happy bear

uncle thom

Uncle Thom blew into town to get a look at Bear, as we have been calling him recently. What Thom lacked in lactation knowledge, he made up for in his prowess for putting the little guy into a happy calm with his "okie musk," and of course, his un-paralleled skills cooking bacon.

5.5 weeks (naked)

inefficient raking

On a sunny afternoon -- Alden and dad decided to finally do some yard work. The basic trajectory ended up being: rake for 2 min -> Alden fusses -> ride around the lawn in the stoller for 2 min -> alden sleeps -> (repeat cycle). We ended up making only a small pile one hour later, but we hung out in the yard, darn it.

mom and dude

orcas island

We took up the generous offer from our friends Heather and Ron to use their house on Orcas Island on Halloween weekend. Alden seemed to enjoy the ferry ride over -- after an initial throw-up, he settled into the hum of the giant boat, and the ocean air. He really liked the view - or at least the vestibule of bright windows (pictured here with his first novel, The Wild Things, by Dave Eggers). Mom took near-excessive advantage of the hot tub, while dad watched likely-excessive amounts of sports, having access to ESPN. All three were humbled by the beauty of the northwest, the generosity of the Rosenbergs, and the sleepy/happy joy of raising Alden.

halloween

Little man insisted that he have a dairy-related costume this Halloween, what with breastfeeding being his only serious hobby. The suit fit (with the help of a layer of pajamas underneath), but he was swimming in the hat. While in town, the general concensus of countless passer-bys was that there was some objective cuteness going on here.