A month of firsts

I guess really every month the first year is a month of firsts, but this past month Owen has enjoyed many new things, which we love to chronicle with dozens of pictures! It has been over a month since we have posted here- a month that has been full of celebration and thanksgiving over O's successful surgery and recovery and the birth of our new nephew, Ethan Chase (to Brian's brother Dave, his wife Traci, and daughter McKayla), and also of trepidation and stress over the health of my Dad, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (which is cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow) and renal failure (he is currently on dialysis and chemo) the day after O's surgery. Geez- it's been a lot.

However, in the midst of all of the stuff of life we continue to enjoy our son and marvel at his amazing feats each day- he is now rolling over and laughing all of the time. He loves to play and is trying really hard to sit up on his own. Brian calls me at work with the latest report and I rush home to watch him "perform", which he continues to remind us, he does not do on command. :) The kid can be laughing for 10 minutes straight and as soon as I try to catch it on film, he frowns.

We have posted a few pics of the last 6 wks. below- enjoy!


This one is post-surgery (you can see a little bit of dried blood around his nose).

It was so amazing that he didn't even have ANY visible stitches and recovered in no time! It was great that Brian and I were both off from work and school and could spend time just caring for him. We also had a visit from our friend Ange from the CCO who was in town for a wedding and our friend Francis from Morgantown who now lives in CO. We were able to have dinner with Francis and really enjoyed seeing him after several years (I lived with his family in Morgantown before Brian and I were married).


The worst part of recovery was really the nose stints- aka Owen's nose ring (see pic below). We ended up cutting them out (with the surgeon's permission) the day Owen and I flew unexpectedly to the East coast to see my Dad just following his hospitalization and diagnosis of cancer. It was a crazy trip- there and back in less than four days and a baby who had surgery just 10 days before. He was AWESOME on the plane- it was his first flight and he did so well and we shlepped all of his stuff through the airport- O in the baby bjorn and Mommy shuffling through by herself (Brian stayed here in CA - he's in the middle of summer classes). We were so grateful for all of you who prayed for us during this adventure together- it was quite a feat, but went amazingly well and it was great to see my Dad and for him to see Owen.



This picture was taken at Nanny and Grandpa's house on that trip- my Mom and Dave (aka Nanny and Grandpa) helped so much and kept Owen for me so I could go to chemo with my Dad. Owen was also able to meet his two Great-Grandma's, Great Uncles, Great Aunt, Aunt, Uncle and cousins, and many friends while we were there. It was his first trip back East and his first time staying at Nanny and Grandpa's house! He had a lot of fun!


Earlier this month we celebrated the 4th (another first for O) with friends from Morgantown (Tyler and Jenny and their two adorable boys) who are here in Pasadena for the summer. Tyler is doing research here at the Huntington Library and they graciously offered for us to go and hang out with them and swim in the pool at the house they are renting for the summer. We had a lot of fun catching up and it was Owen's first time swimming. He wasn't too sure what to think at first. but eventually Daddy convinced him it was ok.


More smiles every day!
Look at those baby blues! He turns heads everywhere he goes and we are thinking we MIGHT let him start dating when he's 35.

We are now preparing for another trip back East for all of us to see both families and friends. We are looking forward to our time in Parkersburg, Morgantown, and Hershey and can't wait for Owen to meet many people who are so important in our lives. Look for more trip pics in the next few weeks. Until then...