La-Lu

For the last several weeks at least, and no, I cannot believe I didn't record the very first moment that he said this...Owen has been saying "Love you" to us. I think the very, very first time was to Daddy as he walked out the door sometime around Christmas. And it usually sounds like La-lu, although sometimes it comes closer to Luh You. It really is the sweetest thing to hear. The other night I rocked him to sleep (or what I thought was very close to it), and then I gently put him in his crib and walked to the door, and as I opened the door to leave his room I heard him whisper "La-lu". I had to stop myself from walking right back and picking him up and holding him all night. Instead, I just whispered "I love you too" and smiled all the way downstairs.

The other very noticeable change is that Owen is identifying us as a family unit. It's really not like I ever felt like he didn't feel a part of us, but all of the sudden it has really, truly hit him that we are a family. Now, over and over, all day long he says Mommy, Daddy, Huhm (Liam) and Nahlee (Natalie). If we are there he will point to us and say our names, and if someone is missing he will ask about them. When Liam is at school he asks where he is, and the same with Natalie. And he loves going to pick them up from school. At night he makes sure to find every one of us for a kiss. He just seems much more secure with his place right now, and it is so wonderful to see. For quite a while now, when we rock at night Owen would pat me and call me Mama at first, and now Mommy. Recently he has been patting me and saying Mommy, then saying "baby" and I'll say "Yes, I'm your Mommy and you're my baby." then we'll repeat that several times and then he will snuggle in with a sigh, visibly relaxing. La-lu, little man, La-lu.