Theo Photos March 2012

Here are my photos from March. It includes a few more than usual as a result of our fabulous trip to visit family in Boston, MA. (And several shots from that trip that do not feature Theo.) Theo did exceptionally well on the flights both ways, and we scored a seat for him on the return trip for the first time ever. He also really liked Boston, but that may have been the result of being the center of attention for four adults, not to mention a plethora of good weather and playgrounds. Parks and playgrounds are Theo's current obsession, and he has a very hard time passing one by. If it even looks like a playground - say, a power substation - he has issues not visiting.

More January Photos

I am catching up on posting months of backlogged photos. Here is a batch from last month, including a few additional pictures from our trip to Georgia.

Theo in Mexico

We took Theo on his second plane ride, and our first big family vacation, to Cabo, Mexico for the wedding of John and Becca. Theo was already an international traveler with our drive to Whistler back in February, but this time around he got the stamps in his passport to prove it. See more photos here.

Theo did well on three out of four flights. (There were no direct flights from Seattle to Cabo at this time of year. In the future, I don't think we'll be visiting places that require an additional stop.) The second flight on our way down, he popped his second tooth through. He might have been okay at that, too, but our seats were switched to the row in front of the only screaming child (around age 3 years, believe it or not), who woke Theo up after only 15-20 minutes of napping on that flight. Since we left the house at 6 a.m., at least an hour before Theo's normal wake up time, we started the day - and the trip - short on sleep.

Despite all that, Theo managed the travel and the associated changes extremely well. He stuck to his normal eating schedule like glue. He was a little more flexible with sleeping, although that is generally true at home as well.

The infinity swimming pool provided the biggest highlight of the trip. Of course, since my camera isn't waterproof, I have no photos of that part. But the video camera did well in recording every moment of that. Theo floated around in our borrowed inflatable complete with shade canopy. He also enjoyed playing with his toys, especially his duck, while being held. It turns out that holding Theo takes much less effort when you're in the water. He spent some time floating as well. We even dunked him once since he kept trying to dip his face in the water. Theo did not appreciate the dunking. At all.

On Saturday we also took Theo to the beach to let him explore the sand. It took him longer to get around to sampling it than I would have thought. Because of the heat and the presence of ants in the sand, we didn't hang out there long, but it was quite entertaining to everyone involved. Theo was a hit with everyone, joining us for the first part of the rehearsal dinner as well as the beginning of the wedding and reception. He actually cried at the wedding itself, but I can't say I blame him. It was downright hot, with no shade, on the beach in the sand - very pretty, but not Seattle baby friendly. It turns out that lounging around in a resort all day is quite baby friendly, though, so we all managed to have a great time despite the heat.

Theo's best souvenir is the second tooth he now sports. More photos and videos to come as they get uploaded.

Theo Visits Atlanta

Our trip turned out differently than we expected, but we did make it to Atlanta for two weeks in mid January to see family. The photos turned out exactly like we expected - very cute. Thanks to everyone who made it to the christening, the visitation, and the funeral, as well as for all the fabulous gifts for Theo. We appreciate your love and support.

Victorious Getaway

We spent last weekend in fabulous Victoria, BC. We had been once before, five years ago, but on that trip we took the Washington State Ferry to Vancouver Island. (Victoria is on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, while Vancouver the city is on the mainland and therefore much easier to visit.) This time, we took the Victoria Clipper, which leaves from downtown Seattle instead of Anacortes, makes no stops between here and there, and takes about two hours less. Of course, it's also passenger only (last time we took a car) and costs more, which is why we've never done it before.

But we scored an awesome package deal for two round trip fares, one night's lodging, and afternoon tea. On our last visit, we stopped only for an afternoon in Victoria proper. This time, we stayed there the better part of two days, and did all of our sightseeing by foot.

I highly recommend it, as we had a fabulous time. It also happened to be BC Day on the Monday, so although we didn't realize it at the time, we went on a holiday weekend to the provincial capitol.

Backpacking Trip to Navaho Pass

This past weekend I went backpacking ("backpacking" referring to camping on foot) with friends in Navaho Pass, which is in the eastern fringe of the Cascade Mountains. Fabulous weather and gorgeous scenery -- check out all the photos.

Memorial Day Weekend: Camping at Bullards Beach State Park in Oregon

A couple of weeks ago Sarah and I joined our friends Ethan and Stefanie and two of their friends for a camping trip based in Bullards Beach State Park in Oregon. It turns out that it was far enough South (9 hours!) that it was almost in California, and more importantly, the weather was nice. We spent three nights there before working our way up the Oregon coast on Hwy 101 -- with the completion of this trip Sarah and I have (at one time or another) driven all of Hwy 101 through Washington and Oregon. Lots of adventures abounded, including relaxing on the beach and holding lion cubs. See all Michal's photos plus Sarah's few token images.

San Juan Islands

Lake Chelan

As alluded to in the previous post, last weekend we took a long weekend trip with our friends Ethan and Stefanie to Lake Chelan, somewhere none of us had ever been. It's known as a summer getaway for Seattlites because it's hot and has a lake you can swim in. Turns out that pretty much nothing is open until Memorial Day, so we primarily focused on wine tasting at the numerous wineries in the area. See all the photos.

The Spoils of War

Or perhaps just the spoils of a wine tasting trip to Lake Chelan.

Dinner

Bedtime

Hot Chocolate

Some group is giving out hot chocolate at the skytrain station.

Sarah and I just posed with a bronze medal!

Pictures on the real camera so you'll have to wait.

Squamish Moon

Gorgeous Day on the Sea to Sky Highway

Sarah's Olympic Outfit for Today

We are going to the ski jumping and skeleton events today.

Whistler

The view of Whistler's main plaza. Less busy than on a regular winter
day I'd say.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics - Event Schedule

A lot of folks have asked what events Sarah and I will be attending. Well, without further ado, here it is:

Saturday February 13
Just Michal is attending men's Luge (17:00-20:35)

Sunday February 14
We had tickets for Men's Biathlon 10km sprint (11:15 -12:25) but we sold these because we didn't want to pay to spend the night on the 13th and this event is in Whistler, which given the late event on the 13th, would be difficult to make work in our schedule.

Monday February 15
Sarah's not going to this one as it is a work day, but Michal and Bill will be there to see the Canadian women's hockey team face off against the Swiss (14:30-17:00).

Wednesday February 17
Michal and Travis will be going up to see women's curling (9:00-12:00) with China versus Great Britain, Germany versus the United States, Switzerland versus Sweden, and Japan versus Canada -- all simultaneously (but on different sheets).

Friday February 19
We have a full day of events here, starting with the men's individual large hill ski jumping (10:00-11:05) followed by women's and men's skeleton (15:45-20:30).

Saturday February 20
Men's Pursuit (15km classic + 15km free) cross country skiing (13:30-15:00)

Tuesday February 23
I'm looking for someone to go with me to attend women's ski cross freestyle skiing (10:30-11:30 and 13:00-14:15) at Cypress Mountain -- this is the venue which has been closed since mid-January to try and preserve snow for the Olympics.

Thursday February 25
Nordic combined consisting of the men's individual large hill ski jumping (10:00-10:50) and men's individual 10km cross country skiing (13:00-13:35). Again, I'm still looking for someone to come with me as Sarah's unable to attend this event.

Saturday February 27
We have a conflict on this date, and we're going to try and sell the women's 30km mass start classic (11:45-13:45) tickets -- although if you want to buy these tickets from us and carpool up to Whistler, we'd love to do so. We're actually attending the Men's four-man bobsleigh (13:00-15:25) event.

All times are pacific times and are event times, not necessarily broadcast times. A couple of the events are subject to change if we manage to trade with other ticket holders for events which work better with our schedule. We'll update the blog and this post accordingly. I made a shared Google Calendar of the entire Olympic schedule which can be accessed here or you can view the PDF version from the official Vancouver 2010 website.

Christmas in Cincinnati

 

This year Sarah and I spent Christmas in Cincinnati. It took a while, but the photos are finally available!