Owie Update

This first year of Owen's life really has flown by. I guess the cliche floating around-"they grow up so fast"-really is true. Roby is a touch sad that our little baby isn't a baby anymore, but I am truly loving the phase he is in right now. Owen has been completely mobile for a few months (although running after him to save him from peril and catching him on the stairs 5,000 times a day tends to wear me out) and is able to communicate more with us. He still only signs "all done," but we think he uses the same sign with only one hand for both "more" and "milk." Even if we don't quite get what he is telling us, it is so awesome to see him actively trying to communicate with us. He has done a swell job of mimicking many words we say and has said "all done," "yes," "book," "ball," and a few others. He says "mo" for "more," which I think is so cute, and my favorite thing he utters about 10,000 times a day is "Uh-Oh!" He loves that word and isn't afraid to use it, in context, out of context, you name it.

If you ask Owen what a lion says, he growls this adorable little growl (the same he uses when chasing the kitties.) Anytime he picks up an animal toy or sees one on tv or in a book, he growls, even if it is a goose :) Every time he holds a stuffed animal he kisses it, and he spends every morning taking nearly every book he owns off his shelf and bringing them to me or whoever he wants to share his treasures with...hmmm...could this mean we have a future lover of literature, and possibly writer, on our hands? I squeel in delight at the thought!

I never really noticed how observant O was before. Every day he does something that amazes me. He is forever trying to put Roby's shoes on and brings me his little socks he finds (by the end of the day he may be wearing 3 socks on one foot!) If you mention a phone to him, he will put a toy or his hand up to his ear and say hello and have a pretend conversation in his little baby babble. If you ask him to brush his hair, he will get a tiny brush and run it through his curls before coming to you and brushing your hair. And finally, yes people it has finally happened, Owen has actually expressed interest in eating table food! hooray! For a moment in time there I thought he would be eating pureed food in college! He loves eating meat, so I'm thankful that I am no longer a semi-vegetarian. And his favorite things in life right now are cheerios...a cheerio for our cheery o! :) They have helped me distract him through plane rides and restaurant visits, among other things...thank you inventor of the small round o of wheat goodness, you are a genius and deserve to be commended!
So that is what is up with our little man. I will try to keep you updated with his latest pics (since I am no longer sending out monthly picture of the day updates) and antics! Hopefully soon I will be able to find the time to blog about our recent trip to so cal and our friends' visit to tn for thanksgiving!

(p.s. most of you already know from an e-mail i sent out and a myspace bulletin, but just in case you haven't heard, owen has made his magazine debut in this issue (Dec.) of Parents magazine. His smiley little face is on page 22 in the Cutest Kid in the Universe section! Hope you can check it out.)

Owen is One!

Yes, I know, it seems impossible...our little guy has turned one already! His birthday fell on the day after we returned from our trip home to Philly. We celebrated by taking him to Lupi's, a local pizza joint, although he, of course, didn't grasp that it was his special day. Even a gigantic party for him seemed to be just one big play date, the more the merrier for him!

His party turned out swimmingly! Thankfully, everyone was able to come, even Bindu Auntie drove up from Atlanta! It was cool to see all the people who have been a part of Owen's life from the very beginning together in the same place. We certainly have met some great friends here in the South!

Alyson, the cake decorator extraordinaire that she is, decorated the cake I baked...rivaling Martha Stewart herself with her sugary masterpiece! I had my heart set on a monkey theme for our little monkey, complete with smiling cake, silly monkey cupcakes, banana splits and monkey masks for the kids to make. Owen enjoyed running around with the other children (Will was the youngest at 3 months old, and Chase was the oldest at 5 years old) and even let Rachel and Audrey help him unwrap his presents.

When it came time for his cake, I was unsure of how he would react. He hadn't liked the icing on his store bought cakes in Philly, so I didn't bother making him his own smash cake. As we sang to him, he reached out and touched the icing, getting some on his face. His eyes lit up, so we stripped him down to his onesie and put him in his high chair. Alyson served him a monkey ear, which he enthusiastically smooshed and ate little by little as he smeared chocolate icing everywhere. I was thrilled Owie liked the cake I baked him! Afterwards, Roby had to run him upstairs for a quick post-cake bath :)

Owen had a wonderful first birthday with all his favorite GA and TN peeps around to celebrate with him and spoil him with presents!

Going Home

We recently went home to Philly for Abbey and Soby's engagement. (My understanding is: In my husband's Malayalee culture, there is a tradition of the wife and husband-to-be getting their families together during a dinner/party to officially meet and give their blessings for the impending wedding...which is called an engagement.) We stayed with Roby's brother Rony and sister-in-law Rani, although they were in Canada for the majority of the time. Mummy and Pappa came and stayed with us, allowing Mummy to have some quality time with Owen during the days while Roby was working in New York. (During our stay, Owen brought forth chuckles from her and the other women in the family by making a silly sound while moving his tongue back and forth across his lips every time Mummy would ask him to speak to them in Malayalam. I guess that is what it sounds like to him :)

On Sunday, my Mom drove up from Harrisburg, meeting up with my brother Jason and his fiancee Melinda, Roby, me, Owen, Mummy and Pappa for brunch. It is nice to get both families together since it doesn't happen often. Later that day, we celebrated Owen's birthday early. Roby's sister Renu, brother-in-law Alex and son baby Alex came over and Alex seemed to have fun playing with his younger cousin, who he used to call "cousin Onin" :) O didn't really know what was transpiring with the cake and all the fuss. His favorite parts were dragging a helium balloon around and his presents of course! Surprisingly, he didn't display an affinity for cake icing. I thought all kids loved sweets!

Later that week, Mummy and Pappa held another party to celebrate the birthdays of all 4 grandchildren. (Their birthdays fall in succession: Isabel-July, Alex-August, Anngelina-September, & O-October) Many relatives came to the get-together, as well as family friends. It was lovely to be able to see many of our family members while we were home, which is sometimes difficult due to the size of Roby’s family. Hopefully next time we will be able to see more of my family too!

Abbey and Soby's engagement was the first I had been too. It proved the perfect opportunity to see all our friends in the same place as we shared in Ab and Soby's special day. The day began at a church where a priest offered traditional prayers and blessings to the bride and groom-to-be. Later we congregated at a local country club, located on beautiful grounds. My favorite part = Abbey sang Soby a song he penned for her. We are so excited for them and for their upcoming wedding in May. Roby, a long-time friend of Abbey's, is proud and honored to be a groomsman!

After the engagement, Mummy and Pappa looked after Owen while we all gathered at Pat's Steaks on South Street and then moved on to the reggae club Carribean Reef. Roby and his circle of friends have always been into the roots reggae scene, so this was something he really looked forward to. Since I have not been to a club in years, I found myself a little apprehensive about going, but it turns out we all had so much fun- and this white girl still had a few moves in her (or so Roby reassures me :) I found it wildly entertaining to watch a guy, who I shall name "mr. interpretive dancer," do his thing on the dance floor. I desperately wanted Dooney or Div to challenge him to a dance-off, but no such luck. I kept trying to impersonate Dooney's signature moves, only to be greeted with hearty laughter from Tobi and Joyce. Joyce, Bindu and I shook it for awhile, and it felt like college all over again. Fun times for sure.

And YOU KNOW that if we are in Philly there will be a lot of eating of local delacies, such as cheesesteaks, hoagies (I had 6!) and Rita's water ice. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

There is so much more I could write about, but I need to keep this short since I have been itching to blog about Owen's first birthday-hopefully a entry will follow shortly!

Thanks everyone for a wonderful time in chilly philly! Can't wait to visit again!

Engagement Pics

Abbey & Soby