Giving up napping?

Max didn't nap today. And it wasn't for lack of trying on our part. We had a lunchtime outing and met Uncle Pete and hung out and played on a train table. He feigned sleep for 10 minutes and woke up ready to go when I attempted to put him in his crib. Shawn walked around the neighborhood with him for an hour while I escaped for some solace and a latte at the local coffee shop. I'm really hoping he is not giving up napping at the tender age of 1 and a half. His naps are what keep me sane. I really need the daily 2 hour break. Thankfully Shawn is playing with him in his room right now with the door closed while I veg out and waste time on Facebook. Yesterday and the day before walking around with Max in the stroller got him to sleep. No-Max-Nap is big news in our little world. Here's to hoping tomorrow is a better day!

Dinner Out!

It was a landmark evening. For the first time in several months we ate at a restaurant... we'd had a quiet day and decided that we needed to get out. We went to our favorite Thai restaurant, Tawon Thai in Fremont, with Aunt Katherine. Max was very well behaved and even sat for awhile in a highchair (he's refused one at home for a few months now). I'm sure it helped that he had a present from Katherine to open, really cool animal ABC flashcards. He ate well too, even eating some of Shawn's yellow curried fried rice and some brown rice mixed with satay sauce. We actually got to have a conversation, it was nice, a sort of return to society.

It's been a really lovely past several days. Shawn's off work until the 2nd. We've been enjoying leisurely mornings and Max is loving spending so much time with both of us. I've enjoyed watching him and Shawn play on the new train table.

Max has really gotten attached to his best buddy Jasper. Today, after his nap we told him he'd get to see Jasper. Unfortunately, it didn't work out and as we explained it to him, he sat on Shawn's lap, his lower lip trembling. He went and stood by the door and almost started crying, asking for his friend. He understands and communicates so well. It was hard watching him be so sad, but he dealt with it well. He really liked going out to dinner tonight and I think that cheered him up. He's such a social guy, he needs his peeps! We'll be sure to hang out with Jasper tomorrow, tonight as I dried him off after his bath he asked me if he could play "choo choos" with "Bapper" (Jasper). Awwww.

Snow and dog poop

Ok, this is a rant here...

The snow melted this weekend, and all over the side walks on our highly dog populated neighborhood are piles of dog poop. Smeared and messy from people stepping in it. What's with people not cleaning up after their dogs in the snow? Did they think they could bury it in the snow and it would just magically melt away? Usually folks are really good about cleaning up after their dogs, so this is a big annoyance. Especially as the stroller rolled through a big pile this morning. Clean up after your dogs, even in a blizzard, dog owners!

--Grouchy Momma Kilburn.

Christmas

We had a really neat Christmas this year, we celebrated for three days. Christmas Eve Aunt Katherine and Godparents Alicia and Loren came over for dinner. I made a really tasty shepherd's pie and some baked squash. We also scarfed down lots of Christmas cookies. After dinner we got a call that our good friend Sara was in labor and that her delightful son Jasper would be joining us for awhile. Rob and Sara dropped him off and headed for the hospital.
He and Max immediately started playing with this awesome vintage fisher price family house toy, complete with all the pieces. What fun! They went to sleep just fine. We were tickled that Max's first sleepover was Christmas Eve. The boys woke up at 630AM in true Christmas form, waking up while it was still dark! Here's a photo of the boys opening their matching sock monkeys that I made them. They had so much fun playing and Jasper's dad came and got him Christmas morning to go meet his new baby brother at the hospital.

We then headed over to Alicia and Loren's for a delicious brunch of eggs Benedict and fruit salad. Here's a shot of Max and Loren hanging out at the breakfast table. Max loved the food! He took a gift over there to open, Lego's from Aunt Ruth! As usual, he napped great after hanging out with those guys, and it gave Shawn and I a chance to exchange gifts and take a nap. He got me a really nice analog watch. I'm such a Luddite with no cell phone. Really, it's been 2 years since I got rid of it and I don't miss it a bit. After Max's long nap we went back over to Alicia and Loren's. They spoiled us rotten! Alicia made a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Here's Alicia with the beautiful table setting. A call to our turkey expert friend Mason ensured a scrumptious and moist turkey. Max enjoyed eating lots of mashed potatoes and gravy and dancing to music in the kitchen.

The day after Christmas we hung out and rearranged his room...we had to get ready for the train table Alicia and Loren bought him! They brought it over in the evening and we set it up and had a pizza party. Max is so thrilled to have a train table! Jasper came over today and they had a great time playing trains.

We also met Jasper's new baby brother, Gideon yesterday afternoon. What a beautiful and healthy baby! We are so happy for our friends and are excited to watch this sweet little baby grow and change. Max was very interested in the baby, he kept wanting to touch him and could not keep his eyes off of him.

We feel so blessed by our community of family and friends here in Seattle. We have been showered with food, gifts and lots of love. We are so thankful. It was a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve already, and I'm reflecting back on the year. I didn't get cards out to everyone I wanted, so I thought I'd post a list of major events from 2008.

Grandma Rose visited us for a weekend in February and Max enjoyed all of the extra attention. We went to the Washington Democratic Caucus this weekend and we met the Egbert family. Over the course of this year, their delightful son Jasper has become Max's best buddy.

Max started walking in March, at 10 months old.

In April we spent 10 days in Ireland with Grandpa Tim. We had fun traveling all over Ireland seeing many beautiful sights. My favorite was the gorgeous town of Kinsale.

Sarah and Max flew to Sacramento in May and visited with Grandma Rose, and Aunt Gabe and Aunt Ruth. We got to meet up with my good friend Heidi who was in the area for her cousin's wedding. Max enjoyed meeting her and running all over a beautiful winery in Lodi.

We spent Max's 1st birthday weekend on Whidbey Island at an old farmhouse with friends. Shawn and Max drove a tractor and we spent 3 days relaxing out in the country.

In August we flew to Santa Cruz for the wedding of our good friends Joel and Becca. Shawn was a groomsman in the wedding. We also got to spend time with my sister Ruth and many members of the Kilburn family. We made a quick trip into San Francisco to spend a lovely morning with our friends Ben and Susie a few days before they left for a year in Norway.

In August I got a tattoo on my right arm! This is a celtic knot that to me symbolizes the family that Max, Shawn, and I have.

August was a really busy month. Shawn changed jobs, he's really happy with his new digs. He's working on children's educational software. Fun!

Aunt Ruth visited us for 5 days in September and we had a little reunion with my family at my brothers house.

We traveled to Portland Thanksgiving weekend and spent time with old friends.

Two weeks ago Shawn took the train to Portland to attend the wedding reception of our good friends Kiyo and Jenna.

Tonight Aunt Katherine and Godparents Alicia and Loren will come over for dinner, I'm cooking up a giant pan of Shepherd's pie. It snowed a few inches this morning, and now it's pouring rain. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have flooding! We're sending our best holiday wishes to you and yours. Happy 2009!

Snowpocalypse 2008 and a Cookie Party

Here's Max with his Godparents, Alicia and Loren. He's frosting cookies for the first time! He also had his first cookie (unfrosted sugar cookie) on Saturday during the cookie party and really liked it, but walked away after 2 bites. I'm happy he didn't eat the whole thing and beg for more. We had a really fun cookie party this year, smaller than usual, but it was great, Max and his best friend Jasper got to run around and have lots of space to play and Alicia and Loren got to visit with our good friends and neighbors, The Egberts. I baked up chocolate moose cookies(Thanks, Katherine!), and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Sara made amazing sugar cookies, they have a shortbread consistency and almond extract in them...I just ate one and I'm relishing the aftertaste. She brought yummy frosting and taught me how to make homemade sprinkles. Fun! Alicia brought some tasty snickerdoodles. We had hot apple cider and other snacks and it was a fun evening. Max missed his Aunt Katherine who didn't make it due to the crazy weather.

We've got what seems like a foot of snow. This was the first day in about 4 days that it hasn't snowed. We were all going a little stir crazy this morning so Shawn ventured to work and Max and I went out on the bus with some friends to a local shopping center (cool, refurbished old school house that is now shops) to play on the train table, we had a fun morning and it was so good to get out. We've been faring well in the snow, spending a lot of time with our neighbors, and relaxing. Max got in his first sledding trip which he really enjoyed. Here he is with his friend Jasper and Jasper's dad, Rob.

I'm off to watch a movie with Shawn and finish the second of two sock monkeys I'm making as Christmas gifts. Happy Holidays!

Trains and Snow

This was an exciting week for Max, lots of time playing with trains, and a little time playing in the snow. Here he is on Friday with his best buddy Jasper playing on the train table (that's right, sitting up on the table!) in the playroom of a coffee shop. Jasper's Mom takes the best photos of these two boys. I'm so happy that Max has a best friend already. He is so happy when he gets to spend time with Jasper.

He awoke to snow this morning and stood for a long time at the window looking out. When we finally did go outside he wasn't sure at first, he didn't like how wet and cold it was on his face, so he stopped playing in the snow and took to running through it. I got a few photos which I'll post soon.

We had a good Mom and Max weekend while Shawn was in Portland, but we are sure glad he's home! Max didn't nap today, which was a little challenging. We had a fun day though, we walked to our local coffeeshop this morning with friends, and Max happily played with water and tupperware in the kitchen sink while I made soup and cornbread. We had a nice dinner with Katherine, Alicia, and Loren. Loren and I hatched out a plan to rearrange Max's bedroom....I think we just might be able to fit a train table in there! On Friday a 100 piece wooden train set showed up, delivered by UPS. No note or receipt, truly a gift from Santa!

Snow?

So, according to the Seattle Times (Seattle's "crusty" newspaper that I for some unknown reason compulsively read online) is predicting a big cold snap this weekend, with the coldest temperatures since 1990, and snow starting tomorrow afternoon. I've never seen more than a few inches in the city during my four and a half years here, so I guess I'm skeptical that we are really going to get dumped on. I am glad that we aren't driving a rental car down to Portland with Max Saturday morning (Sorry, Kiyo and Jenna!). Shawn's going by himself on the train tomorrow evening for 2 nights and will attend the wedding reception of good friends. I'm glad he won't be on the roads, and hope the weather won't affect the rails. I think the time away will be good for him, although Max and I will certainly miss him. Max may not see him in the morning. It took Max until 10:45 tonight to fall asleep. He's usually snoozing by 8:30. Shawn worked his magic holding him and singing to him until he let his heavy eyes close.

I'm also glad I'm staying home because I finally went to the doctor today and I have an ear and sinus infection. I reluctantly started antibiotics today, and I'm looking forward to an acupuncture treatment tomorrow (and 2 hours of kid-free time). I am a big wimp about travelling when I'm sick, especially when that involves wrangling a 1 year old 3 1/2 hours one way in transit.

Back to the weather, the predicted high for Sunday is only 29 degrees, and the low 17. This is big news for us. Max has never experienced such cold. I think we'll be spending a lot of time indoors visiting various train tables around North Seattle. Trains are his new obsession, tonight he was crying when we stopped reading to him. He wanted to stay awake and read about "choo choos".

One step forward, one step back.

Well, Max and Shawn are mostly over their colds, but I have a sinus infection. Blarg! I'll be getting some acupuncture on Friday, I hope it will clear it up. I'm not sure if I should go to Portland on Saturday, snow's in the forecast for Seattle and Portland. Driving in the snow in a rental car with Max would make me nervous. Perhaps just Shawn will take the train down as we originally planned. I'd be sad to miss out on the wedding reception of 2 good friends who I've known for six years, but I've been feeling under the weather for a week and a half. I'm going to see how I feel in the morning and make my decision then.

Pasta!

Tonight while Max took a late and much needed nap I tossed together some brown rice pasta with a random sauce of turkey bacon, onions, garlic, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, tomato sauce, olive oil, basil, oregano, and goat chevre. I had thought Max wouldn't eat any of it, he completely wowed us by eating 5 helpings! He has never eaten this much of anything! He's feeling better and his appetite is back! It was so great to see him happily feeding himself out of his new car and truck themed bowl and asking for more. For the past week he's been existing on not much more than nursing, so I'm really happy to see him excited about food again. I'll have to write down this impromptu recipe so I can make it again. And to boot, most of the dinner was organic and local. Yum!

Slowly Recovering

We all got hit hard with colds about a week ago. Max and I are almost recovered and Shawn still has a ways to go. The last 2 colds our family has caught have been vicious and held on with a vengeance. Maybe it's having a toddler, and being around lots of small children, I don't remember ever having colds this intense any other time in my life.

We stayed close to home this weekend, venturing to our local pocket park, Fremont Peak Park, which boasts a beautiful view of the Olympic mountains. Max played there happily for an hour yesterday afternoon while watching volunteers spruce up the park. Today we hung out at an indoor play area at the zoo for an hour where he used the drinking fountain all by himself for the first time.

I'm feeling a little worn out and overwhelmed, I got up with Max at 5:45 today and I've been busy taking care of chores around the building, and helping Shawn wrangle Max this evening while the poor kid screamed for 45 minutes straight. Teething agony, the bottom right 2 year molar is en route. After I got him to sleep tonight it hit me that Christmas is less than 3 weeks away, and we have 2 projects to make for Max, and we haven't begun our shopping for family or friends. And then there are Christmas cards, which I like to send out, but don't know if I'll get to. I can never craft a holiday newsletter that I'm happy with, so I always try to write individual notes in each card, we'll see how many of them make it out in the mail.

I am looking forward to starting my holiday baking, and decorating the house. I am going to put up some mini multi-colored lights this week, and I'll pick up a poinsettia that will be our "tree". We're always short on space for a tree, and I think if we get one this year Max will be in it a lot, so we'll wait to do it until next year. He's so little that he won't remember not having a tree this year. I do think he'll actually get into opening his gifts this year, I'm looking forward that.

Last, but not least, my Grandma had a heart attack a few days ago. She's in the hospital, and responding to medication, but I don't know anything else. I hope she'll be able to come home soon. I love sending her my homemade gingersnaps (full of butter), now I'm thinking I need to send something a little healthier? Or maybe not, she is 85 and should be able to eat what she wants. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Grandma.

Photo shop and a big boy bed

Here's photo Shawn modified in photoshop. I love it!

Max and I are under the weather today but we are managing to amuse ourselves with some new toys and the lovely "Richard Scarry's Best Story Book Ever", Max LOVES that book. He's been wanting to read it all day, and about a half hour ago he asked to lay down and read it in our bed, we read for awhile and he fell asleep there. I think we'll be converting his crib to a big boy bed soon. The front panel comes off, and viola, toddler bed. It's really struck me this week how fast he's growing up. Other milestones this week include starting to use a pillow when sleeping, and saying "Again!".

Sock Monkey and Animal Mural

Tonight was fun and crafty, Shawn and I finally started on the mural we are making for Max's room as one of his Christmas presents. The fabric is a cheery bright red, and we are going to glue pieces of felt on the fabric. Shawn came up with a neat animal idea, using simple squares, triangles, and circles to make a dog, cat, and bird. Max really loves animals right now --his first word was "Dog".
I'm excited to go to the fabric store to pick up some more felt and some buttons for the eyes so we can get started.

I also completed the main body of the sock monkey I'm making as his other gift. I'm happy that both our gifts for him this year will be handmade. He's also getting a set of duplos legos from Aunt Ruth, and 3 months of classes at Gymboree from Grandma Rose. It's going to be a fun Christmas for him!

Colds. Again.

We are getting our share of colds this season. Max and I came down with colds and coughs a few days ago. The poor kid is waking himself up often by coughing. A pillow in his crib is helping, but he's not himself. It's noon and we haven't left the house today...we are always out the door by 9AM...it's been months since we've stayed inside most of the day. I'm hoping he feels better soon so we can get back to playing with friends. And hopefully Max will learn how to blow his nose pretty soon...he's tired of me following him around with a kleenex.

Our Thanksgiving dinner with Fred and Sara and friends was delish, Fred is an amazing cook. He sent the turkey drumsticks, wings, and carcass home with us and I made a great stew last night. Our trip to Portland was ok, Max didn't nap or sleep well, so that made things a little hard, and he woke up sick Sunday morning so we came home early. Shawn will take the train down next weekend for a wedding reception, I've decided to keep Max home for the weekend, we'll try travelling with him again in 3 months, maybe then he'll sleep and not be compulsively putting cat food in water.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

I'm thoughtful today, thinking of the festive days ahead. I'm inspired by Heidi's blog post today. It's already Max's second Thanksgiving, so much has changed in the last year, at Linsel's Thanksgotten dinner last year, we felt Max's first tooth, on his 6 month birthday. A year ago he wasn't even crawling, and had barely started on solid food. Now, he eats 2 scrambled eggs in one sitting, runs around playgrounds, zooming down slides. Every morning he rides his bike to our local coffeeshop, careening down the sidewalks. The air at the coffeeshop was festive this morning, the place packed with locals toting their out of town visitors. The excitement in the air got me in a festive mood, Max and I hung out and chatted with friends and aquaintances and headed to our busy little neighborhood market for tangerines and wine to bring to Linsel's, and some last minute ingredients for the dishes I am making for dinner at Fred and Sara's tomorrow; pumpkin pie, pineapple upside down cake, and sauteed greenbeans and mushrooms. My mouth is watering thinking of all the great food, Fred is an excellent cook and there will be turkey and salmon.

When we moved here, in late August of 2004, I had no idea we'd stay for so long and become so entrenched in our neighborhood. I guess I thought in the back of my mind that we'd return to Portland soon after Shawn's gradschool graduation, afterall, that's what we moved here for. Shortly after moving here, Shawn noticed a note in our apartment building, about a neighborhood bookclub. I was too shy to attend, so Shawn went by himself, and met a group of really friendly people, and our neighborhood frienships blossomed. We made fast friends with these folks before any of us had kids, and now all of the remaining bookclub members have kids 3 and under, many of the moms stay home, and they are invaluable to us. At times we talk of returning to Portland, I miss a lot of things about the city (going out to breakfast, the unbeatable public transportation, Powell's books, friends, etc.), but I don't think I could leave the wonderful community we have. What we've got here is really special, and I'm so thankful for it. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Some of Max's New Words

Toucan
Rissoto
Pine cone
Sarah
Shawn
Lawnmower

His verbal skills are exploding and it's so much fun hearing his new words. He had a great time watching 2 toucans at the zoo this morning and imitating the noises they made.

Rain Boots & Fall Cooking

These are two of my favorite photos from this fall. Max is delighted by the bright yellow boots our neighbors lent us, they got them in Hawaii and they are the perfect lightweight, flexible boot for puddle stomping. The other photo is Shawn and Max cooking up Grandpa Tim's delicious recipe for tofu pizza. The tofu is in the crust, made pan pizza style. Max delights in helping us cook, and do all kinds of things around the house. He loves handing me clothes one at a time when I start a load of laundry. I am hoping to transfer this energy to putting his toys away, but no luck yet.

Max had his year and a half (18 months in babyspeak) checkup this morning. He's in the 50th percentile with his height and weight, at 32 inches tall, and 26 lbs, 9 oz. He sure feels heavier than that. He tolerated his two shots well today and doesn't need anymore until 2 years. Hooray! We stopped at the really neat Wallingford Park playground on our way home. He sacked out when we got home, with dirty hands and sand in his pockets. He asked for milk as soon as we got in the door and was our like a light.

This afternoon I have an hour long meeting here at the apartments and Max will play next door with his best friend Jasper while I'm working. It's bright and sunny today, we'll be spending as much of this afternoon outside as we can. Lookout Francis Avenue, here comes Max on his bike!

Finally Friday

It's been a long week for our family, Shawn's trying to kick the crud that he's had for 2 weeks, and Max has taken to short, early naps and crying for "nigh nigh" at 6:30. He's been sacking out early and getting up early, this makes for long days. Not that I'm really complaining. He's a delight and our days are mostly fun. We are excited today is Shawn's last work late day for a few months. Max misses him when he doesn't see his dad until 7pm on Fridays.

We had a pretty good morning. Our usual hour long bike ride/coffee shop outing, then a grocery run to our quirky little market where we were lucky to run into our new friends G and 2 year old daughter, W. We went to their house for a play date and enjoyed new toys and delicious carrot raisin muffins. Max delighted in W's bike on rockers (like a rocking horse, but way cooler), and I had fun getting to know G and her husband J. They are both musicians, always fun to get to know more neighborhood folks.

Max and I have been all over Seattle this week, with trips to the Zoo, Children's Museum and lunch w/ Shawn at Seattle Center, Firehouse Coffee in Ballard, and trying out a free class at Gymboree. Max loved it so much that we may pony up the $280 for 3 months of once a week classes. Spendy!!!

We are looking forward to a mellow weekend. At the moment I can't think of anything we have planned for tomorrow. Sunday we're doing dinner over at Fred and Sara's with Alicia and Loren, should be lots of fun! Monday is Max's 1 1/2 year old check-up, with shots...poor guy....

Hard to believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away. We'll be having dinner with F&S and then driving to Portland the day after for Linsel's lovely Thanksgotten dinner. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Two nights in Portland will be fun, I've overdue for a trip to my favorite city.

Fog, lots of coffee, and a visit from Alex

Our neighborhood is covered in a chilly fog this morning. I'm working on drinking an entire pot of coffee while Shawn sleeps in. He's had the crud for two weeks and is hoping some extra rest will help him shake it. Max has had a fever since late saturday night and woke up sick this morning, he now seems fine. I hope he stays that way as our friend Alex is flying in from London this afternoon and will be spending the night with us before heading home to Portland tomorrow. We are looking forward to visiting with him and hearing about his trip.

Bumbly Parenting Day

I'm feeling so guilty that I'm unable to nap while Max is napping so I'm up making a pot of coffee. Both Shawn and I are bummed. This morning while out with Shawn, Max fell and scraped up his knuckles. Then, we took him to tour the firestation and see the firetruck up in Greenwood. As he was in Shawn's arms leaning towards me he gouged his forehead on the corner of a metal cabinet on the firetruck. It started bleeding and a fireman took us aside and looked at it for us, assuring us he didn't need medical attention. We cleaned the wound and the fireman gave us a bandaid. Max cheered up pretty quickly, and to soothe ourselves we stopped for burgers at Red Mill. We were delighted that he ate half his burger, and he also wolfed down a little cookie outside of a Mediterranean specialty foods store at the bus stop. I had a big moment of stupidity when we got home, without thinking I ripped off the bandaid on his head, like I'd rip off a bandaid on one of my own wounds. I didn't think of his tender baby skin and the red mark the bandaid would end up leaving. I'm kicking myself for not peeling it off gently with the help of a warm washcloth. I also forgot to change his diaper before puttinghim down for a nap, so he's been in the same diaper since 7AM. I'm feeling pretty down since he still has a scab under his nose from his bike crash last Saturday. I hope neither of these facial wounds scar.

Night Out

Last night Shawn and I enjoyed a relatively rare night out. Alicia and Loren came over to watch Max and we stepped out for dinner and some live music. We stayed in the neighborhood, hoping for a casual dinner and wine at the cozy Geneve wine bar. We got there at 6:30 and the owner had closed for the evening. I worry this place isn't getting enough business to stay open... closed for the night at 6:30? We decided to try the new italian restaurant, Rialto. I had gotten a mediocre review of it yesterday afternoon from the owner of our local coffee shop...he was right. Decent food and wine, but nothing you couldn't make yourself at home. For $4 more a plate we could have had an amazing meal at Brad's Swingside Cafe. We know where to go next time! We did enjoy our food, though, and a quiet, leisurely meal with moderately priced wine.

After dinner we went across the street to the Fremont Abbey, a non-profit art space. We saw a very interesting, albeit kind of strange performance by Tuning the Air. The show was held in the dark, slightly chilly basement of this large abbey. The guy taking the tickets was pale enough to be a vampire and had the Northwest look of the pony tail and wooly socks and sandals. The audience chairs were placed in a circle, all facing out. The chairs were surrounded by 8 or 9 wood platforms, each with a stool for a guitarist to sit on. The preshow music was new agey, and then the performers came out and sat solemnly on their platforms and the show began. Each guitarist played only one chord, all the chords coming together into a song, it was pretty impressive. The energy was strange, and kind of cultish. I had been previously influenced by the aforementioned as this guitar group had come up in a conversation Shawn was having with a guy at a birthday party a few months ago. He remarked that he was dating someone involved with this guitar group and that they seemed cultish, so I went in with this expectation. I think I would have thought that even if I hadn't already been looking for it. Strange vibe and energy in the room. The hour long performance was enjoyable, though. The music was interesting, and it was great just to get out and do something different.

We were happy to get home to Max, who was happily running around with his new Fox in Socks toothbrush at 9:30. He normally goes to bed at 8, but doesn't always go to sleep for babysitters. The little tyke was up until 10:30 and still woke at 6:30 this morning. Raring and ready to go, of course.

Adventures

This photo is from the indoor play area at the zoo, one of our favorite haunts. We are lucky to have such a great photographer, Sara, for a friend. (Shawn just reminded me that he took this lovely photo...sorry, Shawn!) I'm notorious for forgetting the camera. Pretty funny, since I'm a former photographer... well, I should say dormant photographer. Sometimes I daydream about teaching a darkroom class at the little black and white darkroom down the hill. Ah, chemicals... I can't help it, I love the toxic smell of developer.

Max is just overflowing with energy. This morning we left for the bus before 9. We went into Ballard and took two busses to the Loyal Heights Community Center... to convince Max to stay patient on the bus I promised him a treat at the Norwegian bakery, Larson's. We picked up a little not-to0-sweet egg roll and he happily devoured it as we walked to our destination. He enjoyed the train table, and an hour in the gym riding bikes. He seemed to tire on our 30 minute bus ride home, but once he'd refueled with lunch he was ready to go again.

He rode his bike all the way to the coffee shop and actually sat and played Connect Four while I had a latte and we shared banana bread. Then we ventured outside into the brief, bright afternoon sun. He impressed an audience of 3 guys sitting around, and he admired a parked motorcycle. Max always wants to be on the go, I'm convinced that if he could physically go without napping he would. He fought off sleeping until 3:30 today... it's a challenge to keep up with him. The payoffs are the sweet moments, such as today in the coffeeshop. I love these days of watching him learn and play.

Fall Cooking

Before I start talking about cooking, Max loves bikes. All bikes. Scooters, trikes, motorcycles, you name it and the kid wants to ride it.

Does anyone have a good recipe for chard? We're getting loads of it in our produce delivery, I have a giant bunch from last week and got another one today.

How about recipes for Delicata squash? This is delicious when baked, but I've got 3 of them on the kitchen counter...might they be good in a thai curry?

I'm enjoying experimenting with parsnips and turnips, I made a tasty saute on Sunday. This week I'll throw some in a stew I'll be making for Alicia and Loren's dinner, they'll be here on Thursday to watch Max while Shawn and I have our first date in a month. I'm really looking forward to trying out The Rialto, a new italian place a few blocks away, and also seeing a music show at the Fremont Abbey, a non-profit art space that opened about a year ago that we have yet to check out.

Tonight we are going over to our new friend Alison's house for dinner in Magnolia. She's making chili and cornbread. Perfect for this weather. We got some great looking spinach and beets in the delivery today and I'll be taking that over for salad, it will be really tasty with some crumbled goat cheese.

Max has been sleeping for 3 hours...I tired him out by doing a mondo trip to Trader Joe's this morning ($191. ouch). Then we climbed around the indoor play area at the zoo. There were at least 50 kids there. Veteran's Day, so schools are closed, as well as the community center we were going to hang out at. I'm sure he'll be awake in no time, up to his usual shinanigans of climbing on chairs and the kitchen table.

First bad tumble

Today Max took his first bad tumble, he's got a nasty bruise and scrape on his forehead, and a really red scrape under his nose. He fell off of his bike, he was playing around while Shawn and I were raking leaves. We were watching to make sure he didn't go into the street or parking garage, and we were talking about how he was doing so well on his bike, and then I heard him cry. He fell off the bike on a little curb by the building, and unfortunately fell onto concrete and not barkdust. He calmed down quickly, and seemed to be ok as he asked to go outside a few minutes later. He's back to his old self but the red spot under his nose looks really painful. I'm feeling guilty that one of us wasn't watching him closer...I guess he still needs a closer watchful eye.

On the plus side we've had a fun day. This morning Max had a great time climbing and running around the zoo, and he had a lovely hour outside helping rake and playing around before his tumble. We just got home from a delicious dinner at our neighbors house. Our friend made a delicious pizza with a homemade whole wheat crust, very tasty and filling and Max ate an entire piece. He had a lot of fun playing with his buddy Jasper after dinner, I love watching the two of them play.

Well, I'm off to help put Max to bed.

Obama! ...and a bee sting

Wow. We are beyond happy that our country pulled together and elected Obama! How neat that he will be the first president Max remembers.

In other news, Max fell riding his bike this morning into some bushes, as he was crying I pried open his fist to discover a bee stuck to his hand. He was stung, but it doesn't look too bad. First bee sting in November, who would have thought.

Trick or Treat

Well, Max's "Maxigator" costume isn't complete here, he kept taking the cool hood "alligator mouth" part off, it was pretty bulky. Here we are trick-or-treating in Ballard. Max had a great time, he didn't really get the getting candy part of it, which is fine with us as he doesn't even eat candy yet. Okay, so he doesn't look thrilled here, but he had a great time stomping in a mud puddle and running around looking at all the kids in costume. Earlier on Halloween we made a stop by Shawn's office party and Max was enthusiastically greeted by the office dog.

We are trying to keep busy, as a busy Max is a happy Max. He always wants to be doing something, preferably that involves climbing. This morning we went down to the Seattle Aquarium with our wonderful neighbors, The Egbert's, and our new friends J & C. Max had a wonderful time looking at all of the fish and running around and climbing on stairs. He is so active that before we left this morning he had climbed on top of our kitchen table, stood on the open dishwasher door (he knows how to open and turn it on now). We had also taken a 45 minute walk at 8AM. This kid goes non-stop!

This week we'll be checking out some toddler gym times at community centers and looking into a class at the Seattle Gymnastics Academy. He is so physical, he's our little Max monkey!

The other photo is Shawn and I out at our friend Katherine's 30th birthday party. We had a great time, Shawn dressed as the narrator from Poe's "The Raven", and me, obviously as a witch. The decorations were fabulous, we enjoyed hanging out in "The Shining" Bar visiting with friends. And if I may say so, my cakes turned out really well. Katherine didn't enjoy the trick candles, but I did. Hee hee. I like this photo of Katherine and I enjoying the party.

Happy Halloween!

It's raining today, very typical for All Hallows Eve. We're having a fun day, though. This morning Shawn went into work late and he and Max got into their costumes. Max is a crocodile and Shawn is the narrator from Poe's "The Raven". I got some cute pictures which we'll post soon. I'm going as a witch (or, as myself before coffee. Ha ha). We walked out to the bus stop with Shawn and we had fun waving to each other across the street. Shawn headed for work downtown and we set out for the wonderful Firehouse Coffee shop in Ballard that boasts a nice playroom. Our friends Sara and Jasper met us there and when the kids needed a change of pace we went to the consignment shop down the street and the boys had fun playing at the train table. They had an even better time getting soaked and stomping in puddles as we waited for the bus. So much fun, that they both sacked out early when we got home. I think this will work to our advantage, Max and I have been invited to Shawn's office Halloween party this afternoon. I think we'll go to that, and then maybe join our friends for trick or treating at the shops in Ballard.

Here's a silly photo of Max tromping around the apartment in one of my shoes, and one of Shawn's.

I'm enjoying some quiet and tea while Max naps and baking up some squash for lunch and putting flannel sheets on our bed. The chilly weather is here! I love fall, even all the rain. Only a native Pacific Northwesterner would admit to loving the rain. Happy Haunting everyone!

Max the great eater

So I just have to brag for a minute about what a great eater Max is. He wowed us tonight by eating a brown rice and black bean burrito (with a whole wheat tortilla, no less) and he also gobbled up some baked Delicata squash. Wow!

I have to credit our organic produce delivery, New Roots. We just switched to a weekly delivery from biweekly. It's so great having a plethora of good food around all the time. The variety is lovely, I made minestrone soup last night and Max happily ate the cabbage and leeks mixed in with the other ingredients. If you are a local, check New Roots out! For $35 you get a large bin of really great stuff (this weeks bin included Asian Pears, and Persimmons, two of Shawn's fall favorites). There's no way you could buy all this stuff organically for $35. It's a deal, and it keeps us eating a variety of things, such as collard greens that I would not normally buy.

Some of Max's Favorite Things

Climbing on chairs and tables
Scooters
Bikes
Trucks
Books
Cheese
Scrambled eggs
Applesauce
Bath time with Dad
Reading with Dad
Running around outside
Saying hi to dogs and cats

Fall fun at the zoo

Hmmm, maybe I alienated some readers by writing the other day about toilet training... won't post about that again :)

We had a great morning at the zoo with our friends. We got there just in time for the Pumpkin Bash. We watched hippos eating pumpkins, it was great fun. It was a wonderful fall day, beautiful weather and Max had a lovely time running all over the zoo grounds, it is one of his favorite things.

Yesterday was neat, too. I took him to the Ballard Locks. He loved watching all the boats, and he enjoyed looking at the fish ladder (salmon!). His favorite part of the morning was watching these guys welding and repairing part of the walk way, they had parked their little work scooters (kind of like golf carts) and they let Max sit on them and honk the horn. He was so excited, I loved seeing that big smile on his face. We'll be heading back there next week!

Big news in our house!

Maybe some of you think this is a TMI, but we're excited. Today is Max's 17 month birthday and tonight before his bath he peed in his toilet for the first time! Big progress as he has been sitting on that little toilet for a few months every night before his bath. Hopefully this wasn't a fluke and he'll start using it regularly. Less diapers are a good thing!

The fog has lifted

After 3 weeks I finally am over my cold...I woke up without a stuffy nose. The world seems brighter and my head feels clear. Hooray!

Max and I had a fun, mellow morning. We visited friends in the neighborhood and met their almost 3 week old daughter. So cute, and little! She was wearing the sleepsack that we brought Max home in, seeing that brought back sweet memories. Max had a great time playing with 3 year old H's toys (he was at preschool) and I enjoyed coffee and conversation now that Max gladly entertains himself with trucks and cars. He's such a boy... we've got to get him a truck for Christmas. At the playground yesterday he played on two trikes and cried and cried when it was time to go, the radio flyer scooter is due to arrive Monday, it can't come soon enough!

He's napping early today after hurting himself with a rubber toy, it snapped and hit him in the face. Poor guy has a welt...hopefully the arnica I rubbed into it will speed the healing. It's another gorgeous day in Seattle and we'll likely head out to a playground after lunch, have to soak up this blue sky and sun while we can.

It's a busy week as usual, tomorrow night Shawn and I are attending an open house at a neighborhood preschool (Max is already on the wait list for a year from now!). Friday night Shawn will work late...so if any locals want to hang out friday evening let me know. Sunday we're delighted that our good friend Linsel and his mum, Vanessa will be in town, it will be fun to see them, and Max hasn't met V. yet. She gave me some great advice for childbirth (won't go into the details here), I'll be forever grateful for that.

I'll close this rambley, journalesque post now. Max is asleep and I've got to eat lunch while I can.

Remlinger Farms

Wow. We trekked out to Remlinger Farms in Carnation yesterday morning with our neighbors. Their 2 year old son and Max had a great time on a pony ride, steam train ride, and steering antique cars around on a track. This place was huge, a big carnival next to a pumpkin patch. Fun, but expensive, $52 for the 3 of us to get in! That's right, full price for your kid if they are one year old! Max burned out after 3 hours and we headed home for his nap before getting to the pumpkin patch. That's ok, though, he was so caught up in the other stuff he barely noticed the pumpkins. This place was fun, but I doubt we'll go back until he's 4 or 5--when we can spend a full day there and get our money's worth. We got some good photos and will post them soon.

We had a busy weekend with Saturday morning spent at the zoo (a 1 year membership to the zoo cost the same as what we spent at Remlinger Farms yesterday. Puts it in perspective). Max enjoys taking the stroller for a walk on the pathways on the zoo grounds, he liked watching elephants and giraffes, and he took off following a 3 year old girl at one point. That Max, already chasing skirts!

Last night we went over to Alicia and Loren's for dinner with our neighbors Sara, Fred, and Phin. Loren made a delicious beef stew, Max ate an entire bowl! I've got to get that recipe. He and Phin enertained themselves and us by playing on Loren's skateboard, and Max sat on Fred's lap reading books.

He was up at 6:30 this morning, raring to go. He has so much energy that after a trip to the playroom at Firehouse coffee (Love it, a coffeeshop with a free playroom) we went up to Playmatters, a drop-in playroom, where he tired himself out playing at the train table. He has been asleep for 2 hours. Bliss!

Scooter!

I'm so excited! I just won this vintage wooden Radio Flyer toddler scooter for $12 on ebay! Our neighbor friend, J. has one and Max is always riding on it when we are at their house. I can't wait for the scooter to arrive and he and his friend can cruise the neighborhood sidewalks together. Look out, Fremont!

Talking Max

Max has really started talking and is putting words together, it's really exciting. This weekend he started saying things like "No Milk", and saying "more" and "cheese" while signing for more, he's also started signing when he wants food. How interesting as I have haven't done any sign language for months as I didn't think he was getting it. I forget how astute the little guy is.

He's thankfully sleeping in this morning after waking 4 times last night, we think the 2 year molars are en route. It's foggy and cold this morning, I've got the heat on for the first time this season and I'm enjoying a fresh cup of coffee. I'm so thankful for this time in my life, being able to be home with Max is priceless.

Clothes Shopping

I've decided to get rid of all of my clothes that don't flatter me, and to only buy clothes that I really love. Does anyone have a pickle barrel I can borrow until I find said clothes?

I bought a pair of jeans for $5 at Goodwill today ...maybe they are too young for me. I'm wearing them right now and they just feel odd. Maybe I'm not a jeans person anymore?

And, just for kicks, here's a cute photo of Max eating macaroni and cheese.

The cold that just won't quit

I picked up a cold 2 weeks ago, and Max came down with it Wednesday. Earlier this week I thought I was kicking it, no such luck, it's ramped back up and now Shawn is coming down with it. Ugh. Woe is us. Today at the playground there were several little ones with runny noses. I hope we get better soon and stay well. It's not even 9pm and for the second night in a row I'm turning in early. Stay well!

Zoo or the Aquarium, anyone?/Sleep Deprivation

Today I bought 1 year memberships to the zoo and aquarium. This was the first time that Max noticed the animals at the zoo, he loved the flamingos and ducks, and stood for several minutes with his face pressed up against the glass exclaiming "Duck!"

We can get up to 4 people in half price with our zoo membership, let us know if you'd like to go!

On another note, it's time to start my fall projects. I want to make Max a sock monkey for Christmas. I think I've got everything I need to get started, except energy. If only Max would stop waking up three times a night. He's been doing this for six weeks. Shawn and I are at our wits end. I was up with Max this morning from 3-430. Ugh. You know your kid's crappy sleep is kicking your ass when it's 8:15pm and you are getting ready to turn in for the night.

Anyway, back to projects. Our couch, which we bought used and I've never liked the look of (but it's perfectly comfortable)...Max makes messes all over the place, so a new couch is out of the question for at least a few years. So, I've decided to make some covers for the cushions and throw pillows. I think this will help the aesthetics a lot. I also want to start putting together a scrapbook for Max, mostly a baby book of photos. I think I've got my work cut out for me. I've also been wanting to bake up some pumpkin bread. mmmmmm.

Colds

I've had a cold for a week and a half, and unfortunately Max came down with his first cold of the season this morning. Too bad, he's not been quite himself today. And also too bad for Shawn and I, we had a dinner date planned at Brouwer's that we've postponed until next week. It's a great place to have dinner in the fall, lots of heavy belgian food, and over 50 beers on tap. We've been trying to have a date a week in an attempt to have some time together. It's getting easier with Max, though. Last night we watched the debate over at our neighbors. They cooked a wonderful meal and the boys (their son is 2 months older than Max) played well together throughout a good portion of the debate, I think I actually got to watch about half of it. Progress!

Max has been a joy lately, giving us lots of hugs and talking so much. New words this past week are: fish, teeth, shoes, feet, socks. I've been really enjoying this fall with him, we've spent a lot of time on walks, and at parks. Yesterday we took the bus down to the International District to run a couple of errands and then we bussed over to see Shawn's new office and go out to lunch, after that we had our first visit to the Children's Museum (nice, but not nearly as cool as the Portland Children's Museum). We were out for 5 hours and he didn't cry once, he's really growing up. Here are 2 photos from a trip we took to Discovery Park last month.

Life Aquatic

Max was pretty restless this morning so we decided to introduce him to the Seattle Aquarium, downtown on the waterfront. We set out on the bus and he enjoyed the trip downtown until the last few blocks before our stop, he decided in no uncertain terms that he wanted off the bus. Now.

We wound our way through Pike Market and took the elevators down to the waterfront. We got in on the cheap, thanks to our good friends Fred and Sara we had a buy one get one free from the Chinook Book, for you locals, this is a great coupon book good for a whole year, the 2009 edition just came out, it's $20 and there are many great coupons in it. Shawn and I used one on our date the other night for a performance at On The Boards and saved $20, and I saved $5 at Epicurious books in Ballard on Shawn's anniversary gift.

Right when you get inside the aquarium there is a 20 x 40 foot glass wall with tons of fish behind it, Max sat enthralled for several minutes, and then really enjoyed playing in tidepools, and watching seals and otters. He had a great time. I think we'll be purchasing an annual pass. After about an hour we went to the cafe and had lunch and then we headed home, it was a long trip as we just missed a bus, we had to kill 20 minutes waiting for the next one. Max was a trooper and didn't cry and 5 minutes after we got in the door he fell fast asleep.

It's been an aquatic weekend. Yesterday Max and I went down to the Ballard Locks to watch my brother's NOAA ship pass through on his way out to sea. He'll be surveying up in Alaska for 2 weeks. It was really windy and cold but Max didn't mind a bit, he enjoyed running all around with his cousin Bryce. Pete's ship was really impressive. It was fun to talk to him while he was on the ship and waiting for the locks to be filled with water. Shawn and our friend Dusty (visiting from Portland for the weekend) made it just in time to see the ship and see Pete off. Afterwards we went up to Gorditos for some burritos as big as your head. Dusty surprised us by paying for dinner as an annivesary gift to us! We wanted to introduce Dusty to the biggest burritos we'd ever seen, and he surprised us by eating the whole thing, sans one black bean. We joked that eating that last lone bean might make him explode. We enjoyed some after dinner conversation and watching Max tear around the apartment and then Dusty headed back to Portland.

It's been a good weekend. Shawn and I are basking in the quiet while Max naps, indulging in some afternoon coffee, tea, and fig bars. Mmmm. Love fall afternoons.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our sixth anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Shawn. Love you!

First cold of the season

Drat. I've come down with a cold, it's a pretty bad one with a sore throat. I am happy that Shawn and Max don't have it, I'm not sure how they escaped.

Shawn and I had a nice time last night celebrating our 6th anniversary. We met for a drink at the Mecca Cafe and then went on to dinner at Racha Noodles. Good, but not even close to as tasty as our favorite, Tawon Thai. The best part of dinner was they were showing the VP debate in the bar, so we got to watch that while we ate. I lost track of how many times Palin said "Maverick". Ug. And her shoes, yikes, looked like she should have been walking on 82nd in Portland, if you know what I mean.

After dinner we walked over to On The Boards and enjoyed an opening night performance by Holcombe Waller, a charming singer/songwriter. We walked out of the show to discover a text message on Shawn's phone, Max went to sleep for Alicia and Loren, this is big progress as he's never gone to sleep for anyone but us. Huzzah, this means more dates in the future! Well, if we can talk Alicia and Loren into it :).

Alligator!

This morning I checked out a consignment shop, Labels (they have nice women's clothing and shoes too), up on Greenwood. For you locals, way better prices than Me and Mom's. I snagged a cute alligator costume for Max for Halloween, $13. Some cute pictures will follow!

We've been enjoying cool mornings and afternoons in the 70's. This afternoon's plan is a stop at the playground, and a walk down the hill to our local health food store for some of their lovely roasted chicken. It's a steal at $9, the organic chicken is so well marinated that you can make an excellent chicken soup out of the leftovers.

I'm looking forward to a night out with Shawn on Thursday, we're celebrating our 6th anniversary and will be going on a date longer than 2 hours for the first time! We're going out for a drink, dinner, and a show at On The Boards while Alicia and Loren watch Max...I hope he'll go to sleep for them, if he doesn't he'll have a fun late night, he loves his Aunt and Uncle!

Friday

Friday is finally here after a long week. Max's teeth must be bothering him again, I wish those bicuspids would hurry up and finish their descent. He hasn't slept through the night in over a week. We didn't realize how good we had it for awhile there.

I just got him down for a nap after a 2 hour stint at the playground north of the zoo. He had a fantastic time cruising the whole place, and I've learned it's wise to bring a spare pair of pants. With these damp mornings he gets absolutely soaked going down slides, and covered with dirt in the sandbox. This morning he ate his first full handful of sand, with a surprised look on his face as he tasted it all. I managed to get most of it out of his mouth and then he ate a snack. I wish he had a better way of letting me know he wants food.

We are looking forward to the weekend, tomorrow I'm probably going to the Seattle Public Library booksale, a gigantic crazy event. It's a great place to score books on the cheap, but not a place for kids. Book dealers swarm the place and they will mow you down to grab a good book. Sunday afternoon our friends are having a birthday party for their son who is turning three, and Sunday evening Alicia, Loren, and Katherine are coming over for Alicia's second birthday dinner. Fun!

I'm relishing life's simple pleasures today. Good friends, a beautiful fall morning at the park with my happy son, and a cup of hot tea and some tasty beef stew (Mark Bittman's Classic Beef Stew recipe) on the stove.

My Macaroni

I've come up with an easy, tasty, and quick macaroni recipe that can be made with gluten free rice pasta (this one is for you, Susie!)

Melt 3-4 Tablespoons of butter in a large sauce pan on medium low heat.
Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and a chopped medium onion or a thinly sliced leek.
Optional at this point, 4 or 5 slices of chopped bacon or turkey bacon.
Season with salt and pepper.
Saute for 5 minutes, uncovered

Add 1 cup of chicken broth, bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

In a small pan heat over low, stirring for 5 minutes, 1/4 cup of flour or rice flour.

Slowly whisk in flour or rice flour into large pan until mixture thickens. Add 2 cups of milk. Stir over low medium heat until thickened. Stir in 1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese or 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

While in the first cooking stage, boil up some pasta, about 2 cups dry, and steam some veggies. I usually steam cut up green beans and cauliflower. I've also used frozen peas and broccoli. When the sauce is done, combine with pasta and veggies. This makes a really good one pot meal.

Condos

Condos have been sprouting up like weeds in Seattle. I had to link to this hilarious site.
Hee hee.

Busy Weekend

This weekend was a full one. Saturday, I got together with my Dad and siblings at my brother's house in Lynnwood (North of Seattle) for a sibling reunion. This is the first time we'd been in the same place at the same time in about 6 years. It was fun to bbq (albeit in the rain), hang out, and play Simpson's trivia. Max had a fabulous time running around with his 5 year old cousin Bryce, and I enjoyed holding baby Caden (4 months). Teresa prepared some delicious salmon, lightly marinated in soy sauce and then grilled on kabobs. I am looking forward to making it on the grill next summer.

Ruth left for San Jose this morning. We really enjoyed her visit and hope she comes back soon. We got to spend some time with Ruth and Grace this morning and then Grace took off with Pete and Bryce to go bowling.

The sun made a brief appearance this afternoon and we hopped on the bus and went into Ballard for a bbq at a friend's house. Max enjoyed pilfering through the garden for the last of summer's strawberries (he found one half ripe berry) and picked and ate several cherry tomatoes.

This evening Alicia and Loren came over and we had pizza on the roof to celebrate Alicia's birthday. Happy 31st, Alicia!

Rainy Saturday

Fall is really here, it's been grey for a few days, and we awoke to rain this morning. I am a little bummed about the weather as we'll have to spend most of our time at my brother's inside, we had planned an outside bbq.

Mostly I'm blogging this morning to gloat that Max said "My Mama" yesterday for the first time as he patted me. It's thrilling to hear him put two words together. He's also said: "Bye-bye, Daddy" a few times when Shawn's left for work.

We're enjoying our visit with Aunt Ruth, she's been reading a lot of books to Max. He had fun this morning at Playmatters, a cool drop-in playroom about 30 blocks north of us. He's napping now and I'm enjoying some quiet while Shawn and Ruth are picking up Grace from the train station.

Side note, Shawn and I are really enjoying the HBO series Mad Men, an interesting, entertaining drama. Check it out!

Crashing a party

Our neighborhood is rapidly changing, beautiful old houses are being torn down to make way for boring townhouses, and recently a charming old apartment building was converted to condos. We've been watching and listening to the construction for months. The other day Max and I were on our way to our friend Jasper's house and noticed a sign out for an open house in the building. I also spotted caterers carrying in tasty looking morsels. Our friends live directly across the street from this building, so we decided to take our two 1 year old boys and crash the open house.

These 1 bedroom condos are 355-395k, well out of both our families price ranges (not that we're even considering purchasing a home at this time). Sauntering in with Max on my hip and my substantially pregnant friend with her 1 year old son, we obviously were not in the market for one of these condos. We oooed and aaahed at the slab granite counter tops and the restored crown molding and the sales representative told us we could go upstairs to one of the empty units and look around. The boys had the best time tearing around an empty condo chasing each other around, we enjoyed watching all the upscale urbanites rushing around setting the stage trying to sell these condos in a bad market, and we loaded up on free swanky appetizers. Fremont is going upscale!

Awaiting Aunt Ruth's Arrival

Aunt Ruth is arriving in a half hour or so. We're looking forward to her visit, and showing her around our part of Seattle. Max napped really late today, from 5-6pm so he'll be up to greet her. He probably planned this.

Big steps for Max today, literally, he learned to climb our apartment stairs standing on his own (not climbing on all fours anymore). He also led me by the hand from our apartment around the corner to our friend Jasper's house. And at dinner he had his first gnocchi and cabbage. Go Max!

Sunny Tuesday

I love this photo and just had to share it.

This morning Max and I were on our way to the playground at 8:15AM. I get up earlier now than when I worked outside the home. He woke at 6 this morning so he was beating on the door (no exaggeration) by 8:10. He loved seeing all the dogs out for their morning constitutionals with their owners (we live in a neighborhood with a plethora of dogs) and he also delighted in climbing all the way up the play structure and going down a tubular slide by himself. I discovered he didn't need me to hover the entire time. I actually got to drink my coffee. The big hit of the morning was a mud puddle, he jumped and splashed and had a smashing time. By the time we got home he realized his shoes were soaked and that he was cold and uncomfortable. The little guy fell asleep on my lap wrapped up in a flannel blanket and has been counting sheep for an hour now. I love my days at home with Max.

Sarah Palin

Interesting post copied from a friends blog.

Please read this outstanding piece by Rebecca Traister on the Palinesque bastardization of feminist rhetoric. And then weep for the future.

What Palin so seductively represents, not only to Donny Deutsch but to the general populace, is a form of feminine power that is utterly digestible to those who have no intellectual or political use for actual women. It's like some dystopian future ... feminism without any feminists.

Palin's femininity is one that is recognizable to most women: She's the kind of broad who speaks on behalf of other broads but appears not to like them very much. The kind of woman who, as Jessica Grose at Jezebel has eloquently noted, achieves her power by doing everything modern women believed they did not have to do: presenting herself as maternal and sexual, sucking up to men, evincing an absolute lack of native ambition, instead emphasizing her luck as the recipient of strong male support and approval. It works because these stances do not upset antiquated gender norms. So when the moment comes, when tolerance for and interest in female power have been forcibly expanded by Clinton, a woman more willing to throw elbows and defy gender expectations but who falls short of the goal, Palin is there, tapped as a supposedly perfect substitute by powerful men who appreciate her charms.

Friday!

We're all happy it's Friday, it has been a long week. I'm happy that Max and I have fended off our colds with an herbal wellness formula given to us by one of our generous neighbors. This stuff really works! Max is napping after waking early this morning, and he enjoyed our trip out to the airport to pick up friends who returned from a vacation in Hawaii. Several times on our drive he happily exclaimed "Guck!" -this is his word for all cars, trucks, and buses. We were borrowing our friends car while they were gone and I think Max will miss it. When we got home he sat in his car seat in the living room for awhile.

I'm looking forward to a mellow weekend, I think we are meeting friends for coffee and donuts at Top Pot Donuts tomorrow morning. They are the best donuts in Seattle, heavy and cakey, very satisfying, and not overly sweet like Krispy Kreme. Then Shawn will get some time to hang out with his friend Lion at Saturday House.

If I'm feeling energetic I'll take Max over to the "mud pit" (giant sand pit with running water) at the playground, he is so happy when he can play in the mud, he grins from ear to ear. Photos will follow if we make it over there.

It must be fall

Max and I are fighting off colds. We're going to beat them! He's already napping which means he must be feeling tired, and I'm self medicating with tea and buttered bread. I don't really want coffee today, so that really means something's up. You're going to have to go to a different apartment, cold...we've got too nice of weather and fun things to do with friends. That's right, too busy for a cold.

I'm thoughtful today, it was 2 years ago today that I found out I was pregnant. Even though Max was planned, it was still such a surprise to discover I was pregnant, Shawn wasn't, apparently he expected me to be knocked up. Those Kilburns sure do have lots of kids! And now 2 years later we've got a wonderful Max who is changing so much every day. This morning while lounging in bed with us he was pointing to his nose, feet, and hair. Smart boy.

Today being September 11 is making me thoughtful, too. I'm thinking of all of the families devastated by this tragedy, sending peaceful and healing vibes to them. Namaste.

Fall Happenings

We've got a busy fall coming up, next week Aunt Ruth is flying in from San Jose and next weekend Aunt Grace will take the train up from Portland. We'll spend some time out in Lynnwood with my brother's family and I think my Dad will drive up to Seattle. This will be the first time in about 6 years that all of my siblings and I will be together in the same place. I'm looking forward to hanging out and seeing how little nephew Caden has grown and changed. Max is really into babies right now and I'm sure he will enjoy watching his little cousin, as well as following Bryce around and imitating what he is up to. The first weekend in October is our 6 year anniversary (where does the time go?!), a good friend from Portland will be spending the weekend with us, I'm sure Max will love the company. Then, later in October Grandma Rose is coming for a weekend, we always enjoy her visits and Max loves spending time with his Grandma.

Shawn's in the fourth week of his job and it's going really well, he is really enjoying the challenge and variety of his work. I feel so fortunate in our life right now, with his new job, my great job that allows me to be home with Max, our great neighborhood full of friends (and 6 stay at home moms to hang with), our cozy little apartment, and Max is healthy and happy, life is good.

Max is sleeping in this morning after thoroughly wearing himself out at the playground yesterday afternoon with his cousins and Aunt Patty and showing off for his 2 year old friend who we babysat last night. I'm enjoying some quiet and coffee this morning and ruminating about how to get him to eat more vegetables, if the flavors are good, he'll go for it... meaning, if I do something interesting with brocolli, he'll eat it...so I'm wondering, if I stir steamed, chopped spinach into mac and cheese, will he go for it? Would he eat steamed carrots with olive oil and kosher salt? These are my deep thoughts these days... (and how am I going to get him to eat some of the metric ton of cabbage that showed up in our organic produce delivery yesterday?)

Wonderful early fall tuesday

The weather is bright and sunny and warm today, I love Seattle in September. I took Max over to a friends house in Queen Anne today to visit Isabella, we met her parents in our birth class and she and Max share a birthday. J. made me a delicious latte (we love Cafe Fiore beans) and the kids played while we tried to have a conversation over breaking up squabbles over toys. I crammed in a trip to the grocery store and Max was so tired on the way home I sang to him to keep him awake. He's napping now, but probably not for long as the landlord next door whom we've dubbed "the workhorse" has fired up his insanely loud lawnmower. I'm heating up some chicken and vegetable soup for Max and hopefully after lunch we will join Cousins Alicia and Isobel and Aunty Patty at the zoo! Tonight a friend's 2 year old daughter will be here for a few hours while her mom is at a little party...she's bringing us Tutta Bella pizza as our rewards. Yum. Skimming back over this my life is all about kids and food these days.

First post

I created this blog as a journal of sorts to keep track of our life and jot down daily happenings and special memories. I haven't put together a baby book for Max yet and although I've meant to I just haven't gotten around to it yet. So, this will be a virtual memory book. I also want to broaden our meals and think of more interesting things to cook and create so I'll be posting some recipes too.
Fall is here and we are loving the weather, cool mornings and wonderful warm afternoons. Today we ran apartment errands, had fun in the aisles of Uwajimaya, played at Fremont Peak Park with Katie P. and Phin, Max had a super long nap and then we hung out in a friends backyard. A fun day! Shawn's doing storytime now, reading Dr. Seuss books to him and I'm off to nurse him to sleep....more later.