Memorial Day Weekend

Team Fein decided to stay in town for the long weekend and enjoy some family time together. We started Friday afternoon off with a picnic at Juanita Bay beach. As it was a rather impromptu idea, we didn't actually have any picnic food so we stopped off at Little Caesars and picked up pizza, spread out our new picnic blanket and basked in the rays of the setting sun. Winston always gets so excited when we put on his collar as it usually means he is coming along, so he was more than happy to don the collar and trot out to the car with us.

We thought Harrison would be in a good mood as he had just woken up from a nap but he was actually rather cranky... no smiles for us this night!

On Saturday, we had lunch with Raina's cousin Terra who was in town for the weekend with a friend. Cousin Terra has four kiddos of her own so Harrison was putty in her arms.


Since we lunched at Cactus, the three of us took a pre-lunch stroll at the Kirkland Marina where Michael couldn't resist dipping his little toes in the sand - gravelly sand that stuck in his toes for the next hour.
Sunday, Harrison attended a volleyball tournament with Aunt Rae Ann, Grandma and Zadie at the UW where he was evidently the bell of the ball. We took this opportunity to have our first movie date away from Harrison. Since the weather was beautiful for the third day in a row, we lunched outside on the deck at Ivars on Lake Union (fish 'n' chips) and then went to see the new Star Trek movie. Michael and I both watched some of the Star Trek series growing up so we enjoyed this newest movie. The "best part" was as we were walking out of the movie theater, a girl with a group of teenagers said, "did this used to be a t.v. series or something?" Evidently 30 IS old!

As a side bar, Wil Wheaton (who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: Next Generation) often attends a video game convention my friend Robert runs. A couple years ago, Wil was in town so Robert made it a point to introduce me to him and them in typical I'm-going-to-make-this-embarrassing-for-you Robert fashion he says "Raina used to have a big crush on you." It's actually not true (although he was cute), but embarrassing none-the-less. I did get a great picture with him though!
We concluded Sunday with a BBQ at Brennan & Rudy's place which has a gorgeous view of Lake Washington. Monday we did some house work and Raina hit the mall and scored some major goods at deep discounts... it's so nice not to wear a stitch of maternity clothes any more!

First Night In His Bedroom

We had been putting off the transition to Harrison sleeping in his bedroom for several reasons but with me going back to work in less than 2 weeks, we needed to make this happen so we can hopefully sleep better at night. Part of this process was getting his room ready. Since Harrison was born early, his bedroom wasn't completed (at least it wasn't up to my standards) so we have been working on making it feel more "homey" the past week or so. We added the picture, book case, a set of hooks, a star light and a mirror is going over his dresser/changing table so he can entertain himself. Small changes really but they did a lot for the overall ambiance.


Pottery Barn Kids had this map printed on canvas for $99 which I loved but would not pay for. While there, I found the same map in a puzzle so we bought it, glued it together with Modge Podge and glued it on top of a canvas. The project cost less than $30 and is totally cooler!

So last night we began our new ritual. At 8:30pm we turn off all unnecessary lights and dim the rest. Harrison gets a bath and then the three of us go to his bedroom to dress him in his pj's while listening to soothing music. He drinks his bed time bottle in daddy's arms while mommy sits in front and reads a couple of books. Then the lights go off and he is rocked to sleep in mommy's arms and then into the crib for the night. This all went off well last night. He woke up around 1am (this is normal) at which point I fed him and he drifted off to sleep again. He woke again at 5am (as expected) ate again and then we rewarded him (us!) by going back to sleep in our bed, all cuddled up. Mom was able to stay sane through this process partially with the fancy new baby monitor which has a video camera and small screen with "night vision" so I can see him. When I put him down at 1am, I watched him on the monitor... he actually woke up and was kicking around and making a little noise. Normally I would have gone in and picked him up again but I nervously waited it out and within 10 minutes he had put himself back to sleep again. Hooray!

All said, we are very pleased with the transition and Harrison seems to be taking well to it too.

Work is around the corner...

Well, it's official. Monday, June 1st I will be going back to work full time and Harrison is going to Day Care :(

Many of you may recall I had a part time gig worked out and LONG story short, it is no longer available so I am going back to my old job. This isn't so bad as I actually enjoy my job however I really didn't want to put Harrison in day care full time. Michael and I talked and talked and talked about this and at this time it is the best thing for our family. I found what looks to be an excellent day care just up the street (two minutes and one stop light away) and from my several conversations with the staff I think that Harrison will be well cared for by loving people.

Michael feels funny taking him to day care since he will be working from home but he promises to try to head up there at lunch time and hang out with his boy; he can probably drop off a little later and pick up a little earlier than if he wasn't so nearby. I did the math last night and I think I will have to get up at 5am in order to get Harrison's stuff ready as well as myself and hit the Bus Park & Ride by 6:30am. I usually get home around 5:30pm (in decent traffic) which is going to make for a really long day.

We will probably reevaluate the situation in a couple months to see if it is really working for our family. I feel fortunate to have a wonderful manager and a great job when so many people are struggling in this economy but the emotions I feel as a mother are certainly strong so this was a difficult decision for us to make. Wish me luck!

Mother's Day, Viva Las Vegas

Raina & Harrison spent the last week in Las Vegas with Raina's family which included Sunday, Mother's Day. Sadly Michael could not come for the visit however he sent this new mommy a surprise fancy box of chocolates (see below, very cool).

Harrison, about 14 weeks & 14 pounds!

Fancy Chocolates that look like mice (but taste better!)

Although we were not with our little immediate family, it was still a very special day as my mother, Winnie, had all three of her children with her, as well as her new grandson, which is a rare occurrence since Jonathan lives in Boston and our visiting schedules seldom jive. In fact, a lot of schedules were arranged to make this a memorable visit. In addition to Jon, my Uncle Billy and his partner Paul brought my grandad (Winnie's father) from San Francisco for the weekend; Hart's son Burke and his wife Judy came to visit twice; Aunt Sharon came over twice and cousin Derrick came over for dinner too. So much family! On Sunday we visited the cemetery where Grandma & Grandpa Mapel and Grandma Ng is buried so Harrison really got the ancestral tour! Thank you to everyone for making the last week really great.

Uncle Jon

Judy & Burke

Winnie & Hart

Great Grand Dad

Aunt Sharon

Uncle Billy

Also on Mother's Day, we took Harrison to church to receive a blessing, which is customary in the Mormon church to start off the baby's life on the right foot, if you will. This entails a group of men to stand up and perform the blessing and I was so happy to have my dad give the blessing with Hart (mom's husband) and Jon there as well. I had hoped Harrison would fall asleep by blessing time and when he did not, I feared he would wail during the blessing but he managed to hold it together until it was over (thanks for making mom proud!). After the blessing and a trip to the cemetery, we gathered at mom's house for a little party. The food was delicious (mom's food is always delish) and the company great.

Blessing Day

Mom's Day was not the only big day during this trip... Harrison slept 8 hours straight one night and 7 hours another!!! Albeit he slept from 8pm to 4am (morning of 5/8), this mom could not have asked for a better gift! Around 1am I started waking up hourly, not because I needed to ensure he was breathing (although I did check) but because my instincts were telling me he was about to break the sleep record. Each hour I did the math in my head and once I hit 8 hours I got so happy that I practically woke him up to celebrate! Both instances occurred after particularly busy days and his naps were not as frequent or long as usual... this made him pretty cranky which was really hard to deal with (took me 4 tries and 3 hours to put him to bed) so I'm not sure it is a good trade off for longer sleep periods. I need to find a happy medium. Otherwise, he has been able to sleep 8 hours waking up around hour 4, eating and then going directly back to sleep without a diaper change, so that's nearly as good.

4am on May 8th (yep, mommy took a picture!)

Dad and Barbi have a big, new swimming pool that is perfect on a hot day; Las Vegas was about 15 degrees warmer than usual, pushing 100 degrees... ug, so hot! I bought Harrison some swim diapers and dressed him in his swim suit from grandma Dreslaine, sprayed him with sun screen and hat, and then dipped him waste high in the pool with Aunt Chyna... at which time he promptly wailed and we pulled him out and sat by the pool instead! Oh well, he will surely grow into a water loving baby. Raina would spend nearly every day every summer at Grandpa Ken & Grandma Ann's house in the pool with Jon and cousins Terra and Derrick. Hopefully Harrison will get a similar experience during future visits to Grandpa and Oma.

"Swimming" with Oma

Grandpa Dale is rather obsessed on Harrison growing up as fast as possible. It was all I could do to keep him from feeding Harrison a double bottle or bananas or ice cream. As you can see below, Grandpa thinks a 3 month old should be on the verge of walking. To be fair, Harrison will stride his legs if you pick him up under the arm pits ~~ sorry grandpa, it will be next spring before he is really walking!

Another highlight was visiting my best friend from high school Megan and her husband and daughters. They are expecting a little girl in a few months so we had plenty to talk about and her daughters were very intrigued by Harrison. I brought him over sleeping and they were begging to wake him up and share their toys with him - how sweet! Unfortunately once awake, he was pretty fussy for some unknown reason, evident by his expression below.

Raina & Megan, together again!

Below are a few random pictures from our time there; not really any stories behind them, more for your viewing pleasure.

Hart & Harrison. Hart is really a large man and the juxtaposition of their two hands was really sweet...

Dad took this cute picture of Harrison's foot; the pediatrician says he actually has big feet but they still look small and precious to me.

Baby's first BBQ; PoPo made really thick (and tasty) hamburgers which were nearly impossible to wrap your mouth around.

Uncle Jon & Aunt Chyna goofing around.

Weekend Away at the Alderbrook

For my 30th birthday, I asked that we pack up the whole family for a weekend get-a-way and my wish was granted with a stay at the Alderbrook Resort on the shores of the Hood Canal (the only fjord in North America!) which is on the Washington state peninsula. We packed up baby and dog and boarded a ferry in downtown Seattle and 90 minutes later we felt a million miles away. I was treated to a 90 minute hot stone massage (so relaxing that I don't remember half of it!) which was needed more than I had realized.

Saturday night we sat down for a nice meal in the restaurant however Harrison refused to take his normal nap and got so worked up and beyond tired that he literally couldn't fall asleep. Our half eaten meals and dessert had to be sent up to our room so we could finish and Michael ended up putting him in the stroller and walking up and down the hallways and around the grounds for 30 minutes to get him to fall asleep. Ah, the joys of being a parent!

The blog is giving me trouble arranging the pictures so they are not in the best story telling order:

Daddy & Harrison playing on the bed. The room had 20 foot ceilings, a small deck, a window bench and a lovely view of the Hood Canal and the mountains.

The shwanky resort allows pets; Winston was very at home and enjoyed barking on the deck at a cat on the lawn below.

Chillin'

A sunset walk on the beach (it sounds like a cliche, but truly a lovely evening!)

Dog and dog's best friend

Family photo opp on the beach

"Discovery." At low tide the beach was littered with oyster shells. I found a particularly big one, covered in barnacle like shells; Winston was very intrigued.

Michael skipping stones; Winston running into the canal to try to fetch them

These boulders are on top of a small waterfall in the courtyard below our room

View of Seattle from the ferry

On the deck of the ferry; I believe Bremerton is in the background

Tongue Wagging

Many of you may remember this picture of Harrison with his tongue kind of sticking out. Recently he has been sticking his tongue out at us more than ever and if we do it back he seems to understand that we want to mimic the action and keep it going. We got a couple tries on camera... it's super cute!

Tulips!

I have lived in the Seattle area for 12 years and until last week had only visited the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival once. That said, we got there way too early in the season and there were only 10 rows of tulips blooming leaving the other many acres a sea of green stems -- very disappointing after a 75 minute drive. Thanks to maternity leave, I saw on the midday news report that the fields were in full bloom so I figured what better time than now to get out there!

Brennan, Beckett, Harrison and I made the drive to Mount Vernon last Tuesday to see these flower fields first had and it was totally worth the trip! In this case the pictures are certainly worth a thousand words: