The coast.

Owen had his first trip to the Oregon coast this last weekend. Our friends Tova and Didrick (who we met in our birthing class) invited us to stay at their beach house near Depoe Bay. It was great timing- a nice 68 degrees at the coast while everyone else was roasting back in the valley. A nice little mini-vacation.

As you can see from these pictures Owen does not like sand. He doesn't mind being there and looking at the waves but he doesn't want to have to touch anything.

The shades look cool but we actually got them just to protect his eyes. He wears them well.

Owen with his friend Gunnar. Gunnar is just three weeks older but is able to get around a bit better than Owen. They get along pretty well though.

That is until the cell phone envy set in.

We had a bit of excitement. We were finishing up dinner and saw some firetrucks roll by. Thought nothin' of it. Ten minutes later we heard a thump outside and went to check it out. This is what we saw about 150 yards away. The embers were flying pretty well there for awhile, quite a few were landing on our roof, so we headed in and packed up our stuff just in case. Luckily the fire fighters got it under control and we were able to stay. It was intense being that close. There wasn't much left of the five bedroom house when we went back to check it out in the morning. No one was hurt.

We woke up and the light was bright.

Today is Wednesday.

First we went to the park. Owen likes to watch the other kids and crawl on the grass. He is really aware of what is going on around him and seems to be trying to figure everything out.

On the way home we saw some pretty flowers (and bumblebees).

Owen took a nap and Red was bored.

We waited outside for Mom to get home on her bike.

Mom is back!

Headin' out..

Just another toy..

...with cool knobs to play with.

Owen's Ultrasound Today

Owen had his follow-up ultrasound today. It showed that he still has a minor hydronephrosis (fluid in his left kidney), but that there's less fluid than back in Feb. He was a trooper during the ultrasound, and the technician was amazing at maneuvreing her instruments around while he squirmed across the bed. He will likely need another ultrasound in 6-9 months (we really hoped we'd be done with these), and hopefully it will show the hydronephrosis decreased or gone. The fact that there is less fluid now is positive news. And, thankfully, the ultrasounds are not invasive or painful at all. Wishing everybody a great day.
Love,
Steph

Happy Birthday Uncle Gary!

We hope you have a great birthday. We wish we could be with you to celebrate. But know that we are thinking of you and sending you our warmest birthday wishes.
Love,
Steph, Rob and Owen