John's Permanent Vacation

Montana Trip

2011-12-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to Montana! Here's the whole crew together:(Click the photo to see names of everybody.)
And more pictures:

More Bubbles

2011-11-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

Pics

2011-10-29T23:21:00.000-07:00

Better late than never, Owain's birthday:

And pumpkins!

Paint

2011-10-29T23:07:00.001-07:00

Annual Stats

2011-09-29T16:02:00.002-07:00

Today I took the boys for the first of what will now be annual well-visits with the doc. Its really so nice to only have to go in once a year for both of them now, barring illness or injury of course. And because their birthdays are only 3 weeks apart I can bring them both in at the same time, killing two birds with one stone as they say. I was curious about their height and weight since it had been so long since the last measurements. So... Owain weighs 36.6pounds and is 3'5"tall, Jimmy weighs 31pounds and is 3' flat. Seems crazy that only five pounds and five inches separate them even though they are 2 years apart. Jimmy's just a big kid I guess. They both had one shot today and were very brave. Owain sat very still and let the nurse give him the shot. He did cry afterwards but I could tell it hurt. I think the nurse was inexperienced and jabbed him too hard, but what do I know I'm just a protective mommy! We went straight out for ice cream afterward at the old Baskin-Robbins on 15th Ave. Its a miracle this place is still open, there's never any customers there and all the signage is sun-faded (for that to happen in Seattle it would have had to have seen more than 20 summers). Never the less, I love Baskin-Robbins and now so do the boys!

Happy Birthday Jimmy!

2011-09-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Cake!

2011-09-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

San Juan Photos

2011-09-01T13:43:00.001-07:00

Last year, we went to San Juan Island with my Mum. We returned this year with Mac and Mary Ellen. I've only sorted through pictures of the journey there so far. More to come...

Boys and Bubble

2011-05-24T23:35:00.001-07:00

Photos

2011-05-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

I'm still confused about when each season starts and ends. Serves me right for taking so few (presentable) photos over the last few months. Anyway, here's a very random selection from since when last time was...

Also check out the YouTube channel for a couple of new movies of boys being horrible. In case it confuses anyone, the movie of Owain spilling water is a couple of years old.

WARNING: Contains Scenes of a Shocking Nurture

2011-04-12T12:48:00.002-07:00

Photo update

2011-03-07T00:28:00.002-08:00

Not much action on the blog these days, I'm afraid. I still post to my buzz page pretty regularly. I can't determine whether Winter ends in February or March but regardless, some Winter photos.

And in case you missed them, the Christmas photos parts one, two and three.

Geek In Training

2011-02-05T20:09:00.009-08:00

First off, John recieved a special Christmas present from his brother Rob, or as we call him Uncle Barbara--long story (ok, briefly, Jimmy can't say Robert properly so it sounded like he was saying Barbara) This thing is called a Big Track and when John was little he wanted one REAL bad but Robert ended up getting one and John was jealous. Now at the ripe old age of 37 John finally recieved his Big Track. The boys got it out today and I only wish I could relay the sound it makes. I was awoken from a nap by this beast. If you can remember what the first push button phones sounded like and then amplify that X 100, you've got the sound of a Big Track. It has a keypad like a phone that you program and then it moves to your programed commands. It was sent into the bedroom to "shoot" me.

Below, we have our geek in training. Owain is becoming proficient on the laptop. He can search through You Tube videos of dinosaurs like nobodys business. Occasionally he ends up watching music videos of artists that only wish they could make it to the Eurovision Song Contest. He also has commandeered my phone and has mastered Puzzlebox. I might add that he has purchased 2 apps without me knowing. That's $6.00 I won't be seeing again.

Yesterday, Owain and I tried our hand at arts and crafts. I bought some small popsicle sticks, glue, constructions paper, etc. John took a pic of my hideous creation. And today I made sugar cookies. Hearts, circles, roosters and cows. Fun for shape enthusiasts of all types.

Sledging

2010-12-24T05:32:00.002-08:00

Snowing!

2010-12-20T12:30:00.002-08:00

We're in Wales and it's been snowing!

We met Mum at Cardiff airport on Tuesday after a predictably gruelling trip and spent the rest of the week recovering. Then she took care of the boys all weekend while Heather and I went to see friends in Guildford and London. Here is a gig I saw in London featuring friends from back here.

We're home again now and the snow just keeps falling. Here are pictures of the snow outside and here is a gallery for the whole trip which I'll be updating regularly. Owain helped decorate the tree on Sunday and is getting pretty excited about the whole thing. I only hope Father Christmas can get through all that snow...

Thanksgiving

2010-12-04T10:17:00.002-08:00

Here's a bumper crop of photos from our trip to Arizona last weekend. It was a lot of fun. We even got to leave the boys in Phoenix for a night while we lived it up in Prescott.

And yes, the blogs are pretty few and far between still. I've yet to post any Halloween pictures ... gasp! However, you can check out my buzz for frequent, often rude and always pointless snippets of randomness. (It's a bit like Twitter but prettier.) Heather sometimes does the same.

Just over a week until our holiday!!

Boring Rainy Day

2010-11-05T17:09:00.006-07:00

This is what happens around here on a rainy day. I'm no "supermom" who gets the kids out rain or shine. So instead Owain gets up to no good. Washable watercolors my ass! He will be bluegreen for a few days. Is it the weekend yet?

And Happy Birthday Owain!

2010-10-17T23:20:00.001-07:00

He's not actually three until tomorrow but his party was today.

He got lots of presents - mostly dinosaurs, of course - and a marble track. Here's a rare shot of Jimmy helping to build - and not break - Owain's creations.

Have you ever heard of a party starting at 10.30 in the morning? Well they do when you're three. Heather hired the Tumblebus on which Owain and his friends reenacted scenes from Con Air.

Heather made at least five exquisitely iced cakes yesterday. Here's one of Owain's cakes with three candles on it. Oh look, it's a dinosaur. In fact, how many dinosaur-related items can you see in this photo? I count fifteen if you don't include Owain himself.

Here's what he looked like as a hatchling.

Happy Birthday Jimmy!

2010-09-27T23:12:00.003-07:00

Jimmy turned one on Saturday. The only person who wasn't unusually excited was Jimmy himself who acts like it's his birthday every day.

These pictures were taken by Anne.

Thanks Anne! And thanks for all the pressies from everyone - even the police car with the working siren.

Here's a bunch more we took too including Owain driving race cars at a beer festival later in the day. Next up is his 3rd birthday next month. Slightly terrified by that one...

Earlier in the month, we met Heather's cousin Aunty Andria for the first time which was a blast. She's the one sat on the stool on the right - not the creepy lady staring in through the window.

And finally, Heather took the boys to the doctors today and the big news is that they got bigger and heavier. Owain is 38 inches tall and weighs 35 pounds whilst Jimmy is 31 inches tall and 25.7 pounds. I don't know what any of that is in metric but I'm sure Jimmy will have overtaken Owain by the end of the year and will soon be carrying Heather and I around.

Focus

2010-09-06T22:49:00.005-07:00

We've got a new camera! Expect a sudden surge in posts until the novelty wears off. It's got lots of extra buttons so I'm having difficulty getting good pictures out of it.

Here's the cake from my birthday last Thursday.

And the obligatory spider shot. They're not as much fun to snap as the beasties down in Arizona.

These are called web worms apparently. Horrible!

More little animals.

August

2010-08-28T18:50:00.002-07:00

It may be a month between posts these days, but we haven't stopped snapping. Here's the cream of the crop from the last few months. What a bunch of posers we all are!

While Grandma Lyn was here, we talked about the idea of spending Christmas in Wales. A few weeks ago she kindly bought us tickets so it's official: we're all piling into The Cayo for the holidays. We'll be around for several weeks so if anyone wants to come and visit, please get in touch. We probably won't get around the UK much while we're there but at the very least, I need to take Owain to the Natural History Museum where I first fell in love with dinosaurs!.

July

2010-07-29T17:41:00.006-07:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of moving into our house. It was a miserable 104 degrees and I was as big as a house myself 8 months pregnant with Jimmy. July 2010 hasn't been as remarkable but pleasant none the less. We've had an experimental fish taco dinner...

Fun in the back yard...

resulting in head to toe mud...

supper outside...

a block party, mexican style...

and a mommy contrived moment of cuteness in matching jammies.

The End. Show us what you got August.

Tub boys

2010-07-17T09:16:00.002-07:00

Look, they're both almost looking at the camera. That's probably as close as I've got.

And congratulations to my mum who as on top of Kilimanjaro a week ago! I've still no idea what she was doing there but I hope she took some good photies!

Double Bloggage

2010-07-07T12:54:00.003-07:00

Two posts in one day??? Yes, only reason being I forgot to put up this real cute picture of Jimmy.

Here Comes the Sun

2010-07-07T12:00:00.004-07:00

Today is warm, bordering on hot. Maybe summer is finally here. We've been waiting and waiting...and waiting some more for the weather to change and now that the sun is out the boys and I went outside first thing and blew up the kiddie pool and Owain immediately stripped down, "Diaper Off!!!!" and got into the freezing cold, straight out of the hose, water and stayed in for an hour. He even dunked his head!

9 Months!

2010-06-27T19:26:00.002-07:00

Our little Jimmy is now 9 months old, as of the 25th. I am flabbergasted at how quickly its gone by. He's pulling himself across the floor at lightning speed commando style (that boy CANNOT get his belly off the floor) and mimicking sounds, waving, and eating pizza for goodness sake! As you can see from the video he's very entertaining, and flexible, and kind of gross. I can't get enough of him. Happy 9 month b-day Jimmy!

San Juan

2010-06-21T10:39:00.003-07:00

We got back from San Juan yesterday evening. It was the best holiday we've had for quite a while.

We went whale watching and saw some killer whales up close.

But mostly, we chilled out at home because the house was so nice.

And there was plenty of wildlife just in the garden.

Gurns

2010-06-16T22:47:00.003-07:00

We're off to San Juan Islands tomorrow for a mini break and I'm emptying the cameras in preparation - hence two blogs in the space of an hour.

Here's me on the left and Jimmy on the right.

We don't look that similar but dental records couldn't tell us apart.

And here's Jimmy's tongue.

Magnificent, isn't it?!

Happy Snapper

2010-06-16T21:50:00.002-07:00

Owain and Jimmy took Grandma to the zoo on Saturday. Owain took this photo - his best yet...

Grandma

2010-06-11T00:01:00.002-07:00

My mum has come to visit for a fortnight to spoil her grandsons and weed our garden.

I think she used up her luggage quota on photographs. I've scanned in 176 so far and I think I'm nearly done. (Phew!) The oldest date on the back of a picture is 1916 but I'm sure a few are over a century old.

This picture of Granny Rose and two of my aunties is a lot more recent ... although honor forbids me from even hinting as to the exact year.

There was a street name on the back so I tracked it down on Google Maps and here's what it looks like today.

Note that the lamp post has been removed. Possibly, it was melted down for the war effort.

Owain's First Haircut

2010-06-06T19:38:00.003-07:00

Not the best pic ever but it does show Owain's new look. He was starting to resemble Frasier Crane during the early nineties. Yesterday since it was so nice out we decided a little barbering session was in order. I cut John's hair and then since we had the clippers handy and Owain was distracted with the electric shaver, John gave Owie a buzz.

Notice that Jimmy is eating a baby, "GET IN MY BELLY YOU DELICIOUS BABY!!!!"

"Jimmy Barmer"

2010-06-04T12:17:00.001-07:00

To translate: "Jimmy is a Farmer". That's Owain identifying Jimmy's outfit. Amazing as he's never met a farmer in his life.

Cardboard Anniversary

2010-05-18T11:06:00.006-07:00

That's right, it's three years today!

Actually, it's not really cardboard; it's leather... which is what we'd be by now if we'd stayed at the chapel for three years:

Click through the image to see why we weren't in a hurry to post our wedding photos. (This one's my favorite.) It was also Owain's -5 month birthday.

Fortunately, our sons are better developed:

Here is a selection of pictures from the last month.

Cuties

2010-04-21T10:10:00.004-07:00

A few mornings ago the boys both woke up very early (not a rare happening) and John and I wanted a little more rest so we chucked them in bed with us with their "botbots" and the portable DVD player showing "Happy Feet". Maybe we won't win any parenting awards for that one but it bought us 20 more minutes in bed and some cute pics!

Jimmy's New Trick

2010-04-11T16:11:00.002-07:00

This is Jimmy's favorite thing to do lately and he does it with gusto!

P Robert

2010-04-09T11:55:00.004-07:00

I've no idea what the 'P' stands for but this is the name Owain uses to refer to his Uncle Rob. Rob flew over to visit a couple of weeks ago and we met him on our way home from Arizona.

He was an instant hit with the boys - mostly because he turned up with a ready supply of dinosaurs. He also did his share of babysitting on the evenings when he wasn't terrorizing Ballard's bar staff.

When Heather flew out to see Jim, Owain kept saying: "Mummy plane? Mummy plane?" Well since Rob caught the Amtrak back to LA on Wednesday, it's all about: "P Robert train?"

Apparently, he didn't sleep the whole journey because a fat guy kept falling asleep on him but he managed to take some pictures along the way.

He flies home tonight. Come back soon, P Robert!

Here are some photos which also include Owain's first Easter egg hunt.

20100407 Uncle P Robert Visits for Easter

And here are some older photos of Owain expressing his deep love for prehistoric animals.

Obituary: James Walter Clark

2010-04-01T09:55:00.002-07:00

Better late than never, I thought I'd link to Jim's Obituary in the local paper.

Here it is reproduced for posterity:

James Walter Clark, age 73, passed away on March 19, 2010 in Prescott, Ariz. at the VA Hospital. He was born on Aug. 21, 1936 in Alton, Ill.

Jim graduated from Marquette High School and later earned his Master of Social Work degree Summa Cum Laude in 1986 from Arizona State University. He had a successful career in the U.S. Navy from 1954 until retirement in 1983. From 1987 to 2008 Jim was a social worker at the VA Hospital in Prescott.

During his long Naval career, Jim received the Seventh Good Conduct award the National Defense Service medal, Vietnam Service medal (2 stars), Vietnam Campaign medal, and the Antarctic Service medal. In his youth, Jim participated in dramatics and held many lead roles in school plays. He was artistic in many ways. He enjoyed painting and more recently, interior design. He was an avid runner and completed at least two marathons. Much of his time was devoted to the work he loved at the VA. He touched countless lives as a social worker there for the past 21 years. One could arguably say that the most important thing in Jim's life was his stepson, Daniel, with whom he shared a close bond and lived with and cared for until his recent illness prevented it. Jim will be greatly missed.

Jim is survived by his stepdaughter, Heather McFarlane; stepson, Daniel McMakin; grandsons, Owain and James McFarlane; and sister, Joanne Clark. He joins his wife, Jane Clark who passed in 1991.

There will be a service for Jim at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at the VA Chapel in Prescott, Ariz. Following the service will be a Celebration of Life gathering at his home. The family would like to thank the staff at the VA Medical Center for their extraordinary care of Jim and their ceaseless support of Jim's loved ones.

Hampton Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements. Please visit www.hamptonfuneralhome.com to sign Jim's guestbook.

Jim's Service

2010-03-22T22:07:00.002-07:00

Just a quick note to mention that Jim's service will be in the chapel at the VA in Prescott at 1pm this Saturday afternoon. Later on, there will be a get-together back at the house.

Grandpa Jim

2010-03-19T17:43:00.002-07:00

Heather's step-dad, James Clark, passed away at 4pm today at the VA Medical Center in Prescott. This followed a long illness that ultimate started when he fell from his ladder and was admitted to hospital last year.

H is naturally very upset but bearing up. She and baby Jimmy flew over on Wednesday. Owain and I will be joining them soon. No news about the funeral yet. I'll post more info when I get it.

Here are some snaps of Jim from the times that Heather took me to visit him in Prescott.

Painting is Fun

2010-03-10T08:22:00.002-08:00

Lately Owain likes to get out the watercolors once or twice a day and sometimes mom and dad have to join in. My paintings mostly consist of rainbows and dinosaurs (at Owain's request). John did a self portrait. Frighteningly accurate wouldn't you say? Seeing this laying out on the table was like finding a prize, a prize that makes me laugh EVERY time I see it.

Like Mother Like Son

2010-02-27T10:11:00.003-08:00

My Aunt found this old picture of my mom holding me when I was about as old as Jimmy is now and was nice enough to scan it and send it to me. I was really struck by how similar we look as babies. I was also struck by my mother's "shady lady" glasses and daisy couch. That mug on the armrest is still in the cupboard back in Prescott.

Rugby on my telly!

2010-02-05T10:15:00.001-08:00

Oh happy days!

http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/394/match-schedule.jsp

Cry It Out Part Deux

2010-01-25T20:47:00.007-08:00

Now it's Jimmy's turn to cry it out at night. We've been at it since Friday 01/22. It's going pretty well. Tonight he only cried for 15 minutes. Unfortunately he doesn't stay asleep for very long. I think that will happen in time like it did with Owain. I feel that this is a pretty big milestone. It's something I've been looking forward to yet dreading at the same time.

It means that John and I get a couple of hours to ourselves at night but it also means my little tiny baby isn't so tiny anymore and time is going by so fast. Before I know it he'll be crawling, walking and talking and then he'll be a grumpy demanding toddler.

The weather has been great for a week now. Owain and Daddy got to play out on the playset this weekend.

Oooooolala, Owain prancing around in my shoes.

Owie had the stomach flu 2 weeks ago and puked all over the carseat, the car and himself. I cleaned up most of it but John got the pleasure of completely taking apart the carseat and washing it putting it all back together again. Owain had to test it out in the kitchen to make sure the straps were adjusted properly.

Owain really likes his little bro.

Phones and Viruses

2010-01-10T00:26:00.004-08:00

Last week, I upgraded my phone, which is to say I got a new phone despite my old one working perfectly well. It had a typically cruddy phone camera which frequently came in handy when Heather's proper camera wasn't to hand. Here's some of the best of the crop of pictures I backed up from it today.

Its successor is a fangled new Google phone which renders most of the items in my living room, kitchen and garden shed obsolete. It can inform Heather as to my exact location at any time of day which means I'll be needing to leave it in the office when I go out drinking after work every night. Then I'll need the old one to say I've 'missed the bus'. Why do relationships and modern technology have to be so complicated?

Owain came down with stomach flu yesterday and we've since been fighting a war on two fronts, so to speak. He's hardly eating anything and is mostly on the water so he'll probably be famished come the morning. He seems pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. I wish I was two whenever I got ill.

Christmas Photos

2010-01-08T23:25:00.003-08:00

Happy New Year! Here are some photos!

Jimmie/Jimmy! (I think I may have to run another poll on that one.)

Christmas!

Didn't get enough Dickens in your stocking? Then catch this chance to hear his lesser-known classic, Bleak Expectations.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T21:36:00.006-08:00

Christmas has come around so fast this year it seems like I barely had a chance to blink after Thanksgiving and tonight is Christmas Eve. This is the first time in quite a while that I did not send out Christmas cards. I was sad not to do it but our numerous photo shoots didn't produce my dream photo to put in the cards ( I know I'm ridiculous, I have been told MANY times). Next year we'll go to a pro. We have been flooded with cards and presents, so many that I haven't been able to keep track. I'd like to thank everyone who sent all the lovely pressies for the boys. It's wonderful to recieve packages and it makes us feel closer to family and friends who are thousands of miles away.

This evening was spent over at Thao and Robert's house, along with Thao's parents and a bunch of PEPS families. We ate a feast and we actually played a game even with all the kids there. It's nearly 10pm now and John and I are just about to put our Santa caps on and stuff stockings.

11:30 now and Santa's been and gone. He had his tipple of Welsh whiskey and a couple custard creams. I can't wait to see Owain's reaction to Christmas morning. To all of our loved ones we wish you love and peace and a super fun holiday!

Here Comes Crimbo!

2009-12-24T08:12:00.002-08:00

We've not taken enough Jimmy photos so there are a bunch in with this lot:

Frankly, Owain just gets to be more and more fun and spends his days entertaining his poor, exhausted mother. I really must cobble some more video footage together. In the meantime, raw and uncut, here are the boys! Doing nothing much! For six minutes!

Exhibit A

2009-12-15T23:08:00.001-08:00

Backyard Brawl

2009-11-26T12:20:00.002-08:00

And here it is: my first proper movie...

(No babies were hurt in the making of this movie.)

November

2009-11-25T22:31:00.002-08:00

As promised, I've put together some photos from November.

Nothing very exciting has happened here recently. Our basement got a bit wet from the rainstorms, which has hopefully solved the ant problem for us. Heather put some curtains up - but of course you heard about that on the evening news.

We did go to Snoqualmie to visit one of H's Peps ladies. Then we checked out the local waterfall.

Here is Owain getting very excited by pictures of animals...

Right, that should be enough for now. Heather is baking furiously for tomorrow so I'm going to have a play with iMovie and see if I can't edit together some good footage of Owain being a git. In the meantime, here's some uncut gittage to keep you going...

Planets

2009-11-25T13:31:00.004-08:00

Disclaimer: A regular post full of baby photos and idle chit-chat will follow shortly. In the meantime...

Here's a rather rough-and-ready movie of my current pet project - a planet generator. It works by elaborating on the features that are close to the camera, giving the illusion that a whole world is being drawn in high detail.

It needs quite a hefty re-write before I can take it to the next level so I thought I'd rush out this movie first. Next step: ease up on the green.

Videos

2009-11-09T21:19:00.002-08:00

Birth Story

2009-10-24T22:32:00.005-07:00

Since little Jimmy is now a month old I figure I better get my story up on the blog. If anyone reading is squeamish about "lady business" here is your fair warning. I've decided not to censor myself so there's a little bit of a gross factor and its really long. As many of you know my labor with Owain was a nightmarish experience at the Desert Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. I was induced due to low amniotic fluid and it took nearly 4 days for me to have him. Because of this I decided that our next child would be born at home with a midwife in attendance. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant with Jimmy I got some recommendations from friends for midwifes that attend homebirths in Seattle. I met with Cindie Brown first and felt that she would be just the kind of person who would be the right mix of capable midwife but also had a hands off approach to labor and delivery. As my pregnancy progressed I met all the midwives in the practice and settled on Mel Parsons, who was a bit younger than Cindie and also a little more conservative. Fast forward to my due date of 9/12/09, I was rather LARGE and so uncomfortable. John and Owain had been in Wales for a week to attend John's dad's funeral and got back on the 10th. I had been hoping to be able to mentally block labor from starting, little did I know that I would have plenty of time left!

When we found out that Ian passed away it was truly shocking and very very sad. I did not get to spend much time with him. We had a few visits when we still lived in England and after we moved we went over once and Ian and Lyn came over last Thanksgiving. He was both a charming and infuriating father-in-law. He was one of the only people who ever expressed interest in talking to me about anthropology and he loved to debate any topic with me. At the same time he was incredibly gracious, complimenting me on my cooking and made me feel like a successful mother and wife. I am missing him and regret that he was not able to meet his new grandson. During the time that John was away I got to thinking about what to name the baby. It was John's turn to pick the middle name and he had somewhat settled on Zefram before he left. I was thinking about using John's dad's name, we decided that James Ian McFarlane, while sounding good, wouldn't be quite right since the initials would be JIM, so we decided to use Douglas, Ian's middle name. Once again the star trek fans lose out :)

The days went by slowly after my due date. I had a couple of visits to the midwife who assured me that just because I was going past my due date didn't mean I would have to deliver in the hospital. I wavered between being relaxed and confident to being completely panicked. Lyn arrived on the 14th, probably expecting me to go into labor any second. Even after suffering a huge loss Lyn was such a joy to have in our house. She took care of Owain, cleaned, and fed me (no small feat), and made me laugh. During the second week of her visit I started getting acupuncture and acupressure. I also went for a prenatal massage, hoping to get relaxed enough to get things started. On Wednesday the 23rd of Sept I went in for an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid levels. I was so nervous as this was the reason that Owain was induced. Thankfully the fluid levels were well into the safe range. During the scan the technician said she could see that the baby had hair. For some reason this was so exciting to me, I guess because Owain was such a baldie. I just got so happy after hearing that. I know its silly but I actually believe that finding out that this baby had hair made me want to meet him. My whole mood changed after that. When I woke up the next morning I had a distinct feeling that something was going to happen that day and also that I needed to try the old tried and true castor oil labor starter. It was a busy day with lots of phone calls and visitors. My friends Anne and Kristen were coming over. I was a little bit nervous to take the castor oil and thought if I was around my girlfriends it wouldn't be so scary. I asked Kristen to pick some up on her way over. Anne brought some baking soda, as this is part of the recipe of the evil concoction recommended in one of my labor and childbirth books. I mixed 1/4 cup castor oil with 1/4 cup orange juice and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Down the hatch at 3:00pm! It was DISGUSTING to say the least. I immediately felt gross and nauseated. The bathroom trips started at 4:30 and contractions at 6:30. I called John to come home early and help me put Owain to bed and thankfully he was already on the bus. He got home and put Owie down and we sat down to have dinner. During dinner contractions became a little more painful, to the point where Lyn asked if I felt like these were different than the ones I'd been having. I said yes and we all decided it would be a good idea to call Mel before it got late and give her the heads up that something was happening. This was at 8:15, She told me to wait one hour and if the contractions were still happening call for the birth tub. One hour later things were still happening so we paged for the tub. I believe around this time I called Anne who had gone back home in the afternoon. She was here before the tub arrived, it took a long time for them to get here. I phoned Thao and Nan, who are friends that I had arranged to be here for the birth, and I started trying to get my supplies together. In my fantasies of how my labor would go I thought I would be baking a birthday cake for the baby while I was in early labor but that was impossible with all the running around trying to get things organized, I also thought I would take a shower and shave my legs and curl my hair HAHAHAH! I ended up trying to watch TiVoed episodes of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Nan arrived at about 11pm and Thao at about 11:30. John and Anne had to reset the hot water heater in the basement to get the temp up so the pool could be filled. While the pool was filling and after all the supplies had been set up John and I decided to lay down for a while and get some rest per the instructions from the midwife. I was able to lay in bed for about an hour I think and I realized that I was moaning with every contraction and keeping John awake so I came out to the living room and hung out with Nan and Thao. I got into the pool sometime past midnight I think and didn't stay in all that long because it was too hot and I was worried that it was slowing down my labor. I got out and into my robe and we all settled down in the living room and started to watch Zoolander. I was getting pretty tired so I reclined in my fab new chair and tried to snooze between contractions. At about 4:30 I was way too uncomfortable to be in that chair anymore so I got up and went to the bathroom. Lo and behold bloody show. I got excited because now I could really believe that this was it and I went into labor on my own! I got back in the tub where I stayed for nearly 8 hours. Nan and Thao took really good care of me. They timed the contractions, fed me and made sure I kept drinking water and recharge (an energy drink). Lyn got up throughout the night to lend a hand and provide encouragement. At 6:45 Owain woke up. Thao got his bottle ready and Nan got him into his swim diaper and he got in the pool with me. He was so cute playing in there and dunking his head under. He didn't get freaked out at all during my loud vocalizing during contractions and I really didn't mind him being there. John woke up right around then and began to help and comfort me through the contractions. Lyn took Owain over to Anne's house. Looking back at the Contraction Master website my contractions got a lot more intense and longer between 5 and 8am. We called Mel at 8:30am and she said she'd be there in an hour and a half. I felt that things were getting very difficult at this point. I still had between 5-6 minutes between contractions but they were so strong and I was totally exhausted in between. I threw up sometime before Mel got there and was hopeful that I was nearing transition. Boy was I wrong. Mel arrived and I was screaming and crying a lot. She told me to try and moan in a lower tone to help manage the pain and open up. I gave it a shot but was still making a bloody racket.

At around 11:30, when I was getting pretty pruny from being in the tub for so long Mel suggested that I get out and go to the bathroom. After some hemming and hawing I agreed and got out. The change in position triggered a sudden contraction that caught me off guard. Thank god John was there in front of me so I could just fall onto him and hang on for dear life. I made it to the toilet and WOW it hurt real bad to sit there. I believe I said something like get me the hell off this toilet! The order of events are hazy now but I think I went back in the tub for a short while and then got out again and went to the bedroom. Once on the bed things got nuts pain wise. I puked a few times and started to feel like pushing but Mel wasn't sure I was ready to really push so I had to try and breathe through it as much as I could. I think I was on the bed doing this for almost three hours. Anne came over at this time and asked if she could come in. I was so glad she was there. Seeing a fresh face gave me a renewed energy, plus she started giving me counter pressure on my lower back which was really helpful. It was during those hours on the bed that I really realized what birthing babies was all about. I was so connected to the women there. My friend Thao, who had been supportive of me wanting a homebirth ever since I told her about it became more than a friend in those moments. There was a contraction that was so rough and so long the only thing that got me through it was her voice, her hand holding mine, her presence there. I was surrounded by my team and they really worked as a team. I was the most vulnerable I've ever been in my life there naked writhing in pain but I never felt alone. I did say and think all kinds of crazy things though. I remember thinking that it was so unfair that women had to go through all this to have a baby and why was so much pain necessary? Looking back now I realize that there was some sense to the pain and there was also fairness. When I would have an awful contraction I would get a nice long break before the next one, sometimes ten minutes or more.

Mel started to plant the idea in my mind that I needed to get up and let gravity help me out and that I should try to pee because maybe a full bladder was blocking the way. I really didn't want to get up, as with any position change I knew it would bring a cluster of contractions but eventually I got my head around the idea and stood up. I ended up peeing right on the floor (on a towel on top of plastic :) ) I had some contractions while standing and swaying, then I took a few steps to head down the hall and back to the tub and all of a sudden I could feel burning and I knew he was on his way. I yelled out "he's coming NOW!" and everyone said "get to the tub!" I waddled really fast down the hall and got into the tub. I told John he should get in too so he went and got his swim trunks on super fast and jumped in. It took a minute before I had another pushing contraction. I remember telling Mel that I wasn't pushing as hard as I could and she said that's good you should do what feels right. So I halfheartedly pushed though another one and then on the third try I reached down and could feel his head coming out. I cannot tell you how incredible this was. I had full control at this point and was able to go pretty slow. Something in my brain just clicked and I decided that I was ready for him to be born so I went for it and the rest of his head came out and his body shot right out after. I reached down and scooped him out of the water. After a couple of seconds he gave a little cry and just snuggled up to me. He was born completely in his bag of waters. Mel later told me that she pulled the bag apart at his face because she was a little weirded out about him being born with his bag intact and also in the water. He was covered in vernix which felt so sticky to me and somewhat unpleasant but somehow I didn't mind it too much. John and I just looked at him and cuddled him for a while.

I felt the contractions again and Mel said I could try to push the placenta out any time. I pushed and thought I had delivered it but unfortunately it was a giant blood clot and they just kept coming. The water got darker and darker and before long I couldn't see my hands under the water. Mel gave me a shot of pitocin in my leg but I just kept on bleeding. I started to feel really weak and dizzy. They set up towels and chux pads on the floor and I crawled out of the tub and laid down with my feet up with Anne's help. Mel tried to get an iv in but couldn't find a vein. I was frustrated at her because I knew as soon as I got some fluids in me I would feel better. My ears were ringing so loudly and every time she would pick up my hand looking for a vein it would be flopping around because I had no strength left whatsoever. Mel asked Jen, her assistant to do the iv. I was worried at this point because Jen had trouble just taking blood from me during an office visit! Jen was determined however and got the iv in on the first try. It made my hand and arm cold as the saline started flowing in. Soon I was feeling a lot better. After a little bit Thao brought Jimmy over to nurse, just having him near me seemed to make me stronger. I finally felt like I had enough power to deliver the placenta. I put all my effort into it and out it came. It was ginormous! Mel said it was the biggest one she'd ever seen. I guess that's why it took so long to detach (over an hour). I laid there for what seemed like a long time while everyone marveled over the placenta which looking back now is really comical to me. Finally it was time to get up and have a shower. I got up and even being held up couldn't make it to the bathroom so I laid down again in the hallway, legs up again, thanks Anne! My ear were ringing again and when I spoke it sounded like I was talking into a tin can. Eventually the yucky feeling passed and I was able to crawl to the bathtub and get cleaned up. While in the tub I talked with Mel for a while and then called Kristen to tell her the Jimmy was finally here. Anne brought him in and some photos were taken. I then crawled to the bed and got in to snuggle with John and Jimmy. Eventually I was strong enough to go back to the bathroom and pee and brush my teeth and take out my contacts. I went back to bed and Thao fed me the Chinese take out that John ordered YUM and Jimmy got his newborn exam right there on our bed. That is when I found out he weighed 9lbs 7oz I was shocked at what a big boy he is. I was not expecting that one bit. Everything got cleaned up and laundry was started. Mel finished up her paperwork and one by one people began to leave. Thao called for the tub people to come and pick it up. Lyn and Owain came home around 6:45. Owain came in to meet his little brother it was a magical moment for me and went so well. Owain has been an absolute star with Jimmy. He is gentle and loving and very interested in him. I know there may be trouble down the road but I am truly enjoying the precious moments when they interact.

Since the birth I've had some time to reflect on the whole experience and some things stick out to me. I never had a vaginal exam during my labor to determine how dilated I was. I think this was a good thing for me as I would have been distracted by the knowledge and possibly discouraged that I wasn't as far along as I thought I should be. I also thought that Jimmy was going to be smaller than Owain. When Jimmy was crowning, if I had known that he was going to be over 9 pounds I think I would have been really scared to push him out and may not have relished it so much or I might have rushed it and done myself an injury, as it was I did not tear at all. Jimmy's birth changed me and healed the mental wounds I had from Owain's birth. I hope that homebirth is legalized in all the states soon and that health insurance companies will wake up and start covering midwife assisted homebirths.

Birthday Boys!

2009-10-20T19:59:00.002-07:00

Here are some pictures from Sunday when Owain turned two and Isaiah turned 2 364/365ths. Heather made cup-cakes and then we went to the aquarium. It was nice.

Teeth

2009-10-17T04:00:00.002-07:00

Kristi and Isaiah have come to visit. Owain and Isaiah get on really well and keep having high-pitched screaming matches which is delightful. Owain turns two tomorrow and Isaiah has his birthday before he leaves as well so we'll probably have a bit of a party.

Jimmy is a bit snotty at the moment but still getting chubby. He can lift his head up briefly but this comes a distant fourth after sleeping, eating and burping.

And I got an infected gum and had all my wisdom teeth removed! Here's me with my ice pack on. Click the photo for a picture of my bloody souvenirs.

Suffice to say, I didn't start back at work this week.

Whee!

2009-10-10T22:51:00.002-07:00

Owain is two in a week and he's got lots of pressies already but nothing's going to top the playset he got from Grandpa Jim. Friends of ours brought their drills and ladders and children round first this this morning and put the whole thing up in about half a day.

From Making Owain's Playset

James is doing well and starting to be properly cute now. I've taken lots and lots of baby photos. Here's are a few...

Baby House

2009-09-29T11:45:00.002-07:00

Grandma Lyn (that's my Mum for those of you who are getting confused by all the motherhood) caught the plane back home yesterday. The house is a little too empty today. (I had to cook my own breakfast this morning which was quite traumatic.)

James is getting more used to life in thin air. We went to a restaurant to have a goodbye meal and he slept from the time we put him in his new car seat to the time we took him out again back at home.

Owain is being as good as we ever could have hoped. There are no signs of jealousy (yet) but plenty of curiosity and affection.

In preparation for the upheaval, Heather bought Owie a new car track toy. I let him play for it for a few days before even inserting batteries. He's pretty chuffed ...

Heather is still writing about the birth. Expect an epic masterpiece any day now. No pressure, or anything. Heh.

Day Two in the Big Brother House

2009-09-26T14:30:00.002-07:00

As I sit down to write, James has turned 1 day!

From James Douglas McFarlane

Right now, he's lying on the couch next to me breathing quietly. Heather is pottering around, trying to find her feed and make herself presentable. Lyn has taken Owain for a walk.

Heather is going to put aside some time to write an account of the whole ordeal soon. In the meantime, this is all the facts, figures and records for those of us who view life as an excuse to geek out to statistics and showcase multimedia technology. Lets begins with the stats.

DOB: 2009/09/25 14:31PST
Weight: 9lb 7oz!
Chest: 13.75"
Head: 14.5"
Length: 21.5"

From James Douglas McFarlane

Here's a movie of the n00b. This is the first time I've cut the sound out of a video. You do not want to know why.

And here is Owain meeting his bro.

And finally, the Heather-sanctioned photo album - a tiny fraction of the full gory story!

James Douglas McFarlane

2009-09-25T15:51:00.002-07:00

2009/09/25 14:31. No weight yet. They do things differently at home.

He was born in the birthing tub and was in his mother's arms straight away. Both are well although Heather lost a lot of blood due to an enormous placenta. (Photo available on request.)

She needed a drip and a mask but is now as cheerful as she's been all day.

Tub Time

2009-09-25T08:42:00.002-07:00

Heather was up all night having contractions. She's in the pool now. Contractions are every six minutes and getting more intense.

Grandma Lyn took Owie over to Ann's house a while ago.
Stay tuned!

Birthing Pool

2009-09-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

Contraction Action

2009-09-24T20:45:00.001-07:00

Heather drank some Castor oil and now she keeps getting contractions. Just so you know. It could all stop again but for now they're very frequent and 'very' uncomfortable.

Er, that's it for now!

(Incidentally, you could try to subscribe to this blog so that you get notified when there are new posts - instead of having to check back continuously. What happens when you click that link will depend on what browser/email you use.)

Baby News

2009-09-22T21:12:00.002-07:00

Psyche! There is none. As of today I'm 10 days past my estimated due date. The midwives have decided that I just like to cook'em a long time. Some consolation! I must admit that I'm am not dealing with the waiting all that gracefully. I'm a wreck and totally sick of being pregnant! Today I had an acupuncture induction and a prenatal massage and got all the "go into labor" pressure points pressed. I suppose if you're going to go post dates this is the way to do it. All that pampering was very relaxing today and I'm feeling like I can go on a while longer. I don't think I could have managed any of this for one second without John's mom Lyn here. I'm sure will protest and be embarrassed that I'm gushing but she has really taken a weight off my shoulders this past week. She and Owain have developed quite a bond. She's even had to change dirty diapers which I vowed that the grandparents would never have to do! Perhaps one of the nicest things is just having someone to talk to during the day (and not to mention
AMAZING dinners cooked every night). That is all for now, there will be updates soon!

Live-in Nanny

2009-09-17T13:22:00.003-07:00

No, the neonate is still hiding.

Grandma McFarlane arrived on Monday and has been cooking and dishing out G&Ts for most of the time since then. Here are some pictures from her camera including Owain in Wales being very bad at the dinner table.

From 20090916 Lyns Camera

Back in Ballard

2009-09-12T07:06:00.007-07:00

Quite a bit to tell since last post. The funeral went OK. I had to do my eulogy whilst holding Owain who spent the service throwing plastic animals around. Outside, Dad was almost buried with two sheep and a horsie.

The remainder of the trip was a bit more relaxed

From 20090909 The Cayo

which was a good thing because the flight home was tough for the boy. He was very good overall and even let me watch some movies over the Atlantic. I've been meaning to see Moon since it came out, but not really for fun, so I was pleasantly surprised at how watchable it was. The latest Terminator - on the other hand - should have been sub-titled: 'Metal vs Wood'. I suspect that Christian Bale was told not to outdo Arnie's delivery.

No new baby yet. Today is the due date and there's little sign of an appearance so far. To paraphrase Heather: a watched pot belly never boils...

Home

2009-09-05T04:01:00.002-07:00

Some photos of the trip so far. Don't really have time to write as I'm looking after Owie and it turns out that Heather was right: it's actually quite hard. Who knew?

Change of Plan

2009-08-31T16:27:00.002-07:00

My Dad, Ian, died on Sunday morning. He was an avid collector of heart conditions and he finally acquired the full set.

Suffice to say, Mum did not arrive today. She has postponed her trip for a fortnight. Owian and I might make it over for the funeral next week but the new baby is due on the 12th so it's all a bit touch and go.

Thanks to everyone who's got in touch already to send their regards. It's sad that he won't be meeting the next little McFarlane - especially after he got on so well with grandson#1:

At least he got to see England win The Ashes this year.

Rome wasn't build in a day...

2009-08-28T15:36:00.004-07:00

...and when it was, they couldn't balance an elephant on top of it.

Yes, I've finally managed to upload the contents of the camera and this is the result.

With a tight budget and an even tighter husband, Heather has taken to scouring craigslist and consignment stores. She's even ended her moratorium on garage sales. Here's some of the furniture that's 'new to us':

and hence Owain's new-found interest in dinosaurs and Lego:

My mum will be arriving on Monday evening to help out when the baby arrives. We bought her a bed to sleep on and are planning our trip to the liquor store. So far, there are two alarm clock radios in her bedroom. Don't ask why. With two babies in the house, I doubt they'll come in very hand. And radios here don't even play Radio 4 which makes them almost entirely useless - especially when there's a brand new series of That Michell and Webb Sound to listen to.

Settling In

2009-08-09T23:02:00.002-07:00

Not much to report on account of refusing to become a house bore. But got some great pictures of the boy today so had to do an upload.

20090800 New House

Heather is spending what little money we have left on furniture to turn our big spacious living area into an obstacle course. We went to Ikea last weekend to get baby a new high chair and spent $200 and forgot the high chair. Damn you retail-savy Swedes!

And we have ants squatting in our kitchen. The ants here are social little fellas unlike the fire ants they have in Arizona. But alas, I am charged with their eviction by order of the landlady. Talcum powder, vinegar and a kettle of boiling water. Poor guys.

BTW, you're all invited to come and visit. BYOB (bring your own bed).

Moved

2009-07-31T13:06:00.003-07:00

We are now in our new house Hooray! We moved on Wednesday July 29 which just happened to be the hottest day EVER IN SEATTLE. That made things interesting but the move still proceeded smoothly. Now its all about the unpacking and me trying to not go out and buy all new furniture. Combining the nesting instinct of late third trimester pregnancy and moving is highly dangerous to the budget. I have already fitted the bathroom with new fixtures. Last night I was drilling holes in the walls wearing my sunglasses as safety goggles. I love being a homeowner!

New House!

2009-07-26T12:24:00.010-07:00

We officially own a house now! Or, we are officially in serious debt now! On Friday the closing papers were recorded and the title was transferred into our name. We just had the oak floors in the living and dining room refinished and we move in on Wednesday. I can't tell you haw excited we are, especially myself as this has been a dream of mine for a long time. Finally a back yard for Owain and his soon to be little brother to run around in. Here are some pictures of our new digs.

PEPS Baby Shower + Randomness

2009-07-15T11:21:00.008-07:00

On Sunday July 12 we had a baby shower for all the pregos in our PEPS group. Diana threw it at her house and it was such fun! We played a few games which brought out my competitive nature as Kristen can attest to. My worst moment came during a game where we each had a clothespin clipped to our shirt and whenever we caught someone saying the word "baby" we could take their pin. At the end of the shower the winner has the most pins. We were all sitting around the room chatting when I overheard Kristen say something about a babysitter and without really thinking about it I lunged out of my seat and hurled my giant pregnant body in her general direction. I nearly fell on top of her (she is pregnant as well). I ripped the pin off her shirt and gave a big "woo hoo!" in victory. Now the moment replays in slow momtion in my mind. How embarassing! That aside, the shower was a great success. Every member of our group attended.

Teresa due 7/24-Jill due 10/14-Kristen due 9/27-and me due 9/12

Kristen and Teresa

Cari and Thao

Owain at the Pacific Science Center last weekend

Owain just delivered by Amazon Fresh

John in the middle of a transitional shave

Hot Here Too

2009-07-05T21:52:00.003-07:00

Quick roundup. Sorry, no pictures. But here's a map:

View Larger Map

This was my first proper journey cycling with the baby, going to the wading pool (paddling pool) at Green Lake Park on Saturday. He spent a couple of hours splashing around and stealing toys from all the other children and has a whale of a time.

One bizarre thing I discovered when I got to the park was the path circling the lake: for cyclists, it's one-way only! To begin with, I couldn't understand the signs, which basically say: "you can't go on the left and the right is for walkers only". After getting enough dirty looks (and not prepared to go almost three miles out of my way for such a short stretch), I tried to find another route. All I could find was a thin, gravel track next to a busy dual carriageway which was pretty scary all round.

The house hunting is going pretty well... or so Heather informs me. It looks like we've settled on a price for a place but I won't jinx things by going into detail. All I'll say is that the reason I overshot on the journey home from the lake was to ride by and take another look.

Last Sunday and again today, the boy and I went for swimming lessons nearby. He's pretty cool about being held in the water and likes to splash around and play with all the toys. Sometimes he gets panicked and clings to me like a baby monkey. The first thing he needs to learn is to blow bubbles in the water. At the moment, he just drinks it instead. Between this new-found love of the chlorine and his constant attempts to nab my beer, I'm starting to suspect that he's destined to be the father jack of the family.

Father's Day '09

2009-06-22T22:36:00.002-07:00

Every Sunday morning, the child and I are left alone without adult supervision while Heather does her pottery thing. She's started bringing pieces home. I can't wait to put them all together to see what she's made.

But enough about Mummy. Here's the sort of thing us lads get up to while we've got the house to ourselves. Gross alert!

(Here are some more vids and pics.)

This year, Heather bought me a bicycle trailer! Now I can cart the boy around on weekends. (Better stop riding like Barry Sheene.)

Posting Under Duress

2009-05-31T21:09:00.004-07:00

I have a new laptop now so I apparently have no excuse not to blog. The laptop is blue, tiny and super cute plus it has all its keys and a non smashed screen! We've been doing a lot lately and not writing about it so after a while it just becomes a blur. Memorial Day weekend was highly enjoyable with a trip to the zoo and the beach. Owain loves elephants and tries to imitate an elephant trumpeting noise that John makes. It basically sounds like he's blowing raspberries. Very cute! The beach was great, we got there nice and early before the crowds so we nabbed the perfect parking spot and put our towels down close to the hot dog stand. John and Owain went into the water and Owain enjoyed himself tremendously. John and I ended up with sunburns but Owie was fine, of course he wore sunblock and a hat. Funny how we don't give ourselves the same kind of attention. This weekend we had a fairly low key time, just a little shopping at University Village and John took Owain to the park and coffee shop while I was at my pottery class. Yes, that right pottery class, everybody's gettin' ashtrays for Christmas.

memorial weekend etc

Here are the pictures we've taken in the last month or so.

Why I Oughta

2009-05-18T21:11:00.004-07:00

The child is getting to be a handful. He loves to play catch, which is to say I can reliably bounce a ball off his head. It's twice the size he is but he manages to throw it pretty well. Unfortunately, he doesn't know what he can and cannot throw ... and where.

Today, Heather phoned me in tears to tell on him. He'd chucked the TiVo remote control at her laptop and broken the screen. I had to sound concerned for the laptop but frankly, it's the remote I feel sorry for. Only yesterday it got its first bath.

Well, the computer's mine to do with as I will now. It's already missing seven keys and the webcam packed in years ago. However, I think it can still serve a useful life as a music player / video phone so I'm going to nurse it back to health. I've plugged it into the TV, downloaded the Ubuntu installation CD and put a copy of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in its DVD player to cheer it up.

It's two years today since we were married!

It actually seems longer than that, but in a good way.

As a special treat, Heather's friends looked after Owain 'John Connor' McFarlane while we had diner at the local Indian Restaurant.

Words

2009-05-16T07:45:00.002-07:00

Week before last Owain was sleeping really well, taking 3 hour naps and sleeping in until 7:45am (well, that happened once). It got me thinking that maybe some new development was on the horizon and sure enough this week he has said a few new words! Seems like the whole talking thing is taking a really long time. I thought as soon as he turned a year old the language would just flow. It is the case with some kids but Owie is more of a mover than a talker. His words to date are George, as in Curious, botbot (bottle), water, car, bubble, Dada. Notice no "mama" Hmmmm...

XY

2009-04-29T21:54:00.003-07:00

Heather's scan on Friday revealed a healthy-looking baby boy, so no need for any new clothes. I'm trying to calm her fears about rearing two boisterous hooligans - mostly by lying about my own childhood growing up with my bro.

On Saturday morning, Heather had to go to hospital because of gallstones. These she probably got because of being pregnant. Fortunately they went away of their own accord but were extremely painful for a while.

By the evening, she was right as rain and we went out with some friens to see Carrie Fisher's show, Wishful Drinking. It was quite an education. For instance, did you know she was married to Paul Simon? And did you know that there is no underwear in space? (Actually I knew that already from watching Moonraker.)

Now that we know it's a boy, Jeff has already suggested that I bring back the baby name poll from last time around. But I'm worried about what might happen. We might end up with a second Owain. Worse still, he could end up being called Colbert McFarlane.

Take Your Owain To Work Day

2009-04-24T12:46:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was Heather's favorite day of the year.

I get to look after the boy until three and she goes shopping. The baby had a fine old time. So many corridors to wander through!

This afternoon Heather gets an ultrasonic super-scan on the weenie-locator. Then we get to argue about names for four months. Hooray!

Lee and Becky

2009-04-18T17:06:00.002-07:00

Our friends from Brighton, Lee and Becky are in the Pacific North West.

You might remember them from the party in Wales last year.

On Saturday, we went on the Duck Tour which mostly served to remind me how little we've explored Seattle since we got here. Owain was 18 months exactly. Happy half-birthday!

Bars Can't Hold Me!

2009-04-08T09:15:00.003-07:00

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Owain escaped from his cot! He was having a particularly vigorous crying fit because he likes to get up in the middle of the night and we'd decided to put our foot down and let him cry it out. We were both horrified when he ran to us from the darkness of his room! He made quite a thump.

I've now converted his cot into a bed. He thinks it's great!

But he's having difficulty with the idea of staying there all night. And who can blame him. Still, he's been quiet now for about an hour. Lets hope he makes it through the night without wandering in here and waking us up!

And here's a random movie of him playing with our upside-down table.

Luckily for Owain...

2009-03-30T22:23:00.003-08:00

... the wind didn't change direction.

Yesterday, Heather took us on our first trip to Ikea where we bought a miniature table and two chairs so that Owain can entertain guests.

Time to get working on your smile, Owie!

International Heather Weekend

2009-03-23T22:34:00.002-08:00

Thank you to everyone who wished Mrs M a happy birthday! Unlike the Queen, she only gets the one but this year, it rested on the day before one of her two Mother's Days. No fair! This year, for a special treat I took her to Macy's and let her look at dinnerware for an hour while I chased boy around the mall.

Here he is letting off steam...

And some very smiley snaps...

Phew! Not easy getting these uploaded as H's computer is on its last legs. It blue-screens almost constantly and Owain has ripped out many keys including the ever-popular 'E' and 'R'.

Aquarium

2009-03-11T18:43:00.006-08:00

Today Owain and I met up with Anne and Rosalie and Kristen and Ryanne at the Seattle Aquarium. The kids had a good time, almost as much fun as the moms. I think we all needed an afternoon of fun and distraction.
Poor Owie has been under the weather since Monday. I'm not really sure what the illness is, if it indeed is an illness. He does have five new teeth coming in all at once so maybe that is causing all the fussiness, fevers and night waking. Yesterday Owain was so tired he decided to take a third nap of the day on the couch.Last week on Saturday while I was away at the bank doing boring ol' chores the boys were getting up to their usual hijinx, as you can see by this video.

We're baaaaaack.

2009-03-02T19:14:00.003-08:00

If that message hasn't quite sunk in let me make it perfectly clear, we have another baby on the way! I waited to post about it until I heard the heartbeat which I did today. I am seeing a midwife this time around and I'm finding it a lot less stressful than seeing an OB/Gyn. The new baby is due on Sept 12. More updates as they come.

Hmmm... I waited so long to blog that I know there were some precious "Owain moments" missed and now they are past their prime. I went to Alabama again this year for the Academy Awards (no they are not filmed in Alabama, silly people). This time it was a baby free event. Kristi's husband took her kids for a fun-filled long weekend in Tennesee and I left Owain at home with John. They got along just fine without me, much to my dismay and John didnt have too hard a time of it. Grrrr he was supposed to be all filled with gratitude and respect when I got back. Next time I'll have to go for a whole week.

All right now that this post is FINALLY out of the way Let The Blogging Begin! We will be updating much more often now. We promise!

The Tallented Mr McFarlane

2009-02-05T19:50:00.002-08:00

Owain can do so much now. Every day he learns a new trick. And every day, we give him a doggy treat! (That's why he's so scrawny.)

Crimbo Flicks

2009-01-19T23:02:00.004-08:00

Heather and I watched The Day the Earth Stood Still: The IMAX Experience on Saturday. It's basically the same as The Day the Earth Stood Still only with one major technical enhancement - they filmed it in colour.

Other notable features include a superb performance from Keanu Reeves as the terse, alien visitor who is devoid of human emotion. I haven't seen acting that convincing since Russell Crowe's grumpy Antipodean thug in Romper Stomper.

"Did I head you say Rompers? Movies? Awkward segues? It must be time for some YouTube action."

That's right! You've seen the photos. Now endure the five minutes of unedited baby movies!

Crimbo Piccies

2009-01-06T22:16:00.003-08:00

Here are some of our Christmas photos.

This is the snow in Seattle before it really started to come down.

Next up probably a video or two. Stay tuned...

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T17:51:00.003-08:00

News years resolution number one is to blog a bit more often. We have an added incentive as Grandpa Jim now has internet! We've been showing him all the funky stuff his new laptop can do:

We only just made it out of Seattle before the whole city got snowed under. A few hours after we took off, Seatac airport ran out of deicer. For a city with mountains all around it, it's not very well prepared at all.

We spend a couple of days in the Valley of the Sun with Grandpa Mac who looks a bit like Father Christmas and had lots of toys for Owain just to fool us even more. Then it was up to Prescott to see Grandpa Jim and Uncle Daniel. Guess what... lots more toys!

Heather was ill in bed on Christmas day (no, not a hangover actually) which meant that Jim had to do the dinner but it turned out great. So great in fact that we're leaving Heather behind next year.

Anyway, as those of you east of the meridian continue to ferment your hangovers, Heather and I prepare to go out and party. Lots of pictures to follow. Promise!

Captain Owain

2008-12-08T17:58:00.003-08:00

It's been a week since Mum and Dad left for the tropics and I've recovered enough to talk about our ordeal. Boy is missing getting attention from so many relatives at once and has become a little clingy and needy. The other day, he even developed a slight temperature so his mummy would cuddle him more. She thinks I'm being ridiculous. But no, he's ridiculous!

Here's an epic home movie of Capt. Owie shot in dingyvision...

Grandma and Granddad

2008-11-27T21:46:00.003-08:00

If it's been very quiet here in the last few weeks, that's because we've been mentally preparing ourselves for the arrival of my Mum and Dad who flew in on Monday for a week. Heather cooked a sumptuous thanksgiving diner for us this evening. Yesterday, we went to the locks and I let Owain out of his cage for a few minutes.

The boy and his grand-paternals have been getting on like a house on fire. Here, Ian passes down a ritual form of torture that I myself remember being subjected to as a child.

We're going to the parade in town tomorrow. It reminded me that it has been a year since we moved in to our flat in Ballard. A year ago tomorrow, we were late meeting with our landlord to sign the contract because we were stuck in traffic in down-town Seattle which in turn was because some bloody parade was going on. Tsk!

Stats

2008-11-07T21:30:00.002-08:00

For those who are following Owie's growth statistics the latest set of numbers should have you pleased and satisfied for the next three months, I know I am :) Head circumference 48.4 cm (95th percentile), there is a fact-based reason why we call the boy "head", height 31 1/2 inches (90th-95th percentile), weight 24 pounds 8 ounces (75th percentile). He has grown in leaps and bounds during just the last month. He eats well and has made the change from nursing to formula almost entirely. Now I have to switch to cow's milk in a cup. Arg! It's no easy feat getting this kid to drink out of a cup but all the baby books and the pediatrician insist that it must be done in the next 6 months. We'll see.

Pundits

2008-11-04T18:19:00.004-08:00

Left to Right: Simon Schama, John R. Bolton, Owain R. McFarlane, David Dimbleby

Cheeky Monkey!

2008-11-02T10:33:00.005-08:00

What can I say? Awwwwww......

Owie was a monkey this Halloween and what an appropriate costume it was. I gave him the banana as a prop and he gnawed right through the peel and ended up making a slimy mess. I was laughing too hard to do anything about it.

Here is the rest of the Halloween photoshoot.

Pumpkins

2008-10-31T16:50:00.004-08:00

Halloween is a big deal here. I'm getting right into the spirit of things. Ahem.

From jack o'lanterns

From left to right:

Traditional Pumpkin by Heather
Baby Pumpkin also by Heather (look familiar?)
Boo Pumpkin by me (Heather's favorite game character)

By the way, don't try this at home. Pumpkins smell disgusting and you have to scoop out the squelchy scrapings with your hands. The candles are scented but it didn't help. Yuck! ><
On a different note, here are the photos from the last post including a mass baby humiliation ritual.

Fall In Seattle

2008-10-29T09:29:00.003-08:00

Here's Owain modeling his new hat that our friend Kate made. It's not on straight here and I don't think the picture does it justice. It is super cute with socks to match! Owain had a blast at the park experimenting with walking on uneven surfaces and eating leaves and dirt. We missed the gorgeous fall last year as we didn't move here until Nov. 19th. We are really enjoying it, pumpkin carving tonight!

Old Man Owain

2008-10-18T21:43:00.002-07:00

Owain turned one today! To celebrate, he took us to a fancy restaurant...

From owain's birthday

He got lots of pressies from friends and family (thank you!) and we took him to the local toy shop where he fell in love with something called a 'color roller':

From owain's birthday

We shall see how long before he a) gets bored of it or b) drives his mother potty with the clicky-clacky noise it makes.

AZ Trip/Rush Cab/Jeff and Bev Visit

2008-10-17T19:16:00.009-07:00

First things first, here's a video of Owain walking. He's been taking steps for nearly a month but lately he tries more often and makes it farther.

We have fallen way behind in blogging and missed some big stuff. Sept 30th through Oct 7th I was back in Arizona visiting my Dad and Stepdad and brother. It was great to see the family but WOW Owain would not sleep for naps or at night so by the end of the week I was a very grumpy zombie. On Sat the 4th I got to meet Jamie's baby Maysen for the first time. She's adorable and very sweet natured. That evening all the girls, and Anthony, got to go out on the town. It was fabulous! I will forever be grateful to Grandpa Jim for babysitting. On the cab ride back to the house I got to experience a heavy dose of Rush mixed with really long mullet hair, this situation compounded with all the red wine/white wine/crown and sevens/beam and cokes I had became unbearably funny. Somehow the driver didn't catch all my nasty sarcasm and allowed me to take his picture. Just imagine Getty Lee screeching in the background.

Jeff and Bev arrived shortly after I got back from AZ. They came all the way from their new home in Edinburgh. We had a great time while they were here. I think John got his fill of playing Rock Star (maybe) and we did some the the requisite touristy stuff and showed them all around our little nook of Seattle. They went on by train and rental car to San Francisco to spend the last few days of their holiday.

All of the photos from the trip and from Jeff and Bev's visit can be viewed here.

Don't Blink, You'll Miss a Milestone

2008-09-20T19:06:00.006-07:00

It has been a huge week for Owain. On Monday the 15th of Sept. he finally cut his first tooth. I had been closely monitoring the swollen gums on the bottom so imagine our shock when the tooth that actually cut through first was one on the top. Yesterday the bottom left popped though and today the bottom right showed itself. Poor kid, three teeth in one week! Also on Monday Owain took his first step. Since then he has been trying longer distances, he can do about three or four small steps unaided. He is also pointing to things and clapping and lots of waving now. The only downside of all this progress is the disruption of sleep. I didn't realize that learning to walk could make a baby not want to take a nap but there you go! He did the same when learning to crawl.

Bad, bad birthday cake

2008-09-10T13:17:00.012-07:00

A week and a day ago John turned 35. Let's just say it wasn't the best day ever. First, I tried to make a chocolate cake from scratch, which I did just two weeks before and it turned out ok but this time I must've been distracted or something because I forgot BAKING SODA. Oops. I went ahead and put candles in it even though something didn't seem quite right and then we tasted it. YUCK! That was Monday night before the big birthday. Tuesday morning John was getting ready for work and couldn't find his wallet. We searched the house from top to bottom and finally came to the conclusion that it must have gotten lost sometime during the weekend. I spent the day calling all the restaurants, bars, and shops we went to over the three-day weekend, no luck. While John was at work I had planned to buy some presents and cook lasagne for dinner. He got a compost bin and we ordered pizza :( 36 will be fantastic I promise!!!

Thankfully the wallet was found before we ordered a replacement Green Card. Owain had gotten a hold of it and wedged it down between the stereo speaker base and the tv stand. John only found it because he discovered Owain trying to stuff something else down there.

We got some great photos of Owain at the park swinging. And at the bottom is a video of Owain stuffing a golf ball in his mouth, good stuff!

If there are large spaces in between paragraphs or this post just looks messy in general its because I GIVE UP trying to make it look pretty. I am missing some sort of technological know how.