Annabelle rolls over, Owen plays "Cat" and other adventures...

Sarah's Thoughts:

I love camping. Its one of those things I look forward to all winter long. Being outside, sleeping in my sleeping bag, camp fires, the whole scene gives me perma-grin. Despite my love for sleeping outside, it feels so amazing and relieving in a way to get home, take a shower, put on clean clothes. All this to say, our washing machine broke, so we were without one for 3 weeks. Kind of felt like camping, except for the part where I love it and have perma-grin. Obviously, we had reserve clean clothes, but towards the end, I was wearing pants that were mostly clean, except for the sort-of inconspicuous yogurt spill. We finally got a new washer on Saturday and 8 loads of laundry later, I finally feel clean and a bit like a new woman. Its the little things, I tell you!

Luke Update:

My hard working husband had been going non-stop. When he's not at work, he's studying math and when he's not doing that, he's changing poopy pants or chasing down a 3 year old. I guess this is the time of year when being stuck inside hurts the least. However a few weeks ago, he heard one of the big-time sounds of spring, the call of the varied thrush. Despite last night's snow, spring is coming! Time to get that nose in the books, slam down the 5-hour power and get 'er done! He has bears to stalk and chromers to catch and a wife that wants to go camping!

Owen Update:

Owen continues to roll-play. Yesterday, he was "Cat". Ringing our doorbell, Cat explained that he was an orphan and he wanted to come inside for lunch. While eating his PB&J, Cat spied Owen's cuddle sleeve, and was immediately fixated on it, wanting to hold it and stroke it and rub his little cat face on it. I told Cat that the cuddle sleeve belonged to my son, Owen and it was very special to him. It was the kind of thing that Owen didn't share, not even with his sister and so I was sorry, but I couldn't let Cat have it. After unsuccessfully trying to negotiate terms for cuddle sleeve possession, I was surprised, how quickly Owen returned home. I hope Cat found someplace to eat supper...

Annabelle Update:

Rollin', rollin' rollin'.... Officially weighing in at 19 lbs, 3 oz, Ms. Annabelle Lee can roll over, sit up, wear 12 month clothes, and is starting to eat solid foods. Her hair is starting to grow in and she's even bouncing in jumper a little bit. There were a few nights last week when she slept like a 12 month-old, 13 hours in a row! Foolishly, I thought this trend was here to stay. My little bubble of ignorance was burst at 2:30 in the morning. Ah, well, at least she's super cute and smiley.

My boy loves being naked and wearing things on his head.

Not sure why, exactly, but we love him!

Here comes the dolly!

Yum! Frozen bread sticks!

Sitting Up

Rolling Over

August

Sarah’s Thoughts: I’ve been feeling a little directionless. I don’t know if its the sometimes hectic, get-outside-this-minute-because-who-knows-when-the-sun-will-shine-again lifestyle that seems to be summer or if I’m just disorganized and in need of focus. Probably a little of both. I’m feeling like we have a lot of different irons in the fire at the moment, so I’m hesitant to throw myself into any one thing in case I have to suddenly change directions... as a result, I’m treading water- not really doing anything. The reality is that I need to sit down and make some good old fashioned lists. I need to realize that just because I’m not sure when I’ll hear from a client on the latest graphic design project doesn’t mean I can’t take 30 minutes and go for a jog, or clean a bathroom. Just because I haven’t fully planned our trip in October doesn’t mean I can’t start some laundry or return a phone call...

Low- Work. We were so busy and down two assistants, so I had to keep running into the back to chart for the hygenists or help in the surgeries... and we seemed to have an extra load of H.M. patients (high maintenance) this week for some reason...

High- My friend Amy gave me a raspberry plant! I grew-up with raspberries in the back yard and I’m so excited for this plant to grow and spread and make all kinds of baby raspberries!

Luke Update: I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath all week to hear the deer report. Well, let me tell you, it was worth the wait. Luke and his buddy John went on an overnight alpine deer hunt to the back side of Douglas Island on opening day. Luke had never shot a deer on opening day. That, however, is no longer the case. Before they even made camp, Luke got his first deer of the 2009 season. The following day, John followed suit. The only bummer was that it took them so long to hike down the mountain with all their gear and 2 deer, they missed the tide. When they got back to the boat it was high and dry with 1 hour of outgoing tide and then another 2 of incoming tide to go until the boat would be floating again. Lucky for us, they had nothing but time to take a lot of pictures of themselves with deer antlers.

Owen Update: I didn’t know it, but there’s this corner out there and Owen is in the process of turning it. He’s seems to be much more confident and comfortable with himself and more at ease when we leave him with other people. He had his 2 year-old check-up last monday. In the past whenever he goes to the doctor’s office, he is very nervous- he starts to cry as soon as the nurse walks in the room. I was anticipating this on Monday, but thankfully, he did great. He opened his mouth wide to show Dr. Monica (who he called “Yia Yia”) all of his pearly whites. He cried during the administration of 3 shots, but recovered quickly and even gave the nurse a high-five on his way out the door. I am pleased to report he is in the 70th percentile for height (35”)and weight (31 lbs) and that good old head circumference is holding strong in the 90%.

shoveling at Sandy Beach

the joker with his T-Rex

it's been awhile since the last bath picture...

(Notice the dinos in the tub. They're everywhere!)

future rock climber

(he made it to the top platform all by himself!)

Proud hunters with their deer antlers

just waiting on the tide

Owen's first canned smile for the camera.

gotta love the hose.

mighty hunter bringing home the back strap

Besides Spring...

Sarah's Thoughts: There's this book that I've heard a lot about called, "The 5 Love Languages."  The idea is there are 5 different ways people feel loved and in turn show love: acts of service, words of affirmation, physical touch, gifts, and quality time.  The way you show love to others is the way you feel loved.  I determined a long time ago that I feel loved the most from words of affirmation.  For example, if I feel like I need a compliment, I'll ask Luke "Doesn't this shirt looks nice on me?" and he'll say, "Oh yes, Sarah.  You look so nice in that shirt." and I'm happy.  However, this weekend I discovered that I truly appreciate acts of service as well.   On Saturday night, we had some friends come over for dinner.  Nap time is my big chance to work on projects (computer/cleaning/cooking/etc.).  I needed to do a little cleaning, but I also needed to work on this never-ending computer project...  Without being prompted, Luke vacuumed, washed the dishes, gave Dolly a bath, and installed curtain hooks throughout the living room and I felt so loved!  Really, I feel loved through all 5 of the love languages, as I think most people do... but it was nice to be reminded that "acts of service" makes me warm and tingly.  Thanks Luke!

High- Leaving work early (at 3:30) every day last week.  I'm sure my next paycheck will be my "low", but what are you going to do? 

Low- Discovering it was "poop day" in the nursery today at church.  During the service, I changed no less then 3 poopy diapers, none of them Owen's, and for one poor little guy, the poop was literally caked down the full length of his leg- crotch to heel.  

Luke Update:  The much-anticipated Coast Guard license application has been processed. The fine print has been scrutinized, the I's have been dotted, the T's have been crossed, and Captain Luke Woodruff is once again officially authorized by the United States Coast Guard as a Merchant Marine Officer.  Phew!  Now all we have to do is entice America's recession-burdened tourist population to fork over multiple benjamin franklins for a once-in-a-lifetime trip, fly rod in hand, to "humpy heaven" courtesy of Sea Runner Guide Service.  In preparation for the swarms of fish-catching tourists headed his way, Luke has started on a new wood-working project.  The trusty net he's used to retrieve many a fish from the frigid streams of Southeast Alaska broke recently, due to a certain 33" inhabitant of our house who shall remain nameless.  Luke has always wanted to make a wooden net and this week he chose to seize the opportunity.  I have to say I'm a little jealous of his new project, as I am still stuck making revisions to the graphic design project that won't end!

Owen Update: Every evening, around 5:30, my sweet little Owen turns into this demanding, grabby, fussing monster.  If I pick him up, he wriggles to get out of my arms.  If I don't pick him up, he's pulls on the leg of my pants or pushes his stool up to the counter so that he can throw silverware all over the floor.  He's hungry, but he doesn't want to be confined in his chair.  He doesn't want milk from THIS glass, he wants to drink it out of THAT glass... Owen is transformed into Mr. Hyde, regardless of what preceded that day.  On Saturday night, he was fussing at his finest, when our friends who have 2 children came over for dinner.  Instantly and I mean instantly, Owen started to giggle and then babble, and for the rest of the evening, he was happy.  He stayed up an hour and a half past his bedtime, but you wouldn't know it.  He really likes other kids.  He gets so excited to see all of his friends at daycare and in the nursery at church.  He doesn't know how to play with them, but just likes to have them around.

When Owen wakes up, he hands you things 

that he wants to snuggle with.  

It use to only be his cuddle sleeve, but today it was

a pillow, 6 stuffed animals, a silky, his cuddle sleeve 

and a blanket.  I could barely carry all of that, let alone Owen.  

I dumped the whole pile in the recliner.  

Notice the bare feeties. 

Walking on Mendenhall Lake this evening.

My little Emeril

family portrait

jail bird

my boys

Nothing in Particular

Sarah's Thoughts-  Our friends, the Padens, had baby #6 this week.  That's not only a lot of kids, but especially significant for me because #5 is just 10 days older then Owen (i.e. I could have another baby by now).  It seems like there's this unwritten law that when encountering the mother of a child in the 1 1/2 to  3 year-old range, you have to ask when the next one is coming. I've been getting this question a lot lately.  Luke and I have talked about it, we do want more kids, and I was even thinking maybe sometime soon-ish... However, after holding the tiny little Paden baby, I can honestly say I'm not ready.  He was so very sweet and precious but I have a precious Owen who loves his mama.  I don't want him to have to give-up being the baby.  I know this is a little selfish of me- my brother and sister are my two favorite people in the world and I want Owen to have that... but at the same time, we can wait a little bit.  While I was holding baby Orion, Owen was very excited and interested in him.  I know he'll be an excellent big brother someday... just not today.

High: The solid turd in Owen's diaper this evening.  Luke shook it right out of the diaper and into the toilet!  Oh Baby!

Low:  Tonight at Costco when I proudly presented the cashier with my coupons (I never have it together enough to use coupons) and he said, "Uh, these aren't good until tomorrow...  do you need to put some things back?"  Stink!

Luke Update-  Luke has been working hard to party hard.  He's already booked 5-6 trips for this summer, not to mention the 3 or 4 in the hopper.  He's been working his legislative job, but had a surprise day off on Friday.  Yipee!  He's also been hard at work on his lead bullet casting project.  Today I learned about how important it is to have the exactly right sized bullet, down to the 1000th of an inch.  There is a special picture on today's blog post just for Steve, Luke's dad which is evidence of that fact.  Luke is also talking about some upcoming carpentry projects for around the house... mostly new shelving and hooks, but I'm excited!

Owen Update-  Owen's word of the week is stool.  He use to love the vacuum cleaner and before that it was driving the car but now its anything that gives him a little more height.  We have this small stool in the kitchen that I use to reach the spices above the stove.  These days, it might as well have "Property of Owen" written on it. Luke and I are amazed at how mobile he is with that thing.  He pushes it up to various locations below the counter, depending on whether he feels like getting into the silverware drawer, or pressing some buttons on the microwave, or maybe just splashing in the sink a little bit.  He's fallen off of it 4 or 5 times, but it doesn't seem to phase him.  He's also become quite good at opening the dishwasher.  He stands on his tiptoes, pushes in the button and opens the door.  Nothing is safe. Oh, and speaking of stool, I'm taking some of Owen's stool to the lab at the hospital tomorrow so they can hopefully provide insight into his poop/lactose issues.  I'll keep you posted (I'm sure you can't wait)!

Hard at work "organizing" the silverware drawer.

I'm ON the PHONE!

All of a sudden, he was hanging out in the 

laundry basket with his slinky...

Apparently, I put too much jelly in his PB&J

What a nice group!  Homemade bullets, folks!

Waiting out winter

Sarah's Thoughts: My dear friend Lela passed on the "5 Things" challenge to me, so I am forgoing my normal blurb to bring you this special edition of Mostly Owen.  The idea is to write 5 things about yourself for each category... so here goes!

10 years ago: 1-Moving home from North Dakota  2-Watching my baby brother graduate high school  3-Preparing to be a school teacher  4- Wearing shades on account of my future being so bright  5- Dreaming of falling in love 

Past Jobs :  1- Lifeguard  2- Waitress  3- Graphic Artist  4- Wilderness Guide  5- Peach Harvester

Today's "To Do" list: 1- Figure out how to extract Owen from his poop-filled PJs  2- Hangout in the nursery during church  3- Work on the confounded website that has been the bane of my existence for the past several months  4-  Attend a dinner party at the Hooleys  5- Take Dolly for a walk

Favorite Snacks: 1- apples & cheese  2- popcorn  3- juice + 7up  4- dried cherries + almonds  5- hot chocolate

Places I've lived: 1-  Juneau. AK (obviously) 2- Grand Forks, ND   3- Tacoma, WA  4- Sydney, Australia  5- Auckland, NZ

If I had One Million dollars I'd...: 1-Own our house and another one in a tropical location   2- retire  3- learn how to do all kinds of artsy things like stain glass and pottery  4- Move onto a boat and sail to my tropical home and then around the world for a few years  5- Figure out how to cleverly make more money to support my expensive lifestyle because I'm obviously going to need more then a lousy million!

Luke Update:  As many of you know, Luke has a charter fly fishing business in the summers. Every year, he has 1 or 2 clients who want to tie their own flies in preparation for their Alaska fly fishing adventure, so every year, Luke has the tedious task of sending step-by-step instructions to these lovely clients.  Forever striving for increased efficiency and ways to put our sweet digital video camera to use, this week Luke had the brilliant idea of making a  "How to Tie the 'Sea Runner Special' " video.   When its finished, Luke will post this handy, informative, and aesthetically pleasing video to the Sea Runner website.  Very soon, even you can learn the secret of catching the coveted, ever elusive humpy salmon and the next time Luke gets the dreaded email requesting instructions on how to tie flies, he can copy and paste the web address of the video and move on.  Hallelujah!

Owen Update:  Every day, I look at my boy and he seems more grown up.  He's communicating more, has increased control of his body, and this week I caught him playing with toys like a big kid.  Last Friday, he was carrying these Fisher Price plastic turtles all over the house, pretending like they were talking to each other and climbing up the wall...  I think it was so remarkable because it was completely unprompted and original.  It's going to be fun to see that imagination take off!  Today Luke and I did the nursery during church and we caught Owen fighting with a couple other boys over who got to push the dolly in the stroller.  Interesting note: all the boys involved were from homes with no sisters, thus no dolls around...  Also, I've noticed a few new words:  occasionally, he says  "Anem" at the end of prayers and he's working on "See ya!" but at this point, its mostly just "See!"

Still winter... although we've been noticing more daylight!  

That's something!

Ready for school!  Only  3 1/2 years to go!

 

Pretending with turtles

Naked time with tractor

(it's been too long since the last naked picture, don't you think?)

Helping Daddy talk on the phone