Brunch is always awesome

I never understood how there can restaurants in Seattle that are only open for breakfast and lunch and brunch on weekends. There are no such things as greek diners here (or I simply don't know where they are). Anyway, there's a new place in Ballard that I hope to try. Portage Bay Cafe have 2 other locations in Seattle so they must be doing something right.

Things are going to get interesting in Ballard

Ballard is getting its first bikini espresso stand, and it's located in the parking lot of the 76 gas station. The owner claims no pasties for its baristas. Stay classy Ballard!

Uh-oh

Mommy put my shoes on the wrong feet!

Love these pictures

We took these at the park near the Ballard locks a couple weeks ago. I don't think we could have art directed the 2 kids playing with their light sabers any better. Hope you all like them too

Smily Face

at the Mariners gave vs. San Diego tonight. She wasn't smiling about the score. Ms were down 9-1 before losing 9-7.Thanks to Jana Lipscomb for the photo.

Ate at Maltby Cafe today & got a cinnamon bun to go. Check out the size of this thing

Iris Loves Turkey

She's cramming a fistful into her mouth here, out on the deck at Safeco Field during the Mariners 4-2 win over Minnesota yesterday.

(Photo courtesy Ben Budka)

5 Things I'll Miss About Seattle

No, I'm not leaving Seattle. When we first moved here, people always asked why the move to Seattle from New York. We had free airline tickets; we can always move back to New York if things didn't work out. We were tired of being broke in New York; we could never afford to buy. Jim's brother and wife were moving to Seattle after law school (they ended up moving to Portland instead). For whatever the reasons, Jim and I moved to Seattle and we've now been here for 10+ years.

I'm not prepared to call Seattle my permanent home yet, but there are good reasons to stay.

1. Seafood. I've really come to love eating fish out here. Nothing beats wild salmon. Copper River, Yukon River, King, Chinook... Plus Dungeness crabs. I'm only sadden that I can't find lobster rolls here.

2. Music scene. I enjoy listening to music and seeing bands. There are only a handful of venues and clubs in Seattle, and it's not hard to get tickets for most shows. I'm always amazed that bands are willing to make the trek up to the Pacific Northwest because we're so far from other major cities. If a band plays Seattle, they'll also appear in Portland, OR and Vancouver, BC. Once they leave this area, the closest "big" city is San Francisco or Minneapolis, depending on which direction they're heading. Of course, this is purely selfish reasons. And yes, there are lots of great bands from Seattle and Portland that I like -- Pearl Jam, Shins, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie...

3. Seattle Mariners. I love going to games here in Seattle. We actually started going to Mariners games when they were still playing at the Kingdome. We would trek up those ramps to get to the cheap seats in the upper levels and watch A-Rod, Junion (both pre-steroid) and the Big Unit. Jim used to organize baseball outings for Amazon's customer service, with 30+ people going as a group. The new stadium is great with awesome views of the city and the Puget Sound. We hope Iris grows up to enjoy baseball as much as her parents.

4. Weather. Yes, it rains in Seattle but you get used to it. Umbrellas are mostly useless unless you just want to keep your hair dry. Just pull up your hood and keep your head down. Don't even get me started about how Seattle deals with snow. Those are dark days in the city. But when the sun is out, it really makes you appreciate the beauty of the Seattle. No humidity. No need for air conditioning, unless you're in those new glass box condos downtown. No bugs, unless you're hiking out in the woods.

5. Ballard. It's hard to believe how our neighborhood has grown and matured since we moved there in 2000. We can walk to a movie theatre, cd store, 10 coffee shops, 4 sushi restaurants, 3 music venues, 4 pizza joints, a Puerto Rican restaurant, tapas bar, and an Oaxacan restaurant within 10 minutes of our front door. It's hard to beat that.

Gordon Ramsay

I love Gordon Ramsay because he doesn't tolerate incompetence. Our days of dining out have dropped significantly since having Iris. It bothers me greatly when I have a terrible dining experience. I wish this can be an iPhone app, Gordon Ramsay Swears at You!

Then she was tired on the way home & had to sit down for a rest

Iris LOVED the fountain in the park near our house tonight

Here's another pic of Iris and Ava

18-Month checkup

Iris had her 18 month checkup last Friday & other than her dairy and other food allergies, she's doing well & everything's looking good.

Here are her latest stats and the ones from her prior checkups:

18 Months
Length 30.25" (10th-25th percentile - 1.75 inches taller than at 1 year)
Weight 22 lbs, 3 ozs. (25th)
Cranium 50 cm (95th+) she's still keeping pace on this one

1 year
Length 28.5" (25th percentile - 2 inches taller than 3 months ago - yay!)
Weight 18 lbs, 9.5 ozs. (10-25th - maybe down a little from being sick last week)
Cranium 48 cm (95th+) yep.

9 months
Length 26.5" (between 10th-25th percentile)
Weight 16 lbs, 15.5 ozs. (10-25th)
Cranium 47.5 cm (95th+)

6 months
Length 24.75" (between 10th-25th percentile)
Weight 14 lbs, 12.5 ozs. (25th-50th)
Cranium 45.25 cm (95th+)

4 months
Length 23.75" (between 25th-50th percentile)
Weight 12 lbs, 5.5 ozs. (25th)
Cranium 42.75cm (90-95th)

2 months
Length 22.25" (50th percentile)
Weight 10 lbs, 8 ozs. (25th-50th)

Birth 11/21/2007 6:51 AM
Length 19.5" (50th percentile)
Weight 6 lbs, 15.4 ozs. (25th)

More photos from our CA trip

Here are some more pics from our Memorial Day weekend trip to the Bay Area. We stayed with my brother ML, his wife Julie, their boys Will, Luke & Reed, and their new puppy Ava.

Iris meets her cousins in the Bay Area

Nice of Cousin Sam to put us in the middle of the photo. Too bad no one had a tripod so Sam could be in the shot too.

Bear sighting in Ballard

There's been reports of a black bear wandering around in Seattle. According to one report, the bear was sighted within 2 blocks of us in Ballard. Wildlife agents think the bear even swam across the Ballard Locks, from Magnolia to Ballard. The bear is still at large.

Sleepy girl

Iris & Pepere ready for Sox-Ms game to start

Iris LOVES rocking on this thing!

Introducing Molly!

Our friends Andrea & Joe had their daughter Molly Sophia last night, at 7:48 EDT. She was 2 weeks early and weighed in at 6.2 lbs and 19" long. Here's a pic of exhausted happy new mom & baby: