Trip to Visit Grandparents

Over President's Day weekend we headed out to Seattle and then to North Bend to visit grandparents, cousin, and family. It was fun. A quick tour.

Here's SJ and Norah fresh off the flight. Norah is gearing up for a weekend of overstimulation by looking nonplussed.


About that overstimulation, this is Norah's first time in an exersaucer. This picture shows her once she got the hang of it and was able to acknowledge others in the room. At first it was all business, examining each toy to determine the precise function, and keeping a firm handle on one thing while checking something else out to make sure the first didn't go anywhere.

I am in favor of vacations, especially the kind that include time in front of a fire.

...and Norah continues to be in favor of baths. These days she is really interested in where all the water comes from and where it goes. She's so environmentally aware.

She is also much more aware of people around her, and as Sarah Jane pointed out in her last post, she's really a pleasant kid right now. Here she is with her people.

Papa Scott and Norah.

Here's Monica and Sam, happy to have time to hang out. Currently Norah is Sam's lone cousin.

"You blinked. I win."

Dads and babies. Stripes vs. greys.

Feeding Norah is one of my absolute favorite things. That is, if she's eating something she likes. Sweet Potatoes = puréed gold. Peas... not so much.

"We come in peace. We mean you no harm."

All in all we had a great time. Thanks family for the President's Day trivia, food, and fun. And Mom, thanks for the photos!

A snapshot

This photo (courtesy of Grandma Annette) pretty much sums up what life is like for us these days. Norah at 7 months is our sweet, happy, hungry, silly, smiley baby. It's a pretty magical time.

Hosting Playgroup

Here in the city during winter, playgroup = high density of babies (and parents) in a single apartment. Thanks to everyone for squeezing in and being nice about it. For those of you who weren't able to make it, we missed you and hope to play soon.

Here's Norah before playgroup.

And here's the playgroup. And this isn't including everyone. Yes, this is how it's done in the city. You just deal. Kind of like this, but not really.

Oh, the Superbowl happened yesterday too?

Tennis is the best kept secret in sports. Don't get me wrong, I watched (part of) the Superbowl, and it ended up being a pretty exciting game there at the end, but truth be told, I was way more excited about the Australian Open men's final yesterday than I was about the Superbowl. Where the Steelers and the Cardinals had me mildly interested, Federer and Nadal had me glued to my couch. Men's tennis is at such a golden age with the rivalry of these two (as well as some emerging talent like Andy Murray). When Roger and Rafa play you really never can predict who will win. The level of play is amazing, and the respect that they have for each other as players (and as people I think) just makes it that much more exciting to watch... and easy to be happy about the outcome no matter who wins. Despite the confetti and the coaches getting doused with gallons of gatorade, the end of the Superbowl was pretty unemotional for me, but I actually cried along with Roger Federer yesterday. I mean, to see someone who is so talented, so hard-working, so dedicated to his sport, and such a class act weep like that, you can't help but clench your own chest at his heartache. And to see Nadal, the victor, come and put his arm around Roger and offer him the highest of praise is real sportsmanship, and the true mark of a champion. I love it.