just the two of us

It's been just Owen and me since last Thursday when Dave left to do field work.  He'll be returning soon though, and we're excited to have him back!  O and I have been doing well, we've been going for lots of walks, have headed to the beach a couple of times, and have been avidly watching the euro cup (not so much Owen on that one...).  I've also been sewing up a storm in the relative cool of the house to avoid the heat wave here.
*I don't know why this first paragraph is all weirdly highlighted...but I give up trying to fix it*

We've been able to video chat with Dave twice since he's been gone, so this has been his view of us!  They mostly camp, but they've stayed 2 nights at a hotel, so he had internet access.  

Owen is always very happy and chatty first thing in the morning!

We've been adding more foods to Owen's diet.  He now eats avocado, sweet potato and peas too!

this was just before his first experience with peas...he did not look quite as happy after the first bite.  Can't say as I blame him really...cooked, pureed peas...blech!

And like I said, I've been busy sewing...so I put my "talent" (such as it is) to some use and sewed up my first diaper!  I've since sewn 2 more, and have supplies coming for more!  They arrive tomorrow!!!

This is what's known in the cloth diapering world as a fitted.  It's just the absorbent part and needs a cover over it.  I made this one a pocket fitted so I can add inserts to increase the absorbency.  Fitteds work better on Owen than a classic flat or prefold diaper...I just can't get those tight enough around his skinny little legs!

I also sewed a pocket with a PUL outer (that's the waterproof stuff) and have more PUL arriving tomorrow.  Plus I've made a couple of wool covers, and a pair of wool shorties out of an old wool sweater of Dave's that was falling apart...wool and fleece are excellent diaper covers as they will take in moisture if they need to, but they don't give it up easily, and they are breathable.  Wool is our go to nighttime cover...haven't had a leak yet!

Sorry this mostly turned into adventures in sewing...as you can tell, I'm pretty excited about my new found diaper sewing skillz.  And it's not that we actually need more diapers, so much as I need a hobby during Owen's nap time...which, by the way, has been on the rise this past week.  He's gone from being a consistent 30min napper, to taking ~2 hour naps for at least 1 if not 2 of his naps!  It's awesome!!  I got to vacuum the house, and clean up the kitchen during the same nap yesterday!!!

rolling!

Owen's rolling continues to improve...which means most of his tummy time photos look something like this these days:

Occasionally he'll hold still long enough for a good one:

note the stringer of drool from mouth to hand

He has also started rolling, on occasion, from back to front, but mostly he just makes it up to his side.  I've found him sleeping rolled over on his side a couple of times now over the past few nights.

This "deer in the headlights" look is an Owen classic!

wanna go ride bikes?

It's been a bike filled week here for us.  Last Sunday was Open Streets, where Lyndale Ave (main commercial strip 3 blocks from our house - think 4th Street for the Calgarians reading this out there) was open to only non-motorized traffic (bicycles, unicycles, tall bikes, strollers, pedestrians, etc) for a 20 block stretch.  We went to check it out for a couple hours and partake in the general merriment of the day.

Then on Friday, there was a criterium over in uptown (about 10 blocks away). S,o we wandered up Friday late afternoon to check out the opening bmx stunt bikes and watch the beginning of the ladies' race before having dinner at a restaurant along the race course. After dinner, we watched the first 15 laps or so of the men's race as we walked back home along the outside of the course.  It was lots of fun...those guys are moving so fast!!

For those of you who remember the movie "Rad",
you'll appreciate that they played "send me an angel"
during the bmx show

Owen had to have a little snooze as we walked home

zooooomm!

And just for the cuteness...

And the ridiculousness....

which way to the beach?

Today, for his 5 month birthday...well, not really so much for his birthday as because at 8pm it is still 32C here, so you can imagine what mid day felt like...we walked over to Lake Calhoun and took Owen for his first swim!  We spent a pleasant mid day at the lake, joined by Nono, Ioana, and Sonia, had a picnic lunch and a little swim before heading home for afternoon nap time.

trunks...check
rashy...check
sunhat...check

Owen was a little unsure at first, so we started out ankle deep.
Ioana and Sonia played in the sand nearby

eventually we moved deeper

energized after the cool water!

Arrested!

Owen and Dave got arrested.  Here are their mug shots.

Owen was arrested for being too cute in public.

Dave for having crazy eyes.

In actuality, we went and got Owen a passport!  He is looking dashingly cute in his passport photo...complete with a drool glistening chin.  Dave had to renew his passport...and his photo really does look a bit like a mugshot.

happenings here

Just a little update on happenings around these parts...told in a picture montage!

Baby Langur and Sophie are very supportive
of tummy time!

tummy time continues...although we are pretty sure he is teething as Owen can't keep his fingers out of his mouth these days, so his tummy time consists a bit more of his head being down on the ground so he can easily gnaw on those fingers!

We have started eating solids!  I was going to wait until closer to 6 months, but at his 4 month appt our pediatrician said he showed all the signs of being ready (holds head steady, supported sitter, interested in our food when we eat), and that we could try in a week or 2, so I waited a week or so and then we gave rice cereal a shot!  The first feeding was really more an exercise in creating cereal goatees, but it's been about a week since then, and Owen has improved...a bit of food now gets swallowed!  He also tried bananas for the first time yesterday!

We practiced sleeping outside, so that he would be prepared to nap while at the beach this summer...it went ok. Flax vigilantly sat guard.

 This is for Auntie Jennie, who sent along his cute onesie!

Owen hated bathtime until he was about 2 months old.  Now he loves it!  Splashing is the best!  And he likes to grab at the water being poured out of his (conveniently positioned) tugboat.

"I'm this big!"

all bundled up!

Fox Family Fun

Owen met some more relatives this weekend as his Gramps and Gran Fox and Aunt Claire came from Birmingham, AL for a visit.  We had a great weekend with them, including walking to Lake Calhoun, a trip to the MIA, and a trip to the farmer's market!