Bloggogriff

More available on flickr.

Okay, I haven't been great at blogging this month (again). A couple of excuses: 1. end of the semester. 2. computer needed a new battery, was therefore a PITA to use. 3. (the real one) I've been spending most of my internet time on Facebook. Owen, to our surprise, is more or less at the same point as he was last time I posted, only bigger. He sits very well on his own, is trying to crawl but so far without success, drools and chews a lot but hasn't gotten any more teeth since the first two came in. The only recent development of note is that last week he started repeated-syllable babbling - i.e. "babababa...". My amateur-linguist side was rather pleased that the next one he tried, after two days of bababababa, was p-p-p-p-p. "That's right, sweetie! If you don't use your vocal cords you get the voice less bilabial stop." Pictures are all a few weeks old now. I will get some more up when I find the camera cord.

I hope everyone had a blessed and blissful Thanksgiving. This was the first time in about seven years that we didn't cook the dinner; instead, we went over to our friends Andrew and Jeanne's place for a large gathering of about 15 people. There were four different cranberry sauces, so you know it was good. Owen was amazingly well-behaved in the challenging environment (loud unfamiliar place + a bunch of strangers + up way past his bedtime). He tried bits of mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and candied sweet potatoes, but the thing he really liked was the Martinelli's sparkling apple juice. Somehow, he managed to dribble far less of it down his chin than he ever does with water. It's a little early, but I just might get the Christmas tree out of its box tonight.

Owen is developing a sense of humor - by which I mean he is now laughing at things we say, not just at tickles. His favorite joke goes like this: "Peas, please!" For some reason, he thinks that is the funniest phrase in the world. He is also quite amused by "Peas boo boo!" and "Barack Obama!" - or, once he gets wound up, practically anything. But "Peas, please" cracks him up almost any time. It's a good thing he enjoys jokes now, because between trying desperately and unsuccessfully to crawl and feeling two more teeth coming in, he hasn't been in such a great mood the last few days.

Owen can sit up on his own now. His front bottom teeth are coming in. And best of all... Barack Obama is his new president. (Our happiness last night was only marred by this morning's news that the heinous Prop 8 had passed. Nothing is perfect in this world of woe.)

Guess who Owen was for Halloween! (More pictures available on Flickr.)

It won't be Owen's half-birthday until Wednesday, but close enough. Here's what he's been up to lately: Eating: We started solids this month! He now eats rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and carrots (the latter two lovingly prepared by chef Eric, who did his part to stimulate the economy by buying a real food processor, the better to make baby food with, my dear). Owen loves to hold the spoon himself and pull it to his mouth. He also likes drinking cold water from a cup, although at least half of it runs down his front. Motor skills: In the last few days he has started to sit up unassisted for two or three seconds at a time. With support, he sits very well. He is adept at rolling over and has figured out that rolling repeatedly in the same direction provides a degree of (gasp) independent mobility. He has gotten as far as three feet from his starting point. Time to start the babyproofing. Socializing: He loves seeing the "big kids" and his caregivers at Sacred Hea...