Autumn afternoon

one

Happy birthday, Marie!  She is one year old!  We celebrated with a pumpkin extravaganza at the farm. Lots of Marie's friends came, ate cake, sang happy birthday, rolled around in the pumpkin patch, and generally had a grand celebratory day in honor of Marie's birth day.

Marie has been learning lots of new words lately. She now answers "what does the kitty say?" with "aaow" and "what does the doggie say?" with "woof woof". She picked up the latter while we were farm sitting last week and there was a dog. Some other words she says include touchdown (complete with raised arms), kitty, poop, mama, dada, toes, cow, moo, quack...

She also walks! She started taking steps a week or two ago, and yesterday took ~15 in a row. Watch out, Ginger kitty.

Here are some photos of her pumpkin birthday.  It is beautiful to be able to celebrate our precious daughter, and the whole year she has been with us. She is loved!

Our little pumpkin

What.. did you think we were joking about rolling around in the pumpkin patch?

They are all looking at the camera! Miracle! So many boys...

First cake in an overstimulated environment

It's a baby!

Dear Friends and Family,

After nine months of careful planning, Heather decided to have a baby last night. After a very quick, intense labor, Marie Iona Mehitabel Shaver was born at 9:30 pm, October 20, in a birthing tub at the Center for Birth in Seattle. She was very alert and healthy, weighed nine pounds, and measured 21 1/2 inches long. Her eyes were open and she was smiling as she slid into the water of the tub! We are very grateful that Heather's mom, Randi and our good friend Ruth were able to attend the birth. We are also grateful that no medication or intervention of any kind were required. It was an amazing experience! We're so excited (and a little scared!) to start this new chapter of our lives. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Love,

Heather, Joel, and Marie

first things first

Joel's first day of school!

Joel started his new job today - Adjunct English Instructor at Green River Community College. Our home is full of thankfulness and peace right now, with the timing of his job being so perfect (and so last minute! A rushed syllabus was created, a commute quickly established, and a chair at home with the cat is now empty during the day).

The transition of the seasons, with the blustery comfort of autumn just setting in, is really reflected in our life right now. Joel's new job, the baby coming soon, me settling in to the wonderful idea of a long (by American standards) maternity leave... many changes, but all such comforting and peaceful changes.
Joel found today that he likes, enjoys, appreciates his teaching position. He is fulfilled and satisfied in his role, which is such a surprising thing for the both of us after years of uncertain times in academia. None of you in the academic world will see his job as particularly spectacular, but it is exactly what we have been hoping for and needing. An entrance, an opportunity, a chance for Joel to do what he has felt has been his passion - teaching introductory level courses. And a step towards us being able to transition from relying on my salary to relying on his. That is something, however old fashioned it may seem, that we've both craved for some time.

This is a celebration, friends! Have a dram of scotch in honor of Joel today!(Other photos are from our annual trip hiking at Mt. Rainier. Oh, out of town friends, we must take you there.)

Our most recent acquisitions

Any suggestions?

Whidbey Island

We spent the weekend celebrating with my parents on Whidbey Island - one of the many gorgeous islands in our beautiful Puget Sound. It is my parents' 32nd anniversary, and our 4th. A friend graciously lent us their Beach house, and we were once again reminded of how truly wonderful our home state is. We've gotten quite a few visits to the islands, water, and coast in this year already. One can never have too much.

We fit in a trip to the Knead & Feed for breakfast, a visit to the Coupeville farmer's market for pumpkins and other squash, and much beachwalking, wave watching, and knitting too! I also saw my first Columbo episode - how noteworthy.
Right in front of said Beach house. There are views to the Olympic Peninsula, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Victoria, Canada.

The honored couple - 32 years of marriage!
From the Deception Pass Bridge. We saw a seal swimming around in the current. How adorable! He didn't even mind the rain.