Spectacular, Spectacular

We visit Dr. Elmo for the first time since leaving the hospital in just two days. I think he will be impressed with Owen since he growing like a weed and getting stronger every day. His head control has increased ten fold in the last week. My biggest concern about him recently has been how steady he keeps his head...but he has been doing so well with it that I am no longer real concerned. April weighed him last night and he weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. That means he has gained almost a pound in a short amount of time. He coos now when you play with him and has continued to be a pretty well behaved baby. I am certainly not letting my guard down completely...but I am feeling quite a bit calmer for the moment.

We have yet to get Brendan and Owen on any sort of synchronized schedule...but we have managed to accomplish a little rhythm in the way we do things. One of us usually tends to Brendan while the other deals with Owen. When it comes to bedtime...one of us concentrates on getting Brendan in his pajamas and to sleep while the other swaddles and feeds Owen and gets him to bed. We have even managed to finally start venturing out a little bit more and introducing Owen to all of the people that haven't had the opportunity to meet him yet. We all went to a Cowan family celebration over the weekend and he got to meet my mom's side of the family. He has made his rounds with April's family and meeting all of our co-workers. It's been nice being a little bit more mobile again. Brendan has become a much better traveler and seats himself in his car seat without any great struggle and that makes getting them from here to there much easier.

One of the comments I have heard a couple of times during our visits is that Owen "looks normal". Of course it was meant as a compliment and so I smiled and nodded, but he is an average newborn. I don't like the word normal because it implies there is a standard that one must live up to in order to be considered like everyone else. I am all about individuality and normal to me means that you lack that little something that sets you apart from all the rest and takes you from being "normal" to spectacular. So with that in mind...Owen is not just normal....he is spectacular! But from a medical perspective...he really has been meeting all of the milestones an average child of his age is meeting. Sure there could be a problem some day but there also could not. He has proven to be pretty resilient so far and I have no doubts that he has more surprises up his sleeves (which are still too long because of his petite stature). Owen really is a little warrior and takes himself to a new level almost each and every day.

Brendan also continues to exceed all expectations by descending into his terrible twos ahead of schedule. His intelligence can make him a force to be reckoned with at time. As I write this I hear him throwing dog food into the water dish and laughing maniacally. Something he has been scolded for doing numerous time...but something he takes the opportunity to do every chance he gets. Owen has just woke up and I am heating his bottle. Brendan just tore through the room and into the bedroom where I hear silence followed by a loud thud. That would be because he is climbing up on the bed and jumping off the side. Nothing is sacred or safe from the likes of Mr. Brendan Lee. He is not all bad though. He has also been gaining some positive attributes. In just the last month, he has become much more social. He will actually let people talk to him and in some cases actually make physical contact with him without coming unglued. He will repeat and remember anything, including names, with absolutely no effort whatsoever. His passion for books has actually increased and not he will sit patiently listening to entire stories now without diverting his attention to something else. I am also most thankful for the fact that he is becoming just a little more self sufficient again. He still demands a great deal of quality time with Mom and Dad...but he will go and play by himself for periods of time once again and that is terrific. Except for right now when he sees I am typing. He is handing me a book and trying to close the laptop. When I set the book aside and start typing faster...he is trying to get my attention by doing his poop schtick. Bye poop! Love you! See You Poop! Never a dull moment in his world.

So now I am off to feed Owen, read to Brendan...and dare I anticipate a nap for the older of the two Lee boys? Yeah, I didn't think so.