Iris Visitors & Merry Christmas!

Iris has had many visitors since being born on 11/21, so I thought I'd post some of the pictures we've taken. Oldest photos are on top (the first 2 are from the day Iris was born) and the newest are at the end, taken on Christmas Day. (Click each image to view full size)

Here's Aunty Robin - Iris' first visitor at Ballard Swedish Hospital

Aunty Kris - Iris' first visitor who brought a dead camera battery:

Iris' first actual Aunty to visit - Irene's sister Shirley, who visited
from Portland during Thanksgiving weekend

Irene's sister Sheila - the first sibling to fly in (from NYC) to see Iris:

Jim's friend Eddie - I've known him since 8th grade (that was in 1978!!!)

Jim's first sibling to visit, Aunty Geegy (AKA Denise)

Here's Iris sharing Aunty Geegy's lap with Freddy.
I don't think Freddy much cared for this arrangement.

Jim's Dad Gerry, AKA Pepere Martel - the first grandparent to visit.
Note Iris' smile - that was the first time we caught her smiling on camera--
usually she only smiles in her sleep.

Here's one with mom & dad on Christmas day - she's wearing the
"Baby's First Christmas" jammies that Aunty Geegy got for her

Finally here's one of Iris & Freddy with their first ever Christmas tree

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

My Baby's Getting Big, My Baby's Getting Bigger; Rock Shows!

Iris had her 4 week weigh in appointment yesterday and though we knew she had gained some weight, we were very happy to hear that she's now 8 lbs 6 ozs, up from 7 lbs 2 ozs 16 days earlier. That's a gain of 20 ounces in 16 days, above the ounce a day our doctor said she should gain.

We were very happy to hear that all of Irene's hard work nursing has been paying off. It's pretty obvious looking at old vs new pictures that she's getting bigger but not as obvious when you're around her all the time like we are.

Here's the proof : a pic from the day we brought her home:Compare that to this one from last week:And this one from earlier this week (so tired!):It's amazing how she changes from day to day when you look at the pics. and I bet I'm the first parent to ever make that observation, right?

ALSO: We've been discussing the number of rock shows that Iris attended while still inside so I compiled a list of them:

• 3/29 The Tragically Hip The Moore Theater Bad seats, great show as usual from the Hip.
• 4/25 The Kaiser Chiefs The Showbox Great newer Brit band, great live
• 5/3 The Arctic Monkeys The Showbox LOUD, bouncy floor show. I think we were the oldest people there.
• 5/6 Morrissey Paramount Theater A typical 3 shirt night for sweaty Moz
• 5/13 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club The Showbox Great live show from a great underrated band
• 6/7 The Police Key Arena One of the first shows on their first tour in 20+ years - pretty good! I had no idea how good a drummer Stewart Copeland was until we saw them live.
• 8/12 The Redwalls Chop Suey Sparsely attended late Sunday night show - good band though.
• 9/2 Crowded House, Pete Yorn, Liam Finn Schnitzer Hall Portland CH's return tour in Portland over Labor Day weekend. We saw CH at Roseland in NYC back in '95 - Sheryl Crow opened that one - that's how long ago that was.
• 9/18 Editors Chop Suey One of our favorite newer Brit bands, along with Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, etc. Great to be able to see them in such a small club (with Millsy!).
• 10/8 The Cure Key Arena This one was cancelled, but I'm sure Iris would have liked it
• 11/17 Travis The Moore Lead singer Fran Healy (he has small kids too) rubbed Irene's belly & kissed it for luck when they entered the hall from the back to start the show. Iris was born 4 days later. We joked that if she went into labor at the show we'd have to name the baby Travis, but Iris was able to hang in there for a few more days--I guess she didn't want to be one of those girls with a boy's name.

Iris also went to Fenway Park on Memorial Day (5/28) for a Sox win over eventual ALCS opponent Cleveland, and maybe 20 Mariner games at Safeco, so she's not just a rocker chick, okay? She's a sports fan too

Iris Fashion Show

Hey everyone - Apologies for the week-plus it's been since I uploaded any photos to this here blog. I'll try to upload less photos more often from now on.

Here's Iris wearing some of the new outfits she's received.

Sherpa hat from Joe & Andrea (It's kind of big for her--hopefully it'll still fit next winter):Iris's first party was last Saturday - a Hanukkah party at the Rossans (Izzie's parents) with the Woosters (Sebastian & Helena's mom & dad) & Policars (Sarah's). The bib Iris got says 'Chanukah' not 'Hanukkah'- I never know which way is right:The Hannawalts (Henry's parents) gave her a set of Red Sox gear (somehow word got out that her dad's a fan):Arlene and Dan's daughter 17 month old girl Cornelia will be supplying Iris with lots of hand me downs, I think. Here she is in one of them, a sweet tie dyed number (with visiting cousins Ryan & Emily:Davis's parents Beth & Scott gave Iris this cute one from the Gap's RED line:Here's one from Jim's dad--us French Canadians call our grandpas Pepere. And that's a personalized Christmas cookie from Aunt Kris up in the corner there.

Lastly, Irene wanted to buy Iris a hoodie so we picked one up last week. She was sleeping on the couch in it & kind of rolled over on her side and ended up looking like a drunk sleeping one off in the park. I couldn't stop myself from adding a prop & taking this one:Iris - please forgive your daddy for it not being Makers Mark.
The Knob Creek was right there on the counter when the photo op happened.

Happy Due Date Iris!

Today is Iris' due date - December 5. We'd never have guessed that she would have arrived 2 weeks early but could not be happier with our little girl.

Happy Due Date Iris!

Love, Mom & Dad

Iris' first few days at home

Iris has been home since last Tuesday & getting used to being home with mom & dad since then--sleeping a LOT, eating whenever she feels like it, dirtying many many diapers, living the life! Sorry I haven't updated with new photos in a while - here are a bunch:

Here's our girl in the car seat for the first time, ready to leave the hospital & finally come home with mom & dad. (Not sure why she's giving dad the finger in this one - hopefully she won't do that too often once she knows what it means)

Here she is ready to go with mom & being carried into the house for the first time by dad

Some couch time with Daddy & Fred (not quite sure about that cat yet)and look how damn cute I am!

Yesterday (saturday 12/1) it snowed in Seattle and mom & dad decided it would be a good idea to get baby Iris dressed up in her Winnie the Pooh snowsuit (thanks Baltazars!) & have her experience the winter wonderland. Iris had other ideas - I think she was asleep the whole time we had her bundled up and outside.

This last one is a movie of Iris with the hiccups - not sure if the upload will work or not but I sure hope it does because it's pretty funny!

More pics soon!

Love,
Jim Irene Iris & Fred

Wounded Soldier Holiday Cards (revised)

Correction: looks like this is an urban myth and cards won't be delivered:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/christmas/soldiercards.asp

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year,
please include the following on your list:

A Recovering American soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington,DC. 20307-5001

My friend (via Larry 'Booter' Olmsted) Gerard Connors is an NYPD officer, and sent me the suggestion. He remembers getting cards this way in the days and weeks after 9/11 and says they really brightened his day, especially the ones from kids.

If you like the idea, please pass it on.

Thanks, Jim

First Day Out

Today was the first day out for me and Iris that didn't include a trip to the hospital. We ran out after an afternoon feeding to rent a breast pump since I plan to breastfeed for the next few months. The hospital-grade pumps are expensive, and renting is a much cheaper option. I'll have to figure out what to do when it'll be time to be back at work.

We also bought some breastfeeding supplies. Before coming home, we stopped off at Trader Joe's. It was exciting to be out and about. The checkout guy at Trader Joe's commented how small Iris was, and it made us realize that though she's only 8 days old, she was born 2 weeks early.

Iris is home!

Around noon on Tuesday we brought our little girl home for the first time and we couldn't be happier about it. Wednesday is Jim's last day at work until mid-January so the whole family will be home together through the holidays.

Thanks so much to everyone for all the calls, emails, text messages. Everyone has been so great & supportive.

I'll post some more photos tonight or tomorrow, along with Fred the cat's reaction to meeting Iris and the story of her first night home.

Jim Irene and Iris (and Fred)

Iris Coming Home on Tuesday!

We found out about 6:30 PM tonight that Iris can come home tomorrow! YAY! She's going to get her last 24 hours worth of her antibiotics in a single shot tomorrow morning & should be ready to come home by mid-day. We're very happy to finally be able to bring her home!

Here are some more pictures. The first one is how her hair looked when she was born last Wednesday - check out those crazy curls! And this is how her hair looked tonight after mommy combed it out for her.Not as many curls but still some wave - we'll work with it.
Does anyone know a good home perm kit that works on babies?

This last one is one of my favorite pictures of her so far -
it's the first in a planned lengthy photo essay called "Iris and Binky"

Fire Pig?

This site (provided by Iris' Aunty Geegy), says that in the Chinese Horoscope, Iris is a fire pig:

FIRE PIG Horoscope
Jan 22, 1947 to Feb 9, 1948
Feb 18, 2007 to Feb 6, 2008

Pig people are friends for life. Their relationships are very deep, devoted, and rich beyond measure. The Pig people are noble and give and receive lots of hugs. They are gallant and extend old-fashioned chivalries towards people they meet. Pig People are quiet, studious, and thorough. On the other hand, they have a quick temper and sometimes have to pay for their rash impulsiveness. However, no one can overcome their inner strength; they have such tremendous fortitude and jump the goal post very time. The Pig will have an abundance of good fortune and an abundance of years. The Pig will know a life filled with serenity and riches.

Soup, Oolong Tea, and Candied Ginger are among keys to good health!!


Bold and adventurous, the captivating Fire Pig makes a big splash in living technicolor. This Pig is a Big Time Operator who makes things happen through his clever wit and well-rounded talents. They never rest on their laurels because they have an insatiable thirst for power. They know that once they sit still, someone will pass them by. Like the ultimate agricultural expert, Fire Pigs plan, plant the seeds, cultivate, and reap a big harvest, no matter what projects they pursue. They have every right to be proud as punch at having such a successful career and financial status. They can tumble, too -- also big time, but they get right back up and try again. In the Hugs and Kisses Department, let's just say that the Fire Pigs are really quite lucky! It's true that they have to work pretty hard to get something in return, but oh my, don't they receive big dividends. Lucky in love. Lucky in life.

Famous Pig People: Chiang Kai-Shek, Lee Kuan Yew, Kim Dae Jung, Syngman Rhee, Tennessee Williams, Julie Andrews, Albert Schweitzer, Jerry John Rawlings, Prince Rainier, Georges Pompidou, Chuck Yeager, Henry Kissinger, King Fahd

Just don't ask me who half those people listed are. Also, I'm a Wood Dragon and Irene is a Fire Lamb.

Iris Photos

Hi everyone - Iris & mom are at the hospital still and all seems to be going well for her big homecoming next Wednesday. Dad arrived home at a reasonable hour tonight, so finally has some time to upload some more photos (click each for bigger view).

Here's Irene getting settled in for labor Tuesday afternoon:Self-portrait of Dad waiting to get called into the OR for the c-section (6:30-ish Weds am):
It's a GIRL!!! (6:51 AM 11/21/07)
First pic of Iris & Mom:
You know, I used to think that Suri Cruise and Brangelina's
babies were pretty cute, but look at that face--my money's on Iris!
Lucky for her she got her mom's looks, right?Footprint timeNaptime with daddy at Ballard Swedish Hospital (we loved it there!)More photos soon--I promise!

Iris update

Iris is still in the hospital (but was moved to Swedish First Hill) thru at least Weds b/c of risk of infection - so far she's fine but they're being very cautious, which we are OK with, though it's hard not having her home yet. It was tough watching our sweet little 2 day old baby get a spinal tap yesterday, but they needed to check to see if her spinal fluid was free of infection. The doctor said the results on that were okay but since there was a little blood in the fluid (not uncommon) they can't be certain, though what they saw was not 'bad', if that makes sense. It did to me when he explained it.

Please keep Iris in your thoughts and prayers - we're pretty sure that she'll be fine but it's no fun not having her home yet. She's been so good through all of this - hardly complains a peep.

hope you all are well too

love, Jim Irene & Iris

Meet Iris!

hi everyone - the baby formerly known as JJ Martel has arrived!

Here are the vitals:

Iris Leanna Martel
6lbs 15 ozs; 19.5 inches
6:51 AM, Wednesday November 21, by non emergency C-section--baby just wasn't ready to come out the old fashioned way so they went in & got her.

Mom & Baby are exhausted & will be at Ballard Swedish hospital for the next 48 hours minimum.

Love, Jim

Irene still on Fredrest

Here's the latest JJ update: Irene's still on bedrest (I like to call it Fredrest because they're both on the same schedule now) but her BP was much, much, much better when she was tested last Friday. Since her BP was around 106/60 for the 3 times they took it, they didn't admit her to the hospital & induce, which may have happened if she was still in the 140/90 range, as she had been for the past few weeks. I guess the fredrest and massages and acupuncture are working.

So that's good, and she was feeling well enough that we still went to see one of our favorite bands, Travis, last Saturday night at the Moore Theater in downtown Seattle. After playing the 20th Century Fox theme They entered the theater to the Rocky theme, running down the aisles from the back, and the lead singer gave Jim a hig & rubbed Irene'e belly and gave JJ a smooch for good luck. a really good show - glad we went!

Happy Birthday Jim!

It's Jim's birthday today. Our plans have been thrown off since I've hit a rough patch in my pregnancy.

My blood pressure has slowly been creeping up over the last few weeks, and I've been prescribed bed rest. This isn't great timing since I had planned to work through Thanksgiving which is 2 weeks away. I haven't even started transitioning work to others. This morning I went in for a non-stress test so they can monitor the baby's heart rate. During the test, I found out that I'm having contractions. It looks like the baby may come earlier than its due date, December 5th. I got to meet the doctor on call this weekend, in case I have to go in, but I really hope I won't be in the hospital so soon.

For Jim's birthday, we were supposed to go have lobster rolls at the only place in Seattle that has them. I feel bad that I couldn't join him, and I'm not sure what mood I'll be in to celebrate later today.

Less than a month to go!

Many people have asked for a photo of Irene, and I was finally able to get her to agree to let me take one and here it is:Can't wait to meet JJ!

Christmas time is here!

I got this email from Starbucks today:

So I guess according to sbux, the Christmas season starts when:

a) a week has passed since Halloween

b) the gross (gingerbread / peppermint / egg nog) drinks are back

c) both a and b

Say Hello to Rowan Robert Mills

Our friends Erica & Rod Mills (yes, the same Millsy from this post) welcomed their 2nd child, Rowan to the world last Thursday. It was great treat for Irene and me to be able to have (kind of) a dress rehearsal at Ballard Swedish Hospital just about a month before JJ's arrival.

Here's the email and photo from Erica:

Rowan Robert Mills arrived at 12:13 on November 1. He was 9lbs 3oz and 19 inches long -- no wonder my belly was so big!

He has tons of hair and is generally a mellow little dude. Annick is an exuberant big sister, which leads to us saying, "gentle" and "remember, not his eyes" a lot. Let's just say she's adjusting. She might have worked through her adjustment by the time she goes to college. : )

We're all doing really well and looking forward to introducing you all to Rowan over the coming weeks.

Cheers to everyone,

Erica

Yucky Obama banner ad

I saw this today when checking my yahoo email:

(click the image to see it fullsize, in all its hideous glory)

YUCK! did they have a high school graphic arts class design it?

.

Amazing Race 12

Last night CBS kicked off the 12th season of The Amazing Race. Luckily for viewers, ratings were so poor for Viva Laughlin that it got canceled after 2 shows and CBS decided to air TAR12 instead. The teams are definitely starting to look like all other reality shows where at least half of them are cast for their looks alone. How else would you explain the number of teams from the Los Angeles/Southern Calif. area?

Jim and I really enjoyed that Ireland was the first country on the show. Having only been there a few years ago, it brought back fond memories of our trip. We made that drive to Rossaveel to get on the ferry to Innishmore. Sorry to say we didn't stop at the church, but we did see other ruins there. We got a real laugh when one of the team pronounced "Galway" as "Gallaway" as they kept driving in the wrong direction.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that they'll hit other countries we've been to.

I'm secretly rooting for the Goths from Kentucky. How long are they going to keep up with their makeup while on the run? Can't wait for the first detour/road block in the water. I had high hopes for the grandfather/grandson team because we found out that it's Robbie Fulks' son and father-in-law. But after previews for next week's episode, I have a bad feeling about that team.

Pasta versus Burgers

I just saw this scary clip by The Center for Science in the Public Interest. I don't know if they're a legitimate group, but they demonstrate that eating at the Olive Garden and/or Macaroni Grill can be worse than eating at McDonald and Burger King.

and I think Papelbon might really be crazy

I Can Has Cheezburger?

Who knew this was a phenomemon that warranted its own wikipedia entry? I didn't even know it had a name, lolcat. A friend of ours just hipped us to it, and we've had a few good laughs. Check out the site, I Can Has Cheezburger?

Sox Win! Sox Win! Sox Win!

WOW! The Sox beat Colorado 4-3 tonight, sweeping the series 4-0 for their 2nd WS title in 4 years! I can't believe it - for 39 years of my life I never knew if I'd live to see them win one and now they've won a second just 3 seasons later - it's nuts I tell ya, NUTS! Big congrats to Series MVP Mike Lowell too. I really hope the Sox are smart enough to re-sign Mikey, who has proven himself to be a post-season stud twice now (he won a ring w/the Marlins in '03) & not go after you know who that just opted out the final 3 seasons of his contract with satan's team.

On the baby name front, since the sports guy has pretty much ruined the name Beckett for us, I'm now considering the name 'Champ' for JJ, in honor of the '07 sox. (and possibly the 19-0 2007 Patriots as well). We'll see what Irene has to say about that one. Do you think the name 'Champ' would work for either a boy or a girl? I do.

Millsy Did A Great Job

I sent this article to our friend Rod "Millsy" Mills today to thank him for his help getting the Sox to a 2-0 lead in the World Series. The key quote in the article comes from Sox catcher & captain Jason Varitek:

"Millsy did a great job right there and read the situation right and got us an easy out"

He was talking about Sox bench coach Brad "Millsy" Mills, who called for the pickoff throw for the 3rd out in the 8th inning last night, and not our friend Rod, but that doesn't matter much to me

Nice work Millsy! 2 down & 2 to go--A grateful red sox nation thanks you!

I love this play so much I have to post another photo of it:Yep - I think he was out!

Thar she blows!

Last week we were subjected to a freakish wind storm. My sister and brother-in-law from Michigan flew in that night. Since their plane was arriving late in the evening, they were subjected to the worse of the storm. They did say it was a rough landing. Well, someone posted some photos of a Washington ferry boat riding the wild waves caused by the storm. It looks like a toy bobbing in a tub.

Sox Are 1-2 vs Colorado this year

I looked this up earlier today - the Rockies beat the Sox 2 of 3 when they visited Fenway in June. They beat both Beckett and Schilling, our World Series game 1 and 2 starters, and their only loss of the series was 2-1 to Wakefield, who was left off the WS roster because of back/shoulder issues.

Hopefully this all means nothing & the Sox will kick ass but I don't understand why most Boston fans are thinking this will be a cakewalk. These guys are no joke. 21 of 22 is no joke.

OK, so the NL is a joke but I'm still feeling anxious.

Look Who's Forty

I finally reached the ripe age of 40 last Friday. My family came out to help celebrate my birthday and also see my burgeoning belly. Now at 34 weeks, I feel as big as a house. I'm amazed (and alarmed) at the speed my belly is growing.

We found a house in the South Sound that was big enough for the ten of us -- Jim, myself, my 3 sisters, mom, brother-in-laws, niece and nephew. Too bad the weather wasn't so nice, raining, cold and grey. We made the most of the weekend and enjoyed each other's company.

It really meant a lot to me to have everyone here for my birthday. It's been years since we were all together. Luckily everyone gets along even Mom though she doesn't speak enough English to effectively communicate with Jim, Bob, Martin, Ryan and Emily.

Beckett Martel?

I've been (only half-jokingly--I really do kind of like the sound of it) pitching the name Beckett to Irene for a few weeks now, and today the sports guy writes this (including the caption below the pic on left):

"When Cleveland had a chance to clinch at home, Beckett laid the smack down in Game 5. In my lifetime, the most clutch Boston pitching performance was Schilling's bloody sock game in the 2004 ALCS. Second was an injured Pedro coming out of the bullpen in Game 5 of the '99 Indians-Sox series. Third was Derek Lowe throwing a one-hitter for six innings ON TWO DAYS REST to topple the Yankees in Game 7 of 2004. And the fourth? Beckett slamming the door in Game 5. He held off a pennant celebration, swung the momentum of the series and threw his hat into the ring for Team Simmons' "What should we name our son?" sweepstakes. (You have to admit, Beckett Simmons has a nice ring to it.) Baseball is the only sport where a single person can shut up 55,000 people for an extended period of time and eventually break their will. This was one of those times. Just a virtuoso performance."


So much for that! Don't suggest Lugo Martel to us either, ok? Because that ain't happening.

Indians Going to EXTREME Lengths to end Series tonight. Plus: Torre out in NY

They hired Josh Beckett's ex to sing the anthem before the game - really! "Oh but I swear, it's just a coincidence. how were we supposed to know???"


Here's the link to this article on espn:

Teams have been known to go to extraordinary lengths to get an edge. But the Cleveland Indians swear Thursday night's choice of pre-game singer is not a piece of gamesmanship.

Danielle Peck, a country music singer who also happened to date Red Sox ace pitcher Josh Beckett, will sing the national anthem and "God Bless America" at tonight's Game 5 in Cleveland. Beckett is scheduled to start the game for Boston.

"It's an incredible coincidence. Honestly," said Indians spokesman Bob DiBiasio.

Taylor Swift was supposed to be the Game 5 vocalist, but when she couldn't attend, DiBiasio said a country music booker recommended the up-and-coming Peck. She is from Coshocton and her single "I Don't" is a hit.

"She's from Ohio. Her entire family are Indians fans. We did not know anything about her connections to Beckett. The next day, we find out the rest of the story," said DiBiasio of Peck. "How are we supposed to know who Josh Beckett dates?"

With a victory tonight, the Indians would close out the Red Sox and clinch their first spot in the World Series since 1997.

Yeah - "I Don't" is a HUGE hit - it's the next Stairway to Heaven - it peaked at #28 on the country chart -- in 2005! woohoo!

Also, Joe Torre turned down the yankees low-ball offer of $5M (as much as $8M including incentives) today. That's good news for fans of all other teams. There's not much chance any other manager would do as good a job managing that roster of high priced head cases & steroid abusers.

Somebody tell Manny we're still down by 4

Sox are down 3-1 to the Indians in the ALCS, in case you haven't been watching. I feel we have them right where we want them--their #1 guy going tomorrow night, at home, trying to clinch, oozing self confidence. Yep, right where we want em.

New trick for an old "dog"

I love this picture. Jim and I will have to work with Fred to recreate this photo so we can use it for the blog. It is named after him after all.

Another pizza joint in Ballard

There's a new pizza place, called Zayda Buddy's, in Ballard. It's just around the corner from the gym that I haven't been to in months. Last night, Jim and I met some friends there. Let's say that the menu is not the healthiest, but they do offer some options that won't send your cholesterol level sky high. The first of its kind in Seattle, Zayda Buddy's offer Minnesota-style pizza, thin crust with sauce and toppings to the edge and square slices (who knew?). We started with the gravy boat, thin cut fries topped with homemade (and lumpy) gravy. Crispy skinny fries -- super yummy -- with salty brown gravy. We also got a garden salad that comes with avocado, beets and garbanzo beans. It was lightly dressed but decent.

If I ever have the courage, there's a number of items on the menus that I would like to try (or at least, have a bite of). Tater tot casserole, deep-fried burger, velveeta cheese on texas toast, the official bratwurst of the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins... This place is open till 2am so I'm sure they'll get a ton of people wandering in after drinking at the bars along Ballard Avenue.

With Zayda Buddy's, there are now 6 pizza joints in Ballard: Madame K's, Snoose Junction, Palermo, Zagi's, and Sopranos. I think that beats any other cuisine found in Ballard with the exception of burgers.

AL East Champs

The Red Sox were celebrating at a bar inside Fenway Park after they clinched the AL East. Check out the photos -- http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1613zckz.7uefw8j3&x=0&y=ytvvj5 -- you don't have to log in to view the slideshow, just hit play. I have three words of advice for whoever took these pictures -- red eye reduction. Enjoy!

I totally love the Bud Light bottles with the Red Sox logos on them.

Less than 2 months to go

It's still hard to believe that we're having a baby. We still don't have the baby's room set up yet. We need to get rid of furniture before we can re-fill the room with baby furniture. I'll be surprised if the room will be ready before the baby's born.

One of our last trip down to visit Shirley in Oregon, she ordered us to Babies R'Us so we would start looking at stuff for the nursery. We didn't buy anything then, but we did make a list. We're slowly taking small steps to getting ready. We bought a car seat at a used baby sale. We're opting for an universal stroller where the car seat locks into it, something that'll cost less than $100. We've been discussing the pros and cons of strollers for months. We've experienced sticker shock seeing how much everything costs. Strollers for $800, cribs for $2,000, diaper bags for $200, etc... We've been looking at craigslist, hoping to find deals on used baby stuff. I figure the kid won't know the difference of something brand new or a few months/years old.

This week Jim sent me a link to an article about high-end strollers and stroller envy. Click the link, http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2007/10/04/coveting_thy_neighbors_stroller/, to read the Boston Globe article. Then I saw posting on craigslist for a used Bugaboo Frog for $550. Yes, I'm considering buying one. Unfortunately, it was sold before I could even have second thoughts. We did decide that we really need to check out strollers before buying them used. On Saturday, we drove out to Merry Go Round in Bellevue, a store that carries high-end baby furnishings and strollers. We ended spending over 2 hours looking at strollers. Orbit, Quinny, MacLaren, Combi, Peg Perego, Svan , Baby Bjorn, Million Dollar Baby, Phil and Ted, etc... We had a good laugh or two when Jim couldn't figure out how to collapse the various strollers. The only stroller he could do without any problems was the one developed by some MIT engineer that costs over $800. We're trying to narrow down the options and find a stroller that folds small enough to fit our car. A lot of these strollers are great but are too big for our little car. Our search continues...

If Fred was a bird...

this is from an email someone I work with sent me
(click on the image to watch the avian Fred in action):

He s-l-o-w-l-y enters the store......and then he runnnnnnns........OUT!
A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop.

The seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn't looking (so a camera was installed), and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos.
Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and becomes a feast, for other birds!
The seagull's shoplifting started early this month, when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of chips.
Since then, he's become a "regular". He always takes the same type of chips.

Customers have begun paying for the seagull's stolen bags of chips,... because they think it's so funny!

Sox Win East, Best Record

I'm pretty happy today about how the regular season wrapped up: the Sox won the AL East for the first time since '95, and also clinched the best record, which means they'll have home field advantage for the entire postseason, as long as they're in it. so Yay!

Here's Big Papi hitting a homer friday night in the clincher vs. Minnesota

Irene's Reading List for September

The Promise of Happiness by Justin Cartwright
Devils in the Sugar Shop by Timothy Schaffert
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Am I bothered?

Work has been a grind the last few days. My energy level is really lagging, but I have a hard time getting enough rest. I don't nap nor go to bed early. I get on average 7 hours of sleep a night, which isn't more than I wasn't pregnant. I've been scolded by my doctor more than once to get more rest. She's concerned that my blood pressure is alittle too high, but I try to explain to her that it's because I'm usually running late and rushing to my doctor appointments. She told me to get a blood pressure gauge to test my blood pressure until my next appointment. If it stays high, she's threatened me with bed rest. I can't imagine it'll be any fun except I get to hang out with Fred and I'll have time to actually go to the gym.

Countdown to the last 10 weeks of work begins

No, it's not JJ; this is just a 3-D ultrasound of what a baby looks like at 28 weeks.

Woohoo!! Now that I'm in my third trimester of pregnancy, I'm looking forward to the last day of work. I plan to work till Thanksgiving, which is less than 2 weeks before my delivery date of December 5. Work has been hectic for the last few months, and I have quite a few projects to wrap up before leaving. Let's hope the baby doesn't decide to come early or cause any trouble.

I still can't believe that Jim and I are a having a baby together. The last 3 months seems like an eternity, but I'm sure it'll pass quickly. We haven't even prepared the baby's room yet. We'll be sure to post our progress along with photos.

JJ's 3rd trimester & Sox playoff tickets

Irene and JJ (and me too I guess) officially entered their 3rd trimester last Wednesday. That's right--less than 3 months to go! It's starting to feel real now--we even bought a car seat and some onesies on Saturday. I'll post a picture of Irene in the near future if I can get her to let me.

Also - The Red Sox emailed me today about signing up for a chance to buy Fenway playoff tix here. I love the picture in the email--it really captures the Fenway experience in full: an overweight, drunk, bearded white guy in a red tshirt leaning/sweating over you for 3 and a half or 4 hours.
Good times!Speaking of baseball, very very funny Onion article here.
(Warning: Contains beaucoup f-bombs)

Scary!

I saw this on my Amazon homepage today &
it almost made me shriek from the horror if it:

Note: that's just a snapshot of the image.

If you must watch the video, here's the link

Excellent Analysis here

I wish I could take credit for writing this breakdown of the Mariners recent meltdown, but it's from the Seattlest.com blog:

The Mariners. WTF?

Well, that was spectacular. From the heady days of August 25th, when the M's were three up in the wild card and only one back in the division, had won two straight in Texas, when we were all excited about Blue-za-palooza or whatever the fuck it was...to now, after 11 losses in 12 games, when we're all pretty much in wait 'till next year mode.

You've all seen the boat sink, here are the numbers.

August 25th-September 5th

Team pitching:
100 2/3 IP, 138 H, 20 HR (!), 5.81 ERA. Opp BA .334, Opp SLG .550

Team batting:
400 AB, 41 R, 6 HR, 22 BB, 70 K, OBP .309. 3.4 runs per game.

For a little perspective, no team's had an ERA that bad since the 109-loss, 1996 Detroit Tigers, and no team's averaged so few runs per game since the 107-loss, 1988 Baltimore Orioles.

So, in the midst of a pennant race, the M's reverted to being an epochally bad hitting and pitching team. Nice!

Reporters asked John McLaren what has to change after yesterday's game.

"We'll see what we're made out of, how about that? We'll see who steps to the plate."

Who has to step up?

"We'll start with the manager and work our way through the whole team."

The M's clamber up onto the shores of Detroit tomorrow, where they'll throw Miguel Batista against Justin Verlander. The Yankees, meanwhile, fly to the friendly town of Kansas City, where Gil Meche stands between them and reducing their magic number to 20.