Monday, May 30, 2011

Baby Owen is 3 weeks old!

Owen turned 3 weeks old this past Saturday. He is changing so much! I swear that I lay him down for a nap, come back 2 hours later, and he looks physically different. It's just crazy how fast he is growing! I'm savoring each and every moment of this precious newborn time. I just can't get enough of my sweet Baby O. :)

Owen LOVES having his hands by his face. During all of my last sonograms, he had his hands covering up his face. He continues to prefer his little hands close to his face. Either he is super strong, or I have lost my ability to swaddle. Ha!



Ah, that's better... :)

He has gotten much better at focusing on our faces. I love to lock eyes with that pretty baby - nothing better! His eyes are getting lighter each day - blue, just like his Daddy and big brothers. ;)

He still doesn't look like either of our other babies to me. However, his facial expressions and mannerisms remind me very much of Clayton as a baby. He is a pretty serious little dude! He furrows his brow and looks like he is really concentrating. I used to tease that Clayton was going to need Botox for his first birthday. Ha! Owen is the same way.

He does have some pretty sweet grins that we get every once in awhile.

Owen is gaining some good head control. He can hold his neck straight for quite awhile before he turns into a bobble head again. :)

He loves his swing. He spends his days just eating, sleeping, and swinging. What a life!


I weighed Owen on Saturday and he was up to 9 lbs. 15 oz. Whoa! He is getting some meat on those little bird legs. :) I didn't measure his length, but he is looking really loooonnnnggggg these days.

He is still sleeping really well. Thank you, Lord! I feed him at 11:00 and lay him down at 11:30 or so. He will sleep until 4:30 or 5, wake to nurse, and then go back to sleep until 8:00. I am usually only up once at night. It is so nice! Baby Owen has spoiled me. :)

It's hard to believe that Owen is almost a month old. Let's not talk about it, okay? ;)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Drew's Key Phrases

Drew is so funny these days! He picks up on phrases that he hears us say, and then he tries them out himself. He keeps us laughing all day long! Wade says, "Drew is a party waiting to happen." Ha! So true...

Here's a short video of some of his key phrases. Hope they make you chuckle!

YouTube Video


He says:
  • "Drama, drama, drama."
  • "I need somethin'." (We tease that he sounds like Ricky Ricardo when he says that.) :)
  • "It's for real."
  • "Who's it?" (He whispers that whenever someone calls on the phone.)
I love his little 2 year old way of saying things! He is at such a fun age!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Baby Owen is 2 weeks old

Our newest Little Mister turned 2 weeks old on Saturday (5/21). He truly is the sweetest baby! He has been so good to his Mama! I am super thankful that he is such a good baby, because that has made the transition from 2 kids to 3 so much nicer. I still spend a lot of my day saying, "There are 3 of you and 1 of me. I will help you in just a minute, right now it is your brother's turn." I have a feeling that I will be giving that same lecture on a daily basis from here on out. Ha!

Owen still doesn't look a bit like either of his brothers! I think it is so crazy that 3 children from the same parents can look so, so different. They each have their own look, for sure! Owen has MUCH less hair than either of his brothers did and it isn't as dark as Clayton's was, but isn't as light as Drew's either. His skin tone is more olive than either of the other boys, too. I need to do a comparison blog post with pictures...

I took Owen to his 2 week well check today. He weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. He is up 9 oz from his birth weight, so Dr. P. was happy. :) She said that everything looked great and commented on how strong he is several times. I told her that he was the youngest of 3 boys - he has to be extra sturdy. Ha!

Other info:
* Size 1 diapers - Owen can still technically fit into newborns, but they leak way too easily. I got tired of changing his whole outfit with each diaper change, so I decided to move him on up.
* He still mostly wears newborn clothes and onesies, but some of his 0-3 stuff fits too.
* I cannot get the child to burp to save my life! I can burp him for 30 minutes straight to no avail. That has been the only problem that we can find with our little man. If a stingy burper is all that I have to complain about, I guess that life is pretty good. :)
* We have had one rough night, but other than that, Owen sleeps like a champ (knocking on wood as I type...)! I wake him up every 3 hours to nurse during the day and let him go for one 4-5 hour stretch at night. I am still a little tired, but I know that it could be so much worse!
* The older boys LOVE their baby brother. Clayton begs to hold him all day long, and talks baby talk to him whenever he is awake. It's pretty cute... Drew doesn't really ask to hold Owen, but always wants to know exactly where he is. He'll say, "Where Baby Owen? Where Baby Owen? Oh, there he is!" a million times a day. ;)

Here are some pictures of our 2 week old baby:

He gives us little grins every once in awhile. :)

Big stretch...


We had a little impromptu photo shoot yesterday. I just can't seem to snap enough pictures of Baby O.





He finally got a "real" bath today! We have had to wait to submerge him in the water until his cord came off (5/18) and one other criteria was met. We have been limited to washcloth baths up until now. He loved actually being in the water, though! He didn't cry one bit.







These 2 weeks have just flown by! The days go by sooo fast - I feel like I barely blink and 8 hours have passed. I don't foresee things slowing down anytime soon with my 3 little monkeys. :) It is going to be a crazy, fun, busy life in this {almost} all boy house, for sure!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

School's Out for Summer!

Today is the first day of summer for Clayton! He is officially finished with Kindergarten. I would be sad, but I have a good feeling about 1st grade. I think it is going to be a great year!

Clayton's last Kindergarten project


The First Day of School (8/23/10) & The Last Day of School (5/16/11)

Monday, May 16, 2011

May 10th, 2011 - Bringing Home Baby!

On May 10th, we were discharged from the hospital. As much as I enjoyed the hospital (meals brought to us, clean linens delivered to our room, sweet ladies that came to clean the room and empty the trash, etc.), I was ready to be home! I missed Clayton & Drew, and was anxious to see what life would be like with our family of 5. I did tear up a bit when I realized that I would never be in a mother/baby room again. Hormones... :-/

We did a little mini photo shoot before we left the hospital. :)

I could just stare at him all day long...
Last April (2010), Wade's Mamaw moved, and Marsha found Wade's going home outfit in a cedar chest. She told me about it and said that she was sorry that she hadn't found it in time for Clayton and Drew to wear it. Little did we know that we would be blessed with another son a year later. :) I think that it is really special that Owen got to wear it. The third baby should have some special things that the other 2 didn't get to have, right? He looked so sweet in the same outfit that his Daddy wore 32 years ago. :)
Ready to head home!
I laid Owen down on our bed and he snuggled right into this position. I'm pretty sure this is how he spent the last few weeks in the womb.
His first nap at home.
Drew asked to hold Owen again and we jumped at the chance for them to bond. I snapped his picture and Drew said, "Mommy, Baby Owen not cheesing!" Ha ha!

Owen just seems to fit into our family. He sleeps right through his noisy brothers and just goes with the flow. He is definitely the missing puzzle piece, and we are so thankful that he is here!

Hospital Day 2 & 3

May 8th (which also happened to be Mother's Day), was our second day in the hospital. We started the day with Owen's hearing screen. He passed with flying colors. Good job, Buddy!

Wade & I both really enjoy hospital visitors. Knowing that people take the time and effort to come and meet our babies has made us feel so loved. Plus, it is fun to show off our new baby. :) We were blessed by lots of sweet visitors that we got to introduce to Baby O.

The Hunts came for a visit, but I only got a picture of Leah with our sweet babe.
Holly & Tim came with Miss Caroline.

G & Granddad came to meet their 6th great grandchild.

4 generations of Carpenter men. I'd say that we have done our part to keep the Carpenter lineage going. Ha!

Our friends, the Crowells
Our babysitter, Catherine (She went to her senior prom the night before. :)
Our future babysitter, Jamie
My friend, Melissa
Pastor Keith
My friend, Julie
Wade's cousin, Taylor (His sweet wife, Julie, came also, but we didn't get her picture. Makes me so sad...)
My friend (since the 2nd grade) and college roommate, Halie
Halie's son, Chase (4 months old) - He and Owen are going to be buddies. :)
Abbey came by for a second visit. She "couldn't drive by the hospital without stopping." :)

On May 8th, Drew finally started to come around to the idea of having a baby brother. He gave Owen kisses...
and held him for the first time. :)



We tried to get some family pictures... It proved to be much harder than anticipated. Ha!

Oh, poor Owen... he has no idea what he is in for. Only 2 days old, and already getting bunny ears in pictures. Bless his heart!

We had a great hospital stay - our nurses were all wonderful! We were so ready to be home with our family of 5 all under the same roof, though. :)