Year One : 2001 - 2002
Picture archived here.
Owen has hit some major milestones in the past couple of weeks. First, he will give you a kiss if you ask him - showing he is beginning to understand language. Sunday before last Yvonne came into the bedroom to see Owen kneeling in the crib and holding onto the head-rail. This was the first time we've found that he could pull himself up. Later in the week she found him actually standing in his crib. A few short hours after seeing him kneel she saw him crawling across the floor. Not just rolling and maneuvering around to get to where he wants. It's more of a military crawl, dragging his body behind as he drags forward with his elbow and hand. He is very quick and into absolutely everything. Yvonne notes he managed to get from the crawling position to a seated position on his own recently. All this, of course, means we can't leave him out of our sight for a second. He is particularly interested in Monty's waterbowl as he heads straight for it whenever he sees it. His latest game is to drop things onto the floor either to watch them drop, or to make us get it for him. This he finds particularly amusing, especially when shopping where he'll purposely throw things out of the cart and laugh hysterically. He's had his first Christmas and just sat and watched as Yvonne opened his presents for him. He became obsessed with a blue book (his favorite color, it appears) and refused to put it down, even when being changed for bed. On Christmas day Yvonne swears she heard him point at me and say "Daddy." I was deeply engrossed in a program so I missed it, but we're working on getting him to do it again. Hopefully we'll have video of this next month. Other big news is that we've finally begun building the new room. See the Renovation section for progress and photos. - Added new photos
Picture archived here.
Ok, so we're a little late with this one. For Owen's first Halloween we dressed him - like pretty much every other little boy out there - as Spider-Man and was met with squeals of delight whenever someone peeked behind me at the door and saw him sitting on Yvonne's lap. (monty continued his tradition of being Count Monty of Cristo). There is another, better picture in the Photos section. Owen has crossed over from being a baby to being a little boy now. Meanwhile, things continue as normal. His diet has expanded to a slightly broader range of baby foods and we now put a few Cheerios in front of him which he picks up very daintily and attempts to put in his mouth. Yvonne has begun preparing her own food - buying sweet potatoes and mashing them up, or mashing leftover carrots and green beans for him. He loves to play "Where's Owen" ~ we put a towel over his head and he whips it off, giggling. He'll even yank it off us and his toys. Tooth number five came in and this was a little more troublesome than the previous four - lasting a full two days rather than one. Tooth six appears to be on the verge. Much to Yvonne's dismay, he has begun grinding what teeth he has. While not technically crawling he is certainly mobile on his belly. Usually he'll push himself backwards, but he'll utilize rolling to get at whatever he's aiming for. Only a matter of time before we'll have to cage him up while we take showers, etc. He has also begun to rock to music. The Proclaimers "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" was an early favorite and never fails to get his attention. He's also fond of a few tracks from the new George Harrison album. He is terrified of the vacuum all of a sudden for some reason but doesn't to react to other loud noises. Good news is that after nearly a freaking year we will finally begin building our extension to the house on Monday the 2nd! - Added new photos
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Owen has become quite the chatterbox lately. While previously he would only test his vocal chords by making various sounds in various pitches (deep throat growling, high pitched screeching, etc), he is now apparently mimicking the way we speak. Video of this, as well as his raspberry blowing, can be seen in the video section. Latest developments include:
Picture archived here.
Owen has just had his six month anniversary! The biggest news right now is that his first tooth has come in (see Photos section). A tiny little nubbin of white hardness whose arrival ends the period in which we would let Owen grab our fingers and put them in his mouth whenever he felt like it. Actually, his second tooth just came in this morning. In the photo you can see the 2nd tooth just ready to pop through. Owen also had his first earthquake on the morning of his sixth month anniversary. I can't believe I haven't mentioned in the last couple of updates, but he loves to stand. Assisted, of course, but he prefers it to laying down. We've taken to leaning him up against the coffee table where he just stands there, reaching about. His hair has started to grow back, although not as dark as it originally was. Time will tell if it will grow back as thick as mine or thin like Yvonne's. His eyes are still a dark blue, however. - Added new photos
Picture archived here.
This update marks the one year anniversary of our first ultra-sound. This time last year he was only two inches long. Now he's over two feet! Owen has had his first real vacation. We went to Wisconsin to see my side of the family. Of the four hour flight out there, Owen slept for 3.5 hours. He didn't sleep as much on the way back but he was still well behaved and never cried (unlike the dozen other babies on the flight with us). He loved all the attention he received from his nieces and being passed around at the family events. He met his new cousin, Ella, who is three weeks younger, and his future friend, Ryan, who is six weeks older. Owen has just started on spoon feeding. He fights it at first but eventually gets the idea. Yvonne says the trick is to not do it when he's starving. He insists on grabbing onto the spoon as soon as it comes near his mouth, then he sucks off the cereal. Meanwhile he has started this thing of going stiff. You hold him on your lap and he locks his legs straight and goes completely rigid and it's like holding onto a board. You lay him on the floor and he arches his back so only his head and feet touch the ground. Then he starts grunting because he can't understand why he keeps slipping off the pillows. As far as the renovations go, looks like we'll finally begin work near the end of this month. The final plans should be with the city right now for final approval. Approx. two weeks after that we can begin construction. - Added new photos
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Owen has begun laughing up a storm. Anything will set him off - a burp from Daddy, a weird noise, saying a word a certain way... And, of course, repeating the same thing immediately just makes him laugh again. He loves to be startled - he jumps, then laughs. He likes loud noises on the TV. When I watch a scary program he watches the screen enthralled. Sometimes he'll vocalize at a scary sound. See the video section. Owen's hair has begun to grow back. Just a bit of peach fuzz now but it should grow pretty quickly. His eyes are still blue and we're hoping they will remain that way, but he still has a little over a month to go before it can be considered permanent. He likes to grip things, squeeze them, and, yes, stick them in his mouth. Even simple things like a store receipt fascinates him. He has just the beginnings of his first teeth. You can feel the ridge when you rub his gums and he drools a little more than he used to, but he's not quite ready. Monty seems to be a tad jealous now. He doesn't like it when we leave with Owen and he has to stay home. We've started to take him with us as often as possible -- taking Yvonne to work, or going to the store while one of us waits in the car. He seems to be happy about this but now whenever he sees the car seat he runs and waits by the car. But, beyond that, there isn't any resentment towards Owen at all (see photo section). In fact, he loves to play with Owen's socks. I found a pair behind the futon where he likes to sleep in the morning. We'll be taking our first vacation with Owen this week. Flying out to Chicago / Milwaukee / Madison so Owen can meet the rest of his family. - Added video of Owen laughing (revised from original posting 7/18/02)
Picture archived here.
I don't know... he's looking a little sly there... Do they make Rogaine for Babies? Owen is losing his hair in great clumps! Just tonight Yvonne gave him a bath and was brushing his hair and the brush was covered with the stuff. Anyway, things are going great. I was still having trouble getting Owen to sleep at a regular time, but then we realized he would regularly nap in the mornings about the time Yvonne would leave for work. So I started putting him down shortly after she'd leave and hopped into bed myself. We usually get about 60-90 mins out of this, sometimes as much as two hours! This is a good recharge for me. I still nap when Yvonne gets home from work. He is getting better at supporting his head and seems to get frustrated if we keep him on his back so we prop him up to a sitting position as much as possible. Owen has had two more babysitting sessions - both in the same day - and he pretty much slept through both of them. Perhaps the most exciting development is that he is starting to "talk" much more often. Previously it was just the occasional gurgle but now he sits there gabbing away. I recently managed to capture some of this on the video camera. You can find a brief segment of this in the Photos and Videos section. I've also added two pages of photos, including photos of Grandma and Grandpa Gutierrez on their first meeting. House remodeling is just around the corner. We are just awaiting the city's final approval on the revised plans. - Added two pages of photos
Picture archived here.
Haven't had much time to do any updates for the last few weeks. A lot going on I won't get into, plus the fact that there's not a lot to say about a baby that just lays there, sleeps and poops. Yvonne has returned to work full time now. She went part time for the first few weeks back to get us all adjusted to the new schedule. Owen sleeps for eight hours now, waking up just in time for his morning feeding and leaving time for Yvonne to get ready for work before I come home to take the morning shift. I try to get Owen to take a nap around 2pm (when I'm ready for bed as well) so by the time Yvonne gets home from work he's just waking up and ready for another feeding. He has begun smiling a lot when he sees us, which is always a thrill each time we see it. I really need to get a picture of that. We got him his first passport. Poor kid is going to be stuck with a passport picture of him at four weeks until he's five! And it's your typical, horrible, looks nothing like him, passport photo too. Monty continues to grow more fond of Owen each day. In fact, when we come home the first one he greets when we come through the door is Owen in his car seat. When Owen is on his play gym Monty will inevitably lay near him, sometimes resting part of his body on the gym itself. He gives Owen lots of kisses these days. We try to get him to not kiss Owen's face so instead he licks his hands. He also comes running if he hears Owen fussing. He still gets depressed when people come over and immediately turn their attention to Owen rather than himself as he's used to so. He sits by the fireplace with his back to us. Owen also had his first babysitter while we went to a concert. During the practice feeding before we left Owen refused to take the bottle from anyone other than Yvonne, but after we left he was perfectly content and slept most of the evening. Our remodeling of the house is finally on track. Plans are currently with the city for review and pending any unforeseen changes, we should begin construction within the month. - New photos added
Picture archived here.
You know, saying that is probably a really bad idea. Three weeks into it and Owen is still a very passive baby. Our pediatrician told us not to bother waking him up every four hours overnight -- "He'll let you know if he's hungry" -- so we don't. He usually passes out around 9.30p and wakes up around 2-3am for feeding then back to sleep. He still never cries. At worst he fidgets when he wants something, like if he drops his pacifier or wants to be held. We taught Monty not to bark and instead he huffs air at us when he wants our attention. Maybe this rubbed off. Yvonne's parents were in town over the last week and they never heard him cry. Monty has accepted Owen as a new part of life but has yet to accept him as a member of the family. He'll wander up and sniff around but doesn't really go near Owen unless we're with the baby. In recent days he has made a few tentative licks at Owen's forehead and hands. So, really, there's not much to say. He pretty much just lays there and looks around, taking in the scenery. Oh, yeah, he digs the Beatles. Cries when the cd stops. What's new on the site:
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I love that picture. Just a fluke. I was trying to get a good tight close-up shot of his face because there was good lighting and he just started crying. Yvonne and Owen came home on March 4th. So far everything has been going great. Owen rarely cries. He either eats, sleeps, poops (is it supposed to sound like a cannon shot?), or just lies there staring at you. He has started smiling, usually when he is just about to fall asleep. He seems most comfortable with his hands raised over his shoulders, which is how he was mostly seen in the ultrasounds. Yvonne has been getting plenty of rest -- Owen knows when it's night time and he falls asleep for his suggested four hours between feedings. Monty has been a very good dog as well. Just tonight, for the first time, he curled up against Owen as we all lay on the floor. More photos have been added to the Photos section, and there is also a new Video section. The first video up is actually just a test shot, I intended to do something nicer but just never thought of it at the right time. There is no audio. Big thanks to all those who have sent gifts or flowers. They are all very much appreciated. Other changes: The Guestbook finally works, no thanks to Bravenet, who lost all my information. Also, I've changed the timer to days only.
Picture archived here.
Meet Owen Patrick. Born March 2nd 2002 at 11.11pm weighing in at 7lbs 12oz. Yvonne's last doctor's appointment was on Feb 28th and Owen still hadn't dropped yet so induction was scheduled for March 6th. However, at 6.30am Saturday Yvonne began to feel the contractions. When they hadn't let up, and began increasing by 1pm we decided to call the doctor who advised us to come in. Things went pretty quickly after that, considering. While the baby hadn't fully dropped and Yvonne's cervix hadn't dilated to the expected levels when we arrived all it took was a little walking around. Shortly thereafter her water broke. She was given a drug to help speed things along. Owen dropped and the cervix dilated in record time. Yvonne was given an epidural to ease the pain of contractions and when it began too much for her we called in a nurse to assist with the pushing. Don't ask me how long this went on for, maybe 30-45 minutes, but you see the results. Both Owen and Yvonne are resting and doing great. More photos can be seen in the Photos section. Please note that there is also a new guestbook available. At this writing it seems the website hosting it has been temporarily shut down (typical) but should be back up within a day or so.
