Chris & Naomi Hathaway Home

Oof, it's been exactly a month since our last update. Well, we've been in Washington for a week now, and really enjoy the weather. People around here think it's too hot, but they have no idea. Here's our trip with Kate to the beach about 10 minutes away:

But the best reason for coming was seeing Naomi's sister, Emily, sealed to her husband Steven and their adorable 5-month old, Ethan. Here's us at the temple:

and afterwards at Azteca with the rest of the family and a few friends:

It was pretty cool because we actually had all 6 Allan kids there for the first time since Naomi and I were married 4 years ago. Thanks so much to all who came (especially Joseph :) ). We've had a wonderful time here and are sad to leave tomorrow.

We went on a little trip to Washington this last weekend, mostly to see our new nephew, Ethan, but also just because it's been so long since we've been with Naomi's family (besides Kate). We've been talking with them almost weekly on the web-cam, so Lincoln recognized them right away, and ran up and gave Grandma a big hug when we got to the airport, I think making her weekend. I'm not sure I've ever seen Lincoln so happy for such a long period of time. He was just so excited to have so much attention; he loved to act very silly, and keep tags on everyone. As soon as someone left the room, he would start yelling for them. Oh, and for the record, here's a translation of all the names Lincoln has for everyone (I'll try and spell like he pronounces them):

• Grandpa Allan - 'papa'
• Grandma Allan - 'ahm'
• Kate - 'aiy'
• Scott - 'gock'
• Emily - 'ahmyee'
• Steven - 'deeaah'
• Sarah (Scott's girlfriend) - 'weah'

Oh, and he can say his own name, too, but it sounds like 'winkie' instead of Lincoln. It's very cute. Anyway, here are some good photos from the trip, with a link to them all:

Full Gallery
Kate's Photos

Naomi already mentioned one of the exciting things that happened today. We're very excited for Emily, Steven, and new baby Ethan. Here's a picture, but I'm sure you'll soon see plenty more at Emily's blog.

The other piece of pretty big news is that I got a job. A real job, like a career type job. I'll be starting as soon as next week at Tektronix, as a Web Developer for the Marketing Department. Web Developer is a pretty broad title; basically, I'll be helping with any tech-related needs of the Marketing Department, including building/administrating websites, working with mass emailings, and who knows what else. I actually received two offers, and decided to turn down a really good opportunity working for Dairy.com. It was seriously one of the toughest decisions I made. But here's why I'm excited for my new job:

• I'll be in the Marketing Department instead of the IT Department, so I'll probably actually get respect as a developer
• It's a contract-to-hire type of position, so it will be very flexible upfront while I'm going to school, but with the future likelihood of becoming a permanent employee.
• The nature of the position will expose me to a slew of other types of business experience, which I am very interested to absorb.
• It seems that the department (and their new media initiatives in general) has a real future, and I will be able to have a positive influence in that direction.
• The interview was my favorite one (I really like the people I'll be working with).

Okay, perhaps some of that was just to reassure myself I made the right decision, but we're very excited nevertheless. It's been a good day.

This Halloween is really the first holiday Lincoln actively participated in.  After failing with a lion and dog costume, we finally found something we could get him to wear, only because it was similar to real clothes and because we bribed him with a Twix bar (not a usual tactic, but desperate times...).  We went and ate chili at Grandma's, then 6 of us went down the street behind Lincoln so he could hit up a few houses for candy.  He really didn't understand much of it, but when people started letting him grab treats out of bowls, he got the hang of it pretty well.

In other news, Naomi's sister Kate is visiting us for the entire month of November.  It's been great having her around, and Lincoln seems to enjoy having a roommate.

Smugmug now has an embeddable slideshow for pictures, so I'm trying it out below. Let me know if you have problems or what you think.

Lincoln, Naomi, and Kate.  His costume is Peter Pan, but you can also interpret it as Robin Hood or Link from Zelda.

Lincoln's cousin, Sydney, dressed up as a cow.  Her other grandpa is a dairy farmer, so they even put the right brand on her.

I really liked this shot.

FULL GALLERY | SLIDESHOW

Last Saturday, we decided to take a small family trip into Plano to see the annual Plano Balloon Festival.  Lincoln is so obsessed with balls (or anything round like a ball) and airplanes, we thought he'd love to see some Hot Air balloons up close.  While we only stayed for about an hour and a half and had to walk what seemed like miles just to get there and back from our parking spot, I would say it was quite enjoyable for all. Click on a picture below to see the entire gallery.

Well, we think he liked it, although his facial expressions may indicate otherwise.

My sister, Summer, just had a baby last night. Everything went very well, and now they have a beautiful little girl named Sydney. She weighed a tiny 6 lbs, 3 oz, 7 lbs, 3 oz, and has a head full of bright red hair. Lincoln is practicing being gentle, but he gets a bit too excited sometimes. I have also set up a website for them, at http://www.crookhome.com, where they will hopefully put up lots of news and pictures. Here she is now...

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We recently returned from a relaxing, 2-week vacation in Washington, visiting Naomi's family and enjoying the nice, cool weather. I've been meaning to get a more prepared account of the event, but it's been a week with nothing, so here at least are some pictures. Expect video and more details to follow. This gem was taken by Kate, Naomi's younger sister:

Full Gallery  Slideshow

Lincoln hasn't stopped growing and changing, but most of it was caught on video this last month. Hopefully, I'll get some of that up here pretty soon. Anyway, there are some good shots, including this one we took today. Click on the picture or title to see the rest.

From Jan & Feb 2007