Owen's first Christmas, and first Alp!

Mama got herself a new sling for Christmas to carry around the little monkey.

Stockings!  Meemaw and Grandpa Lindauer brought them over in November, and we opened them on Friday before leaving for Innsbruck.

Owen's stocking is as big as he is!

Dad helped Owen open his.

In Innsbruck for Christmas, we've been exploring the village we're staying in and showing Owen the Alps.

Owen's such a hard core baby, his stroller goes everywhere.

Christmas morning we opened gifts from our friends.  Owen was sleepy...

so his beautiful blanket from Auntie Katie was perfect.

From Kate and Chayne he got this cool puzzle!

and he spent Christmas morning in his Christmas sleep sack from Grandma Thomson

After presents we went for a walk...

and ended up at the local gondola!

Turns out they allow strollers :)

so Owen got to climb his first mountain.

we had Christmas lunch at the mountain lodge.

the view from the top was gorgeous, but Owen was nervous by the window.  Heights must not be his favorite thing either...

The O-man is our favorite Christmas gift!

Eight weeks!

 Today Owen is 8 weeks old, and he is becoming more and more fun by the day.  Last night he even slept a 4.5 hour stretch followed by a 3 hour one... woohoo!  He is more fun when he's awake too, because he spends more time now in 'conscious' interactive mode, smiling and 'talking' to us, and a little less time staring at the curtains, or the white wall.  We've perfected our daily walks in the colder weather, even though at times his stroller cover has snow drifts on it by the time we're home... he's bundled, though, in his LL Bean muff that MeeMaw brought over for him, and he loves the fresh air.  He still receives a lot of attention in our little town when we're out together, as people cannot resist commenting on his hair.  And this weekend we're headed to Innsbruck to meet some friends of ours for Christmas--our first vacation as a family of three.

My answer to putting him outside to sleep.  The other option is to leave his stroller out on the porch when we get home from our walk.  Europeans swear by leaving their babies outside to sleep, and Owen loves it!

Don't worry Grandmas, he's bundled!  That's his scarf I made for him, and his fleece outerwear from Great-grandma Vyleta!

Being a baby is exhausting.  So is being a parent.  :)

This outfit fit him for a day.  I couldn't resist putting him in it though.

I've gotten out a couple of times for runs on the trails while the boys hang out on Saturday mornings.  The trail's a mess, but I'll take it!

He's so cozy in his Christmasy sleep sack from Grandma Thomson!  These are our favorite, Carter's sleepsacks!

Dad has been successful giving Owen a bottle a few times when Mama's saved some milk for one.  He's such a good eater, he doesn't seem to mind where the milk comes from! 

Sleeping with his arm sticking straight up.

He seems to know going in the snowsuit means going for a stroller ride--and falls asleep instantly.

I can't get over this cute face I get to look at all day.

Mama happy using her new adjustable ring sling, the new favorite for around the house wear.  He's big enough now to have his little feet dangling out of the bottom.

This is what I see as I'm typing this.  :)

Big boy!

Today Owen had his 6 week check up at the pediatrician's office, and he's gained 2 kilos since his birth!  He weighed in at 5.4 kilos / nearly 12 lbs, putting him at the 75th percentile for his age.  I guess we're not imagining it, he really does eat a lot.  No wonder he already needs the 3 month clothes.  He also had his first immunization... in liquid drops given orally, phew.  And, this week, Dad gave Owen his first bottle, and it was a success.  Mom realized she has plenty of extra milk and decided to try saving some in the freezer, and to our relief, Owen took the bottle from Dad without much fuss at all.  Perhaps we'll make it a 2-3x weekly event, Dad had so much fun doing it.  Little O is also getting more expressive, meeting our gazes for long periods and smiling seemingly on purpose.  It makes Mom feel a little nervous when she's doing dishes and looks over to see Owen staring at her, like she should be doing and saying more interesting things to him already....!

Owen doesn't quite get the point of tummy time.  He just tries to eat his wallaboo.

Trying out the Boppy.

Owen stares at the curtains during (our) breakfast time.  Good thing I changed them before he came, he stares at them a lot.

Sleeping while Dad takes a shower.  Mom usually sings to him during hers, he likes the acoustics and it makes her sound better.  Clearly he's not into the toy bar quite yet.

Our little cuddler.

Looking his new weight.  And enjoying the Bobby a little more!

Realized I never posted photos of his room... here's where we're trying to get him to sleep at night.

 He loves his giraffe picture.  It's what he stares at from the changing table.

Four weeks old, first smiles, Thanksgiving, and first Grandparents meet Owen

Owen looking older than he really is. 

It's been a busy week, and I apologize for not updating sooner.  As he is in his cluster feeding evening mode right now, I thought I'd attempt to update while feeding him in his sling (wish me luck!).  Oma and Opa Lindauer arrived last week for their visit, we celebrated Thanksgiving and early Christmas, and Owen and I toured around Vienna and the Christmas markets with the grandparents.  Owen also turned one month old this week!  It is crazy how fast this month has gone.  Owen also met his two new girlfriends, Juno and Maya, born in the weeks following his birthday.  Their mamas and I cannot wait for them to start playing together!  For now, they just ignore eachother and look cute in pictures we pose them for...

Oma and Opa Lindauer meet Owen for the first time.

Owen really took to my Dad!

The Christmas market at the Rathaus

We started giving him baths this week, with the lights low and with Daddy in the tub with him, he really loves it!

Owen and Nick outside the US Consulate... our first attempt at getting him a passport.

For Thanksgiving, the Marr family came over with their 5 year old Maya, 4 year old Lucy, and 2 week old baby Juno!

Lucy is always good for a laugh and even practiced her English on me this time.  (Normally she simply sighs and says, Kein English!)

Sandra and Florian's girls.

Dad and Laura at our favorite Greek restaurant.  This was Owen's first nice dinner out!

Sleepy baby on the train to Krems, a town just north on the Danube.

Walking around Krems.

What a sweet face.

Enjoying gluhwein (mulled wine) at the Christmas market.

When Dad whistled, Owen listened attentively

The monkey after eating.

I caught him sucking his thumb a few times this week. 

Out for lunch in Vienna.  A few mins later, Owen woke up and projectile spit up all over the floor!  And mama.

Owen meets girlfriend Juno.  Born two weeks after him but before her due date, she's teeny compared to our big boy!

Laura treated us all to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner!  Then, she treated Nick and I again a few nights later to a steak dinner.  A welcome change after we've been ordering food in so much this month.

The O-man has many funny expressions and poses. Sometimes he falls asleep frozen in them. 

Owen loves his new sleeping bag from Oma!

We start in our own beds, but usually by morning this is where Dad finds Owen and me.

We love capturing his expression.  We call this one Fish Face.

We also love that he is smiling more and more!  We finally caught one on camera. 

And today we finally met Owen's girlfriend, Maya!  She's Olga and Chris's little girl, born 10 days ago.

We're hopeful this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  :)