Yesterday morning Mr. Cat darted outside into the frost blanketed world that is our backyard. Yes, we now have a backyard and he knows about it. So far the icy weather has not cooled his enthusiasm for making a break for it at any opportunity. Mr. Cat must be part Polar bear. Intrepid Polar Cat. 

[imagine the photo; he was too sneaky and too fast]

Not Mr. Silky. He’s a sun seeker. 

And more like a beached seal. Though he’s offended at my comparison. 

Lake is cozily enjoying his arctic feline friends. 

The kitties stayed home marooned on their bed “iceberg”. We went out for an afternoon adventure: our first walk to and around Greenlake since moving to our new location. We walked down to and around a frozen Greenlake with Nana and Grandpa! Frozen like the arctic sea ice… Grandpa kept Nana from skating out onto the ice with Lake. Grandpa is Lake’s lifeguard… quite literally!

We had a great welcome party Thursday evening. Also to celebrate mummy’s birthday. Thank you all for making it a birthday to remember! I laugh and say that having an au pair join our household and especially one as accomplished as Jo is the best birthday gift I could ask for.

Here’s looking at you Kid!

We hope you have the best time possible here in the States. And with us. And with Lake. We are honored to have you joining our quirky, imperfect, big-hearted, loyal, fun-loving, Lake-loving family. Willkommen Jo!

Auntie Margo and cousin Laura invited us out for a crisp walk in the sunshine today. Lake, Jo, and my parents discovered Discovery Park for the first time. We thought we would take in some views. It was gorgeous, and indeed refreshing! Lake and I were especially enjoying our cousin time…

We set out to show Jo a beautiful day in Seattle. We found expansive views of the water and made sure the Mountain was out. We even had fresh snow on the Olympics and a stunning sunset. I think we met our goal with success!

You know you are getting old when your birthday mostly means the dreaded mad rush for finishing your annual continuing education credit hours. Before your deadline which is always on your birthday. Each year I say next year, I’ll do a few hours a month. And I’ll submit my federal taxes in January. Hasn’t happened yet. 

At first glance it’s an unremarkable birthday; not one of the big O’s , just waking up trying to squeeze in a shower, making coffee, going in to work. 

When I pause for a moment of reflection, though, birthday blessings abound. In small and big ways today is really special. I’m so blessed with life and love. 

First thing in the morning my husband texts me… 

is my ring in the sheets ? It’s not on and it’s the only place I can think it might be. 

He’s left the house early to go in to work the early shift. It is, and seeing it there and knowing there’s a person on the other side of it fills my soul with warmth. 

There’s wisdom in getting older… the present moment speaks if you’re there to listen. 

​

​

We are thrilled that this week brings us Jo! She is currently en route from Germany and will arrive in Seattle this evening. She spent the past few days getting oriented to the States and exploring New York. Her photos she’s allowing me to share here convey a feeling of energy and excitement that I think we are all feeling in the anticipation of her arrival. We are looking forward to welcoming her!



Brrr. It’s cold out there! While Portland and Spokane are getting buried in snow we are having our share of cold wintery weather. Full moon over Seattle tonight. Crisp. Clear. Beautiful…  A handsome introduction to Lake’s hometown. Cozy room with a soft bed awaits, Jo. We hope you feel right at home. 

And plenty of kitties for cuddles!

Oh yeah, and the reason behind it all… Lake will be so happy to meet you!

At dinner recently Michael and I got to talking about one of our favorite subjects: Lake. He actually had already gone to bed. And incidentally he’s been sleeping through the night all week now… about ten hours. It’s a great feeling! So, we got to talking about how remarkably happy he is in general, which you may have noticed is all the time. 

Michael loves a scale for quantification and classification. Therefore he invented the Tolle VanLaanen Happiness Scale: for infants. Exclusion criteria are greater than 12 months and cats. It’s a 0-3 point scale. 

0: no happiness 

1: lowest 5th percentile 

2: middle 85% normal distribution 

3: highest 5th percentile 

Lake is a perfect 3.

We are so blessed!

Pajama days. Pajama daze. First it was pajama Friday, then it was pajama Sunday. Mummy has been sick. Lake’s fashion cred has taken a hit. Or has it? Maybe he’s just rocking a few new looks. He’s such a good sport. He doesn’t mind. He’s all smiles!

I just dropped Lake off at Bright Horizons at 9:30. I have the day off. I feel light. The back of me feels free. The front of me feels empty. He usually rides up front. I feel a bit adrift but guided with a long list of errands to accomplish before my son gets hungry for his mummy. I don’t feel guilty… I take this as a good sign. I have a feeling the day is going to whiz by. 

It’s such a gorgeous day. And so cold; a cold snap! I woke up smiling; I woke up early. I started puttering around the house before six o’clock, excited for my day off. The air is so cold outside that the house thermostat set at 64 won’t let the natural gas furnace catch its breath. The walls and the floors of the house begin popping, like rice crispies… snap! crackle! pop! Brrrrr!

Lake continued to sleep until eight o’clock. He slept all through the night since 9:30pm! He woke up twice but went right back to sleep on his own accord. Hibernating and cozy?! Smart lad. 

So now still I’m sans son, out doing errands and I have to say, thus far I’m not seeing the advantages. At Hardwick Hardware both employees were rude to me and gave me attitude for my straightforward request for help cutting a key. It was a bit of a shock. First because they are usually so nice and second I think I’m used to the Service Culture at my place of work which I really appreciate and a bubble of special treatment outside of my workplace due to Lake’s omnipresent cuteness. I’m sure they would have been kind if Lake would have been with me. He’s such a harbinger of joy. He’s the kittens mittens. So, what you gonna do? Shed the layers of clothes and celebrate our new IMA membership by taking a sauna! I cheated… I didn’t work out first! Just out walking errands in the cold. But that’s something I couldn’t have Lake accompanying m for, though … so carpe diem!

An hour later I leave refreshed and transformed. My toes feel warm and alive. Once again the sun is shining inside and out. Even without Lake, that place is the bees knees. I walk home smiling. 

As aforementioned, Lake has been sick for seven weeks straight now. Michael jokingly refers to it as kennel cough. Additionally Lake’s non-purulent serous eye drainage started culturing bacteria and it was finally time for antibiotic eye ointment. We want nothing more than for Lake to be fully restored to health, but it seems elusive as long as he continues to be exposed in the daycare warren-like environment. 

So, for a multitude of reasons, getting Lake out of the warren among them, we are so excited to be welcoming our new au pair next week! It has been a fortuitous luxury to have had the Bright Horizons available for Lake in the interim. There were many advantages. It has allowed for me to return to work prior to us getting our new house and the au pair bedroom sorted. It has allowed me to maximize my feeding time with Lake before, during, and after work, because right now he commutes with me. The folks at the daycare center have been very interested to care for Lake and very complimentary of his disposition. Ultimately, however, we are preferring to have Lake cared for in our home. It will be nice to have him outside of a school like setting while he is still so young. 

So enter our au pair Jo. Jo is arriving here from northern Germany next week! She heralds from near Bremen, home to the famous Grimm traveling musicians. 

Jo will be coming to spend a year with us, maybe two if we are lucky. She will be living in our home as an extended family member and caring for Lake 45 hours per week while Michael and I are out “pharming”. We consider Lake and ourselves to be very blessed to have such a talented young woman joining our family. We selected her from a plethora of online profiles among three different international au pair agencies. Pardon the analogy but it was a bit akin to online dating. After just two Skype interviews, with both trepidation and excitement we decided to both choose each other. We matched! We are feeling very good about the match and are looking forward to Jo’s arrival next Wednesday night!