The last sticker in the pack

* Wearing some 12-mo & mostly 18-mo clothes

* Size 5 diapers

* Drinking whole milk (mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with the remainder of the formula we have) in bottles at breakfast and bedtime, but we're starting to wean to just sippys

* Has three teeth with the forth cutting through and waking her up in the middle of the night this week :(

* Sits in her high chair to eat meals with us

* Loves Cheerios, bread, bananas, pears, and YoBaby yogurt

* Drinks water out of her sippy at mealtime

* Still sleeping with her paci, sleepy giraffe, and silky blankie

* Still not fond of most diaper changes, but less squirmy

* Not that happy about being in her carseat for trips that involve multiple stops. I've learned that she can only really tolerate one errand a day.

* LOVES walking around everywhere, usually leans over when you're holding her to signal she wants down

* LOVES bathtime and splashes around constantly

* Still enjoys giving sloppy open-mouth kisses on command ~ so cute

* Is more and more vocal every day. I think now that she's mastered (for the most part) walking, she's ready to focus on learning to talk

* Started signing this week!!! Signs "milk" often and "eat" once.

* Favorite playmate is her brother. Most of the time. :)

12-Month Stats:

Weight ~ 23 pounds, 12 oz

Height ~ 28 & 3/4 in

Head ~ 18 & 1/2 in

Video clip of Vivi walking

Finally got a good clip today!

Happy 11 months to our little girl! (11-mo photoshoot re-scheduled for tomorrow due to extra long naps today. This walking stuff is hard work!) :)

First steps

Vivian took what I would call her first steps tonight! And she waited until Daddy got home from work to strut her stuff so he could see too and we could celebrate together!

I got a few videos, but haven't had a chance to upload them yet. I'll work on that tomorrow. :)

Vivi babbling

Vivian has always (in my opinion) been a quieter baby in terms of vocalizations compared to her brother. She's been better at fine motor skills versus the talking stuff. Now, don't get me wrong, she can really use her lungs when she's hungry or overtired. But she hadn't really done any true babbling until this week. Maybe she just wanted to wait until those first two bottom teeth popped through to start using her voice?

When she woke up this morning, the first thing she said when I pulled the paci out of her mouth was "da, da, da". Super cute. I took her into our bathroom where Ben was getting ready for work, but she got shy. Later this afternoon I shot this video to document her first babbles. :)
I only know one thing:
I love, love, love hearing her begin to talk.

We officially have a crawler!

Over a month earlier than her brother when he first crawled!

(The quality is low because I took this with my phone.)

Sitting up

Vivian reached this milestone way before Owen did!

ABC's

Happy Fourth of July everyone!!!

To celebrate, Owen wanted to sing his ABC's.

Bob the Builder

This was the first time Owen actually sat on the couch and watched an entire episode of Bob the Builder. Such a big boy!

First time in a booster seat!

Ben wanted to take Owen & I out to dinner for Cinco de Mayo. We did not object. :) The line was long to get a table at our local Mexican joint, but we waited patiently (Owen too). Once we got to the hostess, she said she didn't have a table ready where they could put a highchair but there was a booth available and they could give us a booster seat. We were hesitant to try it, but thought, what the heck? We sat down and it took awhile for a server to come over to get our order (they were so busy), but once we ordered our food came out pretty quickly. It was delicious! And Owen was incredibly well behaved. We worried he would try to slide under the table, but that only happened once when we were waiting for the check.

Overall it was a success! And we'll probably try it next time too.

What is your name?

Okay Mom, I said it. Now let me outta here!

Happy 18-months to our little man!

Owen is eighteen months old today. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday he was cutting his first tooth, and now he's getting ready for his 2-year molars! (Hence, the non-stop drooling.)

He continues to amaze us with the new things he learns to do and the phrases he is starting to say. Just last night when Ben was putting him to sleep, Owen sneezed, then looked up at Ben and said "bless you!".

At a year and 1/2, here's what he's been up to lately:

~ Wakes up every morning around 7am (going to bed around 7:30pm)
~ Naps every afternoon from about 12:30-2:30, sometimes longer
~ Is talking up a storm! We can't keep track of everything he's saying anymore. Just this week he has started to put two words together (Mommy's shoes, Daddy's mote (remote), Climb up, black truck, etc.)

~ Has started to learn his colors (just today he pointed out the window and said green - I looked over and saw a green truck next to us!)

~ Can sing the first few letters of the ABC's (Aye, Bee, Cee, Dee - we're working on the rest.) :)
~ LOVES the playground. Just this week started going down the slide by himself. Yesterday he went down one head-first - luckily I was there to catch him at the bottom!
~ Still using baby sign language (in combination with talking). Favorite signs are: more, milk, please, apple, carrot, airplane, fast, car, motorcycle, bus, doctor.

~ No longer uses his paci for nap or bedtime. But always sleeps with his "sleepy bunny" blankie.

~ Enjoys watching his Baby Signing Time and Elmo DVD's giving Mommy time to do dishes or clean.

~ Can feed himself using a spoon and fork, although it's still easier and faster for him to use his hands.

I wish I could put this time in slow motion because I feel like he's growing up too fast. But at the same time, it is so incredible to see how far he's come in 18 months.
To document his 18-month birthday, we did a little photo shoot at the playground today. Here are the results:

Owen's first dentist appointment

A friend I met at a local Mommy's group recommended a dentist to us, so given the fact that Owen has all of his baby teeth now and is still drooling, I thought I'd schedule an appointment for him to find out when the spit will stop oozing from his mouth.

He had fun in the waiting room looking at the "shish" in the fish tank and coloring at the kiddie table with the other kids. Then it was time to see the doctor. (I didn't take a picture of him with the other kids for fear the other moms might think I was weird.)




Despite the way she was very nice and gentle with Owen, he still screamed the entire time she was looking at his teeth. (Maybe his lip injury was still bothering him?) She said everything looks good and he only sustained a teeny tiny chip on one of his front teeth. The dentist informed us that the tooth may turn a color (brown, black, grey) because of the trauma, and if it does we need to bring him back in for an x-ray. But overall his teeth look great.

She said that since he got all of his teeth early, he'll probably get his 2-year molars soon. And after that, the drooling should stop. COME ON OUT 2-yr MOLARS!!! I'm so tired of going through 5 bibs a day!

17 months old

Our little guy turned 17 months old today! He continues to amaze us with his ever-expanding vocabulary. It is so fun to watch him take everything in. Each day it seems as though he says three new words.

New things

Lately Owen has been doing some new things. Just this weekend when Ben prompted him to jump, he did! Now, he barely got off the ground, but he did get the concept.

He constantly goes to get a book, brings it to you, sits down in your lap, and waits for you to read to him. This happens probably 50 times a day. I wonder if all kids his age are so interested in books?

He also has started to LOVE climbing on Daddy.



When the song "If you're happy and you know it" comes on (via his Musical Stage that Grandma & Grandpa Killi got him for his birthday), he claps to the first verse and stomps enthusiastically to the second.

If I ask him to sit down, he does so right away. It's so funny. :) (I know what you're thinking: "Jenn, he's not a dog." Yes, you are correct. But the sit command does comes in handy when he's covered in soap in the tub and decides to stand up.)

The other day I told him to go get his shoes so we could put them on his feet. He went over, picked up both of his sneakers, sat down and touched them on his feet, attempting to put them on. Ben and I were so impressed!

Our baby is growing up so fast.