Bleacher Creature

A momentous day in Owen's life....his first visit to the Wrigley Field bleachers.

Despite another Cubs loss (5-22 record so far in May), and despite the 92 degree heat, we had a lot of fun. Owen stole the show in our entire section.


Decked out in his Cubs hat, his bleacher baby shirt, and his red socks, almost everyone had something to say about Owen. Then again, that is only fitting in the bleachers, where everyone always has something to say. Thankfully, most of the comments were positive, although some opted to share that starting a kid on a diet of Cubs baseball this early in life may be considered child abuse.

It is still debatable, however, on how Owen would grade his experience. You see, he struggled with a few aspects of the bleachers. No, he didn't mind the Old Style, although he does have a more sophisticated and appreciative pallet. Instead, he didn't take too kindly to the attendants spraying water on the crowd to keep cool. He also struggled with the loud cheers. At first we thought he was only crying when the Braves would hit a homerun (8 of them today...unbelievable), but he also struggled when the fans reacted to a Cubs hit.

No crying in baseball? Someone better tell Owen that before his next game (Father's Day vs. the Tigers!)

A Favorite New Toy

Over Mother's Day weekend, Owen spent some quality time with Grandma L in the toys department of a local retailer. As the story goes, grandma decided to test-run a number of products by little Owen. Despite the intensive training on my part to get him to only react positively to Xbox 360 and convertible sportscars, he apparently settled in on something else - something more educational and age appropriate.

I'm not sure what to call it, other than the "alphabet showcase showdown," as it resembles the wheel from the Price is Right showcase showdown, but instead of $ values, it has letters of the alphabet. With every spin, a very nice woman, who is now very much a part of our family, recites the alphabet song.

However, the toy is also a little bit more advanced. If you push on an actual letter, the same woman does one of two things, pronounces the letter or sounds out the letter. Upon learning this, I arranged the wheel so that I could press "O - W - E - N" in sequence for Owen to hear his name spelled out. However, at the risk of carpal tunnel, I discovered an easier and more entertaining option. By simply pressing "O - N," the woman calls out Owens name..."Oh En" "Oh En."

Fascinated by this, Brecken and I have vowed to name any future children with this toy in mind.

A Stand Up Guy

In addition to the mobility discussed earlier in the week, Owen has now taken to the idea of standing. No, he isn't walking or anything, but upon entering his room last week, I did catch him standing up at the edge of his crib with his arms and head over the side rail. Very impressive on the physical activity checklist, but on the "how well is your house child-proofed" scale, it called a lot of things into question.

Immediately, I changed the crib configuration so that the mattress would be at the lower level, making it "impossible" for Owen to get his head over the top and reducing the likelihood of our first crib escape. Instead, he is now more of a caged O-Doggie Dogg.

Don't feed the animals!

Thankfully, most of the time in the crib is spent doing normal crib-activities, including napping in one of his favorite blankets (courtesy of Great Grandma S).

Mr. Blue Eyes

Keeping up with Owen is proving to be more and more challenging these days. The little guy loves to show off his mobility on the floor, climbing over things and seeking out toys on his own rather than at our discretion. Here are a couple of quick shots from Sunday afternoon, beginning with Owen wearing my Cornell hat.

Knowing the size of my noggin, it actually disturbs me how close the hat comes to fitting Owen at only six months. Meanwhile, here is Owen pursuing one of his favorite, and might I add loudest, toys.

One can only put up with hearing "La La La ELMO SONG" and "I LOVE TRASH" and "COOKIE COOKIE COOKIE" so many times. At this point, I think it is appropriate to officially say thank you to family members for this gift. We love it...really...no really!

GSB vs. Kellogg Ryder Cup

Here is one of the first non-Owen related posts dealing with my activities at the GSB. Of course, I focus on a non-academic event.

When I started school last fall and was deciding among the many student clubs to join, the golf club was probably the least professionally oriented organization that I considered. However, it was also the group that I was most interested in being a part of. After all, as a b-school student, isn't it all about networking, and having flexibility in the schedule to play more golf? Seriously!

Well, the premier event of the year for the GSB golf club is the annual Ryder Cup tournament against Kellogg (Northwestern Univ). Over the past few weeks, first and second year students played qualifying rounds to solidify the 22 spots on the GSB team.

I was fortunate to play a nice round at Jackson Park, and I made the team. The event took place this past Saturday at Water's Edge in Worth, IL. In the morning, we played two different nine hole matches in a two-man format. The first nine was a two-man best ball, and the second nine was a two-man alternating shot format. Unfortunately, my partner and I struggled in both matches, losing both points for the team. After the morning, the GSB was trailing 13.5 to 8.5.

In the afternoon, everyone played singles matches. I was matched up against a very steady former college player from Taylor University. We had a fantastic match, going back and forth throughout the round with me generally down by one or two holes. Going into #16, I was trailing by 2 with 3 to play. Long story short, I managed to go birdie, par, par, winning all three holes and closing out the match 1-up to earn a point for the GSB. The GSB put up a great showing in the individual matches, taking the afternoon 13 to 9. Unfortunately, that left us 1 point shy on the scorecard for the day.

Overall, it was a fantastic event that reinforced how much fun it can be to be involved in match play events. Already looking forward to next year.

Grandpa's Little Guy

All of the Mother's Day activities in Ohio didn't prevent Owen and Grandpa L from enjoying some quality guy time together. For the past few months, grandpa has been laboring away in his workshop on the ultimate barn for Owen. Having seen pictures a few weeks ago, we knew that Owen was in for a treat, but even photos could not fully capture the size and detail of his latest creative offering.

While Owen can comfortably stand inside, he seemed to prefer sitting in the doorway talking to grandpa.

Of course, the talking all stopped when Owen got his hands on his first Deere.

In addition to the barn and tractor introductions, Owen learned the intricacies of selecting the proper fishing bait. Somehow, I imagine there might have been a little lesson on Texas rigging involved. Brecken was a little worried to think about what Owen might catch with this oversized crawler, but Owen didn't seem to have any problems with the newly acquired tackle.

Thanks grandpa for all of the fun this weekend.

By the way, if you or any of your friends have an interest in getting a custom made barn like Owen's, please let me know.

A Wonderful Mother's Day Weekend

To celebrate Mother's Day weekend, Owen and Brecken took the train over the river and through the woods to grandma & grandpa's house. It is hard to say who was happier to be with the other on this first holiday together.

In addition to time with "mom," Owen was able to have fun with grandpa and grandma as well. Rumor has it he kept them on their toes all weekend.

Making sure all of the mother's in Owen's family tree were accounted for, great-grandma June joined the family for brunch on Sunday, bringing along this fine looking companion, Graydon.

Taking responsibility for keeping Owen entertained, or maybe it was the other way around, aunt Kathi and cousin Adam had fun catching up with the scrappy six-month old. Altogether, it was a great family weekend and wonderful first mother's day for Owen and Brecken.

Happy Mother's Day

Sunday is Owen's 6 month birthday. Someone this week asked me whether the past six months have felt like forever. It's hard to deny some of the sleep-deprived nights and the curious whimpers (from Owen...well, and sometimes from me), but honestly, it feels like time has flown by, and it hardly feels like forever. It seems like just yesterday that we were heading to the hospital to welcome Owen into the world and into our family. Now, it seems harder to remember life without him.

As our family celebrates Mother's Day for the first time, I took a few moments to look back on the past six months in photos, with a particular focus on moments shared between Owen and Brecken.

From walks, to baths, to new outfits and newfound skills, Brecken and Owen have had a lot of fun in the past six months. Together, they will be celebrating Mother's Day with Grandma L and Great Grandma H in T-town.

Happy Mother's Day to you and yours.

Cheers!

Swing, swing...

On Monday, we were lucky enough to see pictures on the Vlog Blog of Owen's friends Anand and Vivek in their new swings. Great minds must think alike, as Owen also took the maiden voyage in his swing over the weekend.

Absent the big deck and sprawling lawn that the Vlog boys enjoy at their Wisconsin estate, Owen enjoys dodging the hot grill and pesky city kitties in his urban cavern. It builds character, right? As the picture suggests, he seems to enjoy the swinging.

Changing Table Antics

Ok...posts like this quickly separate me from normal classroom and campus topics of discussion at the GSB. After all, who else is lucky enough to cover diapers and changing tables when discussing the humorous highlights of a given day. No, I am not in diapers nor using a changing table, but thanks for asking. Also, only G rated photos will be included...this is a family site.

In the past, Owen has always gotten a kick out of post bathtime freedom, but now he is taking it to a new sporting level...attempting to stand, roll, sit, whatever he feels like.

Rather than laying there to get dressed, he has decided that his recently discovered mobility is perfect on the floor and on a changing table.

Gone are the days of letting him lay there while we grab something from elsewhere in the room.

Keeping up with the little guy has become more challenging, but also much more humorous and enjoyable in the process. On Sunday night, Brecken and I sat on the couch while he maneuvered his way all around the room chasing a toy that he kept throwing. The crawling bit is still a little choppy, but he has at least mastered the ability to flop himself in different directions to get what he wants. We're enjoying the show.

Joe Cool?

After a really fussy day, Owen still managed to be all smiles when the camera came out on Tuesday night. Here he can be seen in his spiffy new sunglasses.

The creepy thing about these new sunglasses is that you can still see Owen's eyes through the lenses. These might be more Kurt Rambis than Joe Cool, but we're not telling Owen that.