Saturday, December 29, 2007

The Sixth and Seventh Days of Christmas

The Schaumburg Zimmermans brought with them to Iowa presents, tidings of comfort and joy as well as a touch of the flu. While Maura was pretty much in remission on Monday, Sam became horribly ill during Christmas Eve dinner. He improved on Christmas Day (ah, the medicinal power of Santa) but apparently had a relapse after they returned home. Owen, who emulates his older cousin Sam, succumbed in the wee hours of Friday morning and spent the bulk of the day either throwing up (mostly on Mommy) or sleeping. We wisely rescheduled dinner with the Fawcetts until Saturday evening, when Owen was more rested and less nauseous. We're just hoping he doesn't have a recurrence at 10,000 feet.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

The Fifth Day of Christmas












It wouldn't be a Christmas in Iowa without a gathering of Gradys, so Wednesday morning we packed ourselves into two minivans and drove 2 1/2 hours to Hampton for Uncle Bernie's curiously named given the absence of both, "Dancing in the Grass" celebration. While not everyone could make it, Owen was finally able to meet Great Aunt Jeannine and cousin Molly as well as Great Uncle Al and cousin Nicho and Elaine got to meet the much lauded boyfriend of cousin Caitlin, Paxton. Owen was in heaven as Great Aunt Ellen was happy to wash his hands upon request, Molly gave him piggy back rides and due to a well stocked coffee table, he was able to help himself to all sorts of treats (until Mommy took them away). We left a bit early in order to avoid the worst of yet another snowstorm, but not before cousin Blaine broke out the "Maura wig."

(You've seen our pictures by now, click here to see Blaine's pictures)

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The Third and Fourth Days of Christmas


On the third day of Christmas (i.e. Christmas Eve) we finally had all of the grandkids together under one roof. Owen was in awe of the things his cousins could do, and his cousins were thrilled to have a new playmate, particularly one they could bathe. Olivia and Maura let Owen join in the annual 're-enact Allen & Elaine's wedding with Elaine pretending to be a princess and Allen pretending to be a chicken-watermelon' game and declared Owen a very good chicken-watermelon baby (don't ask). Meanwhile, Sam had caught a little stomach bug from Maura, and was sick most of the night (we'll revisit the ramifications of this in a future blog post).

On the fourth day of Christmas (i.e. Christmas day) we headed over to West Branch for an early morning mass and then (finally) opened presents from Santa after we returned. Dave and Kara arrived that afternoon to finish bringing the family together, and we gorged ourselves on delicious homemade candies and cookies all day, leaving just enough room for a little pie after Christmas dinner.

(click here for all the pictures)

Monday, December 24, 2007

The Second Day of Christmas


Traveling to the Midwest in any month ending in "ember" is always a bit dicey, and when reports surfaced of mass flight cancellations due to menacing weather over the weekend, we grew a bit nervous. That is, until we found out that due to a winter storm front, our friends Joe & Cate and daughter Gigi who'd been scheduled to leave Friday would be able to join us in our three hour (which turned out to be 4 1/2 hour) layover in St. Louis on Sunday. Time passes a lot faster when there are drinks and a new 10 week old to meet. While Gigi was mostly oblivious and Owen was preoccupied with the three foot Santa next door to the bar, all the Moms and Dads were grateful for the serendipitous layover.

Owen was in a less gracious mood when we finally made our way to Iowa. After finally locating our luggage amid the dozens of stranded bags, we flagged down Grandpa & Grandma Z as they circled the airport, unable to park due to snow drifts and ice. Owen immediately crashed in his carseat as we slowly made our way to Iowa City where we finally settled in for the night.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

The First Day of Christmas



We reminded friends and family as the holiday season approached that we have a small house with no storage and so, should they feel compelled to give Owen a present, diminutive was the way to go. We then proceeded to get Owen the "monster truck" of wagons. It's not like we intend to do a lot of off-roading with his Radio Flyer, but I suppose it's nice to have the option. And this way, we have a place to store all those diminutive gifts everyone else got him.

After opening presents in the morning at our place, we headed to Mom-mom's & Grandpa Don's for another marathon session of gift giving where Owen received two more alternative modes of transportation. Ten hours and a delicious dinner later, we headed home, stopping only to pick up the Pearsons. After a quick visit with Chris and Elise, we (finally) put Owen down for the night and then packed in anticipation of our trip to Iowa the next morning.

(Click here to see all the pictures)

Friday, December 07, 2007

It's Time to Dance



Owen found a new button on the phone (one Elaine and I didn't even know about) that plays music. His new favorite game is to press the button and throw down some of his new found dance moves. It's pretty adorable, and totally worth not knowing what it will sound like next time the phone rings.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Thanksgiving

This year we stayed in town for Thanksgiving, and as is our tradition in odd numbered years, we had Thanksgiving dinner with Nancy & Danny at their house in Old Town. Katherine and Adrienne teamed up to make especially potent Thanksgiving cocktails involving rum, cider, several mystery ingredients, and numerous sticks of butter in what turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt to recreate the events that led to this picture the last time we had Thanksgiving at Nancy & Danny's. As a consolation prize, they did manage to get Christopher into his bathrobe before the end of the night.

Owen had a great time playing on the stairs with Grandpa Don, and cautiously admiring all of the antique crystal and other breakable curios throughout the house. This of course was his first real Thanksgiving meal, and while he wasn't entirely sure about the turkey, he absolutely loved the pumpkin pie.

We had a great time the rest of the weekend, visiting the Air & Space museum with Katherine and Adrienne on Friday before meeting up with Mommy for dinner and having Jeremye & Channa over that night; going to the Corcoran to see the Annie Leibovitz & Ansel Adams exhibits with Emilie; and going out to dinner Saturday night to celebrate Grandpa and Claudine's birthdays.

All and all it was a great holiday weekend, and we even found time to put up the Christmas tree.

(click here to see all the pictures)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Caca

Owen started saying "caca" a few weeks ago. Despite its Spanish meaning, we were pretty sure that Owen was asking for a "cracker" whenever he used it, and responded by giving him something in the complex carbohydrate family and congratulating him. However, Owen's use of the word quickly morphed into whatever food he was in the mood for, including pears, bananas, tortellini and other non-cracker like substances. Yesterday, he used "caca" to refer to the brass knocker on our front door and the chain on the the storm door. Allen is convinced that when Owen uses "caca" he really does mean something and that we as parents are simply failing to understand him. I think Owen is just babbling and that Allen is full of caca. Any thoughts, gentle readers?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Closer to Fine


Despite living less than 2 miles from a host of gratis cultural centers (i.e. The Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the Shakespeare Library, etc) we'd never actually exposed Owen to the finer things in life. Instead, we've opted for the less finer things, like taking Owen to baseball games. And bars.

But this weekend, my very good friend Audra was in town for business. In addition to economics, Audra was an art major at NU and so we decided her visit would be the perfect opportunity take Owen to the National Gallery. Owen enjoyed the museum immensely, but was far more interested in the lights above the various installations than the art itself. Moreover, he expressed his delight in their luminosity as well as his appreciation of the gallery's acoustics by shouting what the untrained ear might consider gibberish. To be honest, it's pretty much gibberish to the trained ear as well, but enthusiastic gibberish nonetheless. Owen and I excused ourselves and headed to the cafeteria, much to the relief of the other patrons, where he admired I.M. Pei's pyramid waterfall, and ate crackers.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Tricked and Untreated


Halloween was a bit of a blur last year. We dutifully carved pumpkins and handed out treats to the ghosts and goblins that came to our door, but we didn't bother with a costume for ourselves or Owen -- at two months he certainly wasn't up for pandering for candy and neither were we. This year, with Owen being a little older and more mobile, we decided to go all out (if one defines going all out as ordering a costume on-line). We debated what Owen should be, arranged to attend his costume parade at daycare and plotted out a limited trick-or-treating debut.

But then things got complicated. Owen's elephant costume was mocked for its political implications. Both Allen and I had meetings we couldn't possibly miss during Owen's parade. And worst of all, Owen's slight cold degenerated into a debilitating fever which resulted in him staying home for most of last week (which made our missing his parade kind of moot).

Owen perked up a little on Wednesday night, and so we forged ahead and took him in all his pachyderm glory over to Grandpa Fawcett's, where he helped to hand out candy and admired the seasonal balloons before he crashed an hour or so later (and by crashed I mean became cranky as having slept a total of seventeen hours the previous day, Owen wasn't about to go down without a fight).

The upshot is we didn't get a lot of cute Halloween pictures and we didn't get any of the treats that I was banking on, but while an elephant never forgets, we're pretty sure Owen won't remember any of the deficiencies of this year's Hallowed Eve.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Fountain of Youth

Owen and I walk to work every weekday morning. Upon arriving, we drop his stroller off in my office and then make our way to his daycare. This latter half of our journey can take almost as long as the first. See, to get to daycare we have to pass by the trophy case with a mirror. And the ladies room (oddly, the men's room holds no allure). There are strategically placed hand sanitizers along the way and a number of interior doors with vents, both of which beg to be touched. People wave, elevators open, telephones ring, all of which are distracting to Owen.

But the biggest hallway attraction by far is the water fountain just outside my office door. Owen loves pushing it, except when Mommy tries to get a drink, then he loves to not push it.

(My apologies for not keeping things perfectly in frame -- it's hard to videotape yourself and a 14 month old from the side.)

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Austin


Since Texas won the college poll, we decided to take Owen down to Austin over Columbus day weekend. We had a great time taking Owen around to all our old haunts (the Econ department, Changos, Club de Ville, etc...), and visiting friends and family. We stayed with my Aunt Janis & Uncle Truman, and Pop Pop was there too. Owen had a great time chasing their dog Brandy, and I'd be convinced he had the word 'doggy' down pat if he didn't call so many other things something that sounds suspiciously similar. When he wasn't chasing the dog, Owen was playing the piano or playing catch with his great grandfather.

On Sunday we had to amend our plans for a bbq over at Channing & Kelly's when their son Calder came down with pink eye. Instead, Kelly and Calder dropped Channing off at Trudy's to meet us and Ned & Amanda for lunch. Hopefully next time we're in Texas Calder will be up for a play date. That afternoon we took Owen on a tour of campus, and a visit to the LBJ library. Thankfully there weren't too many people at the Library just before closing time on Sunday afternoon, because Owen had a great time running around, watching the animatronic LBJ, and listening to the echo of his own laughter. I'm not sure if all the archivists in the family should be proud or horrified ;-)


(click here to see all the pictures)

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Eugenia Mary Mettenburg


Eugenia Mary Mettenburg (not McConnel as Joe wrote in his first email, which would have been a particularly odd choice since Cate's last name is Mconnell with two l's), 6 pounds 11.8 ounces and 20.5 inches long, was born forty minutes past midnight on Saturday October 6, 2007. We're very excited for Joe & Cate, and we can't wait to meet Gigi! Now we just need to convince Cate (one of our blog's most loyal readers) to post lots of pictures ;-)

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Leaps & Bounds

Over the last month or so Owen has been constantly surprising us with his newfound communication skills. He has a few words now, most notably "uh-oh," "da da," "ma," "ball," and "book" (which sounds remarkably similar to ball). He's also started using some baby signs, which are much more useful for actual communication. When he's hungry, he signs eat, he makes the milk sign when he wants to nurse, and he'll rub up and down on his chest when we take him upstairs for his bath. The best part of all these signs is that they really make it evident that he's trying to communicate -- when he's talking, we have to work a bit harder to figure out what he's trying to say.

In other developmental fronts, Owen is figuring out how everything works. When he plays with keys, he tries to put them up to the door knob; when he plays with the watering can, he tries to water the plants; and he tries to put his shoes and socks on his feet. It's a fun time watching him develop into a full fledged toddler (and a little sad now that he's not our little baby any more).

Monday, October 01, 2007

Okkervil River

Thanks to Jen, who came through in the clutch to baby sit while all the grandparents were out of town, Elaine and I went to our first concert together since before Owen was born. One of our favorite Austin bands, Okkervil River, played a mere three blocks from our house at the Rock & Roll Hotel. It was a great show, sold out and packed with enthusiastic fans singing along with all the songs. It almost felt like we were back in Austin, rocking out at Club de Ville, Red Eyed Fly, or the Hole in the Wall.

(click here to hear a recording of the concert on NPR)
(click here to see Okkervil on Conan O'Brien)

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

RFK

We took Owen to the last professional baseball game at RFK stadium on Sunday. He won't remember the days when the Nationals played a short walk from our house, but one day, if he becomes a baseball fan, I suspect he'll get a kick out of telling his friends he saw the Nats beat the Phillies in the last game at the old ballpark.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Hook 'em Horns & Hanging Chads

The results of our unofficial poll are in and it appears that a plurality of our loyal readers feel that Owen should grace the hallowed halls of his parents', paternal grandparents' and Jenna Bush's alma mater and attend the University of Texas at Austin. However, this vote is not without controversy as I found myself unable to vote for Northwestern on Friday, despite the website claiming there were still 4 hours left to cast a ballot. Allen informed me that voting had closed on Thursday, that I'd had more than enough time to vote for NU if I'd really wanted to, and besides, much like our electoral college system, Owen wasn't bound by the popular vote. I still think it's a bit suspicious, but as Northwestern tied with William & Mary for second place, I've decided to let it go.

Thanks to all of you that voted for Texas, Northwestern, William & Mary and for our write-ins of Virginia Tech and St. Ambrose. Sadly, the University of Iowa didn't receive a single vote, even from the Marshalltown Gradys who gave Owen the Hawkeye onesie. I wonder how it will effect its U.S. New and World Report Rankings...

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Daddy Day


Marlo celebrated her birthday on Saturday by having a girls day out, which meant that Brad and I were in charge of Mia and Owen all day. The girls had a great time shopping and the guys (plus Mia) spent the day watching the Texas game, hiking in the woods behind Brad & Marlo's house in Silver Spring, and watching Owen flirt with Mia.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

College

Now that Owen has turned one year old (and collected a few birthday checks;-) we're finally setting up his college savings account. To celebrate the occasion, we're putting a poll on the blog (top of the column on the right), so you can help decide where Owen will go to college!*

Northwestern

William & Mary

University of Texas

University of Iowa

*The results of this non-scientific poll are not to be considered binding. Voting may be based on genuine interest in where Owen should attend school, reflect voting for your own alma mater, or cuteness of the picture of Owen wearing the school colors. Schools listed in this poll are limited to schools for which Owen owns a onesie. Although it is tempting, we are not planning on limiting Owen's actual school selection based on his onesie wardrobe. If your favorite school doesn't win this poll, don't feel too bad, there's always a second chance with grad school...

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Animal ≾ Vegetable ≾ Mineral


We'd been invited by the Browns to join them last Saturday at the National Zoo. No time had been set, so when Brad called at 8:30 in the morning to say they were leaving in an hour or so, we weren't sure what to do. See, as a rule, we don't do morning outings -- we're pretty impressed if we make it out the door by three in the afternoon. But we rallied, showered, restocked the diaper bag and managed to make it out the door by 10 am -- or roughly an hour and a half before the Browns did ;-) We eventually met up with Mia and her posse and managed to see pandas, elephants, hippos, cheetahs, and a host of other animals that Owen was equally unimpressed by. Apparently, neither flora nor fauna have anything on the metal railings used to enclose them. Owen loved them, and expressed this love through frequent licking. Yes, that's right: we handmade organic babyfood and eshewed all formula only to have our son lick public railings and like it. We're very proud.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Party Boy

First birthdays are tricky -- it's not as if a one-year-old can tell you what they like, at least in any discernible way. So we tried to put ourselves in Owen's place: If we were one, what would we want? Allen and I agreed on a scooter for his present. I suggested an ice cream cake for Owen's actual birthday. And Allen suggested that we let Mom-mom plan and execute his birthday party. Two of the three were a hit.

Owen loves his Radio Flyer. Contrary to my sense of order in the world, Allen convinced me that we should give it to him a day early so that we could fully enjoy his enjoyment of it. It was totally worth it.



The ice cream cake cake received mixed reviews. He seemed to like the chocolate, but as you can see from the video, he couldn't quite get over the brain freeze.



The party was a hit for everyone involved. Owen was in a great mood (loads of attention and a lack of baby gates always perks him up), and Mom-mom made some delicious brined pork loin sandwiches (which Owen didn't try), a wonderful banana cake (which Owen liked better than the ice cream cake, but not as much as plain bananas), and some fresh watermelon slices (which Owen decided were the best food ever).

Monday, August 20, 2007

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

Owen turned a year old today. He laughed. I cried. Allen took pictures. As we're saving the real celebration until this weekend, we thought today would instead be an opportune time to reflect on some of the lessons we've learned in our last 365 days of being Owen's parents.

  1. Swaddle. Side. Shush. Swing. Suck.
  2. Onesies are the last line of diaper defense.
  3. Park etiquette dictates that you always bring a toy to share (it mitigates the bad feelings engendered when your son rips another child's toy from their arms).

  4. Run fans in both your room and the baby's. That way they don't hear you, and you only hear them when they really, really mean it.

  5. The line of destruction rises like the tide.
  6. Never buy the tub of diaper ointment. Sure, it seems like a better deal, but do you really want to continually reach your hand, which has just wiped a baby's bottom, into a tub of cream?

  7. Babies will eat almost anything if you add enough yogurt.

  8. Sleepless nights are soon forgotten (it really does get better, and those long-term memories really are fuzzy).
  9. Cheerios are like crack for babies -- it gives them instantaneous joy but then they immediately want more and more.
  10. It's all worth it.


Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Dylan Avery Williams

Congratulations to Matt and Cecily Williams on the arrival of their son, Dylan Avery, at 2:40 p.m on August 14th. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces, a height of 20.5 inches and for those keeping score, 33 Scrabble points, Dylan enjoys a fresh diaper, cuddling and Biz Markie.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Pool Time


Brad & Marlo invited us up to Silver Spring last weekend to take the kids swimming. As you can see, Owen had a great time. He loved running around in the baby pool, and swimming with his pilfered float in the toddler pool was even better. All this pool stuff was old hat for Mia of course, but hopefully she won't mind having Owen over for another pool time play date before too long.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Fickleness, thy name is Owen

So Allen's reign as supreme parent appears to have ended as abruptly as it began. After roughly a week, Owen began to walk to me instead of Allen and not solely when Cheerios were involved. Now his preferences appear to be inversely proportional to how busy each parent is. Ah, our little capricious toddler.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. And while I hope we never resort to the life-size Allen cutout, I'm definitely keeping the "walking past Owen and crying out for Allen" technique in mind lest I fall out of favor again.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Daddy's Dearest

Allen is an amazing father. I know this and I'm grateful for this. Allen is far better than I at getting Owen to eat his vegetables, is largely responsible for Owen remaining (mostly) in a sitting position during his bath, and while the number of diapers I've changed probably exceeds his, Allen generally changes the more challenging ones. Owen lights up whenever he sees Allen (except when he first wakes up and is starving...) and delights in all sorts of daddy play, whether Allen is tossing a ball at him, tossing him, or simply crouching down and making what can only be described as the sound of a caveman doing a Scooby-Doo impression. It's incredibly endearing and makes me love Allen all the more.

However, a few developments this week have made me wonder if Allen is a little too good at this parenting thing. Like when our son crawled around me, as I sat with my arms outstretched, in order to get to Allen. Or when Owen began screaming inconsolably when Allen left his room for a moment while I was playing with him, but didn't even look up when I departed for a few minutes. Lately, when faced with being held by Mommy, Owen turns away and clings even more strongly to his father.

This development is not wholly unexpected. Long before Allen and I decided to have children, it was pretty clear that I would be the "bad cop," a "killjoy," the Fawcett family "fun police." After all, I don't like the volume of the stereo to be above 5, drive the speed limit and won a perfect attendance award my senior year of high school whereas Allen did not. I figured that Owen would eventually realize that Allen is a lot more outgoing and adventurous than myself and therefore prefer his company to mine. I just figured it would take longer than 11 months.

I wish I could say that this didn't bother me, but it does. I really thought that at this stage, if there was going to be a favorite parent it would be me. I am after all the mommy.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

12 Step Program

Due to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as well as much craziness at work, it's taken us a while to capture Owen walking on video. Without further ado, Owen walking.


Owen-July__20070726_450

Friday, July 13, 2007

Walking!

Owen took his first steps today! Much like our ancestral forebears Owen has evolved from a crude means of locomotion based on all four limbs, to full fledged bipedalism. I was upstairs in the bedroom with Owen and we were playing the game where he runs while holding my hands. Owen was running toward his reflection in the mirror, I let go, and he kept moving! He took a full five steps before reaching the mirror, turning around, and giggling to his heart's content. Elaine rushed upstairs, and Owen kindly took a few more steps for mommy, but refused to repeat his new trick for the camera, so the video will have to wait ;-)

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

From Devils to Angels

After a week gallivanting around Murder Lucifer Mounds (aka, Kill Devil Hills), we decided that a cleansing of the spirit was in order and so immediately headed off to Iowa for Owen’s baptism. Having already been thrown in the ocean, the baptismal pool failed to intimidate our little man, who so enthusiastically embraced the sacrament that his Great Uncle Bernie had to eventually take away the holy water. Following a brief Excorcism, Owen was anointed and blessed by Bernie as well as his Godfather/Uncle Steve, Godmother/Aunt Katherine and the rest of our family and friends that were able to celebrate Independence Day in this non-traditional manner.

Later, we all headed to Cold Spring Pond, site of our wedding and numerous Fawcett gatherings for a little bbq and some additional dunking in the pond. Owen got to visit with his great grandfather Pop Pop Pop, play with his first cousins Olivia, Maura & Sam Zimmerman, and meet his second cousin Ethan Fawcett for the first time, as well as numerous Grady relatives. There was a lot of splashing and eating, but not nearly enough sleeping from Mommy & Daddy’s point of view. Maybe when we’re back in Iowa for Christmas…

(click here to see all the pictures)

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Owen Takes on the Atlantic Ocean

Owen visited the ocean for the first time last week during our biennial Outer Banks beach trip. We were joined by Joe and Cate and the future baby Mettenburg at a lovely little house called the Guilford right on the boarder between Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills. Due to a series of unfortunate events we weren't able to get the whole crew back together this year as Chris & Elise, Nabeel, Megan & Kaden, and Billy all couldn't make it, but the good news was that with just the Fawcetts and Mettenburgs at the beach we had the perfect number for plenty of Bridge!

For Owen's first encounter with the Atlantic Ocean (or any body of water bigger than our bathtub for that matter) we lathered him up with sunscreen, stuffed him in his life jacket and waded into the surf. In retrospect, we probably should have taken more time to ease him into the water. Between the waves crashing around us and the sunscreen seeping into his eyes, Owen was not too thrilled about floating in the Ocean at the mercy of Poseidon.

After the first encounter, we wisely set up a wading pool on the beach for Owen to play in, and spent the rest of the week letting him run around (holding his hands of course, he can't yet run on his own) in the surf. By the end of the week he absolutely loved having the surf wash up around his feet, and even a thunderstorm on Friday afternoon couldn't dampen his enthusiasm for the beach.

On the developmental front, Elaine and I have long thought that Owen might start walking around the time of our beach trip. While he didn't start walking last week, he did take his first step. Standing up in his wading pool, Owen picked up one foot, moved it few inches forward, and put it back down. His expression made it clear that he wasn't too sure about this new development, and with the rather uneven bottom pool, he clearly decided it was best to sit right back down in the water. Since he didn't start walking at the beach last week, clearly he'll take his first steps this week in Iowa ;-)



(click here to see all the pictures)

Saturday, June 23, 2007

An Unbiased Opinion

I just had to tell you, all babies are cute, of course, but my gosh, he’s magnificent!
Random guest at Days Inn, Williamsburg, VA

Monday, June 18, 2007

Sailing on Father's Day

On Father's day Owen and I went sailing for the second time, this time on Innisfree with Elaine, Mom, and Don. He was actually awake this time, and like a good sailor he was happiest when he took the helm!


 Owen-June_20070617_116

Friday, June 15, 2007

2000 Diapers!

We changed Owen's 2000th diaper today! (869 poopy diapers and 1131 wet diapers, with 124 leaky diapers and 84 open-air accidents.) The chart below shows more than you'd ever want to know...

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Free Ascent

As we mentioned in the last post, Owen has become quite the little climber. Check out this dramatic video of his ascent of Mt. Stairverest.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

On the Move

Our little boy is growing up. Owen is just about ready to take off walking and will almost run if he's holding someone's hand. He also started standing on his own for the first time yesterday -- just for a few seconds and only if you stood him up and let go of his hands. But today he did it on his own for a few seconds when he was playing by the shelves and was so into his toys he didn't realize he wasn't holding onto the shelf any more.

He's also rediscovered the stairs. We took down the gate at the bottom of the stairs to do some painting, and Owen quickly discovered how fun it is to crawl up the stairs. He made it all the way to the top without any help (don't worry, he was "on belay" the whole time) multiple times, and couldn't have been more pleased with himself.

If that weren't enough, he's also pretty intent on feeding himself now. He's not particularly adept at it yet and in all honesty, it's probably more accurate to say that Owen is intent on "feeding" himself, but it makes for some pretty entertaining as well as messy mealtimes.

Now if we could just teach him to change his own diapers...

Monday, May 28, 2007

Other Peoples' Baby News

Way back in the post about our trip to St. Louis and baby (girl it turns out) Mettenburg, we mentioned that there was even more baby news to be had, but that it was too much for a single entry and would have to wait for a future post. Almost two months later, we're finally getting around to detailing our friends' well, if not "news" then at least their parental status. Besides, now we have pictures.

Our friends from grad school, John & Amy, welcomed Matilda Jean Diggelman on March 30th. John claimed that Matilda was a sound sleeper from the start, but a subsequent note from Amy in early May exclaiming that Matilda had finally slept four hours in a row suggests otherwise. Apparently only John was sleeping soundly in those early days.


My college roommate Cecily and her husband Matt announced that they're expecting baby boy Williams on Owen's first birthday. While I think baby Leos are the best (especially baby boy Leos), I feel a little bad that Cec will also have to experience being nine months pregnant in August. Hopefully, Portland is more temperate than DC, or else Cec is less temperamental than me.


Finally our friend from grad school, Travis, and his wife Abby welcomed Jonathon Travis Warziniack on May 10th (or thereabouts). We don't have many details, but thought this picture was too cute not to post.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

A Day with Daddy

Owen and I had the day off from work and daycare yesterday, while Elaine not only had to go to work, but had to stay late for a retirement party. Elaine was a bit worried about how we’d do without her, but Owen and I were excited to have a day out with the guys. Grandpa called and invited us to go sailing, and though Elaine was a bit sad not to be there for Owen’s first sail, she agreed that the weather was too nice to stay at home. So the three generations of Fawcett boys headed up to Pasadena for the first sail of the season. The sun was out, the temperature wasn't too hot, and the wind was just right. How did Owen react to this perfect sailing weather you may ask? He slept through it all. The collar on his life jacket was the perfect pillow, and the motion of the boat rocked him right to sleep. Looks like we'll have to take him out a few more times to turn him into a proper sailor.

(click here to see all the pictures)

(click here for a great video of Owen playing the piano!)

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

I'm It

Uncle Dave "tagged me" and requested that I share eight random facts/habits about myself. Here they are (in no particular order):

1) I only babble -- dadada, bababa, ayaaaack. Asking me to blog about eight things is a tad overly optimistic, Uncle Dave.

2) I think the world looks better upside down. If Mommy would let me, I'd stay that way all day (I'm pretty sure Daddy would).

3) As of this entry, I've had 1856 dirty diapers (813 poopy ones).

4) My favorite book is "Tails" -- I especially like its demonstration of tails swishing. My second favorite book is "1001 Cocktails". Self explanatory.

5) I love bathtime, except when I don't love bathtime.

6) Bananas are yummy. Carrots? Not so much.

7) Thanks to Grandpa Don, I won $22 last weekend at the Preakness. Next stop: Vegas!

8) I'm almost always smiling.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Under Pressure - Part IV

Proving the adage that no good deed goes unpunished, Mom Mom has become the latest victim of what will become known in Fawcett lore as the Mother's Day Massacre. Seems that after caring for Owen Sunday afternoon while I took Allen to the doctor and all day Monday while Allen and I tried to regain our strength, Mom Mom woke up at 3:30 am Tuesday morning feeling a bit off. She quickly realized what she was in for, and within a few hours was in the throes of agony. We're hoping that the strain has weakened now that its moved onto its third generation of our family and that her convalescence will be brief. Mom Mom can now add a purple heart to her silver star of grandmotherhood.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Under Pressure - Part III

Let me just say now that I’ve never been a fan of my birthday, as historically they’ve been a bit of disappointment. Like my 17th which was spent in the hospital as my grandmother lay dying (she passed away two days later). Or my 21st which took place in Philadelphia at the Dad Vails regatta which we lost (owing to some foot-stretchers breaking 11 meters from the start – just outside the breakage zone) and all my friends forgot (despite my having reminded them for months) only to remember belatedly so that I got to drive from Philly to Chicago in a school van with the worst hangover ever. Or my 29th where I had to pull an all-nighter to finish a take-home econometrics exam and grade some finals for my TA class. I could go on, but I think you get the gist.

Anyway, this year’s birthday is in a class all of its own. After spending the day attempting to care for both my ailing son and husband, I too succumbed to whatever it was that had completely incapacitated Allen, about a half hour after I got Owen to sleep. Fortunately, Owen slept through the night and I borrowed some of Allen’s anti-nausea medicine which got us through to six am, but then Owen woke and promptly threw-up on me after nursing at which point we called Allen’s mom and asked if she could watch Owen during the day since neither of us could handle caring for him. She happily swooped in to take Owen off of our hands for the day, so Mom Mom deserves some extra Mother’s Day props!

We appear to be on the mend now, though I think we’re all going to stay home tomorrow just to make sure. And so ends the story of my first Mother’s Day as a mother and my 34th birthday (which I don’t feel should count). Let us all hope that the pressure doesn’t get to us the next time my birthday and Mother’s Day coincide.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Under Pressure - Part II

So apparently Allen couldn’t handle the pressure either. Just as Owen was on the mend (after fourteen poopy diapers, six clothing changes, two bouts of vomiting, two baths and one trip to the doctors office all in a twelve hour period on Saturday), Allen became gravely ill beginning at 5:30 am on Sunday morning. At first we assumed that he would follow a similar trajectory as Owen, and after an initial vomiting spell, he’d be able to keep things down and be in fine spirits, although requiring a bathroom break every twenty minutes or so. That wasn’t actually the case. By noon, Allen became too weak to even make it to the bathroom, couldn’t keep down even the smallest sip of water and his pallor had turned grayish-white.

Fortunately, right about then Allen’s mom and her husband showed up for our Mother’s Day/Birthday brunch that we’d planned weeks in advance. They took Owen off in the stroller while I packed up Allen (with a bucket in tow) in the car and drove him to the doctor’s office, where he was given two IVs and some anti-nausea medication. We made it home by 5 pm to find Owen happily playing with Mom-mom and Grandpa Don. We exchanged presents while Allen sat in the fetal position and sipped water which miraculously he was able to keep down. He spent the rest of the evening lying on the couch.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Under Pressure

As every new father knows, tomorrow is one of the most important days of the year - our new family's first Mother's Day. A time to celebrate Mommy, her boundless energy, her love and affection, her sacrifices, and her patience. A day to shower her with presents, and to shoulder an extra bit of the parenting, to give her a chance to rest, relax, and reflect on the joys of motherhood.

For Owen and I, the task is a bit larger than for most new fathers. That is because tomorrow is not only Elaine's first Mother's Day, but it is also her Birthday! We need to make sure Elaine doesn't just feel special as a Mother, but also feels special for just being Elaine. She needs a little something extra to show we're not just lumping both of these celebrations together. Combined presents simply won't do.

Some people might think that's too much to squeeze into one day, but wait, there's more. Not only is Owen's mother's Birthday on Mother's Day, but my mother's Birthday is on Mother's Day. That's right, May 13, 2007, is a really big day for the Fawcett family.

Sadly, I think Owen is feeling the pressure. All the presents are wrapped, and the brunch reservations are made, but the burden of being extra cute for Mommy and Mom Mom's Birthdays and trying to say "ma ma" for Mother's Day (not to mention the pressure to say something adorable on the phone with Grandma Z on tomorrow) has put Owen under the weather. He's kicked off our big weekend with a bout of diarrhea and projectile vomiting. Hopefully he'll be able to rally by the time tomorrow morning rolls around, if not, wish us luck...

Monday, April 30, 2007

A Wrinkle In Time

It seems that every week we vow to cut back on our weekend plans in order to avoid over-scheduling Owen and to find some time to relax and maybe even make a dent in the long list of projects we have for the house. The reality though is that something always comes up, and since we haven’t managed to add any hours to our day, the relaxation part of our weekend tends to get the short end of the stick. This past weekend was no exception. We squeezed in lunch with the Hyatts, dinner at Mom & Don’s, and a visit with the Brown family, and that was just Saturday! On Sunday we took Owen to his first baseball game, on Friday night I went to the Dismemberment Plan reunion show at the Black Cat, and I think I ended up at the extra-innings Nats v. Mets game Saturday night as well (thanks Elaine!).

Despite the hectic pace, it was a good weekend (except when Owen got suntan lotion in his eyes at the Nats game -- apparently there is crying in baseball). The most interesting part though was seeing Owen interact with Kaden at lunch while we were visiting Nabeel and Megan, and then seeing Owen with Mia later that night when Brad and Marlo came over to Mom’s place for pizza. Kaden turned two a couple months ago, and Mia just turned two months, so Owen went from being the little kid at lunch, to being the big kid at dinner. I was struck by the juxtaposition of seeing how far Owen has to go in the next year to be able to walk, talk, and interact like Kaden; and seeing how far he’s come in the past six months since he was a tiny infant like Mia, still longing for the comforts of the womb. Amazingly, at this stage Owen seemed to have more in common with the two year old Kaden than the two month old Mia. Kaden and Owen could play with the same toys, chase each other around, and get into all sorts of trouble; while it will still be a few more months before Mia is really ready to interact with another baby.

Our two visits also reinforced how dynamic the task of parenting is. Living through it all we've certainly felt how fast things are changing; every time we start to feel like we're getting the hang of things, Owen changes the game. But when I held a crying Mia and shushed and swayed her to sleep, I couldn't help but think how obsolete those techniques are with Owen now. And watching Nabeel and Megan try to convince Kaden of the values of sharing showed just how much our skill set will have to evolve. Thankfully we have some great friends that can help us out when we need parenting advice, empathize with our trials and tribulations, and share in all the joys of child rearing. If only we had more time to see them all!

Friday, April 27, 2007

Giggles

Best with sound...


Owen_April_20070423_439_Giggles

Monday, April 23, 2007

Decreased Entropy

For the last few months Owen has greatly increased the entropy of our household. In his wake, toys are strewn about, magazines are shredded, and the contents of shelves are dumped on the floor. Wherever Owen goes, disorder follows. That's why I was so amazed by our little boy's simple act of putting one of his stacking rings back on it's base. With that little act, he increased the order in our home, and decreased the entropy (of course in our home we obey the second law of thermodynamics, so it's important to note that Owen and his toys are not an isolated system ;-)


Owen_April_20070423_436

Monday, April 16, 2007

Catching Some Z's

This weekend brought Grandma and Grandpa Zimmerman ... eventually. They were supposed to get here in time to wish Owen goodnight on Friday, but their flight was delayed due to bad weather in Denver. Then the plane they were supposed to take was decommissioned and they had to find another one. After they found another plane and got everyone boarded, four tornadoes touched down near Dallas resulting in an emergency evacuation. Owen was fast asleep by the time they finally rolled in around 1 am. The morale of the story: don’t fly on Friday the Thirteenth.

Grandma and Grandpa Z did get to wish Owen, “good morning” on Saturday, though, and then got to go down the slide with him at the park, play the “spin the stacking rings and cups” game Allen recently created, feed Owen bananas and rice cereal while Mommy & Daddy got ready for a night out, put him to sleep, and baby-sit Saturday night while Allen and I attended our friend Mala’s wedding.

Despite the brevity of the visit, Grandma and Grandpa managed to witness some new developments. Owen’s first tooth made an appearance Saturday, Owen waved goodbye to Mommy and Daddy on Saturday night (which I missed but Allen and Grandma swear it happened though it hasn’t been replicated since), Owen learned how to "high five" and Grandma taught Owen to raise his hands above his head whenever she said, “So big!” We’re unclear as to the utility of this last skill, but they both seemed to enjoy it so who are we to judge.

Sadly, Grandma and Grandpa had to go home Sunday night. But Owen’s looking forward to visiting them in July for his baptism, when he really will be “so big!”