big O turned 1...

A couple months ago. November 18th to be exact! I really can't believe it. I know I'm supposed to say that, but really,

I. can't. believe. it.

He's not my little baby anymore, seeing as he was never little to begin with.

12 month stats:

The official/unofficial naked weigh-in= a whopping 31 pounds.

Clothes size= 2T-3T.

Number of teeth= 6 {he now has 8}

Nearly 14 months old and STILL no well-check, so he was weighed on Grandma's digital scale {these things happen with baby number 4 or at least with my baby number 4 they do}.

Owen is so independent.

He absolutely HATES: getting dressed, teeth brushing, diaper changing, getting in and out of carseats,and on and on. I make it sound as though he's an unhappy guy, but that is not so.

He absolutely LOVES: FOOD, bottles in bed {I know his teeth could rot out. In my defense he will not hold still for a mili-second {back me up MOM, STEPHANIE, ALYSSA} and this really is the only way to get milk into the poor child. And yes I brush his teeth afterward {almost every time}, sleeping, snuggling his teddy bear, getting into anything and everything, wrestling with brother and sisters, being read to, snatching any cell-phone he can get his hands on, and being carried around my mom!

Some of his noteworthy skills:

-hearty appetite {sharing food with him is not an option it's demanded. The other day he grabbed a huge slice of pepperoni pizza from his sister's hands as we walked by and wolfed down the entire piece}.

-giving high 5's {he loves this. belly laughs every time}

-waving

-dancing to the beat

-standing alone

-scooting everything around the house {including his big sister on a chair}

-superhero strength {he is abnormally strong for a baby}.

-growling

-he's taken 2 steps {he knows he could walk, but thinks breaking Mom's back everyday is much easier on him}

-tearing any and every available paper {he can shred a magazine in 10 seconds flat}

-story telling. short stories that is. He says several little words- mixed with jibberish, but his absolute favorites are:

"hi, Dad {every morning}, "mom mom mom mom" {usually at least four times in a row and most often when tired/grumpy/hungry, "this," "that," "no," "dog," teeth, eyes, and "what's this." {He has also said, Audrey, Lincoln, bye, and give me that, but does not say them regularly}.

We adore him. He could probably get anything he wanted with that crooked grin of his.

One years olds and home renovation {I know, I almost did a post without mentioning it once, but I'm attempting to document real life here} are not the best combo.

{I'm fairly certain I could compose an entire blog solely dedicated to the woes and wonders of home renovating}.

He cannot crawl around at all upstairs. It is just a dusty

dis-as-ter with tools all over and the occasional razor blade on the ground {I've found three now. Bob promises he'll be more careful. Your kids can come over anytime :)}, not to mention the electrocution. He did electrocute himself in an outlet {I promise I watch him. It happened so fast. Please don't send the authorities over, all of the outlets are now covered}!

If it weren't for my little helpers {Lincoln & Julia} I would not survive. They are half raising this lad. The basement is near completion and kid friendly. So the dishes need to be done, or dinner needs to be fixed, or blogs need to be updated. No problem, all children are banished to the basement {from the looks of the basement, I don't think they mind having free reign of the place}.

I carry Owen a LOT {if you ever feel the need to give me a back or foot massage I'll take it}!! But he makes up for it by covering my cheeks with wet-slobbery-kisses countless times a day and I love them!

Amidst all the chaos we call normal around here we did manage to throw a small birthday bash. Here are the pictures to prove it...

Here he is enjoying his birthday breakfast.

We HAD to have a photo shoot in the front yard, before the party. I'm quite partial to my little guy and I happen to think he looks pretty darn cute in his lumberjack attire! {Stay tuned there are more pics from this photo shoot for a later post. I know you can hardly stand the anticipation :)}!

He quite enjoyed his cake. Can you tell????? In fact, he grabbed the entire piece in one of his giant baby hands and shoved it in his mouth.

I love anything vintage. Especially kids toys. He got this sock monkey. The monkey cake was a cinch to make and it turned out O.K.!

Owen-we love you and all your one-year old ways!!