1st Bath

Last Wednesday night we gave Owen his very 1st bath. We used his baby bath tub and put it in the kitchen sink. I bathed him while Tony recorded some video of him with the camcorder. At first he was very unsure of what to think of getting wet, but we made sure the water was nice and warm and he ended up liking it pretty well. He was so snuggly afterwards and smelled so good! I just love the way that all the baby shampoo and lotions smell :) Here are a few pictures of Owen's very first bath...

Before we got started

Mama bathing Owen

Drying off

Snuggling with Daddy

My little cutie

Daddy D & Dean Come to Visit

This weekend Tony's grandparents came from Mississippi to visit Owen. On Friday night they came over to our house to visit with him and eat dinner and then on Saturday we went to Tony's parents and D did a big fish fry for everyone with some fish that he had caught back in Mississippi. Owen was a little off of his schedule so he got a little cranky at times, but overall he was in a pretty good mood and we had a great visit with everyone. Here are a few pictures of Daddy D and Dean with Owen...

Phillips Family Dinner

On Tuesdays we usually go over to my grandparents' house for dinner with my dad's side of the family. This past Tuesday (3/25) was our first trip over there since Owen was born and it was the first time for them to meet the little guy (all except my grandmother who'd already met him). Here are a few pictures...

Poppaw (great grandfather)

great Aunt Linda

great Aunt Karen

2nd cousin, Onilee--she and Owen share the same birthday :)

Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday we went over to my parents house for lunch. Tony's parents joined us and we had a very nice afternoon. As promised, here are some pictures of Owen in his day gown that my mom made. It is still a little tiny bit big on him, but soon it will fit perfectly. Mama did such an awesome job on it and I absolutely LOVE it! Tony's parents left before the photo shoot began so we didn't get any pictures of them with Owen, but we'll get some more soon!

Rocking with Geebee

Sleeping in Pops' arms

Our little family :)

Owen's Easter gown

Hoppy Easter and more visitors :)

Just wanted to share a few pictures of Owen in his bunny outfit that his Noni (Tony's mom) got for him. He was very cooperative for a photo shoot and some of them came out pretty cute :) Since Owen won't even be 2 weeks old tomorrow, we've decided not to go to church for Easter. We're really gonna miss not being there, but we don't want to expose him to any unnecessary germs so we're gonna pass :( We are going over to my parents' house for lunch though so that will be a lot of fun! Owen is gonna wear his Easter outfit--a BEAUTIFUL hand smocked day gown that my mom made so I'll be sure and get LOTS of pictures tomorrow :)

Last week my grandmother, Nonnie, came for her visit with her great grandson. My Poppaw was unable to come as he was in the hospital recovering from surgery, but we're gonna get the little guy over to see him soon!Auntie Ashleigh and Umpa Joel (borrowing that term from Joel's adorable nephew, Hampton) came last weekend to see Owen as well. They brought us some yummy BBQ and a salad for me and we had lunch and visited with them for a little while. They couldn't stay too long, but hopefully we'll be able to visit again soon!Robyn, Emilie, and Lauren came to visit Owen today and DANG IT but I forgot to take pictures again...I really need to get with it! I guess they'll have to be on the list for a re-do soon so that we can get some pictures of them with the little guy too :)

1 week dr. appt

We had our very 1st doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon and everything went very smoothly. We even managed to squeeze it in between feedings without having to feed too early or too late which kept Owen a happy boy :) He has gained 4 ounces since we left the hospital--he was 8lbs. 60z. when we left and now he's 8lbs. 10oz. so he's gaining weight nicely. He is supposed to be back at his birth weight between 10 and 14 days old so we're well on our way! He measured 22 inches long so if everyone's measurements were accurate--he's already grown 1/2 inch since he was born! The doctor says he looks very healthy and as she put it, "I can't find anything to worry about!" Amazingly enough, Owen didn't cry the entire time we were in the doctor's office-even when he was stripped down to be weighed! Ironically enough, mama was the one who had to get a shot! I had to get the dpt shot and Owen got off without having to be stuck which was great. Next time he won't be so lucky though I'm afraid :( I wish I could take all of his shots for him--I don't like it when my baby boy has to hurt!!! He did fuss a bit on the way home. He's still not crazy about his car seat, but he's getting used to it pretty quickly.

Tony had his first day back at work today. We really missed him a lot, but there's only 1 more day until the weekend and we're really excited about that! Geebee (my mom) came over today and was a HUGE help to us. She watched Owen while I napped and cleaned and tidied things up a bit too which was great--the clutter was starting to drive me a little crazy!This afternoon Sara & Richard came to visit Owen and Linda, Sara's mom, came along too! Richard got to meet Owen for the 1st time and he was so funny--he's gonna be such a great daddy himself in just a few months! They're both are going to be excellent parents, I can't wait to see them in action :) It was a lot of fun laughing and visiting with them, we all had a great time! Dang it if I didn't forget to take pictures today though :( They'll just have to come back really soon for a re-do so we can capture it on film!

Meet the Grandparents :)

Geebee

Pops

Noni


Grandpa

So far, so good :)

Well, tomorrow Owen will be 1 week old and so far things have been going pretty smoothly. The first night was pretty rough--little man only slept for about 2 hours total--but since then things have improved dramatically. He's only waking up every 3 hours now (which is right on schedule with his feedings) so Tony and I are still tired, but no longer the walking dead. Days have been good too--I can already see a schedule starting to form which is a sigh of relief for me! He feeds every 3 hours, has some "awake time" and then naps until the next feeding. Owen's first doctor's appointment is tomorrow. Our very first family outing :) Tony is off work until Thursday and has been a HUGE help with everything! So many of our sweet neighbors and friends have arranged to bring us dinner for about the next month! (SUCH A HUGE HELP!!!) and that has also helped out a great deal--we are so very blessed!!!! Here are a few pictures as promised!

Owen Michael Dichiara

Our new family!


Mama and Owen

Daddy kissing Owen :)

Owen is here!!!

Born Wednesday, March 12, 2008
1:20 a.m.
9 pounds 1 ounce
21 1/2 inches


I was going to picture, but I'm having trouble here at the hospital. We are being discharged tomorrow so more to come soon...

NEW Blog Format...

Just wanted to send everyone a heads up...

In a few weeks, I will be making my blog a "readers only" blog because I'm just not crazy about the idea pictures and stories of Owen being available to complete strangers on the internet (not that they'd really be interested in them, but for safety's sake you can never be too careful!) So, if you would like to continue to access to my blog, all you have to do is leave me a message in the comments section with your e-mail address and I will add you to the list of approved readers. Oh, and you don't have to worry about your privacy either, I have set the comments to private so your e-mail address won't be posted for all to see :) I will wait a week or so before I actually change this setting so if you have any problems or questions you can just shoot me an e-mail or give me a call!

Thanks for your understanding :)
Hannah

Update...

Didn't do a 40 week post--basically it came and went...he became officially "full term" and decided he was so comfortable he'd like to stay in there another week. No big news to report so I decided to skip the blogging over the last week and Tony and I just relaxed, slept in, and enjoyed our last bit of free time for just the 2 of us.

We are headed to the hospital tonight to get things going. I will be given one medicine over night tonight in preparation and then my doctor will induce labor tomorrow morning. So, Owen will be born at some point tomorrow and we're SO excited to meet him :) I will post an update as soon as feel up to it, but I'm not making any promises on how soon it will be...we will be very busy kissing and loving on our sweet baby!