice. I like Iowa.

The wedding went off without a hitch. I almost cried during my reading, and I definitely cried a lot when they said their vows. Luckily I came prepared with tissues. The reception was at a golf club called the Brown Deer. There were awesome appetizers, open bar, great music. I sat with Nicole, MJ, Jessica, and Krista's cousins. I loved the whole pumpkin and wasabi colored theme. All the little napkins and seating cards and match books and stuff were so cute.

Everyone went back to the room to party a little more, but I was so tired and full from 'racing MJ' and taking advantage of the open bar the last hour of the reception. I went back to the room and took a shower, then got most of my stuff packed up and passed out.

Most of the way home was spent reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Another Rich recommendation. One of these days I will read another book that has not been referred to me. The book was incredible. Tragic. Heartbreaking. Hopeless. An actual EXPERIENCE for a parent. All in all, a good read. I kept crying during the difficult parts and the people sitting next to me on my flights probably thought I was mentally unstable.

When I got home, I was so happy to see my little boy. I missed him so much it was insane. I brought home Wellsburg DiCarlos on the way home from the airport. Yum. I ate kind of poorly over the weekend, but I'm back on track now.

The Wellness Bridge has been fantastic. In one month I lost 11lbs and 12.5 inches from all over my body. Last week alone, I lost almost five pounds. Woohoo!

Some little videos. In both, please excuse my horrible sounding voice. There aren't any excuses...

It's been awhile.

So, it's been a long time since I have updated the blog. I apologize to my faithful reader(s). There have been things going on, but I just haven't felt compelled lately, I don't know why.

Things are no better on Clint's job front, and we are losing our insurance at the end of the month, so that's that.

Owen has been making major strides lately. He says "DaDa" consistently. In fact, we slept in the same room with him last night for the first time in months, and the first thing he said this morning, -- and for several minutes after that -- was Dada. This was earlier this week. The video gets pretty good around the 45 second mark.

He has four teeth now. Top and bottom two. The top two are kind of far apart, and it looks so freaking cute, I can't stand it. They aren't far down enough yet to see unless he smiles really big. I'm sure they will get closer together as other teeth come in, but it looks so funny and cute now, I love it. I want to take him to get professional pictures done soon. Maybe I can twist Laura Jackson Roberts' arm into taking a few artsy ones for me for a small fee.... ?

He also has started standing. I think he is a little late in this development. His buddy Alexander has been standing for months, I think. However, he finally has it, and now he never wants to sit. He will also stand against something by holding on to it. And yes, that's my blue bowl that I made that he is gripping. Everything must come off the coffee table now.

He also loves to roll now. Clint always puts him on his play mat, which I object to now, because it restricts his rolling. But him on a big blanket on the carpet and away he rolls. This means we need to do some serious baby-proofing now that he is on the move. I had him on a blanket on the center of the rug, and when I left the room, he was under his swing. He made good time. I wasn't gone for more than a minute...

Nothing is too exciting for me. I got new glasses. They have zebra print on the inside of them, but I won't hold that against them.

New favorite music - Bon Iver. I love For Emma and Skinny Love. Just over a month before I head to Iowa for the BIG DAY!! So excited! Still reading Cormac McCarthy - The Road. Slow moving, not because the book is slow moving. I am slow moving.

Also somewhat exciting, I'm joining the Wellness Bridge again. I got my old coach back, who I love. I have my first meeting next Wednesday. YES.

ALSO - we went to Columbus to visit Scott and Cristie again yesterday and we figured that Owen was old enough to stay overnight somewhere. Well... although the visit was great, I don't think we will have him spending the night anywhere else for a good long time. They have four (beautiful) kids, who all love Owen, and they are so attentive and interested in him, and they love to play with him, which is so adorable and fun to watch. However, sometime around early evening, after a day of high stimulation and one twenty minute nap, taken completely against his will, he had just had enough. He started crying and didn't stop until he was asleep (about an hour later...) He cried all through his sink bath, all through his getting dressed, took a short break to have his bottle and then I had to let him cry himself to sleep, because he just did not stop crying!! Then, we about had a heart attack when he woke up around 2:30, we were terrified he was going to be up for hours, but it turns out that he had peed out of his diaper somehow (I really need to buy those overnight diapers), and his whole leg was wet. So we got him out, changed his clothes and then put him back to bed, and he went to sleep. Thank God. Then this morning, he reached the end of his fuse right after breakfast, and in an event to calm him down, and give the Kimmins' some peace and quiet, we high-tailed it out of Columbus and Owen was dead asleep in the car after 15 minutes and slept until we were crossing the bridge into Wheeling. UGH. Otherwise we had such a fun time. Clint played with the kids all day, and Cristie and I played with the babies. This morning and all day today I was so exhausted. Clint actually drove home from Columbus (gasp!) and I fell asleep in the car! And I promise, I only had a little bit of Jack Daniels last night! It was just a long fun-filled day.

And today, Steeler (pre)season begins, so if no one hears from Clint until January, that's why...

So many things.

Introducing Lily Kay Dillaman (Owen's future Mrs.) :)

Born June 2, 8lbs, 5oz - 21.5 inches long! Who would have thought Virginia would give birth to a linebacker? I'm so happy for you friend, and I'm glad to hear everything is going well. Can't wait to see you again!!

Owen can sit up for a hot minute before tumbling to the side. I think this will be the next milestone. He is also starting to get the idea of his bouncy/standing thing... seat. He puts his legs down and pushes off -- building up leg strength. Also, he doesn't want to ever lay back and be fed with a bottle. He tries to sit up whenever I lay him back. When he does lay back he tries to hold the bottle himself. He already has two teeth, and his current favorite foods are peas (mainly), squash and applesauce. He doesn't so much like bananas. Speaking of bananas, my new favorite thing is making banana nut bread with chocolate chips in it. Yum.

Clint will be mad that I posted a picture of him wearing his polar bear pants - but I just had to. They were watching TV. I love this picture :)

I did not do a single thing last week - except for read the Twilight Saga. Yes, I got sucked in. I scoffed at it, initially. Then it grabbed ahold of me by the throat and wouldn't let go until I had real all the books. I read a book a day, except for the last one, but HEY, it was 750 pages!!!! The addiction was so bad that I even read Midnight Sun, the alternate version shown from Edward's perspective instead of Bella's (available on Stephanie Meyer's website). Luckily, that is all over, now. Now it's just a matter of holding my breath until all four movies have been made and released.

Work has been pretty good. Friday night we were so busy that I felt like I was working for about 3 hours instead of 12. We had an unbelievable amount of work, and too few staff members. When I left work at 8am, we didn't have a single processor or proofreader. Only two people that I called for help answered the phone, out of about 6. But the rest of the weekend wasn't so busy. I think I could have slept all day Monday. I love having all week off. Clint and I want to go to Columbus soon. My mom and I are planning to go outlet shopping in Washington. All things that would have been reserved for weekends.

I spoke with my BFF Krista the other day -- I'm so excited for September! I'm looking up poems and whatnot, I promise. Why can't you guys live somewhere cool - maybe oceanside... This is the second time I will be going to Iowa in less than two years, and that is two times more than I ever thought I would be in Iowa in my entire life. :)

Clint is still partially laid off, but right now, it's for the third week in a row. I'm starting to worry.

I have a million things to do today.

This is the happiest thing I have ever witnessed, and I get to see it everyday. Clint is bouncing Owey on the bed and giving him kisses. I love being a mommy.

Big things.

May 24, first tooth.

May 25, sat up by himself for a good 30 seconds.

Wow. He's only four and a half months old, and he has a tooth. It's still mostly under the gum, but I can feel it, and if he opens his mouth wide enough you can see the little top of it sticking up. He had been drooling and slobbering and sticking EVERYTHING in his mouth for a few weeks now, and boom. Yesterday morning, I stuck my finger in his mouth, and there it was. My mom said I got my first tooth when I was five and a half months old, and I was under the impression that was early. He had been so crabby last week, totally skipping naps, crying way more than he usually does. One day I even gave him a tiny bit of baby tylenol, because he seemed so uncomfortable. Even his teething rings didn't seem to help. He would chew on them for a few minutes and then just continue to whine. But now that the tooth has shown up, he seems much happier.

He also is so smiley these days, it makes me laugh! He loves having his cheeks kissed loudly. His armpits and neck are extremely ticklish, and he discovered a new favorite thing:

I can't wait to put him in a swimming pool. Before I do that, I need to get him a sun hat to match his crab swim trunks and surf shirt (!), I need to get swimming diapers and baby sunblock.

He is also getting really good at sitting up. He was holding on to my fingers sitting up today and I let go and he didn't topple over. He actually sat up for about 30 seconds. The trouble is he leans forward to get to his feet. In the tub as you can see, he will sit and splash for as long as we let him.

We have also started eating solid foods. His doctor said two weeks of one serving of cereal, and then two weeks of two servings of cereal and then start introducing solids, starting with yellow and orange veggies and then green veggies. I kind of broke the rules. After a few days of plain cereal, he never seemed really interested. After consulting with mom-extraordinaire, Cristie Kimmins, I decided to start mixing veggies in with the cereal, and that, he adores. So far, he loves sweet potatoes and squash, and he isn't sure about carrots or green beans. I'm going to try peas next. I'm going to hold off on fruit for as long as possible, because I heard that once they start fruit, they don't want veggies anymore... He's such a good eater! I thought he was big for his age, but after his 4-month appointment, I guess he is only average size. His BFF Alexander was born 4 days before him, is long and skinny and outweighs Owen by a pound and a half!

Squishy face!

My little blondie.

And, I got a promotion. After two years of being a legal proofreader and document processor, I got promoted to a supervisor. It's not what I thought I would be doing - because it's actually midnights, but it's on the weekend. I work Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8pm to 8am. I trained this past weekend and will start on my own next Friday. I am off Monday at 8am and don't have to be back to work until Friday at 8pm. Clint does his bedtime routine for three nights, and I take a couple naps throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. My mom will watch him only on Mondays, from 8-5, Clint will take him and bring him back, so I can sleep.

I'm ecstatic. As soon as Clint gets back to work full time, things are going to be so fantastic.

Owen's future girlfriend, Lily Dilly, future daughter of Virginia, is being super stubborn and won't turn head down. If she doesn't flip around, Virginia's going to have a c-section on Tuesday, June 2. I'm thinking and praying for you guys! I can't wait to come see you and baby Lily, even if I have major anxiety about driving in Morgantown!!

And Clint and I have decided that Jon and Kate are totally getting divorced.

Ok, Clint is tired, and wants to go to bed, so it's lights out.

Goodnight!