prepare for an overload of pictures

Walter with Grandpa 

Freeze-frame shot of Walt throwing pebbles.

Walter and Grandma Sandy.

Walter loves books. And being naked.

Hiking. With coffee.

Hello all,

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We certainly enjoyed ours. My family came down from Oregon to visit us. We miss them already.

We drove up to San Jose on Thursday, to meet my parents and to join my mother's family for Thanksgiving. While I enjoyed seeing all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, Walter was a little overwhelmed by all the attention. That's what happens when you're the only baby at a family reunion!

We drove back down Thursday night, and Walt slept all the way home. We put him in bed and he continued sleeping--but not very well. He was up at 4am, and was he hungry! We hadn't realized how little he had eaten the night before, what with to all the excitement. However, my parents were asleep in the living room, and we hated to wake them after their long stretch of driving. So we played with Walter in bed as long as we could; then, at 5 in the morning, we got dressed and snuck out the back door. Matthew and I put Walter in the stroller and walked to Starbucks. It was cozy to come across the lights and warmth of the only business yet open. We sipped coffee and let Walt run around the nearly empty shop.

Later, we took my family out to Montana de Oro (our favorite beach, can't you tell?) for a picnic, just as we had done when Matthew's family was visiting. Walter loved throwing handfuls of tiny pebbles and collecting rocks with Uncle Joe.

They left after breakfast on Saturday morning, and it was sad to see them go. We're looking forward to visiting both our families in the Spring.

This morning, we varied our typical Sunday with a hike at Whale's Cave trail. It was just gorgeous out, with the temperature reaching around 80 degrees. Happy December 1st... While we were there, we saw another family hiking--two parents, and a two teenaged girls. One of them had an iPod earbud tucked in her ear, and she looked bored. I suppose when you grow up around so much California beauty, you can easily lose appreciation for the grand beauty of the ocean and the surrounding hills. Walter, I hope, will love the wild beauty of the Central Coast. I'd love to see him grow up to be passionate about the outdoors.

We took Walt down to the ocean and let him play in the water a while. After our adventure, we returned home, took a bath (he was covered in sand!) and put him down for a nice, long nap.

Love,

Margaret