Owen has a Mean Face. And loves Gourds.

Today we took Owen to the pumpkin patch in Princeton. Not only was the place absolutely adorable, but he had a blast. He especially like trying to eat the pumpkins. We got a ton of adorable pictures, too:

Diving in to the pumpkins

Owen & Daddy

He always smiles so big for the camera. Such a little ham.

Again, smiling big for Mommy.

These pumpkins were HUGE. Owen loved standing and pounding on the tops of them.

Owen officially has a 'Mean Face.' When you tell him to do it, he scrunches up his face and snorts. It's hysterical!

Owen and Mater

Owen & Mommy with Mader

Daddy covered Owen in gourds. They both thought it was really funny. 

My child is a gourd-loving fool.

After the pumpkin patch, we went and ate pizza at Nanny and Papaw's (my parents) house. We had a great time, and Owen went to sleep nice and early when we got home. Mommy and Daddy are watching the World Series.

Today = Win

Racers! Racers! Goooo Racers!

Owen went to his very first tailgate last weekend! (It was also my first tailgate.) We had a blast.

Owen was excited because he got to pet a puppy. He also got to pet Racer One (the horse that runs around the track when we score a TD), but we didn't get a picture (boo).

He also loved getting to hang out with his 'Aunt' Felicia. They had a good time together, and Owen even gave her a GIANT kiss when we left.

Here's O (making a funny face) hanging out with Daddy.

Chilling in the parking lot:

He was so excited about all of the people. He knows he's cute, and enjoys having people around who will remind him every few minutes. He also loved having lots of ladies to flirt with.

Eventually, the excitement was too much and he passed out during a stroller ride with Grandma.

He was absolutely perfect the whole day, and we all had a fantastic time. I can't wait to take him back for homecoming next year!

PS- We won the game! I guess that's semi-important information. haha

Clap, Clap!

I finally got a good video of Owen's new 'tricks!' Enjoy :-)



It's quickly approaching...

It's become obvious the past few days that my little O-dawg will be running around the house breaking things (as opposed to crawling around and breaking them) very, very soon.

Don't worry. We don't really call him O-dawg. Not out loud, anyway.

Lately, he has been transitioning from his normal routine of cruising around to coffee table to trying to make it from the coffee table to the couch. Granted, he doesn't 'walk' from the table to the couch, exactly. It's more of a dive-toward-the-couch-and-take-some-steps- in- the-process. (I like hyphens.)

I've been experimenting with this and am slowly inching the table farther away from the couch every so often. This hasn't intimidated him in the least. I think he sees the ever-growing gap as a challenge.

I'm half-excited and half-scared of him becoming more mobile, but I suppose either way it's inevitable.

He has also learned how to give high fives (not just one at a time, though. You have to be prepared to get at least 30 'fives' before he gets bored with it) and clap. The clapping is ridiculously cute. Of course, he won't do it when I try to catch it on camera, though, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Also, when I have a little more time to post without Owen trying to rip my laptop in half I will finally post pics of the new place. I did some home improvement this weekend and I'm excited to share. :-)

Oh, and here's a cute picture of Owen and Daddy:

Playing Catch- Up

I finally found my poor, lost camera cable (it got misplaced in the move for a while), so I finally have some new pictures to share that aren't just crappy cellphone pics.

The first two are from our cousin Madison's birthday party:

This is a common sight in our house. Wherever Rupp goes, Owen isn't far behind:

No, Mom, I would never rip up your magazine!

Playing with the keyboard like Papaw:

And one last one, just because I think he's cute:

Happy Friday, everyone! Hopefully I'll get pictures of the new place up soon.

Reflections on Nine Months of Motherhood

My little (big) Owen will be 9 months old in a matter of hours, and it's hitting me like a ton of bricks.

I know, I know... It's 9 months. It's not like he's turning 1 yet or anything, but this just feels significant to me.

Ok, I'm giving a cheese warning before I start typing this.

I have the most incredible child ever. He amazes me every day with his intelligence and personality, and I love him more than I could have ever imagined loving anything. I know that everyone says this about their children, but I get it now.

I understand why my mom was such a worry-wort about me growing up. I understand why my parents were always so kind to me, even when I made stupid decisions. I know why they did the things they did, and I know that I will be the same way with Owen as he grows up. There is literally nothing he could do that would make me turn away from him. This, my friends, is unconditional love.


I still remember the first time he 'interacted' with me. He was maybe 5 weeks old, and we were sitting on the couch. He and I made eye contact and I 'ooo'd at him. He 'ooo'd back. It sounds insignificant, but it was incredible.

It's been so fun to see the way his interactions with us have developed since then.

Now, Owen and I have 'conversations.' They tend to go kind of like this:

Owen: 'Di di di uh-bu!'
Me: 'Di di di uh- bu?'
Owen: 'Grrrrrrrrrrr.'
Me: 'Oh, yeah? Why are you growling at me?'
Owen: 'Dada.'
Me: 'Say 'Mama''
Owen: 'Grrrrrrrr!'

Though he may only speak in gibberish right now, we understand each other. I know what sound means he wants me to pick him up and which cry means he's hungry. I know which growl means he is just playing and which one means I'm going to have to change a diaper in the next 10 minutes.

He gives me high fives and plays with the buttons on my shirt and grabs at my phone while I'm trying to talk on it, and I love it. He pulls things off of the coffee table. He follows me to the door when I'm leaving for work (which makes it hard to leave, I might add).

Today, when Ross got home from class Owen was ecstatic. As soon as he saw Ross, he followed him around and yelled until he picked him up. I know it made Ross feel good that Owen was excited to see him. There is no better feeling in the world than knowing someone missed you while you were gone.

We are Owen's entire world, and he is ours.

I cried the other day driving to work thinking about him being only 3 months from a year old. I can't believe that my squishy little chunk is growing up so quickly. He's already trying his darndest to walk. He climbs things. He has 8 (sharp!) teeth. He's so big. I can't even handle it.

It's hard to think that one day he'll be so grown up that he won't want to follow me around the house all day. He won't enjoy me singing him obnoxious Veggie Tales songs or dancing around the living room. Hell, I'll even be sad when he learns how to pet Rupp correctly (without ripping chunks of fur out, that is).

I know this is rambling and scattered, but I've had all of this on my mind lately. If you have any suggestions for making time pass slower, I'll gladly take them.

They day he was born:

Today: