8 months

Here is the latest and greatest of Owen from the past month.

When he gets really tired he rubs his eyes (like all children do I'm sure, but I just love a cute, sleepy, baby boy).

Owen sleeps pretty much exclusively on his tummy. Frequently when I go to check on him at night, he also has his little bum in the air. I love it.
He loves to kick his legs up and then let them fall down hard. He also likes to spaz out and kick like crazy when he is on his tummy. I especially love when he greets me after a nap or when waking up in the morning because he looks up at me, smiles big, and then kicks like crazy. It's adorable.

Sometimes he'll move his hands and wrists like he's revving a motorcycle. It officially happened...Owen found his privates. I don't remember if it was during bath time or when he was getting a diaper change, but now we frequently find him reaching down and tugging. I'm pretty sure at this point he doesn't know what he's pulling on and it's just something he can grab onto. Silly boy.
He likes to turn the pages when we read stories together. When we play peek-a-boo sometimes I will put a blanket or cloth over my face and wait for him to grab it off. He always smiles or laughs when he finds me behind the cloth.

Sometimes he will put something in his mouth, bite it and let it hang there while he reaches for something else. It reminds me of a little puppy dog. He has become a stellar roller and can easily roll to both sides (left and right) from his back or tummy. Which has led to him becoming super twisty-turney when we change his diaper. He constantly wants to flip over and grab and something behind him. It makes it very difficult to change him and I think we both end up frustrated in the end.

Owen is reachy and grabby to the 100th degree. Anything that is within his reach he wants. Recently while I was holding him and doing something in the sink, he reached out and grabbed a cup that was full of water and knocked it over flooding our kitchen. Ok...so flooding is a strong word, but it was a very big full cup.

He had his first cheerios and puffs. He didn't like the texture at first, but got used to it pretty quick. He chases the cheerios around on his tray and sometimes they end up in his lap. He also attempts to feed himself when he gets one in his hand but can't quite figure out how to get it out of his fist into his mouth.


He's gotten up on his hands and knees and will rock back and forth.

He's pretty much just a cool dude and we are loving every minute with him. He is growing and changing everyday right before our eyes. He is such a special blessing in our lives!

Baby's First Christmas

That's right...I am just now doing my Christmas post. I finally figured out how to use Picasa to make collages so it would be easier and more efficient to post a gazillion pictures. So without further ado...here is baby Owen's First Christmas...

All of the pictures together:

Miles, Owen and I went to Arizona for Christmas this year. Much to my parents' chagrin as it was our second year in a row going to AZ. However, all of the family was going to be together this year, so we decided we didn't want to miss out on the fun. At first we didn't think it would be a possibility since Miles had used most of his vacation days for Owen's birth and the Van de Wetering family reunion in the summer. Luckily, however, he was able to get a few extra days so we could work it out to spend a week in AZ.

No good Wright family vacation is without good food. And Christmas was no exception. We ate until we couldn't eat any more. We had sweets galore as well as some amazing meals. As is tradition, we had a big Christmas morning breakfast with Dad Wright's famous buttermilk pancakes, strawberries, whipped cream, bacon, sausage, spam, eggs and orange juice. It was fabulous. Later in the week we enjoyed Dad's amazing Japanese dishes. What can I say...this man knows how to cook! We ate tempura vegetables, yaki soba and steak and vegetable curry. It was to die for!


Of course there was also plenty of family fun which included: witnessing some awesome moves on the Kinect, playing with babies Owen and Jonas, enjoying the new fire pit outside, singing to music played on the ukulele, rocking out on Guitar Hero, playing board games, and celebrating Megan's birthday with a cake made into the shape of a very big cupcake.


Owen got a lot of quality time with his Aunties and Uncles. It was so great for him to spend time with them and I'm sure he loved it as much as they did. I must admit, I was also loving it as well. It was so so nice to have extra hands available to help take care of him. One day Marci watched him so we could go play the Kinect at Natalie's parents' home. And they were always willing to help out as needed or let me get some extra rest. It was amazing.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun for me because of Owen. Although he didn't have much of a concept of what was going on, it was still fun to help him open presents and take part in his first Christmas. He got his very own stocking which Santa generously filled with all kinds of yummy baby foods. He got some books and curtains for his bedroom from Grandma Van de Wetering, an I <3 Hawaii onsie from Auntie Megan, and a toy guitar from Auntie Marci. Miles and I got some wonderful presents from the family as well. And I have to mention that this year, Miles did really well and bought me a Chi. Finally I got a for-me, for-me present rather than a for-me, for-you electronic type of present! ;)

The time together ended with a Wright family photo shoot:

It was a wonderful Christmas and we were so happy to be able to go down to Arizona for the week. It's always so great to spend time with family.

Kinect

On Christmas Eve during the day we went over to Matthew's in-laws' home to play with the Kinect. It was pretty fun, although I also felt like an idiot at times. Especially during the dancing game. Here are some pictures of our awesome moves.
Me and Miles doing a game where we had to cooperate together to make it through the level. Obviously we didn't do a very good job of being in sync since I'm up in the air and he's not.

Yeah...we're just that awesome...

Christmas Card

We ended up getting our 50 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I really like how they turned out. We sent them to Arizona since we weren't sure if they would get to us before we left. I was planning on sending them out right when we got to AZ, but that didn't happen. And suddenly the days passed by and we didn't send them until the first of the year. Oh well. Here it is, with our Christmas letter.

We apologize for the late arrival of our “Christmas” letter, but still wanted to send out our love and warmest wishes for the New Year. We would also feel ungrateful if we didn’t take notice of all of our blessings from this past year.

Miles graduated from BYU last year in Computer Engineering. He struggled to find employment for a while, until he was offered a position with Opinionology (formerly Western Watts) in February of this year. We were thrilled that he found a job in this very difficult market. He has enjoyed working there and has met some very nice people. His job has been good to him and has provided opportunities for growth and development. In his free time, he enjoys doing freelance work, developing his entrepreneurial skills, staying up-to-date on new technology, and playing with Owen.

Kendra had a difficult start to her year when her brother, Kyle, passed away in February. It was heartbreaking for all of the family. However, we are so grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, that families are forever and we will be able to see him again. With the loss of one life, came the birth of another when two months later we welcomed our sweet, baby boy, Owen Kyle Wright into the world on April 30^th. Kendra took three months of paid maternity leave from her job as a Youth Outpatient Therapist at Wasatch Mental Health, after which she resigned so she could be a full-time stay-at-home mom to Owen. Her days are filled with laughter and fun as she spends each waking moment soaking up the joys (and challenges) of motherhood.

Owen is a happy 8-month-old baby boy. He brings his parents an incredible amount of happiness. He is growing and developing well. He loves to play peek-a-boo, search for and play with the tags on any and all stuffed animals and clothing items, eat his fruits and vegetables, splash in the tub, and get tickled under his arms by Daddy’s big beard.

We have been so blessed this past year, when we know that many are struggling. We are grateful for this time to reflect on those blessings and that they are made possible through our Savior, Whose birth we recognize at this time. We hope that you are able to continue to feel of the joy and peace the spirit of Christmas can bring all year round. We love you all and wish blessings upon you this upcoming year.

With love,

Miles, Kendra & Owen Wright

P.S. Check out our family blog at www.milesandkendra.blogspot.com for more about what is going on in our lives!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it SNOW!

This is what we woke up to this morning. We've had a slow start to winter here, so it's nice to finally get some beautiful snow for the Christmas season! Just in time for us to fly to sunny Arizona.

Santa Clause and Christmas Lights

I heard a lot of good things about the Christmas lights and Santa Clause down at the Shops at Riverwoods. So we decided to check it out one evening. It is beautiful! And what is even better, is that there weren't a lot of people there. It was nice to just walk around, enjoy the ambiance and be able to take pictures without dealing with crowds.

We saw our friends, Eric and Laura there with their kids. Eric took a carriage ride with Amos and Maggie while Laura waited with baby Audrey.

Owen saying high to the big clydesdale horses:Waiting to see Santa Clause. There were only about three people in line ahead of us. It was awesome that we didn't have to wait too long out in the cold.

Owen didn't cry one bit. He seemed more interested in Santa's beard and long hair.

After walking around and visiting Santa, we went to dinner at Bajio's. Owen was a big boy and sat in a high chair for the first time. We ended up putting Miles's jacket around him for a little more support, but I think he enjoyed sitting up with us.It was a really fun evening. I'm so glad we went and were able to get Owen's first pictures with Santa. It was nice to go out and enjoy the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Cards with love from Shutterfly

It's that special time of year...that time when people start sending Christmas cards out to their friends and loved ones. Miles and I have not sent any out since we have been married, but with our new addition to our family, I figure it's as good a time as any. My friend, Rachel, posted about Shutterfly's deal where they are offering 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers. I thought I'd jump on it as well. I know I'm pushing the deadline of when to send them out, but people don't care if you get a Christmas card past Christmas, right? ;) They have a ton of photo Christmas cards to choose from in their Christmas cards section. These are some of my favorites:

I think I like this one because it has multiple photos. I also really like the big swirly "wonderful."I really like the simplicity of this one. I also like how the picture covers the whole card.

I realized I'm a sucker for snowflakes. A lot of the cards I picked out have snowflakes...just like this one.

I like this one for a couple of reasons. First of all, "Oh Holy Night" is one of my very favorite Christmas songs. I also like the black and white. I think it makes it look classy.

Again, this one has a lot of photos, and I like the different embellishments on it. The family letter is a nice touch as well. We'd have a pretty "W" on ours.

More snowflakes! Combine that with a pretty swirly "joy" in black and white and it looks really clean and classy.

I just realized this is the same one only vertical and with color. Apparently I liked it, didn't I?More classy style.

I love the retro looking snowflakes on this one. And the multi-colored words are pretty too.

I also love some of the Christmas gift ideas they have. Now that I have Owen, it makes it easy to jump on some of those for grandparents. I mean who wouldn't want a mug or magnet or mouse pad with Owen's adorable face on it?! :)