Hood to Coast

During the last weekend of August, Brian participated in the Hood to Coast with a team from his office. Hood to Coast relay is thought to be the largest relay race in North America as it stretches 197 miles from Mt Hood OR to the Pacific Ocean in Seaside OR.

Their team of 24 people was divided into 2 vans of 12 people each. Truly a relay, they took turns - each person in their van running about 6 miles, and then they would rest (and drive) while the alternate van took over for the next segment. Each van had 3 segments, which means that Brian ran a total of about 18miles during the two-day event.

They started at about noon on Friday and ended at the Coast at about 5pm on Saturday. Although he got almost no sleep, and even ran one of his legs at about 2am, Brian had a blast and enjoyed the experience with his coworkers. Way to go, Brian! We're proud of you!

16 Months

Owen is 16 months! I recently realized that after he turned one I stopped writing about his monthly highlights....and I've really missed doing this!

Owen has really made the turn from a baby to a toddler. It's a lot of fun to see his personality developing more & more, and it's also providing new challenges as we're faced with new opportunities for "correction" (ie: no, it's not okay to throw your food and sippy cup as a way of telling us that you are "all done" with your meal).

He loves to laugh, and makes great animal sounds on cue (roaring, meowing, and barking are the favorites). He's walking almost exclusively now, enjoys climbing (boxes, furniture, whatever!), and is already trying to both run and jump. We have one busy boy on our hands!

He holds the phone to his ear like he's talking, will show you his tummy if asked (knows other body parts too, like hair, ears, teeth, etc), likes to high-five and fist-bump, enjoys riding around the neighborhood in a little red push car we got him for his birthday (he says "vroom vroom" during the ride - so cute!) and actually sits still (on occasion) and listens as we read books to him. Great progress for a boy who used to only like to chew on his books!

Owen loves to snuggle cozy blankets and stuffed animals, enjoys playing with whiffle balls and musical instruments, and many of his favorite "toys" - if we'd let him - are actually our belongings...cell phone, keys, credit cards, pens, etc. He gets quite frustrated when we won't let him play with these things (go figure!) and is not fooled by the toy versions we've gotten him as a substitute.

Owen continues to be a great sleeper (one 2-3 hr nap in the afternoon, and 11 hrs at night), and is slowing becoming a better eater (the whole meal process is very boring to him, when he’d rather be down playing!) – his favorite foods being fresh fruit, bagel & cream cheese, avocado, and yogurt.

Owen is developing into a wonderful little boy with a great, strong, energetic, enthusiastic, and loving spirit. We are so blessed!

Welcome Baby Landon

We are celebrating the arrival of our new nephew!

Landon Paul Williams
7lbs 12oz
20inches

Blake & Angela (Linnea's brother & his wife) welcomed their precious baby boy on 8.9.10. Everyone is healthy and doing well!

Welcome to the world, sweet Landon! God has wonderful plans for your life, and we are so excited to be with you along the way. We love you very much!

Walking

Owen took his first steps in mid-July, but continues to prefer crawling...probably because he crawls so fast and has no problem keeping-up! We keep trying to capture some of these cute wobbly steps on camera, and tonight we were successful. Enjoy the clip!

8th Anniversary

On August 3rd, we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary! Amazing to think it's been 8 years - and we had so much fun reminiscing about our magical wedding day and all that the last 8 years has included: many moves, homes, jobs, travels, and of course the arrival of Owen! Cheers to a wonderful 8 years...and 88 more ahead :)

July Highlights

July went by in a flash! We enjoyed visits from family, we continued working on settling-into our new place, and Linnea spent a good deal of time in Seattle for a big annual event at her work. Here are a few photo highlights from the month.

I was folding laundry, and noticed Owen became very quite. Here's where I found him, pulling my clothes off the hangers in our closet! What a character!

Bath time in a full tub (no infant/toddler seat) such a big boy!

A "luau" during Linnea's work event

A special visit with our dear Nanny Diana

(we enjoyed the chance to spend time with her, and she also helped take Owen back to the hotel for bedtime)

Blake & Angie...and baby boy Williams due any day!

We were packing to leave our hotel in Seattle, and Owen sweetly scooted into a little corner with his blankie and favorite giraffe, just staying cozy as we hustled around the room.

We celebrated the conclusion of Linnea's work event with a family day at the Zoo!

forget the live animals, it's a mechanical dinosaur that has Owen so excited!

sweet baby face

and lots of practice walking

First time coloring!

First Boat Ride!

Silly video of Owen, taken by our nanny Kaity. Aparently he was doing this "spinning" trick at the library during story time, and once they got home she was able to catch a clip on video. Enjoy!

Seattle Rock & Roll Half-Marathon

This blog is full of Owen's "firsts" - but this posting is celebrating a first for us! The last weekend in June, we completed our first half-marathon! In January, three of Linnea's colleagues/friends signed up for the Seattle Rock & Roll Marathon/Half-Marathon and encouraged us to join also. I (Linnea) am not a runner. I enjoy jogging for exercise - but not the jogging itself, mostly just the feeling after I've completed the run! And the longest I've ever run is probably 5 miles. So taking on 13.1 miles was quite a commitment, and I (we) decided that it would be a great goal to work toward together, and a lot of fun to do it with a group of friends. So...starting in February, I began training. I ran twice a week for about 3-4 miles, and each weekend I did a longer run, going "up" one mile each week....4, 5, 6, 7, 8.... Brian on the other hand is a runner (thanks to his many years as a competitive soccer player!), and didn't actually begin the training until after he finished his April 15th tax deadline. He started by joining me on my 8 mile long run, and had no problem...even pushing Owen in the stroller the whole way! Brian & I stuck together at the event (although he probably could have gone a bit faster, and I appreciate him hanging with me!) and we completed the event - without walking (which was a goal!) - in 2hrs 13min. We had a blast! I think Brian actually enjoyed it enough that he's already considering doing it again next year. Me?...I sure had fun, and I'm really glad for the accomplishment...but I'm not signing myself up for another one yet :)