The first Thanksgiving

We have had quite a holiday week around here! Things are gearing up in the world of retail where Christian and I both spend a good amount of time, catering to the masses, doling out advice for the computer illiterate, and kitchen illiterate, alike. We got a welcome break for the growing chaos last weekend, however, when we met up with our dear friends Lyra and Jen at Country Village in Bothell, WA for the annual Holiday open house. Country Village is a delightful little cluster of shops and cafes right in the middle of a very busy area. Since this is the second year we've made this a priority it is now deemed tradition. We meet for breakfast at the Country Cafe then move on to the scavenger hunt, with which we rarely follow through. Then it's time to shop, maybe get some Ultimate Hot Chocolate and make a stop at the kettle corn stand to watch and taste the warm salty sweet goodness! It was a great day and had I not been going in to work that evening we'd have had an early Thanksgiving Dinner at Jen's. The few days following were fairly uneventful, but that was soon to change for the worse...

On Tuesday evening this week, Christian wasn't feeling too well and had been fighting a cough for weeks. He started to have some back pain and was running a fever. No good could come from any of this. Christian's dad took him to the ER while I stayed home with West and I soon got a call from Christian telling me he had bacterial pneumonia! So...he was given IV antibiotics and a prescription and sent on his way with instructions to rest, load up on fluids, avoid breathing directly on anyone and wear a mask around us at home for the next couple of days. Needless to say, Thanksgiving was postponed. We decided to move the family dinner to Saturday and hopefully by then we'd all be able to have dinner together and relax, and all of us being together was especially important since Christian's sister, Kaijsa was in town for a short visit. Next? We get a call about my father-in-law having to go in to the doctor for a fever, chills, etc. He ended up at the ER with other symptoms but was told with rest and lots of fluids, he'd be fine in a day or two. What was up with this holiday!???

In the End, Westley's first Thanksgiving was held on a Saturday minus his Grandpa, among others we missed, the turkey took longer than expected to cook, and everyone was exhausted, but in the end the food was delicious, the company delightful and the day itself, just one more thing to be thankful for.


Hopefully, all of you had a lovely Thanksgiving filled with variety, fun
and much to be thankful for.








Oh, another first...West finally got the real crawling thing down!
He's a little wonky yet, but he's so adorable while he's learning, so determined too,
and watching him is always good for a lot of laughs!

Bad Auntie Yoki!

My nephew, Alex, turns 3 years old today.
Guess who forgot to get his
card in the mail?
Bad Auntie Yoki!
It's a nickname I've
had since my niece, now almost 10,
could speak. She couldn't get
Auntie Courtney out very easily,
and I am so glad.
I love being Auntie Yoki!

9 months old!

On October 30th, Westley had his 9 month check up. Dr. Malliris, our wonderful pediatrician, said he's doing great and is right on track. He's recently discovered the joys of Ritz crackers, drinking from a cup with our help, and having imaginary friends like Ed and Bart. As of appointment day, he's 25.5 lbs, 31.5" long, is still in the 95th percentile and has his own curve going on all of his charts. As we were dressing him after his weigh-in, he was a bit fussy and while he was crying we saw that he has a total of 4 teeth coming in on the top row. He got his first two on the bottom after 7 months, and his first two uppers shown at about 8 months.
We had no idea they would all come in so quickly
and within mere weeks of each other!

As sort of a 9 month birthday/early Christmas/saving

Mom and Dad's sanity type of gift,
we got Westley the Little Playzone with
lights and sounds. He really
enjoys playing the lighted music
buttons with his feet while clicking
together shapes from his
shape-sorter, another favorite toy.
We call him "Monkey Toes"
because he's always
picking things up or pinching
things with his toes. Lately, he's
started moving toys to
just the right spot so he's
able to lift them
with his feet and toes
just because he can.
It's pretty entertaining!

West's First Halloween

We recently joined a couple of Seattle
meet-up groups for families with
young children and have
really enjoyed socializing
with other families in our area.
It's been so fun introducing
West to some new friends and seeing
him interact with kids his age.
To celebrate his first
Halloween we went to
a couple of costume parties
in the area and had
a blast meeting
lots of great people.
Watching the kids grow
and play together is
a wonderful time we're
really look forward to.
And everyone was safe from harm since
Superman was on the scene!

Our year at a glance

What a year we've had! It started out with My mom coming into Seattle and staying with us for a while, as we all awaited the birth of our son, Westley (West). She was here for a few weeks and got to spend a few days with all three of us together after West was born on January 25th. So far, though, she's the only family member on my side to have met him. We're hoping to get the rest of the family up for a visit at some point so they all get to know him and we can have some quality family time. In the meantime, we have had lots of time with friends and Christian's side of the family and we are all enjoying watching Westley grow and develop. It seems every day he's more active, more vocal and incredibly entertaining! Favorite toys include the "first blocks" shapes and bucket, Teal Neal the giraffe, and the light/sound board on the wall of his baby jail.

Aside from being new parents, which is still so strange and amazing, we had a busy spring with me going back to work for Williams-Sonoma part time and Christian at the Apple Store full time, West and I are on our own until 6 or 7 most evenings. We usually have a good time. but it's always a great relief when Christian gets home. He's an amazing father and I know when I'm at work he and West have a great time together. We are so lucky though, since West is a very mellow, though sometimes very loud, baby. He's really only grumpy when it's past feeding time, he's over-tired or he has a "treasure" for us....

The summer was also filled with weddings, birthdays,
anniversaries and visits with family and friends. Aunt Kaijsa came to visit from Wyoming, we went up to Arlington to spend time with Great Uncle Chris, and we've had lots of people over to play at our house. Christian also went out of town for 6 days to take part in some training for work, which was a little scary, and sometimes tough, but we survived the week and ended up having a pretty good time.

In August we relocated to West Seattle from Ballard. We are in a much bigger place now. It's another apartment, and we have had a few issues with our neighbors that continue to frustrate us, but overall we're happy. West has his own room and there are lots of big windows to let the sunshine in. I've really been utilizing the extra space in the kitchen area and doing a ton of baking and creating new recipes.

The coming months will be busy, as winter months tend to be, and we are looking forward to all the chaos and insanity the holidays always bring. We'll be hosting Thanksgiving this year and have a wonderful menu planned as well as some great ways to enjoy the day. For West's first Christmas we'll be sharing our time between our home and Grandpa Bill and Grandma Karen's house, and making the rounds to deliver lots of treats to friends and relatives. I'll soon be busying myself with candy making, cookie baking, card crafting and gift gathering.

And as soon as you can say "Winter Wonderland" the Holiday Season will be over, and the preparations for West's First Birthday Party will begin! Stay tuned...

Westley's Here!

On January 25th, 2007,
at 2:40am
Westley Christian Calkins
finally arrived!

(All 10 pounds, 12 ounces
and 22.5 inches of him!)

Hello All!

We have officially entered the blogosphere.
Check in every now and then as we'll be posting photographs, updates about the family, recent activities, friendly happenings and the like.
Enjoy!