Sabine Johanna & Sofia Susanne

Sofia meets Sabine

2010-06-08T13:14:00.001-07:00

Sabine has been very sweet with Sofia and often asks about "the baby".

The first meeting went well, with a little sliver balloon bribery.

The new family.

Look at those giant feet!

Oma and Sofie relaxing.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Meet Sofia

2010-06-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Sofia was born at 2:40 am on Thursday, June 3rd. Both she and Heather are doing great. Heather started labor at around 4pm and we went in to the hospital at around 10:30 pm. It was a relatively easy labor and birth (especially compared to Sabine) and she came out lickety-split. The doctors and nurses were running for their glove and gowns, it was pretty amusing.

Heather was a real champ through the whole labor. She didn't cry or scream or swear, just huffed and puffed through the contractions. I thought the contractions must not be that bad until the nurse asked her how her pain was on a scale of one to ten. One being fine and ten being the worst pain imaginable. I couldn't believe it when she said seven! I would have been begging for mercy at four...

Sofie is 7 lbs and 19 inches, which is 1 lb and 1 inch smaller than Sabine. So far she has been much more mellow than Sabine, which is nice! She is a sweet little girl.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Oma to the rescue

2010-06-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, turns out we were wrong, but we really thought Nuevo was coming early, so we asked Oma to fly in a week ahead of time. It worked out well nonetheless, as she and Bine quickly re-bonded.

Enjoying one of the 2 non-rainy days in the last 3 weeks.

Car trouble!

Taking a big bite of a burger.

Hanging out with mommy in her new hat.

Snuggling with Oma.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Last chance catch-up

2010-05-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Thursday night and it feels like things are starting to happen with Nuevo. Heather is in pre-labor and we think that we might have a Memorial Day weekend baby. So, here's a last chance to post some Sabine pix and video before she has to share the stage with her little sister...

Bine had fun playing in the sprinkler with her friends Jane and Casey. Their mom Jodi took these excellent photos.

Blowing on dandelions - one of her favorite activities...

Bine loves music. Here she is rocking out to a marimba band at the farmer's market. And I'll let her have the last word...

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Catching up with Sabine, Part IV...

2010-05-20T22:06:00.001-07:00

Bine loves playing with water!

We took a fun overnight trip to the beach in mid-March.

Getting snuggled down for the hour and a half trip back home...

Out to eat with the lovely Ficht ladies.

Decked out in her rain gear for those Spring showers...

Fun with stickers...

The latest Ralph Lauren model...?

Oma sent Bine a very special book!

Enjoying a library book...

Bathroom joyride...

By the way, the brewpub on the corner opened last weekend. It's pretty impressive. Good article on the ever improving neighborhood here.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Omi's April Visit

2010-05-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

Omi came for a really nice visit in May and was here over the Easter weekend. Time to break out the bunny ears! Omi hid the chocolate Easter eggs around the house in her usual creative fashion and Bine was finding them for days after.

We were excited that Omi got Bine a bike trailer and we took it out for a trial run up by the Columbia.

Bine really likes blowing the seeds off of dandelions.

3 generations, out for a very late Easter brunch.

Snuggling up for a family portrait.

Bine loves Neigh-Neigh!

Already concerned about her weight??

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Winter in AZ

2010-03-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

We had a fun visit to Tempe to see Grandma and Grandpa - who is now known as Gigi to Sabine. Bine went on a long walk at Camel Back and later got to meet some cousins.

She also scored some cool new shades, a tutu and of course shoes from Grandma. Here she is in her new finery. Please note the Packer football...

She also got some quality time with the grandparents which is always fun.

More Xmas in Iowa

2010-01-03T21:45:00.001-08:00

Christmas chaos!

Fun in the snow.

Time to eat...

Sabine in her dirndl.

Mike enjoying some peace and quiet.

Generations...

More bath time fun.

Being attacked by bears....

Bine can't get enough of the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Sabine, the accomplished traveler!

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Christmas in Iowa

2009-12-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas cousins (Penelope, Sabine and Nicholas).

Bine having fun with mommy and daddy.

Bine playing with the awesome easel Arlene and Mike made her.

Christmas morning is crazy! Bine really bonded with Uncle Scott.

Playing in the snow.

Time to get clean!

Waiting for Nuevo

2009-12-20T20:39:00.001-08:00

We are officially announcing the appearance of Nuevo, due June 8th. Nuevo is at around 16 weeks and doing great. Heather had another really rough bout of morning sickness in the first trimester, but she is healthy and feeling pretty good now. We will probably find out the gender at our next ultrasound in early January.

Since Sabine was known as Huevo in her early development, we figured Nuevo would be a good name for the new baby. Nuevo was not really planned, though we did want to have another baby - but not quite this soon (not that we're complaining). But, we think having the siblings so close in age will be good for them. And the age difference of 20 months will be similar to that between Heather and Scott.

We will keep you posted on all the latest Nuevo developments, as well as the latest news on Sabine. She is doing great and having a lot of fun. Recently she's been saying "at!", when she sees a hat. Tonight she ate ravioli and baked beans. She's walking really fast now and swings her arms a lot.

In other news, after being unemployed for ten months, I got a job last month! You can imagine our relief, especially after having found out about Nuevo. The new job is a step up and more challenging than my old job, but I think that will be good for me. I'm the new Creative Production Director at Paulette Carter Design Group, and the position is similar to my old job - half creative work and half project management. The nice thing is that I am really valued for my copywriting skills and will be doing a lot of it.

The only down side is that I won't be able to spend as much time with Sabine and I already miss her a lot. She will now be in daycare full time - luckily she really likes it there. Unfortunately we can't get her in on Tuesdays, so we'll probably get a nanny for that day until a spot opens up.

Happy holidays to everyone, we are off to Iowa in two days to see Oma & Mike and Scott, Megan, Nick and Penelope.

Operation One Nap

2009-12-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

Encouraged by Sabine's teachers at daycare, we've decided to take the big step of going from two naps to one nap. So far, so good. We're also trying to wean her off formula and the bottle. It's been fairly easy to wean her off the formula, we just diluted it with whole milk. So she's now at 3/4's milk and 1/4 formula. But she just doesn't want to drink from anything other than a bottle/nipple.

We've also been trying to give her more solid foods and she is really liking that. She loves to eat what mommy and daddy are eating. Over 4 hours this morning, she ate an entire banana, a whole baby yogurt, a little scrambled eggs and a small bowl of cheerios and milk!

Sabine loves her new early Xmas present....

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Catching up with Sabine

2009-11-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

Sabine had a playdate with Coleman twins, Jane and Casey, who are already big Beatles fans. Here Bine is watching the twins watching the Fab Four.

Bine wanted to try on daddy's shoes...

Bine still loves wearing her bike helmet, even though she's never been on a bike!

Bine has a new trick for meal time - she bites down on the spoon and won't let go!

Here's a preview of what Sabine might look like with hair eventually...

And, below are a couple of videos showing how well she is walking now.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Now that she's One

2009-11-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

Sabine is so much fun these days. She is feeling better (getting over her 6 month "cold" since she started taking antibiotics) talking, and walking. She is also coming into her own as a fashion forward super-baby. She started wearing hats ... she insists on putting on big floppy summer hats or her bike helmet pretty much as soon as she wakes up. The bike helmet is huge on her but very cute.

She's now moved on to wearing both her summer hat and her bike helmet. She's a nut.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T11:35:00.001-08:00

Sabine went trick or treating with Mommy and Cindy and brought home lots of treats.

Look who's becoming a real pro at walking!

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

What does a one-year old do?

2009-10-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Now that Sabine is one year old, we decided to list some of her new accomplishments.

Her first words are "uh-oh", "quack", "hi!" and apparently "boo-ya".

She can't say "no", but she is great at waving stuff off and shaking her head vigorously. Especially when it comes to picking out her books at bedtime.

She's down to two naps a day, with three hours between them - leaving lots of times for walks.

She is getting better at coloring and likes to dance to her favorite music.

Bine can hold her own bottle now and is becoming a pro with the sippy cup.

She can pick up food off her plate and put it into her mouth.

She eats 5,000 Cherrios a day.

She loves her bike helmet and has a good laugh looking at it in the mirror.

She has six teeth - 2 on the botom and 4 on top.

She's getting really good at walking now. These videos are a week old and she's already walking further and longer.

She always has a new trick - lately she's ben scrunching up her face and loudly breathing in and out of her mouth.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Happy 1st Birthday!

2009-10-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Happy first birthday, Sabine! We had a fun day and were really happy that Omi could be there for the big occasion. We started out with a trip to the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park.

Then it was time for Bine's first piece of cake (made by Heather). She wasn't really into it, but the rest of us gobbled a couple pieces down.

And then it was time to dress Bine up in tracht, traditional German/Austrian garb. Sue sent a bunch of great hand-me-down's from her kids. Of course, lederhosen are for little boys, but she's too small yet for the dirndls. I wonder if she'll end up wearing a beautiful Austrian cape at some point...?

Here's a video of Bine riding her toy horse. Not really bought for her birthday, but we won't tell her, if you won't.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Omi's October Visit

2009-10-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

We had a really great visit with Omi earlier this month. We had pretty good weather and got out to do some fun stuff.

We headed out to the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island to pick up pumpkins for Sabine's first Halloween. We also hit up the vegetable market, petting zoo and corn maze (or The Maize, as it's known) and I ate way too much kettle corn.

An early morning with Bine!

Bine and Omi enjoying the autumn sunshine.

Look at all my teeth!!

Sabine and Omi snuggling in bed.

Bine graduated from her little inflatable duck tub and now takes a big girl bath.

What a pair of beauties!

Here's a video of Sabine doing her favorite thing: cruising around her playroom.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Sabine Rocking with Omi

2009-10-09T15:38:00.001-07:00

Travel Portland

2009-09-24T15:12:00.001-07:00

In case you were thinking about coming to visit us....

Learning to crawl

2009-09-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Sabine's first crawl on September 14th. Crawling is okay, but scootchin' is still a blast!

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Photo shoot with Marty

2009-09-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

Our buddy Marty is a professional photographer and stays with us when he visits Portland. He took some great pictures of Sabine during his last visit on September 12th.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

A Visit to Mt Rainier with Bob & Sandy

2009-09-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a trip to Mt. Rainier in Washington, thanks to the generosity of Heather's Uncle Bob and Aunt Sandy. None of us had been there before, so we were really looking forward to the trip. I hate to give Washington props over Oregon, but I have to say that Rainier is much more scenic than Mt. Hood. It definitely felt more Alpine. We stayed at the historic Paradise Inn, where I was surprised to find no phone, refrigerator, coffee or tv in the rooms. There was no internet or cell phone reception either. I guess that's what they mean by "free from modern life stresses and distractions". Don't they know I like modern distractions? I had to make a few calls and was sort of flummoxed by the wall of payphones.

We took some great hikes and Sabine had a wonderful time getting to know Sandy and Bob. They hit it off right away.

Bine really knows had to take a good nap in the car. Heather and I had Bine in our rather small hotel room, so when we put her down for the night at 8pm, we waited in the dark for her to fall asleep. The idea being that once she was asleep we would watch a movie on the laptop with headphones or read with our little reading lights, but we both fell asleep, too. We woke up at 1 in the morning wondering what had happened. The next night I managed to stay up till 10 or so, but Heather and Bine both got a good 11 hours of sleep!

On Friday night we stayed over at the Custodio's in Seattle, where Bine showed off her ability to eat a giant piece of fruit. Once we got back home, Bine displayed her new-found standing skills for the camera. She's been making a lot of big developmental steps recently. She pulls herself up in the crib and couch and baby gate. She walks along the baby gate and makes the leap to the couch. She's also started to crawl a bit. More on that soon...

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

More movies...

2009-09-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

These were filmed on August 30, 2009.

Oma came to town...

2009-09-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

...in August and it was very fun for Sabine! She got to play all day and get all of Oma's attention. Oma took great care of Sabine and helped so much around the house. I worked too much while she was here but we did get a chance to visit Mt Hood and Timberline and followed the Fruit Loop to Hood River for a delicious dinner.

Bine got a whole new wardrobe from Oma which she needed since she's wearing 18-24 mos. clothes and she's only going to be 11 months soon. Thanks Oma. She also got a piggy bank that she likes to pet good night before she goes to bed....hmmm foretelling her future wealth?

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Scootchin'!

2009-08-14T13:15:00.001-07:00

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Standup Comedy

2009-08-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

Sabine now has two bottom front teeth sticking out, not fully in yet. Looks like there is another peeking through, too. She's still not crawling, but she can scootch around pretty good on her butt. Her new thing is standing up and supporting herself by holding onto something. She pulled herself up once, but no repeats on that. She loves to stand in her crib and hold court. Here, see for yourself...

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Grandparents in town!

2009-08-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

We had a visit from Jerry & Carol last week. We had a great time, even though Sabine was sick. She had gotten a stomach flu at daycare and couldn't keep anything down. Luckily, she was in a good mood most of the time. Though she was pretty unhappy with us, because she was hungry and we could only give her a couple ounces instead of her customary 8 or 9. But, she was happy to see Grandma and Grandpa!

We were in the midst of an awful heatwave, temperatures were in the 100's, and of course very few people in Oregon have air conditioning. We have one window unit, which went in Bine's room. We spent a lot of time down in the Liberty Lounge and dipping in the pool. Carol took Heather out shopping a couple times and they both got their hair cut by Lucynda, who has been my go-to gal for years.

Jerry put on his handyman hat and fixed a bunch of stuff around the house. The big project was putting in the new front door Arlene bought us. It looked to be a straightforward job, until we realized that the doorframe of the house was extremely crooked. So, it took a lot longer than planned, but it looks beautiful. We had a great time with Jerry and Carol and were sorry it wasn't a longer visit. And 30 degrees cooler.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Summer Fun

2009-08-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Once again, late on posting, but will try to catch up today. We've been enjoying the summer, though the weather has hit some extremes. We had a heat wave where temperatures were around 100-106 for a few days. Right now it's overcast and in the 60's. Ah, Oregon. But weather was nice one weekend in July and we had friends over swimming in the pool 5 nights in a row. Or, as we like to call it, Lucy's water bowl.

Keith and Lisa came over with Walter one night. And the next afternoon, a visit from Ned & Megan and the boys.

Ned and Henry getting ready for action!

Summer means lots of trips to the park with Lucy.

And we ran into a celebrity at our friend's wedding!

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Meeting the cousins

2009-07-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a 4 day visit with Scott, Megan, Nick and Penelope last week. This was the first time the cousins got to meet and they got along really well.

The weather was a little iffy, but we did manage to get out a few times. The fountains at Jamison Square were a big hit.

And no trip to Portland is complete without a quick trip to the ocean. The first time for Nick and Penelope! Nick got a good taste of the salt water.

And lots of time spent hanging out in the back yard when the sun finally came out.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

In Sod We Trust

2009-07-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

We worked our buns of this month, remodeling the back yard. Thanks to a generous donation from Omi we were able to re-sod the lawn and put in a small patio for the pool. Lots of rototilling and endless wheelbarrow loads of gravel, sand, soil and sod over the last 3 weekends. But, it's all done now and looking good and ready to go for the big Cousin's Summit! Stay tuned for more details on that...

Now Bine can enjoy a beautiful weed, rock and glass free lawn! As you can see, she is getting very close to crawling. Any day now...

Here's a few more recent shots...

And a few short videos taken on Heather's new phone:

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

What's new?

2009-06-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Mommy and baby - beautiful.

Bine playing with a yard sale special.

Daddy and baby at the Last Thursday art walk.

Zonked out in the car.

Still happy!

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Happy Father's Day to me

2009-06-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

I had a great first Father's Day. Sabine and Mommy got me a nice new backpack carrier, which we tested out up at the Columbia River. We also went out for breakfast and worked in the yard on our big re-sodding project. And I got a nap in - pretty nice day!

MORE PICTURES & VIDEOS HERE!

Growing Seeds

2009-06-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

Sabine is now finally enrolled at Growing Seeds. She will be going on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday every week. We originally had planned to do five days, but since I am still not working we decided against it. It was a tough decision, because when I get a job, it may be difficult to add days back to our childcare schedule. They have a very long waiting list. But, we just couldn't see having her in there all week and me being home alone. I would miss her too much. Three days is about right, it gives me time to work on freelance projects and look for work. Plus, we really can't afford full-time care right now.

Bine spent the last six weeks going to an in-home childcare for 2 - 3 days a week with a nice woman named Anna. It was good timing for us to get into Growing Seeds, because Anna just found out she was pregnant and has to have bed rest for the next eight months!

We like the new daycare so far, but are worried about her napping there. Bine sleeps so well here and they really don't have things set up very well for napping. All the kids her age are in one room and they just put them down on mats when its nap time. The lights are on, other kids are playing and there are no cribs - which is a problem since Bine likes to roll around so much. She only slept for 20 minutes the first day, which was not good. On the other hand she slept 12 hours that night, so it's not all bad. We just don't want her nap experiences there to affect her sleeping at home. But, the sleep training is ingrained now, I think it will be fine.

Here's a video I shot today of a very happy baby....

Happy eight month birthday!

2009-06-11T13:04:00.001-07:00

Off the charts

2009-06-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that we took Sabine to a check up at the doctor recently. We weren't too surprised to learn that she is literally off the chart for height and head size (of course). She is in the 99th percentile for both. This was a few weeks ago, but she was at 28 inches tall and weighed 20 lbs. at seven months old. Look at her sitting in the shopping cart seat - she is HUGE!

The weather has been really great. Heather and I both agree that this has been the nicest spring since we've lived in Oregon. We've been spending a lot of time in the backyard. Dave came by for a barbecue last weekend. We're trying to decide if we're going to resod the lawn or build a deck this year. Anyone want to come over and help??

"Constipation is making me wait..."

2009-06-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

I remember singing those words to the tune of Carly Simon's Anticipation when I was a kid. Well, Bine is having a rough time with it. She's been enjoying the solid foods but they're really blocking her up. She sometimes goes a day and half between poops and she's not too happy about it. So - lots of prunes!

Might be time for a new changing table!

2009-06-03T09:40:00.001-07:00

Hanging in the back yard

2009-05-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

Here's some more video footage of Sabine hanging in the back yard on May 24, 2009.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Bath time is fun!

2009-05-30T13:44:00.001-07:00

Sabine is starting to "talk" more and more. We love when she vocalizes like this, it's really endearing. Filmed on May 25, 2009.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Time to EAT!

2009-05-30T13:11:00.001-07:00

Sabine started eating solid foods this month. Pears, bananas, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots and more. She has a very sour reaction to the first few bites of anything, but after a few minutes she has her mouth open like a baby bird, begging for more. In short, a good eater.

This picture and video are from the first time she ate solid foods on April 13th, 2009. She wasn't that into it, but she was in a good mood afterward.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

The Double Burp

2009-05-30T13:05:00.001-07:00

Video from April 13, 2009. Even Bine thinks it's funny!

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

Finally catching up!

2009-05-22T12:24:00.001-07:00

Ok, this is a long time coming - almost two months! I keep meaning to update the blog, but there is always a lot going on, plus I have been working quite a bit on some freelance projects.Much has happened in the last few months, but time is still short, so this will be a brief summation.

So, starting back in mid-March, my old college buddy Tim and his fiance Christina came down from Seattle for a visit. Actually, they were here to see Wicked, but we were happy to be their sloppy seconds.

Of course, since it's Springtime it's time for yardwork! Sabine had her first real time outside, hanging out while Mommy worked in the garden.

In April, we had a visit from Arlene and Mike. It was the second time Heather's mom had been out to see Bine, but the first time for Mike. We went out to the coast both weekends. The first weekend was beautiful, the second weekend it rained like mad.

As usual, Arlene and Mike helped out around a lot around the house and helped us finish some projects. They also gave Mommy and Daddy several nights out on the town while they stayed home with the girl.

The weather has been great this spring and Sabine has spending a lot of time in the back yard.

In late April, we had another visit from Ulla. By the time my mom left, Sabine was sitting up on her own pretty well and had learned a few other tricks from Omi.

MORE PICTURES & VIDEO HERE!

No swaddle, no pacifier. no worries

2009-04-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we entered it with a lot of anxiety, but I'm happy to report that the sleep training went great. We had a read a number of books on how to get your baby on a good sleep schedule, but none had really resonated with us. Then our friend Jodi recommended The Sleepeasy Solution book and we took to it immediately. It was clearly and concisely written with step by step directions, which really helped a lot.

The basic idea is to set up a soothing and consistent bedtime ritual and then put the baby down in the crib without swaddling, a pacifier or rocking to sleep - and we were doing all three. Then say goodnight and leave the room. When the baby cries, you go in in 5 minutes and speak comfortingly to her, but no picking up or touching. Then come in in ten minutes, and then fifteen minute intervals until she stops crying and falls asleep. You also follow this same procedure for naps - she is still taking 3 one-hour naps a day.

It sounds a bit harsh, but the long term benefits are so worth it. Not only does she learn to "self-sooth" and fall to sleep on her own, but she ends up being much more well-rested. And she is now weaned from her pacifier. The first night (Friday, 3/27) was really rough. She cried for an hour and a half before falling asleep. I sent Heather out on some errands so she wouldn't have to hear the crying, which made her really upset. It upset me too, but being a German I can really do anything as long as I am following orders:)

The next night was a lot better, just a half hour of crying. Then the next few days it got shorter and shorter until it was taking on the average of 5 - 10 minutes of whimpering and maybe a little crying before she slept. And boy, does she sleep. Heather gets up around 1:30 to give her a "dream feed", but other than that she sleeps through the night and straight through till morning - usually eleven and sometimes twelve hours. We have finally been getting good sleep again. This past weekend I slept nine hours one night and eight another. It used to be nine hours over two days, so you can imagine how happy we are.

Speaking of happy - Sabine was always a happy baby, but now she is even more so. Just smiling and laughing all day long. They said in the book that the better sleep wold make a happier baby, and they weren't lying. She is just so much fun right now.

One of the first steps to being a good American - figuring out the TV remote...

Happy five month birthday!

2009-03-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

Not much new to report, except that Sabine is doing great. No major advancements, but she is just getting better at the little things like picking stuff up. She has learned to roll over on her stomach now, but in general she is not a fan of "tummy time".

Out of town guests and the 4 month check-up

2009-02-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

This weekend Paul & Geri Custodio came down from Seattle. Paul, of course, has been my best buddy since the early 80's and was also the best man at our wedding. Plus we were on vacation with them in Mexico when we found out Heather was pregnant. So, we were excited for them to finally meet the girl.

They brought a bunch of goodies for us and Sabine. We didn't do too much but hang out with Sabine, and go out to eat. Geri was kind enough to give Heather a really cute (and professional) haircut. A very fun weekend.

Then Sunday afternoon Katie Murphy, Heather's college roommate stopped by for a few hours to catch up. Hopefully we can see her and the family next time we are down in L.A.

Yesterday we we took Bine for her 4 month check up and 2nd round of immunization shots. Heather and I had a bet going on how much she weighed, and I won when it was revealed she is a little over 15 lbs. She's also almost 26 inches tall - what a big girl! She's in the 95th percentile for height, but I think we all figured that was going to happen:)

Everything checked out well during the exam and she did pretty well for the shots. Damn, those needles were long! I would cry, too. On the bright side, she always sleeps well after being dosed with tylenol and last night was no exception. I had a little scare this morning, though. Sabine was crying and cranky, not her usual self. So I checked her temperature (for the first time, brave daddy!) and she had a temperature of 100.7. I called the doctor and they told me that a fever was normal after the 2nd round of shots and not to worry. Well, that would have been nice to know ahead of time!

Anyway, the fever went down pretty quickly and she was her usual cheery self by the end of the day. Unfortunately, I scared the hell out of Heather when I called her at work and she thought I said 107 degrees. Yikes! No fun. But, all is well now and here's one last cute photo to end this post.

Happy 4 month birthday!

2009-02-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, the first post in a long time that's actually current. Today was Sabine's 4 month birthday and she is doing just great. In the last 3 or 4 weeks she's become more and more active and aware. She laughs a lot and smiles and squeals. She really likes when we make raspberry noises, which you will hear in theses videos. Unfortunately, she's a little camera shy, so you won't get the full effect of her beautiful smile and giggles. You'll just have to come see her in person!

She keeps her head up really well, so we've been using the Baby Bjorn from time to time, but it can be a strain on our backs. She really loves the Jumperoo that Heather Savoy handed down to us (she's actually given us a ton of great stuff - thanks, Heather!) and can entertain herself for quite a while in it - as long as we don't leave her view. She is pretty good at grasping things like rattles but hasn't really dialed that in yet. She's not a big fan of "tummy time". She can hold her head up while on her tummy, but she can't support herself with her arms yet. No rolling over or scooching around yet, either.

She's been doing much better with sleeping and getting into a routine. During the day she is generally up for 2 hours then sleeps for 45 - 60 minutes and then repeats that throughout the day. At bedtime she gets a bath and a big bottle then goes down around 6:30 or 7 and usually sleeps 4 - 5 hours. We take turns getting up to give her a bottle and she goes back down again really easy. Then it's usually the same thing in 3 hour increments till around 7 am. She had a couple surprising meltdowns this weekend, but she has been going to sleep in about 5 - 10 minutes now, sometimes without crying at all. This has made our lives so much better:) Still, we would like her to sleep in longer stretches through the night. Still reading up on this, but I assume it all works out over time. We'll see.

And how do I know all these details? Well, I got temporarily laid off from my job on January 15th and I'm now a stay-at-home dad, at least for a little while. My company Site9 has been having a lot of money struggles, which is typical for a start-up. On the bright side, our new software ProtoShare is doing really well. The company just isn't profitable yet. The company is due to get another round of funding in February, and should that money come in I will hopefully be back to work in March. In the meantime I am collecting unemployment and looking for new work opportunities. (By the way, I designed both those websites).

Obviously, it really sucks to be out of work in this horrible economy. Luckily I can hang onto my health benfits, stock options and laptop for the time being. But on the bright side, I get to spend every day with Sabine and that's been great. And we no longer have to pay for daycare. Once I came to terms with the fact that I would not be able to actually get anything done during the day, I started to enjoy my time with Bine more. Analia, our nanny, comes in on Thursdays so I can get a break and take care of my job search stuff and other errands & business. Heather is now coming home early on Tuesday's, so I get a break then, too.

I figured out that it's better to do my chores and house stuff while she is awake, instead of during her naps. She seems fascinated by daddy's activities, so I just bring her into the kitchen while I'm cooking or cleaning and she's happy. Same with doing laundry (I think I've done more laundry in the last month than I've done in the past 5 years). She also hangs out while I shower and get dressed. So when nap time rolls around I can actually get a break from the activity to take a nap or relax a little. The only thing Sabine doesn't like me to do is work on the computer - which is one of my favorite activities. I guess it's really boring from her perspective. And that's why I'm writing this now instead of going to bed.

But it's not all work, we go for walks every day, meet friends for breakfast or lunch, go to the store and generally spend lots of time playing together. Today we went down to see mommy on a rescue mission, since she had forgotten part of breast pumping apparatus. I've also started serenading her with my guitar while she's in her Jumperoo. She gets really excited and jumps around like crazy. I don't know, maybe she's trying to run away:) But, it's good for me too, I haven't played and sung for a long time and I'm a little rusty.

And now that I'm Mr. Mom, I'm charge of dinner, too. I've started to enjoy this a little bit as I try new recipes and ideas, since Heather informed me that I couldn't make rice and beans for dinner every night. Let's see, I've made spaghetti (from scratch, not a jar), vegetarian chili, fish tacos, stir fry and a few other things. I've been looking up some polenta recipes, so I'm going to try that tomorrow. Yes, I'm a vegetarian again.

When we were still expecting, I used to joke that I wanted to be a stay-at-home dad while Heather worked. Now that it's actually happening, I realize that I had no idea what I was wishing for. Child care is exhausting, though obviously rewarding. This is a great opportunity to spend time with our little girl, but I'll be ready to go back to the office again. But not too soon.

A brief video

2009-02-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

A Very Merry Belated Xmas

2009-02-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well, this is incredibly overdue, but here's a little post about our trip to Ohio for Xmas. Besides getting to spend time with the family on the trip, I wanted to show Heather our family tradition: the "authentic" German Xmas with candles on the tree and celebrating on Xmas eve and everything. Also, it was the first time that Sabine got to meet Uncle John and her cousins, Anna, James, Katie and Christian. Heather and I also managed to squeeze in lunch with Kevin and Mark, two old friends from high school.

I kinda wish that we could go there for Xmas right now, because Sabine is just so much more aware and fun now. And way less colicky. Oh, well. It was a little challenging with her at first, with the time change and not having all our stuff there, but we eventually got it under control.

We had a really good time and Sabine did really well on the airplane. Except when our flight was canceled and we had to wait in the airport for 6 hours. But, we got to spend an extra 2 days in Ohio, so that was nice.

The odd thing was that while we had mild weather in Ohio, Portland was hit with the worst snow storm in recent history. By the time we got back it had all melted, so we're not sure if the whole thing was just a hoax.

Sabine always loves bath time.

Pete and Christian.

Anna, Sabine and Katie.

Pete and James getting a tree.

Heather and Sabine by the tree.

3 generations of Ficht women and 1 generation of Ficht men.

Omi and Bine having fun.

Sabine just discovered mirrors! More pictures here.

Uncle Scott's visit

2009-01-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

In December Bine got to meet her Uncle Scott. It was really nice to have him here but the visit was too short. There was a lot of lounging around and Uncle Scott held Sabine a lot while she snoozed happily for hours. He also got some great shots of her...

I even got to play a little Euchre, since Pete is allergic to playing cards - it was really fun.

Happy 2 month birthday!

2008-12-11T10:48:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that Sabine is already 2 months old. She is such a beautiful little girl. A beautiful little girl who doesn't like to sleep.....

We look forward to Uncle Scott coming in tonight. He claims to be something of a "baby whisperer". We shall see.....

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

We spent Sabine's first Thanksgiving with the Folkerths: Ned, Megan, Eamon and Henry. Lots of good food and laughter.

2 new videos

2008-11-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa visit

2008-11-27T14:06:00.000-08:00

We had a nice visit with Jerry and Carol. They enjoyed hanging out with Sabine, especially in the early morning hours. Carol cooked some delicious meals and Jerry helped us with some stuff around the house - who knew a furnace had a filter? No wonder it's been freezing in here. Too bad they left a few hours too early to witness the Saints give the Packers a good trouncing.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Rocking with Sabine

2008-11-21T13:30:00.001-08:00

Full-size, click here
Originally uploaded by pfichtion

Thanks Papa!

2008-11-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend Bine had a bottle for the first time. Pete stayed up with her all night both Friday and Saturday and gave me a break. It was the most consecutive sleep I've had in a little over a month. Very exciting for me! Thanks Papa, I love you.

Sabine at 5 weeks

2008-11-16T02:38:00.001-08:00

Here's a very brief video of Sabine at 5 weeks. Sorry for making you turn your head to watch it...

Click here for larger video

And a couple close-ups....

A visit from Oma

2008-11-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

We had a great visit from Oma (Heather's mom) this past week. She jumped right in with full-on baby support. She did lots of cooking and cleaning, and we felt really spoiled. Not as spoiled as Lucy that is, since Oma snuck her treats when we weren't looking. Oma covered for us on Saturday night so we could have a dinner date at our favorite restaurant, where we ran into Heather's boss who looked at us curiously as we were dinning without a baby. Could that whole pregnancy/disability leave have been a scam? Nah... This blog is official proof, right?

So, we're on our own for about about ten days until Jerry & Carol arrive. Heather has been doing so great, she continually amazes me with her mommy-skills - plus she fit in her pre-pregancy jeans and was looking mighty fine.

Omi's last night

2008-10-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a great week with Omi and we're sorry to see her go. I think she barely sat down and relaxed the whole time she was here. Check out the curtains she sewed for Bine's room....

Healthy girl

2008-10-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

We had the 2-week check-up with our pediatrician, Dr. Newman on Tuesday and she told us that Sabine is doing great. She's now up to 9.6 lbs from her birth weight of 8 lbs, which proves that she's been eating well. She also grew almost an inch in length. She's starting to look around more and seems more alert. We also hope that she will start to sleep for longer periods of time, but for now we'd be happy with a solid 3 hours.

I'm back to work and miss Bine every day. Heather is glad that Omi is still here taking care of us and Sabine, making delicious dinners and helping out around the house - including sewing some nice new curtains for Bine's room.

I uploaded a bunch of pictures to Flickr, check them out here.

Omi's in town!

2008-10-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Mom (otherwise known as Omi) came in yesterday and hit it off with Sabine right away...
Omi posed us in front of someone else's house. Hmmm, I wonder if that was a hint...

Bine and mommy update

2008-10-23T14:02:00.001-07:00

Sorry no pics but Bine got to see her first Lambeau Leap during Sunday's Packer game...go GB. She also had her first diaper blow out on Auntie Sue and then on Papa and then in the bath...she was a busy girl that day...now you can see why there are no photos to accompany this entry...it was funny if not pretty.

I went for my first follow-up doc visit today and all is well. Everyone was very sweet and supportive...i must look like i feel - exhausted and a bit overwhelmed. I was excited to learn that i already lost 30 of the 60lbs i gained, despite the enormity of my chest. i think breast feeding is the new liposuction... wonder if it will tone my tummy muscles and thighs too...probably too much to ask for.

Bine's room

2008-10-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Bine is our nickname for Sabine and (sort of) means bumblebee in German. So, bees are everywhere! Here are some pix of the decorations Sue did in Sabine's room, even though she's actually very allergic to bees. We were so glad to have Sue here to help out and we were sad to see her leave this morning. Coming up next, it's Omi....

Bath time

2008-10-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

First, it's a new family portrait.

Here's some pictures of bath time, courtesy of Auntie Sue.

Sunday visits

2008-10-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

Ken, Jodi, Casey and Jane paid a visit on Sunday morning. It was nice to hang out with the gang and introduce the girls to each other. All the girls, including Lucy. Later in the day, Ed and Dave came by with an amazing meal that we couldn't resist digging into for a very early dinner.

Ken and Jane.

Jodi and Sabine.

Casey on the rug.

Heather and Sabine.

Glamour Shots

2008-10-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

There clearly weren't enough close-ups of Sabine in the last post, so here she is at one week old...

Our First Outing

2008-10-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

Auntie Sue flew in from Ohio on Wednesday and has been a great help. Besides being a nurse, she's a mother of four great kids. She's been an awesome resource for all our first-timer questions and has really helped us out around the house.

On Friday we had our first outing with Sabine at neighboring Woodlawn Park. Lucy was happy to get out of the house and frolic in the fields.

Home

2008-10-13T19:55:00.001-07:00

Well, we were discharged from the hospital today. Sabine and Heather are both doing really well. Bine got an A+ on her hearing exam, Heather is perfecting her breastfeeding game and I am becoming adept at diapers and swaddling. The nurses, doctors and staff at Legacy Emmanuel were really great. Of course, someone woke us up every time we would finally get to sleep, but that's a hospital for you.

It's nice to be home and to sleep in a real bed again. Before nap time, we carefully introduced Great Dane to great baby and Lucy seems to be quite curious about the newest addition to the family. Sabine and I watched the Browns deliver a major ass-kicking to the unbeaten Giants while Heather caught up on her sleep. Sorry, Packers fans, Bine is now a fan of the Brownies...

Some pix from Day 1

2008-10-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

More pix from the delivery room

2008-10-13T19:50:00.001-07:00

Meet Sabine Johanna Ficht

2008-10-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Sabine was born at 2:44 pm on Saturday, October 11th - her due date, believe it or not. She's a beautiful little girl, a healthy 8 lbs and 20.5 inches. Contractions started on Thursday afternoon and we went in to the hospital at 1:30 am Friday night (well, Saturday morning). Heather was amazing, a real trooper, but after 10 hours of very hard labor in the hospital and no forward progress, she got an epidural and delivered Sabine with relative ease 3 hours later. Much to my surprise. I hung in there and watched Sabine come out and then cut the cord.

Bine is a good little eater and the breastfeeding is going well. We chose her middle name to honor my maternal grandmother Johanna Hille. We got a pretty good night of sleep and are feeling great. The only downside is that Sabine won't be old enough to vote for Barack Obama on November 4th:)

9 days to go...

2008-10-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

So this photo is from week 39...i am now have 9 days until my due date. I have been getting acupuncture, massage and doing water aerobics. My last day of work is tomorrow and my focus next week is to nest, prep meals for the coming week, and do as much as i can to get this show on the road...i am really ready to not be pregnant any more.

Baby shower, Portland style

2008-09-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome coed baby shower on September 8th at Mt Tabor Park. Many thanks to Megan, Jodi and Heather for making it happen. It was a hot Sunday in the city, but nice and cool on our favorite extinct volcano.

It was a perfect afternoon, with lots of friends, food and drink. Jodi made a beautiful Sabine poster for everyone to write their words of wisdom for the girl. I'd heard some freaky rumors about the weird shit that usually goes on at these baby showers, but the planning committee thoughtfully played to the boy/girl crowd and kept it real with a classic baby trivia contest. I did horribly, but I guess I'll be an expert soon enough. And in the midst of this very feminine activity, the Football Buddies managed to scrawl their Super Bowl hopes on the fabled Paper Plate of Prediction.

Our friends were very generous with their gifts for Sabine and we got lots of great stuff. I have to say though, that I have never seen a party clear out faster than when it was announced we'd be opening presents - I haven't seen a room empty that fast since the last time I did my poetry reading/interpretive dance/performance art ode to Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Here's my video homage to all the great Super 8 footage I have from my childhood (it's about 5 minutes long):

And Lucy too!

2008-09-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

I neglected to mention Lucy was among the ladies hanging out on Ladies Weekend. Sorry girly.

Ladies Weekend

2008-09-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have been so lame that i haven't updated about the great weekend i had with Carol (step mom), Princess P (niece) and Megan (sister in law) last month. They all flew out for a weekend and we had a lot of fun. They spoiled me A LOT...waiting on me, nightly foot massages (a la Carol) and lots of good food and laughs. Little Miss P is so big already and a little sweet heart snuggler. Here she is hanging out with her cousin to be and auntie...

She also got to enjoy pool time in the back yard with Mom...

And play time with Grandma!

Thanks Ladies...it was wonderful!!!

34 weeks and counting

2008-09-01T10:33:00.001-07:00

I continue to grow bigger and bigger...i am up 48lbs and measuring 33" at last week's doctor appointment. She claims all is well and that all those people that keep asking if my due date is wrong or if i am having twins are subject to what she calls the "fat-ass factor". She said cuz i am/was thin when i got pregnant there is no where for me to hide the weight gain...unlike people/fat asses apparently who were already overweight when they got pregnant. I like to believe her but dang my belly is huge!

Catching Up

2008-08-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, we've been very lax with the blog. Wow, it's been over a month, sorry about that. We're looking for a new used car at the moment, so that's been taking up a lot of the evening computer time. We need to replace the Ford Ranger pickup, since there is no way to transport a wee one in it. We're looking for some kind of wagon with a hatchback, maybe a Volvo or Subaru. We need room for mom, dad, huevo and Lucy!

We went up to stay with my college buddy (and best man) Paul Custodio and his family in Seattle the weekend before last. We were looking forward to seeing them and relaxing in their beautiful backyard, they were looking forward to seeing Lucy. It was great to hang with them and our other college buddy TIm. The Custodios generously gifted us a ton of baby clothes. We went out for a nice dinner with the whole group: Paul, Geri, Pete, Heather, Christina and TIm.

Another thing that has kept us from blogging is our new pool. Heather's feet have been painfully swollen and it helps tremendously to spend time in the water. She found a great deal for inflatable 15' pool. We got the pool, the ladder, filter, skimmer, vacuum, everything for 150 bucks. It doesn't even make sense, how cheap it was. We set up at the beginning of August and have been enjoying it almost every day, except for the last week when the weather has been so crappy.

Can't believe it's already the end of August. September is already looking busy, Next week we'll celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary (September 2nd). The following weekend football season starts - oh, and we're having a baby shower. Our friends Ned and Megan Folkerth have been doing the planning for it. More on that later.

Around the third week in September our friends Pete and Nina will be visiting from New Orleans. And at the end of the month I'll be turning 44. I also have 3 concerts this month, The Raconteurs, Nick Cave and My Morning Jacket. Better get them in now while I can, right?

And Heather's getting larger...

2008-07-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

I am 27 weeks now and had a doctor visit this week. Despite the rumors of twins or wrong due dates...I am in fact only having one little girl and my due date is still October 11th. I am just a Big Mama! I gained over 35lbs so far and my tummy (uterus) measured 24" last month and this month I was up to 31". At least the growth spurt that I thought I had wasn't a delusion.

My back and feet remain a source of aches and pains but overall I am feeling pretty darn good. Mr Best is doing more picking things up off the ground for me and I'm getting an occasional foot or back massage so that always helps.

Yard of Dreams

2008-06-29T18:12:00.001-07:00

With barely time to catch our breaths, we had another parental visit last weekend. Heather's mom Arlene and her boyfriend Mike came out for a working vacation. We had a great time with them, though it probably wasn't very relaxing for them. We did have a couple of great meals out on the town, though. The picture above is from Salty's on the Coluumbia. Arlene also treated us to her favorite Portland treat - bone-in filet mignons at the Ringside. Mmm-mmm. We all four got them and it was quite a treat - especially for me, who ate all the leftovers the next day.

Arlene and Mike came prepared with a chainsaw, gardening catalogs and lots of good ideas to help us beautify our lame backyard. On Sunday I helped Mike cut down the nasty pear tree that was making us miserable every summer.

I hate to cut down a tree, but it dumped so many pears in the yard at the end of the summer that it was a major hassle every day to go out and pick up the rotten pears. We tried to eat the pears, but they just weren't that good. And it was pretty sickly anyway. We plan to replace it with a nice maple or really any non-fruit-bearing tree.

Mike and I cut down the tree on the Sunday while Heather and Arlene worked on the garden. Surprisingly, the whole thing went smoothly. No chainsaw accidents, no limbs falling in neighbor's yards, no tree falling on roofs. Ironically, I did injure myself - not with the chainsaw or dropping branches, but when I was dumping a load of brush at the composting center. I was tugging a thick branch which suddenly popped free, and I basically hit myself very hard in the face. The result: one hell of a shiner...

We cut off most of the branches, but as the day was coming to a close we decided to just go for it and cut the sucker down, even though it was still pretty tall. For the final cut we tied the trunk to the back of the pickup. Heather gave it gas while Mike made the last precise cuts and it fell perfectly in the middle of the yard. Cue applause from the neighbor's yard, who had been watching the whole process.

I had to go back to work on Sunday, but they kept at it all day Monday and Tuesday. As you can see below, it turned out wonderfully. The ladies really did a great job and Arlene wowed us with the layout of the plants. My one contribution was the idea of keeping the tree trunk there and hanging plants off of it. Plus, the top was perfect for the birdhouse they made for us. The yard looks really beautiful, especially when we light the tiki torches and candles at night. Thanks, you guys!

Oh, and the ladies also did some work on the baby room, painting blue sky and clouds on the ceiling, Heather's back is pretty sore from all the work, so we are taking it easy this weekend. Besides it hit 106 degrees yesterday, so we had to bust out the kddie pool...

First Father's Day with Mom and Momlette

2008-06-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

Mama Best came out this past weekend and we had a great time. The weather cleared up and it was just gorge-ous, as you can see from the picture above. We took Friday off for a day trip to Hood River. We had a cookout with some friends on Saturday and went out to dinner a few times. On Father's Day the ladies took me out to Ciao Vito, one of our neighborhood favorites. I got some excellent bike gear and a nice card from Momlette. All in all, a pretty good Father's Day dry run...

Week 23

2008-06-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Momlette is just finishing up week 23. Huevo is pretty active these days. I've been able to feel her kick a few times. Last night, just as I fell asleep, I had my hand on Heather's belly and I felt a couple kicks. It was a great to feel Huevo moving as I drifted off to sleep...

Just for kicks...

2008-06-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

I finally felt a kick the other day for the first time. I was having acupuncture and i think she started doing back flips b/c i could see her moving around. i still mainly only feel it when i lay down but look forward to more of her acrobatics as i get bigger and bigger.

It's a GIRL!

2008-05-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

Yes that's right Heuvo fans, it is a Heuvette or Heuvoritta. We are pretty excited, although i am not sure pete realizes that he will soon be powerless to the charms of little Heuvette. He will soon be surrounded by female energy. Good thing he is well trained in putting the toilet seat down.

Nap time!

2008-05-26T13:43:00.001-07:00

Momlette needs lots of nap time these days. And any time Momlette lays down, the animals are drawn from far and wide. That's a Great Dane and 2 kitties...

Week 20

2008-05-21T19:53:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day

2008-05-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

I had my first mother's day and i think it was probably quieter than they will be in the future since little Heuvo is quietly growing (no kicks yet). I got pampered by Pete which was nice...flowers, ran errands for me, went for a walk, made dinner and got 2 new tops and a very sweet card.

I also got a sweet card and beautiful sun dress from Mama Ulla. Even got a couple cards from friends. Overall a pretty good haul for not even having given birth yet.

Week 16

2008-04-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Time for another progress shot.

kickin'

2008-04-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

now that i am feeling a lot better i am getting more excited about being pregnant. i really want to start feel kicking, but don't really know when to expect it. plus maybe it won't be that fun after a while. we'll see soon i guess.

Animal Rebellion

2008-04-15T12:43:00.001-07:00

Over the last few weeks, the furry members of our family have really been starting to act up. Bobby, the gray cat, got in some kind of scuffle and had to go to the vet. They shaved his paw and found 2 giant bite marks. He's all better now, but we had the fun task of giving him medicine orally twice a day.

Maddie, the black cat, is hellbent on destroying every new rug we bring in. I just bought one for my office. I got it at Target, so now you know that we are some real classy elitist yuppies. Maddie clawed it up in the first few hours. It's now become a war between us. She already ruined one nice rug, but I refuse to let this one suffer. Even though it's a pain, I've been closing my office door whenever I'm not in it. But every once in a while I'll forget and she'll take advantage of my mistake and attack. It's always the same corner of the rug.

The other day, I was in the office and she ran in, ripped at the rug with her claws and ran back out again in about 1.5 seconds. It was a taunting blitzkreig of an attack, and if I wasn't so pissed, it would have been funny. We're looking into some kind of organic cat repellant spray we can use, but in the meantime she's getting locked out of the house during prime office-using hours.

Lucy, our Great Dane, has also been acting up. She's become more and more blatant in her begging for food and even more stealthy in stealing it. We set up a corner of the big couch for her to lay on, with a big blanket to keep her from getting it too stinky. Yet, every time we turn around she's on one of the other unprotected couches, acting all innocent. Last night, Lucy and Maddie got into a scuffle on Heather's lap, which resulted in 2 banished pets and 2 large scratches on Momlette's leg.

I'm starting to think that these guys somehow know that in the very near future, they will no longer be the center of attention. They are going to lose it when Huevo is born. Instead of spending 80% of our home time catering to their needs, we'll be looking after this new intruder. How will they respond? Probably not too well. We are way too attached to Lucy to ever let her go, but last night we discussed the idea of Bobby and Maddie finding some new homes somewhere....

Hmmm. Anyone want 2 incredibly well-behaved kitties? Hello? Anyone...?

You want to wear what?!?!?!?

2008-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

I've had it in my head that Huevo is a boy so when we found out that it is more likely a girl I had to adjust my thinking. Unfortunately i had some scary thoughts...on my to work the next day I passed by a middle school in suddenly had this horrifying flash forward of arguing with my 14 yr old daughter about the fact that she was not allowed to wear a g-string and low rise jeans or some such horribly provocative in-fashion outfit at 14...ahhhh.
Then i remembered that not all teenage girls are boy crazy and want to wear completely age inappropriate things. I wasn't and didn't so maybe there is hope. Besides i should probably focus on the birth and delivery at this point and deal with the rest in time.

The Twins

2008-04-14T14:24:00.001-07:00

I stopped by Jody and Ken's this weekend and got to see their new twins Jane and Casey. The baby boom in our little Portland group has just been crazy. Let's see, in the past 4 years, there's been Ned & Megan with Eamon and Hank, Heather & Andre with Olivia and Colin, Jody & Tony with Lucas, and Christa & Murray with Margaret. It's wild to think that Ken and I have been friends for 12 years and we both end up having our first baby in 2008...

Momlette belly progress - 14 weeks

2008-04-11T11:57:00.001-07:00

Of course, Huevo's mama is now known as Momlette. Here's the first of a series of photos to track the belly growth.

Ultrasound was sound

2008-04-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

Good news from this morning's ultrasound: everything is normal. The staff at the clinic were great. We met with 4 different people and they were all very warm and helpful. Heather even told the nurse that it was the best blood drawing she had ever had. Well, maybe we were a little high from just seeing the ultrasound, but still...

We first met with a Genetic Counselor and she went through our histories and all the potential problems a developing baby faces. It was actually pretty scary. I really had no idea that Down Syndrome was totally random - it has nothing to do with your history or genetics.

I think we were both a little apprehensive when we went into the ultrasound room after that. But once we saw Huevo pop up on the screen, all the worries seemed to melt away. I was trying to watch her measure this area behind the neck where they can see warning signs for any chromosome problems. I thought it read .21 cm, which we knew was in the normal range. Then when the doctor came in, he confirmed it. He was a pretty funny guy actually - he walked in the room and said in one breath, "I'm Dr. So and So, everything's normal, do you have any questions?" He also said that Huevo was the cutest baby he'd seen all day, but we didn't really buy that one. Both he and the ultrasound lady said it looked like Huevo was a girl, but it was too soon to confirm.

We still have to wait for the official results and the blood test on Cystic Fibrosis, but I think we're both feeling pretty good at this point. I was showing off the ultrasound pictures at work this morning, like a real proud papa!

The most important baby in the history of the universe

2008-04-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't want to fall into the stereotypical self-absorbed expecting parent trap here, but this will be a blog dedicated to our baby-to-be, currently known as Huevo. We found out that we were pregnant when we were on vacation in Mexico in February. I only know 7 words of Spanish and huevo was one of them, and the concept of "egg" was certainly apropos, so there you have it. I'm getting so used to the name, I'm starting to wonder if it could actually translate to the real world...

The picture above is Heather's positive pregnancy test strip posing with a lovely pair of Mexican coconuts.