Two Months

On March 1st (due to the lack of a Feb. 30th, my baby boy turned 2 months old. 
Already?!

Out of all my kids, he seems the most 'newborn-ish' for the longest amount of time.  He still seems to spend all of his time eating, then being cute and happy for a few minutes, then being angry at the feeling of tiredness, then sleeping.  When he's awake and alert, he's so adorable and happy.  But then it's not long before he's fussy and crying and wanting to go back to sleep.  He also seems to be the 'floppiest' still -- he just wants to lie around in my arms (or my lap, he LOVES lying in my lap while I'm sitting cross legged), and unlike his other siblings, doesn't want to be held up in standing, or even sitting, position for very long.  Add to that he has a little cousin only two and a half months older, who practically came out of the womb as a two month old (she was the smiliest, most alert, bright eyed newborn I have EVER seen.  She never seemed floppy or sleepy, it's like she was just up and ready to go since birth) . . . and Owen just seems so young to me.  Which isn't a bad thing by any means, I like having my sleepy newborn.  (Less thrilled by the fussy, overly tired, crying thing -- but, you take the good with the bad.)   He doesn't cry anywhere near what Annie did, but he's fussier than Isaac was . . . I am now convinced though that I was just never destined to have a laid back, chill baby.  :-)  

Now for the two month stats:

Weight:  11.9 lbs. (55%)

Height: 23.62" (75%)

And the shocker --

Head: 15.4" (26%)
(Although I think this was possibly measured a bit smaller, and at his last appointment he was 37%).

That is miles away from my other kids.  I remember Ellie at times having a 90%+ head circumference and being 2% in weight.  Greg and I used to joke that we didn't know how our kids didn't look like bobble heads, since all three older ones have always been higher than 85% on the charts (Isaac was 98% at his 18 month appointment.)  

I think Owen will be the Talina of our family.  (My family will get that.)

And just for fun, to compare to his big (and I do mean BIG) brother:

Isaac at this age:

Weight: 14.66 lbs. (96%)

Height: 66%

So Owen was taller, but Isaac was much heftier.  (Seriously, over 14 and a half pounds at only TWO MONTHS old?!  Ellie was 13lbs. 9oz. at SIX MONTHS old.)  The funny thing about Isaac was that he actually looked thinner than the girls at this age -- who both had chipmunk cheeks and chunky thighs.  Isaac didn't look like he had any 'extra' weight on him, he was just so freakingly solid.  Of course, all my kids shoot up on the charts for the first four months.  Then they stop growing for awhile, maybe getting a bit taller and putting on a bit of weight, but the spend the next 8 months slowing dropping back down the charts.  Our gigantic baby, Isaac, had slimmed down to less than 21 pounds at a year old, at 19% on the charts, and at just over 29" was at 29% on the charts.  But now at a year and a half, he's quickly climbing the charts again.   I find it so interesting that all three older kids, despite being very different sizes and weights from each other, followed very, very similar growth patterns.  

And lastly, some pictures from the day he turned 'two months old'.  I'd taken Ellie and Isaac to the doctors, so Aunt Talina and cousin Bailey came over to play with Owen and Annie.

Smiles

Are there anything better than baby smiles?!  Owen has been especially happy and smiley today, and I've loved it.  The best moment by far was when we was nursing this morning and suddenly smiled up at me, a big wet milky smile that caused him to unlatch.  It is by far one of my favorite parts of nursing!

I took a few pictures of him later that afternoon practicing his baby smiles . . .

 

Here's Owen & Annie comparison pictures . . .

Here's Owen & Ellie comparison pictures . . .

all of my kids have their 'own look', but I swear Ellie's the least like the rest.

And then some comparison pictures of Owen & Isaac both making goofy or happy faces . . . 

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I heard the girls yelling at each other downstairs.  Then Greg putting Annie in time out.  Greg came upstairs, into the room where I was nursing the baby and sighed, exasperated, "She is so much like her mother!"  I laughed, "What did Annie do?"

"She told Ellie that her teeth were going to fall out.  Ellie was freaking out and crying about it, I told Annie to drop it, but she wouldn't.  I told Ellie it was fine, her teeth wouldn't fall out, but she was too worked up . . ."
"But . . . her teeth will fall out."  Greg's eyes rolled, as I proved his 'like Mother/like Daughter' point.  "She had a point," I said, "why didn't you just tell Ellie it's normal and that's what's supposed to happen to teeth?" 
"I was just trying to get her to calm down . . . but Annie wouldn't drop it!"
"I don't get why you'd tell her that her teeth wouldn't fall out . . . baby teeth do fall out . . . "  I think at this point he just walked out of the room, since he couldn't put me in time out too :-)

Annie and I really are a lot of like.  And not just our attachment to logic and being right all the time. :-) I think that's the reason that her drama doesn't really get to me, while Ellie's freak outs get to me.  (Whereas all of Ellie's drama rolls right off Greg like water on duck feathers, but Annie frustrates him to no end.  I don't know if I should be worried about that, when he's comparing the two of us.)  :-)  Anyway, I 'get' Annie.  Not just our 'oldest child' tendencies (like torturing younger siblings with true and less-than-true 'facts' . . . like when my sisters and I told our youngest sister Lacy that we were all adopted, but she was actually Mom and Dad's biological child.  This upset her greatly.  Then she pointed out that she looked just like the rest of us, and we told her that Mom and Dad had her genetically altered to look like us so she wouldn't get suspicious.  We were good siblings.)  It's not just her bookish, teacher's pet, show off for adults, precociousness that reminds everyone of me when she was a kid.  But the one similarity that makes me the happiest is this . . .

The reading late at night by flashlight until Mom & Dad threaten to take it away.  And sometimes even after that.  I don't know if this sight will ever not make me smile.  :-)

In fact we've worked nighttime reading-by-flashlight into her bedtime routine. She was really getting to where she didn't need to go to bed as early as Ellie.  But I wasn't ready to give up the simultaneous, early, bedtimes.  So, we made a deal.  After they were both in bed, she could read with her flashlight for about 30 minutes once lights were out.  She's so freaking cute about it -- she has a little digital watch, and you tell her a time to quit, and she's really usually pretty good about stopping on time. Sometimes, you just get wrapped up in a good book though, and she woke up the other morning and told me, "Mom, you said I could read 'til 8:15 . . . but last night I was reading, and before I knew it, it was 8:20!  Sorry about that!"

(Oh, later today, Annie upped the tooth thing.  When Ellie came running in to my room crying, "I don't want to die one day!  Annie says I'm going to die . . . probably when I am old!  But I want to be 10 or 11!"  Sigh.)

In other child news, Isaac had his 18 (almost 19) month appointment today.  The doctor was totally blown away by his verbal skills, as he informed her at one point that the exam was over by taking her hand, moving it off him and saying, "All done now" and telling her, "Baby Owen sleep carseat" and pointing at his sleeping little brother in the carseat.  He also told her, "Sisser Annie, Sisser Ellie, at school."  She was very impressed by his vocabulary, and he really spent half our time there just crying, so she didn't even really get to see how awesome he is. The other day, I was picking up some dirty clothes in the kids' rooms, and Idaac pointed out to the washer and dryer and said, "Start laundry now, Mom."  When did my 18 month old start telling me what to do around the house . . . in complete sentences!?  He's such a little mimic, and we're pretty used to him rambling off long sentences he hears, but when he comes up with them completely unprompted, it still surprises me!  (You have to remember too, Ellie was in speech therapy at two years old 'cause she would only use about 10 words regularly -- so this is a whole new world!)  Anyway, besides milestones, the big focus was obviously growth.  And this kid is growing!  He's really shot up recently, which makes me feel better about the food I prepare and serve ALL day long . . . he's much taller on the charts than he was at a year, and heavier too.  At 27.2 pounds he's less than three pounds smaller than Ellie.  And his head size was at 94% on the charts . . . I told his doctor, "Wow, that's all?  I actually kinda thought it would be off the charts now." She responded, "No, 94% is on the charts . . . we don't consider them off the charts until they hit the 95th percentile . . . " and we both started laughing.  His height went from 29% on the charts at a year, to 53% now.  His weight went from 19% in weight at a year old, to 63%.  That is a big jump!  So it wasn't just his younger brother being born that made Isaac suddenly seem ginormous . . . it was the fact he's now ginormous.  :-)   

Since we were leaving the house and all, I got the boys dressed in one of their matching outfits.  They're so cute . . . 

That same day I took a picture of Owen that reminded me of an expression that Isaac would make as a baby.  So, I had to pull it up and compare them, and it amused me how similar the expressions were.

 

 Aunt Talina was over watching the girls while I took the boys to the doctor's office.  With all five grandkids in one place, we took some pictures for Grandma and to send to Uncle Cody on his mission, since he's never seen these two little ones in person . . .

Four Weeks Already?!

It hit me this morning that Owen is four weeks old now.  That seems so old!
I was taking pictures of him all wide eyed and awake, and the pictures kinda reminded me of Annie.  So, I pulled up pictures of each of my kids around a month old . . .

Owen on top, then Annie, Ellie (who was one CHUNKY looking baby, which is funny, 'cause she was by far the smallest), and Isaac

I can't get over how huge Isaac looks nowadays . . . he's like this mammoth child who I swear was my tiny, little boy just yesterday!  Here's a comparison picture of my two boys -- so you can see why Isaac seems so massive to me now!

Cousin Bailey came over to visit today . . .

Having Bailey come along a few months before Owen was born was really good for Isaac.  He's really fond of Baby Bailey.  Of course, once Owen was born, Bailey and all other babies were promptly renamed "Baby Owen."  His default is to call her 'Baby Owen', but he will call her Bailey if we prompt him.  He cracked Talina and I up today though when he referred to Bailey as "Baby Owen Sister".  She is now officially the female version of his little brother :-)

The two younger babies were on their stomachs doing some 'tummy time', and Isaac threw himself down and participated. :-)  Owen surprised us by rolling himself over one time, but didn't' do it again.  Four weeks old though, not too bad for rolling over for the first time :-)

Here's Owen tonight refusing to fall asleep . . .  he's so bright eyed when it's well past bedtime . . .

 

Absolutely nothing exciting happens in this video -- he's only four weeks old afterall -- but I couldn't resist getting some 'four-week-old-milestone' video.

 

Then, just 'cause this cracked me up, I came across this picture of Annie when she was two years old.  The shirt along with the face and stance made Greg and I giggle . . . 

Comparisons

Isaac, Ellie and Annie -- all around 13.5 months old.  His sisters had a bit more hair than him.  But not much.  :-)

More Comparisons . . .

After yesterday's comparison pictures, I had a request from Aunt Star to see how she compares with her nieces . . .

Ellie, Aunt Star, Annie & Ellie (all around 2 years old)

Aunt Star, Aunt Talina, Annie & Ellie

This middle picture is one of my favorites of Star and I on Christmas morning.  Star looks freakishly, freakishly happy.  (And who wouldn't be, we apparently got a Smurf Big Wheel!)  The picture on top is Ellie and Annie when Isaac was born -- it was the best 'both excited' picture I had around the similar ages.  The bottom two are both crazed Ellie pictures -- 'cause whenever I see crazy-faced Ellie, I think of this picture of Star with her wide-eyed Christmas morning excitement! :-)

Comparisons

 These are just random picture comparisons -- I came across a picture of me as a 2 1/2 year old in a family member's facebook page, and it got me thinking about Ellie at this same age . . .

Two and a half years old -- Annie, me, Ellie and me

Four and a half years old -- me, Annie and Greg (well, Greg's like four and a month or so).  And you can see where my girls get their blond hair from!

Then just for fun -- Isaac, me, Isaac and Greg.  All of my children got my 'bald 'til past a year' gene. :-)

The Off White Overalls

With my girls, especially with them having their birthdays in the same month, we've passed on a lot of clothes.  I've always enjoyed seeing my two girls in the same Christmas outfit or Easter dress or fuzzy pink pajamas at the same ages.  But with Isaac we've had an understandably few things that have handed down that all three of my children have worn.  Yesterday, when we were getting ready for Church, I was having a hard time finding a 'dressier' outfit for Isaac that he fits in well right now.  I stumbled across this pair of off white overalls that both of the girls had worn.  It was originally a gender neutral outfit, so I decided to put Isaac in it.  He looked cute, if not a bit too reminiscent for me of his two older sisters.  Although, about half way through Sacrament meeting, when I handed Greg our SECOND diaper and the wipes for yet another diaper change, I also handed him a dark blue outfit to change the boy in to, since the off white one was giving me flashbacks and was just a bit 'too girly' after seeing his two sisters in it first.  :-)   I snapped some pictures of him in it before Church though (although, only with the jacket on, since the striped shirt made him look a bit too much like his sisters for me.  :-)

Ellie, Annie and Isaac -- all around 8-9 months old in the same outfit.  I feel like I should add here, I don't actually have a problem with Isaac in this outfit per se . . . it was just how much it reminded me of his sisters that was weird to me.  :-)

The girls also enjoyed the pre-Church fashion shoot --

Hiding one of his cute smiles between his hand -- most of the rest of the pictures he looked pretty grumpy :-)

We just trimmed Ellie's hair, and it is SO curly.