Hello, I love you

This was a monumental weekend for Bub. For the first time, our little guy reached out to the world and said hello. More specifically, he waved to Aunt Katie.

And why wouldn't he??  Aunt Katie and Uncle Daniel (or as we lovingly call him, Uncle Smores) recently moved to California from New Jersey, and have been staying with us while they get settled. From the first time they met, Aunt Katie and Owen have had a special bond. The two light up when they see each other. Whenever Aunt Katie walks into the room, Owen begins frantically flailing his arms and legs with anticipatory giggles. I'm pretty sure they have a secret pact involving bedtime. Aunt Katie suddenly turns into the tickle monster most nights right around wind-down time, effectively pushing off bedtime by a good 20-30 minutes.

And when Mommy and Aunt Katie get together around dinner time, WATCH OUT. Mama was outside watering the flowers when this mess began. Who knew yogurt and applesauce could be so much fun?

In all seriousness, though, the wave was a big deal for us. We are now even further away from the little ball of mush we brought home from the hospital, and one step closer to having a boy on our hands. While we relish in his achievements and growth, it's hard to watch it all happen so fast! Owen is beginning to mimic! He is communicating! Don't get me wrong, he has been making his desires known for some time now with a whole range of vocalizations that we refer to as his velociraptor noises, but this is the first time he SAID something. He was saying "Hi guys! I'm here. I'm picking up what you're putting down. Even though you haven't been actively teaching me to wave, I've noticed that you do it, and so I'm going to do it too." It's exciting!! It's a whole new world for us. One of Owen's favorite things lately is watching us throw our arms in the air as we say "Arms up! Arms up!". We all do it now, just to get him to give us one of his cheesy grins. One day soon, he's going to do it right back to us.

A new day has dawned in the Hopping-Winn household.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

As we write this, Aunt Beast is officially on a plane, more than halfway to China. She'll be meeting Michael and his parents in Hong Kong, where they will take a taxi to the border, and enter their new (temporary) home of Shenzhen. We have to keep reminding ourselves that she will return to the States, and that this relocation is merely part of her journey. As hard as the move is for us, we delight in the fact that she is being true to herself, and following her heart and her dream of living abroad. It's all we can hope for any of our loved ones. If this had been 10 years ago, this move across the world would have been even more difficult to swallow. With the advent of Skype, G-chat, and Vonage, we'll at least be able to stay in touch more easily. Though thousands of miles away,  she'll be able to see some of Owen's first steps, hear his first words, and relish in her nephew's developmental milestones. We will be able to virtually tour her new apartment, meet new friends, and remain connected. That being said, this is still SO hard for us!

Even though Nicole's feelings about camping generally include "I love NOT camping", we convinced her to meet us out by the Russian River for the day since it was her last weekend in the Bay Area. 

 Owen was able to spend a little more quality time with his Aunt before she departed.

And Orion was able to live it up on the beach before spending a long flight in a kennel sedated with doggie Xanax (she will do absolutely fine, we are sure of it!).

 Really, though, this has been the most difficult for Jen. Nicole is her best friend, and the two have grown even closer as adults. Even though Jen understands that this move is a wonderful and exciting piece of Nicole's process, she mourns the loss of Nicole's physical presence in our lives.

But she is here. She's in the cheap trivet Jen bought while visiting Costa Rica that Nicole regularly voices her disdain for. She's in Jen's red fleece that Nicole has no problem reminding Jen she wears in most EVERY outdoor photo. She's in the numerous outfits she's purchased for Bub that he has yet to wear. She's in the crappy terribly tasting Kashi cereal we know have in our cabinet, and the Costco sized peanut butter we inherited when she moved out of her San Francisco apartment. While she won't be coming over for dinner in the near future, our relationship with Nicole, and Owen's with Aunt Beast, will take on a new dimension. It will grow and change, just as she will while she's living abroad. It's all part of the process, and through the tears we can see that. We wish her well, and can't wait to get that first email upon her arrival in her new home.