Ginger

A while back I wrote asking for prayers for our friend Ginger. It is with great sadness that let you know that Ginger lost her battle with Cancer a couple of weeks ago. Please continue to pray for her family! Ginger was and still is so loved and will be missed and will always be in our hearts!

Loving the fall!

It's has been so nice to have a taste of FALL down here! One of the things I really miss from North Carolina is the fall weather. However, we've actually gotten a taste of fall this season in Tallahassee. Here are a few fall photos. We had our first trip to the pumpkin patch with Owen ( and it was a game day as well). Owen has also been "helping" daddy work on a blind for the boat and he loves to sit in the boat and play while Baker works on this project.

The coolest Frog Prince EVER!

Here are some photos of Owen's first Halloween. He was a Frog Prince- complete with lily pad that goes "ribbit" when you press the flower- CUTE!! Owen's buddy Asher was a punk and was so adorable!!

PLAYING CATCH-UP AGAIN

Ok, so I am going to do several things here. First, I will apologize for neglecting our blog page. I have not sent an update in so long. Second, I will let you know that the reason I am so behind on blogging is because our life is so hectic these days. My job is very stressful and has been particularly stressful the past 2 months. It keeps me so busy. Working moms - you know this story so just indulge me: By the time I get home I have 2 hours before Owen goes to sleep and so I devote that time to him! We eat, play, go on a walk, bathe, read, and act silly. Then Dad gets here and he deserves some good "Owen time" and after that, it's eat, put O down, and CRASH from such an exhausting day! I am so impressed with how many of you keep up with everyone so well with the BLOG. I have to learn more self-discipline. I pray for it DAILY!

Here are the most recent stats on the Big O
At an 8mth check he was 30in and 21 pounds (and sick) 90-95%ile YIKES He will be 9 months next week so I anxious to see where he's at now. He seems to me like he's getting longer, but still HEAVIER! HE's doing LOTS of talking!! He says bye-bye, da-da, and da-dee, and hey in context and he's learning to say cheese (sounds mostly like (eeeezzzzzzee). He's sitting up and standing(pulling) up but no official crawl yet. He's moving around, just kind of sliding himself around to his destination. OH- and anytime you ask Owen to say "mommy" you will automatically here the response 'da-da" and a big fat grin!

We had a nice trip to the beach a few weeks ago. Seaside was great! Julie treated us to her family's wonderful home there and Chris, Jessica, Cooper, Baker, Owen, Julie and myself had a great relaxing weekend. It was the first time Owen had been to the Emerald Coast! He liked the sand, he liked the water, but the sand and water mixed!

We've had some fun football games to tailgate for as well as fun for Bradford's First birthday party! We had our first trip to the pumpkin patch with Owen and he had so much fun. We also had our first HALLOWEEN! IT was great. Thanks to Owen's Mimi, he was the cutest FROG PRINCE ever - complete with Lily pad!

We are looking forward to spending the holiday's here in Floria with Owen and can't wait for family and friends who are able to come and visit us. I will post lost of photos soon, as soon as I can get it to work.

Your prayers are needed!

Please pray for our friend, Ginger, and her family. Ginger has cancer and the decision has been made to stop treatments and bring her home to be with her family and to have Hospice in to help. Please click on the link on the right of my site to read her story. She is a fighter and such a beloved person! Someone told me today, "the Lord on only picks the best for his garden." Here is a photo of our some of our staff at work wearing yellow for Ginger and one of our some of our tailgating group. We took this photos to send to Ginger on her website. Ginger, we love you and you are always in our hearts and our prayers!! (NOTE - they photos are fuzzy...sorry. Can't see me in the FSU photos because of Keith's big head:) In the one of us in yellow, my eye is very swollen...that was the day I learned I had a scratch on my cornea! It's the purpose of the photo that matters)

7 months old and 7 years old!

Well actually, we are 7 1/2 months old now...Owen that is:) Owen is still feeling much better and he' s on the move. He is in the first stages of crawling...inching around all over the place. We can no longer expect that he will be in the same place we left him if we leave the room- he is on the move now! He has 2 teeth on the bottom and he's very proud of them. He has one more coming in on the top and so we are still DROOLING ALL THE TIME! Owen spends a huge bulk of his day saying "hey daddy" over and over and over and over.... When is he going to say MOMMY??? My friend Lucy Clay joked that Baker must be getting up in the middle of the night and making him practice that:) He got a new high chair (Thanks Austin and Lisa) and he really loves it. I think it makes him feel very independent and much like a "big boy" that he can sit and eat on his own. He's eating more finger food and that's really cool to him (and nice for us). We are just about 22 pounds and just over 28 inches now. He has graduated to the next car seat- which is a whole different story- shopping for a car seat is stressful! You want to get the best, safe one but you also don't want to break the bank. It was much more taxing than I thought it would be - there are WAY too many brands and types to pick from. Not to mention, I GOT THE WRONG ONE the first time! Long (embarrassing) story!

On another note, our sweet Brogen turned 7 years old this week! The dogs have kind of gotten the shaft since Owen has been born, so we made sure to make a big deal about Brogen this week- he deserves it! Tuesday was HIS special day! WE LOVE YOU BROGIE!! He will always be our FIRST baby boy!

All better!

Owen had a tiny ear infection last week but he is all better now! He was a trooper through the loss of appetite, sore ears, and Amoxicillin (which bothered his tummy a bit). Of course I was in worse shape than he was! Seems like bad things always happen in bunches: Owen got sick when Baker was out of town and when I was having a very crazy week at school with the kids...not to mention, some kind of bug was floating around the classroom getting students/staff sick. The good news is that we are ALL all better now! Here's a photo of him waiting at the doctors office. Can't tell by looking at him that he had no appetite last week:)

Priceless Moments

Most of you know that I have a friend, Amanda, who is also a photographer. She photographed Owen's Baptism weekend and she did such a fantastic job! Here are just a few of the many amazing photos she took throughout an amazing weekend! Owen is also featured on her blogspot page - there is a link on the right of our page - Amanda Hammerli Photography. Thanks Amanda!!

ALSO - formal "thank you's" are in the making but I wanted to say another "Thank-you" on behalf of all of us for the precious thoughts, prayers, gifts and visits to be with us for Owen's Baptism. It was such a special weekend, and Baker and I are just touched that family and friends came from near and from far to be here for Owen.

Hey Daddy!

I am so excited to report that the O man is talking. Well, not really talking but he actually says 2 words, and in context. Owen can say "hey" and "daddy" - it is SO COOL! Owen's 'first word" was "Hey" and he actually said that the other week when he was playing with his cousin Clay. We had heard him mumble it a few times, but it was never in context. We even have it on tape because we were video-taping the boys playing. Clay had been saying "hey" over and over to him and he looked right at him and said it back! This week, he said "daddy" and at first we thought it was just babble but he will look right at Baker and say it! Not, "da- da" but a clear, sharp "dad-dee." I have been saying and signing "mommy" over and over for MONTHS so it's only fitting that he would say "daddy" first- isn't that the way it goes? Last night he actually said them both back to back, so I wonder if can go as far as to say he has said his first sentence?? If I can ever figure out how to transfer the video recordings to something like You-Tube, I will post it. Of course we have been using up more DVD's than you can imagine trying to get "daddy" caught on tape this past week.

Funny Classroom Stories

So most of you know that I work with students with special needs- specifically behavioral and emotional needs. So it's needless to say, I hear some of the funniest things in class. I thought it would be cute to let you know the ones that allow me to laugh, even at myself some days.

I have one particular student who pays very careful attention to what you are wearing and the cleanliness and quality of your attire. Now by the end of the school day I am usually pretty dirty. My clothes are adorned with various pencil, ink, and marker stains and I usually have some evidence of being on the floor as well. Well this student I am referring to stopped me at the end of the second day of school (when I was dirty) and says to me "Wright's clothes dirty! Take them home; put 'em in the pile; wash 'em!" The next day I was wearing clean clothes to work and sure enough he stopped me at the door with a precious smile on his face and said "Wright clean clothes today- Wright did the laundry!" The other day I wasn't quite on task myself and was running around trying to gather my materials and he says to me: "Wright stop waisting time!" I had to laugh!!
I had another student who was frustrated with me as I had been the one who had held his feet to the fire most of the day. Later on that day, after receiving a consequence from me, he told one of our instructional aides "Man she really does take her job seriously!" Again, I had to laugh! There is never a dull moment, but there is ALWAYS a rewarding moment each day, even if it is a hug at the end of the day from the kid who tried to kick my ass all morning.

Hurricane Party at the Drabiks!

When Fay decided to head down our road...literally, we packed up and headed to Southwood to stay with Joe and Elaine because they had power and we had been without for almost 2 days. Lisa and Austin joined us there and it turned in to a very messy, wet but FUN weekend together! After rescuing the dogs and finding them a cool, dry place to evacuate to, there was no other option but to have a party! A great time was had by all. Owen got a bath in Aunt E's sink from she and his Aunt Li. A HUGE thanks to Joe and Elaine for allowing us and their God Son to evacuate our home and enjoy spending time with you. We had a great time. It felt like college again! We need more of that!

Owen's Baptism Weekend

This past labor day weekend Owen was baptized at our church here in Monticello and it was a day I will always remember. We were fortunate to have so many family members present who traveled from near and far. We had many of our close friends and family over for a BBQ and party Saturday night. It was quite a party for the kids and the grown-ups! Owen had a great time being passed around and playing with his guests. He loved every minute of it! After the service on Sunday, Dad and Martha hosted a luncheon at the bed and breakfast they were staying in and it was so delightful! We even had Owen's cousins, Clay and Marshall, from Virginia here to have Owen's first Sleep Over party Sunday night before they left on Monday. The kids had a ball together in their PJ's. We had a photographer shoot the various events and will have access to those great pics soon but I have some from the weekend to share no.

Mommy Moment: standing there holding Owen with Baker's hand in mine as we listen to the scripture and commit to raising Owen in a Christian home as Owen is just smiling and sucking his thumb and staring at the beautiful stained glass windows of the church...WOW. It simply takes your breath away and really puts things into perspective. For me, it was a moment that I will never forget. Then to hand him to Janice, who is our stepmother, who is also a priest, where she baptized him with Holy Water and Oil just made me cry and made my heart still. This was the moment where we vow to the best that we can by God to raise him along a path to Christian Love. I am so excited about this endeavor and I was touched and moved by love and support that Baker and I experienced over this weekend.

THANK YOU!!!

I just want to say a very special "THANK YOU" to all of my friends and family who have so thoughtful to call and write with their support on my journey back to work. It means so much to know that I am in your thoughts and prayers. I am so blessed to have such a a wonderful support system! Baker, especially, has been even more amazing than usual! This weekend he cleaned the house, kept Owen while I worked Saturday and Sunday, came home early for me to have a much needed happy hour on Friday, gave baths, took extra feeding shifts, and changed even more poopy diapers. Today he brought home BEAUTIFUL roses for me for my "First Day of School." I appreciate this more than I can explain!! I couldn't me the mom that I am without the help and support of my friends and family and Owen's AWESOME dad!!

6 Month Upate

Life at the Wright house has been pretty busy lately. I am back to work now so we are having to get used to our new schedule, including earlier mornings (for all of us), LONG days, and late nights (for me, not Owen). Owen is going to Ms. Glenda's each day and has been such a good boy. He's pretty much on the same schedule that he was at home, but now he has friends to play with each day. He's still sleeping about 11-12 hours each night and eating every 4 hours. He can hold his sippy cup of water and he thinks he pretty cool when he does. The first day back at work for me (last week) was pretty emotional. Baker went with me to take Owen to Glenda's and I cried off and on ALL DAY! It got much better each day and I had so much to do at school that the days have FLOWN by! Owen is as happy as can be when I pick him up each afternoon and the change in his routine hasn't seem to even phase him at all! He simply loves Glenda and loves being with the other children that she keeps- not to mention that buddy Bradford is there too. When I went to pick him up one day last week, I don't think he wanted to leave he was having so much fun. He eats, plays and naps for her with no trouble. It's such as blessing to know he's so well taken care of.

Speaking of eating, Owen is DOWNING the veggies these days! I don't think he's going to have a problem with any kind of baby food! He's not a huge fan of sweet potatoes, but he'll eat them. He LOVES green beans! He pretty much just loves to eat - he's not picky. We are using sign language with him and I swear that he has learned to sign "eat" when we put the bib on him. He says "Mmmm" when he eats and will imitate you saying that almost every time. His funniest noise is by far elephant noise. His exersaucer has the rain forest animals (including an elephant) and he purses his lips together and imitates the sound of the elephant. It's pretty hilarious (except when he has food in his mouth). He's making all kinds of LOUD sounds and noises. He's really taking an even bigger interest in Brogen and Luci (or anyone's dogs for that matter) and loves to pull their hair. He's grabbing anything he can get his hands on. I also swear that he prefers blonde's -especially his Aunt E and Lauren. He gravitates to them! He's quite the ladies man with that adorable smile and laugh.

6 month Stats:
Weight = 18lbs
Length = 28 in.
Head = 42.5 in

New Brag photos...

Here are some photos of Owen. There's one of him swimming with Bradford, one of him in his Fly Fishing Vest, one of him in his camo ready to go to the grand opening of a new sports store, and one of him OUTGROWING his t-shirt and proud of his big belly,