Autumn

I have always liked calling fall "Autumn." I think it's because Autumn is a beautiful word that could be a name for a girl as well. It's also kind of confusing to spell which adds to its allure. I am known for pretty much hating every season that isn't end-of-spring-when-it's-practically-summer and summer. I am just a warm weather kind of gal. I thought that having a baby would bring new meaning to each season and perhaps it has on a few occasions, but for the most part, fall and winter are still the seasons where everything is getting ready to die or it's dead and covered under six feet of ice.

I may have exaggerated a little.

Joni Mitchell perfectly describes this time of year in her song "Urge for Going." She sings,

Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying and all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and a-racing on before the snow
They've got the urge for going, they've got the wings so they can go

Sometimes I feel like going. I'd love to forget that Spokane isn't a green, sunny, warm city and live in a perpetually tan state of being. Perhaps this is one reason why I am so excited to go to Hawaii next week. Ha.

JJ, Owen, and I will be heading to the tropical island of Kauai for 11 days. He is performing his beautiful cousin's wedding (at the end of an 11 mile hike along the Na Pali coastline, of course) while I hang back and enjoy the beach for a couple of days with little Owen. I badly wish that I could take the hike with Owen and while I have ignored advice to not do dangerous things in the past (like go to Romania after two weeks of bed rest), I am going to trust my gut and sit this one out. I just got to thinking that the "pack it in, pack it out" rule with diapers might be a little much for me and mother nature to handle. Add the daily rain storms, wild goats, and undrinkable water, plus a crying, pooping, needing to eat every three to four hours baby and you've got yourselves a disaster, folks. So, I will work on my tan while Owen works on eating sand and by the time JJ gets back from his hike, Owen and I will be rested up and ready to take care of JJ's aching body. But he only gets ONE DAY to rest. Then we are off to enjoy the island before it disappears in time. Oh wait, that only happens on LOST. I only hope that if the island does skip through time, that we are still on it and it lands sometime in the 70s. I'm just saying.

Anyway, here are some highlights of the fall so far. Hopefully, it will appear that I am not such a spoil sport when it comes to this change of season. Owen and I have been feeding squirrels and going for some walks. Owen is also rolling over now which provides at least 5 minutes of fun for us before he freaks out.

JJ and our nephew, Chase at Greenbluff, looking for the perfect peaches
Chase LOVES Owen and is so good with him

Riding the truck out to get peaches

Owen napped the whole time and didn't get to eat a single peach!


Owen and dad having a good laugh

Owen and I have started feeding squirrels and we watch them from our big window
He was particularly excited about them this day


Grammy got a good picture of Owen laughing, but I think he was rehearsing for his lion Halloween costume


Uncle Matt had to work for a few days in Spokane, so he came for a visit


Owen, reading a book on a cold day


He loves looking outside and sometimes, if you take him away from the window he is inconsolable (as Grammy found out) until you bring him right back


A tired little lion, after a Halloween party

Times, They are a Changin'

Just when I think that I am getting bored being home with Owen, he does something so incredible I could just sit and watch him all day.

The past two weeks, he has turned into OWEN. I don't know how else to explain it, but I feel like he isn't just some gelatinous Gerber creature who could be anyone's kid. He's totally got a personality and he definitely has my heart in his hands!

First of all, I have kind of figured him out for the most part. There were two days where he reacted to whatever and I responded and it made him stop crying. It was magical. Then it kept happening. It was like guessing the right door on a game show every single time and the prize was (instead of a brand new car) a super happy baby or some peace and quiet. This kid was like putty in my hands, falling asleep the second I picked him up.

He is sitting up, leaned forward on his own and when I pull him from a laying down position to standing he holds his head up. This is totally normal, but I am proud of him nonetheless. He loves to stand and push off my lap with his chubby little feet. My arms are getting tired!

Next, he started being able to see himself in the mirror. Maybe he always did but he was thinking, "Who is this gelatinous Gerber creature?"

Well, now he looks at himself and at me in the mirror and (onto his next new trick). . .

LAUGHS

To hear his giggles and squeals make my heart melt. My soul purpose in interacting with him is to hear that little laugh again. Occasionally, it turns into a blood-curdling scream and I'm not totally sure what that's all about, but I get the feeling he doesn't know either. He is talking a lot and if I play a video of himself talking, he starts talking back at it. I have some cute video, but I can't get it to upload in less than three days because I am apparently and idiot. I'll try again some other time.

Last, but not least, Owen has slept through the night twice. Like, really through a normal night. Not from 5 t0 1, but from 10 to 6 or 11 to 7. It was nice, but I'm still exhausted. JJ's response to my need for a nap and my general grogginess went something like this:

Sort of.

I get that all of these things are not surprising to anyone especially bank tellers, grocery clerks, gas station attendants or pretty much all the other unsuspecting and innocent bystanders who I tell. They are normal milestones that Owen has never done and that's why I'm bothering telling you so. Oh no. That's a line from Dr. Seuss.

I wish, I wish, I wish I were a fish!

We took little Owen to the Y to swim for the very first time and he LOVED it. We have a little fish on our hands. Or fins.

He was so calm in the water, he almost fell asleep. He might have, too if I hadn't accidentally and suddenly plunged him into the water. Whoops. Mom of the Year. He's like a bar of soap when you get him wet. After the initial shock of being forsaken and abused by his young and inexperienced mother, he was again on his back splashing around as if to say, "I remember this watery feeling, but it was a lot less roomy and there were no old men in Speedos to contend with."

Getting his new swim trunks on

He's checking out the water

This was right before he was accidentally submerged (see video below)

Not so slippery in dad's big, strong arms

Tired after a long swim

Next week, the butterfly stroke