Wandering Browns

Once Owen got his two month vaccinations, I felt better about flying to see family. Owen took his first flight at 2.5 months old, and did OK. There is definite room for improvement, but I think part of it will be me timing feedings correctly so that he is hungry and will eat when we are going up and coming down so that his ears feel better. On the way to Denver, the only thing that made him stop crying was to take off his pants and socks, so he hung out in a onesie for most of the flight! On the way back, he ate and fell asleep quickly on the airplane, but screamed while we were boarding and getting off the plane. We'll see what our next flights to California in April bring! Digging in the dirt and playing monster trucks... We flew in from the bitter cold of Chicago winter to balmy, lovely temperatures in the 50s and 60s. What a blessing to get outside without being hugely bundled, soak in the sunshine, and run around! We met up with Austin's cousins and their kids at...

Cool as a cucumber in his jeans Brothers... So smiley! Owen is three months old! He is such a joy and a snuggle bug! We don't have stats for this month because he doesn't have an appointment until next month, but he is definitely growing! This month, it seemed like his cheeks shrunk and grew again as his whole body grew. He is growing out of six month clothes and fitting nicely into nine month clothes. His hair is wearing thin on the sides, but still sticks straight up on top, and is thickest in the center on the back of his head. His eyes are a very interesting gray color- they remind me of my sister Hannah's eyes when she was little. He loves to smile and laugh and we discovered this month that he is very ticklish under his arms! Whenever I change his outfit he lets out a burst of giggles. The hair will not be tamed! Owen has slept as long as 5 hours in a row at night, but averages 3 hours at a time... so I'm still tired! He's a great eater and ...

Keukenhof tulip gardens, Netherlands Transitioning from being a Stay-At-Hotel mother of one to a stay-at-home mother of two has been rough for me. Of course, some days are better than others, but in general it took me by surprise that I am having so much trouble. Living in hotels, I missed cooking, I missed being able to do laundry inside of my house, I missed having space inside to play and a ton of toys to play with. I missed so many things about "normal" life. Living in hotels is difficult in its own way, but the unpleasant things about it are offset by the amazing things we have seen and done all over the world. Plus, it's intellectually challenging for me to go into a foreign country and try to take care of my family. As I did some self reflection, I pinpointed this as the main reason I'm having a hard time. I don't have anything intellectually challenging me in Chicago. Owen's first bath Living here in a home, there are many responsibilities...

Our two month old Our sweet baby Owen is two months old! He is a generally calm, happy boy. He loves to smile and give loving looks and coos. He coos back and forth with us all the time! From birth, he has made these adorable high squeaking noises when he stretches or first wakes up. These squeaks have gradually decreased as he has gotten older and I miss them!  While Landon always had a spark or fire behind his eyes from birth (a sign of his feistiness I think), Owen has a soft look in his eyes. When he looks at me, I see an old, intelligent spirit who knows what's going on, and has just decided to go along with it instead of complaining. His hair continues to stand straight up in the back, and although the hair on the side of his head has thinned, the hair on top is long and brown.  His two month stats were pretty awesome. He's 15 lbs, 4 oz, and 25.25 inches long. That's in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. He has grown out of all of his 3 mon...

The boys We could not pass up the opportunity to bless Owen on December 29th while my dad, brother, and Mariah's husband Zach were all here for Christmas. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, babies are given a name and a blessing within a few months of their birth. It opens up their record in the church, and gives them a blessing from Heavenly Father to begin their life. Men who hold the Priesthood stand in a circle holding the infant in their arms while the father gives the blessing. For Landon's baby blessing, we just had friends in the circle because my family was not able to make it out. Typically, baby blessings are done in church on Sundays. Because my family was not going to be in Chicago on a Sunday, we arranged with our Bishop to have Owen's blessing at our home. He came over to stand in the circle for the blessing and we're grateful for his willingness to work with us and our schedule! Add caption Austin gave Owen a beautiful bles...

Paddling with his arms Before going to Michigan for Christmas, Owen was bathing in a baby bathtub. Every bath time, he would squirm down in his little tub trying to get more of his body in the water. I knew that it was almost time for him to graduate to bathing in a few inches of water in the tub, and I didn't want to lug a tub to Michigan, so we made his first big tub bath happen while we were in Michigan, when he was about 6 weeks old.  With both Austin and I being former collegiate swimmers, I am always worried that our kids will not enjoy the water. That would be a problem as many of our family activities involve water. Owen is officially a water baby! I put him in the water, and he immediately began splashing around and smiling and relaxing. It is precious how his hair waves in the water, and how excited he gets when water splashes up from his flailing. The only problem happens when he dips his cheek too far and sucks up water- so I have to be watching out for that...

Ready for anything with the goggles! One of the gifts my parents got Landon was a Magic School Bus Volcano science kit. Landon is really into science experiments and volcanoes right now so it was a great gift! On a cold afternoon when we didn't want to go outside, Grandpa broke out the set and did some experiments with Landon and Claire. Landon especially loved the goggles he got to wear, and that the volcano was an actual volcano (we have done the experiment before, but with a plain old bottle- not as cool!) Nervous and excited- thus the finger sucking! Success, and Grandma looking on. This kit has several different experiments, not just plain old vinegar and baking soda so we'll be doing more with this another day. It was a fun afternoon activity, and Landon loved it! Grandpa and Baby owen Another favorite activity of the week was Owen snuggling. I basically only held him and took care of him at night, and when he needed to eat. It was a great break for...