Uncle Michael's Visit

Uncle Michael came for a visit last week. We went to the zoo and to Boulder Canyon. We also went for walks around our neighborhood.

He are 2 cute pictures of Michael and Owen. Michael has some cute photos on his camera but we haven't gotten them yet. We'll post them when we do (hint, hint, Michael - send those pics!)

Going to the Zoo

We took Owen to the zoo last Saturday while uncle Michael was visiting. We had a really good time -- the weather wasn't as hot as it had been and we got to see some crazy animals. Owen had a hard time seeing many of the animals due to a combination of tiredness, lack of attention span, and being more interested in nearby things like fences, trees, and other people. But, he did have a very special encounter with a spotted jaguar who was pacing back and forth. Owen followed the jaguar as it walked all over the place.


We got to see some baby animals including this baby giraffe:


And Owen had a close encounter with a wild peacock.


Whew! Good thing that peacock was more interested in looking for food than attacking a harmless baby! :)

Bathtime in the sink

Owen loves hanging out in the sink. He can play while we clean him up...

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Sean's birthday was yesterday. We went up to Breck for the weekend for some fun in the not-so-hot sun! We had a really good time. It was only 85 degrees during the days (highs were in the upper 90s in Boulder all weekend). The nights were cold enough that we had to put Owen in pajamas to sleep and we even put a hat on him one night!! Ahhhh! It was blissful!

We went up on Friday. Owen was in a particularly cheerful mood which we attribute in part to the presence of so many mirrors in the room. We took a cute video from that evening (see "Owen in Breck" below).

On Saturday, Sean and I took Owen to the ranch up on Peak 9. Owen was was pretty curious. He saw a rabbit:

and, a daddy and baby horse (yes, we are sure about the genders of the horses - it was pretty obvious!):
It was really fun to watch Owen. The horses were drawn to him - they kept coming over to the fence to say hi. Owen, despite his sleepiness, had a story to tell them. We took a video (see "Owen and the Horses" below)

On our way home we, of course, had to stop by a stream so Owen could look...

and play...

and take a nap...


I think Sean had a great birthday weekend!


Videos:
Owen in Breck


Owen and the Horses

Ridin' in style

In true Boulder fashion, we bought a bicycle trailer so that we can chauffeur Owen around town. We were so excited about the idea of Sean taking Owen to daycare in the trailer (so he wouldn't have to drive Owen to daycare then drive home to get his bike so he could ride to work). While we were waiting for the trailer to arrive, we decided to look up a good way to harness Owen into the trailer. Bike trailers are made for older children so would it be OK for Owen? We did a lot of research online. I always tell my patients to avoid the internet - it's full of extremes. And that's just what happened when we looked up babies and bike trailers. There were those who swore that it was the best thing ever to be able to take their babies along for long bike rides. And then there were others who were horrified by the potential risks.

So, the bike trailer arrived and we set it up. We still weren't sure we were comfortable putting Owen in it. We figured out a way to strap Owen's carseat in with bungee cords and it seems really secure. And Sean took Owen for a short (about 200 yards) test-drive on the bike path across the street from our house. Owen seemed content in the trailer as this picture shows (Sean looks a bit nervous):

The purpose of this post isn't to debate the risks and benefits of a putting a 6-month old in a bike trailer. I truly believe that you have to do what feels right for you and your child. We decided that we would try taking Owen to daycare one day and see how it felt to Sean. If he was uncomfortable, Sean could always walk his bike and the trailer to daycare. And, since the trailer coverts easily into a stroller, we could always walk Owen home. It's only 1 mile to daycare.

We've had the trailer for 2 weeks now and Owen has ridden in it 3 times to daycare. He doesn't seem to mind and Sean feels that it is safe. The street is very residential with few cars and no potholes. We splurged and bought the trailer with bigger tires to reduce bumpiness.

I'm not really sure why I am babbling on about this. But, I think my reason for wanting to post this is to put down on paper how difficult these little decisions are. When I was pregnant with Owen and when we were shopping for trailers, it never occurred to us that we wouldn't be 100% excited about commuting with Owen by bike. It never occurred to us, living in Boulder and surrounded by parents towing their bike trailers (with and without the kids) that we would question the safety. But when it came down to doing it, we were nervous. We are responsible for another life! That's a lot of pressure! And, I know we'll make mistakes along the way and we're certainly much more cautious than I ever thought we'd be. But, Owen seems to be doing well and that's really all we can wish for.

Ok, enough seriousness. Here's what you are really here to see... some cute pictures of Owen test-driving the bike trailer.

And, we did buy him a helmet. It doesn't fit when he is in his carseat (it pushes his head too far forward) so he doesn't wear it in the trailer but he seems to like wearing it when he is in his jumper:

Falling behind

As Owen gets older and more interactive, we have tons of new photos and videos that we want to share on the blog. Unfortunately, we are also more tired out from keeping the little guy entertained that we have fallen behind in our blogging duties!

So, we apologize for this state of affairs and beg you to stay tuned. We PROMISE to post more as soon as possible. For now, please enjoy this recent picture of Owen playing in his new swimming pool....


We have a really cute video of this day too that we will post soon!

New skill

Owen has learned a new trick... he can now undo the velcro tabs of his diapers by himself!! We find it a very useful skill when we're trying to change his diaper.

It's not so useful when he undoes his diaper in his crib and lets his poop escape! Although, he seemed quite amused with himself...

July 4th in Seattle

Sean, Owen, and I went to Seattle for July 4th. We stayed with our friends Chris, Tammy, and Marley. Uncle Andrew was there too. Here is a cute picture of Owen and "The Godfather":



Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures with Chris and Tammy and Marley so you'll just have to take our word for it that we had a GREAT time. Thank you Laws family for letting us stay with you!!!

Other than seeing the Lawses, the reason for our short visit (we left Thursday, came back on Saturday) was POTLATCH, a 3-day annual ultimate frisbee tournament. Sean was excited to be on the fields with his old team (even if he only got to play for 1 day).

As per tradition, "Time Warped" (aka Warped Disk) was decked out in hawaiian attire:


Even Owen dressed up in case he was needed as a sub or just to show his team spirit on the side-lines with me...


And to make sure he was ready to jump if needed, we bought Owen his first disc and showed his some moves:

Of course, he preferred to chew on the disc rather than throw it, but it's a start! All that chomping on the disc and watching daddy run made Owen quite sleepy and he enjoyed a nice nap in the snuggly at the fields. It was a beautiful Seattle day!


It was a short trip but quite fun. Owen is so much more aware of his surroundings and seems to love exploring new places. He had a great time waiting for our flight home. He got to watch our plane taxi to the gate from his perch on Sean's shoulders:


And, since our flight was empty (for a nice change) Owen got his own seat, which he LOVED (and it gave mommy and daddy a nice break since we didn't have to hold him when he fell asleep soon after take-off)...


It was a fun trip and we hope that we get to see our Seattle friends again soon! Next time, we promise to stay longer so that we can see everybody (sorry we missed you this time, Fireball!) and so that we can take Owen canoeing on Lake Washington, hiking up Mt. Rainier, and to Aqua Verde for fish tacos!


ps - This post is in green because it's our 100th!

Another water picture

Here is a really cute picture of Owen enjoying watering the garden with his daddy. I love this action shot!

6 months old!

Owen is 6 months old today!


He is a lot different from the tiny lump he started off as:


He has more than doubled in weight, he is much taller, he smiles, looks around, rolls over, makes weird sounds. In fact, he is like a dog in some ways! It's hard for us to believe that he is already half a year old after only 6 months....