Owen the One-Year-Old Toddler!

How can my little baby Owen possibly be one?! Here he is as a brand-new little baby. His hair was so thick and dark for a newborn. It started to lighten up in Chicago, but it really lightened up in Korea to be a very improbable shade of strawberry blonde/auburn by his birthday. Since he looks so different from Landon, I thought that he looked just like a Livengood baby. Now, looking back, at pictures from his first year of life, I see both Livengood and Brown features. It will be interesting to see how he looks as he loses his baby fat and grows up. Owen never lost his hair completely, just had some bald patches along the way. I did not cut his hair until two days before his first birthday. I was not planning on having it cut, but Landon asked for a haircut and I at least wanted Owen's evened out a little. He had hair, at that point, that was long enough to get in his eyes and get caught in his eyelashes. Koreans thought he was a girl. So it was time. Owen's eyes are still mostly gray, with a brown center. His shoulders are very wide and his hips are narrower. He has beefy quads that help him to climb and walk. 

Owen weighs 11.6 kg and I'm not sure how tall he is. It was in cm and the nurse didn't tell me his measurement at the doctor's office. Owen had his year check-up in Korea because we flew straight to Vietnam right after his birthday. He got all his vaccines and was pronounced healthy, again. I'm looking forward to a real American well-check with his pediatrician in the Chicago area when we return, someday. 

Owen learned to walk this month! He started taking more and more steps in a row, until he could be enticed to take 7-8 at a time, when he was 11.5 months old. He loves his newfound freedom! He is really great at climbing things and likes to perch on top of low coffee tables. Owen loves the water and splashing around in the pool. He did not get much real pool exposure- just kiddy pools at the pension, so having a pool here in Vietnam is a fun treat. He can throw a ball. He wants to play with whatever Landon is playing with, especially Landon's Robocar Poli vehicles, which transform and come apart easily, so Landon does not like to share them! Owen loves to look through board books and smiles and gets a book whenever we ask if he wants to read. He recently discovered a phone with a cord in the hotel in Seoul, and loves to walk around with the receiver to his ear, dragging the rest of the phone behind him. He loves animals, and my favorite thing is to find an animal, point it out to him, then watch his face as he looks, and then finally sees the animal. His face and eyes light up and he leans in for a closer look. I LOVE IT!

Owen has no stranger danger. He is totally fine with being held or picked up by anyone. Here in Vietnam, he gets kissed on the cheek by at least 5 people per day, if not more. Yesterday, a nice lady gave him a street pancake (freshly fried, don't worry!) and then he sat on this guy's lap eating little pieces of it for several minutes, until the man had to go. He has a very chill underlying personality, but gets mortally offended if I mess up his plans to roll all the toilet paper out or dump out the trash. This kid is so busy and curious about everything right now! It leads to a lot of messes, but I know he's making brain connections and learning about the world. Owen likes to wave goodbye, but often does not wave until way after I say, "Wave bye!" so most people miss it. He still talks in his three voices- growling, normal, and high-pitched, although he mostly talks in his normal voice now, which is still deeper than most kids. He says mom, momma, dada, anda (Landon) and done- only sometimes. When he gets into a talkative mood it is really fun to hear him trying out so many different sounds. He likes to make mouth sounds like clicking and making farting noises with his tongue. He has a goofy side that is different from Landon and so fun. He is also much more emotional, and actually cries louder and longer when he does not get his way than when he gets hurt. When I pick him up from doing something dangerous or destructive, he tries to flop headfirst for the ground. My arms are getting so buff from trying to prevent him from giving himself a concussion on the hard ground!

Owen is a little bit of a momma's boy. I don't blame him! Compared to Landon, Owen has spent significantly less time away from me. I'm so grateful to be in a position where I can be home with my boys all of the time, but it is hard sometimes. I left to go to the grocery store and Austin stayed with the boys, and I guess Owen did not have a good time while I was gone. Hopefully he can learn that life can go on without me for a little while at least!

Owen loves to eat. He sometimes eats more than Landon! He loves: pasta, blueberries, watermelon, carrots, raisins, grapes, oranges, meat of any kind, eggs, and string cheese. He has very few dislikes, I can't think of anything right now that he will consistently refuse to eat. He is a bit finicky in that if he's not in the mood for a specific item, he flings it off of his tray with great vigor! This kid knows what he wants. He will try just about anything I put on his tray, which is fun because here in Vietnam there are lots of interesting fruits and other foods that he gets to try for the first time. 

Our baby/toddler Owen has some trouble in the sleep department. He has slept through a night completely once. Since he was born. He usually wakes up at least once to nurse, although with us moving countries and time zones and bed locations, he is waking up several times a night now. I hope that he figures it out, and we figure out what is causing him to wake up. He has six teeth on top (four front teeth and molars) and his two front teeth on the bottom, so my theory is that he is slowly teething. Hopefully that is the case! As far as naps go, he dropped one nap when we arrived in Vietnam. He now naps starting right after lunch for a few hours, which gives Landon and I time to do school. Landon and Owen now share a sleeping space, and one of the first nights they shared, Owen was having trouble going to bed. Landon just falls asleep on his own at this point, but Owen's crying woke up Landon. Landon started yelling for me to come get Owen, and I told him that Owen was just upset and that he would go to sleep soon. Then Landon offered to get Owen for me, and I told him to stay put, but he could sing Owen a song if he wanted. He started singing "Twinkle,Twinkle Little Star" at the same volume as Owen's screaming, then faded off as he changed the song to the Robocar Poli theme song.. It was so cute that he graded the volume to how loud Owen was screaming. He was so excited that he sang Owen to sleep that he yelled, "Mom! I did it! Owen is asleep!" 

Owen is very observant and bright. He watches everything Landon does and tries to copy it. He loves to take things out and put things in. Today, he helped me clean up Landon's coloring supplies several times! A few weeks ago, Owen had scattered all of the colors on the floor, and toddled over to me holding all of the blue markers, crayons and pencils. The odds of him doing this on accident are very low, so I have a feeling that he 1) likes blue and 2) can sort by color?!. He is also picking fights with Landon much more frequently. Sometimes, he really wails on his brother, but then he doesn't like the retaliation that inevitably occurs. 

Owen has grown up so much in the past year! I love his squishy little cheeks and face. He truly is a blessing in our lives