Four Months and 3X Years Old

As of last week, Owen is four months old and I am thirty-something years old. We had a fun time celebrating both milestones.

Owen continues to enjoy checking out the handsome baby in the mirror. He can almost fit his whole hand in his mouth!

Owen also enjoys seeing the world from an upright position in his Bumbo seat.

Here is his official picture with his horse.

For my birthday, we had friends over for an Oktoberfest dinner. Wes made some very yummy food including pretzels (from scratch), sauerbraten, kaesespaetzle, curry wurst and cake.

Rachel worked with our nanny to make sweet handprints for me - I got two from Rachel and one from Owen. He would not sit still long enough to do two of them.

Our Weekend

We were once again able to enjoy a nice relaxing weekend.


Owen enjoyed spending some time in his swing.

He also got to try out the exersaucer now that he is big enough.  He seemed to like it.

Rachel thought she might give it a try as well.  She is probably a little outside of the recommended size, but she had fun for a few minutes nonetheless.

Saturday was Museum District Day.  We avoided the crowds at the major museums but checked out a couple of smaller places to see what they had to offer.  The Lawndale Art Center had some interesting works on display and also had a snowglobe art project area for the kids.  Rachel had a lot of fun creating her art.

Outside, they had chalk available to decorate the patio.  Rachel and Owen both enjoyed it.

After that, we went to the Rice Gallery.  They were a nice location because they were offering free Blue Bell ice cream, which Rachel greatly appreciated.

You can't quite tell in this picture, but it was actually raining while we were at Rice.  This is probably the first time Owen has seen rain.

Owen Goes Swimming

After watching Rachel swim so much, Owen decided it was time for him to give it a try.

Here he is in his very first dip - really not quite sure if he was a very big fan of it.

Ultimately, he enjoyed hanging out in the baby pool while Rachel played as our normal pool at the Y was closed for a private party. It turned out to be great because we had the little pool to ourselves most of the time and it was completely shaded by a big tree.

Even with ideal conditions, Owen did not want to get very far into the water.

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Rachel, on the other hand, had a grand time chasing her balls and frisbee around the pool.

At home, Owen has been doing very well in his play gym. He likes to grab the mirror so he can get a good look at the handsome baby hiding in there.

So much fun!

He can push himself up very well when on his tummy.

Just a moment later, he found himself on his back, unsure of what happened. This is the first time he rolled himself over.

All was well again when he was back on his tummy.

Wes' Aunt Joan made a beautiful blanket for Owen. He has enjoyed playing on it and Rachel really likes to identify all of the letters and numbers.

Labor Day Part 2: Dripping Springs

On Sunday, we spent the day at GranDave and Mimi's house visiting with them, the Martins and the Rays.  We had a great time and lots of yummy food.


Owen enjoyed sitting on the porch swing with Mimi.

It looked like so much fun that several more grandkids came to join in for the ride.

Uncle Travis took that opportunity to have a turn on the new play set.

Rachel enjoyed her watermelon even though it was very juicy and a bit messy.

Owen was excited to meet Aunt Dawn and Uncle Duane for the first time.

The new play set was a big hit with all of the kids.

Rachel had fun playing with her cousins.

Even Owen got to take a turn on the slide.

Rachel was sad when it was time to leave.  She gave everyone sweet hugs and kisses before they left.

On the way back to Houston, we had to detour around the wildfire in Bastrop.  It was amazing seeing how big the fire had gotten (based on the huge amounts of smoke) when there had been no problems when we drove through the day before.  Our prayers go out to all of those who are affected, particularly one of Wes' cousins on the Sutherland side who lives in Bastrop.

Labor Day Part 1: Austin

We spent part of our Labor Day weekend in Austin.  Grandma Kathy drove in from Utopia to spend time with us and we got to see Uncle Travis as well.  After lunch on Saturday, we went to the Children's Museum and then swimming at Barton Springs.  We had a nice quiet dinner in our hotel room and then went to see the movie Seven Days in Utopia while Grandma watched Owen and Rachel.

Rachel learned some physics with golf balls at the museum.  It was a fun place, although a lot smaller than what we are used to in Houston.

Rachel loved playing with the trains.  I think I know what she will be getting for Christmas (shhh...don't tell her)

The water at Barton Springs was cold as usual but we had a good time.  Rachel looks a little uncertain in this picture but she really was having fun.

She managed a good "cheese!" for this one.  Uncle Travis still looks pretty cold.

Owen did not get to take part in the fun.  He relaxed with Grandma while we were swimming.

Rachel was helping with the umbrella we had to block some sun.  It was so windy thanks to Tropical Storm Lee that she almost took flight like Mary Poppins.

Owen had a lot of fun with Grandma in our hotel room.

Rachel had fun swimming again before we checked out - this time with Grandma at the hotel pool.

Owen found it quite relaxing to watch his sister splashing around.

End of August

We enjoyed hanging around the house the rest of August.


Owen was excited that his very first football season started.  He appreciated that we dressed him appropriately.


He is getting much better on his tummy.  He especially seems to enjoy it when he can make a big drooly mess.

Owen helped make Rachel's bed with her new comforter and pillows.  It is all ready for her to move over to the big bed so he can take over the crib soon.

Rachel thinks the new digs are pretty comfortable.

Rachel has been doing well these days as well.  She is getting very good with her letters and numbers.  Her favorite letters are R for Rachel and M for Mommy :)