Oregon Coast

We had our 2nd annual Lowe/Hughes reunion on the Oregon coast in November. Last year I was 5 months pregnant and the house was full of three rambunctious dogs. This year we had an energetic 10 month old added to the mix. A lot can change in a year!

The weather wasn't great. We spent a lot of time inside working on puzzles, playing games, eating and drinking. We only went into town once where we did some shopping and watched a huge pack of Sea Lions camped out under the docks, which Clover loved. It was nice to have an excuse to stay inside, spend relaxing time together, and let Clover get to know her Uncle Brian, Aunt Valerie, and fur cousins Edwardo and Otis.

The day before we left Clover came down with a 102.6 fever. She didn't have any other symptoms of being sick aside from being a little fussy and clingy, and after speaking with the pediatric nurse on the phone we were pretty sure she had Roseola. Roseola is a viral illness most commonly affecting kids between 6 months and 2 years old. It is usually marked by a sudden on set of high fever lasting several days, followed by a rash just as the fever breaks. We were given the OK to travel so we packed up. Clover did great! She acted like her happy joyful self and entertained us all. She even did great in on the 10 hour drive to and from the beach house. We had her on a schedule for Tylenol and Motrin to keep her fever down and by the last morning of our trip it was back to normal and her rash showed up, which didn't seem to bother her in the least.

We are already looking forward to next year!

Clover being a good girl on the road!

Clover and Uncle Brian reading stories together

Silly time with Grandpa

Posing like the little ham that she is

I love this picture of Brian and Clover. The second I saw it I remembered the next picture of him kissing me from the bathtub when we were kids.

Michael and Charlie turning in early on the first night

Clover and Auntie Valerie

Grandma and Grandpa

An afternoon out shopping during a sun break.

Clover loved watching the Sea Lions!

Happy girl enjoying Thai food on our last night

One big happy family...fur babies and all!

Clover's First Christmas

Walking, Talking, and Stair Climbing

Little Miss Giggles

Clover's first steps!

10 months and 1 week old.

Clover's 10 month update.

I can't believe how fast the time goes by. I feel like I'm always saying this now, but it's true! Only two more months and Clover will be One! I realized the other day that I need to actually start thinking about her party because it will be here before we know it. Clover is very close to walking and loves pushing her wagon around the house and the neighborhood. She can push it all the way around the block! She babbles constantly now, experimenting with new sounds everyday. Her favorite word is "Dada" and she cheers this while jumping up and down and flapping her arms or clapping whenever "Dada" enters the room. It must be nice to have a fan club. She can say "Mama", but doesn't very often. When I try to get her to say it she responds with "Dada"! HA, what are ya do? Clover loves to wave to everyone and everything and say "hi" or "bub, bye". Her newest trick is clapping and she'll do this in celebration of just about anything you can think of. This morning she watched me open the refrigerator door and promptly started bouncing on her knees and clapping before crawling over to look inside......the refrigerator and the dishwasher a both a big hit in this house! Clover is a great little sleeper (knock on wood)! She sleeps 11 hours stretches now and even goes back to sleep for another hour in the morning after I feed her. She also happily takes two 2 - 2 1/2 hour naps during the day. This is great news for Mommy, because anyone who knows me well, knows that I LOVE sleep and can't get enough of it. I'm thankful she inherited this hobby of mine :) Oh, and I almost forgot....Clover finally got her first tooth!! It's her bottom right one. I expect to see more soon, but you never know....it took nearly 10 months grow his one.


Happily enjoying the Cheerios that Great Grandma and Gran'dad sent in her Halloween card!

Bundled up and pushing her wagon around the block on a cold November day.

Helping Mommy unload the dishwasher.

Chowin' down on some bread at the Olive Garden for Daddy's Birthday!

Practicing her stair climbing. She likes to go up and down the first 2 stairs, but doesn't really seem interested in going any further.....what a cautious little girl!

Walking practice with Grandpa

Happy Halloween!

Clover's first Halloween was so much fun! She was very cooperative with the ladybug costume, in fact she spent quite a bit of time playing in it during the days leading up to Halloween and loved seeing herself in the mirror all dressed up. We took Clover to two of the neighbors houses to show off her costume and collect some candy for Mommy and Daddy to enjoy :)

Clover proudly models her Ladybug costume in the mirror.

Trick or Treating at Sydney's house, but she was taking a late nap. Clover picked out a Butterfinger and enjoyed chewing on the outside while Mommy and joyed eating the inside :)

A Ladybug and a Bumble Bee! Sydney came by after her nap for a visit.

Ready for her next house with Daddy!

On the front porch of our neighbor's Curtis and Brynja. They had a special goody bag for Clover and she was ready to dive in!

This was the day before Halloween at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Clover is playing with my old Fisher Price wind-up record player.

Mommy and Daddy dressed up too! We went to a Halloween party at our neighbors house and dressed up as Juno and Bleeker from the movie Juno. I wanted this to be our costumes last year when I was actually pregnant, but nobody had a party and I was too tired to go anywhere anyway.

For those of you who aren't familiar.....here are the characters from the movie.