Punk Rock Baby in Seattle

These are two punk rock oriented baby stores in Seattle. Pop Tots in Ravenna and Bootyland in Capitol Hill They both have very cool stuff.
For more on the punk parenting scene in Seattle, check out this article.

Satellite Image of Our House

Google maps is amazing! Check out the ZOOM feature.

Ill'n

It's been almost three weeks now and I still have this bug. It started out a flu thing and has now morphed into bronchitis. I'm taking antibiotics now, but I still feel like poop. Man this is the weakest I've felt in ages. Ugh!

John & Devon are officially parents

Today we received an email from John and Devon telling us about the events of the day in the Chinese government adoption process. They had to endure a lot of waiting and then their babies name was called and they rushed into a room where there documents were examined and then their baby was handed to them.

For those of you not familiar with the whole process, they do not call the parents' name, just the child's. you have to recognize it - which we did. Not all did. And they your child is simply handed to you. They went through 10 families in about 10 minutes or less.

This sounds crazy and I can't imagine the mixture of emotions they were feeling, baby included.
When they finished with the official process:

After about an hour more screaming, albeit with less screaming toward the end and more sobbing and moments of sleeping, my baby girl boarded the bus back to the hotel. A diaper change, and another immediate diaper change later, Ju Hua fell asleep on Devon's chest on our bed. It was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen - this will be clear from those of you who are forced to watch the 20 minutes of video I shot of this.

We can't wait to meet little Zoe.

Hooray, hooray, hooray for Zoe!

Sleep? What dat?

With the coming of more teeth we and by "we" I really mean Jinnah, have been a little sleep deprived. So to kep things light we are going to get Finn this sleeper.

John & Devon in China

Our friends John & Devon are adopting a baby from China. It has been a long process for them and the waiting has been very difficult. But last week they got "the word" and they were off to China. They went one week early to visit some of the sites in China and too specifically see the location where there baby was born. I think it's beautiful that they have spent the time to get to know as much about their baby as humanly possible.

Anyway, John has been giving us all daily updates, via email. His emails are so amazing and filled with excitment. It's interesting too hear about the sites they have seen and how they remedied the fact that they did not pack warmly enough for the biting chinese chill. The solution was obvious; invest in some counterfeit Northface wear. As you can imagine, finding places to eat is a constant adventure. Upon entering one place they were able to make out enough mandarin to understand the staff say "the Americans are here."

Next week they will travel to the orphanage and meet their beautiful baby girl face-to-face and embark on a new beginning for them and for her. One thing is for sure she is already very loved.

Good luck John & Devon!!!

We be jammin'! (outfit courtesy of Maria and Eric Beller) 
If you have been following Finn, you'll remember that his love of music sprouted from the days when we'd put him in his swing and play Peter Tosh for him. It really brought a smile to his face and would sooth his cries.
Now that we have worn that album out completely, we listen to Positive Vibrations every Saturday morning on our favorite local station, KEXP. If you aren't in Seattle you can catch it too via the internet.

Cool commercial for new VW Golf

If you're like me and find poplocking to be fascinating (like the moonwalk was in the 80's), then check out the same talented guy in the commercial here.

It's been a rough few days...

Finn has been running a fever off and on of about 103 since wednesday night. The nights have been very long because fevers tend to spike at night. So he is up all night basically. We took him to the doctor today and it was confirmed that he has "the crud." I guess it's a bug that it making its way around the NW. So FInn isn't eating or sleeping and needs to be held all day long. Tonight may be different as he seems much cooler and calmer. I just hope it lasts until morning.

Baby Name Voyager

Have you ever wanted to track the popularity of baby names, or see how popular your baby's name was in 1910? Here's a great tool to do just that.

Just out of the bath and showing off his 4 new teeth. 

He latched on to the bottle I was holding like a hawk to a rabbit. 

This kid is so serious.  

Taking a little break. 

Look at that face! 

Kikkoman Rocks!

The Embarcadero

Lola is a celebrity

Lola's new found celebrity can be seen at ModernPooch.com. The author of Modern Pooch, which is a favorite of mine, also authors this blog. Thanks Andrea!

Library of Congress uploads civil war maps

These are pretty amazing. While growing up and living in the DC, MD, VA area I've visited a few historic civil war battlegrounds and the energy at these places is buzzing. The land has been preserved just as it was back in the day and if you close your eyes you can almost feel what it was like being there. Anyway, to get great detail on the maps download the MrSID version of the map you choose (at the bottom of the page of each map) and then download the MrSID viewer (downloadable here) to be able to see the finest creases in the paper. WOW! Once you view the map in the MrSID application you can create .tif images of portions of the map.

Missing Finn

I'm at work and trying to focus, but it's hard for me and I'll tell you why. Finn has just recently becoming more attacdhed to me in a way that breaks my heart when I have to leave the room, let alone leave for work. He gets a pouty face when I disappear and gets a smile when I appear. Anyway, I just keep thinking about the smile he's going to give me tonight, like he does everynight when I get home from work. It's the best part about being a parent.