Big Accomplishments for Owen

Obviously there have been some changes in our household with the introduction of our new little one. Thanksfully, the biggest change is that Owen is becoming more independent. Some may think that what they are about to read is not much of an acoomplishment for a four-year-old, because a lot of younger kids can do this, but Owen is just one of those kids who can do things, but refuses to be independent, so I am excited that he is becoming a little more independent these days, it is a big help for me.

To make room for Lyla in the van Owen has to sit in the way back seat. This means that it is very difficult for an adult to reach back there and buckle him. I told him one day that he is four years old and he should be able to buckle himself. After a couple of days he mastered being able to buckle himself into his booster carseat! He even makes sure that the car does not move until he is buckled.

While Uncle Chad was here at the end of February, he made Owen put on his own socks before Owen could go for a walk with him. I sat on the couch feeding Lyla watching Owen put on his socks and my jaw hit the floor. Of course, I am at fault for not making him dress himself in the morning, because if I did, I would be over an hour late for work. But now that I have witnessed that he can do this, I am trying to work it in to our routine. I tried it out yesterday, when we were trying to get out the door to the doctor's office. I was still feeding Lyla and we needed to leave as soon as I was done. So, I told Owen he had to put on his own socks and shoes (of course I would tie them). I did have to promise him a dum-dum sucker for this accomplishment, but he did it!!!

I have already known that he knows how to put on his shirt and pants, but again, the refusal to do it and the time constraint for getting out the door, meant that I just helped him. The other day, a delivery man showed up at the door and Owen was only wearing his underwear (I don't remember why). I looked down to realize that he only had underwear on and said, "you better get your pants on or you can't go out and look at the delivery truck." He was back to the door in less than 30 seconds with his pants on. So, not only can he do it, he is a pro at it.

Lastly, Owen has become so independent with his use of technology. He can completely run the remote control (all three of them)! When he wants to watch a DVD he knows to get the black remote and push the input button until the screen turns to the channel to view a DVD, then he knows exactly which buttons to push to run the DVD player, complete with selecting the episodes, or turning the DVD to a new language (for some reason he is in to watching his DVDs in Spanish).

Yesterday, he wanted to play his SmartCycle game, which is upstairs and has to be plugged into the TV and turned to the correct channel. I was feeding Lyla and couldn't help him right away. I told him to go upstairs and try it on his own. At first he said, "I can't." When I insisted he try, he went upstairs, and to my surprise had the game up and running all by himself and played for over an hour!

I often sit back and wonder, where did my little baby go and how could he possibly have turned into this child that can hold a coherent converstation and follow complex directions, in just four short years!

I couldn't be more proud of all of these little accomplishments and discoveries he makes!