We Love the Fall!

Today we took Owen to the apple festival at Drumhellars Orchard.  He had his first hay ride and mommy let him suck on a freshly picked apple!  Andy participated in the apple sling shot while Owen watched in amazement!

The fall here in Virginia has so many fun things to do on the weekends.

Owen also climbed all the way to the top of the stairs today while following his dad.  Looks like I am in for daily stair-master workouts.

Happy Blue Monday!

We may live in Virginia but my little man is still an Indianapolis Colts fan.  Can you believe that this was Owen eight months ago!

9 months old.

Go Colts!

Nine Months Old!

Wow I cannot believe that Owen is nine months old today. He changes by the day. He is becoming more of a big boy these days. He is not my little baby that used to want to snuggle in my arms. Owen want's to be on the move most of the time. Here are some things that Owen has got himself into lately:

Almost every Saturday it is just Owen and I because daddy is usually working at the football game. I have taken him to the last 2 games. He knows how to make the Touchdown gesture with his arms up and claps with the fans. He seems to enjoy them for about 20 minutes, then it is usually time to go, but we make Andy's day by being there, so we go :)

Today Owen and I went to the apple orchard with my Junior League group. It was a lot of fun with the hot apple cider donuts (maybe next year Owen), apple picking, and Owen's little girlfriend Chloe, who could resist? It is great to have such a good friend with a little one the same age as Owen.

Tomorrow Owen and I will attend our first swim class! He loves the water so I am sure that he will enjoy it! Watch out Michael Phelps!

Owen has been crawling for sometime now and is now trying out big boy steps. Grandma Kathy bought him a little shopping cart that he chases me around with. It is so crazy to see our little boy actually walking! It gives me a little glimps of what is to come. He also walks around all the furniture from one to another.

I have noticed from being around litte girls that they are so much more talkative. I swear some things never change! Girls are totally born talkers! But Owen is saying some things these days...he mimicks a lot of things that I say. He says MAMA...yes Mama not dada! His newest "words" are dog and ball. I mean they may not be total words but pretty close. He pointed to Meeko and said dog and he chases the basketball around going "ball ball ball."

We are enjoying Owen so much. He is such a little ham! Everyday is a new adventure in the Platt household!

Come visit us soon!

No shoes.....Please!

OK, so this blog may not be directly about Owen but I thought it was good knowledge for all new mommies and guests in homes with children.

Now I was not brought up in a house where we were to take our shoes off...shame on you mother (totally kidding). But more and more was I walking into homes where you were to take your shoes off. At first I found it quite annoying to be honest. But then I totally got the hang of it and now we have chosen to jump on the bandwagon and be a no shoe wearing home. Andy still yells at me when I forget. But hello I do have "mommy brain", so i need a reminder. So I started searching the Internet for cute signs we could put by the door for not only me but as a nice reminder that we would like our guests to take their shoes off. While doing this I found tons of blogs dedicated to this "no shoes rule". It is very interesting the issues people have and also the disgusting fact of the things that get tracked thorough your home. Now that we have a little mover crawling through the home we have these things to worry about.

Here is an insert from one of the blogs I enjoy reading Mommy Goes Green.
"Years ago, I found it annoying to go to someones house and have to remove my shoes. Now, it’s the rule in my house and I almost feel weird wearing shoes in other people’s houses. If you haven’t yet crossed over to a shoe free house, you might reconsider.

Recently, the New York Daily News did a test of two pairs of flip flops worn around New York City. Pair #1 went through bars, a park, rode subway trains and a roller coaster. Pair #2 went into a public restroom in a subway station. Pair #2 had almost 14,000 more bacteria than pair #1 (and traveled far less!).

Not only does this make you rethink your public restroom visits but why would you bring all this bacteria into your home? I have found that I do FAR less sweeping of our hardwood floors since we went totally shoe free.

Dr. Philip M. Tierno Jr., director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, said that for shoes worn for 3 months over a summer, 93% have fecal bacteria on them and 20% have E. coli. Translate that to wearing your shoes in your house, leave some ‘fecal matter’ around and having your toddler eat a dropped grape off your floor. I’m cringing.

One other thought – if you have any open cuts or blisters on your feet – stay away from flip flops! You can pick up a serious infection from all the yucky germs floating around on the ground."


So next time you enter house it is always nice to ask if you should remove your shoes.