My First Christmas!

I have lots to say

10 month update

So what has 10 months brought us?
A few more teeth - 4 on the top and now 4 on the bottom. Owen loves to give you kisses but his secret is that it really isn't an open mouth slobbery kiss but his secret plan on sucking you in so he can bite your face to make his teeth feel better. So steer clear!

Owen is getting very smart. He is beginning to put two and two together ....He loves the remote control. So whenever he sees it sitting on the couch he will crawl and climb directly for it. He presses all the buttons at once and the Spanish channel always seems to be his channel of choice. The other day he took the remote and pointed it to the TV like he was changing the channels. How is this kid so smart? His other obsession are our cell phones. He understands that the phone goes to your ear and you say hi. He does that every once in awhile which is just too damn cute. But of course the other 10 times he is putting our phone in his mouth and slobbering all over it. I guess you can't have it all.

He not only is a smart kid, he has somewhat of an attitude as well. When my mom babysits for him on Monday and Tuesdays she sometimes gets a pretty funny response from the little kid. If he is doing something he is not supposed to be doing: (crawling up and onto the tv stand, putting dirt and leaves into his mouth, putting his fingers near an outlet: the daily 10 month old occurences) my mom will say, "Owen...NO!" Owen fully understands the meaning of no. He looks back at her gives her raspberries and then continues to do what he is not supposed to be doing. Basically saying, "Hey Lady...Bug off!" Nice kid. He must have gotten that from Darren!

Thanksgiving turned out great. Owen was a pleasure to have and entertained all of our guests. It is nice to have a baby in the family again. It seems to put a smile on everyone's face. Owen had his first turkey, carrots, rutabagas and mashed potatoes. A true Thanksgiving Day feast!

Check out the posted videos. They include an assortment of minutes of a "Day in the Life of Owen McCarthy". One shows Owen and his first time experiencing bubbles. It was so fun to watch his little brain work on why these things were there and then a second later vanish in thin air. He also is a talking machine and you will hear throughout the videos his own language he has developed. Still Da-Da,Ba-Ba and finally Ma-Ma are his words of choice. He definitely likes to voice his opinion. Maybe one day he will be a politician, well hopefully not in Illinois! :)

Owen's first Christmas is right around the corner and though Owen has yet to sit on Santa's lap, I am sure he will get a few presents. He has been quite a good boy this year. He has asked for some trucks, a band set and some hand puppets. (I think Santa got them for him!) Lucky kid.

Grand-mo and Gramps sent our Christmas box full of goodies. This by far is Owen's favorite item under the tree. He likes to crawl up on it and pretend it is his own personal playground! I will post some more photos after the holidays to show you how he did on his first Christmas.

Darren, Owen and I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We love you all very much and thank you for always reading up on Owen's progression throughout life. We hope it brings a smile to your face like it does to ours!

Photos: ** I changed my hair color, I am now living the life as a brunette. (I think blondes still have a little more fun - I might have to go back one day!). **Owen in the diaper box playing with a water bottle - heck who needs real toys. **Owen's 9 1/2month photo - he looks quite dashing in his Polo sport coat.

Giggle Giggle

Owen and Bubbles

Owen reading books and chit chatting...

9 month Update!

9 months old and going on 20. Owen's mouth is now full of teeth. He has all 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. The rosie cheeks and cold like symptoms will be sticking around for a few more years. I am sure other teeth will be popping through soon enough. Never a dull moment in the teething world.

Check out the videos I have posted below. Owen's new found fun is ripping any and every piece of paper he can find. If you give him a sales circular he will sit there and rip it in little pieces until his heart is content. Eventually a little scrap finds its way into his mouth. And then you have to tell him "No Owen" and he looks at you with his big blue eyes and then is like "OK" and continues to rip. So now he is good and ready for Christmas 2008. He will be ripping through those presents in no time.

We are also somewhat teaching him the concept of eating with a spoon and feeding himself. I know a little early...but what can I say the kid is a whiz. Take a look at the video for yourself! Yeah I know he is not the BEST at this quite yet but it sure is very humorous to watch. Especially with his shirt posing as long red hair...makes me laugh every time!

So we had our first "official babysitter experience". Darren and I had a party to go to, yes an actual party...can you believe it! So we needed to start branching out and getting a babysitter outside of Karen and Aimee Edwards. Who by the way are really the BEST babysitters around but you can only ask your family members so many times to watch your son because eventually they aren't going to answer your phone calls anymore! So we asked our neighbor, Maxine. Maxine is 16. Well Owen is usually the BEST sleeper. But apparently the boy could smell a rat and sensed that we were trying to go out and have an adult night of fun. So of course he decided not to go to bed easily on that ONE night. We still went out and decided to give Maxine a fighting chance to prove her babysitting skills. I texted her on several occasions asking how everything was going and at 10:15 she was still texting back saying..."It is pretty hard to get him to sleep." So talking it over with Darren and already having a few Miller Lites in me we decided that beer sounded like more fun then a crying baby. So we let her duke it out for another half hour. I texted her again at 10:45 and she said he was sleeping like a baby..phew. Beer is definitely a lot more fun then a crying baby.

Darren, my sister and I are hosting Thanksgiving Day dinner this year at our place. Wish us luck. This will be the first year the turkey will be cooked by virgins! :) We are looking forward to it. The shopping list has been made, decor for my table arrangements have been picked up and now all we need is for the day to actually get here and pray for a juicy turkey!

We miss all of you and hope to see you soon! Happy Turkey day to those in the states and Happy Belated Turkey Day to those in Canada. LOVE YOU!

The photos above is Owen in his abominable snowman outift. It gets cold here, but this outfit will keep the little dude warm. (Thanks to Kaeden's never ending supply of baby clothes that Owen gets to borrow.) The other one with all the kids is from our recent play date at our house with MC (Matthew), Owen, Mikey and Kaeden - my best friend's Lauren and Corrie's cute kids. Also I changed some settings so now it is easier to leave comments below the posts. Just click on the link below that says comments and then you can post a comment after selecting the Anonymous button.

Messy Marvin Eating With a Spoon

Preparation for Christmas 2008

A real belly laugh!

8 month update!

I mean, how fast does time fly? Owen is over 8 months old and is getting too big too fast.

We have met several milestones throughout the past month. He has now perfected the art of crawling on all fours and speeds across the floor faster then the speed of light. He has also mastered the art of pulling himself up onto the couch, wall, playpen, chair, my leg, Darren's leg...anything and everything he could possibly pull himself up onto. He is really, really good at it. We were watching him last weekend and he would pull himself up and then allow himself to fall on his butt. Over and over again. I honestly think he was teaching himself to fall safely onto his butt from the standing position. Of course we have the occasional face plant onto the floor, head banging against a wall and a few good war wounds to mark his progression. As time goes on the bruises and marks get fewer and fewer, thank god!

Owen has also acquired a brand new big boy crib. You are all probably like what? You just bought your son a crib, he is 8 months old already. Well long story short, when we lived in our condo it was a small one bedroom and Owen shared our room with us. (Have we told you how nice it is now to have our own room back!) We purchased a mini crib so it would fit in the room. As the little dude got bigger he really wasn't fitting so much in the mini crib. One morning we went into his room and saw an arm hanging out the side bar and there was basically 6 inches of space from his head to the top of the crib. So we thought - time to get a new crib. So now his new crib is huge, regular size to most, but huge to us and to the little peanut who looks so tiny once again in his bed...thank god. They grow up too fast anyways!

Owen has his two bottom teeth and the top right one also popped through not too long ago. He was pretty miserable. And still is because I think the other two front teeth are well on their way on making a surprise appearance. I told Darren Owen looks like a Jackolantern with all his teeth and especially since he got the top right before the two top front teeth! Crazy kid! Speaking of pumpkins and such - Owen graced River Forest this Friday as a chunky Bumblebee. Take a look at how cute he is. You just want to eat him up!

He is learning how to wave and we catch him doing the hand circle (similar to a wave) to us when we say hi to him and wave. He soaks in everything and is very smart. With that said, Darren and I are starting sign language with him and teaching him words such as eat, drink,sleep, gentle and the most important of all STOP. Though when we say stop and do the sign he looks back at us, smiles and continues to do what he is not supposed to be doing. Little brat....already!

The Presidential Election is right around the corner, from the above photo you can guess who Owen will be voting for.

We hope you are all doing well and we will keep you updated on O-Dog's progress in life! We miss you all and cannot wait to see you again!

Watch me climb...I am a big boy!

7 month update!

Owen is almost 7 1/2 months old. He is getting so big! He changes so much everyday. He is quite the talker and will have long conversations with himself when he wakes up in the morning before I get him from his crib. His favorite words are still Ba-Ba and Bob. Again where Bob came from we have no clue - we just go a long with it!

Owen went on his third plane ride in 7 months to visit Darren's hometown, Trail. I think he has been on more plane rides then his dad! We got to spend time with his family and friends and we had such a great time. He was an excellent traveler and actually got his own seat there and back - for some reason the planes were empty. So that was a big plus!

He now eats three meals a day and can still put back 5 or 6 bottles a day - yes the boy can eat. It is probably one of his favorite things to do. My dad asked the other day if he had a bracelet on? I had to reply, "No dad that is just his fat roll!"

We have discovered a magical cd that we play for O in the car when he starts his freak out session. It is a Baby Einstein classical cd and the first "magical" song is Twinkle,Twinkle Little Star. Yeah you are thinking so what - everyone knows that song, what can make that song "magical". Well let me tell you, when Owen starts screaming in the car because he is thoroughly annoyed with Darren and my schedules of in and out of the car all day, we put the cd on and it is instant silence. And now we also found out that singing the song exhibits the same response. He just absolutely loves it and will go into a complete trance when he hears it. Seriously, if you have kids give it a try...it might work! Or try it on your husband or boyfriend - complete silence every once in awhile really isn't a bad thing!

He now crawls all over the place. He still hasn't mastered the up on all fours crawl but that doesn't seem to effect his speed. I saw him crawl from the living room to the dining room and under the dining room table like a maze all within a minute or so. He can sit up by himself, unassisted. But yes of course there are still some times that his balance is lost and he topples to one side or another. Unscathed of course. This must be due to the large McCarthy head he has acquired - causes one to become off balance every so often. Hehe!

Owen has grown to love a nice leisurely stroll in his stroller and does the funniest thing. He has to sit all the way up to the front and WILL not ever lean back and relax. When he assumes this position he is instantly observing every plant, building, car and person that we pass along the way. Vroom, vroom, beep, beep! Every person we pass looks down at him and totally smiles and laughs because he is staring them down and trying to figure them out. We took him for a long walk one evening and it was nearing 8pm. He was getting pretty tired but still didn't want to miss a single thing. He was so tired he fell asleep sitting up...he was actually sleeping while sitting up!

Darren and I have clued in that Owen has more friends then us in our new neighborhood. When we go for our walks we will get a "Hi Baby Owen" every so often from adults and kids we have never seen walking down the street! Owen has made many new friends thru his babysitter Thelma, Wednesday-Friday. All the kids call him Baby Owen and just love him to pieces...my wonderful mom still watches him Monday and Tuesday and we try and bring him to my Grandma's on Mondays. So he is a lucky boy getting his fill of lots of love from all directions!

He has found a new love for his activity table and when I stand him up next to it he will touch every button to make the table light up and play music. He really gets into it and will jump and smile and squeal as he gets things going. Darren and I sit there and laugh and laugh, it keeps him occupied for a good 10 minutes of pure fun!

All this fun has lead to the poor little guy getting a cold for the past few days. Runny nose and cough. He has been having trouble sleeping, can't breath out of his nose. So Darren has been sharing Owen's "one day- big boy bed" with him and sleeping next to him so he will fall asleep. We have been lathering him up with Vick's Vapor Rub and have been putting it on his feet (an old Canadian cold reducing remedy) - and believe it or not it actually works! Danny told us about that one. I looked it up and it came up as a Canadian remedy - I thought he was pulling our leg! Oh yeah and besides having to sleep with him in the same bed we also had to sing version after version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star to keep the peace... Well this is our update of "Baby Owen".

We hope you are all doing well and we hope to see you all very soon! Much love - The McCarthy's

6 Month Update!

Owen is a big boy! He has started to finally grow some hair on his bald head and it is coming in a light brown. He has beautiful big blue eyes and now has 2 bottom teeth. He will bite your finger pretty hard if you try and feel them. So steer clear.

He is almost to the point of sitting up all by himself and has started to crawl. He hasn't quite mastered the task but he is getting very close. He will soon be mobile and we will soon be in trouble. He is quite a happy baby and always has a cute smile on his face or a giggle in his belly. We bought him a jumparoo and he absolutely loves it. He will bounce around for hours if we let him and just laughs and smiles the entire time. He has discovered the fact that if mom or dad walk out of the room and he starts to scream and cry we immediately come right back into the room. Thus figuring out cause and effect...smart kid.

He still is a very good sleeper and now sleeps face first on his mattress. Which is not cool, so we are constantly turning his head to the side. Though he really doesn't seem to mind. You can always tell when he has had a sound sleep, he wakes up with sleepy eyes. Sleepy eyes or not he wakes up with a smile and a few minutes of talking to himself before we come and get him. He blows raspberries constantly and cracks himself up. He has been babbling quite a bit and has said some words, Ma Ma, Ba Ba, Da Da and Bob. Really not sure where Bob came from but he doesn't seem to know either!

He loves bath time and has learned that splashing is quite cool. He can wack the water and get everyone and everything around him wet. He is a really good eater and now eats all kinds of food. Squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, pears, bananas. His new bedroom is finished and looks too cute. We decorated in his safari theme and he has lots of monkeys, giraffes and elephants surrounding him while he sleeps. It is kind of hard teaching him the sounds that safari animals make..much easier to mimic a cow, dog, horse, etc....Seriously what kind of sound does a giraffe make? Yeah we didn't know either!

He is taking his second trip to Canada at the end of the week. He is a world traveler already at 6 months. I told him when he was born that he better get used to traveling...we will do it a lot! We are going back to Trail to visit for a week. He will finally get to meet his aunts, uncles and cousins. So fingers crossed he will be a good boy on the long plane ride.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lauren and Joe's second child, Meika Wagenaar. She should be here anyday now! We can't wait to meet her and welcome her to the world!

We hope everyone is doing great and hope you enjoyed your summer!

5 months!

Wow…5 months already. How time flies. Owen is such a good baby. He has slept thru the night since the first month and is very comfortable around lots of different people. My mom watches him on Monday and Tuesday over at my Grandma’s house and then my sister watches him Wednesday-Friday. So Owen is loving life getting to hang out with grandma’s, aunts, nephews, etc. I think that is why he never wants to sit down and constantly wants to be held…hmmmmmm!

Owen also has been on 2 plane rides. His first trip my mom, Owen and I went to visit Kate and Rob in North Carolina and guess what we got first class both ways. Well you see my son and I only fly first class. Yeah right I wish! My mom worked for United so we flew stand-by and were lucky enough to get first class both ways. Not so shabby! And then his second trip Darren and I took him to Canada to visit with Grandmo, Gramps, Nana, Auntie Colleen, Uncle Al, Ashley and Travis! Owen had such a good time in the warm Vancouver weather hanging out, drinking lots of bottles and a few Kokanee beers. A true Canadian through and through.

At his 4 month checkup he was 13 pounds and 8 ounces and I swear now he weighs about 30 pounds. He is a big boy and carrying him around in his car seat is going to have to stop soon enough. I have muscles but they are definitely not that big. We started feeding him cereal. We started with brown rice cereal and he pretty much hated it. He gave me the craziest face and spit out every last bit of it. So we switched to oatmeal cereal…much better! He is now on a bottle for all 6 feedings and is doing great! He can suck down a bottle in 2.2 seconds. It is quite scarey. Oh yeah and our little man can also hold his own bottle and has been doing that for the past two weeks. Pretty cool eh?

Steve and Melissa had their second baby, Baby Jack. He is awesome! Darren and I have visited with them the past few weekends and it has been so much fun! I just love the fact that all our kids will have the opportunity of getting to know one another! Morgan who might be the cutest little girl I have ever seen will definitely be the leader and all the boys will follow her around! Danny and Mo are coming in today to visit for the summer –we all have been looking forward to that for months! So overall, summer has been great and will continue to be!

Other fun things happening...Corrie had her baby Matthew in April, Lauren is having a girl in September and they moved back to Illinois and are now living in Algonquin -(Darren and I are so happy!), Darren's friend Lawrence and Katie just got married and had a great wedding in Whistler, Maureen retired and can now come and visit us anytime she likes,Darren and I sold our condo and will be moving to River Forest and renting an apartment above my sisters and looking forward to it. We are in the midst of house hunting but taking our time.

We hope everyone is well! Love and miss you all!

3 months old!

Owen is such a big boy! He is almost 3 1/2 months and changing everyday! Hmmm, let's see what I can share with you, there is so much! He learned how to roll over from his tummy to back and back to tummy already and loves to really kick his legs and move his arms when he is sitting in his swing. His swing is one of his favorites and likes to take afternoon naps in it. He has a favorite blanket (a handmade one from Darren's friend Lawrence and Katie) He loves this blanket like his "wubbie" and loves to eat it and rub it on his face. Everything that goes into his hands automatically goes into his mouth and there is a constant flow of baby drool down his chin and soaking every outfit we put him into. Sometimes we have to change him a few times a day because he is soaked! He no longer fits into his first outfits we had put him in and now proudly wears 3-6 month clothes. (gosh he is just so big!) He likes to talk and coo and in the morning. You can hear him laughing and giggling to himself in his crib before he decides that he is ready to get up! He sleeps through the night - goes to bed like a big boy at 9:30pm and sleeps till 6:30am - and has been doing this since the first month. Yes we know we are extremely lucky! Our second child I am sure will be more then a handful to repay us for such a mild mannered first child! When he falls asleep at night he lays his arms above his head, when he assumes that position you know he is almost out! He loves watching hockey and is mesmerized by the game and when a commercial comes on he turns his head and is no longer interested in watching it. He is rooting for Pittsburgh to take the cup - but as of now it is looking like that might not happen. But overall everyday is a new adventure and we are loving learning and experiencing new things with him!

I had to go back to work and Grandma Karen has been so wonderful and has been watching Owen during the week. I am not sure what we would do without her - she has been a godsent! My sister Aimee will start watching him in 2 weeks along with my mom - which will be so nice to know he is with family while he is still so young. Thank you, thank you to both of them.

Overall parenthood has been wonderful and Darren and I are enjoying every second. We can't remember life without him. The McCarthy family will soon be one more - Steve and Melissa are expecting their little one next week sometime. We are getting so excited and can't wait to meet their new little man! We love and miss you all! We will keep on sending pictures!

1 month old

Owen is 1 month old! He has already celebrated his first St. Patrick's Day and Easter, he is getting so big and changes everyday!

His Grandma Karen stayed with us and Papa visited the first week after we left the hospital and Gramps and Gram-Mo came and visited us for two weeks. Owen has had lots of visitors and Darren and I have really enjoyed and continue to enjoy being parents and still cannot beleive that Owen is really ours! It is just so absolutely amazing!

We wanted to thank all of our family and friends for all the love that everyone has shown us. Also for all the lovely gifts, everyone has been so generous and we really appreciate it. Owen is one lucky boy to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends!

Owen Daniel McCarthy

Owen Daniel McCarthy has arrived! He is happy and healthy!

He was a big boy - 7 pounds and 15 ounces! He surprised my doctor because she kept telling me that I am not hiding an 8 pound baby in there...so was obviously wrong.

He was 20 inches long and has Darren's nice big lips and maybe my eyes...he looks like a McCarthy...which isn't a bad thing to look like.

Both mom, baby and dad made it thru the 5 night hospital stay and are now trying to create our routine at home! We are loving every minute of it!

The 41st Week!

The final countdown has officialy begun! Owen is 7 days late and my doctor will be inducing us this evening starting at 10:30pm..she said it can take up to 18 hours - so Owen should arrive sometme on Wednesday, February 20th...

We are very excited and it was a difficult night sleep last night. We can't beleive it is almost here!

The 40th Week!

I just had my 40 week appointment and there is really no change! Owen would like to stay in a bit longer! So if he doesn't decide to come out and join us willingly then I will be induced Tuesday night, 2/19 and it usually takes 18 hours so most likely he would be born on Wednesday, 2/20...

So at least we know the game plan. But of course he can still come anytime this week...and we hope he does! Darren and I have had several talks with him on how we are anxiously awaiting his arrival - so we will see if he will listen to his parents or continue to stay the independent little baby he is proving himself to be!

I also included a picture of all the snow we have been having throughout the month of February. There is another snow storm expected this weekend...so Owen this is another reason to hurry it up!

The 39th Week!

Only 8 more days until our due date! Owen is about ready to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, kind of like a mini watermelon! Darren and I cannot wait to meet our new little man...we wonder what day it will happen!

The 38th week!

38 weeks! Owen has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek)This of course is only an estimate - other sources say he is not that much and I doubt he weighs that much right now..but somewhat close. He has a firm grasp, which we will soon be able to test when we hold his hand for the first time!

Steve, Melissa and Morgan were in town and we got to spend some tme with them! Morgan is getting so big and is absolutely adorable! Take a look!

The 37th Week!

37 weeks — Owen is considered a full term baby! This means that if he arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though my due date is still three weeks away.

He weighs about 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. It is pretty cool to lay on the couch and not only feel him move but to watch him move. You can see a foot sticking out every once in awhile - it is pretty amazing!

Darren and I got the car seat inspected thru the CPD - so we are all set now for Owen's arrival - whenever he decides to make his appearance! We can't wait to meet the little guy!

The 36th Week!

We have hit the 9 month mark...only a few weeks left! I predict a Janaury 29th baby and Darren says a February 2nd baby...we both think Owen will arrive early...so we will see! What do you predict?

We are pretty much all ready for Owen to arrive. We took our hospital tour, and took our two classes (Your New Baby) and (CPR) - both very good classes and we were glad we went. We installed our car seat this weekend and now all we need is a baby!

I had my 9 month appointment today and my doctor said Owen is doing great and will probably be about a 6 1/2 pound baby and is currenty head down. She said that he probably won't change positions now..so we are all set!

The 35th Week!

Hi everyone! We had our Baby Shower this past Saturday and it was so very nice. My mom and sister put a lot of time and effort into coming up with a wonderful lunch menu and great beverages :). My mom spent days putting all of her planning together and it showed! My best friends, Lauren and Corrie put so much time into the creative end of things. Lauren made the adorable invitations that looked like a diaper and then also the day of took a picture with me and everyone there. She had them fill out a slip of paper writing down a favorite memory or parenting advice. She then put it into a photo album that I got to take home with me that day already complete! She is good! Corrie spent about a year making a diaper cake for us with a million diapers and other cute things attached. Very creative.

We received a lot of wonderful gifts for Owen - everyone was very generous. And we thank you! You can take a look at our baby registry on Babies R Us to see all the great things we got...it is amazing! www.babiesrus.com

Darren had our hospital tour of Prentice Northwestern Hospital. It is top knotch! The rooms are all private and BRAND NEW. Each room has a flat screen television, internet access and 24 hour room service...I mean...wow! We have our two other baby classes we signed up for this week.

Owen is about 18 inches long and a little over 5 pounds - kind of like a honeydew! Haha! I feel like he is more along the lines of a very LARGE basketball stuck in my stomach! He moves all the time and it is absolutely amazing to watch and feel. We can't wait to meet him!

The 34th Week!

Happy New Year! Wow has life changed...this was the first year (I think ever) that I have been in bed before New Years. Darren and I went out to a GREAT dinner and then came home watched some tv and went to bed by 10:30....yeah...life has changed! :)

Owen now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe!!!) and is almost 18inches long. We have a busy weekend. Our baby shower is this weekend and we have another Blackhawks game on Sunday. Owen has already been to more hockey games then most adults...lucky kid.