Saying Farewell to E28

We've lived in apartment E28 for five and a half years. When we moved in on August 31, 2004 we had no idea we'd move out five years later with two children in tow. There have been a lot of memories in this apartment...

Shawn's first day of grad school in the autumn of 2004.

The first cookie party in December of 2004.

Shawn's crazy 29th cocktail birthday bash in January of 2006.

Our crazy cat Puffin who we adopted from the humane society in June of 2005 and took to a no kill shelter in July of 2006 after she peed on our housesitter while we were in Greece, and on me a few days after we got home. When I was asleep in bed, no less.

The day of our wedding, hanging out with our best man Linsel before the ceremony.

Water pouring in the living room window during our wedding reception in November of 2006.

Shawn's graduation from the i-school in June of 2006.

Coming home the day I was laid off from my office management job in November of 2006, when I was pregnant with Max.

The crazy blizzard of 2008.

Going into labor with both of our kids.

Bringing home both of our kids, three hours after their births. Climbing all of those stairs. Oh, those stairs.

There are more which I'm sure will occur to me later. Right now I've got a very wide awake 3 month old Alice on my lap and it's after 10pm! I hope she falls asleep soon...very soon.

Moving!

We're moving on saturday to a bigger apartment two blocks away. Life has been pretty crazy around here with all the boxes and trying to get things done. Here's a typical shot of an evening in our home: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paperclypse/4166058835/

Will post more after our move with pics of the new digs.

Holding it Together

Well, we're managing to hold it together with two kids pretty well. Thanks to Shawn taking Max out to the park for an hour every night after work I'm managing to put together some well rounded dinners. And a big thanks to Alice for being such a mellow baby. She slept through the night the last two nights. Amazing. Am I tempting fate by bragging about it on my blog? Probably. Alice has been a delight. She's usually happy to sit in her bouncy chair batting at toys while I make meals and throw in loads of laundry. Max is adjusting very well to being a big brother and he really enjoys cuddling and burping Alice. He said something priceless on the way home from school the other day. Alice was crying in the car, guessing she might be hungry I told her we'd be home soon and that I'd give her some "Mamma's Milk". Max piped up, saying that he needed to nurse her and that she needed his milk. I love it.

I've been trying to give him more one on one time. On Monday we started what I hope will be a weekly tradition. I took Max out for a special dinner, just the two of us. He was so happy to go to a restaurant with just me. Tonight he and I baked up some pumpkin muffins to take over to our neighbors for pumpkin carving tomorrow. He really loves baking and cooking.

Tomorrow I have a parent interview at a preschool in the neighborhood we hope to enroll him in. I am hopeful a spot will open up soon for him. We visited and he was so excited by the environment. Most of the time is spent playing outside, which he loves. All the toys are wood, and the kids get to help make their own organic snacks, and they get to bake a mini loaf of bread on fridays. It sounds perfect for him. He's doing well at the drop-in school we're using in the University District, but it's a bit of a drive and I think he'll do really well in a permanent school where he goes to school with the same kids for a few years.

Shawn's Dad visited us this weekend and we had a nice, laid back time. Tim was super helpful and watched the kids so Shawn and I could check out a rental house (we're not moving into it), and rearrange Max's room, making room for Alice to move in there in a month or two. Shawn and Tim had fun taking Max to the zoo and park, and I even got to hit Goodwill by myself while they watched the kids.

The days can be crazy and long when Shawn's at work, but overall it's going really well. Alice is growing and thriving, already fitting into three month clothes. She has a knack for waking up when Max goes down for a nap. It's pretty cute, she wakes up all smiles and we usually get in a good hour of Mamma and Alice time. Today I gave her a leg massage and she cooed and rolled around on the bed. I'll post more pictures once we get them uploaded. Happy Halloween!

Fall Happenings

It's my favorite time of year, I've been enjoying looking at the changing colors on my errands around town. We've been busy settling into a new rhythm with baby Alice, or "Baby Al" as Max calls her. Max loves holding his baby sister. Tonight he even had the burp cloth over his shoulder while he held her, snuggling her in his easy chair. Yesterday he wanted to take a nap with her, and the two of them laid in his bed, almost asleep until Alice stirred and the quiet mood in the room turned. It was a lovely five minutes, watching the two of them snuggle and almost doze off.

This week we toured a wonderful preschool that Max will start next month, and Alice had her newborn hearing screen (she passed). Max and I baked molasses cookies (love the recipe, Joe!), and chopped up stew vegetables. We've been living off crock pot cooking, it's the only way I have figured out how to cook with 2 kids around. The stew I made today had leeks, parsnips, carrots, potatoes and fennel in it, we were delighted that Max ate it happily for dinner (with a healthy dose of cheddar cheese grated on it to sweeten the deal).

Next Friday Shawn's Dad arrives for a visit, we're hoping for sunny weather so we can go to the zoo for the pumpkin prowl and watch the animals eat raw pumpkins. We haven't found Max's costume yet, we'll be hitting consignment and thrift stores this weekend. I almost spent $55 online today for matching bee costumes for the kids but talked myself out of it as we'll be putting $400+ into our little car tomorrow for new rear brakes and an oil change.

Alice is starting to smile and hold her head up more. I'll post some pictures as soon as we pull them off the camera. For now I think I'll crawl into bed with Alice and catch up on some sleep. We got a little crib for her that is all set up next to our bed, but I've only put her in it once... I love having our little girl in the bed. She snuggles her head up to Shawn's back every night to keep warm, it's the cutest thing. I love seeing the two of them cuddled up and fast asleep.

Squash

Just had to jot this down before I forget. Tonight I baked up some delicata squash (my favorite). After talking Max into trying it he excitedly asked for more! I'm delighted that he was preferring squash over couscous and chicken! Now if I could only get him to try some beets...

Two weeks of fun with Dad

Shawn sent me this photo taken this morning at the Ballard Locks. It's his last day off work today and he took Max out for a special morning. Max got the kids Grand Slam breakfast at the Hi-Life (Pancakes, eggs, bacon and OJ!) and then they went to run around at the Locks, one of Max's favorite outings. They are on the bus on the way home now so I'm attempting to crank out a quick blog entry before they get here and before Alice wakes up. It's been really great having Shawn home for the past 2 weeks and we are going to miss him very much!
He has taken Max out almost every morning for some special Max and Daddy time at parks and the zoo, and it's given me really valuable time to recuperate at home and bond with sweet little Alice.
The photo above was taken on her third day. She's 2 weeks old today and already noticeably more chubby and longer. It's amazing how fast newborns grow. I'm taking some quiet time this morning for myself. I've had a cup of coffee and baked up a batch of chocolate chip muffins, and done some reflecting on my parenting skills, both my weak and strong points. I'm going to try and breathe deep these next few weeks while I adjust to mothering 2 kids on my own during the day and hope that I can find the patience I need when Max is in a challenging mood. He is a sweet little boy, he's just 2, which includes a lot of hugs, and a lot of testing limits (throwing toys, screaming in the house, and jumping on the bed --all on the "No" list in our house). We are thrilled that he has been so sweet to his new sister. He loves to hold her, and give hugs and kisses. She is a very mellow baby, a good sleeper and eater, a better sleeper than Max, thankfully :). More pictures coming soon.

She's here

Alice Wren Kilburn was born at 8:42pm on Monday, September 7. Weighed in at 8 lbs even, 19.75 inches and a full head of dark hair. This photo was taken on her second day. I'll write more when my head isn't so muddled with tiredness. We are all doing very well, loving our little baby and busy welcoming her into our family.

Getting Close

Shawn and Max just left for the library and playground, a typical Saturday morning outing. I had planned on taking this time to do some much needed cleaning in the apartment, but my body is telling me to sit down and have some tea and cereal. My hips are getting loose and achy, giving me a reminder that the baby's arrival is drawing nearer. Tomorrow I hit the 37 week "full term" mark, meaning I can give birth anytime between tomorrow and 42 weeks. Five weeks is a big, crazy window of time to know that it could be "anytime". Max was 4 days late, so I probably have about 3 more weeks to go. I'm getting really slow. Yesterday I took Max to the zoo after an outing on the bus and it was too much, we were out for 3 hours and I'm really sore today. I've been so busy I haven't had much time to notice the pregnancy, but the baby is reminding me now of it's impending arrival.

We're pretty ready, changing table and baby clothes set up in our room, infant seat in the car, bags mostly packed. Emotionally, though, I don't think we've quite wrapped our heads around it. Max has been very clingy and needy, wanting to snuggle all the time, and when I don't give him the attention he wants (because I'm trying to clean or make his lunch) he throws toys, hits me, and in the last few days has been biting my belly. I'm struggling to give him all the attention he needs while getting the rest I need and keep up on housework and managing the apartments. I think it is going to take me awhile to find my rhythm after the baby is born. Shawn and I did manage to squeeze in a dinner date last week, it was lovely to get away for a few hours and enjoy our meal.

Last night we enjoyed hanging out with Alicia and got Paseo (lovely cuban food) for dinner and then we spent some time at the park. Max loves his Aunt Alicia and was delighted that she stayed and read to him in the bath.

We're all pretty tired and frazzled by Max's 2 year old behavior but we're muddling through it. Hopefully the new baby will take it easy on us. Max is now saying the baby is a boy (for the longest time he said "girl baby")...I've gone back and forth myself and now have no idea. We are getting excited to meet this new little baby, and we're hoping for a smooth labor and delivery. Fingers crossed!

Quote of the day

Over breakfast Max said: "Max doesn't have a tail like a kitty cat has". Brilliant.

Update

I haven't blogged in awhile. The summer has just been rolling by. We've been busy since we got back from our Santa Cruz trip 2 weeks ago. Shawn's laid up with a nasty cold and headache today and I'm moving around slowly in the humid heat. Not a very exciting day for Max, I'm afraid. We did venture out to a thrift store where he picked up a $2 Harley Davidson toy motorcycle that he's been obsessed with all day, that made getting him down for a nap interesting. I picked up some bedsheets, just in case I end up with a home birth. My labor with Max was so fast, and the birth center is so far away. 25 minutes at 2:30 in the morning. 1 HOUR during rush hour. I'll most likely be staying home if I go into labor on a weekday between 3 and 6pm, or on the weekend during a baseball or soccer game. I really don't want a home birth, but even more than that I don't want to give birth in the car. Think good thoughts that I'll go into labor at night! I'm due in just 7 weeks. Where has the time gone? I'm thinking it's a girl, I've had an intense sweet tooth lately (just ate a piece of chocolate cake and a chocolate ice cream bar). With Max I ate no sugar other than fruit and a steak almost daily.

In other news, Shawn's job has stabilized. We're very grateful, his 10% pay cut was even rescinded. And Season Two of MADMEN is finally here! Now if Max would just go to sleep Shawn and I could veg out and enjoy some quiet. We've got to get that in while we can!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Shawn!

Shawn's a great dad, and lately Max wants to spend as much time with him as possible. This morning Shawn slipped away to the coffee shop for some quiet and reading, or so he thought...after he left Max tearfully asked if he'd gone to work for the whole day. When I told him Shawn was over at Lighthouse Max insisted on going to meet him. Sorry you only got 20 minutes of quiet time, Shawn! Then we went up to the park where Max only wanted to play with his dad, and now he is putting him down for a nap (something I usually do).

You're a great dad and we love you, Napu!

Big Steps

About a week ago I bought a training toilet for Max, just like the one his friend Jasper has. Jasper has amazingly been toilet training himself for several weeks and this last week Max has really gotten interested in watching Jasper use the toilet. Tonight in the bath he announced that he wanted to use a toilet like Jasper, and wear underwear like Jasper. So, after his bath he climbed up on the big toilet (conveniently not using the $30 training toilet) and told his body to go pee. He was pretty proud of himself for sitting on the toilet and got on and off of it several times. He didn't want us to put on his diaper, saying he wants to wear underwear. So, I told him tomorrow we'd go shopping for some. I'm thinking of disposable pull-ups as he's not ready for real underwear, but it will be underwear to him. We are excitedly wondering, could this be toilet training, this early? We sure hope so.

The other big Saturday night news is that Max decided he liked zucchini tonight, grabbing it off of Shawn's plate with glee. I need to saute it in olive oil more often! This was a welcome change as he's become more picky about vegetables lately.

Right now he's crying in bed, and Shawn's in there trying to get him to sleep. His 2 year molars are still antagonizing him, and he's also very 2 with much willfulness and tantrums. He's growing and changing so fast. Just an inch shy of 3 feet, and a sturdy 31 pounds. Ah yes, a few other things of note: he's getting down how pedaling works on his trike, counting to 11, and yesterday he wowed me by "reading" the EXIT sign downstairs. Neither Shawn or I remember telling him what it said. He called out "Letter I". I asked him what the sign said and he replied "Hexit!". Stunned, I asked him what other letters he saw and he said "X and T". Wow! Maybe he'll be an early reader?!

Tomorrow is Father's Day and we'll likely saunter over to our local park for a little solstice potluck in the morning and take Shawn out for dinner in the evening, and let him slip away for a movie. We are hopeful that we are close to securing a regular babysitter, I miss dates with my husband!

Summer is here!

Summer has been here for about three weeks now. We've been enjoying lovely temperatures in the 70's and nice cool evenings. Tonight after dinner we walked to Molly Moon's, a popular ice cream shop we'd been curious to try out. I had the tamarind orange sorbet, really tasty. Max enjoyed a few bites and really liked munching on the cone most of the way home.

We've been all over town lately, mostly due do the fact that we acquired a car very cheaply a few weeks ago from good friends. They sold/gifted us their old '91 Honda Accord for $100! What a deal. With a little work on the battery and an oil change the car is running great and I must say Max and I have been enjoying getting around the city at a quicker pace. Wednesday we drove the 20 minutes (usually 45+ on the bus) out to where my brother works at Sandpoint and checked out a new playground and Pete met us for lunch and took us on a little hike up and over kite hill to Lake Washington. Max enjoyed playing in the water, trying to skip rocks. Thursday we went down to the Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union for a story time on a tugboat. Max immediately decided the boat was much too crowded (they were doing story time with 25 kids in the galley!) and walked out. He enjoyed running around on the docks, watching prop planes land in the water. This morning I decided we needed a peaceful, solo outing so we stopped by a toy store and picked up a neat little sandtoy set and went to our closest beach, Golden Gardens. A lovely beach along the Puget Sound. We played in the sand and spent a lot of time at a marsh watching ducks and turtles. This was a delightful respite from the temper tantrums that set in yesterday, it's been three a day. Two of the tantrums were thirty minutes each and included yelling, door slamming, trying to remove a dirty diaper, throwing toys, and the list goes on. The challenging two's are really here in a big way. I'm resisting calling it the terrible two's as really, Max is a delight most of the time. His strong will is really surfacing and small things such as a routine morning diaper change, or having to get out of the car are setting him off. It's been a challenge and we're doing our best to nurture and love him through this phase.

We fly to Santa Cruz in three weeks for a friends wedding. Shawn's a groomsmen and will be pretty busy with the wedding festivities. We are looking forward to spending nine days there and are hoping to have plenty of time to relax and visit with friends and family. I'm looking forward to one last get away before baby comes. I'm almost in the third trimester, my due date is three months from tomorrow. Time is whizzing by, I'm trying to slow down this summer and savor some time with just the three of us before we rise to the challenge and joy of welcoming the little one. Max has been saying that he is ready for the baby to come out, and that it will come out of my belly button. He likes to pat my belly and say "Hi, baby". Cute. He'll be such a good big brother.

Birthday Weekend, Take Two.

Max has been feeling better since Monday, so we decided to have his party this Saturday. Unfortunately, Shawn started feeling cruddy this morning. Feverish and achy. Sigh. He stayed home from work today and rested, but I'm not sure he'll make it tomorrow. Max and I had a very busy day starting out at the zoo in 70+ degree weather. Summer has arrived all of a sudden in Seattle. On the way home we picked up ingredients for his banana cake and he was kind to Shawn and I and took a 2 1/2 hour nap. After nap we zoomed over to Queen Anne to pick up party snacks at Trader Joe's and had a birthday dinner with our friends Julie, Jeffery, and Isabella. Bella and Max were born the same day, just 12 hours apart. We met Julie and Jeffery in our birth class and have become good friends. It was cute to see the kids exchange gifts and Max loved playing with all of Bella's toys. We arrived home to find Shawn really not doing well, I was hoping he'd be up to putting Max to bed but poor Shawn is still feverish and took some ibuprofen and retired to bed quickly. I managed to get Max's cake in the oven and get him down to sleep. Now I've just got to prep some cheese and fruit for tomorrow and whip up some frosting. This day seems like it just might not end.

We've just had a lot going on and I think it's caught up with Shawn. His Dad arrived last Thursday, and the next day Max woke up sick. It was really hard having a houseguest in our tiny place for several days when three nights in a row Max didn't sleep. Sunday night was the last straw when he was up from 11pm-3am. No one slept and thankfully Alicia and Loren agreed to host Tim on Monday, his last night in town. I wish we'd thought of asking them sooner! I think the stress of Max being sick and not getting any sleep and playing host to his Dad (all day at the folk life music festival on Saturday) has caught up with Shawn. I hope he can come hang out at Max's party (outdoors at a park) in the morning, I'd hate for him to miss the festivities. I'm really hoping our life settles down soon and that we're all feeling well for a good long while.

Max's Birthday Weekend

Well, this weekend has not been a very good one, sad to say. Friday Max slept in very late and woke up with a 102 degree fever and by that afternoon it was up to 104.6. I rushed him to the doctor who said he'd be contagious for 3-5 days and that he may have roseola. Sadly we had to cancel his party that was scheduled for yesterday. Beautiful weather and with his birthday falling on a Saturday. So sad that we had to call it off. The day started off ok with him under the influence of tylenol, but quickly spiraled downward with him not napping, refusing to eat dinner, and only picking at his birthday cake. He wouldn't sleep in his own bed, so he was in with us all night, none of us got any sleep and then at 4:00AM he started wailing and shaking, he was so hungry, and all I could get in him was applesauce. He was shaking pretty seriously and then his fever broke and he slept until 8:30AM.

He had a good short outing at the zoo this morning with Shawn and his dad who is visiting us for several days (Sorry you aren't getting any sleep, Grandpa). This afternoon he woke up from his nap and cried unconsolably for a solid hour, drooling furiously. His two year molars are all about half way in. We took him out for some air and he was so upset it took a long time and a stop at the coffeeshop for a mango smoothie to calm him down. We're hoping he sleeps through the night tonight. We're all exhausted. His birthday party has been postponed to next Saturday, here's to hoping there will be good weather and that Max will be all better. It's so sad when our little guy isn't himself.

Max's first lie

Well, it happened, just shy of age two, Max told his first lie. Yesterday he helped me bake oatmeal raisin cookies and he was very excited about them. After dinner I was on the phone with my sister Ruth and Max told Shawn "Mamma said Max have cookie right now". Shawn came in to double check with me, and I certainly said no such thing! Max sure looked sheepish when we caught him in his little lie. We couldn't help but laugh, it was pretty cute. Maybe if I hadn't been on the phone he would have asked me if he could have a cookie.

My Mother's Day is off to a good start, it's 7:30 and both my boys are sleeping in, and baby is moving around while I enjoy a cup of tea. A little time to myself in the morning always makes for a better day. Not sure what our day holds today, looks like the sun is coming out so maybe we'll head up to the zoo or over to a playground, I really love watching Max run around, jumping and climbing. ...And there he is now, waking up... :)

A little quiet time

I'm relishing a cup of tea and a few minutes of quiet while Shawn and Max sleep in. I can't seem to sleep in when I'm pregnant. Always thinking of things I need to do. I'm looking forward to doing some shopping alone this morning while M&S have a boys morning.

We had some amazing weather yesterday. 70 and sunny. Finally! This was the longest winter I remember, and I've been through some long ones having lived my whole life in the northwest. Max and I set out early for the park and he had a great time exploring, and climbed a ladder on a play structure for the first time by himself. I loved seeing a big satisfactory smile on his face when he made it to the top. Later in the day we picked Shawn up from work and drove out to my brothers place for a bbq with his family and my Dad who is visiting for the weekend. Max loved playing outside with his 5 year old cousin. He was so excited to be jumping cars off a track that he would only eat Pirate Booty and watermelon for dinner. When we got home he was so tired Shawn got him to bed in 10 minutes, a new record. It's 7 now and he's still snoozing. Hope I didn't just jinx myself. He's spent a week sleeping in his new toddler bed, it's been great. He loves getting in and out himself, and he really likes reading books in bed, just like his Dad.

The scooter I ordered for his birthday showed up a few days ago, I'm having a hard time waiting to give this to him! His birthday will be fun as it falls on a Saturday this year. We're hoping for good weather as we'll be doing his party at a playground, parks are seriously his favorite places to be. When he wakes up from naps he usually says "Ready go outside" within 10 minutes, and we already spend most of our mornings outside.

This afternoon we are going to a suprise 40th birthday party for a friend whose daughter was born the same day as Max. We're looking forward to chatting with friends, and I'm sure Max will delight in playing with his friend and meeting some new kids. After the party we are picking up our friend Katherine from the airport. We've had her car for the last 10 days and Max has loved riding around in it, frequently asking me "drive Katherine's car?". He's learned to get in and out of his carseat by himself, and he likes looking at all the cars when we are on the freeway. It's been great having a car to use for errands and parties in the burbs. Tomorrow we'll see my Dad for a morning of checking out the Sunday market in Fremont and browsing around the chocolate factory down the hill, and we'll top off the day with dinner at Tawon Thai. Yum. When we ate their last week Max said "Tofu NOW!" as soon as we walked in the door. Love it.

I'll hopefully post some new photos soon. Our only functioning camera at the moment is Shawn's iphone. We really need to get a new camera as our old one bit the dust at least a month ago.

Yesterday, as the calendar rolled over to May it dawned on me that this little baby is due in just over four months. The time has really flown by, so many days I'm busy enough that I barely remember I'm pregnant. It's nice to take some time right now to just feel the baby move and connect with it. I'm continuing in my efforts to clear junk out of our bedroom so that we'll have room next to the bed for a changing table. Baby will sleep with us for the first little while and then when it (we think it's a girl!) is ready we'll try a cradle in Max's room. I think I hear Max waking now...better finish my tea.

Max's Birthday Present

En route from Amazon. Can't wait for it to arrive. He'll love it!

Cutest Photo Ever

Shawn snapped this photo of Max this past weekend. Max had just put Shawn's hat on, and I love the look on his face. He's 23 months old today! Two in just one month. Wow. Time sure does fly.

This week

We've had a fun and busy week. Today we enjoyed the weekend by not doing too much. We had a fun outing this morning at the Woodland Park playground where Shawn and Max kicked a soccer ball around and Max practiced climbing and jumping with gusto. I was excited to get some really tasty sandwiches for lunch at a small neighborhood market that just reopened. So nice to munch on a swanky goat cheese sandwich while watching your kid on the playground. This afternoon Max played in the kitchen sink, one of his favorite activities, making bubbles and playing with tupperware, while I mixed up a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies. We topped off our day by ordering in thai food, Max happily eating rice noodles and fried tofu. I love it that he is such a good eater.

Yesterday we went to the Pacific Science Center with our friends Sara and Jasper. Sara took a few pictures of the boys which I posted above. Max sure loves playing with Jasper. He had a fun filled hour and a half exploring the tots area and Shawn came to have a quick lunch with us. The weather was so nice yesterday afternoon that I took Max to the park for 2 hours in the afternoon, he played with some other kids, a new thing for him to be interacting with kids on the playground that he doesn't know, and I enjoyed chatting with an eccentric New Yorker who was at the park with his grandchildren.

Monday we've got our half way ultrasound already! We'll get a good look at baby while everything is being measured. I wasn't keen on getting a second ultrasound, but my midwife convinced me to as she said this half way one is a helpful tool in seeing if everything is up to speed. We won't be finding out the gender, I'm really excited to wait until the birth to find out. I've been feeling much more pregnant, showing more, and I can no longer sleep on my side without extra pillows. I've been pretty tired today and Shawn's been great doing all of the running after Max so I can sit and rest.

Next week we'll be getting a toddler bed for Max! Friends of ours are ready to part with it, and we're thrilled to get a nice bed frame for him for free. I'll certainly post on how he does with a bed he can get in and out of himself!

Max Speak

I'm jotting down some things that Max says right now, so that I don't forget them.

"Dinnder" --his word for dinner
"Max eating croissant right now"
"Goodnight sleep tight"
"One more time"
"Ready to go outside now"
"Baby Beluga at Jasper's house with red play-doh"
"Help me find the red car, Mamma"
"Daddy at work right now"
"Max ride a yellow scooter. Fast."
"Max drive a school bus"

He's a lot of fun right now. His verbal skills have really taken off and it's a hoot talking with him. He was delighted to ride the bus down to the Lockspot, in the pouring rain, to meet Shawn for dinner. My hardcore craving for fish and chips makes me go out on even the rainiest of evenings.

Yesterday the baby started moving a lot, and today it moved all day. So much fun to feel the little movements. This morning I interviewed a midwife who is much closer to us, trekking across town with Max for appointments is getting old. I really like the midwife I met this morning and am excited to switch, she seems like a better fit for me.

The week has pretty much flown by. We've been doing a lot of indoor playing as it's been really rainy. I can't remember what we're doing this weekend, hopefully not much other than my and Katherine's big shopping trips to Fred Meyer and Uwajimaya. I'm starting to get tired out pretty easily, so here's to hoping Max takes it easy on us this weekend... one can hope, right?

Oh, one last thing. My friend Aaron and I played a really good April Fool's joke on Shawn yesterday. Shawn and I had been on call to go watch Aaron's daughter Ella if his wife went into labor before her scheduled c-section, so Aaron and I hatched a plan yesterday afternoon. Shortly after 9pm last night he called Shawn cell and told him Carol was in labor and could Shawn come stay with Ella until his in-laws could get there. With a bit of a sigh Shawn headed out in the pouring rain. He was greeted at Aaron's house with a drink, a burger from Dick's, and invited in to watch LOST. Hee-hee. Got you, Shawn!

Busy Weekend

It's been another busy weekend. Friday afternoon our friend Colin arrived from Portland for the weekend. He hadn't been to Seattle in many years and was looking forward to seeing a bit of the town and spending time with Max. We had a delicious dinner, we ordered in from our favorite Thai restaurant, Tawon. Max had fun showing off for our friend, he loves having people over. Saturday morning Colin and Shawn took Max to a robot expo and the Pacific Science Center while I did some much needed clothes shopping downtown. It poured rain all day, but Max didn't seem to mind. After his nap we went out again, Max played at Firehouse coffee with Colin and Shawn while I checked out the new Trader Joe's in Ballard. A nice big store, but very busy at 3pm on a Saturday. Shawn and Colin took off for downtown to check out the cool library and see "The Merchant of Venice". Max and I had a fun late afternoon visit with neighbors and a quiet dinner at home. I enjoyed a quiet house after Max was asleep and got a great night's sleep as Max slept in, and my pregnant belly didn't rouse me for a bathroom trip at 3AM. Thanks, baby!

Pregnancy update: things are going pretty well. I'm 16 weeks along today. Baby has started to move more, and I love feeling those little flutters. Haven't had too much heartburn, just a mad craving for halibut and chips. It's really all I want to eat, I haven't had any of the watermelon or steak cravings I had with Max. I think we're having a boy, Shawn thinks it's a girl. Time will tell! I'm excited that we are waiting until the birth to find out.

Back to the weekend. This morning Colin took off for the day to visit with a friend downtown, and Shawn and I took Max up to the zoo. It was a bit chilly out, but we had a fun time. Max ran all around, enjoying getting a great look at a peacock putting on a show with all of his feathers out, the toucans, flamingos, and of course, a ride on the merry-go-round with Shawn. He took a good nap and we headed into Ballard to get some shoes for Shawn, he didn't find anything, but we got a great little pair of rain boots for Max who must stomp in every puddle he sees. After shopping Max delighted in watching skateboarders at a local park, and drinking most of a smoothie that he was supposed to share with Shawn. On our way home from the bus some of our neighbors were out working in their garden, we stopped by and stayed for almost an hour, chatting while Max played in the dirt, happy as a clam with a trowel and a little school bus to fill up with soil.

We are very excited that our friend Jasper is back from his week long trip to Oregon, and can't wait to see him in the morning. Tonight Max asked me if he and Jasper could ride bikes together tomorrow.

A visit to FAO Schwarz

Max and I bussed downtown to have coffee with my old boss, Rich this morning. To keep him happy during coffee, I told him we'd stop by a new toy store, and pick out a birthday present for his friend Jasper. He happily stomped in puddles on the way, and was delighted at the newish FAO Schwarz toy store in Macy's downtown. As I picked out Jasper's gift Rich watched Max for me, and they found a little station wagon that hooks on to an airstream trailer. Max played with it all the way home on the bus, and for an hour and a half after we got home. He was so busy playing with it that I had to feed him lunch (he normally prefers to feed himself). He held onto the trailer until he was fast asleep at naptime. Before dozing off he said "New trailer from nice toy store". It put a big smile on my face to see him so happy and concentrating so much on his new toy. We are looking forward to stopping by Jasper's this afternoon to bring him his birthday gift, and this evening we are off to an equinox party at a friends house. I love having so many friends in the neighborhood.

Hanging out in the neighborhood

Spring is slowly arriving

Spring is slowly arriving in Seattle and Max and I have been enjoying meandering around the neighborhood after 5pm, soaking up some sunlight and admiring crocuses. He's been really into riding his bike lately, and he scours the sidewalks looking for good "downhills" (driveways) to careen down. When he's not riding, he hands me his bike to carry and tears off running. I'm getting my exercise keeping up with him. I'm hoping when I'm heavily pregnant this summer he won't go speeding away quite so fast.

I'm feeling pretty good, pregnancy wise. Shawn and I felt the little one move last Tuesday, how neat! So early to feel it at 12 weeks, but I'm hearing that everything happens faster in the second pregnancy. Hard to believe I'll hit 14 weeks on Sunday.

We're looking forward to seeing some of Shawn's family who are visiting from Santa Cruz this weekend, we're hoping to go the zoo with them. Max has been asking to ride the merry-go-round at the zoo with Shawn.

Tuesday I'm going to cook up 3 lbs. of corned beef on Tuesday for St. Patty's Day dinner. Yum. I'm all about food these days. In other food news, our favorite thai restaurant has started free delivery! I can't wait to get my favorite dishes delivered to my door. Mmmmm.

Snowy Sunday Morning

I awoke at 4:30AM with Max to snow this morning. He woke up really early stuffed up with a cold. We were snuggling about a half hour ago on the couch and he fell asleep on me. A very peaceful moment while holding my sweet son and looking out the window at white roof tops with Greg Brown quietly playing in the background. I've got Max tucked under his favorite quilt on the couch and I'm enjoying some quiet and a cup of tea while he and Shawn catch up on some sleep. I love these unexpected, peaceful moments.

And One More Makes Four...

That's right. Max is going to be a big brother! Sometime around September 13. We're all
a bit surprised. Ok, make that totally surprised! We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and everything looked great. We are going to wait and be surprised about the gender again. I'm happy that I'm going to be working with the doula and one of the midwives that assisted us with Max's birth. I've been feeling pretty good, just tired.

In other not so great news, Shawn's company did a big round of layoffs a few weeks ago. Fortunately, Shawn didn't get laid off, but he did get a 10% pay cut along with the rest of the company. We are hoping his small company does ok during these tough times. Things in Seattle have been rough economically but I am hopeful things will turn up soon.

We are having a good weekend, we spent the afternoon with good friends over in Ballard and I indulged my craving for fish and chips at the Lockspot. Yum.

A funny conversation with Max

Yesterday I suspected Max had a dirty diaper...our conversation went like this:

Me: Max, do you have a dirty diaper?

Max: No, just toots.

Me: But I see poop in your diaper.

Max: Doggie poop.

Me: How did it get there?

Max: A dump truck.

Me: How did a dump truck put doggie poop in your diaper?

Max: I don't know what happened.

Mom and Max Weekend

Shawn left this afternoon on the train for Portland and will return late Monday night. Max and I sure miss him, but we hope he is having lots of fun relaxing and hanging out with friends. We've had a good day. Before Shawn left today he took Max to the zoo this morning, the merry-go-round at the zoo on the weekend has become a special treat for Max. I got some nice quiet time and gave the apartment a good cleaning. Max and I had a quiet afternoon hanging out and our neighbor Sara stopped by for a bit. This evening Auntie Katherine joined us for pizza (free artichoke hearts on Valentine's Day. Yum) and watching Flight of the Conchords. Max loved the "movie" and enjoyed gnawing on some pizza crusts. He really liked being tickled by Katherine and playing trucks with her. She tired him out well and he went to sleep easily for me. I was relieved as I had been worried about bedtime. Eight days ago Shawn started putting him to bed, and I was afraid with me in there he'd want to nurse and cry a lot. But he didn't cry once, and only asked to nurse a few times. We snuggled and read books together, it's really neat reading with him now as he is getting into saying phrases, tonight he said "Walking mouse" from the book "If you give a mouse a cookie...."

We are looking forward to hanging out with friends tomorrow and I'm off to sleep now as the little tyke has been waking up early these days, telling us he's hungry and then eating a 2 egg breakfast!

Sleep Challenges Continue

This is the fifth night of Shawn putting Max to sleep. The first one was ok, nights 2 and 3 were great, and the last two have been, well, pretty bad. He's been in there with him for over an hour tonight and it sounds like he's just fighting sleep. We even gave him a little ibuprofen for his teething pain. It's such a huge transition for him to not nurse to sleep anymore. I hope it gets easier as I'll be on my own this weekend, and Shawn is rapidly tiring of spending 2+ hours of his evening sitting in the dark with Max. We've got a friend who will be arriving in the next hour to spend the night with here while he's in town on a quick business trip. I hope Max goes to sleep soon so Shawn can have some time to hang out with our friend. Other than the big sleep issues, the nursing less is going well. Here's to hoping little Max is feeling my sleepy vibes right now and will go off to the land of sleep soon.

Daily Life

I haven't posted in awhile. I've been wrapped up in daily life. I caught Max's flu and was down for several days. It was a really, really bad stomach flu. It really set Max back too, his stomach wasn't back to normal for a week and he really regressed and is wanting to nurse all the time. I've decided I've had enough of sitting, holding him, letting him nurse for an hour or more at bedtime, and then again around 3AM. No more nursing at bedtime or during the night. Period. So, Shawn put him to sleep for the first time last night. Max cried and carried on for an hour and a half. I was expecting worse, and I was so relieved, and proud of him and Shawn when he went to sleep and stayed asleep for a whole 8 hours. Go, Shawn! Today, Max has wanted to nurse a lot, when he's been tired or hungry. A long outing at the zoo with him being too excited to eat his snacks resulted in a meltdown when he got home and I caved and nursed him, he was so hungry he was refusing all other food. Sometimes, it's the only way to get him to eat some real food, letting him have his Mamma comfort first. Really though, I know I'm getting close to wanting to wean him all together. I know some people think I've already nursed him too long as he's closing in on the 2 year mark. It's so different for every child. For now we're starting with this new night time routine. Shawn's in with him now, reading him books, and I'm hoping the crying doesn't go on for as long tonight (I'm sure my poor neighbors are hoping the same). Shawn's mom and sister are visiting us this weekend and Rose was saying that weaning won't be effective until I make up my mind that we're weaning. So, I've really made up my mind about this night time stuff. We're on the wagon and not falling off. Shawn's going to Portland next weekend so I'm hoping it gets easier this week so when I'm trying to enforce it on my own while he's gone I won't go too nuts.

Today was fun. We had a good morning outing to Lighthouse for coffee and Max's now favorite mango juice, and Rose and Chandra arrived. We hung out and played with Max, he napped for an hour and we enjoyed a nice lunch together and then Rose and Shawn took Max to the zoo for some toucans and merry go round fun while Chandra and I shopped. I picked up a lovely casual dress and some goodies at the Mediterranean food store. Mmmmm olives...

First Flu

Max came down with his first flu last night. It came out of nowhere as I was laying him down to sleep the poor guy threw up all over his bedding. We ended up changing his sheets 3 times and his pajamas at least six times last night. He seemed ok for awhile this morning so I let him have a little water and nurse a bit, and then he ate some applesauce a few hours later. The applesauce was a big mistake. Everything came back up and we had to take a bath together to clean off. He's been asleep now for an hour and a half and I'm following Dr. Sears' advice and making a batch of organic vegetable soup that I hope he'll keep down for dinner.

Tomorrow is Shawn's 32nd birthday and I really hope Max is better so we can go out. I've lined up a friend to watch Max and everything. A new pizza place opened in our neighborhood and Shawn's been wanting to try it out. In other birthday news, we are going to buy Shawn an iphone on Saturday!

Fun Weekend

Our friend Mason is visiting us from Portland this weekend. Max has absolutely loved having a house guest. Mason and Shawn got back from dinner last night just in time to give Max his bath and read him bedtime stories. Max was delighted this morning to play with Mason on the hide-a-bed and show off his toys, and Mason made Max scrambled eggs for breakfast, his favorite. Then Mason and Shawn took him to the zoo this morning (his current favorites are the Toucans) so I could get some quiet time and get some things done around the building.

Tomorrow we'll be going over to a friends house in Ballard for brunch, hopefully Max will play with their 2 year old daughter. They've not really played well each other in previous interactions.

It's been a long, busy week and this relaxing weekend has been great. Not much else going on with us right now, just enjoying Max and all of his shenanigans.

The Big 34

I turned the big 34 today. I am feeling old. I guess it's that I can't say I'm in my early 30's anymore. Really, it's not bothering me that much. I've had a lovely birthday.

Last night we had a great dinner at Tawon Thai with Katherine, Alicia, Loren, and Isobel who is visiting from Santa Cruz. The food was delicious as usual and Max was extremely well behaved. He ate the whole time we were eating, downing amazing amounts of brown rice mixed with peanut sauce. Katherine gave me a really neat looking cookbook, all recipes are 5 ingredients or less, this will be really helpful during this busy time of trying to cook with Max underfoot! She also gave me a very cool calendar, all the pictures are neat things such as boats and airplanes made out of food. Perfect for where we hang a calendar in the kitchen. Alicia, Loren, and Isobel gave me a gift certificate to Fremont Place Books, I'm looking forward to picking some stuff out!

This morning was special, Alicia and Isobel took Max to the zoo and I enjoyed a brunch by myself at the Hi-Life in Ballard. I had an hour to read the paper, drink coffee, and linger over my food. Precious. This afternoon Max and I hung out with our neighbors, Max loves spending time at Jasper's and I love visiting with Sara and holding little baby Gideon. Shawn stopped by on his way home from work and we all walked home together, then he cooked up a really nice pasta sauce with egg noodles and my favorite rosemary bread, and there is strawberry rhubarb pie in the fridge for dessert.... Mmmmm.

I've also enjoyed several emails and cards from friends today as well as some nice gifts. It's the nicest birthday I've had in several years.

Sidenote: Max got his first haircut 2 days ago! Pictures to follow soon.

This week

When Max's sleep works, I take it for granted. When it doesn't, it's all I think about. Yesterday something magical happened and he took a nice nap. Maybe it was cousin Isobel being here and playing with him all morning. He napped so long that we didn't have time to make it to the zoo. Sorry, Isobel! We did get to enjoy some chocolate and an episode and a half of "Flight of the Conchords" during his slumber. This was his first nap in a week, so I was really thankful. This morning he was awake wanting to have milk and snuggle from 5-6, so it's just past 8 and he's still snoozing, I'm enjoying some coffee and quiet. Always a good way to start my day!

It's very blustery and rainy this morning, and we need to make our monthly errand down to the International District to drop off the apartment rents. I'm hoping Alicia and Isobel will want to join us for this quick errand and while we are down there we can load up on some groceries at the lovely Uwajimaya Asian grocery, and maybe hit the Aquarium or Pacific Science Center. I realized this morning that we would have had time to do that yesterday afternoon (they are open an hour later than the zoo) if I'd been thinking clearly. Both Max and Isobel love the science center, and Alicia told us yesterday about some human sized hamster wheel there. Sounds worth checking out! And a trip to the science center means meeting Shawn for lunch, always a plus :)

Sleep Challenges

Max is changing a lot right now. His verbal and motor skills are taking off with gusto. I think this has led to his sleep problems (and ours!). Two days this week he didn't nap, and tonight he won't go to sleep....his usual routines aren't working anymore and we're left perplexed as to what to do. Any advice from other parents among my readers?

He's still nursing to sleep, and this may be part of the problem. He wants to stay awake, and suckle and cuddle, even when he is done eating. Yesterday we introduced a warm cup of cow's milk, which he will take during the day but has refused last night and tonight. Shawn's reading to him now in his new comfy easy chair, I'm not sure what to do next. I guess we need to come up with a new bedtime routine.

For now I'll blog and self medicate with chocolate almond toffee.