Aunt Stef

Aunt Stef came down this past week for another visit, while Nate was on a research cruise. She did her very best to entertain Owen while he's still in his "Don't-leave-me-Mommy" stage. We had some fun get-togethers with Jenny and Lincoln. Lincoln showed Owen a few advanced techniques on the music table (a great hand-me-down toy from Owen's buddies Elliot and Emerson):

Here's some video action from Stef's visit. First, a "Velociraptor" attack:



And next, more fun with the music table:

Birthdays and Oregon

We're slowly getting back into the swing of things now that Nate and Owen and I are returned from our trip to Oregon, and finally acclimated back on 'east coast' time. We had a fantastic visit - highlights included many reunions with great friends, beautiful scenery, a gorgeous wedding on the McKenzie River, and celebrating Owen's first birthday. Here are some photos from our trip.


Owen turned 1 on Sept. 10, and Kelly's family presented him with his very own cake to eat (err, destroy!) all by himself - the clean up was an adventure, but the photos were worth it! I, too, celebrated a birthday this week - #34 on Sept. 15. Nate made me a tasty scamp dinner and got a delicious cheesecake for dessert. We've been enjoying it for many days since....

Parting shot: standing practice!

The final days of year 1

Owen turns 1 on Friday. I can hardly believe that an entire year has passed since he was born...Here's how he looked shortly after arrival:and today he's at least 22 lbs heavier and more than a foot taller. He's been busy growing! We're working on self-feeding these days (see video at the bottom of the post).

We depart for Oregon on Wed., so we'll celebrate Owen's first birthday out there. Our dear friends Kelly and Jack (pictured below during a mule deer hunt we had on Kelly's family ranch in central OR) are getting married on the McKenzie River, east of Eugene. We're looking forward to cool nights, beautiful scenery, good beer (Jack's brewed up 10 varieties for the big event!), and reunions with many close friends.

Yesterday we had a delicious get-together with some local friends, where we feasted on a variety of smoked meats and fishes, tasty sides, and good drinks (Dad, I made the watermelon limeade and it was a hit!). Here are some of Owen's many new friends: (l to r) Brian with baby Porter (1.5 mo), Jenny with Lincoln (22 mo), Kathy with Allie (3 mo) and Christina with Aaron (9 mo).

Hurricane Earl

Here it is, baby's-first-hurricane! We've "battened down the hatches" and readied the supplies. The winds have been steadily increasing throughout the day and we've seen a few bands of showers, though the full impact of the hurricane won't start for another few hours. The eye of the storm is passing to the east of us, so we're lucky in that regard - we'll have driving rain and winds out of the N/NE all night, but by morning it should clear (and then I'll be checking in with family in New England to see how they're faring!).

Here is a little video action to show the conditions around 4:30pm this afternoon-