Madeline Island

Over the Memorial Day long weekend we headed up to Madeline Island with some friends.  The island is one of the Apostle Islands in the Wisconsin section of Lake Superior. Owen did pretty well on the 4+ hour drive there and back...and did great on the ferry ride because he got to get out of the car seat for a bit!  The weather was sunny on Friday when we arrived, but fairly cold, windy, and rainy the remainder of the weekend...which didn't keep us all from getting out and enjoying our time!

getting a little energy out before the big car ride

waiting for the ferry to the island

quick photo on the ferry before getting back in the car...
it was cold on the ferry!

feeling the sand between his toes!

looking stylish in his hat and glasses

Tor fell into Lake Superior...brrr!!

MJ wanted to fish like her daddy!

bundled up in his yellow slicker for a
chilly walk on Sunday

family portrait taken on Dave's 43rd birthday!

mmmm.....delicious!

Grandma!

My mom came for a visit this weekend partly to babysit Owen as we had a wedding to attend, but mostly just to have a visit and see us and see how much her grandson has grown since she last saw him at 2 weeks old.  We had a really nice visit, and are so glad she could make the trip; the weather was beautiful so we spent some time hanging out in the backyard, went to the farmer's market, and to the zoo.  Owen enjoyed smiling and chatting with his grandma!

getting our tomato and pepper seedlings
from the farmer's market

with the giraffes at the zoo

hangin' out on the back step with Grandma

what a jaunty chapeau you have!

chillin' with Dad

Eric and Alissa got Owen some sunglasses more his size! I think he's looking pretty bad ass in them.

The Amazing Growin' Owen

Owen had his 4 month checkup this morning, where he received the same series of vaccinations as his 2 month appointment...had a similar post-stick scream and then crash into a big nap while we stopped at the store on the way home.

stats:
                    2months                        4months
height:      22 1/2 " (25%)                  25 5/8" (50-75%)
weight:    5# 6.5oz (2%)                    12# 10oz (5%)
head circ.  37cm (5%)                       40.4cm (10%)
weight to length ratio - off the charts on the long but skinny side!

In sad news, our pediatrician Dr. Wade, is leaving :(  Her husband got a job in Spokane, so they are  moving in July.  If I had been thinking, I would have gotten a picture of Owen with her this morning...but I didn't.  We will have to start seeing one of the other doctor's in the practice...we will miss her!

I tried to buy Owen some sunglasses the other day...now that it is getting on to summertime and all.  These were the smallest I could find at target.  Maybe they'll fit him next summer...

I ordered some others online...so we'll see how those fit.











My Auntie Mich has been scanning in baby photos of my dad, so I snagged a couple from her album to post here (thanks Auntie Mich!).  When Owen was first born I thought he looked a fair bit like my baby picture...perhaps because of his abundance of hair.

Greg (Left - my younger brother and Owen's middle namesake), Me, (center), and Scott (right - my older brother)

But as he grew, he took on what everybody told me was a distinct look like his Dad...my genes were out!  Until I saw my dad's baby pics...Iredale genes are back in! (Grandpa Iredale on left, Owen on right)

Happy Mother's Day!

My first Mother's Day has been fabulous so far.  Dave got up with Owen this morning and they let me sleep in, and I awoke later to a bouquet of flowers in the bedroom and breakfast in bed!  Dave made me banana oatmeal waffles, bacon (aka nature's candy), with yogurt, and coffee ice cream!  Delicious!

occasion appropriate drool catcher

that's not coffee in the mug...it's coffee ice cream!
Dave knows me so well!

Yesterday afternoon we went to our friends' Julia and Ben's place for a little birthday party for Ben.  There were a couple other babies around including the baby of one of the Chinese grad students that works with Ben.  Ning-jun (that is completely just phonetic spelling) was born just 12 days before Owen...but as you can see, is on the complete opposite end of the size scale!

4 months old

Owen turned 4 months old on Wednesday.  I don't have an official update on height and weight yet as his 4 month doctor's appointment is not until this coming Wednesday.  I will update then!  I do, however, have some photos I took this morning.  A couple of weeks ago he started rolling from front to back...but only occasionally, and it seemed almost by accident, as though it really depended on how we set him down on his front.  This morning taking photos he full on rolled by himself 3 times in a row!!  I had to set my camera on the "sport" setting, where it takes a series of photos instead of just one at a time, because he kept moving and rolling too quickly for me to get a good tummy photo!

headed over

"better snap it quick Mom"

action shot

and over!

oh the faces you make!

Owen's happy heiny in his Happy Heiny diaper!

big smiles!

Our week in review

 At the beginning of every fall semester and the end of every spring semester, the UMN Geology dept has a picnic for all the students, faculty, staff, and researchers.  Dave is the faculty member who organizes the picnic and does a great job making grilled goodies for 50+ people.  It's always a good time...and, in the spring at least, almost always rainy.  That picnic was this past Saturday...guess what? It rained!  ;)

"looks like the rain's a comin' ma"

diaper change amongst the empties - note the rain drops
on Dave's sleeve

Owen wore his undergraduate geology society shirt to show his support

And a couple pics just hanging around the house

chillin' with Dad

flying baby!

the mouse briefly took refuge under
the flip flop door stop

And while these are not Owen, this was the most exciting event in the house all week for the cats.  They found a mouse hiding out in the radiator in the front room.  It had tucked itself back in there good where they couldn't reach in to get it.  But they waited it out for a full day and I came down the next morning to find them batting it around...it must have tried to make a run for it in the middle of the night.  I let them play for a couple hours - circle of life and all - then finally rescued the mouse and let it free outside...I think it learned its lesson.

Flax is waiting for it to move so she can pounce again

Baby's first record store

Yesterday was our friend Amy's birthday.  She and her husband moonlight on Tuesdays at a local record store, so she decided to combine work and play and had folks over as they were closing up the store for some beers, food, music, and general birthday hanging out.

keeping an eye on the beer and the register at the front desk

while posed, this does have some truth to it...if Amy were a vampire, babies would be her garlic

lounging with our lovely french friend Audrey

better watch out Tony...my baby is stealing your girlfriend!

while Owen has grown so much since he
was born, you can see he is still pint sized...look
at the hand differences!