Garrett and Lee showed up with their 3-month old son Brady. What a head of hair on this kid! An absolute cutie and adorable, even when he woke up!

PARTY! We started a little slowly, but Don and Liz drove down with Sydney to get us going!  

10 Month doctor's visit.

Holy crap - has it been 10 months already? *checks calendar* - yup, we've been full of Owen-y goodness for almost a whole year already! Wow, time flies when you're a dad. Or a mom. Or just plain getting older. Anyway, I thought (since it's Friday and no-one's in the office) that an update was in order:
1. Owen's 10 month checkup went splendidly - although he burst into hysterical tears at the sight of the doctor and nurse. I guess the memories of the innoculations from 6 months have stayed with him...
2. He's 21 lbs, 4 oz, and 28.5 inches tall - which puts him at almost exactly 50th percentile both height and weight. His noggin is at the 75TH percentile - so my kid has a big head! Takes after his old man, I hear you all say...
3. The doctor fully expects Owen to start exceeding the curve on the height scale. He said "...because you are... so tall." Yes, there was a definite pause in his sentence. I don't know if he was just being polite - i.e. not calling me "big", "huge" or "such a lardass" - or if it's because the doctor is only about 5'4"!
4. We're having a party tomorrow. The first annual Harnett Open House. You're all invited. Noon to 5pm (to allow us time to get Owen into bed afterwards.) Beer, soda and snacks provided. Neighbours, friends and family are all coming. Should be a good time - will post pictures later.
5. I'm building my own computer. Not sure if I mentioned that here or not (and am too lazy to go look.) I must be a masochist. However, I'm looking forward to it. Should be fun and I'm looking forward to building a neat machine.
6. We're expecting about 40 people at various times during the day tomorrow. I imagine there'll be 5-10 here at all times, with people drifting in and out. Some people we haven't seen in several months, others we see every day.
7. Before anyone asks, I'm NOT building my own PC from scratch (with transistors and soldering iron - although my brother and I did build one kit back in the mid-80's that way!) No, I'm buying the motherboard, case, HD, memory, processor and OS and slamming them all together.
8. The doctor also stuck Owen's finger and drew a drop of blood to test his iron. It came back an 11.4, which apparantly is good. He could have walked in and said it was 9 bajillion and we'd have never known the difference. However, this just further reinforces Owen's hatred of the doctors and all the stabbity sharp things that are therein.
9. Our friends Melodie and Greg are expecting a little boy! Yay for them. I suggest they start a poll on which one of them gets peed on first. My bet is on Melodie. This makes 5 babies in 4 months that we know about for 2007!
10. Our nanny has gone to Florida for two weeks while her school is on break. We've got friends and family helping us watch Owen while she's gone. It'll throw our routine off a little bit, but them's the breaks!

Till next time,
Higgy.

Cat toy video

Why can't I post directly to Vimeo? Oh well, just click the link above...

Of course, having a cat-toy or two around is pretty cool too... 

Of course, he was pretty happy just to have Dad home... 

Eric gave us clothes for Owen from their two boys. Here he revels in the fact that he now has a new DUCKY-towel! 

She's a total mama's girl too! 

Gene is making sure his daughter Arwen is getting a good introduction to the game. You might remember Arwen from March of this year when we went to visit them in Truckee (while they were here skiing.) Arwen is 14 months, and a little princess. 

And my second best friend, Gene - in Gene's house in King George. We play in his unfinished (DUH) basement. Good times, good times. Yes, we're all nerds. 

I spent the weekend in DC, playing D&D with my best friend Eric... 

Lisa's friend Marie likes to take monthly pictures of Owen. She's really into getting JUST the right shot. This is her typical paparazzi pose... 

I have NO idea why this picture was on the camera, but it's just too good NOT to post. Let's hear some caption suggestions in the comments... 

On the way down, they stopped over in Pismo Beach at an amazing hotel. I didn't go on the trip, so I'll be buggered if I know the name of it. However, it's highly recommended by all involved. 

Marcella chilling in her Laz-E-Boy... 

Just a quickie trip to visit Donn and Marcella - at right is Lisa's sister Linda, and on the left, The Mom (Diana) is holding some tomatoes at a strange height. Makes Donn look a little sunburnt, if you know what I mean...

Lisa went to visit her aunt and uncle last weekend - on the drive down, they passed some brush fires in the distance.  

And as per usual, he'll happily sit there for hours while you slide him up and down. I think it's because we both were going "WHEEE!" every time that amused him more than anything! 

Although he was a tiny bit confused at the concept... "You mean you WANT me to slide down here on my butt?" 

At a garage sale, we bought this playhouse for $15! Although it's only 2 foot high, Owen loves the slide! 

Yeah, yeah...

I'm a giant slacker. No posts for over a week. BOO HOO! Well, since nobody's complained, I guess I'll post some Owen-y updates for you all...

Until it was time to say goodbye and head for the airport. Don't worry, little guy - you'll see Mo again next year at the wedding... 

So he just kept playing with his little squeaky toy... 

Although Owen is not convinced.... 

Before he left, we figured out that babies in cowboy hats were hilarious. Most of us were even sober! 

Sadly, Will had to go pack for a hunting trip - Owen was crushed... 

One by one, everyone left, until it was just us, Mo and Will hanging out. Will does a pretty mean dancing bunny impersonation, as you can see by Owen's face... 

The next day, a somewhat delicate Pete (fortified by a large greasy breakfast and a pot of coffee) drives us all up to Boulder where Lisa's favorite Mo throws us a Sunday brunch. She invites all of the Boulder crew to come visit, which was really great. Mo and Will live on a couple of acres, and have quite the menagerie. Here, Blanca the horse makes Owen's acquaintance. He's really not a horse person...