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.