Manzanita Memorial Day

We took our annual trip to Memorial Day with Ryan and Sara and Tim and Amy. This was our EIGHTH year making the trek together and the first with all of us toting along an extra passenger. Nolan is almost 2, Owen is almost 1, and baby Calla was right at the 6 week mark. It certainly made for a different weekend, but some things remained the same - the weather was marginal, the food was great, the beverages were plentiful, and the conversation was easy (though often abbreviated by children in need).

Owen LOVED the beach. He wasn't so excited about putting his feet in the water, but who can blame him - the Oregon Coast is cold! He enjoyed the sand more than we expected. Crawling, digging, getting his legs buried by Dad, exploring the driftwood, and, of course, burying his face in the sand. He seems to have my tendency to get a runny nose when out in the cold, so we had some great snotty/sandy faces. =)

Here are a couple pics from our beach time. I'll have to do another post with pictures from the rest of the weekend.Loving the sand

Exploring the waves with Dad


There was tons of driftwood this year. The storms last winter knocked down tons of trees that clogged rivers, were washed out to sea, and are now settling on the beach. People were building major forts all along the coast.

Can I eat it?


Exploring the beach with mom - we ran away from the waves, wrote Owen's name in the sand with a big stick, watched the dogs, and explored the driftwood. Maybe we'll have to come back to the beach this summer when Owen is walking...

More Manzanita Pics

Here are a couple more photos from our Memorial Day. Owen has started getting really steady on his feet and is even taking a couple steps here and there. He’s also getting to be a pretty quick crawler, but not quick enough to keep up with Nolan. Probably a good thing as Nolan wasn't very excited to share his toys or space with Owen. "Oh no Owen!" and "Go away Owen" were some of the standards lines of the weekend.

We loved spending time with baby Calla and were really impressed with how Ryan and Sara are persevering through her cranky spells. It's just really rough being 6 weeks old, and we're hoping she gets all her fussing out soon, so mom and dad can start seeing more smiles and giggles. Ryan and Sara get HUGE parenting points for packing up a 6 week old and making the drive to the coast. Amazing!

Steady on his feet and trying out those new sandals

Chasing Nolan

"Playing" guitar - we were treated to quality music all weekend long.

Practicing our "gentle" touch with Baby Calla.

And...

Snot plus sand = time for a bath!

Picture Day!

Wednesday was picture day at daycare. Pretty funny be be dressing a 10 month old up for "school pictures" but I still picked out my favorite shirt and pants for Owen. Of course, since he's been vomit free for the last 4-5 weeks, he chose that morning to vomit on his jeans 3 times. Oh well, clothes dry.

I'm not sure how they got the kids to sit still for pictures. Most of the ones I tried to take turned out like this:

But I did get one good one.

Mothers' Day

This is only 1 week late, but hey, at least I got it documented!

We celebrated my first Mothers' Day last weekend. Scott asked me if I wanted a family day or a day to myself. It felt like a monumental decision - what will Mothers' Day mean in our family? Hmm... I chose a family day. As much as I would love a spa day, it just makes sense to celebrate Mothers' Day with the kiddo that made me a mom. We had a nice weekend just doing family things - several walks/hikes, a trip to the nursery to buy plants for our sad state of a yard, and a spur of the moment breakfast out. Scott got me some beautiful tulips that lasted all week. I kind of expected that it would be strange to be "the mom" on on this day (kind of like how "Mrs Maxwell" sounds like Scott's mom, not me), but nope. It felt 100% correct that people at church wished me happy Mothers' Day, that I got to ask for chocolate chip waffles for breakfast, and that I slept in while Scott got up with Owen. Amazing how becoming a mom immediately changes your identify - in a beautiful way.

Looking forward to many more Mothers' Days. And here's the kiddo that started it all.

Seattle Trip and More

A lot has been going on with us lately, and I just haven't had a chance to post. (Why can't I turn the underline off this text - urgh!)

Visiting Calla
We had a lovely visit to Seattle to meet our niece, Calla. She is simply amazing - a new life starting to explore her world. Ryan and Sara are doing great as new parents as they navigate the overwhelming newness. I really remember those first days as a parent, and am SO GLAD to be past those early stresses. Sara and I both marveled that Owen was ever that little (or smaller!) and that Calla will soon be as big as Owen. Life is pretty impressive.

Owen LOVED, LOVED, LOVED spending time at new cousin's house. He got all the attention he could take from Ryan and Sara's dog. The two of them wrestled and wiggled, and wore each other out. Best line of the weekend was Ryan walking into the living room... "Um, I love that your son is chewing on a dog toy..." Oops.

Other Visits
While in Seattle, we also attended Tim and Ashley's wedding, stopped in to visit Peg, saw my brother's condo, and had a great lunch with Jonny. Scott and Jon are two peas in a pod, and they had fun showing Owen Jonny's Jeep. Good thing we live far away or Scott would be pushing even harder for a matching vehicle.

Sunny Seattle
Saturday was one of those rare Seattle days where the sun is shining beautifully and EVERYONE heads outside. We took a great walk around Ryan and Sara's house and showed Owen why we love Seattle. Days like that make us miss our old neighborhood (we drove by the house), but the traffic that comes with those days did a great job of bashing the nostalgia. 30 minutes to drive through Wallingford? Seriously.

Nana Visit
My mom has been here this week. Both grandmas certainly spoil us when they are in town and this week was no exception.

Running Himself Ragged
Owen is officially "motor-in" (sing the song when you read that). He's getting up and down from standing and crawling across rooms to get to the next target. Last Thursday, he roamed around the house so much that he was EXHAUSTED by bedtime - awesome! Fun movements lately:
- Every night, we strip off his clothes and put him on the floor of his room. He crawls out the door, into the bathroom, and pulls up to standing at the tub - ready for my bath!
- A couple days ago, I put him on the floor near the kitchen and dashed to the bathroom. When I came back around the corner, I didn't see him right away. I checked the kitchen, laundry room, and finally found him in the living room standing at the computer - just like mom and dad!
- Owen's walking along solid walls now. That means nothing is really off limits.
- This series of photos were taken rapid fire as Owen explored the hallway and then did a 180 and headed for his toys in the front room...



Shout out to Aunt Kate - notice Owen is sporting his Alaska onesie!

Sick Kiddo
Right now, Owen has some goopy illness. He's on meds for pink eye and I'm taking him into the Dr tomorrow to check for an ear infection or whatever else is causing a fever. I stayed home from work with him today, and may have to do the same tomorrow. Although Owen was pretty miserable all day, I did really enjoy having an extra day home with him.