Basketball, Baseball and Measuring Cups...

The other day, Owen discovered that it is fun, and a bit of a challenge to put the baseball or basketball into the measuring cup. If I laid the ball next to the cup, he'd pick up the ball and put it in the cup. If he was not able to get it in the cup, he got frustrated at himself. I would help him get it. It was neat to see him trying to focus and figure it out. He looked so proud when he did it!

Our Little Musician

We might have a musician in the making living under our roof!

Like father like son!



Owen had a musical moment the other morning while I was eating my breakfast - the Mozart Music Cube was playing and Owen was shaking the home made shakers and clinking the measuring cups. The pictures shows that he was singing too! Look out American Idol!

Almost 11 Months!

I can't believe that our sweet little boy is almost 11 months old!! We have been more blessed and challenged in the last year than ever before. We are so thankful that the Lord gave us this sweet boy! We look forward to many more months and years to come!

Here are some pictures of what he's been up to recently!

Owen is crawling everywhere, and pulls up to his knees. He's not yet mastered pulling to a stand, but when we get him set up, he'll stand at this toy chest and look out the window at the trees and cars. He likes to fall backwards to a sitting position from standing. He gets frustrated when he tries to stand up. I think any day now he'll surprise himself and just stand up! He also likes to walk when we hold his hands.



Owen's been eating new foods too. He enjoys the staples of cheese, yogurt, sweet potatoes, bananas, applesauce, veggies, bread, etc. Some days for breakfast we make him "Eggy Bread" - dip bread into egg yolks and cook it. He likes that a lot! In the past few weeks we're trying to feed him more of what we're eating - pork roast, pasta - and one day last week we made his first Grilled Cheese! It's a favorite of ours and it was very fun to see him enjoy it!



We are trying to teach Owen to sleep without his Paci! It's going pretty well so far. So now instead of sleeping with a Paci, he sleeps with Puppy. So sweet! (Somehow this night he ended up with both!!)

Why would you not get a Mac?

Saturday night we brought Owen over to our friends the McCann's. They watched him for us and put him to sleep while we were out on a date. When we got back we were chatting and discovered that Sean and Lindsey got a Mac laptop for Christmas. There is a function on the laptop called "PhotoBooth." You can take pictures with a camera in the laptop and then edit them in fun ways.

We were laughing so hard! It is so funny to see how distorted it made us all look! Here are a few of the pictures that we took...INCLUDING some we took with Owen after we woke him up to take him home. Poor boy!

I left being convinced that we need a Mac for our next computer.

Purdys and McCanns



An attractive shot of Kristen and Lindsey.


Family Portrait



Like father like son.

Swimming!

Tuesday was Family Day. This was our first whole day without school, work, or traveling in a LONG time. We were looking forward to it quite a bit. One of the elements we planned into our day off was a trip to the YMCA to take Owen to the pool. The only time he'd been "in" the water was when we dipped his feet in the ocean and pool this summer at the beach. He wasn't thrilled! So we weren't sure what he'd think.

We'll let the pictures tell the story.

Here is Owen in his bathing suit before we left for the Y. He doesn't know what's coming his way.




Here is a picture that perfectly captures how he felt at first - very unsure! He wasn't crying, but certainly not happy.



Here he is willing to sit in the water and pat it with his hands, but he's still very timid.



By the end he was loving it! He would crawl around in the super shalow section, and he and daddy waded out to the "deep" level at 2ft.



Owen is getting mommy and me swimming lessons for his birthday, we look forward to more fun in the pool!

It runs in the family...

Last week we moved Owen's board books down to the lower shelf on our book case. This was a great move on our part. As you can see in the pictures, he loves it! He loves to sit and pull off the books one at a time and "read" them. When he's done with one book he'll move on to the next one. He is currently reading his books and has been for the last 15 minutes! It's so sweet to watch him. His love for books was certainly passed down through his daddy, his Gramma and others!


Owen reading.



Going back for another one.

Corduroy Day

One day last week ended up being Corduroy Day in the Purdy house. Here is a picture of all of us standing in our kitchen with our Corduroys.

Pizza love runs in the family!

I can't believe we haven't posted this picture yet. For all who know Matt very well, you know of his LOVE for pizza. In fact it is a true statement that he ate pizza EVERY DAY his Freshman year of college. Needless to say, we have looked forward to Owen's first taste of Pizza since his birth. Owen enjoyed his first pizza crust over Christmas. I think it was more fun for us to watch, but Owen seemed to enjoy it as well!

Here is a picture of Owen with his daddy. Note the pizza crust hanging from Owen's mouth.

"Sledding" In Charlotte

I am pretty certain that this is the closest that Owen will get to sledding this winter! We were taking down all of our Christmas decorations yesterday, and Owen happend upon the lid to the tupperware that we store the decorations in. Matt had the great idea to play a game similar to the laundry basket game. Owen loved it! Just imagine the joy of snow and a sled!! Oh well! Lids on carpet bring joy too.

A visit from The Purdys

Since our parents only live 2 hours away, we were able to have a visit from Matt's family on the 28th. Matt's parents, and most of his siblings made it down to Harrisonburg for an afternoon and evening. (We missed you Noelle, Scott, Ashley, Madison and Anna!)

We enjoyed playing fusball, talking, exchanging stocking stuffers and watching them play with Owen.

Thanks for making the trip!

Owen enjoyed some time with Grandpa Purdy and Grandma Purdy on the couch before they headed home.

More Christmas Fun

Here are a few more pictures from our time in Harrisonburg with my (Kristen's) family. We had such a blast - we didn't want to come home. But at the same time, we are glad to be home. Owen's stint of waking up at 5:30 during Christmas break has been ended. He's now sleeping until 7:30! I can go for that!

Matt discovered this fun game with the laundry basket one afternoon. Owen was having a ball - Megan was too!



Here's an up close shot of Owen in the laundry basket.



Here is Owen adoring his sweet Aunt Becky. What a joy it was for us to see Bryan and Becky get to know Owen better. I look forward to Owen's Aunts and Uncles being a very special part of Owen's life.



One last shot of the cousins before we left. They had such a fun time together. Owen's eyes started to light up when they'd enter the room. Reese and Megan were such a great help! It was a blessing to see them get to know each other. I hope and pray that he and his cousins will be closest of friends until they're old and gray!



What a great first Christmas!

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.