shins recap

Well, by the time we hit the riverside patio, it wasn't exactly 90 degrees and sunny anymore. Raining and hailing was more like it:



But no matter...the margaritas were strong, the beers were big, and our resolve was unwavering. That patio went from packed to empty in 10 seconds flat, but we weathered the storm and persevered!

Things weren't looking too good come show time. There was lightning in the not-so-distance, and I was fairly afraid they'd cancel the concert on account of it. But no! The Shins played through it, with an awesome light show only to be conjured up by the likes of mother nature. It was an amazing set, and they played every song I wanted to hear: New Slang, Saint Simon, Kissing The Lipless, AND...an acoustic version (with harmonica!) of Caring Is Creepy. Hell, they even played Pink Floyd's Great Gig in the Sky as an encore!

Here's a little taste of Phantom Limb taken on my cellphone:



We were only about 20 feet from the stage for the whole show! Sweeeeeeet!
Too, too much fun...

best...datenight...ever!

How fun is tonight going to be? Let's see...

We've got a sitter!
It's 90 degrees and sunny and we're going for happy hour on a patio by the river!
We're going to see THE SHINS (!) at the amphitheatre!!!


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So, so psyched...

green veggies take two

Miracle of all miracles, she LOVES peas! Like seriously, seriously loves them---she doesn't even have any on her face or bib when she's done with her second helping. So there is hope after all...

veggie strike

WARNING: The following article contains graphic images that may be offensive to some viewers.

When it comes to eating, Sadie is probably the most enthusiastic baby I've ever seen. She trembles in anticipation the moment the spoon leaves the bowl, mouth gaping wide, body leaning forward so as to speed delivery of the food to her tummy a second sooner. We were fairly convinced she'd eat anything we gave her---as evidenced by the dill pickle and lime wedge we'd let her chew on at one time or another. Yeah, they were sour, but that didn't stop her from going back for more.

Until the green beans:


Is it wrong that I was laughing so hard the entire time that I could barely keep the camera from shaking?

So let's see...for those of you that are keeping score:
Rice cereal - mmm. oh yeah. more please. lots more. like 1/2 cup at at time, and maybe seconds.
Plums - eh. too sour.
Sweet potatoes - definitely a plus.
Bananas - she likes them, but her tummy doesn't. two strikes and they're out.
Squash - a lot like sweet potatoes. good, good, good.
Avocados - no thank you. (this one surprised us. maybe it's time to try again.)
Pears - YES!
Apples - YES! (do you see a trend here?)
Oatmeal - not as naturally sweet as rice cereal, but that doesn't seem to bother her.
Green beans - the pictures pretty much say it all.

Let me say that we were not even giving our darling girl the standard jarred green goo, either! We went to the farmers' market, purchased some lovely organic beans---very sweet and very tender, not at all tough or bitter---and steamed, blended, and strained them to the perfect consistency for our little mush monster. And this is the thanks we get? Hmmmph! To further confuse our addled parental brains, the next evening while making dinner I gave her a whole intact bean to chew on, which she happily gnawed on until I took it away for fear of choking. Who knows, maybe it's a texture thing. I can't say I blame her!

orange with envy

After what felt like the longest two years of my life stuck in contractual hell with Sprint, I was finally able to switch cell providers. And we all know what that means: new provider, new phone!


I wanted a 2 megapixel camera and QWERTY keyboard, at a minimum. Web browsing, email, and GPS-style navigation wouldn't be bad, either. So I decided not to cheap out this time and get the basic run-of-the-mill freebie---I got the awesome LG enV in super-slick orange instead. It's SWEET! And it just arrived on my doorstep about an hour ago...




Call me! Text me!
Send me pics and video!
I can't wait to use it.

baby talk

There's some sort of unspoken conversation going on between Sophie and Sadie here, I'm just not sure what it is.

expanding the family

Well, everyone, it's time to come clean. Reid and I have made a momentous decision which may delight some of you and shock others. You see, despite the fact that Sadie is barely half a year old and we're ALREADY outgrowing our modest little abode, we couldn't help but feel something was missing---something that would make our family complete.

That's right! We're making room for one more!


Isn't she beautiful?

Born: 1978
Weight: just over 7000 pounds
Length: enough to make parallel parking a challenge
Name: undecided

We plan to take her and Sadie on their first family camping trip this weekend. Maybe she'll earn her name then! In the meantime, here are a few more pics of our bumpy, bouncing bundle of road joy...

Top popped and ready for action

Captain's Quarters

Presto, it's a bed!

The Birth Certificate

happy (belated) birthday sadie

Little girl, I don't even know where to begin with this long overdue letter. I suppose being 5 days late is an accurate measurement or metaphor for the blink-and-you'll-miss-it speed with which you're making (literal) leaps and bounds. Your rolling and sitting has turned to forward lunging, and you can propel yourself on hands and knees toward any object of your desire. It's alarming, actually, because we're totally unprepared for you to be a mobile member of the household. There are sockets to cover and cabinets to babyproof. There are sharp corners, electrical cords, and tiny mouth-sized things everywhere we look. Please slow down, if only for our sanity!
At your 6-month checkup today, your doctor was no less impressed. He actually checked his chart to make sure you were really 6 months old, convinced no reasonable baby should be doing such things until 9 months or more! And although you're tracking way ahead of the curve on developmental milestones, your physical statistics are a bit more average: 17.5 pounds (75% weight percentile), 26 inches (50% height percentile), and a head---as the nurse put it---the size of a grapefruit.


We spent your actual 6-month birthday weekend in Seattle and Portland (a long road trip for such a little girl!), where you met some of our good friends, hung out in the city, and went to our favorite sushi spot. You also finally got to meet your future buddy Quinn, who was born exactly one month before you, on January 11th!

All in all, it's been a pretty exciting month. Here are some more of the highlights:

Opening Presents from Gramma

Eating Sushi (sort of)

Swimming in Your Pool

Sticking Out Your Tongue (your new favorite thing)

Sunbathing

Eating Your Feet (yum)

What next? Well, we're going to try camping this weekend, for starters. Here's to no rain, no skeeters, and a good nights' sleep! Happy 6-month birthday, sweet Sadie, we love you!

bad mommy

It's true, 3 days have passed and I still haven't written a 6-month Birthday post! Blame it on the road trip---we were in Seattle and Portland all weekend. More to come on that later, as well...

signing update

So...Sadie really, really digs her baby sign language class. She finds it completely hysterical that a bunch of adults are sitting around staring at her, waving their hands in the air and singing made-up songs about milk and sleep and eat and moon. Yep, that's what we do for 45 minutes every Wednesday morning, and it is SO fun. There's something very compelling about singing to a circle of 6-month old babies whose eyes are so wide and faces so pleased that you can practically see them soaking it all into their brains like little sponges.

So, why sign with babies, you wonder? Doesn't it allow them to get by without talking, or impede their grasp of vocabulary?

Studies actually show the opposite to be true. Babies who sign have fuller spoken vocabularies at younger ages, score 10-15 points higher on IQ tests than non-signing babies, and---the big one for us---display less frustration and fewer tantrums. It makes sense if you think about it: signing babies can express their basic needs starting at around 9 months. By age one, they may have a signing vocabulary of 20 or more words---the time when most children can speak only one or two words. Some children don't even say their first word until 18 months---can you imagine how frustrating that would be, to comprehend so early but not be able to tell anyone about it?

Every week we learn about 6-8 new signs, grouped into themes (Mealtime, Bedtime, Bathtime, Play, etc.). From those 6-8 signs, we pick 3 or 4 to focus on with Sadie. So far, those are:
- Eat
- More
- All Done
- Milk
- Sleep
- Book
- Light
- Stars (we do this one just because it's fun!)

The key is consistency. Every time you're talking to her and you SAY the word, you need to sign it at the same time. Right now she's just taking it all in, and probably won't be doing any signs herself for a few more months. We'll be sure to let you know when that happens---and what the sign is---of course!

For more information, check out the Baby Signs website . Classes are taught all over the country.

signing on

In one hour, we start the first session of our 6-week baby sign language class. Hopefully, Sadie will soon be able to tell us when she needs her diaper changed instead of us having to guess.

The picture? Oh, totally unrelated. Just because it's Wednesday, just because she's smiling, and really, just because.