Big Boy...

Owen is 10 months old... I really cant believe it.  How I love watching this boy grow and become this little person with ideas, little quirks, and a sense of humor.  He is very busy around the house, exploring all of the little nooks and corners.  He just started his first steps last week out of the blue, and is up to about 8-10 on his own.  His preferred method of getting from here to there is still a cruise, to a crawl, to a stand up, to a sit down, and get back up and walk again.  His new fascination is the word Uh-Oh and opening and closing doors.  Boo!

Owen's favorite toy is a book called "Monkey Tumbles" with a little paper monkey that can actually tumble down tunnels and slides in the book.  We read it at least 8 times a day.

Owen and Cameron.

Strike a pose Cameron.  I love your hair. 

Time Off.

This year, Santa brought me the gift of time...  I had a FULL week with Mark home after Christmas.  In my stocking, I found coupons for a morning walk with coffee, a bike ride, a movie date, time to read together, etc.  I was so grateful for the lazy mornings, the walks around town, and the time around the house... I loved every second of it.  We also got out of town for two days.  After all of the fun chaos of Christmas, we were both craving some time away in a beautiful place and decided to head to SLO.   We timed the drive just perfect for Owen to nap (thanks for being such a good baby Owen), with a break in the drive in Santa Barbara for a beach walk and some state street cruising.  The drive was heavenly, spending hours in the car surrounded by gorgeous undeveloped land and uninterrupted conversation with my husband.  Ahhh.  In SLO, we hit all our favorites.  Although the trip was short, we all came back feeling refreshed.

Here are Mark and Owen grubbing at Firestone.  Owen has yet to realize how much he will truly love this place.  Maybe some red meat next year buddy.

We took our favorite hike up the coast of Montano de Oro...truly one of the most gorgeous, rugged coastlines you will experience.  Owen loved it too, he chilled in the backpack loving being in a new place.

The Magic Kingdom

My sister Emily came back from Hong Kong over Christmas. It was so good to have her home... the week was FULL of dinners and getting together as a family.  Her Christmas wish was to take Owen to Disneyland for the first time... how could we deny the princess a visit to her kingdom?  We had so much fun watching the parade, experiencing the snow on Main Street, and riding Pirates of the Caribbean.

Thanks for coming home Em... we miss you already.

Notice Emily's perfect hand placement and smile without squinting her eyes....What a professional.