Ode to Owen

I find myself with a bit more energy than usual, which I attribute to Owen sleeping late this morning (5:30 a.m.)... While I have this rare burst of clear-headedness, I wanted to share some updates about our precious little guy.

Aside from a few sleeping issues that we are working hard to straighten out (some days with success, others not), Owen is thriving. I sense that he finally feels at home with us, confident to explore our house and get into everything possible. He finds endless entertainment in his toys, sisters and dog, and he watches the flurry of activity around him with great intent. He is very happy and well-adjusted, and I'm grateful beyond words that he has attached to Chip and me with no apparent problem. He is absolutely delightful, and he has a mother who is officially in love with him.

Owen loves to move around and crawl, and he is already standing on his own for up to 30 seconds. This leads to me to believe we might have an early walker, which I have mixed feelings about. (Just one more little creature for his tired mom to chase after!) Man, is he quick. More than once, he has crossed the kitchen floor with his speedy crawl and gotten very close to consuming Mookie's dog food.

On our very first day with Owen in Seoul, he got his first tooth. (Thank God we've been able to experience at least one major milestone with him so far.) In the short time since then, he is now preparing to cut his fourth tooth, which Chip tells me is rare and also explains why Owen stuffs everything he can into his mouth -- from newspapers to Mookie to my very own nose -- and drools without ceasing. God love him, I can tell he has serious discomfort from such intense teething, but he continues to go with the flow.

According to our pediatrician, Owen is a very healthy baby who is in the 85th percentile for weight and 90th for height. Finally, Chip will have someone in the family to see eye-to-eye with! He is a darling little chunker with yummy rolls of fat on his arms and legs, but he is not nearly as huge as we thought he'd be. In fact, he's just perfect.

Love from the Birds.