Three hours of work and a trail of recycling in our wake, and we've nearly got the room ready for our little guy. Hope you like his new dresser, reader (hope he likes it too!).
Also swung by Tricoter for some yarns and some ideas. If things go according to plan, this will soon be a hat:
And, on a more or less completely unrelated note, I heard about this on CHS the other day, and I think you need to see it.
A guy riding around our neighborhood on a bike delivering antique seltzer bottles full of sparkling water may sound a bit like a Portlandia sketch, but I sure hope we can sign up soon!
After nearly a week of wild and sometimes (if you'll forgive my language) icky weather, it was nice to be treated to a great baby shower by some of the great people we've met here in Seattle.
Our friends Wendy and Roman are awesome. Here's a photo:
Wendy organized and hosted the party, and Roman, who is from the Czech Republic, made some awesome finger food sandwiches, called Chlebíčky, I believe. Whatever they're called, they were mighty tasty!
Hard to have fun and take a lot of pictures, but here's a nice crowd shot:
Emily, Kim, Bria, and Mark
(Not pictured: Michael, Jen, Pete, Laura, John, Kascha, Alder, Will, Jamelia, and Jamie...)
I also didn't take very good notes during the baby trivia (the guests brought questions; Emily and I tried to answer... hope 50% is a passing grade!), but I do remember that fetuses have fingerprints by the end of the first trimester.
And the oldest woman to get pregnant was like 66 (!).
And Jermaine Jackson named his son Jermajesty :)
I did get a couple of shots after the fact, like this one of Wendy's cute centerpiece:
Notice the flowers in the giant baby bottle—I love it!
Nice to know what to expect. Also nice to see that the rooms balance comfort (pullout bed for me; fridge; DVD player) with modern medicine. Cool to know that our son will be born in a room like this:
And every room has a tub:
(Sorry about the red; definitely makes it dramatic, though, no?)
I'm also happy that Group Health emphasizes "family-centered" care. I like their focus on supporting our birth plan, and I really like that their policy is to do everything possible to make sure that our baby will spend his first hours cuddling and bonding with Emily and me. Can't wait to cuddle with the little guy!
Finally, I love the location! Here's a view from the postpartum floor:
Can you see our living room window? Click the image to see a version with our window labeled...
Sunday brought some beautiful weather. This fisheye photo shows how nice our block looks on a snowy afternoon.
Oh, and it also shows the GHC Birth Center (red brick building in the center of the frame), so that's cool :)
Great day for wandering around the neighborhood. And a great chance for photos, like the one up top.
Some streets were closed and taken over by sledders; many snowmen (and other snow creatures) were made. You can read all about it over on CHS.
Finally, Happy MLK Day! Great opportunity to reflect on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life and work. Looks like our local radio station is doing a show on his involvement in the struggle for the rights of the poor.
An amazing young man is on his way, and we couldn't be more excited. It may make it tricky, though, for the two of us to zip off to the woods for a few days.
Fortunately, we were able to take a few days and spend time together in the beautiful rain forests on the Olympic Peninsula.
This Seattle Times article was one of the reasons we decided to return for another winter visit, and so we drove up to the Hoh Rain Forest to enjoy some of the rainy fun.
Since it was Monday, the visitor center was closed; and we only heard rumors of elk and otters... But we did happen to run into some other families getting ready for the next generation at Taft Creek:
Also took a look at the ocean, but days like that are more pleasant in a forest than on a beach.
Luckily we were able to go back to the lodge to warm up. There's really nothing like reading by a fire on a comfy couch.
A little funny to mention here, but I also read this Times Op-Ed column, and so I didn't check my email or look at Facebook for a couple of days :) (For a similar theme, but from the perspective of someone a bit more—ahem—like me, see this post from the Times' tech blogger.)
But the main attraction, of course, is the forest. Right near the lodge there is a great set of trails through the Quinault Rain Forest.
That's Gatton Creek up at the top of this post. If you look at the Quinault Rain Forest hiking map, you'll see that the trail up there ("Trail of the Giants") passes a tiny spur called "Connie's Trail." I have no idea who Connie is, but her trail is worth it for the suprise turn that brings you right through a huge downed tree:
Views coming down aren't half bad either:
Well, school's about to start, and soon all kinds of other exciting things will be starting up. In the meantime, cheers!
