Weekend Highlights

We had a fabulous weekend. Perhaps even the best weekend in Owen 's life, which I can say since I have been intimately involved in every weekend he has ever had! We visited 7 Seattle parks while drinking in as much sunny weather as we possibly could. Here are some highlights...
* Owen enjoyed dinner out with us on Friday and flirted with the woman sitting next to us the whole time by pulling on her jacket with his guacamole covered hands.
* John let Owen have some licks of his ice cream cone and Owen looved it. Salted Caramel - very mature palate.
* We all slept til 6:30 Saturday morning, hallelujah!
* Lovely chat with an Army Corps Engineer at the Locks who told us all about his 4 month old grand daughter and the heart attack he had 4 years ago because he loved microbrews so much he drank 8 a day but has since lost over 100 pounds.
* First broccoli raab harvest from the garden and three delicious salads from garden spinach and lettuce.
* John planted Kentucky Wonder Beans (the name suggests a goose and some golden eggs await us!)
* Saw a Great Blue Heron eating an eel on Elliott Bay.
* Wading in the ocean.
* And the best highlight of them all....Owen kicked it up at our neighbor's barbecue by grabbing John's beer bottle and taking a huge swig! He then got on a little tricycle and promptly fell off. No doubt he was showing off for the three little girls there.

A Discovery in Discovery Park

Owen does not look impressed with the splendor that surrounds him in Discovery Park in this picture. Perhaps because the real attraction awaited him at the end of the hike down to the beach.

We had an extremely low tide and an exceptionally sunny day, which meant shallow water warmed by the sun. We all shucked of our shoes and enjoyed the feeling of warm sand and cool water on our feet. Notice his shirt, our little Seattle baby (Thank you, Sandy!)

Patty Cake

John always tells me that I make the best pancakes, but you know John. He is so appreciative that I could serve him cardboard and he would ask for seconds. But today, Owen confirmed that I do indeed make good pancakes. He tried them for the first time this morning, little tiny pieces chock full of blueberries. He grabbed a piece and stuffed it in his mouth, grabbed another, and another, and raised his little arms in the air and laughed and gurgled. Since Owen holds with no civilities or courtesies, we can trust his pure delight in the greatness that is a good pancake.

Open Letter to Mother Nature

Owen is ready for summer!

Urban Adventures

It has been awhile since we have written and we have had many adventures in the meantime, so I will start with the most current events and work my way back until I can't remember anymore...

Today is a beautiful day in Seattle, brilliant blue and eighty degrees. We decided to start answering the question everyone asks us, "How do you like Seattle so far?" Since our first few weeks here were a whirlwind of buying a house and having a baby, we haven't really gotten to know this city where we have lived for a year now. We know it is Seattle by the Space Needle we see every day and the hulk of Mt. Rainier that hunches over the skyline, but we haven't ventured very far from our own neighborhood.

So, this morning we packed up Owen and went downtown to explore a little. We went to locally famed Macrina Bakery to pick up some treats and then headed over to the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Garden, a 9 acre park right by the Puget Sound that features such works as 20 ft. high traffic cones and a giant typewriter erasing racing down a hill. We found a sunny spot right by the water and watched people do what we used to do (go for early morning runs) while we kicked back and ate huge pieces of lavender and lemon coffeecake. Owen loved watching the trains go by. He was such a little wiggle worm until one passed and then he was utterly still and silent until the last car passed, then wiggle all over again. We came home, messed around in the garden, Owen napped, and then we hiked around Carkeek park, a lovely park near our house that we visit often with forest trails and ocean views.

Speaking of the garden, we are hoping to taste our first bounty this weekend - spinach. Since we last reported, John has built a "cloche" for his tomato plants - a big plastic tunnel to keep them warm and humid in the cool Seattle spring.

Here is a pic of John from last weekend and behind him is my Mother's day present, 3000 pounds of mulch. That is partially a joke. We spent the first part of Mother's Day sodding and mulching our front yard after we dug the whole thing up. We are very happy to pass along our previous title of "Eyesore of the Neighborhood" to some one else. John and I both hold our head up high as we walk into our house now as opposed to sneaking in the back like we did when the whole yard was a field of dandelions. John and Owen made the rest of the day a treat with thoughtful gifts and a nice trip to the farmer's market.

We had a lovely visit from my mom, Owen's "Marnie," the weekend before, hence the fabulous video of him dancing with her. My mom also treated Owen to his first lunch with the girls and the first public lunch when he didn't scream the entire time. I think the mound of crunchy rice noodles she set before him certainly helped satisfy his hunger for food and mess.

A few other highs and lows, Owen's first fever, some great nights of sleeping, first visit to the sandbox, and a 5:30 am picnic with mommy in the backyard so daddy could get some more sleep.

Now the little boy is napping, we have a bottle of wine in the fridge, and a whole 'nother day of the weekend. Happy times!

Film Fest Day 2

So he made it to 5:30 this morning. Funny how I was complaining about him waking up at 5:30 last week, but after a few 4:30 wake up calls, 5:30 feels like a Hawaiian vacation.

Owen Film Festival

Owen has taken to starting his day at 4:30, so I am just too tired to write. Here is some video to tide you over (with a surprise ending!)

Dancing with Marnie

Omakase

As those of you with adventuresome palates and a love of sushi know, omakase is when you give a chef the freedom to prepare for you whatever inspires her that particular evening. You are entrusting the chef to tantalize and challenge you with unique and thoughtful food that you might not ordinarily experience. Owen, in a sense, orders the omakase for every meal. He never knows what he is going to dine on at any particular meal (though he does recognize the sound of the cheerio bag being opened.) And yet, he is so trusting of us that he opens his mouth up every single time. He just knows that what we are putting in his mouth is good for him in every sense of the word. This is one of those small things that I feel so honored to experience as a parent.

Yes, I know, he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth, but you get what I am getting at, right? When was the last time you allowed someone to put something in your mouth without know what it was, what it tasted like, if it was fresh, if it was edible? It is a pretty intimate experience and Owen allows us to do that several times a day. He does have an adventuresome palate - chickpeas with raab and ricotta, curried lentils, minestrone, egg custards, he eats it all.

Yesterday, a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest, Owen and I packed a picnic lunch and took a nice, long stroll to a new park. There was something about putting tiny cubes of banana and avocado and cheese into little cups that made me realize that Owen isn't an infant anymore. Sure, he is a baby, but his world is broadening into childhood now.

This was only Owen's second cheese tasting and, even if we don't know who he resembles physically, we now know that his palate is that of a Pyle. Usually with finger foods, Owen pinches one piece with his left hand fingers, transfers it to his right hand, brings it to his mouth, and puts it on his tongue. Not with the cheese. I opened the container, set it down by him, and in a flash, he grabbed a fistful and shoved it in his mouth. I quickly moved it out of his sight (not having object permanence yet is such a blessing) and dug a few pieces out of his mouth so he could chew. He must have caught a glimpse of the golden cubes, though, because he threw himself on his tummy and clawed his way over for more. It was the furthest distance I have seen him cover.

So, Pyle Family, Owen is now ready to travel as long as he can visit the cheese club at the airport.