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