Seattle!

Seattle makes a boy (and his parents) tired

Well, we’re home from Seattle. What a wonderful trip full of family and friends. And, just for the record, the weather was beautiful again – which it has been most of the times we’ve visited in recent memory. I’m starting to believe that this “rainy” weather is an elaborate lie to keep any more people from moving to this breathtaking city.

Aunt Jean is HILARIOUS

Friday began early (4:30am) to get us out the door and on a plane by 7:15am – which we did, no problem. E did great on the plane again and there were no real hiccups in the travel. The funniest moment was when Lisa and the lil’man were waiting for me to get the rental car, immobile due to the tonnage of gear/bags with them, and he decided to load his diaper – big time – in the middle of the airport. Lisa prefers to change him in the bathroom, but (obviously) that wasn’t an option this time.  Instead, she asked the people around her for permission to do the deed right there, and luckily, everyone was very polite and didn’t make a fuss as Lisa give him a quick change.

E & cousin  Lorraine chillin'

Once he was in a clean diaper and in the rental car, we headed to meet Aunt Jean at the family condo in West Seattle, our home for the trip. After we visited for a bit, we went over to her house and hiked down a beautiful forested trail to Alki Beach with Cousins Martha, Phillip, and one-year-old Lorraine (visiting from Madrid). We found a nice shady spot on the grass in front of Puget Sound and pretty soon Cousins Anne and Todd arrived with their two boys, Owen and Finn (visiting from Zambia…yep, this clan is quite widespread). We devoured fish’n’chips as babies were passed around and the boys – young and old – wrestled. Back at Jean’s house, Uncle Harry got home from work, Great Grandma Mary came over, and Nana/Papa finally made it to the Northwest after their 4 day trek from New Mexico, hauling the boat/jeep/pups.

Meeting Great Grandma Mary

Saturday morning found us on a stroll along the beach, chowder at Duke’s, and then a visit to Great Grandma Mary’s apartment. That night, we drove to Ballard (another district of Seattle) for drinks/apps/dinner at Cousins Heather, Conrad, Emma, and Erin’s house. They managed to serve us a feast of crab and salmon, even after hosting Erin’s 8^th birthday party that afternoon – amazing, I know. However, it didn’t come free: Nana had to ride a unicycle for the first time in 33 years to provide some entertainment (Emma is a master of the one-wheel too)! It was a fantastic evening.

Cousins Erin & Heather

33 years and she's still got it!

Even Cousin Ruby had fun

Cousin Emma is a natural

Aunt Jean/Uncle Harry hosted a big BBQ on Sunday. Tons of cousins and family friends swung by to hang out in their beautiful backyard with the perfect weather. In order to literally eat an entire cow for the day, we went for a hot-rock steak dinner – which is where they bring out a raw Sirloin on a sizzling volcanic rock and you cook each bite – it’s quite the culinary adventure especially while sharing multiple pitchers of Mac’n’Jack’s IPA.

(Most) of the Ballou Crew

Four generations

Auntie Dee & Uncle Dean

Early Monday, we said goodbye to Nana, Papa, and the pups as they cast off for nearly 3 weeks of boating around Puget Sound. We had lunch at Great Grandma Mary’s retirement community, took a big hike through the lush forest of Lincoln Park down the water with Aunt Jean, and headed back to San Jose for the start of our short week…a week where Opa takes the babysitting reigns full time.

Thanks to everyone up there for making it such a fantastic weekend for us. It was so great to introduce E to so many relatives and friends. I hope we can make the trip more frequently!

A quick status update for E:

• More often than not, he’s sleeping for about 8-10 hours at night (though not every night and we’ve yet to identify a pattern). He puts himself to sleep – as long as he’s not super-cranky. His favorite thing to nuzzle is one of a few small blankies.  
• He’s making great eye contact and really loves to play with his little “bucky ball”.  Catch him in the right mood and just talking to him will unleash gigantic grins.
• Randomly, last week, he full-on giggled aloud for the first time when Oma and I were putting him in the car seat. We haven’t heard another one since.
• I think he’s in the 16 pound range vs. Lisa’s prediction of 15+ lbs. His appointment is this coming Friday, so we’ll officially settle the bet there – though the poor lil’guy is getting another set of shots.