Your Smiling Face

There's been some unspoken cynicism as to whether my newborn is actually social smiling or just having gassy smiles. I intend to show that Caelum is indeed responding to social stimuli, rather than flatulence.

EXHIBIT A

My children are just earlier smilers. We're a happy bunch around here. Also, we have ceiling fans which guarantee gushing smiles and lifelong affection, plus a comfy bouncy seat.

Owen at 5 weeks







Caelum at 5 weeks








EXHIBIT B

Daddy's devastating good looks and winning personality bring joy to even the youngest admirer.

EXHIBIT C

A brother's ridiculous smile in response to a mother's desperate pleas of, "Smile. Say cheese. Come on, smile! Look at the camera. Open your eyes," is sure to make a younger sibling sport a gummy grin.

EXHIBITS D, E, F & G





The defense rests. (Is that what I say now, Jason?)

Lately

Here are some of my favorite Owenisms right now.

1. "All done diaper, nakey."
I think he's getting close to potty training, which we weren't even considering. He'll go potty before bath time and is quite verbal about it. Yesterday he insisted on no diaper, so I stuck him in a bathing suit and he actually went potty successfully. A couple hours later he peed himself, much to his horror, and then finished going on the potty. So, we'll see. Also, never in my life did I think I would write potty so much in one paragraph.

2. "This is my story, this is my song." - sung, of course.
Our friends the Lotts gave Owen a hymnal for his birthday and our family worship time has improved. Owen loves to hold "his red hymnal" and really belts out classic hymns throughout the day. How I love hearing him sing, "Gloria. In excelsis Deo." His favorite song is "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord," which he requests every night.

3. "Hulloooooo!"
As a result of my frequent nursing, Owen's TV intake has increased. This was distressing to me at first, but became a matter of survival quickly. His current favorites are a Fireman Sam DVD from the East Coast Mannings and a Winnie the Pooh VHS from the library. In the Pooh video, Tigger yells, "Hulloooo," over and over again and Owen does it in this voice that just kills me.

4. "Hi Baby Caelum. Pound it out?"
I like to peek in at Owen when I know he's interacting with Caelum and thinks I'm out of the room. At first it was to see if he was going to smother the baby or something like that, but now it's for the pure joy. Usually he's putting his face right in front of Caelum and just looking at him, or he's giving him little fist bumps while saying, "Pound it out?"

5. "Goodnight Mommy. Goodnight Daddy. Goodnight Baby Caelum. Sleep good. Sleepy tired, Mommy? Daddy, light."
This is a nightly routine as we put him to bed. Apparently I've been looking a little ragged because he asks if I'm tired and then rubs my back. Thanks kid. One night he didn't go right to sleep and was just yelling and crying in his crib. We were confused and dismayed by this regression, so I finally went up to check on him, then I saw that his light was left on by an overworked, sleepy tired Daddy. As soon as I turned it off he went to sleep, and the next few nights Owen reminded Zach to turn it off as Zach left the room. Hilarious.

6. "Hold you, Mommy/Daddy."
We're still working on personal pronouns.

7."Five, Daddy! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!"
Owen likes to hop on Zach's back and demand pushups. He'll count them out for Zach. It's a good workout, especially when Owen makes this request multiple times a day.

8. "My digger's right there. Digger's working. Digger's back home!"
Owen's really into diggers, cranes, backhoes etc. He plays with his big yellow digger all the time and has worn holes into his pants from pushing it around.

9. "All the pretty girls on a Saturday night." - sung
This is a song by fun. that we've all been listening to a lot. It's both weird and adorable to hear Owen singing this, particularly since his "night" sounds more like "knife."

BONUS: Caelumism
How do you spell the loudest baby grunt? Eerghhehhchheh? This is one loud baby. Also, is it too early for him to be socially smiling? Caelum thinks not.

Two Whole Years

It's hard to believe that it's been two years since Owen was born. What really blows my mind is the fact that he was only about 7 months old when we moved to California. Now he's a walking, talking wonder who keeps us thoroughly entertained.

Owen's birthday fell on a Saturday and my parents were in town, so we decided to throw a birthday party. We made it as easy as possible (pizza and cupcakes at the park) since Caelum was only two weeks old at the time. You probably recall that we didn't do anything for Owen's first birthday and I figured if we didn't do a party this year, we probably never would. It was fun to have him anticipating the party (OK, just the cupcakes) and to see him running around the park with cousins and friends. My parents were a huge help and picked up a giant balloon, tableclothes and the pizzas the morning of the party. I think it turned out great!
There were about 30 people there - including one very insulated two-week old who did great - and lots of little kids running around. The highlight was definitely singing happy birthday. We had been practicing with Owen so he started singing with us, then realized everyone had joined in. He was surprised to hear everyone singing to him!