Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from Andrew, Desiree, Owen and Kiwi!

Its funny, the holidays seem way more exciting and meaningful now that we have Owen in our lives. Not that spoiling Kiwi wasn't fun, but the dog gets excited over dropped Cheerios so buying fancy treats isn't really worth it.

The last few weeks have been jam packed. Owen finally got his first teeth (the bottom two came within days of each other) and we also got all the drama that came with teething - crankiness, fever, loss of appetite. Now the top two seem to be on their way...so Owen might get his two front teeth for Christmas.

As you can see above, we got a tree that is taking up most of our living room. So far, Owen hasn't shown interest in it which is great! He is the world champion at finding the most tiny object on the floor, so I've never swept or vacuumed this much in my entire life.

Owen still enjoys bouncing more than walking so thats another plus. I'm still trying to stifle his development when it comes to walking....I know, I admit it, I'm lazy and I don't want to run after him just yet.

Owen has learned to play with Kiwi. He picks up her doggie toys and has learned to throw them so she will fetch for him. I thought this was a wonderful development because they could entertain themselves for a few minutes out of the day - but low and behold at playgroup Owen threw a musical shaker at another mom. Whoops!

Owen is also big into kissing. Big sloppy wet kisses that are almost x-rated. He kisses the characters in his books, stuffed animals, his mom and dad and most recently Kiwi. The poor dog is really very patient with Owen.

Finally, Owen has become a ham for cameras. He sees the flash-ready light and he just makes this ridiculous scrunched up face. Examples below

This household of Sinclairs is wishing everyone a very safe and Merry Christmas!

love,
Andrew, Desiree, Owen & Kiwi

Whew..

The past few weeks have been crazy. Owen caught an awful cold and was miserable. Then when he started to recover he caught a little diarrhea bug (passed on to his parents for a short while). While he was in remarkable in a good mood despite having the poops, he had me a little worried. Now that he's all better, he's full of energy and back to his mischevious self. We still found time to live a little and have some fun.

Speaking of fun...Owen has a budding social life. Owen started to visit a babysitter for short segments to get him ready for the transition to when I go back to work in February. At the babysitter's place he's met another little boy and is completely in love with the babysitter's puppy Golden Lab. Owen also goes to play group once a week. While there he does a little socializing with other babies, a little flirting with the one older lady (she's 3), and lots of experimenting and exploring. The other week he learned that linoleum floors aren't as tasty as they look (yes, he licked the floor). He has also learned to shove other toys out of the way when he crawls to get the toy he really really wants. Of course, babies don't know how to share yet so its always funny to watch Owen try to negotiate taking a toy away from another baby or when another baby takes a toy away from him. Luckily these kids are still easily distracted.

Lots of other stuff has happened this month, but I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

An absolutely stunning day at the farm in Mount Forest. Despite the reasons for being there, we had a lovely day. Exactly how my dad would have wanted things.

Just an ordinary day doing chores.

Andrew took this picture to prove that Owen may need a haircut soon. Unfortunately what this picture does not show is the relative thiness of the rest of the hair on Owen's head.

Owen's new favorite activity...crawling under the table.

Owen trying baby pasta....some of it went into his mouth.

Here is Owen at playgroup...it was a small class that day.

$1 toy!

Check out the big toy we picked up at a garage sale today...for a dollar.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Puerto Rico

Andrew had to go to Puerto Rico for a work conference so Owen and I decided that we should go and keep him company. Andrew went ahead to do some actual work. Owen and I met him there later in the week to stay for a couple of days. The planning for this trip was incredible. A few days away with a baby and I felt like I packed half of our kitchen. Bottle warmer? check. Jarred baby food? check. Dishes and utensils? check.

Thanks to some empty seats on the flights down and some Gravol on the way back, Owen was a very good flyer. That being said, I don't think that Andrew and I will be rushing to put Owen back on plane for just any old trip. Also, I vowed that unless its a big emergency, there is absolutely no way that I'd travel on a plane ALONE with Owen, especially with connections. Keeping Owen entertained on the airplane, making tight connections and hauling the luggage kept me sweating the whole way.

Owen excited to get on the airplane.

But all the sweat was worth it for the change of scenery. Palm trees, sand, the ocean - it was great. The weather was a little unstable at times, but for the most part it was fabulous. Old San Juan was really nice but I think that Owen's favorite part of the trip was eating his lunch on the beach everyday. Owen's other most favorite thing about Puerto Rico was....restaurant wooden highchairs. He'd never been in one previous to this trip and he freakin' loved it.

On the streets of Old San Juan

On the hotel grounds.

See how much he loves being in these high chairs? It was like this every time!

Check out the view.

While we were there a political convention was taking place at our hotel. It was loud and crazy. The Puerto Rican people that we encountered were all very friendly, and this rally was a great excuse for partying. There was lots of music and people. Luckily Owen slept through the noise...even when Andrew and I would get awakened at 3am by some revellers yelling off their balcony.

The conventioneers welcoming some candidate to the hotel.

Here are some more pictures.

Owen really like being in the ocean, but he wasn't a big fan of the sand.

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Owen snuggling in the blankets after a dip in the ocean.

Looking at the ducks.

Having lunch on the beach isn't the tidiest thing to do.

September Sun

September passed us by rather quickly. It all seems like quite the blur now that we are well into October now. In this month Owen matured a lot. He all of a sudden realized what he wanted, when we wanted it and knew what he had to do when he wanted to get it. This resulted in a lot of vocalization. Since Owen was still pretty immobile at the beginning of the month he experienced some frustrations (so did Andrew and I). However, it was very exciting to watch him interact with toys and other household items in a new way. He all of a sudden had favorite toys and books that he didn't get tired of.

What else happened this month? While coming home from work, Andrew was rear ended on the 401....he was stopped in traffic when an old man drove into him. The old man didn't even attempt to brake prior to the crash, he explained to Andrew that he was looking up at the signs. Luckily Andrew was fine but the new car wasn't so lucky. Its all fixed now.

Here are some photos from the month.

Here is Owen trying on a new hand-me-down from the Hansons. We later tried out the contraption in the hot tub.

Owen found a new use for his Bumbo...chew toy.

Here Owen was trying to crawl really hard so he could get that leaf into his mouth.

Here he is realizing that laundry baskets are really fun. First he threw a shoe into the basket, then he dumped out the basket and didn't even help to fold his diapers.

1st Baseball Game

On Sunday Sept 2 we took Owen to his very first Blue Jays game. As you can see, Owen was so excited about the prospect of going, that he fell asleep during his lunch. After letting him have a very quick snooze, we suited him up, packed the lunch he didn't eat and made our way down to the Dome...or Rogers Centre, whatever the thing is called now.















Andrew got us great seats. They were cushioned and luckily we were in the shade the whole time. It was a beautiful clear day so the dome was open. Also, I didn't have anyone sitting next to me so I could stow all of our gear there...

Owen had a great time. He especially enjoyed the hecklers. He'd always look for the loudmouths and smile in their direction.

I don't know if you can tell, but Owen is wearing a baseball inspired outfit...another hand-me-down from the Hansons - THANKS!

Also, I forgot to mention that Owen is really into clapping his hands. This is super cute while in the privacy of our home, but it was even cuter when his urge to clap coincided with a good play and the whole Dome cheered.


I'm pretty sure that Owen's cheering helped the Jays win that day. You'll have to ask Andrew what the score was though - I wasn't paying too much attention to the game.

7 Months Old!

In the last few weeks Owen has changed a lot. His daily schedule is bonkers due to teething, growth spurts. A few weeks ago I could tell you that Owen had a nice long nap in the morning and that he would sleep through the night 90% of the time. Since then, he would only catnap and wake up at least once during the night to feed. Owen has also started to fight naps and bedtime. I guess he doesn't want to miss anything. Andrew and I are trying to get Owen back on track, but its been quite the battle. After a few days, we've seen some improvement, so I guess we'll just have to keep at it.

Owen is all about the babbling now. Lots of Gagagas and Owahs, Aaahs and even some Ehs! He's even experimenting with the volume of his sounds. He's also into launching himself from the sitting position, forward into an almost crawl stance...but mostly he just nosedives for now and ends up on his belly.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks.







Uncle Derek and Owen at the park.
















During our visit to the park, Kiwi met a 4 month old pug named Charlie...check out the stroller basket. They would chase each other around the stroller and then Charlie would jump in the basket for a quick break. It was pretty cute.







Trip to the CNE

So, Andrew and I decided that we should introduce Owen to our annual tradition of eating "dinner" at the Ex.

Here we are in the thick of the action. Owen doesn't seem so impressed.





















Owen and Daddy taking a quick break for a bottle break.



















All the sights and activity pooped Owen out.












Who needs a sippy cup?






Well, generally speaking Owen drinks water out of his sippy cup, but he really likes to chew on the rims of real cups. Here's Nanna and Owen.

MaryAnn's wedding weekend

Owen is having a great August. In the past few weeks he's tried some new foods and met some new people. His favorite food is still bananas but he doesn't seem to mind butternut squash or peas or even green beans. He's still on the fence about applesauce, so hopefully he will enjoy peaches, which will be tomorrow's new adventure.


Owen is super ticklish on almost every part of his body and loves it when Daddy comes home from work for daddy-play time. Owen is almost a pro when it comes to sitting up and I'm afraid, he is just weeks away from starting to crawl.

This past weekend we got to go up north for MaryAnn and Tim's wedding. It was a lovely affair. Owen had a great time.








Owen waiting in the hotel room for Mommy and Daddy to get ready.











Owen stayed busy with Daddy's tie while in the background Paisley and her Daddy Jim watch the ceremony.




















Owen trying to steal away the bride.




















Owen trying to rock on...but just can't do it.












Here are all the girls.










Daddy and Owen waking up with smiles...okay, forced smiles.









Owen and Kiwi....best attempts at being best friends






Here is Owen doing his new favorite thing, grabbing Kiwi's foot.











And here is Kiwi, trying to politely tell him to stop it with very convincing kisses.















Here Owen and Kiwi have come to some sort of agreement, but they still don't look contented.














So for something completely different, Owen rolls over and pushed himself under his crib.









Until next time....

yeah, yeah...

Okay, so I know that I make some lame excuse each time I post, apologizing for not posting sooner...but its the summer so deal with it;)

Here is the family update:

Owen is now 6 months old. He is loving eating rice cereal and has tried bananas, sweet potato and avocado and likes them in that order. Next up for him to try this week...oat cereal and unsweetened applesauce. His new favorite things are playing with his feet, especially sucking his toes - and we have tonnes of photos illustrating it; sticking his tongue in and out and "rasberry-ing"; and finally listening to his mommy sing while jumping about in his jolly jumper -thingy. His favorite songs are "itsy bitsy spider", "apples and bananas", and "Bingo".

Here is Daddy and Owen at the High Park Z00. I think Kiwi was more interested in the animals than Owen was.

Here is Owen and his current fave toy...a juicy foot.

Playing with his foot in the bath.

Playing with his foot at the Jazz Fest.

Here is Owen savouring the taste of banana.

Savouring avocado? Not so much.

Hey....with that hat on you remind me of someone.

I will give 50 cents to however can guess what Owen was doing.