The Walker Clan

Things are changing around here . . .

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

18 Months (We are running a bit late around here)

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:07:00 +0000

Owen is now 32 3/4 inches tall (70th percentile), and 23 lbs 12 oz. (25th percentile).
Owen is a climbing, jumping, running machine! He loves to do agility drills with his daddy and Grandpa Walker. He also did his first somersault over Thanksgiving break unassisted. I think it was a bit of a one time fluke, but he was so proud of himself when he finally accomplished it! He has been trying to do it on his own for a few weeks now.
Owen is now in a big boy bed! He started climbing out of his crib shortly after he turned 17 months. Luke and I were shocked and unprepared for the transition. We tried for a few days to keep him in his crib, but our efforts proved futile. So, we finally went out and bought him a toddler bed. He was so proud of his new bed, and the fact that he could crawl into it all by himself! We were surprised at how quickly he adjusted to his new surroundings. It was tough getting him to fall asleep the first few nights, but the transition went rather quickly and now he sleeps in his big bed like a champ. It is a huge reminder that my baby is growing up quickly!
Now that Owen is in a toddler bed, we are learning more about his sleeping likes and dislikes. For instance, Owen loves to sleep with as many blankets and stuffed animals as possible. During one of his nap times he decided to first walk around the room, find all his stuffed animals, pull down his stash of blankets, and then pile every single item onto his bed. He then found a perfect spot to sleep amid the chaos. He now regularly sleeps with two to three blankets, a couple "babies", and the occasional toy. When he wakes up, EVERY item usually needs come with him downstairs. It is quite the spectacle. One time he had grabbed a clean washcloth from the linen closet and refused to leave the room after his nap until he was holding it as well. Such a silly guy, but we sure do love him!
Owen's imagination is also really expanding. It is been a joy to watch him start to play make-believe with his toys, placing them on this push toys and giving them a ride, putting them to bed, feeding them food, and occasionally trying to give them a diaper change. He is also much more specific about what he wants to do when he plays. No longer is he easy to distract when he is getting into something he shouldn't.
In addition to his growing imagination, Owen's vocabulary is also developing. He loves to mimic and it seems that every week he is adding at least a new word and sometimes several to his list.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:41:00 +0000

Wow, what a contrast to last year! Last year, Owen would sit by the little pumpkins looking all cute, smiling on cue, and obeying every little word. At least that is how I remembered it :) Here is a picture to remind you.

Well, now he is a toddler, and we decided to try out the Pumpkin Patch during nap time. We must be first time parents! Oh wait, we are! Well, he did great for the first half of the day. Actually, he LOVED it. He was outside, in the dirt, going down slides, playing with balls, looking at animals, and oohing an awing at the BIG tractor while we waited our turn for a ride. Things started to turn south when it was time to pick out pumpkins. The whole purpose for the visit! We had waited just a bit to long. Needless to say, very few pictures after that moment captured our cute little guy with his beaming smile. He wanted to do his own thing and that didn't involve posing for his mamma near any pumpkins. We had also hoped to keep on with the tradition of Owen wearing his costume. We only got half of it on and then he refused to pull up the hood. In case you are wondering, he is supposed to be a cow. Although the second half of the trip was a little rough, we did have a great time with family, and we learned a few things. Most importantly, START with the pumpkins so this mamma can get her memories captured in pictures! Well, here is the proof. Enjoy!

Hugs Owen Style

noreply@blogger.com (lukewa) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:08:00 +0000

Owen's Party Rock

noreply@blogger.com (lukewa) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:32:00 +0000

Lunchtime with Owen & Avery

noreply@blogger.com (lukewa) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Dadadadadadadada

noreply@blogger.com (lukewa) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:29:00 +0000

Life with our toddler

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 04:19:00 +0000

Oh, how life has changed now that Owen is 15 months. It is amazing how his personality, curiosity, and determination have come alive in the last three months. Luke and I have enjoyed every minute with this little guy. Here is a quick picture of how life is going with our little toddler:

Owen is now 22 lbs 8 oz. He is still gaining slowly, but since his activity has shot through the roof I am not all that surprised.
Owen LOVES to climb. He has learned to pull his shorter toys over to the furniture to use as a step stool in order to get to greater heights. He has climbed into our friends high chair all on his own, and he has even grabbed onto the handle of the stove and tried to use his feet to climb to the top. The last one was quite startling and has tested our parenting skills as we try to teach him that the stove is dangerous.
Owen has really improved his vocabulary both with sign and speaking. He regularly signs milk, please, eat, and all done. He has also signed thank you, but not very often. However, what Owen wants to do most is communicate by speaking. His list of words include: daddy, doggie, bye, hi, mamma, shoe, tree, bush, cheese, ball, this, that, out, book, two, and up. It amazes me how often he tries to mimic what we say. He is close to saying A, B, C, and we have caught him a few times trying to sing the alphabet song in his own baby language. He also tries to count 1, 2, 3, but just like the alphabet song only the number two is very articulate.
Owen still loves people. He freely gives hugs and is now starting to give kisses. When we are on Skype, he will blow a kiss and wave goodbye at the end of a conversation. It is fun to watch him be social and interact with people around him. He especially loves playing with other kids and wants to be right in the middle of the action whenever people are playing near him.
He absolutely loves the outdoors. This kid would live outside if we let him! It is not long after he gets up everyday that he starts asking to go outside. If he doesn't like our answer, he often grabs our hand and tries to pull us toward the door. If that doesn't work, he walks behind us and tries pushing our legs. Poor guy probably thinks mommy and daddy aren't very good listeners. He was in heaven when we took him camping earlier this summer, because we spent every waking moment outside of the tent. He had hours of fun playing in dirt, throwing his ball, and marching around in the woods. He also loves to watch for planes whenever we are outside. As soon as he hears the sound of a plane overhead, he point to the sky and looks around rapidly until he finds it. Once he sees it, he wants everyone around him to look and throws his hands to his head in amazement. Needless to say, we have quite a character on our hands.
Owen is becoming rather clever. He is constantly trying to find ways to get what he wants when he knows the answer will be no. For instance, he loves to play with the light on the refrigerator door (he pretty much loves pushing any button), however, he knows I will not sit and hold the door open for him. So whenever he wants to push the button he signs for his milk, and follows me to the refrigerator. When I open the door, he quickly walks in front of me and starts pushing the button. Then, when I try to hand him his milk, he will push it away.
Owen has his first best friend. He absolutely adores our friend's daughter, Avery. I have been watching her two days a week lately, and he just beams whenever she comes in the door. The play really well together, and Owen frequently showers her with hugs.
Owen loves spending time with his3 month old cousin, Annorah. He is completely fascinated with her. Whenever we are visiting, he continually checks on with her and gently leans his cheek close to hers. If she starts crying, he feels the need to make sure she is really okay. He hasn't quite figured out that she can't play catch with him or hold his toys, but I am sure those days are coming soon.

I might be biased, but I am pretty sure this little guy is the cutest!

Owen has spotted a plane!

Owen and his pink princess pjs.

noreply@blogger.com (lukewa) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:18:00 +0000

Last night, while playing Carcassonne with Josh and Kristen, Owen decided to reach up on to the table and grab a blue plastic cup full of water. He then proceeded to dump the entire contents of the cup down his face and pajamas. This led to a look of utter shock and bewilderment. Since we didn't bring any spare clothes he had to borrow Avery's pink princess pajamas. I thought to myself, "I should take a picture to embarrass him when he is older".

Today, when retelling the story to my coworker David Miller, he recalled the time when his older sister put him and his twin brother in 2 piece bathing suits when they were a year and a half and took pictures. I guess Owen's circumstances are only modestly humiliating in comparison.

Do I hear an echo?

noreply@blogger.com (lukewa) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:28:00 +0000

What is that?

noreply@blogger.com (lukewa) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Owen at the Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (lukewa) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:03:00 +0000

Has it really been 12 Months?

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Tue, 31 May 2011 05:43:00 +0000

I can't believe we have already spent an entire year with our sweet little boy. It seems like time has moved so quickly, yet at the same time, it is hard to remember what life was like without him. He brings us such joy, and we are so blessed by him! Here are some of his accomplishments and our favorite things about our sweet little man.

At Owen's 12 month appointment Owen weighed 20 lbs 5 oz (20th percentile) and he was 29 7/8 inches long (60th percentile).
Owen's first two molars have started to come in. He is now up to 10 teeth, and as a result we took him to his first dentist appointment. He did such a great job allowing the dentist to check out all his new teeth, and he really enjoyed the new toothbrush and rubber ducky they gave him after his visit.
Owen is walking! He still chooses to crawl whenever he wants to get somewhere quickly, but he often walks across the room and plays with his toys. He is a pro at doing squats and can easily catch himself when he starts to lose his balance. I can't believe how quickly he is growing!
Owen has learned how to give hi-fives. He thinks it is great fun when someone asks for one, but be prepared to get about five in a row. He hasn't quite figured out that you only need to hit the other person's hand once.
Owen's vocabulary is also starting to grow. He has added doggie, hi, juice, and cheese to his list of words. It is fun to watch him try to communicate with us and mimic the words we are trying to teach him.
Owen has used his first sign! We started signing to Owen around 6 months, but it has taken him quite a while to pick it up. He didn't seem very interested at first. But just a few weeks ago, Owen signed milk for the first time. We found that whenever we would say the word and hand him his sippy cup he would sign the word for us. Now he will sign it all on his own whenever he wants milk. Just this past week we realized he is also starting to sign all done. We are hoping that his signs will rapidly increase so that he can better communicate with us.
Owen is such a people person. The larger the crowd the happier he is. It is so fun to watch him in a room full of people. He just seems to light up with all the attention. We attended Grandma and Grandpa's church the past two weekends, and Owen stayed in during the praise and worship. He LOVED it. He wanted to be down on the ground dancing with the beat. Needless to say, he entertained everyone near him with his cute dance moves.
Owen is such a happy boy! He loves to play, and we often find him laughing at himself when he babbles at his toys. Oh how I wish I knew what was going on in that little head of his. He usually only gets upset when he is hungry, tired, or hurt, so it makes fussy times pretty predictable. We have been so blessed to have such a content little one!

Get ready for an onslaught of pictures!

Owen's First Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Mon, 16 May 2011 04:26:00 +0000

What a beautiful Saturday we had to celebrate Owen's first birthday! I am still coming to terms with the fact that an entire year has already passed us by, and my baby is actually 1. What a year it has been! We invited a few friends and family over to celebrate our little guy. Here are the pictures from his party. I will write an "official" 12 month post soon.

Proof that the sun was shining :)

Owen opening his gifts

I made a Cookie Monster cake for Owen and cupcakes for the guests. One of my fondest memories from birthdays growing up were the themed cakes my mom would make for us. I decided it would be fun to continue the tradition with my own kids. I started with this easy design that Bekah found for me here.

The whole dessert spread

Owen's very own "smash" cake

The guest cupcakes

Owen getting ready to blow out his birthday candle (with a little help from mom and dad)

Not so sure about this cake stuff

But with a little help from dad,
He was ready to dig in

Happy Birthday sweet boy! We love you!

We have been busy . . .

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:21:00 +0000

Reading books,

Playing with toys,

Pushing chairs,

Playing chase,

And simply being cute!

11 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 05:16:00 +0000

If you have ever been to my house, you know that decorating is a slow, slow process for me. I seem to have commitment issues with pounding nails into walls and hanging pictures. Well, just this past week, I overcame this obstacle and hung some pictures in the hallway that has been bare for 4 years. My favorite frame contains pictures from when Owen was just 6 days old. He was sooo tiny! I can't believe that soon he will be walking, climbing, running. . . Is it true that my baby is really just one month away from his first birthday! Well, I won't spend more time dwelling on the fact that my sweet little guy is getting older. Instead, I will focus on the fun milestones he reached last month.

Owen weighed in at 19lbs 14.5 oz this month. His weight gain has dramatically slowed ever since he became mobile. I guess this is normal since our little guy rarely stops moving when he is awake, and at times he roams around the crib during naps as well.

Our most favorite milestone to date is that Owen has spoken his first words. So far he has said bye-bye, daddy, tickle-tickle, and mama (if you count him saying it when he is sad). I just love it when he speaks! As I mentioned in my last post, Owen started waving bye-bye at Grandma and Grandpa Walker's house. It was a few weeks after that we heard him squeak out a bye-bye for the first time. Since then, he has continued to say it while waving, but he is pretty picky about when he wants to do so. Although bye-bye was pretty cute and fun to hear for the first time, the best moment of all was when he said daddy for the first time and reached for Luke. We both melted, and I have to admit that I was just a tad bit jealous :). Tickle-tickle is his latest word. The other day we were reading a book together and one of the pictures was of a baby laughing. Owen took his fingers, touched the baby's picture, and said tickle-tickle like he was actually tickling the baby. It was pretty adorable. Since then, he has tried to tickle both Luke and I a couple times and said tickle-tickle while doing so. I guess we must tickle Owen quite a bit.

Owen has really developed a love for reading. I am so proud! He loves to grab his board books and sit on my lap while I read him the story and tell him about the pictures. He is great about turning the pages and really likes to read the entire book through once and then flip to random pages and point at things on the page. We often find him playing with his books on the floor as well. Maybe he will be an English teacher someday!

Owen has taken a couple steps on his own, kind of. When Luke and I were upstairs a couple weeks ago, we were helping Owen walk between us. I thought Luke was ready for him, but he wasn't as close as I thought, and I let Owen go a little early. Instead of just plopping to the floor like usual, he took a couple steps and then grabbed onto Luke's hands. Since then, he has repeated the performance a couple times for us, and even once for Grandma and Grandpa Walker. He doesn't seem to be in too much of a rush to walk, but I guess he could take that leap at any time. I am not really ready for him to walk either. I know that once he starts walking he will no longer feel like my little baby boy but rather a waddling toddler. Part of me wants to keep him small forever.

Our boy is starting to climb. A few weeks ago while Luke was sitting on the floor, Owen climbed on him, then up on the ottoman, and finally transferred himself over to the couch, all in an attempt to reach the blinds. Then, the other day I found him standing on a step stool that had been left in his room after I was done hanging pictures. He had managed to get on it while I went to double check that I had closed the gate behind us upstairs. I think I was out of the room for a total of 20 seconds. If there is anything on the ground that offers him a little leverage, than he has no trouble at all reaching the objects of his curiosity. I am sure it won't be long before he is climbing up without any leverage.

10 Months (a little overdue)

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 05:29:00 +0000

Our little Owen is now 10 months old. Luke and I have truly enjoyed this stage. He is playing new games everyday and making us laugh with his new sounds and animated facial expressions. Here are some of the highlights from this past month.

He is now 19 lbs 7 1/2 oz.

Owen added one more tooth, bringing the total to 8. His teeth came in out of order, and after the onslaught of teeth at Christmas, we were wondering if the fourth bottom one would ever make its appearance. Although a good month or so behind the rest, it finally popped through making for a nice even set on both the top and bottom.

Owen is a dancing machine! If you haven't caught the latest video on facebook, you should take a quick look. We have enjoyed several evenings of laughter now that we have a little booty shaker on our hands.

Owen has started to really interact with his toys. He enjoys opening books, turning pages, and babbling like he is reading a story. It sure does melt this English teachers heart! He also loves his cars. A couple weeks ago he started pushing them around the floor while making a baby motor sound. We aren't quite sure where he picked this up, but Luke has had tons of fun getting down on the floor to play cars with his little man. A toy shout-out would not be complete without mentioning his continuing love for all things electronic. During our last trip to Yakima, Owen suffered a major meltdown just 30 minutes away from my parents house. Luke's solution was to hand Owen the cell phone. He spent the next 20 minutes pushing buttons on Luke's phone while the screen would light up. Don't worry, Luke's phone was locked so he couldn't place any calls or send texts.

Owen's playtime activities have become much more interactive this month as well, with hide and seek certainly becoming a favorite. The minute we say "we are coming to get you" he darts off down the hall. Part way to one of his favorite spots he turns around to make sure we are still coming. Then, he finds the most obvious spot to hide and laughs the minute we find him. He especially loves to hide right in front of the bathroom door, in the middle of his closet, and by the baby gate in the hallway.

Although Owen isn't walking on his own yet, we think he is pretty close. He can push his toys and chairs around like a crazy man, and he is starting to stand on his own for a few seconds at a time. I can't believe we will have a wobbling walker soon.

Owen is starting to explore cause and effect. This has probably been going on for some time now, but it has really become rather entertaining as of late. He loves to hit things together, throw toys so he can watch where they land, and open and close things. It is great to watch his little mind at work, if only we knew what he was really thinking.

He is also showing a new love for climbing. Yikes! When we are on the floor, he likes to use us as a platform to play king of the mountain., and whenever he spots a staircase he b-lines it over there just so he can go up and down over and over again. Unfortunately, his new love for stairs has also brought out the tantrums in full force anytime we pick him up to move him to safer ground.

Here are some pics from our latest adventures.

Playing at the park Hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa Maissen's house

Taking full advantage of their unbarricaded stairs!

Lots to Celebrate!

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:43:00 +0000

On Sunday we celebrated both Luke's 30th birthday and Owen's dedication at church. The dedication was such a special event for us. Although Luke and I have the priveledge of raising this sweet little one, we also recognize that he first belongs to God. Therefore, Luke and I, along with our family members and church family, made a promise to raise Owen and teach him about Christ's love and our relationship with Him. We feel so blessed to be Owen's parents and are thankful every day that God has entrusted us with this special gift.

After church we all went back to our place to celebrate. For his birthday, Luke requested a Sunday brunch with his mom's signature angel food cake and strawberries for dessert. It turned out to be quite the feast! The afternoon was filled with relaxation, family, and of course the best entertainment of all, Owen. It was a such wonderful day celebrating the two biggest blessings in my life!

9 Months (the pictures)

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:38:00 +0000

After three frustrating attempts to publish the previous post with pictures, I have decided to just create a separate entry. Sorry for the overwhelming amount of pictures, I just couldn't help myself when it came to picking my favorites. I felt the pictures captured his personality better than my attempt to write about it. Here is our cute 9 month old!

9 Months

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 06:13:00 +0000

Owen is certainly starting to lose his baby look and starting to become our little boy. He seems to change every day, and we are continually amazed at the little things he picks up. Of course a few of our favorites are cataloged here for you.

We made a trip to the Dr. last week for Owen's 9 month appointment. Owen is now 29 inches long (75 percentile) and 18 lbs 15 oz (25 percentile). We should also note that our little one's head is measuring in the 75 percentile as well. As Luke puts it, he is tall and skinny with a big noggin, but, still cute as ever!

After he started crawling, Owen was pulling himself up on furniture within a week. Now he has absolutely no trouble walking around all of our furniture and pushing his toys, and the occasional pampers box, around the living room. He still doesn't have the courage to take that first step away from the furniture, but he seems pretty close. I am pretty sure he will be walking on his own before we know it, but I am not quite sure if I am ready.

Just this past weekend Grandma Bev taught Owen how to wave bye-bye. It is just so precious. We aren't sure he knows what it means since we ask him to wave bye-bye all the time, but it's still cute.

Lately Owen's favorite thing is to stick his tongue out, and while his tongue is out, well, he just goes ahead and licks anything close at hand. Who knew it would be so important to taste everything in the house before you form an opinion about it. While we are on the slobber subject, I should also mention he also enjoys spitting. It is amazing anything stays dry around here.

Our little man's first Mohawk!

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 06:02:00 +0000

He looks so tough

Thanks Aunt Bekah for your stellar styling skills

One of those days

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:28:00 +0000

Some days (and nights) are really hard. For instance, last night my little angle decided to wake up at 11 pm and stay awake until 2:30 am. To make it just a tad more challenging he cried for all but 30 minutes during that 3 and 1/2 hour marathon. As I watched the minutes pass by, I knew that I would be exhausted today. I kept holding onto the hope that maybe he would nap well since he slept terribly. Oh no. . . it has been one of those days. He skipped his morning nap (well cried through it), then I accidentally woke him during his afternoon nap. Believe me it was a very sad moment when I made a noise upstairs and then heard him start crying on the other side of the door. In all, he has slept for 30 minutes today. Needless to say, the kitchen is still a mess, the laundry is still folded in the baskets upstairs, and my sweet little guy has left a trail of toys through the living room. I am not sure how much of that will change before I crash tonight.

But . . . then there are moments like these

. . . and I find that the exhaustion and frustration just seem to melt away. I mean just look at that cute face!

* And yes, I took pictures today of my super cute boy instead of putting away the laundry :)

8 Months and He is Mobile!

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:44:00 +0000

It has been a crazy busy month for us. Owen celebrated his first Christmas as you read in my last post, and since then, he has been knocking off the milestones one by one. I can't believe January is about to end, and before I know it he will be 9 months, then 10, then a year! I guess I should stop there before I cry! Needless to say, we are loving every moment with our little guy. He is so curious and interactive right now, and it is amazing to watch him learn and grow every day. Here are his latest achievements.

The weight gain has been a little slower this month. He put on another half pound bringing the total up to 18 lbs 15 oz.

He is crawling! This milestone has changed our lives dramatically! Just before Owen turned 8 months, Luke helped him learn how to get up on his knees, move back and forth, and eventually take the lunge forward. It was as if Owen decided it was time to move and off he went. Now he is crawling everywhere and getting into everything. Naturally, Luke and I weren't quite prepared for this quick change in mobility, so we have been following him around the past week finding all the spots in our house that are not baby friendly and trying to figure out a quick solution.

Since Owen reached the crawling milestone, his movement and coordination have rapidly increased. It was not long before he was easily going between his tummy, crawling, and sitting, but what he really wants to do is walk. All I have to say is yikes! He has only been crawling for one week, and in that time he has learned how to get up on his knees, balance himself, and is desperately trying to pull himself up into a standing position. He tries to pull himself up on everything in sight, the couch, ottoman, chair, wall, door frame, dresser, crib, mom and dad. . . It is a non-stop effort! As a result, we have suffered a few spills, and I am reconciling myself with the fact that I can't prevent every bump and bruise.

In the few weeks after Christmas, Owen had three more teeth come in. I knew he was working on at least one top tooth, but little did I know that all three were trying to come in at the same time! No wonder we had some sleepless nights and one cranky little guy for about two weeks. I thought we were in for a break, but in the past week, two more top teeth have come through as well, making for a total of 7 teeth (4 on top and 3 on the bottom). I have decided that he is going to have all of his teeth before he turns a year!

Owen is now clapping. This is one of my favorite milestones from this past month. I just love watching his face when he gets excited and the hands start going. When he first learned the skill, he clapped non-stop for a few days. Mealtimes were a little more interesting with his new found skill. I felt like I was trying to pass through a gauntlet just to reach the prize at the end.

Since Christmas, Owen has enjoyed playing with all of his new toys. One of his favorites is a sit and ride toy that has a steering wheel. His favorite thing to do is have Luke push him around the living room while he spins the steering wheel around. It is fun to watch him transition into this new stage of play. Don't worry though, he has not completely moved on from his traditional play. He still loves to throw, bite, and bang his toys, and of course, wrestle with his daddy.

My Two Boys

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 06:06:00 +0000

Here are a few pictures of the face Owen has been making lately. It cracks Luke and I up every time.

The Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (The Walkers) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:16:00 +0000

Luke and I are so blessed to have wonderful families on both sides! The only difficult part of that situation is being away from one side or the other on any given holiday. Someday we will win the lotto, buy a ton of land, and build a Walker/Maissen family compound where we can all live happily ever after. Until then, we will continue to rotate Thanksgiving each year and split Christmas break in two so that we get time with both families. This year we spent Thanksgiving at the Walker's. Bekah wrote a great post about the highlights of that 5 day vacation which was aptly titled "the Owen show". Click on the title and you can read her lovely writing and see a few pics from the weekend. Silly me didn't take any pictures while I was there!

Christmas felt like a whirlwind! After a 36 hour stop in Spokane the week before Christmas to visit my extended family, Owen and I returned home to find Luke sick with the flu. He spent the next four days on a pedialyte diet while the rest of us enjoyed a breakfast feast prepared my Dad, a pioneer woman themed Christmas dinner, and Bev's famous sugar cookies. Despite missing out on some good fixen's, Luke was a great sport and joined in on the family fun whenever his energy allowed. For the second year in a row we made our way up to Seattle to enjoy Christmas Eve service with Jennie and Chris at their church. We then gathered down here Christmas morning to open presents and partake in LOTS of eating. Of course Owen stole the show this year. All 9 adults just sat and watched as he ripped at paper, chewed on boxes and bows, and paid very little attention to the new toys he had just received.

The day after Christmas, Luke and I packed up and made the quick trip over to Bremerton. While we were there, we enjoyed some quality family time, daily homemade lattes, and of course a few extra helping hands with Owen :). This extra help was quite handy since just a few days before we left Owen decided that it was high time to start teething again. This time around however, he wanted all of us to know that the top teeth are a lot more painful than the bottom. Needless to say, Luke and I didn't get much sleep at night, but Bev, Rick and Bekah were always ready the next morning to take Owen and give us a little more time to rest. It is pretty hard to leave that kind of help behind so we didn't, and our short visit quickly went from four days to six. Before we knew it, New Years Eve was upon us and we were gearing up for another long night. But for the first time that week, Owen decided to go to bed early and actually stay asleep. Since we were all pretty tired, we slowly made our way to bed one-by-one. Luke and I were the last to go at 11:30, and just as we were about to crawl into bed, Owen decided it was time to wake up, of course. So Luke, Owen, and I rang in the New Year nestled in bed listening to the fireworks outside. It was kind of a nice way to start a New Year.

Now we are back home, everyone is healthy, and Owen's tooth looks like it could pop through any day. I hope your holidays were filled with family, food, and wonderful memories just as ours were.

Walker family picture on New Year's Day

Pictures from the East vs. West Basketball game. Owen's first time watching his Grandpa play!

Pictures from Christmas day - Owen is eyeing another box he can chew on

Pictures of the kids/grandkid (Maissen side)

Maissen family picture