The Walker Family: July 2009

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Finn and Jack’s first conversation

A brief moment with Finn and Jack…just playing some hoops and talking shop.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

First Swimming Lesson

This Saturday we finally made it to Finn’s first swimming lesson at our local Greenlake pool. As with just about everything else we can muster, we make it a group event with the Taylors and their daughter Lexi.

is it me, or does our kid look like a giant next to Lex?

The pictures speak for themselves. Finn had a good time but was a little skeptical at first (then really gets the hang of it towards the end). However, you’ll see in every picture & video that Brian’s smile is a mile wide – Daddy had a GOOD TIME.

right after the showers, waiting to get in…

This video was taken right before they got out of the pool. Check out the legs – and by the end, he’s really got the hang of it!!

Misc Fun

Our little dude is starting to look like… well… a little dude. He’s sitting up and playing great, occasionally falling to his tummy or back then rolling around to get where he needs to go. Sometimes he looks like he’s going to try to crawl, but then he just gets tired and lays down with his head on his hands. Through it all, he drools enough to run a car wash.

Still no actual crawling, real words or teeth, but he loves to “talk” and has the most beautiful gummy smile ever. Here are a few little snippets…

Brian had an impromptu photo shoot in our backyard last week and got some really really cute shots…

In addition to his gummy little smile, he has also discovered his tongue, which makes a frequent appearance and usually results in mom and dad laughing hysterically.

First Boat Ride

Cindy’s high school friends Greg Shelby & Dan Williams and family (Greg & wife Seana have Harper and Grace and Dan and Bernadette have two boys Harrison & Campbell) were up visiting Greg’s parents who live in Anacortes a couple of weeks ago.

Marv and Carol extended an invitation for us to join them for the day on the Sunday of 4th of July weekend, and took us all for a catamaran boat ride around Deception Pass.

I am not a huge fan of deep natural water or boats, but I have to say that seeing the experience through the eyes of my son for the first time took away pretty much all of my anxiety. I am trying very hard not to let my own fears and reservations cloud my son’s development in any way, but it was easy to forget about being uncomfortable when he was so obviously enjoying himself.

peek-aboo!

lovely deception pass

Afterward,everyone went to Rosario Beach for a delicious picnic. Finn took the opportunity to blow out his diaper, and mommy forgot to bring an extra set of clothes from the Shelby’s house, so little Finn got to spend the picnic portion of the day wrapped in a blanket and wearing only a diaper. Classy.

All in all it was a wonderful day with friends (who are basically family) enjoying all the beauty the Northwest has to offer.

Daily Routine

We have set up a few spots around the house that serve as Finn’s little play areas. With that has come some pretty standard play items and patterns. I thought it would be fun to share some, sort of as a “day in the life” sort of way. Of course I’m biased, but I sure think he’s cute.

The song on this toy is obnoxious and addicting, but he’s figured out how to make it “sing” and gets so excited when he gets it to work, I can’t bring myself to turn it off very often.

yes, the red triangle DOES taste different from the blue circle. duh.

Puppy Love

As most of you know, our first child was really Oliver, our 2-and-a-half year old West Highland White Terrier (Westie). While he has adjusted as well as can be expected with the arrival of Finn, (moreso since Finn started eating food he “drops” that Ollie can help clean up) he definitely works to insert himself into photos and Finn-centric situations whenever possible. Most of these were shot after the M’s game on Father’s Day, but you can be sure that most pictures since Finn’s birth have been a veritable “Where’s Waldo” of Ollie putting himself somewhere in the photo frame.

Lexi’s parents don’t have pets, so they were pleased to see that she doesn’t seemed phased by getting a Westie Wet Willie.

is that a hint of sweet potato i am getting back here? delicious.

And in case you wanted live action:

Luckily, Ollie is pretty much Finn’s #1 favorite thing, so he doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight.

And earlier this week, in an impromptu photo shoot in the yard…

reclaiming his rightful place, front-and-center.

BW’s B-Day and First Father’s Day

Brian had a big couple of weeks – his 37th birthday & his first Father’s Day. He was out of town on his fishing trip for his “actual” birthday, so we had a mini-family celebration the day before. We first took Ollie to Bellevue Park, which has a couple of hours of unofficial off leash time in the early evenings. Finn loved watching the dogs play and sitting in the sun.

Then we were off to the Cheesecake Factory, which we picked for a couple of reasons – 1) we had a gift certificate and 2) we figured it would be loud enough for Finn to verbally express himself without disturbing the entire world.

i hear the menu here is absolutely delicious.

The weekend after Memorial Day, Brian’s mom cooked up a birthday feast, and Ollie enjoyed a little bit of birthday limelite.

Brian was actually holding Ollie because the backyard isn’t fenced in, and he had seen a squirrel and really wanted to go chase him.

A week or so later we pulled out all the stops to create a few more “first” memories for Brian’s First Father’s Day. Brian has recently really gotten into running, training for a half-marathon. Sunday was one of his shorter training runs, so he decided to take Finn along.

Afterwards, we met up with the Taylors to take the men out to an afternoon Mariners game – Finn’s first! The event was fun for everyone, but I know it was especially great for the guys, who took their parental roles very seriously by bearing the Baby Bjorn carriers for the day.