FREEEEEEEDOMMMMM!!!

We. Did. It. Four and half months of not taking Owen out in public. No church. No grocery store. No errands. One of us was always home with Owen. Dan even had to go out of town THREE different times, which meant I was stuck inside (I used ice cream therapy to get me through those trips). And staying quarantined paid off - none of us have been sick since before Owen was born.

Yep - Road Trips ARE Awesome

Even though we were supposed to stay in until June, by Memorial Day weekend we figured enough is enough and we brought Owen out into the world. We didn't start small either - Owen's "coming out party" took place over the weekend at a family reunion down in Zion's National Park. (We're talking 60+ people here.) Talk about stimulation overload to the max - he didn't know what to do with so many new things and faces to look at. My favorite comment from family members as they met him for the first time was, "Oh he is so much cuter in person!" Correct. (Although in my humbly biased opinion, I think he's pretty cute in pictures too!)

The 4.5 hour drive was nothing for this guy. He rocked it!

With Owen's great-grandma. She is an angel.

Hanging out in the "party bus" to avoid the pouring rain.

Chillin with uncle Jon. Bet you couldn't tell that Jon & Dan are brothers. :)

Our first Sunday going to church as a family. I first cried out of relief that we made it!
Then I cried because I so wished Lydia could have been there with us to make our family complete.
Sigh. I'm sure she was there in spirit. :)

Church wore this guy out! Holding a sleeping baby is balm for any soul. Amen.

Perspective is an amazing thing, because normally staying cooped up that long would have drove me crazy (and some days it almost did). But after coming so close to losing Owen, we are just SO GRATEFUL he is alive and healthy, that staying inside for a few months seemed like a small price to pay. BUT - I'm still so grateful we are done that I think I might just jump up and down and do 10 cartwheels. 

Here are some of our favorite pics from the last several weeks, in no particular order (I figured the blog was overdue for some updated Owen pics. Warning - picture overload!)

Raise your hand if you're ready for a nap!

He stretches and smiles like this every morning. How can you NOT be happy with this guy hanging around all day?

If he was strong enough to stand all day, he would. He LOVES this jumper!

Be still my heart. (I seriously have the best job ever.)

Hello!!

With aunt April and cuzins Megan & Sofia.
Can you tell that Sofia is 3 MONTHS younger than Owen?
Me neither. Oh the life of a preemie.

He laughs ALL the time now.

He'll be sending this picture in with his Harvard application.