Owen's Habits

Poor Owen gets the short end of the stick.

He doesn't talk or crawl yet, so when I sit down to write about the interesting things that happened in the Smith house at the end of the day, he often doesn't have many interesting accomplishments that are worth contrasting to James. He can't, for instance, run a toy John Deere tractor through the entire length of the downstairs for the purpose of "cleaning the ice" before the teams come back on. He also doesn't have any cute backwards turns of phrase, like calling hot things "too cold" or little things "too big."

But he is growing into an adorable, healthy, very happy little baby boy, and it's been fun to watch some bits of personality emerge in him. He's a little surprising to look at almost every time I see him, because his eyes are SO blue and his hair is SO blonde, and there's a little shock of it that sticks up in the back no matter where his head has been for the last hour.

When I get him up in the morning he always greets me with a grin as soon as he recognizes me, and when I take him to his mother he gets so excited that he nearly bounces out of my arms with delight before he reaches for her. (And, getting into her arms, immediately begins attempting to nurse from the side of her arm or whatever other body part he manages to get into his mouth.)

He is slowly getting more mobile, mostly by rolling over on his side repeatedly until he's crossed the room and usually made some sort of diagonal motion as well. He lifts his head up periodically to check his progress and will making climbing motions while on his stomach, which look to me like the rudimentary first elements of crawling. He tends to spit up when he's on his stomach, so whoever's with him usually needs to follow close behind with a burp cloth when he's busy making his travels.

He's just as content, however, to be put in any number of bouncy seats that we have around the house and there to exercise his legs as hard as he can to at least his own amusement and to even greater joy if he notices that someone is watching him. (James is particularly good at giving him encouragement.)

The defining motion of his little life so far is the big, sweeping, both-legged kick downwards that bounces him up in his bouncy chair and also soaks the bathroom while he's in the tub. He and James are in the bath together most nights now, and Owen will begin to kick excitedly as soon as he hears the tap running. He smiles broadly when you begin to strip his clothes off, and then once he's placed naked in the tub with his brother he assumes a look of deep concentration before beginning twenty continuous minutes of kicking and splashing. He doesn't even stop kicking to have his legs washed. If you are holding one leg and attempting to soak it off, the other will keep going with mechanical accuracy in exactly the tempo that he had set earlier, and then the soaped leg will resume in time as soon as you release it to soap the other. James mostly amuses himself by giving Owen instructions and attempting to wash him off with cupfuls of water, but I don't think Owen even notices him. He's too busy doing his job, which is kicking.

Owen spends a lot of time in the Ergo carrier as well, when out on walks, when parents need to get dishes done, and when he needs a nap while his older brother wants to play baseball. Because he's a good and easy little baby, he can be relied upon to fall asleep within a few minutes of being strapped into the carrier, so long as the parent holds up their end by staying in constant motion. The surrounding noise and weather don't matter a bit, so long as he's strapped in tight.

He's looked happy out in the grass so far while we've spread out blankets for picnics or tossed a baseball in the backyard with James. I remember the first summer that I was home to be with James after months and months of busy season, and I felt like I was able to make up for a lot of long days on the road and away during those leisurely months.

This is going to be a good summer with Owen.