Twenty one months

Our little man has been filling our lives with JOY on earth for twenty one months now!  He weighs 26 lbs 2 oz (35th percentile) and stands 33 inches tall (40th perc).  His noggin remains in the 97th percentile.  His next well baby visit is in October but today we took him in to be checked.  He has hand, foot & mouth disease.  Basically it is a virus which must run its course.  He has numerous blisters in his mouth which, as you can imagine, are not making him very happy.  He should be good as new in just a few days!  He is still wearing size 4 diapers, size 18 month outfits and size 7 shoes.  He loves to try on anyone's shoes and walk around in them!  He still has twelve teeth but I feel sure that his incisors will soon make their debut.

Although the garden hose photo turned out pretty cute, I must admit that he totally sprayed me (& the camera) on full blast seconds after!!  Little stinker :)

He is 100% BOY....rough and tumble all the way!  He especially loves trucks, motorcycles, cars, boats and airplanes.  He is also the biggest cuddler I have ever known :)  He is still a very picky eater and consumes one Pediasure a day to ensure his nutrients.  His newest favorite snacks are pop corn (pa pa) and ice cream sandwiches (thanks Big Daddy!).  He is still very good about eating yogurt and applesauce but wants no help in doing so.  He is great with the fork and spoon but makes a sweet mess nonetheless! 

Owen is lucky to have a built in second mama! Emma takes excellent care of her little brother. She loves to "read" books and teach him new things. She is tickled silly when he says new words!

He loves the great outdoors and is never ready to come inside.  He definitely has a little temper and has recently started stomping hard with his feet spread as wide apart as possible to show his disapproval.  We are starting the tricky twos very early (just like big sis)!  He still typically naps once a day and wakes up several times at night (I think he just misses us)!

We decided to start getting him familiar with the potty. This is much different with a boy! So far this new beginning has been fairly easy because he watches Emma and has her encouragement. There is no forcing/punishment to it, just for fun (right now). Each time he sits/attempts willingly he is rewarded with Mini M&Ms! When he hears "Wanna go potty?" he says "Num num num". He might just do anything for chocolate :) Although I have heard that boys are generally harder to train, I am determined to find a way to have him trained sooner than big sister (age 3.5!)

While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about.

~Angela Schwindt