Fang Baby

Well, we thought we were out of the "teething woods" for a while, but apparently it takes a painful while for these pyramidal teeth to fully break through. In the meantime, we have a vampire baby with 4 fangs who's prone to tempermental outbursts and gnawing on everything again! You can see 3 of the 4 fangs below. :)

Greenbelt

This weekend we went to the greenbelt to get some exercise and check out the swollen river.

There was a crazy, back-tumored squirrel stalking us in the park. Here he is playing peek-a-boo with Owen.

One of these things is not like the other... Owen practiced his duck walk to try and blend in, but unfortunately I didn't capture it on camera!

They've got "art you can sit on" installed around town. Owen really enjoyed this metal star.

And in fabulous news, Owen is no longer rejecting food on sight! I don't want to jinx it, but he has happily eaten both meat and vegetables in the last couple of days. Maybe because we've had a blissful reprieve from teething...? Teeth #15 and 16 came through over the weekend. That's it until his 2-year molars come in, and hopefully that won't be for many months. Woohoo! He's like a different kid. (The other theory is another growth spurt.)

Rocking and reading to himself

I finally got him one of these toddler snack dispensers. He absolutely loves it, but is still figuring it out with either snacks flinging out everywhere or his hand getting stuck inside. It's a good diversion, if nothing else.

He's turning into quite the entertainer, too. The other day he slipped in the tub with a big splash, and being such good parents, we burst out laughing. (Don't worry he was fine, just startled.) He liked the attention so much that he attempted repeat after repeat fake fall and splash for his entertainment, as much as ours. He also likes to nearly drown himself by trying to drink his bath water (gross!), and checks out his various moves in the fireplace reflection. His latest move? Walking forwards and then backwards to fake you out. :)

Bear World

What is the highlight of every Yellowstone vacation? Wait for it.... Yellowstone Bear World! At least, that's how their advertisements go. We ventured to check it out, since we had half price tickets. It's kind of like a North American safari where you drive through and see the animals, but nearly all of the animals here were born in captivity. Let's just say we were glad we got in for half price!

Bison

Rare white elk (see the fuzzy new antlers!)

Wolves

Bears of all colors and sizes; way too many to capture on film.

Bear cubs! There were 6 in all, and I could have watched them all day. :)

Of course, they've tacked on a petting zoo and some rides to appeal to the younger crowd. I can see why. We think that Owen saw a bear, but there were so many other distractions (grass, rocks, water), that it's hard to say if he really noticed the animals.

This petting zoo had deer, geese, goats, and some others, but I think Owen was most interested in walking into and splashing around in the little stream.

The tiniest train I've had the pleasure to ride. I think the track was a 50-ft long oval, but Owen wanted to hop right back on. :)

Owen's first roller coaster - he was NOT a fan! Thanks anyway Bear World!

17 months!

Owen's doing a happy dance to celebrate. He does this move whenever the mood strikes (usually without a partner), and it cracks me up every time, especially if he's checking out his reflection in the appliances!

In developmental news, we've been working on his vocabulary, but it's slow going. I swear I've been doing some of the basic signs (drink, all-done, more, etc.) at nearly every meal for the last 8 months, and I still just get a blank look! However, he has started using some words fairly consistently, like:

• "Dada" (been saying this one for months, but no "momma" we think b/c of the below),
• "mum-mum" = food (usually when he's already eating, so it's not very helpful),
• "hi",
• "ooh ooh ooh" = dog (kind of like barking, but has started to do this for many different animals).

And less consistently:

"uh-oh", "oh wow", the sign for ball, "owen", "choo choo", and some others I'm forgetting.

He also follows simple instructions like "bring me a book", "where is your ball?", "come here", etc. And he smacks his lips when I ask him if he's hungry. I keep waiting for the flood gates to open and words to just start spilling out one of these days. But obviously, it takes a lot more to say the word than it does to comprehend it. Patience and persistence!

Playtime

It's been prime play time both indoors and out. The weather has been beautiful the later part of this week (would you believe 70+ degrees?), so we've been getting outside quite a bit. We hit up 3 parks/playgrounds yesterday and the zoo today. His favorite part of any playground - the steering wheel!

Running around on the greenbelt

Goose family - the goslings were already pretty large, but still fuzzy.

The falls in spring time. The river's pretty high currently with all of the snow melt upstream.

He was totally fascinated by this breakdancer in the park and just stared at him for probably 15 minutes. Every once in a while, he'd sway to the beats and the dancer would encourage him. It was hilarious.

But he's been getting up early this week, so we have a few hours of play time at home before heading outdoors. Enjoying his new "trike" - he's really got the walking motion down now, back and forth, but steering - not so much.

Probably his favorite activity is rolling his cars along on the furniture.

And speaking of furniture, although it looks like he's about to climb over the edge, he's just enjoying some fringe and spying on the cat below. :)

Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day to all! Here's a classic MD pic (I had just taken something out of his hand for the photo). Teething and stubbornness do not mix! We've got #13 and #14 broken through (the top canines), but now we're waiting for the lower two, which don't seem far behind. Lord, help us!

But, when the meds are working, we have a pretty nice boy. :) My laundry helper - he likes to push the wet clothes into the dryer for me.

Playing outside on those rare sunny days.

Here's a video of Owen reading to himself. We really enjoy the independent play time!

And for those keeping score, it snowed again this morning! Not enough to stick, but they were big, fat flakes and it hasn't really gotten above 40F today. Spring, you are welcome to make a more permanent appearance any time now!

Snow and Sun

If you can imagine, we are still getting snow. It doesn't stick around too long, but the other day we woke up to 2 inches on the ground! It's incredible for this thin-blooded transplant to fathom while hearing stories of crawfish, sunburns, and wildflowers back in Texas. Hopefully, my blood will thicken soon. :)

But we have been enjoying the sun when it makes its appearance, even if we're still wearing jackets!