I'm No Monster!

Check out Owen's out fit!  He smiled when I asked him if he was my little monster.  Truth be told, he has been so good lately.  He is really doing well with sleeping at night.  He goes to bed around 9pm now and sleeps for 5 or 6 hours.  We are down to only 2 small bottles during the night/ early mornings and next week we may take it down to 1.  He is such a joy and I am so proud of him!

Happy Easter - Christos Anesti

This year regular Easter and Greek Easter fell on the same weekend.  It only happens every five years or so. Christos Anesti or in English, Christ has risen.  This is what you say at Easter if you are Greek, just as you would say Happy Easter.   I have gotten really good at saying Christos Anesti!   

On Saturday night James, Owen and I went to the midnight service at the Greek Church. We were a little nervous to take him out so late.  Just a little worried that he may get fussy, but as always he was a good baby. He slept through the whole service and at 1 am he woke up for his bottle, but we were already on the way home.  So while we waited for the traffic to die down, we feed him in the car.  The service was so beautiful and had he been awake, he would have loved all the candles and lights.

Today we went with the family down to Glen Echo Park and walked around and then out for a late lunch.  It was such a pretty day and it was nice to be out of the house and enjoying the great weather.   DC is so pretty this time of year and after being buried under all that snow for so long, you truly appreciate how kind Mother Nature can be on days like today.  After we got home and we're sitting on the couch, we saw the Easter Bunny hop by.  We really did!  I had my sign out front, "Eater Bunny Stop Here", but he said he'd hop back next year when Owen was big enough to eat chocolate eggs.

 Brothers and Sisters 

Taking a break to feed Owen

 Owen and Mommy at Glen Echo Park

 Owen and Uncle Chris at lunch

The family at: Kimble's Tavern

Papou, Alex, Mommy, Owen, Daddy, Yay Yay, Thia Casandra

and last but not least, Uncle Chris

B Is for Baseball

Spring is here and Owen is ready for Baseball!  His May-May bought him this outfit that says, "Mom's All-star." I almost forgot to get a few pictures of him next to his teddy bear to show his growth for 2 months.  This time around we had so much more fun.  At one month he was not feeling picture day at all.  May have had something to do with the fact that he was tired and hungry.  Looks like I caught him just at the right time today.  He was All-smiles for the camera. Of course I had to use my high pitch voice to get these giggles, but he was really enjoying himself.  Yay!

Big Grin!

I just love to see him smile!

Kicking and waving his arms!

2 Months Old

Friday Owen turned two months old.  We had a Dr's visit for his first set of vaccines where he got five shots and and oral dose of something.  He did really well and only cried a little.  What a good boy!  The nurse had James hold him while she gave him the shots.  I was a wimp and opted to stand outside of the room.  I just can't stand to see someone get a shot and definitely not my little boy. We thought he was about 12 lbs, but he only weighed in at 10 lbs 11 oz.  The nurse laughed when I told her I thought he weighed 12 lbs.  She said that would have been too much weight gain since he only weighed 6.8 at birth.  Well, he sure feels like he weighs 12 lbs.  My arms are getting a great work out!  He measured 23 inches long.  So over all he's really grown since his last visit.  I am still packing away clothes that he has out grown, so looks like I have an excuse to go shopping again soon.

On Saturday we drove down to Culpeper VA.to visit with James' cousin Karen, her husband Derek and their daughter Samatha.  She is adorable!  She turned 1 in February and has started walking.  She kept us entertained with her sweet little laughs and songs.  She sang "deedley deedley do" all afternoon.  It was cute and I found myself singing it on the car ride home home.  Owen's Great Grandmother was there as well and he got to snuggle with her for a long while.  It was a nice afternoon.

 James and Samantha

Owen with his Great Grandmother: Grammy

 Owen and Daddy just after lunch

Sammy with her dog Ranger.  She loves him!

 Ranger: 

He gives me hope that Leo will be just as sweet with Owen 

when he's big enough to roll on the floor with him

My Best Friend's Having A Baby!

My best friend Anjoli is having her first baby!  She and Michael are due on September 26th and we can hardly wait to find out the sex.  She is convinced she is having a girl and while she just may be, I have yet to have a dream about her and the baby.  Before Anjoli got pregnant, the month before I had a dream that she didn't come out to visit us when Owen was born because she was already 8 months along and couldn't travel.  The sweetest thing about the dream, other than her 8 month bump, was that she was so determined to be here.  She told Mike even  if she had to drive cross country to be here she would.  Well, that in a nut shell is Anjoli and this could have really happened.  She is the most determined, head strong and committed person I know.  She has always been a best friend to me and her love and devotion has never wavered.  For anyone who doesn't know how we met, she and I met in the 7th grade.  I remeber it like it was yesterday....

I was a little late on the first day of Junior High.  Gosh how embarassing!  Eveyone looks at you...You remember those days!  Well, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, here comes Anjoli running in behind me.  I felt so bad for her and well, at that moment, I knew I had to be friends with her.  I thought hell, 7th grade is awful and you really need someone who you can relate to.  So, that year I wasn't the only late kid to shcool more than once and thank god for it.  It was like we were in it together, and well, that's just how it's always been with us.  And now we are going to be Mommy's together and after all these years, we're still in it together.  Well, that was 17 years ago!

I know, without a shadow of a doubt, she is going to be a wonderful mother.  The kind that puts cute notes in the kids lunches and make smiley face pancakes on Sunday morning's.  She is going to be hip and fun and at times, she going to be a little nutty, but that's where Michael David comes in and brings Anjoli back to down to earth.  LOL!  Congratulations to you both!  I am so proud to be called your Best Friend and excited to be apart of this special time in your life.

Anjoli now 13 Weeks Along

 

A Few Days Before I Said "I Do"

A Few Days Before She Said "I Do"

Monkey' N Around

 Today we went to visit Daddy at his work.  This was a big day for him...yes I mean James.  He was excited to show Owen off to all the guys at work.  When we got there James was still out in the field working so Owen and I set up camp in the office and I feed him his lunch.  When James came in he was followed by about 6 of his co workers.  A sea of men all giggling and speaking in baby talk to Owen.  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.  I didn't know men got that excited to see a baby!  James had a great big, proud Papa, smile on his face.  He has worked with many of the guys for a long time and most of them have kids of their own, so they were very happy to see he finally had a baby..  I'm not sure why I failed to get a picture of this?  After all the men left the three of us went to lunch. Owen slept peacefully in his car seat while we enjoyed our afternoon date.

I had Owen dressed up in his newest big boy outfit that says,"Little Monkey" on it.  And when we got home I took it right off  and put him into his monkey pjs so he could nap in comfort.  He was worn out from his outing and has been asleep ever since we got back home at 2:30 PM.  We had a nice day just  monkey'n around!

 Getting Ready To Go See Daddy At Work

A little smile for Mommy

Ok Mom, Enough Already...Let's Just Go!

Owen tired from all those men checking him out

and ready for his nap

Wardrobe change and he's off to sleepy land

Mommy's Little Angel

While Owen is between feedings, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on this past month with him.  On Friday he will be two months old and we have our big check up for his vaccines.  I hope this goes smoothly for us both.  Time really seems to be flying by now that we can get out and about more freely.  The days seem to go by much faster.  We've had some beautiful warm days and have even gotten out with the dogs and Daddy for a stroller ride.  Since he's growing and changing so rapidly, I try to take a few pictures every couple of days and when I look back at them, I can hardly believe he was once so tiny in my arms.  I guess I better get use to this!

He's really becoming such a big boy now.  He's doing really well with sleeping in his crib at night.  We get him down somewhere between 10 pm and midnight.  I know that's really late!  But he gets a crazy burst of energy after his 9pm feeding and kicks and coos until we can get him settled enough for sleep.  Some nights he's up every hour and other nights he sleeps 3-5 hours.  We just never know!   I am hoping in the future we can make his bed time around 8 or 9 so Mommy and Daddy can have some time together.  I bring Owen in the room with me at his 6 am feeding and we snuggle for a few hours before starting our day.  I just love this time with him and we both sleep like babies.  I know you aren't supposed to have the little ones in the bed with you, but I figure if he sleeps in his crib all night, then we are entitled to a little snuggle time together.  

The other day I took him in the bathroom and sang to him.  He loved the echoing of my voice.  I'm pretty positive I was singing off key and who knows if I was really singing a real song.  I have mastered the art of  coming up with a tune, such as Silent Night or Lean On Me and adding my own lyrics.  My brother almost killed me on a family vacation when we were kids.  I took the tune of Hey Hey We're the Monkeys and proceeded to add my own words and then repeated that same chorus from Florida all the way home to Georgia.  He wanted to kill me!  I chuckle because I see not much has changed in twenty years.  The only difference now is I finally have someone in my life who appreciates my bad singing.  Owen just looks at me and smiles!  I know this too will change quickly.  Once he learns the lyrics himself, I can hear him telling me, "Mommy that's not how the song goes."  So I will enjoy this while I can!

He has changed our lives so much and each time he looks into my eyes I see such innocence and love. And even though he's only 7 weeks old, when I look back into his eyes, I see a soulfulness that I didn't know babies were capable of having.  For me, the realization that we have the power to shape his personality and life into one of peacefulness and humility, this is the best part of being a Mommy.  Each month I may touch on what a gift he is and I'm sure even on his worse days, I'll see something in him that warms my heart.  In my eyes he truly is a little angel.

Sweet Dreams