Beach Trip!!!

We went to my grandparents' beach house with my parents a few weeks ago and had SUCH a nice time! Tony and I even got to go out to eat just the 2 of us on a real date...our first one since Owen came along and it was so much fun! We spent our time relaxing, sleeping, going on walks, and eating lots of yummy food. The house is right on the bay and it is so peaceful and relaxing. I even got to lay out in the sun a few times which was a really nice treat! Owen and my mom went down to the dock every morning to listen to the birds chirping while Tony and I got to sleep in a little while. While we were there, Owen rolled over from his stomach to his back for the very first time! At first we thought maybe he just did it on accident while he was squirming around, but I'd roll him back over to his tummy and then a few minutes later he'd roll right back onto his back. He ended up doing it about 5 or 6 times while we were there and I even caught it on camera...

Owen's ready for the beach!

Sitting on the beach with Geebee all covered up!

Family beach picture

Getting a bath from Geebee

Getting a bottle from Pops

On the deck with Daddy

Sunset with Daddy

Sunset with Mama

1 month checkup

Kinda late--sorry about that :) but things have been kinda crazy around our house for the past few weeks. We went for Owen's 1 month check up last Monday and the doctor said that he looked great, but she was a little concerned that he was gaining weight too slowly. He was only up to 9lbs. 6oz. and she wanted him at at least 9lbs. 10oz. She wanted me to stop breastfeeding him and go strictly to formula for 1 week and to pump & freeze my milk...

Well, that was SO NOT GOING TO HAPPEN so instead I decided on my own to increase his feedings to every 2 hours. It was a lot of work for both of us, but he gained 12 oz. last week and as of this past Monday he was up to 10lbs. 2oz. so his weight is MUCH better now, hooray! We're changing doctors as well. Owen was seeing my doctor, a family practitioner, because we hadn't found a pediatrician that we loved yet, but we've since found one and we're going to go see him for the first time for his 2 month check up in a few weeks so we're excited about that--but not excited about the shots he's going to have to get :(

We're back to 3 hour feedings now and feeling much more rested. He's almost fallen back into his regular routine which has been nice for me as I've been able to catch up a little on some of the housework that fell behind last week.

It amazes me how Owen is growing and changing every single day. He is much more alert and active during his awake times. He smiles a lot and "talks" to us all the time. He's so much fun and I love every minute that I get to spend with him. He also follows objects pretty well and has rolled over at least 5 or 6 times from his stomach to his back during his tummy time. (The first time he did this was at the beach--story and pictures to follow) The doctor claims that he's doing this on "accident" but Tony swears Owen knows what he's doing and does it on purpose...I'm inclined to agree with Tony since he's done it so many times, but who knows, I guess we'll just have to ask him when he gets older...haha! Owen just loves it when Tony comes home every day and holds him--he just smiles and smiles at Daddy and makes lots of sweet coos and noises at him. It is so precious :)

1 month measurements:
10lbs. 2 oz.--I'm not counting the 9lbs. 6 oz. since he gained more so quickly :)
22 1/2 inches long
15 inch head

my doctor doesn't give me percentiles for some reason (maybe because she's a family practitioner?) but I'm looking forward to getting them when we go to his pediatrician.

Playing with the camera

I'm still trying to figure out my camera (the Nikon D40 which I HIGHLY recommend!!!) so today Owen and I did a little photo shoot. He was pretty cooperative for the majority of the time, but got a little bit tired of all the pictures after a while. Tony says he's just like daddy and doesn't like to have his picture taken, haha :) I took a gazillion pictures, but here are a few of my favorites...He was looking at Tony for this one, so sweet :)

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Love this one!

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His adorable silver rattle

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Daddy holding Owen in his hands

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Mooommm!!! I am soooo sick of taking pictures!!!

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My favorite one :)

3 weeks old

I can hardly believe that Owen is 3 weeks old--time has flown by! He's been such a good eater and he's starting to fill out a little bit. His cheeks are so cute and starting to get a little chubby, I just love to kiss all over them :) He has started to have a "fussy period" after his 7pm feeding most days. He just can't seem to figure out what he wants so usually we give him a pacifier and then Tony just cuddles him for a while and he seems to calm down. It's really not too bad though, especially considering that he hardly cries at all throughout the rest of the day.

Tony has Spring Break next week so he'll be off all week and we're really excited! We're headed to Gulf Shores with my mom on Wednesday to my grandparents beach house and then my dad will join us on Friday. We're staying until Sunday and we're looking forward to taking Owen on his 1st vacation. There probably won't be too much time spent on the actual beach, but it will be a nice, relaxing getaway. I will be taking LOTS of pictures and hopefully some videos too so I'll post those when we get back.

A few nights ago, Tony went to check on Owen who was asleep in his cradle and he started laughing so I went in to see what was going on. We found Owen sleeping like this with his arms behind his head. He looked so cute we couldn't resist taking a picture--he looks like he's just chilling out and we thought it was so funny!Also, I'm a bit behind on these, but we had some more visitors on Easter Sunday afternoon--James, Caitlin, and Travis came to visit and we got a few pictures. Tony had me embroider a onesie that said "I'm the Champ" because apparently it's something that Ric Flair says and for some reason, Tony and James get a HUGE kick out of him (and if you have been reading my blog from the beginning, you'll remember that before we knew we were having a boy, we affectionately called the baby "Flair"). Anyways, if you look closely, you can see the lovely onesie in the picture with "Uncle James" :) Also, Marisa came and spent the day with Owen and me last Thursday. She brought lunch and we hung out all day and had a lot of fun. It was great getting to catch up with her--I hadn't seen her since the GA/GT game so it had been quite a while!

James

Caitlin

Travis

Marisa

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