Bon Voyage! May 14, 2008

Our bags are starting to get packed and we are all set to sail on the high seas on our Alaska Cruise on NCL’s Norwegian Star. We will be visiting Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Prince Rupert, and cruising through Sawyer Glacier. This will be Jeff and Ethan’s first cruise and my second and we are all very excited to go. We hope to see whales, bears, eagles, and any other wildlife that chooses to present itself. We also have a balcony room which will be nice to hang out and look out at the beautiful scenery.  We will be sure to post lots of pictures when we return, so until then bon voyage!

Pacific Science Center May 11, 2008

     

We were on our way to the zoo today but due to rain we decided to venture to the Pacific Science Center. We had a great time making our way through the exhibits. I think that Ethan enjoyed the kids area as well as the butterfly exhibit. He was very intrigued with all of the butterflies fluttering around our heads. Jeff also treated me to a fabulous breakfast and lunch to boot so I am a pretty lucky gal. We will definitely be making our way back to the Science Center for some more adventures I am sure.

Happy Mother’s Day! May 11, 2008

To all of the mom’s out there, Happy Mother’s Day!

Ethan, Jeff, and I may be heading to the zoo later today, weather depending. Jeff and Ethan got me a digital picture frame which is fantastic. Jeff preloaded it with about 150 pictures of Ethan and its so much fun to look at since we can see Ethan as a little baby.

9 Months and counting… May 8, 2008

Ethan had his nine month checkup this morning and everything looked good. We found out that we should start to introduce him to more solid foods and every day foods that we eat for dinner and lunch that he can swallow. We figure that we will start introducing this on the cruise since that will have a ton of options for him to explore. Ethan also has three additional teeth coming through as well on his top gum so he’s all ready to eat. He had two shots as well and totally took it like a trooper. No tears this time which was great and made it easier.

We also got his new car seats in the mail yesterday and Jeff installed one of them last night. It is such a new world for Ethan now because he can actually see out the window and is comfortable in the car again. His feet no longer hang out the bottom of his car seat which is fantastic.

Happy Birthday Chris! May 3, 2008

Last night we ventured to West Seattle after work for our friend Chris’ birthday party. We got to meet there two cute new puppies, Bear and Callie. Ethan got lots of dog kisses while we were there and he was also a total trooper. He was able to stay up until close to 9 and fell asleep in the car on the way home. Maybe it was the little taste of frosting that kept him going.

Car seats galore… April 30, 2008

The time had come yesterday to purchase Ethan a new car seat. Of course we had to get two since we have two cars and since one of us drops him off at daycare and the other picks him up. He was starting to get a little to tall for his current one and the weight limit on it said 22 lbs. He was at 20 lbs when we last had him weighed about three weeks ago. He should like the new one since he should be able to see out the window a little better while in the car and it will be nice to not have to lug it back and forth with him in it. It was a nice arm workout but it was starting to get a little heavy.

Why can’t weekends be longer? April 27, 2008

      

Ethan seems to be glad to have his mom back and normalcy in the house again. We played in his room after he took his bath this afternoon so I was able to snap a few photos above. He is on the move pretty quickly now though so I had to snap them fast before he got away.

I have returned. April 27, 2008

              

I made it back yesterday evening from New York and I am exhausted. I was up at around 7 and out the door basically back at the hotel after 10 each night so it is good to be home. Most of the time was spent going to meetings but I also got to go out a little and explore as well. I got to eat at a fantastic steak place called Wolfgangs Steak House. I recommend this restaurant to anyone that likes steak and loves to eat. I was able to go to a few dessert places as well. We ventured to Magnolia Bakery the first night after visiting Little Italy. I got a vanilla cupcake and it was to die for. The third night we went to Max Brenner’schocolate bar and I got a white chocolate chai drink, also fantastic. This seemed to be a popular spot since there were quite a few people there.

On the fourth day we got out of meetings in the afternoon and my co-worker and I ventured to Soho for some shopping and yummy thai food. The weather was in the 80’s so it was great to be outside. We also found some cute baby shops so Ethan got a new shirt and some cute little finger puppet books. On my last day I walked through Central Park since the weather was so nice yet again. There were lots of people out enjoying the sun. I’m glad to be back home though surrounded by trees and such, and breathing clean air again.

We couldn’t find the Dalmation April 25, 2008

It has been a very long day for the Kalles men as I worked from home and spent the whole day with Ethan.  Grandma Herron was kind enough to come by this morning for an hour so dad could shower and eat breakfast in piece.  Then the Home Depot guy came over to give us a quote for a new front door (which I am learning are way to expensive). And we wrapped the day up by visiting Grandpa Kalles at his fire station.  Ethan got to drive the stationary firetruck (you can see him carefully checking his blind spot in the above picture). Then since he did such a good job he got his official hat.  I’m sure once he’s a little older he will think it is really cool that his grandpa is a fireman.

Guy’s Week Day 3 April 23, 2008

So we enter Wednesday with Susi in New York and me and the little man hanging around the house.  No issues so far (knock on wood), he has been sleeping well and has been in a pretty good mood most of the time.  We occupy ourselves by watching all the sports we normally don’t get to watch (M’s games while switching between NHL and NBA playoffs).  We are also working our way through the vocal solo tour in Rock Band - Ethan loves to hold the mike, mostly I think because he likes the feel of the mesh on his teeth and gums.

Tomorrow is the real test, all day at home without daycare and no mom to come home and spell me in the evening.