Thanksgiving "Vacation"

I knew going into Thanksgiving this year that things would be different. We had a kid now, which meant no more lounging by the TV watching the Lions lose another Thanksgiving day game, less time to enjoy the feast, and no time to fall asleep on the couch in the traditional post-dinner coma. Wow, did I underestimate the "fun" we'd have on Thanksgiving.

Owen still manages to smile through the pain

Don't get me wrong. It was great to see everyone, especially my nieces who change so much in a year and Sam, my newest niece, who I was meeting for the very first time. What I wasn't prepared for was Owen being sick the ENTIRE TIME.

We got in a little past Owen's bedtime on Tuesday night and so we attributed his foul mood that evening to him being overly tired. On Wednesday he was still a bit out of sorts, but we figured he was adjusting to a new environment and was a little off of his schedule. However, by Thursday, something was definitely wrong. Our little guy, who is usually very pleasant and thoroughly enjoys life, was crying all the time, sleeping way more than normal during his naps, and not eating his normal amounts.

Fortunately for us, Ali, our sister-in-law and our hostess for the weekend, is a pediatrician. Talk about being lucky when you finally decide your kid is sick and it's Thanksgiving Day. Ali took a look at his ears and said he had an ear infection in his right ear. First ear infection. Great.

Needless to say, we spent Thursday through Sunday dealing with a baby who had an ear infection, a runny nose that wouldn't stop, and a developing cough. Throw all that together with him being in a new house, sleeping in a Pack 'n Play instead of his normal crib, and meeting 30-40 new people and it was definitely a Thanksgiving to remember.

On Sunday evening, after we arrived back home, Owen seemed to be getting much better. But he wasn't done yet as we found out on Monday when at 4:30 he started shrieking in pain. We ended up at the pediatrician 90 minutes later where we were told that the ear infection had moved to his left ear and was more inflamed than the right one ever was.

Finally, today, Thursday, after 7+ days of being sick, Owen returned to daycare and seems to be feeling much better. Bridget and I were able to have a normal day at our jobs, which was also quite welcome after the last week.

Funny thing is it that after all everything that happened I still had a great time at Thanksgiving with Owen. Even when he's sick, he's still on hell of a kid and I'm already looking forward to next year (of course if he decides to be healthy next Thanksgiving that is fine with me).

An Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch

I'm pretty sure this is an obligatory post for all parents with young kids. Today, we took Owen to his first pumpkin patch and I'm almost positive that he had a better time than his mom. While Owen's mom was sure that the horses and ponies would eat Owen as a snack he was busy taking in all the sights and sounds (and smells!) at the farm that hosted the pumpkin patch.

Needless to say Owen did not, in fact, get eaten and we ended up with some great pictures of the event. What made it even better was the cold front that passed through here on Friday. No, we did not dress him warmly so that he'd look cute in his pictures. It was mighty chilly here today (in the 60s!). For you northerners, that's downright cold in Orlando.

Here's the slideshow of our pictures. If you want to see the photos in our Picasa Web album, click a picture in the slideshow below or click here.

It Fits!

Bryan and I had a wonderful anniversary. We celebrated with a fancy meal, popped a bottle of fancy champagne at home, and cuddled on the couch for a while. A pretty wonderful day for new parents. Oh, wait, I forgot to mention that I got out my wedding dress - and original sash, shoes and earrings - and tried it on. And it fits! Two years, one baby, and I-don't-know-how-many-bottles-of-beer-and-wine later, and it still fits! I walked around the house in it and contemplated a run to the grocery store, but only managed to take a few photos before Bryan shamed me into taking it off. He didn't seem to think I needed to be wandering the house in a ball gown, and I guess he had a point, but it was fun to wear my beautiful gown for just a little while and remember what a lovely night we had two years ago.

The Labutta Boys

I love this picture...Bryan was giving Owen a bottle, and happened to have a bottle of his own nearby. Classic Saturday afternoon in the Labutta household! Owen is looking up to his Dad in awe. which I think is super cute. We have another great photo of Owen sucking on the bottom of a cold beer bottle, to help with teeting pain, but I didn't post it because I don't want DCF to take my baby away. ;)

Owen tried his first veggie on Friday, and the peas were a big hit! I wish I had video proof, but you'll have to take my word for it that later on, Owen grabbed the spoon out of Bryan's hands and started to feed himself peas! Such coordination..such hunger!


Not surprisingly, Owen loves to play with any object that is not intended as a toy, especially computers. Bryan let him fool around with the wireless keyboard one day, and Owen had so much fun! I like to think that Owen is typing a nice email to mommy in this photo.

So high! Owen loved his first ride on Bryan's shoulders. He was a little concerned that he was up so high, but he made the most of it. We also just bought Owen's first forward-facing stroller, and went on an adventure to the Orlando Science Center museum. Although he can't touch anything or really understand what's going on, Owen still had a great time strolling around, people watching, and looking at the cool exhibits. He's such a curious fellow!

Sweet September

It's been a great month so far at the Labutta household. Owen is growing like a weed...at 5.5 months, he's already into some 9 mos. clothing. No teeth yet, but he has all the signs that suggest we don't have long to wait. He's rolling over from his back to his stomach, although he hasn't figured out how to go from his stomach to his back (the easy way!). He's almost sitting up on his own. And he's staying on a daily schedule in preparation for moving into the "big kid" room at school.

I had another birthday this month. It was very odd, though...I am one of those people who loves birthdays. I get excited weeks in advance and count down the minutes til the big day...presents...cake...phonecalls and birthday wishes... But this year I wasn't as excited about it all. Maybe I'm just sick of getting old, but I really think my lack of excitement was because my priorities have totally changed. I'm not so excited about my own issues; I'm more excited about Owen's issues! Just wait til early next year - I'm going to be bursting with excitement over Owen's birthday!

At the end of the month, Bryan and I celebrate our second wedding anniversary. I am fairly excited about that; unlike birthdays, I haven't had many anniversaries, so each one is very special and I hope it's always that way. We've started to celebrate big events with special lunches, so that we don't have to leave Owen with a sitter just yet. So I'm sure our anniversary will be celebrated with a lovely lunch at a lovely restaurant. I can't wait!

5 months!

Owen is nearly 5 months old! Today we went to have some family portraits taken and it was a blast. It was a little tough to get Owen to smile for the camera, but at least he wasn't crying or throwing a tantrum. The prints will be ready in a few days, so here's a little preview.

Rice Cereal

I bought a video camera before Owen was born. A nice one. I decided to splurge on the 1080p Canon since I knew that I'd have it for a long time and wanted to be sure that the quality was as good as possible.

Since then I've been pretty good at taking videos (not great, but good) but horrible at posting them (I've posted a total of 0). Today I present my first video, a compilation of the first couple attempts of Owen eating rice cereal. To be truthful, they're mostly being posted for the grandparents because I don't picture many other people sitting down for 7 minutes to watch Bridget and Owen battle over a rice and formula mixture. I hope to continue the trend and get better about posting new videos more often. Enjoy!