Hummm where to begin, it seems like so much has happened recently, and we've been extra busy.
We did finally get the condo remodel all finished up, and it's officially on the market. It really looks great, it's a real shame we have to sell it. But so it goes, we have a beautiful house to move into in May.
What else, hummm... well I resigned my position at Avenue A | Razorfish, took a week off and just recently started at a new company called Ascentium.
Here is a my empty shell of a desk after I'd packed up my stuff to head out. And of course all my access badges.
What else, well I finally broke down and bought myself an iPhone for my birthday. Love it, love it! Wish I'd got one sooner.
Ok but enough about me, what up with the rest of the posse? Well nothing tells a good story better then a bunch of pictures, so surprise, here they are...
Aubrey has taken a big step, and we've started introducing solid foods. Well more like mushy foods. And he's been doing so in his fancy pants new high chair, that was a generous gift from our friends Gabe and Cindy.
Recently we discovered this great sushi joint with a carousel. I swear it makes the whole this so much more fun simply because it moves in front of you.. I was as amazed as Aubrey. We all stuffed our collective faces, well ok Aubrey just watched the rest of us stuff our faces.
Aubrey just woke up, gotta run. To be continued...
And I'm back. Rather then bore you with more of my babbling, here are some pics...
And not to forget the other member of our family Haley, who often feels left out with little Aubrey demanding so much attention. We try to take her to the park to play at least once a day. Here she took on what could only be some kind of mix between a husky and a wolf, this thing is huge! But Haley held her own, 3 legs and all. Well thats all for now. :-)
Dear friends and loved ones and the occasional curious cats, I am typing to you today from my very lovely and finished kitchen remodel. Big Bright and little bright are both asleep and in a rare occasion of solitude, I am sitting here on my puter wondering how everyone is doing. As far as the Brights go, we are all well, thank you very much. The husband started his new job and the little one has taken a liking to his new toy- a very sassy and cool thingamabob called a rain forest JUMPEROO- he can jump and jump to his heart's delight while mommy makes the bed, feeds the pooch and generally gives her tired old arms and boobies the rest they crave. Tiredness asside, I am a very happy camper and I really don't have anything to complain about. Occasionally it would be nice to eat out by myself or listen to my stereo in my car full blast as the wind whips through my hair (which is falling out by the way- another thing no one tells you about giving birth), or just watch and episode of Sex in the City uninterrupted. Somehow, though despite the constant chores and movement, I survive. Let me just say that Women RULE! If ever I was a feminist, this is the absolute apex of my belief in the strength of the female sex. Something about those crazy chemicals running through my body, coupled with the wisdom passed on by other mommies and care takers (thanks Cheryl, Caelen, Lita, Mom, Cindy- the facebook mommy group) that have given me enough juice to still be powering this mom bit with some grace! All kidding aside, I am proud to have finally earned my badge into this prestigious clan that is in my opinion not respected enough. I wonder if people out there, mainly non breeders, men and even the occasional mom understand how freaking IMPORTANT raising a new human being is? I suspect sometimes that this is not the case. It may sound like a cliche, but it is true that we have to think of our kids as the foundation for society and treat them with the respect and the love that they need in order to ge through this complicated world. It is so sad that even as I write these words they seem to ring hollow IN MY OWN head.
Ohhh crapp........little Bright is stirring.........oh crappity crap crap crap.....he is awake. More tomorrow....or next month.
Ok so my previous post was premature, it looks like Virginia and Aubrey will spend yet another week away from home. The windows are in and look amazing, but there some touch up painting (smelly), baseboards to be installed (dusty) and finally our beautiful counter top was being installed. So everything remains shrouded in plastic, and I am once again living in the bedroom. With all that, it looks great! I am so excited about the new stuff, it looks awesome! I'm trying to get the place sort of organized for when V and A get back, which will be this weekend! No ifs ands or buts about it.
In the meantime here are some pictures from last week up in Vancouver. Aubrey has just recently discovered that he likes baths! He giggles, and splashes.
I love this picture! I have no idea what was going through his little mind at this moment, but it's priceless.
Well the work is coming to a close on the 2 week long window project. At times I thought it would never happen. I never thought I'd be a person who covets a new window, but when I finally got to see and feel one of the new windows, and slide it up and down with the greatest of ease, I was in heaven! We've had such crappy, noisy, drafty windows for so long I'd forgotten what it meant to have good, quality windows. How HGTV nerdy of me! Below are a few vids from the work in progress.
Be sure to turn up your volume when you watch this one. This is how I imagine the 3 little pigs must have felt, well the ones in the straw house, not the brick.
Well this is it, we're finally coming to the end of window replacement in our house. So little Aubrey and Virginia can finally return from exile. They've been hold up at Mom's in Vancouver for the last 2 weeks. I was up there last weekend and collected a bunch of new pics and a video or 2. So I'll let the pictures do the talking for me...
Truthfully I don't know how many people actually read this, but regardless I feel bad about not keeping it up-to-date. I'm sure it's like a lot of other things in my life that are not particularly critical, but yet I find a way to make myself feel bad if I don't keep them going. Having said that, it's surprising how having a child, another human being that depends on you for everything, can make the things the previously pre-occupied your mind, drift ever so easily into the background. Why should this blog be any different.
On occasion I am inspired to write, now is one of those times. I was just reading through Rion and Mike's blog, they are prolific bloggers, photographers and storytellers, and friends from back in college. I often find myself rediscovering my love of photography and storytelling whenever I visit one of their many sites. They also always have a line on some cool new site or piece of electronics gear(I need one of these!). They are expecting a baby any time now, and I'm especially curious to see if their blogging diminishes. However, I suspect it will only increase.
Anyway, now that I've dispensed with the preamble, lets get to the meat of things. It has been so long since we've posted anything, I don't know where to start. As you'd expect we have dozens of photos and a few videos of little Aubrey, every week he discovers something new in this world we're all so used to. It's amazing to see him becoming more and more aware of his surroundings. I never realized how much joy I'd find in watching him pull, poke and swing wildly at some colorful plastic toys attached to his co-sleeper, there is such determination in his face when a toy is just out of reach.
He's also discovered his leg, back and neck muscles can work together to roll him over. Since this discovery a few weeks back, he's been rolling all over the place, ya can't look away for a second if he's on the bed or changing table cause he'll end up on the floor, which would no doubt traumatize me and Virginia more then him!
He's graduated from the "swaddling" technique (think Burrito wrap) to sleep and nap, a technique that we'd gotten pretty good at implementing successfully, to the completely unpredictable "big arms" or "arms a flayling" technique. In other words he sleep like the rest of us, on his back with a blanket over him. This is a big step in development, but for us parents trying to get the little man back to sleep at 3 am it can be a frustrating experience. Alas, it is one of many changes, all with their own pros and cons.
Everyday he is more expressive in his face, his voice and his body. He grabs for things, makes silly face and blows bubbles and appears to be reading my mind!
On the home front we are in full remodeling mode. We've decided to sell our place so we can move into a nice 3 bed, 2 bath house about 10 blocks from our current place. It was a tough decision to sell, we love our little place, but we need more space as we're falling over each other and the many baby related things I swore up and down I would never buy. So in order to sell we need to get the place all fixed up, new kitchen floor, counters, appliances, tile back splash, and some electrical work. bathrooms been painted (by me), new tile floors, bathtub refinished (looks amazing!) and fixtures (me too). This morning there was a crew there beginning to install new windows in the entire place. And another group is busy staining baseboards and hopefully installing them soon. It's crazy! I only wish we'd been more decisive when we first bought the place and made these improvements then. Oh well, so it goes. :-)
And where is Virginia and Aubrey through all this remodeling chaos? They are up in Vancouver at Mom's house, hanging out with Lita. And they may be there for a little while longer, as our windows are looking like a big, long, difficult job. In the meantime I am holding things down here at home. It's so lonely here, I've gotten so used to having my famdamily here all the time. Not to mention I have been hold up in the bedroom since it's the only room in the house that isn't turned upside down, with furniture covered in plastic sheets, and generally ib a state of chaos.
Well there ya have it, a little update on our lives. :-)
