An extraordinary eight months!!!

A note to Owen Elijah on his 8 month birthday from his mommy.

Owen, WOW! What an extraordinary 8 months it's been! You are such an amazing blessing in our lives. We thank God for the miracle of your life! You have come so far in what should be, just 6 months of your life!

You are trying to crawl, you can roll both ways and multiple times. You can sit well supported. You love to stand holding our hands-and for long periods of time. You are such a happy boy (and sometimes a craky boy!;-). You love to sleep in your bed-but only for 4-5 hours at a time, then you want to refuel your belly...it's ok- grow, grow, grow!!!

You are eating 5-6 ounces every 3-5 hours (mostly every 3 hours). You haven't taken to solid foods via a spoon well yet-you'd just assume get fast fueling via your bottle. You love to feed yourself by holding your own bottle.

You wear size 2 diapers, size 0-3 month clothes (some 3-6 month too). You haven't worn any shoes yet with your tiny feet-just out of newborn socks.

You enjoy your exersaucer, especially when we put it outside so you can watch your big brothers playing in our front yard. You enjoy taking bike rides in the bike trailer. When you sleep, you like to keep a blankie by your cheek. You are ticklish-from your piggies to your chinny, chin chin! You laugh out loud, babble-and we've even caught you saying da-da from time to time. You know your name and LOVE your brothers! Your aunt Heather can make you smile even in your worst moods (yes, you!). You've even become master of your binkie!

Your infectious smile and beautiful blue eyes catch the attention of even the hardest of hearts. Nowadays, with your so-cute band, you capture the focus from nearly everyone...they wonder things like: have you had surgery, do you need to protect your head, and so on. We don't mind-and you don't even really notice you are wearing it. Mommy has fun dressing it up!

You weigh 13 pounds 7 ounces and are 2 feet long!!!! Not bad from a starting point of 2 pounds 13 ounces and 14 inches long!!!

You still nap a few times a day and haven't been to the church nursery yet-in fact, you've only been watched by someone other than your mommy or daddy 2 times now for just a couple hours each. Thanks "Aunt" Kara and Aunt Heather/Uncle Lee for helping us out!

Thousands of visits have been made to your blog, including almost 600 visits in June!!! We are humbled that people want to keep track of you and follow your progress and cuteness!!! We've had visits from 3 countries including the UK, Switzerland and Brazil! And, from the good ole US there's been visitors from over half our 50 states!!! You have brought mommy friends across the nation because of your special-ness (a made-up mommy word).

You've made front page news, logged thousands of miles of car time, and lived up to your name-as mommy and daddy joke, we'll be owen on you for a long time!!!

You have nicknames: Owey, Owenator, Owester, Owey-cakes, Owers and more!

We love you and look forward to seeing how you grow and change each day! We pray for you and your brothers for your health and futures! Know that a great joy to me has been keeping track of your progress and changes and then passing it on for the enjoyment of others!