Big Introductions

This week, Arlo embarked on a midwestern road trip with stops in Ohio and Michigan. First, Arlo met his Grandma Roth in Salem, OH...
He also met his Great Aunt Tonia.

The week was also highlighted by the Vogelhuber Family Reunion, where Arlo was introduced to dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins in the extended family. The Vogelhubers (Sam's mom's side of the family) have a big annual event in Salem and the visit was really special for him and for us. And he was certainly a popular person at the party!

Vogelhuber Family Reunion Rundown

Arlo attended his first ever Vogelhuber Family Reunion this weekend. (The Vogelhubers are Sam's mom's side of the family, and these reunions are a big event every year for us.) We were so happy that Arlo got to meet so many cousins, aunts, uncles and friends. And it's fun to know that so many of you are keeping up with his growth and activities here - we had no idea! Sam has posted several photos on the Vogelhuber Clan flickr page, and there are lots more from others too, so I won't duplicate. Check out this year's party at:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/vogelhuber/pool/

I just can't wait to see what it's like there next year when he's walking...see you then!

First camping adventure

In the last few weeks, we've been working on our car-riding skills, and this week it was time to take a bigger step and put a few hours under our belts. The "practice" seemed pretty necessary after our first short adventure to a little river beach about 65 miles away - after that trip I was pretty nervous about what was to come in the future of road-tripping for this family. It took about 3 hours to get there, with lots of stops and several diaper changes. At that rate it seemed like we would never make it to Ohio and Michigan for a visit!

So this week we decided to keep at it, with an added challenge of taking Arlo on his first ever camping trip. We chose to to go Assateague Island, where we have camped the past few years with our friends around Labor Day. We are familiar with the territory and it's a great spot cause we camp on the sand just over the dune from the beautiful coastal beach. We packed up the car and piled in and made it through with just two short stops for diaper changes. Arlo was an angel - he slept most of the time and stared contentedly when he was awake. He got a bottle of milk about half-way through the drive.

We spent most of our waking hours on the beach, where Arlo tested out his tent again and hung out with the big folks.

Arlo didn't seem to notice the difference between tent sleeping and his usual bed, so we all slept great and woke to a lovely calm morning with hundreds of birds singing around us and the increadible ocean sunrise. Then we grabbed our goodies and headed back to the beach for a few more hours. Finally we headed home and had (another!) great drive. This trip was deemed a success, and we're really excited that Arlo enjoyed camping at 6 weeks old.

camping continued

Daddy might be asleep, but I'm up!

Listening to the birds in the morning

Ponies on Assateague

Beach bums

Arlo sleeps...

asleep in the car

asleep in the swing

and one awake:

here he is at the birth center visiting with Kimla, the midwife who helped deliver him right in that very bed

Why Arlo?

We've had lots of compliments on Arlo's name, as well as lots of questions. (What does it mean? How did you choose it?)

Well, we're not Arlo Guthrie devotees or big fans of those Arlo & Janice comics. The simple answer is that we just loved the name. I've read that it's got origins in English, German, Italian, Latin, Greek and Spanish, it's easy to spell, and it's a little unique but not unheard of. Since I have enjoyed my "w.w." initials, he gets to be an "a.a." We wanted a name that had an old-fashioned ring (Arlo was at it's most popular in the US in the 1920's, our favorite decade.) One website also notes a resurgence in the 70's.

There are as many definitions as there are languages of origin. One site notes, "It is of Spanish origin, and its meaning is "barberry tree". Also Italian variant of Charles."

Another says, "The Name Arlo is a boy's name. The origin of the baby name Arlo is Greek, Latin with the meaning(s) depending on Gender/Origin being. Greek- Strong, brave, courageous one. A form of Andrew. Latin."

A third: "Boy name - Old English. Means From the protected town or hill."

Arlo's middle name, Franklin, is a family name that is shared on both sides of our family: my grandfather Frank Haeger, Arlo's grandpa (Sam's father) James Franklin Augusta, and James' grandfather was Frank, too.

All in all, we liked the ring of it and the old-timey sound. And of course, now that we know him, he couldn't be anything but Arlo!

Adventures

Big couch, little man

Sleepyhead

Sherlock joins in on the cuddling

Arlo tries out his tent at the beach

1 month birthday

Arlo was a month old on July 1st, and we celebrated with a lemon cake and a bath. He's a pretty big man these days.

Arlo meets his cousins

Mariah, Alayna, Arlo and McKayla

Plus Uncle Mark and Aunt Tina