Mostly Nice

My good intention of sending out a physical holiday card has fallen by the wayside. It's been a crazy couple of weeks so a digital greeting will have to suffice.

We three Linkers and Johnny survived the seemingly endless car ride from Providence to Chicago. Note to self, driving 16 hours with a toddler is not fun! Owen spent the better part of two days vacillating between whining, crying hysterically, and asking for the airport. Smart kid. Johnny, on the other hand, gets a gold star for his traveling prowess. 

It's hard to believe it's almost a new year and we have so much to be thankful for. A loving family, a beautiful little boy and the new kid, set to arrive on the scene in early April. 

Happy Holidays to all and here's to a healthy and happy 2014!

Love,
Steve, Sarah and Owen

Almost Paradise

Owen is an early riser.  Truth be told that he goes to bed early too but, you know, I'm greedy.  I want to enjoy a peaceful evening and morning. For the past two weeks or so Owen has been waking up at 5:45 am on the dot (give or take a few minutes). His internal clock is really quite impressive.

We try to keep him in bed with us until at least 6:30 am, a more reasonable breakfast hour, in my opinion.  Since a quiet cuddle or cat nap is pretty much out of the question we've had to get creative with ways to keep Owen still. We've found out that he likes watching music videos. Not sure how we ever survived without the internet. Thank you, Al Gore!

It's taken some trial and error to find what he likes. Nicki Minaj, too risque; Jack Johnson, too chill; The Jackson 5, too vintage. You know Owen is into the video when he pays attention and claps when it's over and says, "Again!" Some favorites....Lazy Song by Bruno Mars, Roar by Katy Perry, and Paradise by Coldplay. The common theme, animals. Naturally.

Paradise also happens to be "Owen's song." It was playing on the radio the day Owen was born and it reminds us of his birth-day. And who doesn't deserve a theme song?

Busy

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgivukkah trip to California. More to come.

We've been busy! Immediately upon our return from sunny California, Owen ended up in the ER with a nasty case of croup cough and I am in the midst of finals. On a positive note, as of 6pm tonight I will be done - DONE - with graduate school. Yippee!!

Boss Hog

The boss of everything. Enough said.

Selfie

Ever wondered who's the reigning queen of the selfie? I know, me neither. Well watch out Kardashians, you've got competition. Steve had to delete a handful of blurry pictures before he found these on his iPad.

Friends

Owen and his buddy Micah; a couple of little boys at the park. They sure have come a long way since they were just cute lumps on a blanket. What a difference a year (and a few months) makes!

The Throne

Here's Owen's first school picture. Hmm, where do I begin? Easy. Owen is adorable. And that's pretty much where the nicety ends. While the photo may not be as ridiculous as this,

or this,

I will venture to say that it could qualify as an awkward school picture. The background, fake pumpkins and flowers are pretty amazing but what really takes the cake is the look on Owen's face. He looks like he's sitting on the potty for the very first time.