Family Photo Shoot

Kate's First Christmas

Somehow, I'm not sure what ninja-like stealth force is responsible, but somehow, having a baby makes time go faster. I'm serious. I have never been more aware of time in my entire life. It was October like two seconds ago.

Which means when Thanksgiving rolled around I was all, "What?" Which also means that I was caught completely off-guard when December hit just two short weeks ago. Christmas was coming. Very, very soon. It's not that we have lots of shopping to take care of--I shipped our last packages out yesterday--or that we have lots of parties and events to attend. It's just that this is Kate's first Christmas and I did not want to disappoint.

Last Monday, we introduced her to what is fast becoming a Hoybook family tradition--cutting down our Christmas tree at a little tree farm. We headed south toward West Linn on a sunny and chilly morning and got Kate's first Christmas tree. Tuesday night, with her guidance from the comfort of her bouncy chair, it was decorated.

Merry Christmas!

Finding her voice

Oregon the Beautiful

Check out this amazing time-lapse video shot in some of the most beautiful places in Oregon.

Life as we know it

Our new weekly schedule:

Sunday: B works. I stay home with Kate.

Monday: B works. I work from home and take care of Kate.

Tuesday: I work from 9am to 5pm. B stays home with Kate.

Wednesday: B works from 7am to 1pm, comes home. I hand Kate off to him and head to work, 2 to 9pm.

Thursday: B works from 7am to 1pm, comes home. I hand Kate off to him and head to work, 2 to 9pm.

Friday: I work from 8am to 1pm, come home. B hands Kate off to me and heads to work, 2 to 8:30pm.

Saturday: B works. I stay home with Kate.

Whew.

Sweet Girl

My girl and her daddy

An Achievement

My girl and me

Making the most of it

This is my last week of maternity leave. *sigh* I'll be honest, it will be difficult to go back to work. Kate truly is my daily dose of all things sweet and adorable and I will miss her tremendously. So, this week, we have been trying to make the most of our time together.

Hiking with our little Ewok at the Tualatin Wildlife Refuge.

Seven States

We have been recently been competing with Ryan and Dacia to see who has visited the most states. Ryan is in the lead and one ahead of me with 37 states as I sit pretty with 36. The rules are that you have to have set foot in that state--alas, airports don't count.

Well, Kate is only 11 weeks old and she already has seven states. She picked up Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming on our road trip and she just added Texas and Nebraska last week. What an experienced little traveler!

Here is our fabulous trip home, by the numbers:

New states Kate visited: 2

Flights taken: 4

Flights Kate slept through: 2 Yay!

Miles traveled by air: 4,070

Miles traveled by car: 816

Great-grandmothers visited: 2

Grannys visited: 1

Grandpas visited: 2

Omas and Opas visited: 1 each

Texas high school football games attended: 1

Pounds of delicious Texas food consumed: too many to count.

Baptisms performed: 1

Godparents met: 2

Combine rides taken: 1

Combine rides Kate slept through: 1

Nebraska friends visited: 12

Amount of homesickness acquired: tons.

B's Granny and Kate get acquainted.

Kate and I hang out at the Magnolia, TX pumpkin patch.

The whole family--Mark, B, me, Kate, Flora and Linda.

I honestly think this is our first official family portrait.

Randy and Tippy keep a watchful eye on Baby Kate as she goes for a ride in the swing.

Kate's baptism in Wayne.

Friends and Godparents--Liz, Abbie and Tom.

Four generations.

Kate and Oma hanging out at home.

A farm kitty gives Kate the once-over.

Another farm kitty comes in for some snuggles and possibly a little drool.

Baby's first combine ride was a smashing success. Obviously, Kate thinks so. B with my Uncle Don.

Enjoying the Wayne Herald.

Harper and Kate--six weeks apart, already best friends.

Omigosh, my friends had kids! Ben, Christian, Kate, Hudson, Skyler, Harper and Cadence.

Tummy Time Talk

Where do you think she learned dolphin-speak?

Beavers and Wildcats, oh my!

While we were in Yellowstone, we saw bison, elk, geese, moose, swans, etc. But, apparently, we needed some more wildlife action so we headed south to Corvallis over the weekend to see the very rare Oregon State Beaver and ever elusive Arizona Wildcat.

Kate is obviously not impressed with the Pride of all Oregon, the Oregon State Marching Band.

We were cheering for Arizona so the game didn't go our way, but a good time was had by all. Kate loves football games!

Jellystone!

After "surviving the Beartooth Highway", we headed into Yellowstone and spent Sunday and Monday checking out the sights in the park. I've been to Yellowstone twice--once when I was 9 years old and then again when I was in high school--so it was interesting for me to experience the park as an adult because everything seemed so different that it was like it was new again.

We didn't have enough time to stop everywhere, but we made it to Mammoth Hot Springs, the Norris Geyser Basin, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and of-course, Old Faithful. On Monday afternoon, we headed south along Jackson Lake and the Teton Range toward Jackson and our hotel for the night. Stunning fall color!

Kate won't remember it, but she had a great time.