.fun.

We have had a great fall break so far! I've really enjoyed our "Mommy-Owen" days. The days where no alarm wakes you (except a 14 month old little boy at 5:30 am). The days with no agenda (except a weeks worth of laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning...). But really, these "nothing to do" days are amazing. We have been to the park, had a picnic lunch, and did wiggle time at Jumpville all in a matter of days! It has been so much fun!!

New Videos

Here are 2 videos of my growing boy! The first one is at bath time. I have to say this is one of my most favorite times of day. He is so funny and has a blast in the tub. He makes me laugh every time.

The next video is my little ham crawling into the laundry basket. I knew he was up to something. I was right! Adventurous little guy :) Enjoy!

14 months old

I had decided to not do official "__ months old" posts anymore. For one reason, being Owen's mommy has gone from sitting around, marveling at his changes, to running full-force and non-stop around the house. Sitting down, just to get right back up again. Geez...this kid is ON THE MOVE and he isn't even walking yet! Oh my Lord...

Regardless of how tired and cranky I can be, I have honestly never had more fun. Playing ball, reading books, and splashing in the tub are the highlights of my day. My tiny boy, is still tiny. But his personality is OUT OF THE WORLD BIG! Sometimes its a belly laugh over playing peek-a-boo, sometimes it is a mind blowing temper tantrum that results in disaster of colossal proportions.

Owen, at 14 months you have turned into such a beautiful little boy. You are into everything, and over-the-top curious. You may not be moving on two feet, but man are you mobile! There is no keeping you contained.

Your "jumper" that we raved about for so long is a thing of the past. If I put you in that now, things would come crashing down-literally.

You LOVE - LOVE - LOVE to play ball. Roll it, throw it, chew it, carry it around... you name it. Playing ball is your new obsession.

You still like Elmo, and during our (what seem like hundreds of) breathing treatments, that is the only way to keep you still. Elmo is the man. Seriously.

Speaking of breathing treatments, you had pneumonia this month. Twice. Anti-biotics, albuterol treatments, and steroids seem to be working.

You have a temper and you aren't afraid to unleash it. Whether its at home, in a restaurant, or at the store. You have been "in trouble" a few several times this past month. You cry and get your feelings hurt, but we do it because we are guiding you into Toddlerhood and quite honestly, we all need to survive.

You are climbing. Climbing the stairs, climbing on chairs, climbing in baskets (video to follow), you are CLIMBING!

Your new favorite food is Goldfish. There are days where you REFUSE to eat anything but. When I say refuse I mean push slap away any other food that is offered.

You weight 18 and a half pounds and are about 30 inches long. My friend, you are still so small. However, I know I will look back on this time and wonder how you became taller than me. So maybe beef up a little, but don't grow up too fast, please.

I am amazed at how big a difference one year has made. Look at my little baby who is so quickly turning into a little boy. How blessed we are to have you in our lives. We love you Owen Harris Maynord! Happy 14 months!

9-26-11                   9-26-12

2 months                     14 months

You're Doing Ok, Mom.

Note: This is a post that has been in the making for quite some time. Just when I thought I had my top 25, I changed my mind. I have read blogs where moms have given their reasons for laughing, crying, screaming, etc. I have found that most moms are experiencing the same things I am, it is absolutely normal. (Thank goodness!) I could probably list 100 reasons, but I will spare you. 

I have complied a short list of ways to know you are elbows deep into mommyhood. Some make me laugh, some make me cry. There are days where I am challenged and want to quit. I mess up, I get frustrated, I say things I don't mean, but, I think I'm doing ok. 

Here they are:

Top 25 Ways to know you are a Mommy

1.           You laugh and cry for no reason at all. 

2.            If you don’t change the toilet paper roll, it doesn’t get changed.

3.            You wash the same load of laundry at least twice before remembering to empty it.

4.            You consider Goldfish crackers a food group. And you cry with happiness when your child eats something besides Goldfish.

5.            You can sing/recite every Elmo video there is.

6.            You can’t remember the last time you ate a meal while it was still hot.

7.            You are a sobbing mess every time you watch this commercial because you feel as if they are talking to you.

8.            You wish there was a “drive through” everything.

9.            You can do 100 things at one time (with a fussy kid on your hip).

10.        You can change a diaper in the pitch dark with one arm behind your back.

11.        You have an entire Pinterest Board full of crafts that you will never actually get around to doing.

12.        You save lives on a daily basis.

13.        You take it personally when strangers don’t wave back to your baby.

14.        Some days you just want to quit.

15.        You haven’t slept in what feels like a decade.

16.        There is often an extra tiny person sleeping in your bed.

17.        Coffee is your lifeline. Having 5 cups before 10am is a typical morning. 

18.        You will need to take out a loan to process and print all of the pictures you take.

19.        You would rather have someone help you with the laundry than anything else in the world.

20.        Leaving the house without a pacifier results in an immediate trip back home.

21.        You have several storybooks memorized. And most make you cry. Especially this one.

22.        Your idea of luxury is when someone else unloads the dishwasher and takes out the trash.

23.        You’ve Googled the phrase, “is my child’s poop normal?” more that once.

24.        You celebrate when you go an entire month without a trip to the doctor.

25.        You pray. About everything. Because you’ve learned you can’t control anything.

I have to remember, I am not being graded on motherhood. 

Somedays, survival is considered a success. 

You're doing ok, mom. 

My {almost} 14 month old boy

Tales of a Paci

I had to run to Wal-Mart yesterday because we were down to one paci and that could mean a potential crisis. Crisis of the sleep kind. The kind where I don't get any.

*If you are thinking to yourself right now that at Owen's age we really should be taking the paci away, good for you. We aren't taking it away any time in the near future.*

For all I know Owen could sleep just fine without it, but I'm not ready to find out. So off to the store I go to buy, yet another, set of the beloved Avents. ($6 a pop!)

How does this keep happening?? Since Owen's birth we have purchased probably 18 pacifiers and I can recall only losing two.

It's not like I don't pay attention either. These puppies are a prized posession around this household and I usually make sure to give one paci out at a time and make sure I get that thing back. I keep a running inventory, if you will.

And yet, we are down to ONE PACI.

It's not like our house is cluttered and it could be anywhere. I keep a fairly clutter-free house and we keep Owen pretty localized to only a few rooms at a time and so there are only so many places these pacis could be. I have searched all over. In toy bins, under furniture... everywhere!

Months ago I was missing about a half a dozen of them and finally thought to check behind the crib and lo and behold, 6 pacis smiling up at me. Owen apparently likes to drop them back there. They've also been found stuck between the mattress and crib slats - a failed attempt at dropping I suppose.

No pacis there now though.

I have never caught my dog with a paci in his mouth, so we can rule that out.

There could possibly be a paci or two in the car, but not 14 or 15.

WHERE ARE THE PACIS!?!?!?!?!?!

The world may never know.

Or perhaps someday when Owen is 16 I will be cleaning or we'll be moving or something will happen and I will find a hidden treasure full of green or blue rubber.

Labor Day, etc.

We had an uneventful Labor Day weekend. Owen has been a little under the weather. Congested and fussy. I slept with Owen in the chair in the nursery and Brandon slept on the nursery floor Sunday night. Owen was up so much, we had to take turns. He is just wheezy and miserable. This too shall pass...

Here are some pictures to catch you up on the little guy:

Watching Elmo and eating a cookie.

 Oh Elmo is so funny!

Mickey Mouse is serious business.

A date night with Lilly...

 She was interested in his paci...Owen, not too happy about this.

Labor Day stroll with Jackson...

 Aren't they sweet?

Allergy testing

Owen went for his allergy testing today. Turns out he is not allergic to anything. He has a mild case of what's called Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES). This is typically outgrown by 3 years of age. We are clear to start the dairy process over with baby steps.

Here is a link about FPIES I found informative: http://allergies.about.com/od/foodallergies/a/fpies.htm

Let's hope it goes smoothly this time!