Biggest baby ever!

Okay, maybe he's not the biggest baby ever but West is still off the charts! At his 18 month check-up today, we learned his weight is 31.2 lbs and his height is 36.25 inches. It's wild to think my son is that big and not even 2! The doctor was greeted by Westley announcing "Doctor!" as she came in, after we just told him the doctor would be there soon. It was pretty priceless and the happy welcome pleasantly surprised our pediatrician.
She said he looks great, is right on track in terms of development, eating right,
drinking lots of milk and water, and general health.
It does a mother good to hear these things!

In grown-up land, I have decided this will be the year I actually start school and attempt getting an Associates degree in Business. My application has been accepted, I've selected my classes and have chosen some options for orientation and advising dates/times. If all goes smoothly with financial aid I will be attending Everett Community College for 2-3 classes per semester over 2 years. My schooling will unfortunately be funded by student loans, but the payoff when I can finally start my own Event Coordination business will more than make up for it. I will be taking my classes at night since I will be getting a weekend job once our crazy busy August is over and complete, people are married, birthdays and
anniversaries are celebrated and we can all get some rest.
The prospect of going to school so soon is very exciting so here's hoping everything works out!
On to the next...
August, here we come!

(If anyone is absolutely dying to get me a birthday gift,
Home Depot gift cards are just the right size! Seriously! )

Feeling at home

At last, we've nearly finished unpacking and settling in to our new home in Everett. It's really beginning to feel like home. After we get a few more small pieces of storage furniture, we'll be good to go and I can finally have easy access to my cookbooks!

Westley is really enjoying the space and having to spend less time in baby jail. He's been paroled, so to speak. Christian is enjoying being in his new store and West and I have been enjoying each other a great deal since I've been home with him more. He's constantly running, slipping and sliding on the wood floors, having a great time on walks to the produce stand and exploring the playground at Wiggums Hollow park just down the street.

(A little bath time fun with Daddy there for the soaking!)


(West's favorite morning activity is dancing with Ellen!)

Though most of what he says is gibberish to us, West's vocabulary has expanded quite a bit with new words like bread, Cotton (the name of his favorite bear), butt, turtle, doggy, duck, book, water, hat, nose, eyes and the list goes on. He's also learned to blow kisses and it is the absolute sweetest thing ever! Next week we will have his 18 month check-up. It's hard to believe he's only been here for 18 months since there are many, many days when I look at him and think he has to be at least 2 years old! It's been such a bizarre, incredible, adventurous time in our lives and while it has been extremely difficult at times, I can't remember much of what of life was like before West arrived. His laugh is infectious, his smile so handsome, and he is such an inquisitive, thoughtful child. Lately, now that he knows what a camera is for and how to say "pitcha" (picture), he's really been into modeling. He comes over, touches the camera, says "pitcha" and stands back a bit with a big grin on his face. My little Zoolander.....

While July has been fairly mellow with a nice Independence Day celebration at our good friend's Ranch (Stevie's home, The Pines) and a couple of minor illnesses (West had the croup, an awful thing for a mommy to try to make better), and a lot of unpacking and cleaning our new home, we are looking forward to a busy August full of outdoor activities and a little travel. With 2 out-of-town Weddings, My Birthday day of fun at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, a visit from Aunt Kaijsa, and lots of other birthdays and anniversaries the time is sure to go quickly. This coming weekend West will have his first visit to the Woodland Park Zoo as we all go with a group of friends and 2 Japanese Exchange Students they are hosting.

We are looking forward to more beautiful weather, lots of wedding fun, time with friends and family, grilling and chilling (after we acquire a grill, that is...), and enjoying life as best we can. We hope all of you are happy, healthy, and enjoying your summer days!

Just below you will see West
and my lovely Cousin Rose
enjoying a story.

Just above, say
"Howdy" to Westley the Watermelon Farmer!

Movin' on up...North

We've had a busy couple of months around here. After recovering from vacation and getting back into a somewhat normal routine, we decided it was time to focus on our search for a new home. As much as we love the West Seattle area for the summer fun, beautiful beaches, and great eateries, it's just not practical for us anymore. Also, as most of you have heard, our neighbors and the landlord company for our current building are seriously in need of some etiquette lessons and common sense education.

When we were thinking about where to begin our search, we decided on the city of Everett, about 30 minutes north of Seattle. Everett has a lot of small town feel and neighborhood niceties even with it's growing economy and lively entertainment/event participation, and we have always liked the area. Not to mention we knew we could find something just right within our budget and get more for our renters dollar,
and it's quite central to most of our friends and family.

Well, success has finally come! We found a lovely duplex managed and owned by a wonderful couple and it's in a good location. The 2 bedroom home has great amenities such as ample storage space, laminate flooring throughout most rooms, washer/dryer, lots of big windows with nice new blinds, a pretty little front yard, and the owner has agreed to paint the living area for us so we aren't stuck with white walls. Instead, the color will be a soft shade of green called Monet Moonrise. A great big park is right down the block from the new place, as well as a corner convenience store and fantastic local produce market. We are really looking forward to getting moved in at months end with the help of our amazing friends and families, and exploring our new neighborhood!

Once our move is complete, Christian will be transferring to the Alderwood Mall Apple store in Lynnwood, WA (just south of Everett) and will be there in his current capacity as a Creative. As for me, I will be leaving Williams Sonoma after nearly 11 years. I'll be looking for a job with evening hours so we can have family time and some full days off together.

In other news, we took part in the annual Multi-Family Memorial weekend yard sale at the home of dear friends Davi and Asa. We had excellent luck this year with some great weather, making a little money and best of all, we enjoyed quality time with friends. It's always so fun to catch up and see the kids playing together, how they're growing up so fast.

We've been trying to enjoy the little bit of summer weather we've had by going to the beach, taking walks and just being outdoors when it's not pouring rain, and we have time off together. It's a hard thing to come by, as everyone knows, and we certainly cherish every moment of it.

In Westley's world, he is walking everywhere, even running when he decides the occasion calls for it! He's talking more, dancing constantly, and smiling almost all the time.

Lately, he's very into trying new things, which is great since he's often been put off by certain things most little ones enjoy. When we went to the beach he actually sat in the sand and rocks playing after lots of patience and easing him into the experience. We're also trying to get him over his dislike of grass so we can take advantage of our new neighborhood park when the weather permits.

He's eating just about anything, loves sandwiches just like his daddy and Italian food like mom, and most importantly always enjoys his fruits and veggies! He's great at playing catch and loves to roll his favorite bouncy ball to and fro, he can show you where his belly, head, nose and eyes are, and will gladly show you where your belly, head, eyes and nose are, and he's still oozing sweetness and charm, always in public, and most of the time at home.

Walkabout

We just returned home from a week in Seaside, OR. It was nice, the weather was really 50/50. The first few days it went from fog to rain to sun and back again in the span of mere moments. The latter part of the trip was full of sunshine, blue skies and lots of ice cream breaks!

The best parts of the week were (1) when West started walking all over the place! He was really enjoying his week of freedom from baby jail, and is great on his feet. He has a wonderful ability to fall with grace and he only had one hard fall. Unfortunately that fall was in the crosswalk and he got a wee scrape and bump along the eye brow. After some cuddles and kisses he was up and going again and kept on throughout the trip. And (2) when West went in a swimming pool for the first time. He took to the water like a fish and was really enjoying himself after getting used to it. Christian is hoping West will take after him and be a strong swimmer. He's already got a great dolphin kick!

While in the area we enjoyed the beach, family game night, the Seaside Aquarium, a great bonfire complete with wienie roasting and s'mores, we came home with enough saltwater taffy to feed an army, and best of all we got a break from our noisy, yucky apartment.

I was deeply saddened to leave since I had my own room and bathroom for an entire week. West slept in his new Kidco Peapod Plus travel bed and it made a great barricade and fort during the day. The travel bed wouldn't fit in the room with the big bed and the rooms we're too far apart to have West all alone in one and us in another so Christian, being a kind and generous husband, granted me my own space for the week minus snoring and alarms and everything! It was glorious...

The trip was a welcome change from the everyday, and West really had a great time being the center of the universe with a bigger audience, but it's good to be home, sort of.

Time to walk!

Were you a preemie? Do you have any relatives who had
premature babies or were born prematurely themselves?
There's a good chance the March of Dimes played a small
part in healing and saving those you love!

Please consider donating to the March of Dimes for the walk we're doing tomorrow. My page will stay up for a while after the walk, but any pre-walk donations can still be made today (5/03/08).Please take a look at my personal page and think about donating any possible amount!
Just imagine if everyone you know donated 5$, just 5 little dollars...how quickly it all adds up!
The more we donate, the more people will receive help. Here's a breakdown of the benefits of raising the most money possible. You could help give someone a brand new car seat, provide diapers or prenatal vitamins to new and expectant parents, and most of all with any amount you choose to contribute, you will be helping to ensure that premature and newborn babies are getting the best possible start in life.

$500 - One year supply of prenatal vitamins for two women
$1000 - One month supply of diapers
$3000 - Car seat
$5000 - Newborn clothing for ten families
$10000 - Car seat, one month supply of diapers/clothing
$20000 - Crib, car seat, one month supply diapers/clothing

www.marchforbabies.org/mcknittles

!!!!!THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Coming home...

It is my great pleasure to announce the homecoming of
Mr. Scott B. Randall!
After living in Los Angeles and pursuing a career in the entertainment industry as a make-up artist, Scott made the decision to return to where most of his family and friends, and more importantly, his heart, reside.


Scott has been an incredible friend to me for more than 12 years and I am so thankful to have him in my life, and to have him home so all of us who know him best can share the light, and especially the laughter, he brings to every day.
Welcome home, Scotty!

And now for your viewing pleasure, a couple of little video clips I took with the digital camera.
They are a little dark but the sentiment is definitely there...

Eat at Joe's!

Christian and I cherish the rare occasion when we get to take West and go out for a nice sit-down dinner so we had some high expectations for a restaurant we have heard wonderful things about. It's known for being family friendly, have great food and a nice eclectic menu to please almost any appetite. Endolyne Joe's here in West Seattle in a little hidden corner of a quiet neighborhood is a well known establishment owned by Chow Foods who also owns other restaurants we love like Hi-Life in Ballard and Atlas at University Village. We decided to try Joe's, and upon arrival we were seated promptly among many other diners in the form of individuals, families, young children, and couples alike. The atmosphere is very playful with homemade crafts and art adorning the walls and a very relaxed vibe.

As usual, when dining with a 15 month old, we took a minute getting set-up with the highchair, the mat, the goldfish crackers, and the water cup. After some fussing from a tired, hungry West and getting our beverages fairly quickly, were decided on our entrees. Flat Iron Steak for me, a treat! Fried Chicken for Christian and Mac-n-Cheese for West. We asked if there was any way to add some sort of tomato product to the macaroni since West loves him some tomato sauce in anything. We were told this would be an easy addition and the chef would be happy to oblige, which we were very thankful for.

Well...after a long while of sitting and waiting we got our food. Christian's chicken was a little spicy and the breading was a bit thin and moist, but he said it was good, My steak was alright in terms of flavor, seasoning, etc., but pretty under-done. Medium-well was what I'd asked for and I think I may have gotten medium, if not medium rare. Westley's mac-n-cheese however, was missing the cheese sauce! The server, who I've come to find was almost brand new to the place, was confused about adding the tomato sauce instead of replacing any cheese sauce with it. We got a side of cheese sauce after a bit, which we were charged extra for. West ate some of the pasta and it was pretty tasty, but he mostly munched on some of daddy's chicken. After getting some great sundaes for dessert and paying our sizeable bill (more than we intended to spend for a casual evening out), we headed home and I decided to write an email to the company and let them know about our experience, the good and bad of it.

I was pleased to receive an response very shortly the next day. One of the owners wrote me back and let me know he was very sorry about the not-so-great parts of the experience and said he'd be forwarding our comments on to the GM of Joe's. This morning I got an email from him, and he was genuinely thankful for all of our input positive and negative. It was a wonderful response and and incredibly professional way to handle a customer inquiry. He was grateful for the heads up about the mix-up in the kitchen and about Erin, our server that night. She was very sweet and I'm certain most of us can relate having done some time in a restaurant environment how crazy a first night serving solo can be. It didn't help that we had an odd request, but she was pleasant, very willing to help, and did her best for being a newbie.

After hearing such appreciation from the manager for our feedback and getting such excellent customer service form everyone we've been in touch with, I'm afraid Endolyne Joe's hasn't seen the last of the Calki!

Walking and talking

I am sad to report I was not a winner, or even a finalist, in the Bunny cake decoration contest. It was a little frustrating to find out people could enter more than one cake only after the contest ended. Some people entered 3 or 4 different designs, and I'm not saying I would have had time to do the same. It would have been nice to know, though.
So that's that.

In Westley's world, there is a ton of walking going on. He's finally going solo every now and then, and yesterday he was doing a great little sideways number. Hilarious as usual! His molars have all come in and it looks like the canines are well on their way to cutting through so that's sure to make for some long nights coming up. He's eating well, still loving anything with tomato sauce, but is finally branching out a bit. Every once in a great while we give him a taste of something delectable like ice cream or chocolate, but it's rare, and he usually doesn't want much. Juice is still out of the picture, which we are fine with, and he loves his Goldfish crackers, and his Winnie-the-Pooh organic cookies once in a while.
We're guessing his stats are about 31 lbs weight, and 35" height.

Our family vacation is coming up and while we're gone we'll be celebrating Mother's day as well as Christian's parents 35th Wedding Anniversary. It will be wonderful to have both our mom's there to share the day, and for the anniversary, we're thinking Surf and Turf for dinner and Creme Brulee made by yours truly for dessert. We're hoping the PNW weather has become a little more pleasant by the time we go so we can enjoy the beach and get some pool time in. We've got a great little swimming out fit for West with the UV protection swim trunks and surf top. He's going to be our little beach bum. It will be wonderful to catch up with my parents, see how my niece, Emily and nephew, Alex have grown, and to see Kaijsa, Christian's sis, too! It's been too long since we've all had a good, relaxing visit.

Before we go out of town we'll be participating in the 1st Annual March for Babies (previously known as Walk-America)here in Seattle at Qwest Field. There's still plenty of time for you to donate and share some love! Think about the fact that if everyone gave just 5$, maybe skipped a latte for the day, or passed on the daily snack run, how quickly that would add up. It's such a wonderful cause to support and so many of us have been affected by premature births and/or defects. Do you know anyone born prematurely or with a birth defect? It may very well have been research funded by the March of Dimes that saved a life of someone you know.

You may have noticed I've added a list of favorite places on the web here to the right. You'll find my March for Babies sponsorship page, Christian's website that displays a great sampling of his work, my Uncle Chris' website for all your promotional business needs, and some other fun things to explore!

And now a personal plea for those of you living here in the Seattle area. I would like to ask you to help send a message to a local business who was incredibly humiliating and disrespectful to a fellow mom in one of my meet-up groups. The owners of Alki Cafe (not to be confused with Alki Bakery) here in West Seattle were horrible to this mom and a group of her friends who were there to begin a day of pampering after she and her family suffered the most terrible loss, that of a child. This mom and friends showed up in the morning with a large group, which they tried to make reservations for and were told they didn't take reservations, and it was not necessary at that time of day (9am). When a few more showed up making their group size about 15 people, the owner proceeded to throw a fit screaming and yelling in the mom's face because the server moved a table for them. He was told why they were there, what had happened in the mom's family, and said in so many words that he didn't care why they were there and went on with the tantrum. Luckily the group was able to put this awful experience aside for the day and get on with the pampering. I hope by sharing this story those of you who have eaten there in the past will consider avoiding this establishment and instead giving your hard earned money to a business who treats it's customers with kindness, respect and the human courtesies everyone deserves no matter what is happening in their lives, good or bad.

We enjoyed a great meal at the Pepperdock Cafe, also on Alki, the other night. The food was fantastic, the atmopshere is a very beachy/diner/pick up your food at the counter place. The dining area is fun/kitschy, the cuisine is inexpensive and has the best fish and chips I've tasted in a very long time. Crispy, Panko-breaded buttery fish fillets served with homemade fries were beyond my expectations of this little hole-in-the-wall place with mismatched wood tables and chairs, outdoor summer seating and a pretty extensive menu showing everything from egg-rolls to salmon burgers. We'll be going back to the Pepperdock Cafe.

Life

April is "National Donate Life Month".
If you are a registered organ donor, you have already taken the first step to save a life.
Now, it's time to tell your family and friends your plan. Please make sure people know how you feel and what your choices are in regards to organ/tissue donation so that your wishes are followed through. Organ and tissue donation are vital to the survival of hundreds of people and to have the chance to prolong someone's life though donation is the greatest gift any of us possess.
Please, consider registering if you haven't already.

http://www.organdonor.gov/
By going to this website you can
register to be a donor,
learn the facts about donation,
and print or order donor cards for you and your family!