Baby's First Sporting Events

April 14th was Opening Day for the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Lucky for us, Brennan had an extra ticket so we packed our boys in the car to enjoy the sunshine and the return of Ken Griffey Jr. to the M's (too bad Ichiro was on DL that day). Evidently we should have bought a Lottery ticket becuase we managed to score free parking just 2 blocks away (the pay lots asked for as much as $50) AND the boys made it through the 8th inning before getting cranky (we watched the end of the game from the team store where mommy bought Harrison a hat)!

Bleacher Bums

Saturday, April 25th was the annual Spring "Purple & Gold" Husky Football practice game. The team splits up and plays a game and gives the Husky Nation something to get excited about (hopefully!). We met Rudy & Brennan and their friends for a tailgate in Montlake before heading inside the stadium to enjoy the game.

Harrison with Harry the Husky (he wasn't as scared as he looks)

Harrison still needs some official Husky gear...

Dad hopes for many more father-son Husky games in the future

"I'm so excited I'm speechless!" - Harrison Jay Fein

Happy Baby

Our baby has many reasons to be happy...

Playing around with Daddy

Wearing "gDiapers" for the first time; comfy and better for the environment than disposables!

Hanging around with Winston

Saturday Morning with Daddy

Raina Turns 30; World Does Not Come To An End

Well, I finally turned 30 last week (April 21)... I don't have a problem turning 30 but I remember being young and being excited to turn 8... only from that perspective do I feel old. I have everything I want and need and so feel good about this landmark birthday. We spent that auspicious Tuesday night at The Ram with a ton of my friends, eating, drinking and texting messages to the TV screens! Thank you to grandma and zaidy for babysitting and allowing momma to have a night out with no worries :)

Raina finally manages to transfer pictures from her camera phone

Like the post title suggests, here's what I got (BTW I am impressed at the overall quality of my little camera phone):

Harrison within the first 2 hours of birth...

Michael holding the baby WHILE playing ping pong against me... he would like me to add that yes, he can whoop me one handed while holding our son. This was at the Kinsey's House for Jeff's 29th birthday bash... note: no babies were harmed during the making of this photograph

Chyna's Visit to Seattle: Archie McPhee, a local store with lots of crazy novelty items. Chyna bought an egg plant key chain to proclaim her love of vegetables to the world. I bought my friend Brennan an action figure of the "Patron Saint of Real Estate" for her birthday... she followed the instructions and buried it under her For Sale sign and the very next day she received two offers! Bren, do I get any commission for that?

Chyna's Visit to Seattle: Woodland Park Zoo

We were the only people at this particular window at the orangutan pen. This dude walked up to us with a sheet pulled over his head as if he was shading himself from the sun or rain although there was neither to bother him. In his hand is a plastic bottle filled with some type of treat that he was working to free. His leathery hands manipulated the bottle easily and made him seem so human; it was the best 5 minutes of the day.

Harrison's first Major League Baseball Game, Opening Day for the Mariners... Brennan and Beckett (1 year old) spent the sunny afternoon with us on this beautiful spring day. Harrison was content in the Bjorn carrier most of the time and we were impressed our boys lasted through the 8th inning (we watched the end of the game on the tv monitors in the team store where I purchased Harrison's first baseball hat).

Ashley's Bachelorette Party was last Saturday and we went to Snoqualmie Casino. Melissa and I are two of her seven bridesmaids and this picture was taken in the night club at about 1am... can you see how tired I am?!

Happy Easter!

It has been busy around the Fein household the past few weeks so I have some catching up to do. I'll start at the most recent and work my way back:

I took the picture below of Harrison a few days before Easter... I LOVED him in his Easter outfit and just had to ensure it was documented and decided to go overboard and stage it like a professional studio. The funny part is what you can't see... the only room with adequate lighting was the new bathroom so I draped a bed sheet over the shower stall and stacked large storage bins against the shower door and draped another bed sheet over that. I placed the basket on top and stuffed it with my smallest throw pillow to give him something firm to sit on and then covered it with the grass. The background is actually the pad to his changing table which was firm enough to support him as he leaned up against it. Aunt Chyna sat him in the basket and is stationed just outside the range of the lens - her hands would spring in and prop him back into a sitting position whenever he would start to slump over every 20 seconds or so! Also my flash was too bright and the bathroom lights too dim so i had hunted around the house until I cold find a suitable piece of opaque plastic to put in front of my flash to try to diffuse the light. WHEW! In the end, this is what we got and I think it was definitely worth the effort!

Happy Easter!

Another shot from the same morning

Team Fein spent the Easter holiday with Michael's family at mass at Sacred Heart Church (of which Harrison spent half the service in the foyer - no surprise there) followed by an evening at Uncle John and Aunt Shivonne's (aka Auntie Bon Bon) house. Michael contributed his signature holiday dish of scalloped potatoes, chalk full of cheese and cream and deliciousness... oh the deliciousness! Next year the whole family is looking forward to resuming egg hunts again.

In an effort to instill a love of reading early, I have been reading books to Harrison for a few weeks now, although I am sure he doesn't even realize I am holding a book in front of him. On Saturday morning, Michael picked up a book and read to him for the first time and genuinely grabbed his attention - totally cute (the baby, not so much dad in the morning)!

Reading "Baby Beluga"

Aunt Chyna left the warm weather of Las Vegas and spent her Spring Break with us in Seattle; while it snowed on April 1st, by April 5th it was sunny and warm and we were able to go out and enjoy several activities, including a picnic at Medina Beach, the Seattle Aquarium (Chyna's favorite!) and a visit to the Pacific Science Center and their Butterfly House, one of my most favorite places to visit.

Baby and Mommy in the Butterfly House

Aunt Chyna Researching Species

Medina Beach - Harrison is 9 weeks old

Aunt Chyna changed her first diaper this week!

Monday morning while waiting for Aunt Chyna to wake up (at almost 15, she can sleep like 12 hours at night... in my dreams!), Harrison spent some time in the gym and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and seemed quite entertained with his handsome self.

Last week, we put Harrison down for a nap and when I came in to check on him to my surprise I found him sucking his thumb in his sleep. However he wasn't just recreationally sucking on it, he was going at it like his little life depended on it and I am convinced he would have swallowed his entire hand if those little fingers didn't get in the way! He usually uses a pacifier so this was a first and he hasn't done it since, probably because we swaddle him and lock in his arms... this day his "Houdini Hands" had made their way out.

Look at his cheeks, sucking away!

Daddy likes to play around when he gets home for work and mom makes dinner. What a great way for both of them to relax!

goofballs

Harrison is Growing

Harrison is still small for his age compared to his peers, but to dear old mom he looks so big. He got as small as 5 lbs 8 oz and now I estimate him at 8.5 - 9 pounds and his head is noticeably larger (daddy has quite the noggin).


This is the most recent picture, taken 3 days ago

Other than size, he has also made some other strides in development. He can definitely see people standing nearby and has come to identify mom in the room (yeah!). At Sunday dinner at grandma Dreslaine's house last week, Harrison was really fussy for her and Zaidy (grandpa Steve) so I picked him up our of their arms thinking he might need to be changed and he immediately stopped crying and started staring at me and even smiled a little. Michael and I have also been able to solicit voluntary smiles from him (definitely not gas related) and his neck control is much improved.

With Aunt Alexis


Hanging out with dad

We set up his play mat (which we refer to as his gym... one of us should be working out!) and he can be happy in there for about 30 minutes, kicking his legs and grasping the rattles we put in his hands.

Last but certainly not least, he has become an official University of Washington Husky fan. He and dad watched the March Madness basketball games together and mom made his onesie using some sharpies. Unfortunately the huskies lost in the second round of play so they will have to wait until football season to start cheering again.

We're Sending the Vet to Hawaii Again This Year...

Winston is three years old and in his short time on this earth he has been under anesthesia five times:

1. Removal of "Cherry Eye" - (eye gland problem) right eye; also neutered
2. Removal of "Cherry Eye" - left eye
3. Removal of 16 rocks from stomach (see picture below; yes, he ate all those rocks)
4. Attacked by Golden Retriever - Repair torn eye lid
5. it's coming... wait for it...

Additional emergency trips to the vet:

• Sick - dehydrated and vomiting


• Hit by a mini van (he dented it but came away miraculously unscathed)

Winston had been about 12 months "Accident Free" and was over due for some major incident. Well a few days after Harrison was born, Michael took Winston to the park for a good run. Unfortunately the park is muddy in February and Winston's leg must have gotten stuck in the mud because he came home limping. Dr. Bowerman diagnosed an ACL injury. If we did not operate on it, Winston would face a future filled with arthritic pain and we couldn't let that happen. We believe a dog should be able to run around and enjoy life, not stay locked up in the house so we quickly made the decision to operate. While we were at it, Dr. Bowerman also corrected his eye lid which had begun curling inward, causing his eye to water and squint.

Poor Winston looked like he had been mauled by a bear when he got home but 10 days later we had the sutures and collar removed and he looked (and felt) much better.

I was ready to post this write up Thursday night but didn't get around to it and perhaps this is why: Friday night we were watching TV and Michael noticed that Winston's operated leg looked swollen. When he examined it, there seems to be a large pocket of fluid jiggling under the skin. I took him into the Emergency Vet and 3 hours later (they were busy and he was least critical) he came home with some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine. Winston is ok but I have to take him back to Dr. Bowerman on Monday for re-examination.

Thank goodness for Pet Insurance. Without it, Winston would literally be a Money Pit.


There are 13 rocks in this picture... can you find them?

Mapel Grandparents Visit

Last week Dale and Barbi spent 7 days with us to welcome their newest grandchild to the flock; Harrison is Dale's first grandchild and Barbi's sixth. Since "Oma" (German for grandmother) has never visited Seattle before, we spent several hours every day taking in the sights allowing us to get out of the house (Harrison and mommy will stay at home 3 days in a row without a second thought if someone doesn't prompt us to get out!). We were so happy to have them visit us and take time out to meet The Little Dude - come again soon! Here is a quick review of our time together:

Snoqualmie Falls (in the mist of a sudden snow down pour!)

Oma, Grandpa Dale and Raina on Queen Anne Hill

Self Portrait (Queen Anne Hill)

You can't visit Seattle without hitting Pike Place Market

Museum of Flight

If this plane wasn't inside the museum, dad probably would have tried to hijack it!

During WWII, women were recruited to fly service planes - these are pictures of Paper Dolls that were distributed to glamorize them. While they did the country a great service , the liberal woman in me wants to puke... I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the govt would distribute this during war time and then send the ladies back to the kitchen post war. Ok, ok, I'm off my soap box.

Dinner at The Metropolitan Grill. Dad and Barbi celebrated their 4 year anniversary this week so they broke their diet splurging on steak as well as chocolate & carrot cakes!

The Troll under the Fremont Bridge. That is an actual VW Bug in the troll's hand!

Gas Works Park on Lake Union, just north of downtown

On top of the Hill at Gas Works Park