A Day at the Park

On Monday we played in the yard, got out for a walk and then enjoyed some time playing at the playground. Owen decided that he wants Mommy and Daddy to have off of work every Monday!

My favorite way to go down my slide

The determined "Grandpa Jim" tongue

Me and Daddy on the curly slide...Daddy's legs are too long, so we couldn't go very fast

Going down the "BIG" slide all by myself!

You should have heard the giggle!

Very interested in the mulch...

Weee! Weeeeeee!

We've Got Ourselves a Walker!

Up until recently, Owen's been pretty content to crawl to where he wants to go and just take a few steps here and there. About three weeks ago, he really started to take steps away from the furniture. Of course we never have the camera out when he is walking up a storm, but I caught this little clip this weekend.

Teddy Bear Park with the Withers Family!

It's always a treat to get to spend time with our good friends, the Withers family, but today was extra special! We got to celebrate our Goddaughter Livia's birthday, spend time at the Teddy Bear Park and have a nice dinner on the patio at the Freight House.

Grrrrrrr!

I couldn't help but giggle tonight when Owen was going up to bed. He is Mr. Independent on the steps now and always has to check out the gate first before he goes up. He had on his tiger jammies and looked an awful lot like a little tiger at the zoo! My Grandpa used to call me tiger when I was little and every time I put Owen in these jammies, I think of him.

It's Finally Nice Outside!!!

After a long, cold winter and a rainy, cold spring, we finally had a day nice enough to play outside and go for a walk in our new wagon!

Exploring on the climber out in the yard

Going to the Doctor

Waiting in the lobby for my name to be called like a big boy!

This week was a busy one for Owen. He had his 1 year NICU follow up appointment on Tuesday and his 1 year eye doctor follow up appointment on Thursday.

At his NICU follow up appointment, they asked Owen to do several tasks that were "scored." The scores are meant to tell us if he is behind and needs extra help or if he has caught up. Overall, he did really well, but it was a very long appointment! It's not often that we ask him to sit at a table for an hour and a half doing things like putting pegs in holes, drawing with a pencil and paper, putting blocks into a cup and then taking them out, etc. so by the end, we were all ready to be done! The physical therapist said that he is doing very well. She said that his scores showed him to be in the 15 month level in most areas. However, when he is with strangers, he doesn't say much and that day was no different. (It didn't help that she had a cold and had a face mask on either!) He wouldn't utter a single syllable to her, so she had to rate him at 10 months for language. When she asked what he is saying, she told us that he sounds like he is right on track, she just couldn't score him accordingly because he didn't say anything there.

After the PT was done, a nurse weighed and measured him. He is in the 80th percentile for head, 75th for height and 50th for weight, so that is excellent! One of the neonatalogists that we really liked when we were at the NICU was working down in the follow-up clinic on Tuesday, so it was fun to see him. He said that Owen is doing fantastic. He said that it means they did a good job with him when they had him in the hospital and that we are doing a great job with him at home, so to keep it up. That was wonderful to hear. We think of him as a normal, almost 15 month old, but it helps to hear doctors say that he's doing well too!

On Thursday, we went to the eye doctor for his 1 year follow-up visit. When O was born, he had to be tested for a condition preemies sometimes get, called ROP. He didn't have it, but there are a lot of other conditions that ex-preemies can have as they grow. The eye doctor said that she could detect slight near-sightedness and a slight astigmatism. We have to go back in 6 months and she'll decide then if he needs to have glasses. Both of these are common conditions in preemies, but I have both of them as well, so it could be in his genes too.

Now in a couple weeks, he has his 15 month well baby check. Lots of doctor appointments!!!!

Walk for Babies

Today we helped raise money for the March of Dimes at the Walk for Babies event in St. Paul. It was VERY cold and windy, so everyone walked/ran very quickly. It was sad that the weather wasn't nicer because they really did put a lot of hard work into organizing the walk. There were water stops with bananas and granola bars at each of the mile markers, as well as hot dogs, chips, coffee and water at the finish line. The walk started off with some families talking about how the March of Dimes has made a difference in their lives. That along with the T-shirts that some people wore with photos of their preemie babies and the dates that they went to heaven, made us again feel so blessed and lucky that Owen is healthy and strong.

On May 1 should I really have to wear a hat, mittens and a blankie?
Owen, Norah and Ben all bundled up and ready to go!