A Little Bit of This...

Our closest friends and family know Proud to Introduce Photography very well. Some of them even know the mastermind behind it, Allie Gadziemski. Allie is a light that came into our lives right after Greyson was born when I went on a mission to find an out-of-the-box photographer to capture our family. Little did I know she would become a big part of our lives and be counted among one of the people I miss the most. Little did I know she would become friends with my friends, take wonderful photographs of many of them, and make an impact in much the same way she impacted us. Allie is the eye behind every holiday card you've received and piece of photography/art you've seen in our home(s). She's photographed our family a dozen times and is the catalyst of hands down my most embarrassing moment. If you don't know the story, I give you permission to ask the next time you see me (note: see, not talk to). Allie recently gave birth to her third son, Desmond, and her blog was an inspiration to start mine so I just wanted to say thanks to her and one way or another, we will figure out a way to get in front of her camera for maternity/newborn this year.

Greyson's Uncle Nate (my 30 year old brother, currently living in Boston) lived in Chicago after college and aside from a short stint in Washington DC and his current digs in Boston, considers himself a Chicago guy and will be back again in the fall. Thankfully his taste in the NFL hasn't gone "the way of the Bears" but he is a Cubs fan, thus the photo below. It is in Nate's honor that I'm blogging tonight as he recently told me that they make his day. I just can't promise this frequency on a regular basis!

At the beginning of the year, I listed a few things I wanted to get accomplished- find an OBGYN and pediatrician, among other things. What I didn't list, but should have, was to find a local kid's barber ("hair cut store" in Grey-speak) since his haircuts were being done by yours truly since the move. Fortunately, we found a place called Brat Pack that has enough distraction to keep kids from going too crazy with sitting still in a chair for 15 minutes. Unfortunately, we didn't find it until this past weekend so Grey has been getting the aforementioned home-grown haircut for close to a year. It's not like he gets a buzz cut. Mike's only request is "keep it long" so I'm challenged with keeping him still on the bathroom sink while I use my shears (Target's finest) to look and act like I know what I'm doing. Having said shears also means that Greyson knows they exist and this is why I walked into his room a week ago to a clump of his hair on the floor. He cheerfully pointed out that he had returned the shears to their rightful place. How nice of him.

Note the missing chunk of bangs

Thankfully Brat Pack did a nice job of blending it in and I can happily hang up my barber hat...for now.

We had another really nice weekend. The weather was perfect and we had no obligations so we rolled out the Diego slip n slide, did some yard work and fired up the grill. It was the epitome of relaxation. A couple of weeks ago, Mike ordered Greyson a set of starter golf clubs- he's been swinging clubs and baseball bats lefty since he was 1 (Mike is very proud) so it required a custom order. He debuted the clubs tonight and is already showing both talent and frustration; a combination that I would like to save him from if I had my choice. He seems to be instinctively hard on himself. As parents, don't we just want our kids to be good but humble, hard-working but realistic? If you have the recipe for this, please, share it!

Milestones & Memories

Milestones

I've been blogging quite a bit lately about Greyson's growth and this post isn't much different since he's surpassed another and kept us laughing the whole time. For the past 6 months or so, we've been talking about getting rid of his pacifier for good (affectionately referred to as his 'nuk'). He's depended on it for naps and nighttime along with his monkey blanket, which is a Kushie Kritter he's had since before he was born compliments of the Johnson family. If the aforementioned monkey blanket ever goes missing, we're in for some trouble. I lament the fact that I didn't purchase a 2nd one right away as doing so now would do nothing but build distrust since he'd know it was an imposter immediately.

Back to the nuk. His dentist recommended that we wait until he potty trains and then throw him a Build a Bear party where the nuk gets sewn up into the bear of his choice (hmm). We skipped that suggestion since we'd already been plugging the fact that there are needy babies in Africa without nuks. At his request we put his nuks in an envelope, addressed to the needy babies, of course, and put it in the mailbox. Unfortunately, one of the nuks was damaged during the trip so the needy babies sent it back (the end was missing rendering it useless though it did provide some comfort for the first 2 nights- picture a distraught 3-year old clutching it in his hand trying to understand where the important piece might have landed. He thinks it's in the Pacific ocean). His reward for going nuk-less was a new bike that seems to scare the crap out of him. He'll sit on it, but that's about it.

Memories

Thank you to our grandfathers, uncles and friends on this Memorial Day. We celebrated by spending the weekend in Vancover, BC; a glorious 3 hour drive North (less if border patrol weren't so congested). The weather in the Northwest was as beautiful as the locals can remember it being and as a result, we enjoyed the most panoramic vistas we've seen aside from the tropics. There's something about snow capped mountains on a warm sunny day...we stare at the view as if we're looking at it for the first time. It's truly breathtaking. We stayed at the Marriott in downtown Vancover and walked for miles, visiting the amazing Stanley Park, the Vancouver aquarium and Granville island. Greyson made quick friends with the bellmen, charmed the waitstaff who in return gave him a free build your own sundae and had the best time watching the sea planes take off and land below our balcony every morning. If we're out here next year, we'll definitely be returning!

Lookout Point @ Stanley Park

Stanley Park

Coal Harbor from our balcony

Greyson & daddy on a hike

Greyson is growing up!

Big Boy Bed

Well, the transition is complete and I'm elated to report that it's been a big success. Last week Wednesday marked Greyson's first night in his new bed and I don't think I need to tell you that it was met with some trepidation from us. Mike set the line at 2 for the number of times Grey would get out of bed (and Mike took the over). Total number? Zero! He woke up at 7am, walked out of his own room for the first time and gave me the biggest smile and best 'good morning'. It made my day. Since his first night, he's been napping as usual and sleeping great at night. I wonder what we were worried about?

Greyson & his new bed

View from his closet

The whole transition was a really great experience for us. It reminds me that, as usual, I need to relax and give Grey the credit he deserves for being able to handle change. Lest I forget that he moved with us to a new state, with a new nanny and 2 new houses in 6 months. He's also nearly done potty training. Sara's potty chart was a huge success. The small incentives did the trick (we watched his final incentive tonight- the movie Bolt). We'll be ready for overnights in a week or two.

Greyson & his potty chart before he fully completed itHappy Mother's day to our moms (we love you very, very much) and to our sisters, cousins, aunts, grandmothers and friends. We hope you all got to celebrate in your own special way. For me, it was a relaxing day; sunny and warm. Mike & Grey let me sleep in, made me chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and helped get the baby's room organized. It was a great day.

Getting ready to go to the park on Mother's day
One of his park favorites
It's a rare occasion for me to get 2 posts in 2 weeks; if I get 2 in a month I'm happy. I just couldn't wait to share Greyson's latest milestone with you. We're so proud of him. Now if I could just get him to come up with a different baby name- he's still really stuck on 'Jesus'.

Date Night!

Beautiful weekend

It's Sunday night, Greyson is asleep and Mike and I are in our huge bed sitting side by side with our respective laptops open. There was a time when you could tune into life at our house between 8:30pm and 10:00pm and the picture was the same. I'm happy to report that this is actually a bit of an anomoly as we made a conscious decision before the holidays to minimize our nightly habit of working in bed. This is not to say that it doesn't happen from time to time if one or both of us has a deadline or gets an itch to shop online. Tonight, it's a combination. Per an earlier post, we have pulled the trigger on Greyson's "big boy" bed which is scheduled to deliver on Wednesday. I visited Pottery Barn kids to take one last look at the vintage sports quilt we fell in love with a few months ago. Aside from the price, I love it. Internet shopping complete, my plan was to rearrange a few meetings I have set but the blog sidetracked me. My calendar can wait. In a future post, I'll be sure to add a few pictures of Grey's new room along with an update on the transition.

May is officially here and we tried to take advantage of what was a beautiful weekend. Swine flu be damned, Greyson visited a number of parks in the area with Sara and we put a nice dent in his new bubble collection. (He is potty training like a champ and earning his prizes; thus the bubbles). We're down to a diaper at naptime and nighttime and in between he gets his pick of underwear by Spiderman, Thomas and Lightning McQueen.

Greyson & daddy on Saturday afternoon

On Saturday afternoon, we had the pleasure of seeing Mike's best high school friend, Tobin Janke, who has lived in LA for the past 10 years and was visiting Seattle with his girlfriend. I forgot to take pictures but he looks great, as always, and is vey happy. They brought Greyson a few books from the Mr. Mischief series and he's now working on memorizing them. After Tobin's visit, Mike and I got ready for a dinner out sans Grey (our first in a very long time). El Gaucho, a Seattle steakhouse, did not compare to our favorite Milwaukee hangout but we enjoyed the company of our friends who were enjoying their first night out since becoming new parents 8 weeks ago. It was a fabulous 3.5 hour dinner and I can't wait to get out with them again. This picture is Greyson kissing my 13 week old (and very much popped) belly before Tobin arrived.


It's been a while since I've shared video on the blog and I've certainly got enough of it. This clip is an excerpt of Greyson "interviewing" himself. He uses his wiffle ball bat as a microphone and chats away as if he's in deep converation with someone important. I'd love to say that he's this cute all the time but we're officially in the "3 year-old stage" and have been enjoying such phrases as "don't talk like that", "that's not true" and "I don't care". A few nights ago, he walked out the back door after being told not to (in his underwear and a T-shirt mind you) and ran 2 laps around the house. It was all we could do not to fall into fits of laughter as a blond streak whizzed by the patio doors.



A big congrats goes out to our friends Robb & Molly Mathia who just welcomed their first child, Dylan, to the world. We've enjoyed the pictures and hope to meet him soon. The Shah family is expecting their second son in August, the Leatherburys a second son in July, the Goehlers are anticipating the birth of their first son and the Lichts are breaking the trend with a girl on the way as well! Like the first time, I'm enjoying sharing my pregnancy with great friends and lament the fact that I'm going to be missing regular play dates this time around. Soon the time will come...

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.