Sunday, July 26, 2009
Random Owen Pictures
For your viewing pleasure:
Tummy time.
Out to dinner for MaMa's birthday.
The bottle is empty...he is just holding it.
Just got done watching the game.
Molly finally is warming up to Owen.
Owen's first bath. Doesn't he look thrilled?
Baby day at Sports PT of NY.
Just hanging out.
He will grow into it.
Lawn Mowing 101
I am not a professional landscaper by any means or mow my lawn on the same day every week, but I do tend to think I keep a well maintained yard. Now for those of you that have been to our house know we do not have much of a yard because of living just outside of the Buffalo city limits houses are very close together and our backyard has a deck and a pool, which basically is our whole back yard. So when I set out to mow the lawn it will take me about 20 minutes. If I decide to weedwack, it may take 35-40 minutes. Bottom line, it does not take a long time to tidy up the lawn.
Ever since we have lived in our house (just over two years), the neighbor of two doors down from us has found it very difficult to mow his lawn on a regular interval. It had even got to the point where other neighbors have offered to mow the lawn for him or have asked him to mow his lawn in order to keep the neighborhood looking nice.
Well yesterday, I did some yardwork before it started raining, but I was also inspired by the above mentioned neighbor because he was mowing his lawn. You can always tell when he is mowing his lawn because the law mower will stall out every three minutes because he has allowed the grass to get so high.
Now some of you are probably reading this and thinking that I am being a cranky neighbor, but I write this out of humor. I do not care what his lawn looks like. I do not care it will take him over an hour to mow is small yard. I do not care that he gets frustrated that his law mower stalls constantly when he mows the lawn. I find it all pretty entertaining.
See what I mean....
Sunday, July 19, 2009
A tent party with a wedding!
Last weekend my little brother, Tim, got married in Rochester, NY to Krystle. They had planned the wedding at Krystle's home, which is a beautiful farm house with a large amount of land. Everything was done outside and the weather could not have been any better for the occasion. Friday night we were treated with a five minute rehearsal and then a clam bake followed by a bon-fire with S'mores. The day of the wedding the clouds opened up and it poured all morning, but luckily by the mid-afternoon the sun came out and made for a beautiful day. After a nice ceremony, we partied late into the night and ended it with a huge firework display that was put on to celebrate the newlyweds.
We had a lot of fun this weekend. Not only did my baby brother get married, but Owen made his first long distance trip and met the rest of the family. It was great to see family that we do not get to see very often since they either live in Florida or Kentucky or even Horseheads. So seeing everyone made the weekend that much more enjoyable and getting to introduce Owen to everyone.
I was honored to be the best man.
The family.
The newest Mr. and Mrs. Hall.
They are ready to get this party started.
The proud new parents...Owen was sleeping in the stroller.
He actually slept almost the whole weekend...even during the fireworks.
Congratulations Tim and Krystle. Good luck with the new chapter you are starting together as one.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Some pics for you
We had some friends over last week for a small birthday celebration (with cake and ice cream of course!) Our friend John is a photo buff, and very nicely took some pictures of us and the baby throughout the evening. It is so nice to have pictures taken by someone who knows what they're doing. Here they are:
Monday, July 06, 2009
Thoughts on pregnancy
Hello all! I am back from my blogging hiatus. Mr. Owen is taking a little snooze right now so I thought I'd write the post I was intending to do the night I went into labor. Somehow I couldn't manage a witty blog post in between contractions.
I must say pregnancy was a wild ride. There's the first trimester, where you are so excited and nervous all at the same time. You feel horrible all of the time, but can't complain to anyone because you're trying desperately to keep your news a secret. The receptionist at work knew, because in her words "You walked into work at 6:45 am looking green." I don't know how nobody else knew, as I was eating Cheez its at 8 am (my only morning sickness cure) and falling asleep on my friends' couches at 7pm.
The second trimester was much more fun. You start to show, you get all the attention, you have showers planned for you and get to register for all that cute baby stuff. Most of all, I felt good. I wasn't too big and could move somewhat gracefully and I had the appetite of a 16 year old boy.
Third trimester starts to wear on you. I had terrible swelling from about 23 weeks on, which just seemed to worsen as time went on. The heartburn was also very fun. I couldn't even drink water without getting it. Now seeing Owen with all his hair, I guess that old wives tale is true in my case. Most of all, the lack of sleep was bad. Dennis would laugh because I'd have a pillow fortress all around me trying to get comfortable enough to sleep for a few hours...then I'd inevitably have to pee. The anticipation at the end and wondering which contractions are "real" is also difficult.
Everyone always said that you can't describe what labor and delivery feels like, you just have to experience it. This was definitely true. I was lucky enough to have a pretty smooth delivery with no big complications. The only problem was that all the anesthesiologists were called to emergencies just after I signed my consent form for the epidural. Therefore, I had to wait until 8 cm to get it...not a fun time at all. Afterward was heaven. I could've kissed that doctor who came to my rescue. Seeing Owen for the first time was such a surreal experience and definitely made all 9 months worth it. I'd go through it again to have him.
In my job I deal with the public on a day to day basis. This made for some pretty funny conversations with patients. I love how so many people feel the need to make comments to pregnant women. They say things that one would never dream of saying to any other person, but since I was pregnant, apparently I was also fair game. Here's a selection of some of my favorite comments from my pregnancy:
1. You look like you swallowed a basketball
2. You look like you swallowed a watermelon
3. Wow! Look at those cankles!
4. You are going to pop
5. You are going to blow
6. I hope your water breaks at work...that would be fun
7. It's a girl, and you're NOT gonna make it
8. Boy, you really are swelling up in your face
9. It's a boy/girl because you're gaining weight in your hips/thighs/face/butt etc.
10. You look really tired honey
11. You really shouldn't reach above your head because you could strangle your baby
12. I really don't think that shirt fits you anymore
13. My personal favorite: If I were you, I wouldn't even be out in public!
There was more on an everyday basis, but this is all I could remember off the top of my head. Luckily, Owen came on time and I didn't have to be overdue. I worked the day I went into labor and was supposed to have one more day. I don't think I could hear "You're still here???" one more time. Lesson to all: when talking to a pregnant woman just say "you look great" and leave it at that. She will be much nicer to you...especially when she's your physical therapist and is going to have to stretch your shoulder with the torn rotator cuff...I'm just sayin.
I promised Natalie I would post a picture of my belly. This was taken 5 days before I had Owen. It's amazing how quickly that belly goes away! 
What's even more amazing is the end result of all of this...totally worth it!
I must say pregnancy was a wild ride. There's the first trimester, where you are so excited and nervous all at the same time. You feel horrible all of the time, but can't complain to anyone because you're trying desperately to keep your news a secret. The receptionist at work knew, because in her words "You walked into work at 6:45 am looking green." I don't know how nobody else knew, as I was eating Cheez its at 8 am (my only morning sickness cure) and falling asleep on my friends' couches at 7pm.
The second trimester was much more fun. You start to show, you get all the attention, you have showers planned for you and get to register for all that cute baby stuff. Most of all, I felt good. I wasn't too big and could move somewhat gracefully and I had the appetite of a 16 year old boy.
Third trimester starts to wear on you. I had terrible swelling from about 23 weeks on, which just seemed to worsen as time went on. The heartburn was also very fun. I couldn't even drink water without getting it. Now seeing Owen with all his hair, I guess that old wives tale is true in my case. Most of all, the lack of sleep was bad. Dennis would laugh because I'd have a pillow fortress all around me trying to get comfortable enough to sleep for a few hours...then I'd inevitably have to pee. The anticipation at the end and wondering which contractions are "real" is also difficult.
Everyone always said that you can't describe what labor and delivery feels like, you just have to experience it. This was definitely true. I was lucky enough to have a pretty smooth delivery with no big complications. The only problem was that all the anesthesiologists were called to emergencies just after I signed my consent form for the epidural. Therefore, I had to wait until 8 cm to get it...not a fun time at all. Afterward was heaven. I could've kissed that doctor who came to my rescue. Seeing Owen for the first time was such a surreal experience and definitely made all 9 months worth it. I'd go through it again to have him.
In my job I deal with the public on a day to day basis. This made for some pretty funny conversations with patients. I love how so many people feel the need to make comments to pregnant women. They say things that one would never dream of saying to any other person, but since I was pregnant, apparently I was also fair game. Here's a selection of some of my favorite comments from my pregnancy:
1. You look like you swallowed a basketball
2. You look like you swallowed a watermelon
3. Wow! Look at those cankles!
4. You are going to pop
5. You are going to blow
6. I hope your water breaks at work...that would be fun
7. It's a girl, and you're NOT gonna make it
8. Boy, you really are swelling up in your face
9. It's a boy/girl because you're gaining weight in your hips/thighs/face/butt etc.
10. You look really tired honey
11. You really shouldn't reach above your head because you could strangle your baby
12. I really don't think that shirt fits you anymore
13. My personal favorite: If I were you, I wouldn't even be out in public!
There was more on an everyday basis, but this is all I could remember off the top of my head. Luckily, Owen came on time and I didn't have to be overdue. I worked the day I went into labor and was supposed to have one more day. I don't think I could hear "You're still here???" one more time. Lesson to all: when talking to a pregnant woman just say "you look great" and leave it at that. She will be much nicer to you...especially when she's your physical therapist and is going to have to stretch your shoulder with the torn rotator cuff...I'm just sayin.
I promised Natalie I would post a picture of my belly. This was taken 5 days before I had Owen. It's amazing how quickly that belly goes away! 
What's even more amazing is the end result of all of this...totally worth it!
Saturday, July 04, 2009
They grow up so fast.
Owen is a week old already! Where has the time gone? It hard to beleive that is has been a week since he was born. Owen is doing great at home and seems to be adjusting pretty well to us as parents, and we are adjusting pretty well to being parents. Molly on the other hand.....she walks around the house like we forgot who she is and almost gives off the vibe of "when is that baby leaving?"
In the past week Owen has started to meet his grandma's, great-grandma's, cousins, aunts and uncles. Thank you all for coming to visit and for your help this past week.
The three of us at home.
Grandma Edwards
Unlce Sam
Aunt Jenn
Grandma Hall
Aunt Sara
Great Grandma Sullivan
Natalie with her new cousin
Kendall and her new cousin
Owen getting a little nap in before the game.
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