God is Good!!

HAPPY EASTER!!

How can he be 10 months Already?!!

When you think of a pregnancy as being 10 months (c'mon, we all know it is...40 weeks = 10 months.  9 months just sticks for some reason), you think that is the longest time EVER.  Staring at pregnancy from the bottom of the mountain makes 10 months seem like an eternity.  I now have a whole new view of 10 months, however.  The last ten months of my life, and the new life of my child, have absolutely FLOWN.  They have been the fastest 10 months ever, and I fear the time will just continue to fly. 

Keagan turned 10 months yesterday.  He is a JOY!  We really have so much fun with him and I cannot imagine my life without him.  He is growing out of being a baby and is turning into a kid.  It's amazing to watch him learn and grow. 

He continues to love food and is moving away from pureed baby food towards table food.  He loves to try new foods and this pleases me!  He is also drinking out of a straw cup now.  We only occasionally give this to him, though, because he creates a HUGE mess and generally won't nurse as well if he fills up at meals.  Speaking of nursing, we are still going strong.  Keagan is down to 4 sessions daily, and I am hoping to have him weaned (at least for day feedings) by his first birthday.  Luckily the teeth haven't caused problems (don't get me wrong, I have been bitten!).  Speaking of teeth, he has one on top and two on the bottom.  They are adorable!  Keagan is beginning to crawl, but it isn't traditional.  He gets on hands, knee, and foot.  He doesn't get very far YET, but I know it is just around the corner.  He gets around on his bottom and is just starting to pull up on his toy bin.  I am going to have my work cut out for me very soon. 

As sweet as this boy is, he can be quite stubborn.  He gets oh-so-mad when laid down to have his diaper changed.  He gets angry when something is taken away from him (we try and ask for it, but he doesn't always give it up easily!  if the object is dangerous, I don't waste time asking and he gets fighting-mad!).  He wants what he wants, and he wants it now.  The teachers at daycare tell me that when he cries, they pretty much know why: he is hungry or tired.  This is pretty true.  He can be dramatic, but otherwise we only get true crying with the above examples! 

The latest thing is Roaring!  Keagan loves to roar!  It is so funny!  We roar in place of saying "boo" with peek-a-boo.  He will crack up and then roar back at you.  He roars at the dinner table.  He roars in his carseat.  He roars while shopping.  And then he waits for you to roar back at him. 

He also does the "Happy Dance"...we sing "Do the Happy Dance" (to the tune of "do the potty dance" commercial on T.V.) and Keagan will dance.  We get tickled by his dancing and this just causes him to happy-dance more! 

He is getting difficult to photograph b/c he is so busy!  But nonetheless, I have several 10 month pics:

 Proof of his "crawling"...

Happy 10 Month Birthday, Big Boy!!  Slow time down for mommy, it brings tears to my eyes how quickly you are growing up!

P.S.  Keagan had his 10 month shots a while back and they are up on the website! Shawna did a WONDERFUL job!!  I love them! 
Check them out for yourselves:  http://www.baileyandbphotography.com/  Enter site, click on Galleries and Online Ordering, Page 12, Easter Mini-Owens.  Then prepare yourselves for absolute cute-ness!!

Back in the Saddle

I ran my first half-marathon post-baby today.  I started training in January, but really should/could have trained harder.  I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find the time to run, I feel like I always have to plan around Keagan's nursing schedule.  Then Josh has to be home.  Then the weather has to be just right.  Then I have to be motivated.  (it rarely happened outside...thank God for the treadmill)  I had hoped to run at least 12 in my training (the race is 13.1 miles), but never got past 10 miles.  So, I really didn't know how today would go.

Today went GREAT!  My friend Courtney drove in from Lexington to run with me.  She is a great running partner and we kept pace with each other wonderfully.  And we RAN the ENTIRE race.  The last two half-marathons I ran I had to walk some once I hit mile 10.  I am pretty amazed with myself that I didn't walk any, and am even more amazed that I finished 10 minutes ahead of my goal time!  We finished the 13.1miles in 2 hours 10 minutes.  YAY!  (I looked back at my previous times from 2009:  first race was 2 hours 9 min and second race was 2 hours 5 minutes...I have been misquoting these to everyone so here are the official times!)

The weather sucked.  It was 70 degrees yesterday and during the race it barely broke 45 deg.  It was windy.  It was cold.  It was spitting rain.  There was a 3 mile straight stretch with a strong headwind, and it was brutal.  But the hills were good, if hills can be good and I had more energy than I have had in a very long time.  It was FUN!

THANK YOU COURTNEY for coming down and running this with me.  It was fun and I am looking forward to the next one. 

Here are the pics!

 Check out Keagan's face.  I think he thinks I stink!  Ha!  But he's proud of his mommy! :)

how to cure a bad day

Pure Frustration

Keagan wants to crawl so badly.  BUT he is obviously very cautious and won't take the plunge (so to speak) to try and get on all-fours!  Poor kid...someday he will be brave.  And I am certain that I will wish he would stay put!  But for now, Keagan is not crawling and it is obvious he is irritated by his toys being just out of reach!

This video is from my new phone.  I didn't realize it was sideways.  Sorry.

AND my voice is very strange (somewhat creepy and seductive sounding!)...this is not what I sound like.  I repeat: I do NOT sound like this in real life.  I do have a crazy mommy voice...but this is just plain weird!!  But, because I love you, I am sharing this video with you and am putting my creepy voice out there for all to hear. YIKES.  (and, sorry.)

First Plane Ride

Spontaneity is a difficult thing to achieve when it comes to visiting my family.  BUT I managed to book a plane ticket to Texas and make it down there in less than 3 weeks.  The occasion?  Hannah had a volleyball tournament and a play and my Aunt Angie and cousin Hunter were also going to be down there.  Not to mention that Keagan is growing so quickly that I wanted my mom to see her grandbaby at this ultra-fun stage.

This was Keagan's first plane ride and to say I was nervous is an understatement.   Daddy couldn't go (he had to work) so I had to coordinate this all by myself.  I planned it all out only to have our flight to Austin delayed 2 hours.  So much for planning!  Keagan was a perfect baby in the airport.  He started melting down the second we boarded the plane.  Luckily he managed to keep it together the whole flight and only fussed a little here and there.  (He did spit-up on the guy sitting next to me... to quote "Meet the Parents": What smells of soured milk?)  I am happy to report the flight back was on time and just as "easy."

 Playing at the airport while waiting for our flight...he loved to watch the big kids play!

Not a good picture, but Keagan's first plane ride documented!

In true Perkins nature, aviation was central (afterall, my parents live on a runway).  Keagan got to sit on Uncle Wesley's lap in his biplane!  And I do believe that Keagan enjoyed every second of this experience (note the oooooh-ahhhh faces!).  Not to mention that he was enamoured with his Uncle Wesley...it was pretty cute to see how Keagan looked at him!

 I Love You, Uncle Wesley!!

Playing with his new bouncy ball, courtesy of Aunt Hannah!

Watching Aunt Hannah play volleyball!

 With Great Aunt Angie at Hannah's volleyball tourney!

After the volleyball games, we all went to eat lunch at Salt Lick, a barbecue place in town.  It was really good and we decided to get some photos!

COUSINS!!

Keagan LOVES his Grandma!

In between all the festivities, we found a little time for relaxing 'round the pool.  Keagan loved to splash-splash-splash!  The water was a bit too cool for a dip, though!

He learned to CLAP-CLAP this weekend and liked to show it off!  Here are his clapping skills, just in time to watch UK in the Final Four (too bad they didn't win...).

Last - but not least - I leave you with a cute picture of my cousin Hunter and his back-seat buddy (they hung out in the backseat while we ran all over Austin!). They became good friends and Hunter enlightened Keagan with Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. It was cute!

 
It was a lovely weekend visiting with my family.  I just wish that we all lived closer.  I was so sad to leave.  Keagan was a wonderful baby the entire weekend and it was very easy to travel with him.  I can't wait to see everyone again!!!