First, I’m sorry for my blog absence in January. The black plague descended on our household and I’m still trying to catch up and get back to normal life. But I’m happy to be back to writing and even happier that my family is germ-free (at least for the moment).
Other than getting sick, Owen has had an exciting month. I can’t believe he’s already one and a half years old! Geez, it’s almost time to start planning his second birthday.
Owen was a very spoiled boy for his second Christmas. Before the holidays, I had organized his toys and made room for the tree and decorations, finding places for many of the toys in storage benches and baskets. After Christmas morning, our house was once again overtaken by loads of toys. Sigh. I think I’ve given in and accepted that the toys will be everywhere from now on.
Owen is learning new words every day (he finally just learned to say “no”). Like his mom, he talks with his hands (a true little Italian). He likes to copy what other people say. For example, I’ll say “It’s cold!” and Owen will then say “Izz cwode” about a thousand times.
One word that he won’t copy and say is “Daddy.” Instead he calls both me and Richard “Mommy.” No matter how many times I correct him, Owen sees Richard and gleefully yells “Mommy!” I think it’s kind of funny. Richard finds it less charming.
Little O is starting to excel at fetch. We’ll tell him to go get his red hat and he’ll bring us his red hat. It’s pretty cute. And convenient when I don’t feel like moving.
But most of the time when I don’t feel like moving, Owen wants to drag me around the house. Over the past few weeks, his favorite (and most annoying) thing to do is grab my hand and pull me, loudly whining until I give in and get up. Where does he take me? Usually he pulls me to the fridge or he likes to journey around the whole house like he’s showing me a new continent he discovered.
In the past month, Owen has become quite possessive of me. If Richard or anyone else touches me, he gets visibly distressed. When Richard and I sit next to each other on the couch, Owen will quickly run over, stuff himself between us and push us apart. He’s made it clear that the only person allowed to touch Mommy is Owen.
Owen continues to generally ignore the television. (Yes, I admit that I actively try to get my son to sit still and stare at the TV. This effort is futile since Owen doesn’t know how to sit still for more than 10 seconds.) There are two things that currently attract his attention on the TV – the ShopRite Can Can Sale commercial song and the theme song for the children’s cartoon Caillou. He loves dancing to both songs (even though the Caillou song isn’t really much of a dance anthem). He also tries to sing Caillou, running around the house and exclaiming “Kai – YOOOUUU!” I have no idea how good his singing skills should be at this age, but for now it sounds like our child is NOT musically inclined.
Here are the photos of Owen celebrating his half birthday! This month Owen’s favorite activity was “coloring” with crayons. Since he doesn’t really color so well himself, he likes to force me, Richard or Nana to color with him on the coffee table. He loves emptying the box of crayons and then putting them back and then dumping them again.
With the winter weather, Owen had a chance to check another thing off his to-do list – sledding! His squeals and giggles as he went down the hill were the best part of the past month. Well worth the hassle of a foot of snow!
Please note his shirt is a bit tight over his puffy snow coat. He’s really not fat (at least not that fat).
