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.

All You Need is Love

This weekend marked a monumental event in the life of a little boy with two moms: the first Father's Day. While J and I never sat down and discussed what we thought Father's Day might look like in our home, it became apparent that we don't need to worry. It's true that Owen doesn't have a dad in the traditional sense of the word, but he has an abundance of men  in his life who love him more than life itself. While most children celebrate one dad on Father's Day (or maybe a dad and a step-dad), Owen will be fortunate enough to live his life surrounded by three grandpas, a godfather, and four uncles!  He will have a choice when it comes time to make crafts for dad in school! In fact, he may need to stay late that day to have enough time to make something for all of his men! ;)  When it comes time for father/son events, Owen will have his pick of the litter! I'm sure, depending on the event, his choice might change.

Let's say there's a father/son gaming event- clearly Uncle Michael (AKA Uncle Mario) will be his man!

If his school one day decides that they are sponsoring a father/son photoshoot trip, Grandpa Bill will be Owen's guy!

 Uncle Brett will be there should ANY event arise involving cars, guitars/music, movies, Bon Jovi or blondes.

 Jonny G will gladly jump in for sailing events, bike rides, porsches, and anything involving alcohol (hey, you never know what might come up in college).

 Grandpa Ron is a stellar kite maker/flier, croquet player, and frisbee thrower. He would also readily stand-in for Captain Kirk or Dr. Spock for a school play.

Uncle Ronnie is Owen's go-to guy for anything zombie or vampire-related!!

Uncle Micho will be there to teach Owen how to be an all-star vigilante, should the need arise.

 And Papa will be Owen's fellow pink-shirt wearing, tool wielding, Osh-visiting, trouble-making pal!

So, yes, it's true; our son has two moms. But don't think, even for a minute, that this means he doesn't have an overabundance of love pouring in  from all of the "dads" in his life. I'm sure, as he grows, we'll run into unforeseen questions and new territory that we couldn't possibly have anticipated. We'll flounder at times, as all parents do. I'm confident, though, that we will have the resources, and the on-call men, to help us navigate everything from potty-training to puberty, and beyond. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and we are lucky enough to live in a village of mighty-fine people!!

Don't Blink

Last night, as J and I sat on the couch after Baby O had gone to bed, I realized that our little baby boy is quickly becoming "a real boy". I mean, the kid has teeth! He can scoot himself pretty much anywhere he wants to go, sit up on his own, and adamantly refuse food at will. It's unfathomable to me that, in the course of 6.5 months, my little 8 lb ball of mush who couldn't even hold his head up, can now sit on his own while playing with toys in his bubble bath. A montage of images flashed before my eyes set to any one of a list of country songs about babies growing up too fast. In a moment of panic that I wasn't fully appreciating every moment of Baby O's baby years, I decided to start a blog. As most people have a difficult time following my logic, (except for a special few, namely BF, KDB, and my dad) let me break it down for you.

Last year at this time, I was just a little bit pregnant (anyone who has been pregnant knows full well that there are degrees of pregnancy). Today, I have a son. Since I've been surprisingly lackadaisical in updating Baby O’s baby book, I need to start chronicling this adventure of our sprouting Bean. I need to be able to look back and remember the joys, challenges, and complete misadventures we faced as first-time parents.

Oh, and also, my sister-in-law (J’s sister) is moving to China in a matter of weeks. We feel it is our moral obligation to keep Aunt Beast posted (via a China-approved blogsite) on the happenings of Baby O while she’s living her dream of experiencing life abroad. Let it be publically known that we support her decision to move to Shenzhen, but have serious misgivings about her current lack of a return flight.

That being said, let the blog begin. Aunt Beast, this is for you (ok, and for me too).