Owen the 9-month-old Destroyer!

Our O-wee is 9 months old! This month, Owen has really exploded in all his is able to do in both fine and gross motor skills. He started refusing to eat puree off and on, opting to feed himself the majority of the time. He sprouted big chompers! So far, he has two big top teeth with an adorable gap in between, and two little bottom teeth, with two more coming in on top. He also followed the Brown boy tradition of chipping his front tooth. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but he did face plant during bath one night, and with his increased movement has come increased falls, so during one of those falls a little piece of tooth chipped off. Thank goodness for baby teeth! Owen's hair has lightened up considerably to a light auburn and is long enough that I have to sweep it to the side so his bangs don't get in his eyes. I try to keep sunscreen on this boy, but somehow he's ended up with a farmer's tan this summer. He has never burned, so I guess he has the skin that tans instead of burns. We're going for Owen's well-check on Tuesday, so I'll update with height and weight stats then. Last time I checked, Owen was around 23 lbs. and is growing out of some 18 month clothes. I think I've mentioned it before, but everything here is line dried, so his clothes have grown with him.

Owen is a maker of messes these days. Whether it is pulling all of the tissues out of the box or pulling things off of shelves, he has surpassed Landon in the mess-making department. He gets great satisfaction when I catch him in the act! Let's just say there are not enough high places in our pension to keep things away from Landon AND Owen! Gross motor-wise, Owen is knee crawling FAST, pulling up to stand, squatting down to pick things up off the floor, cruising slowly along surfaces, and letting go with one hand. He can get into low kneeling and high kneeling. He is getting better at shifting weight from one foot to another with arm support on surfaces, or walking with me. His new favorite thing to do is follow me around our room (crawling) and when I stop, he uses my clothes or legs to stand up, and then holds on and cries or whines until I pay attention to him or get him what he wants. He is getting so tall that when he stands up, he can reach our dining room table with this long arms! AHHH! Owen is also very strong. He pushes our low table along the floor from one side of the room to the other with his steps.  He also can climb up a few stairs, so we installed a safety gate made out of a bin lid and zip ties. It keeps him out for now...

Owen is a very determined little boy and does not like it when I take dangerous things away from him or mess up his plans. He especially likes to attack my computer when I'm exercising, so I have to put it way up and hide it from him. He also likes to follow Landon around and try to play with him. Landon finds it annoying most of the time, but it is so sweet to see the rare time when he lets Owen play with him . At the beach, for example, Owen loves to destroy Landon's sand castle creations, so Landon makes a special pile of sand for Owen to destroy. At home, Landon has deemed afternoons after Owen's nap as "wrastling time." They roll around on the bed, and Owen is getting better at defending himself- mostly with hair pulling and face grabbing. 

There are a few things that have emerged in Owen's personality that remind me so much of my sister, Hannah! Owen is Hannah's mini-me. Owen LOVES to be dirty. He gets completely covered with sand on the beach and is so happy the entire time. He loves splashing in the puddles and sampling the taste of the sand. When we went clam digging last month, he got so dirty, but he was so happy! Owen also LOVES animals. We have three puppies living next to us still, and Owen giggles and lights up whenever we go see the puppies. I'm pretty sure he can say the word, "dog." It sounds like "da!" but he only says it when we're around the puppies, or when we see a dog. He loves to pet the puppies and watch them play. He will crack up when they frolic around while we're playing with them. 

Owen loves all sorts of foods these days. I've had to get more creative with my finger foods since he sometimes refuses to let me spoon feed him anything. He likes chicken, pork, string cheese, sausages, bread, rice cakes, peaches, plums, apples, watermelon, red bell peppers, carrots, green pumpkin, squash, pancakes, french toast, kiwis, pasta, potatoes and even tomatoes. This kid will try anything! He especially loves to gnaw on Landon's leftover apples (Landon only eats one bite around the whole apple) and eats plums and peaches whole. When he bites into a pitted fruit, he somehow separates the flesh from the peel inside his mouth and then spits out the peel. He's our little fruit peeler!

On the move!

Owen is very vocal, and says, "Mama," "Dada," "Anda" (Landon) and "Da" (dog). I think he said "Done" once and "Hi" once but I'm not sure if I was just hearing things. He has a very nice temperament, but now that he can move, I see that an easy temperament does not necessarily mean easy child, because he is always on the move, and busily tearing apart our room. He loves to take things out of boxes, and manipulate new objects, like different plastic containers that our fruit comes in. He loves the water and splashes like crazy when we put him in the pool. He also discovered his love for the sea/beach, and the last few times we have gone, he dives for the water when I'm holding him. Since there are very few waves on the west coast of Korea, I can hold him in the water and he likes to splash and kick. When I put him on the shore, he crawls for the water, even going all the way up to his upper chest before I stop him! 

 Owen decided to sleep through the night for my birthday present, but generally, he wakes up once a night to nurse. We're really hoping that he sleeps through the night more consistently... but it is hard when he is sleeping only a few feet away from us at the pension. There just is not really anywhere else to put him. He takes a nap in the stroller on our adventures in the morning, and an afternoon nap of varying lengths while I do homeschool preschool with Landon. Owen loves people and does not mind being passed around among Austin's co-workers- in fact, I think he really enjoys it!

Owen loves to laugh. His giggle is contagious and I just love it. Here is a sample:


As Landon matures, he is having more good times with Owen. They both LOVE to wrestle, so it will be fun/nerve-wracking to see them really go at it in the years ahead. Owen... you are kind of a rascal, but we still love you!