Ummm, Jesus?

Baby #2

Most of you now know that the Guenther family is expanding. We've been blessed with a 2nd pregnancy (albeit a nauseous one) and are due on November 9th. Whether this baby is a little early or right on time, he/she will be born around family birthdays, just like Greyson was. Mike's mom, my mom and my brother all have birthdays between mid-October and early November so let the baby pool begin.

Greyson has been pretty indifferent about the whole thing although daddy is having to remind him not to jump on my belly. A couple of months ago, we asked him if he wanted a brother or sister and he didn't think twice before replying "brother". When asked what we should name the baby, his answer after a pause was "Jesus". Since that's a bit much to live up to, we're going to keep thinking about it. If you have name ideas, we'd love to hear them.

So, I was dismayed to learn, after my first pre-natal appointment, that I am considered an "aged mother". I'd like to lobby the medical community for something less depressing. Combine the "age" with Greyson's prematurity and that makes double the number of appointments, blood tests and other invasive and annoying procedures. I'll suck it up but continue to complain about the sacrifice of my time and a $15 co-pay for every visit. Mike, per his usual, is an amazing and patient husband and father. I'll spare you the annoying gushing, but let it be known that he is the reason I am.

I'm not a good pregnant person. I have yet to experience the beautiful skin and hair, sun beams radiating all around me, queue the happy music "mom glow". It just doesn't happen for me. The better picture is a tired, red-faced, bloated, panting lady walking to the beat of Twisted Sister. Come and see me after this baby comes- I'll get my glow on.

Thank you to our family and friends for the well-wishes and congratulations. We're enjoying the time with Greyson who makes us laugh every day. He just finished soccer and started baseball at the Kirkland Community Center and we're enrolling him in a day camp where he'll get to explore his fasincation with bugs, dinosaurs and marine life. He has officially said "No" to more art classes. It was fun while it lasted and if you happen to receive a package containing the remnants of construction paper, finger paints, glitter, glue, colored cotton balls and pipe cleaners, I have NO idea where it came from!

Greyson and his friend Jayden on their last day of soccer

Grey told Mike yesterday (in his words) that "Hayden freaked out when I showed him my ow-wee!". We decided that, yes, it's a good thing he has a sibling on the way who might appreciate his ow-wees more than our poor cat. Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

Changes on the horizon...

Sunny Days!

70 degrees and sunny in April. We'll take that! We're coming off of a gorgeous weekend and are told it's going to stay that way for the balance of this week. Lexi and Hayden (our Persian cats for those of you who haven't met them) got their bi-annual groom on Saturday. This entails a bath, a "lion-cut" and comb. The first time they were groomed this way I laughed out loud. the pics below are from last year, but you get the picture. When you're used to seeing a big mass of fur, the picture of a shaved cat save the tip of the tail, face and feet, is shocking. We all got in the car to pick them up from the groomers and when Lexi meowed in her carrier, Greyson said "Shhh, it's OK Lexi". He's going to make a great big brother. This weekend was the first since before we left for Cancun over a month ago that we had very little on the agenda. We made the most of it by chasing bugs in the backyard, doing a little spring cleaning, grilling steaks with friends on Saturday night and having breakfast at "The Original Pancake House" (there's one in Brookfield and if you haven't been there, we highly recommend it) on Sunday morning. When the sun comes out in Seattle, the parks, sidewalks and beaches are packed. It's energizing!

This is Hayden. He's very masculine and not at all happy about the scarf. He loves Mike & Grey

This is Lexi. She's a total girl, very sweet. She'll snuggle with anyone, except Greyson :-)

Potty Time!

When I got home from work last Thursday night, Sara and Greyson were very excited about a new project- Greyson's potty chart. Together, they came up with prizes that can be won after 10 stickers are collected (1 sticker for every visit to the potty). Sara made the potty chart over the weekend and it's now proudly displayed in Greyson's bedroom. He's been pretty good about going on the potty for a while now, with reminders, but Sara wanted to take this approach to see if we can get him out of diapers for good. I'm all for it and Grey is pretty excited. He refuses to wear a Pull Up. It's either Spiderman underwear or his Pampers size 5s, so stay tuned for updates!

A big boy bed!

This month, we're shopping for a big boy bed. Most of our friends and family transitioned their kids out of cribs at a much earlier age and to them, I say "good for you". But, I will staunchly defend myself on our decision to wait for a number of reasons the least of which is I have enjoyed a restful night's sleep since Greyson was 4 months old (this being the official age at which he consistently slept 13 straight hours) due to the fact that he is unable to crawl out of his crib. He tried once, about a year ago, and it was enough to scare him from trying again. (His crib is a sturdy, solid wood model that does not "adjust" in a manner that allows the rails to come down- combine that with the fact that Greyson weighs about 30 lbs soaking wet and is not the tallest in his age group and we have a recipe for easy nights).

Grey & mommy before bedtime. He used to request 3 books. Now it's 1 book and some baseball

That being said, it's time to make the move. So, I'm looking for advice. Cute little car bed close to the floor? Full size bed with mattress that will take him to college? Bunk bed? Something else entirely? In addition to this, I'm also looking for the anecdotal scenarios to consider...what works to keep your kids in bed all night? Do they get up and go to the bathroom on their own? Did you change your nighttime routine to accommodate the new room arrangement?

Most of you know me well enough to know that I'm not good at asking for help/advice. It's a weakness and I'm working on it. So, I'm seriously interested in your feedback. Have a great week and if you're in the Pacific NW, enjoy the weather!

I can't believe Greyson is 3!

A view of the Olympic Mountains 3/21/09

I can't believe it's been 3 years since Grey was born. You may remember that I was due in late April of 2006 and when Grey decided to come more than a month early, once we got over the shock of it and learned he was healthy (albeit small), we thought it was pretty cool that his birthday is within a week of my dad, Mike's dad and Grey's cousin, Jake. March is a month of birthdays and we try to celebrate with one or more of them if we can.

Greyson at the Seattle Aquarium

Greyson & Nana- "Orca fin"

This year, my parents flew out on Thursday so Grey & Papa got to celebrate their birthdays together. My parents got to explore the city on their own for a day and on Grey's birthday, the 21st, the sun was shining so we headed to the Seattle aquarium where Grey got to stand right next to a seal trainer and watch him feed the seals fish. Needless to say, he was pretty excited. We visited Pike Place market, listened to the street musicians, watched the NCAA tournament (it is not lost on me that for the rest of Grey's life we will be celebrating his birthday in conjunction with March madness) and had dinner in the city. Greyson and Papa share a love of chocolate so the cake was perfect.

Grey & Papa's "guitar" cake

True to his word, my dad's gift to Grey was a "real" guitar; an electric, complete with amp, Strat replica. It's too heavy for Grey to hold but he is perfectly content letting it rest on his lap as he strums with the pick and sings songs both well known and made up. He got something from everyone that made his eyes light up. Puzzles and more from my sister (he LOVES the Noah's Ark puzzle), a basketball hoop from Mike's sister (BIG hit), Annie & Clarabel from Mike's parents (these haven't left his side)...he's an unbelievably blessed little boy and as I write this he's sitting quietly at the kitchen table putting together a puzzle from Mike's great-grandmother Beatrice. You're all much too generous and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

A 'brooding' rock star already?

Thank you to all of our friends and family for your birthday wishes and love from afar. It's not easy celebrating Grey's birthday without everyone near and dear to us but we know that you'd be here if you could!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Greyson!

Back to Reality

It's a Sunday afternoon at home. Mike is at the gym and Greyson is creating a 'monster' with puffy stickers he received in his stocking from my mom for Christmas (this 'monster' is made of pastel colored hearts, squares and circles...very scary, as you can imagine). We are still recovering from a 3 hour time change so breakfast yesterday and today started at 11am. Getting up at 6am tomorrow will be interesting, to say the least.

Hawaii was everything we hoped it would be after partying like teenagers in Cancun for 5 days. I will say little about that trip except that my mom saved the day, once again. I literally put her on a plane with 3 hours' notice after receiving a call from Sara who came down with a stomach flu after we'd already left Seattle. We had a great time once we knew my mom made it safely but our Hawaiian family vacation was much more relaxing, fun and memorable.

We rented a 3 bedroom villa with the Bertotto family. It was gorgeous, comfortable and perfectly set up for our families, flexibility and fun dinners in. We dined out 2 out of 8 nights (sushi one night and the famous Roys), but the dinners in were better than anything we could have found on the island...it's a place we will definitely come back to.

There were a lot of highlights from the week. Mike's parents were on the big island so they hopped a 15 minute flight over and spent 2 days with us. Grey was so excited to see them and we're very grateful to Grandma for taking him to see the sharks and stingrays upon request. The boys had a great time jamming on their ukeleles and the sunsets, as you can see, were amazing.

Until next time, Aloha Hawaii and Mahalo!

Getting Ready for Warmth

Since this blog is dedicated to keeping our family and friends in the loop of our lives (however uninteresting they may be), I'll share with you a few things I've observed about life in the Pacific Northwest; starting with some big differences related to vacationing. Mike is currently in Vegas attending his annual National meeting. Tomorrow, I leave for Cancun and next week, we go to Hawaii with our great friends, the Bertottos. In this economy, I'm not being facetious when I say that I recognize this is not the time to be celebrating. Too many people are struggling to make ends meet much less flying to warm, tropical places. Cancun is an annual trip with a small group of people that I work with across the country. Greyson is staying home with Sara and I'm trying to be positive that he'll be fine, have a great time and not miss us a bit. We get home on Sunday and turn around next Wednesday and fly to Oahu. We're looking forward to that trip because 1- Greyson gets to come along 2- he's going to have a blast with the Bertotto boys and 3- Mike's parents, who are already on the big island, will be hopping to Oahu to spend a few days with us.

So, as we prepare to leave, I'm struck by the following:

• The milder Seattle climate changes the way I look at warm weather vacations. There's something to be said for the anticipation one feels when living in sub-zero temps and watching snow pile up outside your window at home and work. An average winter day is Seattle is 50 degrees. It doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm not completely un-focused.
• Packing is easier. I don't have to worry about coats and pants for the trip home. We can board the plane in shorts and stay in them.
• West Coast stores are carrying their summer lines now so picking up a swimsuit, sundress and flip flops is a breeze (I can proudly say that I did very little shopping in preparation for my trips. I am truly embracing cost consciousness and need to thank my sister Jenny for hooking me up with some great stuff to bring along)

A lot of you have asked me what I think about Seattle. Does it rain a lot? Are the people friendly? Do I like it? I can't cover the differences in one post but here a few things you might find interesting:

• Mike & I are shamefully hooked on the Bachelor for the first time since Trista the Bachelorette. He's from Seattle so we feel a connection. It's embarrasing. If you watch the show, I will tell you that he went on a group date on the Argosy which is a ferry boat based in Kirkland that we used to watch from the deck of our old house.
• The trees in Seattle are gigantic and really green. They don't call it the Emerald City for nothing.
• The beauty of the landscape lives up to the hype. There are snow-capped mountain ranges in 3 directions. When you can't see the ranges, you look for Mt. Rainier (stunning) and where there are no mountains, there's water.
• It does not rain like the rumors, but it does rain more often than the Midwest. The rain is typically light and mist-like and usually occurs at night and early in the morning. It rarely rains all day.
• Thunderstorms are very rare and I will miss them.
• If you've read my posts, you know about the snow.
• The locals are very friendly but not 'open' in a way that we're accustomed. As our good friend RJ likes to say "My friend list is full" and that's what I think of when I meet a new friendly stranger.
• The culture is much more casual. Mike rarely wears a tie. Most of my business interactions are with jean-clad geniuses and cute girls in leggings and oversized sweaters.
• The number of people who ride their bikes to work is astounding. Most of the office buildings have gyms and showers.
• Seattle reveres its pedestrians. There are pedestrian lanes on every street and the law takes 'yield to pedestrians' very seriously. Automobile drives are second-class citizens (though there are still plenty of them).
• Traffic sucks.
• The city is very 'green'. You may be shocked to hear that Mike & I no longer purchase bottled water. We rely heavily on our Brita. And, we compost.
• Ask us about our dinner with Stone Gossard (guitarist from Pearl Jam), conversation with Harrison Ford and playdates with Kelly Jennings (cornerback for the Seahawks)!
• Yes, we like it. Mike doesn't miss the snow at all. I don't miss the freezing cold.
• We miss all of you immensely.

Check back in a couple of weeks- I'll post some fun vacation pictures and maybe a recent video of Greyson singing a song he made up called "I play the day"- sung into a foam rocket. Cheers!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Tuesday, February 10th is Mike's 34th birthday. I've got 6 months on him so I already know what it feels like. He's preparing himself by ignoring his advancing age and spearheading an effort to ressurect his old fraternity house and watching Pearl Jam DVDs. (I jest, I jest- 34 is no different from 24 except the hangovers last a little longer) A little shout out goes to my brother Nate for sending him an early birthday gift. More on that in a minute.

For the past 4 or 5 years, we've celebrated Mike's birthday by having pizza at Balistreri's in Tosa with great friends. We're going to miss that tradition this year. Mike's favorite line, "I've never met a pizza I didn't like", may be true but he definitely has his favorites and Balistreri's was #1. So, I've got the daunting task of finding something in Seattle that might be comparable. We've got a local joint called Zeeks which does a portabella/prosciutto/arugula with olive oil that's out of this world, but Mike is a pepperoni and sausage guy. Pagliacchis is good, but it's not Balistreris. Garlic Jim's holds its own...but again, you get the drill. The other question is dine out, or eat in? It's a Tuesday, so it's not like we're going to kick back with a bottle of wine. If anyone has ideas, talk back!

I promised to share a few pictures of the house now that it has furniture in it. We're enjoying our new digs and especially like the fact that we're 10 minutes away from everything- Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, downtown Seattle and my office. The commutes can be brutal so it's an ideal location.

Great Room (dining)

Great Room (living)

1/2 of Grey's playroom Kitchen

So, back to Nate's birthday gift. He sent Mike a Pearl Jam DVD from a tour they did in Italy. (Highly recommend it!) Grey, as I mentioned in the last post, is quite the fan...check it out.

A Boy & His Guitar

For Christmas this year, my mom picked up a small toy guitar for Grey, who has a bit of an obsession with all things music. It might be normal for a 2 year old but I think it's odd that he's often able to identify an artist after hearing a song play once. This may have something to do with the fact that music plays in our house 90% of the time that we're home- this since Grey was a newborn. Those who know us well know that our combined music tastes range from classic rock and alternative to classical, jazz and hip hop. The only thing you likely won't hear blasting from our iPods is country (although I've downloaded a cut or two over the years). Those who know us won't be surprised by the fact that Grey has an affinity for Pearl Jam. His favorite track of the moment is Eddie Vedder's Hard Sun.

So, this guitar my mom picked up was from World Market and it was a pretty good knock off of a standard acoustic. Much to my dad's chagrin (my dad, the guitar player), she didn't consult him and she tells me that he took one look at the guitar and scoffed in disgust. "You can't even tune it"! Well, he was right. Greyson's eyes lit up upon opening it. A few minutes later, after attempting to strum it and watching the limp strings literally fall off, Grey said "I want a real guitar". (Thankfully, my mom laughed) Within one week, we were down to one string and that one string survived until yesterday. Grey still plays the guitar, even without strings. Although last night, he cried that he couldn't "play like Papa".

On March 21st, Greyson will be 3 and my dad has let the the cat out of the bag that Grey will be receiving a real miniature acoustic guitar. (Shh, don't tell Grey) My dad is ignoring my protests that a 3 year old won't understand the value and as this one is particularly impulsive, there's a chance we may witness destruction a la Guns n Roses or Metallica. We'll do our best to protect, but I'm not making promises!

A visit from friends!

We've had the sincere pleasure of enjoying 50 degree weather in January. Knowing our closest friends and family are dealing with sub-zero temp for weeks at a time and if it's not freezing cold, then it's snowing, does make us feel bad. (Really) The past few weekends have been especially enjoyable- not having to wear a coat in the winter is really strange.

We enjoyed an even greater pleasure with a recent visit from Sejal, Ann & Deven Shah. They were the official "first guests" in our new home (which we are loving, for the record). In fact, I'm pretty certain they (or at least Sejal) has been our "first" guest in each of our homes. That's what happens when you've been friends with someone for 15 years. I've known Sejal longer than Mike, if you can believe that.

Greyson & Deven had a great time together. It's amazing how little 'watching' you have to do as a parent when there's another child in the house (yes, we're working on it!). The two of them literally entertained each other for 3 days straight. They especially loved putting on football helmets. (Note: Deven's father is a huge Bears fan so the Packer helmet is especially satisfying)

The highlight of the weekend, by far, was bathtime for the boys on Saturday night. If anyone out there is a fan of America's Funniest Home Videos and Caddyshack, press play!

We're moving...again!

I can't believe I'm even writing the words, much less packing boxes, hauling art work and otherwise spending my free time looking for places to put little odds and ends like bouncy balls, Greyson's art projects, errant coffee cups and old picture frames I can't seem to part with.

We're moving for the 3rd time in 3 years. Can I put it on record and say that I miss my old house (our very first house, the one we bought in 2000 for less $$ than the price of a little plot of land in Seattle- have I mentioned how expensive it is out here?) We finished the basement, put in hard wood floors and built a huge deck. We made a profit! (gasp)

Here is our 2nd home- the one we left in order to come to Seattle to experience something new. It's beautiful, yes. We loved it, yes. We miss it, yes. But, I didn't get as attached to it because we only lived there for 2 years and when we sold it, we said good riddance since the market was tanking and we got lucky. We did not, however, make a profit (gasp)

The house we moved into upon moving to the great Northwest was dated and needed a paint

job but it was quite beautiful inside and the view of Lake Washington, downtown Seattle, the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier was unbeatable. This photo doesn't do it justice. Unfortunately, the owner didn't do a great job with the remodel and we got to experience not one, not two, but three instances of water seeping into the lower level. The 3rd time was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. Thank God we rented.

So, here is house #4. The market hasn't bottomed out yet so we're renting which means another move may be in our future (gasp) We're going to enjoy it while we're here. You know you're in Seattle when...an espresso machine is built into the cabinets.

Kitchen



We have plenty of room for guests, so come and see us!

Happy New Year!

We just wrapped up a nice long Christmas break and are offically back into the swing of things. I'm not the New Year's resolution type. I set my goals as I need to and then measure my successes and failures accordingly (it's usually a failure to ever get started). This year, however, I decided to write 3 things down:

1. De-clutter
2. Find new doctors for our family (that's every doctor you can think of- pediatrician, pediatric dentist, regular dentist, OB/GYN, GP etc)
3. Try the pilates class at the gym I've never been to

I'm pleased to report that I've gotten a start on #1 and #2. Let's ignore #3 for the time being, shall we?

We want to say a big, official, THANK YOU to our family and friends for hosting us (and our 5 suitcases, 3 carry on bags and a myriad of other crap) throughout our vacation. We flew into Minneapolis on 12/22, spent the night in a hotel in Menomonie, WI due to weather, arrived in Stevens Point on the 23rd, spent a fun and relaxing Christmas Eve with my family, hopped in the car and drove to Tasmania (that's Minocqua-speak for "1000+ acres of secluded beauty") for an extended Christmas with Mike's family and then got back in the car and drove to Chanhassen, MN to spend NYE week with our good friends, the Johnsons. We flew back to Seattle on the 2nd and enjoyed a quiet weekend at home (the "big melt" left water in our basement for the 2nd time- that's a story for another day).

Greyson with his cousin, Alayna (5)

A nice glass of Cab waiting for us at "the lodge" on Christmas Day (thanks Lee!)

Greyson at "the lodge" with his counsins, Jake (10) and Bria (7)

We played in the snow like kids- it was awesome!

Nana & Papa, Greyson is being video taped relentlessly on my new Flip. I'll be sharing video soon. Uncle Nate, Grey is asking for the 'suplex' so you need to fly to Seattle before our backs break. Grandma Janet, the bugs were the biggest hit.

The tree is down, the stockings packed and Giggles returned to the North Pole until Thanksgiving 2009. Greyson wants him to come back tomorrow. Perhaps he'll find comfort in the wonderful Christmas gifts he got to open, but not play with, on Christmas Eve and Day. They're in a UPS truck somewhere between Central WI and Western WA. Happy New Year!