Durham, part 2

We got home from Durham on Monday, and Owen did just as well on the return flight!  The day before we left the three of us went and wandered around Duke Gardens (the botanical gardens) for a bit.  This trip was great...Owen did amazingly well travelling and being toted around all day, and out to restaurants every night.  We are so lucky to have such a mellow, easy little guy!!  Here are the remaining pics from our trip!

"waiting for Daddy and his friends can be so tiring!"
Most days Owen and I would walk the couple of miles from the hotel to where Dave and his colleagues were to either join them for lunch or meet up with them before dinner.  This usually meant a bit of waiting around time while they wrapped things up.

 Owen mostly slept his way through the gardens

 

I love a Japanese garden

close enough

sporting his Tony fauxHawk

sound asleep on the plane ride home!

first flight!

We are currently in Durham, NC.  Dave has a work thing, so Owen and I decided to go along!  Owen did great on his first plane ride (Wed, March 21).  We fed him on takeoff, then he slept for the entire flight and was busy sucking on his pacifier for landing.  Oddly enough we were sitting next to another couple with a 5 month old who were also on their first flight with the baby!

bored waiting to board

 We brought along Owen's co-sleeper for the trip.  We have never actually used it for the manufactured purpose of co-sleeping, partly because there is just not room in our queen size bed for 3 humans (even if one of them is pint sized) and two cats, and partly because Owen is a very noisy sleeper and I'm a relatively light sleeper which makes for a bad sleep combination if room sharing. But he was so small when he was born that I felt (and who knows if this is true) that he wasn't sleeping well in his crib because he was so immensely dwarfed by it, so we bought the cosleeper and put it inside his crib so that he had a bed more his size...making for a bit cozier sleeping situation.  He has basically outgrown it now, but it has been the perfect thing to bring along with us on this trip!  He has his own bed and there is no danger of him rolling anywhere in the night...plus it's light and it folds up small enough to pack in the suitcase...the perfect "travel with baby" item for the 0-3 month old!

Owen's bed within a bed!!

GiGi the Giraffe made the trip too...she watches over Owen at night...
and she plays white noise...it's a win-win!

having a kick on the makeshift changing table

we've been going on lots of walks and his
monkey blanket does great as a sun shade!

"caution, I bite!"

smiles are a common occurrence these days...I love his little
toothless grins!

taking a break from the heat of the afternoon
to lounge in the a/c of the hotel room

St. Paddy's Day!

We had an amazing afternoon at Lars and Elissa's for St. Paddy's Day yesterday.  The weather was a record setting 80F (27C)...a beautiful day for grilling a corned beef!

"Hey  Home Slice"
his hat from cousin Will is still a bit big and spins
around on his head randomly

napping with Annia

Tummy time!

tummy time can be so hard...

good thing there are helping hands!

and some gratuitous cuteness...

 

smiles to frowns so quickly!  But even the frowns are cute!

"Blue Bear" was retired, but "Big Green" is alive!  Supposedly this fits 7-12 lb babies...there is no way this would have fit at 7!  It's still too big at 9!  And this is possibly the last time he'll wear it as the temps have been in the teens (celcius) all week!

little monkey

my little monkey

Flax attempts to teach Owen how to sit...

and how to roll over.
He's not quite that advanced yet though.

lions, tigers, and bears...oh my!

Owen and I joined some friends for his first zoo trip this morning (Dave had to work)!  It was a beautiful, sunny 14C day here...perfect zoo weather!  We went to the free/donation supported zoo in St. Paul, so it's small and not a waste if you leave without seeing everything...perfect for a trip with infants and toddlers!
He was awake for our first stop at the primate house, and seemed pretty enthralled with the spider monkeys...although he could very well have just been staring at the lights on the ceiling of their enclosure...he has become quite enamored with lights lately.  After that he dozed his way through the remainder, waking every so often to check out the scene.

Owen cozy in the stroller with Elissa, Lars, and Tor

Aaron stroller watches while Allison MJ wrangles

sleeping through the bear exhibit

sleeping through the cougar cage

"my what a monster eyeball you have"
"all the better to see the animals with Mom!"

Happy 2 month birthday peanut!

Owen is 2 months old today, and we just got back from his 2 month visit with the pediatrician, where he received a series of vaccinations (Diptheria/tetanus/pertussis,  HepB, hemo-something influenza, polio, pneumococcus, and rotavirus).  It was 3 shots and one oral vaccination.  He did great! A brief scream, but he settled pretty quickly following the pricks, then slept soundly for the ride home and quick stop at the grocery store.


stats:
                   4 days old                      2months old
height:     18 3/4" (10-25%)              22 1/2" (25%)
weight:      5# 6.5oz (2%)                   9# 1oz (2%)
head circ.   31 7/8" (2%)                    37" (5%)                           he's long and skinny!

Milestones achieved:
holds head temporarily erect when upright (although he has basically been doing this since birth - note the small head size.  Doctor commented he was very strong!!)
smiles! (this is the best milestone!!!)
coos/vocalizes (this is a close second best milestone)
tracks objects/watches your face when you are in his line of sight

2 months old - he is beginning to actually fit the car seat

4 days old

sleeper from Great Aunt Liz and Great Uncle Frank

I have deemed 2 months to be the dino birthday! Here is Owen in all of his dinosaur themed outfits...unfortunately (or I guess fortunately because it means he is growing) he no longer fits in the dino sleeper from Grandma and Grandpa Iredale...so we lost one dino outfit this month, but gained two!

"Wazzup, homies?"

transitioning to real clothes...we're not just in sleepers anymore Toto!
thanks L, E & T!

best cuddler ever!

catnapping with Dad before dinner
this photo has oddly soft Thomas Kincaid light...not sure how we managed that!

this is the last outing for "blue bear" as we call it.  we have to move on to bigger outerwear   : (

toys!!

 I made a makeshift activity centre for Owen out of a pvc arch and one of those coily stroller toys earlier this week.  Now that he can see a little farther, dangling things in front of him entertains him...at least for a little while!

spastically flailing in his early attempts at coordination

"I see you looking at me Mr. Ladybug"

"I don't know about this anymore"

"Get me outta here!"

Catholic school girl?

I have mostly been dressing Owen in sleepers...partly because they are easy, partly because they are cute, but mostly because they are the only clothes we have for him that fit until he gets a bit bigger. However, he does have a total of 2 fleecy outfits that are not footed sleepers (one he came home from the hospital in, the other he just received from his Auntie Jennie)...the problem is that they are not footed!  Why baby clothes companies would ever make non-footed clothing for kids under the age of, I dunno, 3 months? 6months? is beyond me!  Because tiny little socks just don't stay on tiny little feet, and winter babies need something covering their feet.  So today, I came up with a solution.  From the outside this looks normal:

little white socks to match a little white outfit...

but secretly, they are the baby equivalent of catholic school girl knee socks!  They look ridiculous on their own, but they don't get kicked off within 20 seconds of being dressed!

We also took a little trip down to the Hennepin County Govt Office this morning to get Owen's birth certificate.  Owen was clearly enthralled with the lightning pace of business in the government office...

That being said, he looks like that most anytime he gets into his carseat.  Like last weekend when we went for a beautiful Sunday afternoon walk with Lars, Elissa, and Tor to Lake Calhoun and back.

Wonder twin stroller powers activate!

I can't wait until Owen is a bit bigger so we can actually use the running stroller for its intended purpose!