Welcome Baby Nora

Our good friends, Kate and Ash, welcomed their beautiful new daughter, Nora Doyle Milad, on May 28th. We were finally able to meet her today and congratulate the proud mom and dad. She is perfect and we are excited to share the adventure of parenthood with the Milads.

Mae being the charmer. Nora taking notes.

Mae intersted in Nora and wondering how she has more hair than her.

Portland - May 2010

We just got back tonight from Portland and had a great weekend. Every time (and I do mean every time) we visit Portland, I remark to Pearson, "I could live in this town." And I could. It has great food, bars, shops, and no sales tax. I like its vibe, its greenery, and its parks. I like that we have close friends that live there.

My prediction about Mae's curiosity for a new locale was right on. Grandma Cummings' house held wonder and excitement. Each new room brought lots of activity and exploration. I only brought two toys with me, which Mae paid no interest.

As you can see Mae was able to find many things that were the right height to pull herself up on.

Along with being able to pull herself up on various window sills, doors, and pieces of furniture, Mae decided to climb all of Grandma Cummings' steps -- a first! I knew she would pull herself up on the steps since she does it here but I had no idea she was going to attempt AND in fact successfully summit all of them.

Despite the weather being pretty crappy the whole time (high 50s and rainy), we were able to get out -- went to the Portland Famer's Market, did a wine and cheese tasting with our good friends, Kahlin and Gwen, went on some runs, sat outside on the porch, and went outlet shopping. All in all, a fantastic weekend.

On the Road

We are heading to Portland tonight for the Memorial Day Weekend. I am really excited since we haven't been since Thanksgiving with Mae. I am also excited to be in a bigger house for three days and let Mae explore a new territory. I am sure she is going to think that Grandma Cummings' house holds lots of exciting treasures, including a coffee table that is the perfect height for her to stand up on. We decided to start the trip at Mae's scheduled bed time (7 pm) so as not to mess up her sleeping schedule. Also, this will hopefully ensure that we don't sit in any traffic. I will try to report from "the road."

Mae's New Trick

Even though, I wasn't able to get footage of it yet, Mae has a new trick (as of today). I have reported about how Mae can pull herself up. Recently the frequency has increased and she is pulling herself up every where. It used to be reserved merely for my legs but now it is the bookcase, the tv stand, the stairs, baskets in the house, tables at other people's houses, etc. Well today, she started pulling herself up and letting go AND standing for like 5 seconds at a time (ok, maybe not that long but long enough that she is standing without holding on to anything). I noticed it today while she was on the stairs. She pulled herself up, jumped up and down a couple times, then just let go and held both arms out to the side like she was trying to surf. Then she fell down on her bottom and got right back up again. Wow, I can't believe how fast Mae has gone from pretty much not moving at all to this. Honestly, I am not ready for her to walk yet. I just want her to be a baby for a little bit longer.

Namaste

My little yogi. Maybe I can create a book of pictures of babies doing yoga poses. Part down dog, part plank. And I think it is great she is attempting it on the Dog book (her favorite as of late).

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Today started like any typical Sunday. We didn't have any real plans except Pearson had a tee time at 6 am. He only played nine holes so was home at a very early hour. Other than that we were going to go for a run, do some cleaning (no fun), yard work (potentially), and make some food. We got an unexpected call around noon that changed our plans from mundane to awesome.

A woman who I met through Birth and Beyond's Next Months called to see if we were interested in going to a Mariners game with her, her husband, and their son who is Mae's age. When I asked Pearson if he was interested in going he said, "absolutely, I don't ever pass up the opportunity to see a game." And the icing on the cake, the tickets were five rows behind the dug out. Mae loved the game, didn't cry once, and even fell asleep for part of it. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon.

Look Alike?

Last week, Pearson wrote Heather and I an email with the subject Luke and Mae. The email contained a photo and a simple note from him, Kinda look alike back in the day….and talk about no neck.

Since everyone tells me that Mae looks exactly like Pearson, I didn't even really think that my and Heather's children looked similar as babies. But after seeing the photo, I could see a couple similarities, or at least one -- chubby cheeks.

Here is the photo that Pearson included. I don't know how old Luke is in this photo, I will have to get that information from Heather.

Probably not the best choice of photos to show them looking alike but at least they are both on swings.

P.S. (if you were concerned) - The no neck comment had to deal with the photos of Mae in the Cub hat. Heather made a comment about how Mae's head looks photoshopped on her body in the first one because she doesn't have a neck. She wasn't being critical and thinks Mae is the cutest baby girl that she knows. Actually, after looking at the photo again. I agree with her. Pearson, of course, being the doting father was very concerned and wanted to prove that all babies don't have necks.

Eating Local 2

I know, I know moving to Seattle has made me a little bit more "earthy" and "organic." I also know that eating local is all the rage now a days. Every restaurant in Seattle seems to be making the claim. Prior to moving to Seattle, I would have been annoyed by all of this. Secretly, I love it now.

You can't eat any more local than growing and eating your own food. Last year, I was able to get a spot in our local PPatch, otherwise known as community urban gardening. It is a pretty remarkable space. I have my own plot of land (10x10 feet) to garden paid for by the city. Despite knowing nothing about gardening, I grew crops and was able to eat them-- my one goal. This year I hope to be a little more diligent in my gardening and have the whole family eat more frequently from the bounty.

I will update periodically to let you know how the crops are growing similar to how Mae is growing this summer.

The Roses in the Emerald City

Pearson's best friend, Adam, his wife, Sigrid, and their son Felix (2 weeks younger then Mae) were in Seattle this weekend. We were lucky to get the opportunity to spend some quality time with them at Madison Park beach and even got an evening out sans babies (thanks Johanna). I think Pearson will agree that it is pretty special that Adam and him get to be in the "trenches" of parenthood together. Of course our dinner conversations have changed from careers, films, and current events to diapers, nap times, and our kids milestones. However, some things haven't changed. Per usual, Pearson was able to regale us with a story of an Adam and Pearson adventure pre-kids and pre-Me and Sigrid -- "you got cheese fries on your nose."

We really wished Adam, Sigrid, and Felix lived in the same city but are fortunate that they visit often. Hopefully we will get to see them sooner rather than later. I think it is our turn to visit them in LA.

Mae staring at the pigeons while I state that they are filthy birds.

Felix. And yes, he has the cutest cheeks imaginable. They are so kissable.

Mae entertaining the gentlemen with her charm and wit.

The Boys and Their Babies.

Adam and Sigrid.

Just the two of us.

Eating Local

I feel that I can be pretty negative about Seattle at times so here is something positive for today. I love that Farmers Markets are abundant here, including one right across the street from our house for five months out of the year. Today was the opening of the Madrona Farmers Market. Mae and I decided to stop by for her first visit to the market, which I am sure will be a regular occurrence this year and years to follow (depending on how long we live in this neighborhood). We bought food for dinner and ate our treats.

I gave Mae a cup to keep her occupied. It covers her face for all the pictures.

Our dinner: goat sausage, purple broccoli rabe, and mashed potatoes.

Go Cubs Go

Despite the Cubs being pretty bad this year or at least that is what Pearson tells me (who are we kidding, I don't follow baseball), the Cummings remain tried and true Chicago sports fans. Even if I wasn't I have to say I am, we named our dog Ditka.

Our good friends, the Moores, visited Seattle from Chicago this past weekend and brought a gift for Mae. Thanks Ted and Kelly! Can't wait to visit them soon in Chicago and go to a game, where Mae will hopefully be singing, Hey, Chicago, what do you say, The Cubs are gonna win today. They're singing...Go, Cubs, go, Go, Cubs, go.

Mae sporting her gift. It even has her name embroider on the back.

My First Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day made complete with beautiful spring weather. Pearson and Mae made me breakfast in bed, I then went to a yoga class while Pearson took the girls (Ditka and Mae) running, and then we had a wonderful picnic with Johanna (Pearson's mom and Mae's grandma) at Madison Park.

Here are photos from yesterday.