Owen's first Christmas

We celebrated Owen's first Christmas this year with relatives on both sides of the family. I think he managed to get more presents than anyone else both days!

Owen looking festive in his red shirt!



We spent Christmas Eve where we always have, in Fort Wayne. The Fort was just getting back to normal after a big ice storm. We went to Mamaw's (Grandma Sandie) house on the night of Christmas Eve. We saw all of Owen's cousins, the whole Cowden gang, and Great Grandma Ginny. On Christmas morning we were able to wake up at Papaw's house.

Opening presents with Mommy at Mamaw's house.



Early Christmas morning we drove back to Chicago and celebrated with the of Deaks. We all spent the day at Terry and Veronica's house. Again, Owen got more presents than anyone else. It was nice to have a short drive home that day!

Owen, checking his "Facebook" with Grandpa Barney.


Owen and cousin Ethan in their Christmas sweaters.

A half birthday, a big sickie, and another move...

Since Thanksgiving there have been many changes and we have been extremely busy. Owen turned 6 months old on December 11th and we celebrated with his favorite adopted aunt, Amy. She made Owen half of a cake and even put a half candle in it! Until then I had never heard of having a "half birthday" celebration. I do occasionally like to celebrate the unbirthday (you have 364 of them every year) and last year Amy also introduced me to the golden birthday (when I turned 29 on the 29th), but this was my first half birthday party.

We also moved again, which we absolutely did not want to do, but there had been so many problems with the apartment and landlord that we felt that we had no choice. From day 1 we have had problems (see post "Oscar's first digs from April). The moving just happened to coincide with Owen's first big cold. He was pretty sick for a couple of days and neither of us got any sleep. I took him to the doctor who said that he had RSV, a respiratory virus, and that we just had to wait it out. He is doing fine now, but I didn't get as much unpacking done as I would have liked - I don't recommend moving with a sick baby to anyone! It has all been worth it though and I LOVE the new apartment (especially the dishwasher) and I will post picture of the new place soon. Oh, and a big thanks to Terry for helping us move!

Here's a picture of Owen enjoying his half cake. Looks like Sunny wants some too!


Owen with Amy, wearing his new favorite Bear's outfit.

Thanksgiving in Indiana

Some sad news came our way recently when we heard that Kristie's Grandma Hecky passed away. We traveled to Ft. Wayne just before and just after Thanksgiving to pay our respects and visit with Kristie's side of the family. In the process, Owen was able to meet every one of his first cousins and most of his second cousins from the Bastress clan (which is saying something), and spent some quality time with his aunts and grandparents. Sunny also got some bonding time with Tom and Marty, who were nice enough to watch her on Thanksgiving (and would NEVER give her table scraps).
In between our visits to Ft. Wayne, we drove down to Columbus to spend Thanksgiving at my brother Sean's house. Between my brothers and their families, my parents, Sean's in-laws, and some friends of the family, the tables were set for 29. While this might not sound outrageous to Kristie, I grew up with a grand total of zero first cousins, so such a large gathering is still a little new to me. We have gotten to know everyone over the years, and it is nice to know that Owen will be surrounded by so many people who care about him whether he's in Columbus, Ft. Wayne, Chicago, Mucie...you get the idea. In short, the food and the people were great.
Moving away from such sappiness, Kristie and I got a chance to spend the night at Sean and Kelley's for the first time in quite awhile - probably since before Zach grew taller than me. Besides the all-ages co-ed crazifest that insued when Ethan invited everyone to throw balls around (no one was seriously injured), we had plenty of time to goof off, including an hour-long game of outdoor hide and seek in which I'm almost positive Rachel and I tied for last (even though we played the best). Anyway, on to the pictures!

Owen rocking his monkey PJs


Uncle Sean still trying to explain to someone why he voted for Bush


Troublemakers, all three of them. Someone should check on Ethan.


A whole generation of Deaks


Grandma Carol starting early with colors

A couple of firsts...

This was a big weekend for Owen, who got to experience a couple of things for the first time. We gave him some rice cereal, which was fun and messy. He's still getting used to the idea of eating from a spoon but I think he will get the hang of it in a few days.



It was also the first real snow in Chicago this winter, with huge wet snow flakes. Owen was fascinated by all of this and couldn't stop staring as they fell. Mike is already planning sledding trips and snow forts - I know that he will have many fun times playing in the snow with his daddy. (You can see the flakes if you look closely.)

Crazy squealing jumparoo

Here’s a video of Owen in his Jumparoo. He really goes crazy and loves to squeal and giggle while he is jumping…so turn up the volume!

Kristie's 30th Halloween, Owen's 1st

Kristie celebrated her 30th birthday on the 29th, and we marked the occasion by eating her favorite foods (hot dogs, mountain dew, crab rangoon, cheese, etc.). Below are pictures of an event that was much less scary... Halloween. We started off the night by attending a baby-friendly party at our friends Melissa and Dave's house, where Owen surprised everyone by going as a monkey. Here he is with his soon-to-be nanny share buddy Isaac the dragon



Here he is with Elmo...



And here is talking with an older girl (just like his dad)...



After going to my co-worker Kristen's late night (but still family friendly) Halloween bash, Owen was pretty much partied out, as you can see by these gratuitous monkey pictures...

Rolling over!

This week Owen started to roll over. It just happened all of the sudden and now he does it constantly! Once he gets onto his tummy, he prefers to be on his back so that he can roll over again. Mike says that he is like a little fish. He is getting so big, so fast!

Girls night out

We traveled to Fort Wayne this weekend for a birthday party for Owen's cousins Chelesa and Kyleigh. We also used it as an opportunity to hang out with Aunt Tracie and Aunt Jamie, since they have not been able to spend much time with Owen. On Saturday night, I went out to Bandido's (my absolute favorite Mexican restaurant) and had margaritas with my sisters while all the boys took care of the kids. We had a great time and I got to show them that I do know how to have fun every once in a while!

The Bastress sisters drinking some margaritas!

Hanging out in the sunroom with Aunt Jamie.

Smiling with Aunt Tracie.

Into the storm

Owen took his first plane trip last weekend (the 27th) when we all flew to Boston for our friend Walker's wedding (which was great). And even more surprising than Walker finally getting married, even more surprising than Walker's dog Caleb participating in the wedding, was that Owen behaved like a perfect gentleman for most of the weekend. This trip also happened to be the first visit to Boston for Kristie and I, and wouldn't you know it, our visit coincided with a "Nor'easter," and it rained the entire trip.

We made the best of it, and we were able to poke around a good part of the Harvard/Cambridge area on Saturday, then visit downtown Boston on Sunday. Here is the evidence:

Mom preparing Owen for Harvard...


Dad acting as Owen's vehicle of choice for the weekend.


Our trip to downtown Boston included a visit to the North End, an older neighborhood filled with seafood and Italian restaurants. Our lunch consisted of burgers with fried oysters on top.


Owen during a quiet moment on the way home.

Labor Day weekend

Labor Day weekend was Owen first big car trip. We first went to Fort Wayne to finally meet Aunts Tracie and Jamie and cousins Matthew and Kyleigh. After a short overnight stay in Papaw's new house, we were off to Dayton for my cousin Cameron's wedding.

Owen got to meet Mommy's Aunt Karen.

Cam and Meg are married!

Meeting another big Cubs fan, Cameron.

At brunch the next day. Meg won't put him down!


The next day we were in Columbus to celebrate the birthdays of Julia, Rachel, and Zach. Although much of the time was spent in the car, it was great to see so many people all in one weekend!

Hangin' with Grandpa Barney.

Playing patty cake with Aunt Kelley.

Ethan and Owen checking each other out.

Baby's first Cubs game

The Cubs have had crazy season so far and we have been fortunate enough to go to several games. Owen has been coming along with us since I was pregnant and we thought that he shouldn't miss our last (regular season) game of the year. We know that its a little crazy to bring a baby into the bleachers, but we all had a great time...and the Cubs won again!

The whole gang before the game.

Hanging out with Amy.

This is how Owen spent most of the game...

Cubs Win! What a lucky group (plus Owen).

Out on the town

My mom came to stay with us for a week to watch Owen while the daycare was closed. During that week we were all spoiled. Owen got one-on-one attention by Mammers, who sang songs and made silly faces at him all day. I got to leave without getting him ready for daycare and came home to clean bottles (thanks, Mom)! While she was here we took a trip downtown to see the Chicago sites.

Here we are at Buckingham Fountain.

Mamaw sure knows how to make him smile.
With Daddy at Millennium Park.

:) All Smiles! :)

Owen started smiling all the sudden this weekend! He would do it some before, but this was the first time that we knew for sure he was smiling back. I just thought that it was so cute and I have been wanting to put up a video (since he's even more adorable in person). He is really starting to get more interactive and interesting...it just sucks that its around the time that I am getting ready to go back to work.

The video is best enjoyed without the sound (sorry for the annoying mommy noises)! He only really smiles in the very first part and I didn't capture the best ones, but see the pictures below. Enjoy!



Here are some still images if you can't see the video....too cute!

Mommy's Chunky Monkey

We took Owen to the doctor last week to get the first of his vaccines. When he was weighed, we found out that he had gained 4 pounds (up to almost 12 pounds) in 5 weeks! Since babies are only supposed to gain about 2 pounds per month, the pediatrician told us that we needed to put Owen on a diet! She suggested that we limit the feedings to every 4 hours and to supplement with Chamomile tea if he became too hungry. I was surprised by all this because everything that I had read suggested that it is impossible to overfeed a baby who breastfed. After talking with friends and coworks who are pediatricians, we have decided to be slightly more conservative about his feeding schedule but not to give him any tea! He is doing fine with eating every 3 1/2 to 4 hours, so maybe next month he won't have to be on a diet any longer.



This is a picture of Owen in one of my favorite outfits. I had started calling Owen "Monkey" since we brought him home so I was excited when he could wear it. The shirt says "Mommy's Hunky Monkey", but I have been calling him "Chunky Monkey" instead!





These pictures are of Owen's new playtime mat. I especially like the one of him looking in the mirror since there is a purple monkey there, too! He really seems to like looking at the dangling toys.

Papaw and Planes

We had another weekend at the beach! My mom was nice enough to host another big gathering at her (party) house, and while Jamie, Tracie, and their littlest ones haven't been able to see Owen yet, Kristie's dad brought Marty and three of Kristie's nieces (Bryanna, Chelsea, and Shaylen) to join us in our corner of the state. It just so happened that the beach was packed for the Gary air show was this weekend, and the Columbus Deaks, the Lincoln Park Deaks, Phil's son Andy, and Zach's buddy Jake were also in attendance. This gave a grand total of 20 people at Grandma Carol's! Everybody had a great time watching the planes, diving in the waves, and brushing up on some more bean bag toss. Rachel, Julia, and Ethan had some quality time with their Fort Wayne counterparts (cousins once removed?), and while Owen spent most of the day snoozing, his Papaw and the other baby-holders didn't seem to mind too much.

At the Gary Airshow, with Tom, Bryanna, Chelsea, and Shaylen playing in the waves below.


Meeting Grandpa (Papaw) and cousins Shaylen and Chelsea for the first time.


Hanging out at the beach with Papaw.


Cousins Bryanna and Chelsea, with Ethan waiting in the wings.


Cousins Rachel and Shaylen

4th of July weekend!

We spent the 4th of July weekend at the beach with family. Owen got to meet the Columbus Deaks, which included an excited Aunt Kelley and four new cousins. There was lots of digging in the sand and Mike made a big boat they named the SS Deak. Ethan showed off his baseball skills by hitting a wiffle ball with the bat just a month after turing 2! We also spent time playing a bean bag toss game (the Cubs version of course), although some people like to call it cornhole. Either way, we all had a lot of fun.

Owen's patriotic outfit. All-American Boy!


Meeting Aunt Kelley and cousin Ethan for the first time.


Julia and Rachel checking out their new cousin.


Doing what Mike does best at the beach - digging holes in the sand.


Mike and Zach playing bean bag toss, or cornhole if you prefer.


Ethan, Julia, and Rachel on the SS Deak.