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Kinda sorta first gibberish words!

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So for probably a month or so, when Owen gets cranky or whiny or hurt, it sounds like he is saying “mama…mamamama…mama” but even though we love hearing it, we know he’s not really truly saying it.

Yesterday, when Tom was playing ball with him (with his new hoop) he swears Owen would call the ball his “ba ba.”

So today we were at the pool and were playing with the ball and hoop there. There were quite a few other kids so we took our turn then left the ball and went to the other pool. But Owen did NOT want to go and kept his eye on the balls. He would try climbing up on us to see them. It was sooo cute. After about 10 minutes of us trying to distract him, I swear I heard “mama…baba” and he pointed.

So, I consider those his kinda sorta first gibberish words…

Pool Basketball

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The one bad thing about both Tom and me getting in the pool with Owen is that we can’t take pictures…and today we would have loved a video!

The community pool has a basketball hoop and two balls in one section. Well, Owen always likes to play with the balls, and today since Tom was there, he lifted Owen up to the net so he could put the ball through himself. Oh my, did he love that! Every time he got the ball in his hands, he’d look up at the net like “Why am I not up there yet?” and then Tom would lift him up and Owen would drop or push it through! It was sooooo cute! (I tried lifting him, but that was a joke!) I think we did that for probably 20-30 minutes total!

First dead toy.

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So a bunch of friends really recommended the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet…so of course we got it. As soon as Owen noticed it, he took right to it—unfortunately, taking every letter off the door and putting it on the floor.

Now, while it was certainly cute to watch, he started taking the pieces around the house, and I could easily see him losing all the pieces and making me insane. Instead of one toy to play with, it was really 27 pieces! To lose! FUN!

So I decided for my own sanity, I would put the letters away until he was a bit older. The base still had a button to press which played the ABC song, and he liked that.

Fast forward to Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda visiting. With Sassea and her water bowl. Which Owen LOVES to sneak into and play in.

Well, let’s just say the LeapFrog Alphabet is no more. Owen was playing with the base and in a flash, had taken it off the fridge, scurried into the dining room, and dunked it in the water bowl!

We immediately dried it out and placed it in a bowl of rice in a warm oven…and left it sit overnight…but no luck. Well, it did turn on and play one round of the ABC song but then it was dead.

I guess when we buy it again, he’ll have two sets of letters. 😐

Water table!

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A bunch of our friends had said WONDERFUL things about an outdoor water table, so of course we had to get one. And of course, with as much as Owen now loves splashing in the water, we knew it would be a hit!

He was in it before I even had started putting it together:

Water table inside

Once it was outside, he instantly started splashing in it…and it was right next to his little pool, so he enjoyed splashing in both at the same time:

Water table outside

A new (water) slide!

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Tom and I saw a sign for a garage sale (“lots of baby things!”) on the way back from the grocery store, so we stopped. And they had…a slide that was just the perfect size for Owen! And I thought it would be a great addition to his little pool that we brought to Gramma Jean’s house.

And boy, did he love it! At first, Tom sat him on the slide and then held him as he slid down into the pool…but after a handful of times, he knew how to inch himself forward just enough to move himself down the slide—without Tom even holding on! He had an absolute BLAST with it…so we’ll definitely put it to good use at home, too!



And a sample of the crazy splashing that had us all wet—and in stitches!

Balls vs. Walks

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I really don’t like it when people leave balls in their yards—it makes it VERY difficult to take Owen on a walk since he makes a beeline for any ball he sees…and is now old enough to remember where it is (so distracting him and turning him around doesn’t last long). We can be all the way back to our house and he turns around and toddles toward the ball he saw in a yard across the street four houses down! Or one he spotted on someone’s porch, even! Stinker!

Two big things!

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Tom came home early today and we took Owen to the park. And boy, did he surprise us at the park!

Normally he doesn’t walk much on the grass because it’s uneven walking and he’s still a little unsteady. And normally he stops at the edge of the “big kids” play area because the sandy area is surrounded by a cement border that he just can’t quite get up and over by himself.

Except that today he mastered both! Tom was just following along behind him, expecting him to stop at the cement…but up and over he went with no problems, and traipsed around the play area kicking up sand! Then he spent quite a bit of time wandering around the grassy park, stopping to pick up a stick every now and again!

Then the fun came… Some high school kids were playing volleyball and, well, you know how much Owen LOVES balls—so he took off across the park to get to the ball. Did he let the hill stop him? No way! So he went up a little hill, then down the little hill, then probably 30-40 yards to the volleyball pit. Over and over and over (we kept carrying him back, because he would not turn around to leave on his own). It was soooo cute! We eventually had to leave the park because he refused to do anything else but try and get to the volleyball. (It’s hard to tell in this photo, but he’s at the base of the hill and that tan line running across the middle of the picture is a foot trail at the top of the hill.)

The other big thing for the day was…his first [local] babysitter! Tom and I had dinner plans and since we didn’t have any grandparents here…we had to use our first babysitter! We had scoped her out beforehand (i.e. emailed and met in person—we found her on a babysitter forum) so we were completely comfortable. I wasn’t nervous or sad or anything, but it just felt strange leaving him. He did just fine, and she loved him, telling us he was the easiest and happiest baby she’s ever had! YAY OWEN!

Road Rash

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Owen got his first “road rash” tonight–we were out walking on the sidewalk and playing with a ball and he got tangled up in my feet and fell and scraped his cheek on the sidewalk. It wasn’t bad at all but he was really crying. Poor kid. We came in, washed it off, put cream on it, sat on the couch for a few minutes, then he was ready to go back out for more playing.

Right after it happened:

Later during his first spoon/yogurt experience (more on that in a later post):

Frog Whistling

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This is a new toy we got for Owen—it’s a spiral tower that balls (and a penguin!) roll down and a frog which whistles as it goes down the chute. It’s for 18+ months but he got the hang of most of it right away (he can’t quite get the hang of putting the balls on the spiral, but he’s great at stacking them on top of the tube!).

Anyway, he really LOVES the frog, nd he has discovered how to make it make noise by himself:

Dead mobile = shopping with mom!

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I was on the hunt for a new mobile. For some unknown reason, the mobile we had downstairs on the pack-and-play (that Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda bought) just died. I was in the middle of using it yesterday (during the mom’s group meeting) and the windup knob suddenly lost all tension so there was no music or rotation. Hoo boy.

So Tom and I went to find a new mobile after work. Since it was kinda late we just went to the local Babies ‘R’ Us. Well, they didn’t have much at all. We ended up with an electronic (i.e. needs batteries) mobile, with the thought that although it was more expensive AND would eat batteries…at least we wouldn’t have to get up and wind it every five minutes. Plus the new one had a remote! WOOHOO! That said, it turned out to be WAY too busy of a mobile and I think it actually kept him awake! :no: (FYI: it was the Tiny Love Sweet Island Dreams Mobile.)

So today I decided to hit the other bigger/nicer baby stores in Utica to look for a mobile that actually played the same song (Brahms’ Lullaby, pretty common with windup mobiles) and found one on clearance for $20. My plan was to just use the windup part (which plays the music) and attach it to the old mobile—so I didn’t want to spend $40 for a new one. So imagine my surprise as I kept shopping and found…the exact mobile! On clearance! :>> Apparently the company has disappeared—which would explain why I hadn’t been able to find any information about it online last night! For reference, it’s a Doodlebugs Musical Mobile by Dolly:

The product lists the website as www.dolly.com but it’s definitely NOT a baby website anymore. (It’s not an unsafe site, in case you were wondering. It’s about hand trucks and carts.)

So this was Owen while we were wandering about Babies ‘R’ Us…

And now I’m trying to get him to nap—with the new mobile—and he doesn’t seem to want to nap. Even though I know he’s tired since he has only napped for about an hour total so far today. Stinker.

Watch me play with a new toy!

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A mom in my group had a similar one of these for her baby who loved it! Of course, I was interested, and she said it was from Babies R Us. Well, of course we don’t go there unless we HAVE to (it’s close and convenient, but very small and not a big selection)…so when we were walking through the baby aisles at Target last night (as we do every time we hit Target) and saw this one (it’s a Baby Einstein Bendy Ball)….well, we just put it in the stroller with Owen to see if he would like it—and he played with it the entire time! So, of course, we bought it!

He has many other rattle-type toys meant for grabbing, but this is the first one he has actually grabbed on to and played with. :>> It is very sturdy and actually a little heavier than I anticipated by just looking at it—I was worried it might be too heavy for him to pick up (since we had never really seen him pick up anything before) but he manages with no problems!