Happy Grandparent's Day!

Today is Owen's first Grandparent's Day, and it just so happened that he got to see one of his grandmas and a set of great-grandparents. We went down to Muscatine for Ryan's cousin Hayden's birthday party this weekend, so we got to see a LOT of family! There are six kids on that side of the family that are 5 and under, so Owen had a lot of playmates. The birthday party was held at Jungle Bungle, which is a lot like Chucky Cheese, so the kids had a great time. I think even Owen had fun crawling around. There were a few things he could crawl into and a little piano that he liked to bang on. Ryan went into the ball pit with him, but he hated it. It almost seemed like he thought it was a pool and he clung to Ryan like a koala bear. I forgot my camera, gosh dang it, but (Owen's) Grandma Angie had hers, so I'll have to get some from her. So on Owen's first Grandparent's Day, he got to see Grandma Angie, Great-Grandma Nancy and Great-Grandpa Ron. He also got to see Grandpa Dan on Saturday.

It's kind of funny because Owen has two Grandpa Dans. But my dad's legal first name is actually Owen, so either way he went, we'd have double names : ) We did not get to see my parents this weekend, but we did go see them last weekend, and Owen was actually there from Friday night until Monday afternoon. Ryan and I took him on Friday and spent the night, and then Owen stayed a couple of extra days so that Ryan and I could go tubing and camping with friends for Ryan's belated birthday party over Labor Day. So Owen got to spend lots of time with those grandparents last weekend, plus my brother, his wife, and their kids were in town that weekend, so he got to spend time with them. Ian is three and Annaliese is 2 1/2 months younger than Owen, and I think they had a really good time. Ian is a really good big brother to Annaliese and really good about sharing his toys with Owen and making sure the toys he is playing with don't have small parts to them. It's the cutest thing. Ian loved getting down and crawling around with Owen (Annaliese isn't quite crawling yet), and even helped give him a bath (I wasn't there at the time, but I saw a picture of it.). I love watching little kids play together. It's so cute. Owen also got to see Great-Grandma Kuehl last weekend. He's one lucky little boy to get to spend time with all this family!

We don't get to see Ryan's dad and his wife and kids since they moved to Florida, but they did get to meet Owen once before they moved. Maybe we'll just have to plan a vacation...

And even though I knew it was Grandparent's Day, we forgot to say anything when we were in Muscatine, and when we got back it was nap time (for all of us!), and then Ryan and to work and life just got in the way and we didn't even call my parents. So this is our official "Happy Grandparent's Day!!" wish to all of the grandparents and great-grandparents. We love you!!

Now a post wouldn't be a post without a few pictures. So here are a few from the last couple of weeks:

BIG smile and you can see his two pearly whites : )

Getting tickled by Daddy

They love to wrestle on the floor!

Cheering for his favorite team!

 Owen has been getting in a lot of practice standing up on his own. He can't get into that position without pulling himself up on something or pushing off of you while you are laying on the floor yet, but he's getting really good at being able to stand alone for long periods of time. He's taken a couple of steps on his own, too, but mostly if you are a couple of baby steps from him, he just leans forward at you instead of moving his feet. He can practically run while he has ahold of furniture, though! He's getting really fast!!

We also started taking Owen to daycare on Wednesdays and Fridays. There is a woman who does in-home daycare in our neighborhood, and we really like her. Her name is Johnna and it's cool because she has a son who is two weeks older than Owen, so he has a built-in friend! I'm glad we decided to take him to daycare to get him socialized and it also gives Ryan a break. He works really late at night and then has to get up early with Owen, so it's a lot for him. It's only for 12 1/2 hours a week, so it's not too expensive, and Ryan and Owen still get to spend some quality time together : ) Owen really seems to like it there. She has a lot of toys and everytime I pick him up, he crawls over to me, but then is pretty much just ready to get back down and play. I don't drop him off, Ryan does, but he said he hasn't cried yet, so hopefully it stays that way. He was having some trouble napping there the first few times, but he's gotten better. I just wish I could see him playing with that other little boy! Johnna said there is quite a bit of difference between them, though. Her boy is barely crawling and Owen's about ready to jump on a bike! : )