homemade minestrone and a big pot of homemade applesauce!

First halloween for Owen…kind of puzzled about posing with pumpkins

we cut these and dropped our coins in the bucket! one of the many things I am loving here!

the river by our house

gorgeous leaves in our neighborhood (this is our neighbors house)

snuggle bug

ragamuffins going on a bear hunt in the woods near our house..don’t think they found a bear but the house sure was peaceful while they were gone!

Well, we caught the end of the Swiss summer. We had some nice hot days and we are now full on into fall. We were originally arriving towards the beginning of summer so in the end I have felt a bit behind with the seasons. They are sneaking up on me.

Our swiss summer this year was mainly about settling in and finding our way around Bern. My mom came for a couple of weeks which eased our transition greatly! Friends from Bogota, Nick and Kima along with Ben drove over from Zug to visit soon after we arrived. My friend Leigh and her her husband, along with Katy Jo came to visit as well.  So all within our first month we got to see friends and family.

A few pictures…

Pretend like I actually published this when I wrote it back on May 10th.

This is how we usually refer to Owen. He has lots of nicknames like Jackson did. Owen is one happy little dude. He has had a cold for what seems like a month now but he keeps trekking along. We went for his 4 month appt last week (actually 2 months ago!!!) and he is HUGE! He is 17 lbs and 27 1/4 inches long! He is in the 90% or above with all of his stats. Where on earth do these big boys come from? Seth was 9 lbs something so he gets all of the credit for those genes.

Owen continues to amaze me with his laid back go with the flow personality…another thing Seth gets credit for. He is enjoying his play mat these days although he doesn’t last long on it because he is obsessed with rolling these days. This is only fun when he is awake. When he is sleeping he makes himself so upset when he wakes up to find himself on his tummy. I suspect he will be crawling sooner rather than later!

first time in the bumbo…reminds me of Jackson’s first time…this next picture is of Jackson at almost the same age. I never think they look alike but they for sure do in this picture!

“these people are crazy!”

In late May, early June Seth’s sister Claire and her husband and baby Benjamin made the big trip from Oregon to DC! We had such a great time having them here. Jackson and Owen got to meet their new baby cousin and we got lots of time to catch up. Claire and Donnie had more energy for sight-seeing than any guests we have ever had. They walked their legs off and did it all with a little baby in tow! Impressive!

Here are some pictures from their visit!

A week after Claire, Donnie and Benjamin left Seth’s parents and Tommy, our nephew, came from Texas for a week. Jackson loved having Tommy around. He is a “bigger big boy” in Jackson’s eyes. He was so sweet with Jackson and Owen and tolerated a ton of enthusiasm from Jackson. Jackson did not give him a break the entire time he was here!  Jackson and Owen were excited to see their Mia and Grandan as well and I hate to say it but Jackson hardly talked to them for the first day because Tommy was so exciting! While they were here we went to Frying Pan park, drove to Annapolis and went to the Amish market and waterfront, went to Great  Falls,  and had time for lots of wrestling! Seth and I (along with Owen) took advantage of having grandparents here and snuck away for a night downtown.

Here are some pictures from their visit!

(when the tractor is occupied  don’t despair, simply hoist yourself onto the hood and make the driver uncomfortable with your presence)

Owen proud as a peacock at the hotel. He scored himself a getaway at a hotel when he continued to refuse taking a bottle!

Lots of visitors, lots of fun!