The Three Faces

We are really enjoying Kate's personality as it comes through more and more. She started doing these faces really on her own and now it's fun to see her do them (almost) on command. :) We thought you'd like to see them too. One disclaimer...the bruise on her forehead came from an unfortunate trip sideways down some stairs. But don't worry--it's all healed now. (Exhale, Gram.) Oh, and usually the happy face doesn't have sound effects, but I think they work well. Enjoy!

First Steps

It gives me great pleasure to share this video with you! Kate took her first steps today. She did it a few times and I was able to get one on video. Congratulations, Kathryn! She's not running yet but I'm told it won't be long....

Nana and Grandpa

Thanks to Nana and Grandpa for a wonderful visit. It's always sad to see family go because we just don't get to see them all as much as we would like. But we had a great week starting off with Dad and Jon running a 10K in DC last Sunday. Mom, Kate and I enjoyed cheering them on at the start and finish. And boy, did we enjoy all the good food that was put out for the racers while the race was going on! Bagels, hot chocolate, bananas...it was a pregnant lady's paradise. :) Here's a few pictures of the fun morning:

Then we spent some time at the Air and Space Mueseum Annex at Dulles Airport and had fun walking around, seeing the living history. Poor Dad--he only got to spend 1/2 the day there instead of the whole day. But that night he and Mom stayed with Kate while Jon and I headed out to a nearby B and B. What a treat! And what a blessing it was to have another pair of hands around to change poopy diapers, feed Kate, make dinner, let Mama sleep in...it was awesome! Of course we didn't always put Nana and Grandpa to work. They got to enjoy a little bit of Kate time too.

So it's a little quiet around here after company leaves, but what fun we had. Thanks for coming to see us, Nana and Grandpa! We love you!

Camping Trip and News

At long last we've gotten around to posting more pictures from our camping trip last week. On the drive up, I saw one of those touristy flyers when we stopped for lunch and realized that Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous design, Falling Water, was only a few miles from our campsite. Both Mom and Dad were very excited. These pictures don't really do the house justice. It's built overtop of a small waterfall and seemed to be integrated right into the landscape. It had multple terraces, glass walls, and staircases leading right to the stream.

Here you can get a view of some of the terraces. What I wouldn't have given for some wine and cheese to enjoy from atop the house.

After leaving Falling Water, we drove into Ohiopyle State Park and set up our campsite. There were very few people camping there and the falling leaves made for a beautiful location.

We weren't sure how Kate would take to crawling around in the leaves (or how Jen would take to letting her) but we had nothing to fear on either account. Kate had lots of fun exploring while we set up the campsite. Thankfully she got one taste of leaves and rocks and decided not to try and eat any more.

She was fascinated by the trees and kept looking up their trunks.

She was not, however, particularly thrilled with all the clothing she needed. Here she is frustrated by the string attaching her gloves to her jacket. All that work to take her gloves off and still she wasn't free!

But even for the most inquisitive 14 month old, sometimes crawling in the leaves just gets to be too much.

Thankfully there are still Mamas to make everything better.

So while the first afternoon was quite enjoyable, the first night was another matter. I would definitely advise caution before considering a camping trip in 30-degree weather with a 14 month old and a wife who's 9 weeks pregnant and deep in the middle of morning sickness...

Yes that's right, Jen is pregnant! She's due in late May. It took us a little while to get pregnant with Kate, but no delays this time around. We're calling the little one Pipsqueak for now, but somehow I think we'll come up with something better for the birth certificate.

... So anyway, we put Kate in about six layers of clothing and blankets and let her sleep in her pack-and-play next to our sleeping bags. She seemed to sleep great, but Mom and Dad both got up once an hour to check and make sure Kate was warm enough and breathing. Needless to say one member of the family woke up more rested and refreshed than the other two.

The weather report the next morning indicated that while the second night would be a little warmer (low 40's instead of low 30's) we were likely to get significant amounts of rain. Cold is one thing, but cold and wet is something else entirely. We went by the ranger station on the off chance that one of the few cabins (which had been completely booked for some time) had a sudden cancellation. Praise God, that's exactly what happened, and we packed up from our campsite and moved into a cozy little cabin about a quarter mile away.

It wasn't much, just a couple of beds and a small table, but most importantly it had a roof and electric heat. As you can see in the photo below, everyone was very happy to be warm and dry inside the cabin that night when the steady downpour started.

The next morning we got up and drove around the area a bit while the remnants of the rain showers blew by. Driving back into a small pocket of civiliazation, Jon's cell phone revealed a voicemail from his office. It's pretty rare for Jon to get a call from work when on leave (especially since he can't talk about his job over a phone anyway). As many of you know, Jon was meeting an Air Force board to decide if, when, and where we would be sent to school for another year of training. Well, the board results had just been released and they were calling to give us the news ...

It turns our we'll be moving to Monterey, CA next summer so Jon can attend the Naval Postgraduate School! He'll be getting a master's degree in security studies (essentially a degree in international relations). We thought that we might be heading to Alabama for school, but had never dared hope we'd get sent to Monterey.

Back to vacation...Ohiopyle State Park is built around a section of the Youghiogheny River famous for its rapids. So after the rain blew over, we set about on several hikes. Throughout our hikes around the park we saw lots of kayakers braving the water and the weather.

The river runs right through the middle of the tiny town of Ohiopyle, where this waterfall poses a little too big a challenge even for the most experience whitewater enthusiasts.

The fall colors were just gorgeous.

Here's Jon and Kate on the last morning before returning to VA. Kate loved the view from her backpack carrier (Jon's Father's Day gift) and jabbered in her own little language most of the time.

All in all it was a great four days. The first night was a little rough, but God was faithful to provide us with some upgraded accommodations and some great news about our pending move. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and info.