Life Just Gets More Fun!

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Life with Owen gets more fun each and every day. He smiles all the time and talks in his own little language constantly. New sounds and pitches come out of his mouth daily. He still loves his bath time and for some reason talks non-stop as soon as we take him out and put him in his towel. I think he likes the freedom of no diaper and no clothing. :) He is moving on to 3-6 month clothing and seems to be getting bigger by the day.

With the warmer weather we have been having, Owen has gotten to go on his share of runs with the jogging stroller. One of the best parts about running for me is getting to listen to music on my ipod. I love running, but I love music even more. My favorite thing is to download a new cd and head out for a run to discover what the music will gift to my listening ears. I lose all track of time and sort of forget I am even pounding my feet on the pavement. As I thought about this, I realized life with Owen is much like going out for one of my favorite runs. When I go into his room every morning he looks up at me and smiles. I smile back and realize that the day ahead is like a new song being unfolded in front of me. I am not sure what it will sound like but I know Owen will do new things and I will get to discover more of his sweet personality. I may love music, but oh little Owen how I love you so much more...........your song is sweeter than any I have ever heard before.

Tales From A Bathroom Floor.........

Our little O is 2.5 months old! There are moments at 2 a.m. when you feel like time drags on and you will never get sleep again. But then I look back and can't believe my son is almost 3 months old. Time does go by fast......most of the time.

Owen gave us his first real smile at 6 weeks and hasn't stopped since. He has started making fun cooing noises and loves laying under his jungle gym play set. Who knew staring at dangling things and hitting your hands against them could be so fun?! He has also started sleeping like a champ. Last night he slept from 8:45 to 5:45 and then went back to sleep after he ate until 8:45! Lets hope this continues.

He still has some fussy periods each day. He has what we call "special places" in our house. These are the places that calm him down when he is fussy. One of these places is on a fluffy rug on our bathroom floor while the bathtub water is running. As soon as you lay him in there he calms down. One day as I laid beside on the floor I wondered why he liked this so much. I discovered that when you lay on the floor you can feel and hear the vibration of the water running through the pipes below the floor. Apparently O loves this sound and feeling. One night he was super fussy as we got ready for dinner. I picked up Owen and told Bri to grab our salads and meet me in the bathroom. We ended up eating dinner as Owen happily lay on the bathroom rug. I realized that I would do anything for this little guy but also would do crazy things for a moment of peace and quiet and an uninterrupted dinner. :)

Some days I have wondered if I could be enough for my son. What if I made or make mistakes in taking care of him? I realized and am learning that God gave me Owen and his personality to teach me more about Himself. Owen is perfect for me and for our family. In the same way, God gave us to Owen with all of our goodness and sin to ultimately lead Owen closer to Himself. I may not always be enough for my son but God always is. Brian and I may not be perfect, but we are perfect for Owen and Owen is perfect for us.

Sometimes when we are in the midst of a hard time it seems like it will never end. But I am realizing that morning sickness fades away into a distant memory, contractions eventually end, babies do stop crying and you will eventually get some sleep. When the hard things end you are left with valuable lessons learned, and in this case we are left with a beautiful baby boy who at this moment is laying on the ground looking at himself in a mirror and smiling. :)

WE ARE...

So Owen got to visit his future alma mater this past weekend as Brynne and I took him to State College to see her mom, her Uncle Mike, Aunt Karen, cousin Willie, and her sister. We love to show him off and of course everyone has been more than willing to love on him. You'll see in some of the pictures that he is now smiling purposefully, and he's starting to wear "real" clothes, not just his newborn sleepers. This opens up a whole new realm of creativity for Brynne each morning as she picks out what he's going to wear, and gives me something to look forward to when we Skype at the end of the school day.

Side note: I started wearing sweaters to school over my shirt and tie this winter because I have a whole stack of them and they wouldn't have been worn otherwise (and it seriously cut down on having to iron all my shirts). Well for some reason my students got the greatest kick out of it and especially loved when I wore argyle. We even dubbed Thursdays "Argyle Thursdays." On occasion a few select students who weren't too cool to dress like their teacher would also wear argyle on Thursdays. Anyway, here's Owen doing his part to keep the tradition alive (my students will get to see these tomorrow and I know they're going to go crazy!).

Owen and Kelly

Last weekend my brother Tim and his wife Bethany were in town with their son Kelly. Kelly's a month older than Owen and this was their first chance to meet each other. My parents and my aunts Mary Carol and Terri were in town to witness the event also. Here are some highlights.

Two Weeks Old

Owen celebrated his two week birthday today, and officially passed his original due date, which was yesterday, 2/7. We can't imagine what the last two weeks would've been like if he hadn't been born yet. Here are some highlights from Owen's second week of life, which wouldn't have happened for another couple of weeks:

1) Skyping with cousin Kelly, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Bethany.
2) Peeing on me while getting his diaper changed on his changing table.
2) Going to church for the first time.
3) Peeing on Brynne while getting his diaper changed on our bed.
4) Going for a walk around the block for the first time.
5) Peeing on Brynne while getting his diaper changed in his Pack 'N Play.
6) Regaining the ounces he lost after being born, taking him back up to his birth weight.
7) Peeing on me while getting his diaper changed on the changing pad of the Pack 'N Play.

Stolen My Heart.....

For 9.5 months I carried this little guy around and wondered what it would be like to meet my son for the first time. I wondered if I would instantly love him. I wondered how I would do with labor and little sleep afterwards. All it took was one look, one look and I knew my life would never be the same. His sweet little face melted my heart and I knew I would do anything for him. I love Brian immensely, even more after this experience, but I love Owen in a way that surpasses anything I have ever felt. I can't stop staring at him. Can't stop thinking about him. Can't stop talking about him. I have hopelessly fallen head over heels in love with my son. I am overwhelmed with the gift and blessing that Owen is. More than ever before I have seen God in action. I believe that he is real and my son is living proof of that. This has been the most amazing adventure of our lives thus far.
We are having so much fun getting to know him. This week he has started eating better and is awake for long stretches throughout the day. Last week Grammy Deb stayed with us and was SO helpful. She cooked for us and was an expert at keeping Owen comfortable and calm. Over the weekend we were visited by Pap-pap Colabrese, Uncle Chris, Aunt Kate, Aunt Megan, and Grandma McHugh. Pap-Pap was in heaven as he watched the Steelers win the Superbowl with his grandson by his side. Grandma McHugh has been here this week and has been a huge blessing. She has cooked and done laundry and done a great job loving on Owen. I think we will be seeing a lot of Owen's grandparents over the next few months. :) Owen is one well-loved little boy!

Owen Theodore has arrived!!!

In case you haven't heard, Brynne gave birth to 7 lb 8 oz Owen Theodore at 4:50 am Sunday January 25th. She was absolutely amazing during the entire birthing process and is now recovering well. Owen is a beautiful, healthy, bundle of joy that steals my breath every time I look at him. Here are a few pictures.