Merry Christmas!

It's Owen's First Christmas! It has been a busy day full of stockings to open, naps to take, and presents to open. Not to mention lots of love from Owen's older cousins (Reese and Megan) and Uncle Bryan, Aunt Becky and Gramma and Grampa. Here are some of the highlights of Owen's First Christmas.


Owen Crawling near the Christmas tree.



Here Owen is opening his stocking - he was gifted with some fun things including Sweet Potato Puffs and a new pair of leather shoes.


Fun with cousins...we miss you Anna Rose!


More fun with cousins.


Here are the three of us on Christmas Eve. We went to the 7pm Christmas Eve service at our church in VA. Owen mostly enjoyed crawling around in the hallway playing with the envelope in the bulletin. We joined the rest of the family at the end of the service for Joy to the World and Silent Night. It was very special!


We are thankful for a wonderful family to celebrate the birth of Christ with. We miss the rest of our family, but we hope to see them soon.

We look forward to many years of celebrating the birth of Christ together - teaching Owen what that means, and learning more for ourselves too!

My weekend with my Son House Aunts

This weekend I got to go to VA with mommy. We met up with her roommates from JMU. They are a funny bunch! They kept telling me that I look like I'm in 1st grade and that I should be talking. They must have forgotten that I'm just 9 months old.

This is mommy and me on the steps of Wilson Hall at JMU. Do you like my orange hat? It was keeping me warm.


I finally got to meet Aunt Sarah - she lived in Mississippi. Now that she's getting married, she'll live in VA. I can't wait to see her more often!



There was this neat table. I figured out how to crawl under it and how to play peek a boo. I liked playing peek a boo with Aunt Jenny and Aunt Missy.



Two things happened that made me worry. First they had a chick flick on Saturday night - not sure about that! Then Sunday morning Aunt Emily let me play with this necklace. Then they put it on my head! Not sure what daddy would have thought.



They played with me a lot. I liked that. Aunt Regina and Aunt JB liked to teach me all about sounds and words. They're teachers.



It was a fun weekend - I know it was special for mommy that I got to play with my Son House Aunts. I can't wait for Aunt Emily to have her baby. Next time he and I will play trucks and ball. That will be fun.

Son House Reunion Weekend

I (Kristen) had the privilege of getting together with all but one of my college roommates this past weekend in Afton, VA (we missed you Jane!). We stayed in the mountains at a family members cottage. It was so sweet to get some good girl time in. Owen joined me for the weekend and got to meet all of my room mates that he hadn't met yet. Check Owens posting on the weekend for more input from him!

We had a great time talking and walking around JMU and EATING lots of bagels at our favorite bagel shop, Mr.J's.

It was a blessing for sure!


Here is a picture of some of us on a walk at JMU.



While Owen was eating his lunch in the car, the girls had a photo opp with the Duke Dog himself.



Can you tell we have fun with self-timer pictures?

Special Boy, Special time of Year

Sweet Anna Rose

This is a picture of Owens cousin - Anna Rose. She is 6 days older than Owen and lives in Connecticut with her mommy and daddy (Kristen's Brother). I thought this picture of her with Santa was so precious that I wanted to share it with you all.

Merry Christmas!

9 Months Old!

Yesterday was Owen's 9 Month Birthday! As my brother stated last night on the phone "You almost have a One Year Old!" That is so true and so crazy! So, what does a 9 month old baby boy do? Here you go...

Owen's Crawling! He started Monday afternoon (12/4) and is taking a few crawls at a time. He is by no means cruising around the room, but if he sees something he wants, he can get it. Sometimes that is helpful, other times it is not! But we're excited and thankful for this progress!

















One of Owen's favorite activities is playing ball. We literally play catch with him. We throw it to him, he picks it up, and throws it back to us. It's very fun. Here Owen is playing catch with his pal Puppy. He looked at puppy with delight the whole game.

















Owen is enjoying some new foods in his diet - cheese, yogurt, CheeriO's, water out of a sippy cup, etc. His favorite by far were Lima Beans that our friends Jake and Melissa brought over for dinner. He could not get enough of them!

















Here is Owen's new facial expression. (Sorry the picture is on it's side) He makes it along side many different moods. He will make it when he's happy, frustrated, sad, angry, etc. At least he tells us what he thinks! He's our little communicator!


















With every new phase of parenting there is a portion of joy and a portion of trial. It is great that he's crawling, but it brings a host of new issues. You get the idea. We're praying that the Lord would give us love for Owen in all that he is doing; that He would allow us to know when to discipline and when to train and when to let a baby boy be a baby boy. Thankfully He offers to give wisdom to those who need it. That is us for sure!

Another Hair Cut!

Right before Thanksgiving, we took Owen for another hair cut! The other was more like a trim, but still. His hair grows SO fast. He already needs another one! He did great for the hair cut - just sat on my lap and watched Barney. Hey, there is a first time for everything, right?!

Visits with Friends

God allowed us to get some time with some sweet friends this past week. Owen and I went to Harrisonburg to see my parents for 4 days before Thanksgiving while Matt worked on 2 papers (way to go Matt!!). While we were there, I got to visit with Amy and Molly Joy Aldrich. We didn't get a picture, but it was a great visit!! While in Northern, VA, Matt and I also got to see our friends Brett and Krista Miller. We didn't get a picture of them either, but enjoyed getting to know them as a couple!

While in Northern Virginia, we got to see one of my best friends from childhood, Tori, and her husband Scott. They live in N.VA now and so we see them whenever we can when we're up there! It was so neat for them to know Owen better!


While in Harrisonburg, Owen and I got to visit with Sarah and Madison Gammage and Lisa and Gray Ryan. What a sweet time to see all of our babies together!


After Thanksgiving, we saw our good friends Michael, Laura and Noah Salvatierra. They are raising support in getting ready to go to Peru with Mission to the World. We relish every moment we have with them before they depart. Noah is 2 months older than Owen - what a joy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great visit with family over Thanksgiving. We were at Owen's Grandpa Purdy and Grandma Purdy's house in Northern Virginia. We enjoyed a lot of good visits with Matt's parents and siblings. We saw the Reston Town Center Christmas Tree be lit, played games, ate a lot of yummy food and just hung out.

Owen tried Turkey on Thanksgiving day, but he did NOT like it one bit! He just shuttered. Oh Well! It was a fun thing for Matt and I to try.

We are thankful to the Lord for all of the ways He has blessed us and for all of His promises that He upholds us with.

This is Owen enjoying the Macy's Day Parade!


Here is a Charlotte Purdys Family Photo.


Owen with Madison (left) and Ashley (right)


Owen with Aunt Noelle and Uncle Scott's Yellow Lab - Starbucks. They loved each other!


This is Matt, Owen and I with Matt's sister Noelle and her husband Scott with their girls.

Look who's STANDING!

For those of y'all who didn't know, Owen has not been much for standing thus far. He's certainly "behind" the "norm" for children his age in how he "bears weight" on his legs. His pediatrician has referred us to an "Early Intervention Center" to have his gross motor skills evaluated. In the meantime, he's been starting to stand like a champ! Just in the last two days he'll bear all of his weight on his legs. It's so fun for all of us! We haven't been too worried about it, but now we're really hopeful that all is well. Owen will still go through the evaluation, but we're pretty sure at this point that he won't be needing any Physical Therapy. We'll keep you posted!

Owen's Parents

Here is a recent picture of Matt and I. We are sitting on the couch together after a long day...a usual occurance in our house!

I wanted to give you a brief update on where we are at and ask you to pray for us as well. Matt is approaching his final semester here at RTS. It's hard to believe our time here is almost over! Because of this, we are in the midst of looking for a "call" to a church. Matt would love to be an associate pastor at a church on the East coast - preferably in VA. Please join us in praying for the Lord to lead us and guide us to the place that He has prepared for us to minister and to live.

Look what I can do!

I went upstairs to get Owen from his nap yesterday. I had heard him chatting and such for about a half hour after his nap was done. When I got into his room, I saw exactly what you're seeing in this picture. He had sat himself up in his crib when he was done sleeping! Way to go Owen! He has only sat himself up a few times. We were quickly reminded that we need to lower his crib now that he can do this!!

What else is new with Owen? Well he's got 2 teeth - they are front and center on the bottom. He enjoys playing with them with his tongue - exploring these foreign objects in his mouth. He eats Rice Cereal or Oatmeal with either veggies or fruit at breakfast, lunch and dinner. He says Dadadada and Mamamama a lot. I think it is still "indiscriminately" as the baby book says, but we love it anyway! He continues to be a joy and a blessing to us and to others!

Howdy Cowboy!

Here's our little Cowboy :) We had a fun time dressing Owen up as a Cowboy - he didn't have any idea his idenity changed for the night.

There was a community Halloween party in our neighborhood Monday night that we took Owen to. We weren't sure if we were going to "celebrate" Halloween this year, and to what extent, but we enjoyed the opportunity to be involved with our community here and to get to know some of our neighbors better. Some of our seminary friends that also live here went with us - the Kulps, Hunts, and McCanns. Owen enjoyed playing with Bennett the sheep and Celia as Little Bo Peep.

Pumpkins and Football...Fall is here!

Fall has finally arrived in North Carolina - we had to put a jacket on Owen for the first time last weekend. It's back in the 70's today, but our weather man (Larry Sprinkle) tells us that cooler weather is coming again. I find that in the fall/winter my Northern pride comes out - I have to be careful! There is just nothing like a New England Fall day or a fresh New England snow!

We enjoyed taking Owen to get his first pumpkin last Saturday - he didn't really have much to say about it. But we enjoyed it! I have this love for anything pumpkin that I have discovered in the last few years - pumpkin latte, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkins! So the fall is a fun time for me!

Matt enjoys any chance he can get to watch the Redskins on TV - they don't show them too often down here. So with the game on last Sunday, we had to deck Owen out in his Redskins sweatshirt (He's grateful to be borrowing this from Asher Davis) and football. What fun!

This weekend we have an event with our church at a Corn Maze, so I'm sure there will be more fall pictures on their way!

October visit with Anna Rose

We had a special visit at my (Kristen's) parents house Columbus Day weekend with my parents, my brother Brett and his wife Carolyn and their little girl Anna Rose (6 days older than Owen) from Connecticut and my grandparents from New Jersey. Much time was spent watching the two babies interact with each other. They spent a lot of time staring at one another and if we set them close enough they would poke and push and tug the other. It was neat to see them together and to have some good time with Brett and Carolyn. It was also very special to have time with Owen's Grampa and Gramma along with his Great Grandparents!

Sweet Family Times

Here is a picture of Owen in just his diaper. Check out the belly - isn't it great!! He obviously is not lacking in the eating department. He has enjoyed a new menu over the last few weeks. Adding to his tride and true essentials of breast milk and rice cereal, he now also enjoys sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, peaches and green beans. Yummo!











Even though this semester is WAY busy for Matt, we have still managed to find some time for family time. Here are some pictures of us cuddling and playing with Owen during those times. He is such a sweet boy. He's had a cold this past week which has made him especially cuddly!!

6 1/2 Months Old! Where has the time gone?!

All wrapped up - Owen is exploring more things each day!

Owen's sitting up! He can sit for a long time, but we still keep pillows behind him because every now and then he'll kick his legs out and fly back! That doesn't usually go over too well :)

So, can you believe that Owen is 6 1/2 months old?! We can't! He is sitting up a lot and rolling over very quickly. Still no crawling, but we're getting there I think. Oh, and Owen had his first Carrots 2 days ago - he isn't quite sure what he thinks about them. But it's been fun for us to watch!

On another note, Owen and I were visiting the school I worked at last year and one of the women we were talking to said, "Owen Purdy, you are a blessing." Matt and I were talking about that later. He has surely been a blessing from the Lord in our lives, but we are amazed that the Lord has made him to be a blessing in the lives of many others. Surely to our family and friends, but also to strangers. Yesterday at Chic - Fil - A we had the attention of about 5 older folks eating next to us. What a smile he brought to their faces! I am not trying to boast in Owen, but rather to boast in the Lord and in the blessing that HE has given us, and those we come in contact with, in this sweet boy!

Meet the Twins!

This past weekend, on our way home from our friend Brett Miller's wedding, we stopped through the Purdy's for a labor day cook out. We enjoyed the day spending time with the whole family! Most of them hadn't seen Owen since Megan's graduation in May, so it was neat to have time with them. We also got to meet the twins! Matt's sister and brother in law (Noelle and Scott) had twin girls in mid-July. This was our first chance to get up to meet them. They are so little (compared to Owen) and so sweet. Their names are Ashley Clare and Madison Faith. They are now about 6 lbs. each. They are doing well - as are Noelle and Scott! Grandma Purdy and Grandpa Purdy looked so thrilled to have all three grandkids in their house at the same time! What a special occasion!

Owen also got to interact with his first doggy - Pedro. He is Matt's brother and sister in law's (John and Anna) Chihuahua. Owen was quite fond of him - Pedro was sweet to let Owen pet him.

what a blessing!


Me Holding Ashley

The Purdy Men Owen and the twins (Ashley,Left;
Madison, Right)

Owen and Pedro.

Owen's First Swing!

Last night we took a walk after Owen ate before we put him to sleep (a normal occurance in the Purdy family). After we dropped our trash off at the dumpster, we wondered what Owen would think about a ride on the swingset. So, we walked down to the park in our apartment complex and gave it a whirl. It was a great success! He smiled and talked while we swang him. He spent most of his time looking up at the trees around him, but we could tell that he enjoyed the swing. I'm sure this was the first of many trips to the swings for our family!

What fun!

He realy seemed to enjoy himself!

There was so much to look at!

Owen was mostly fascinated by a new venue to look at the trees

and listen to the birds/crickets in the trees.

Action Shot!

Have you ever tried to take a picture of a moving swing? It's not easy!