Getting Ready for Baby!

Last night we took a tour of the Childbirth Center. It got me all excited and anxious for Sawyer to come! I realized that he will be here very soon and I want everything to be ready for him! Since my nanny family is in Turkey this week and I have a little spare time on my hands, I decided this morning to get Sawyer's Baby Star bassinet ready. My nanny family gave it to us and I absolutely LOVE it! I also love that it totally coordinates with our duvet! He will be sleeping in style! (Although I doubt he'll spend that much time in his bassinet, to be honest. At first we will probably use our co-sleeper and I plan to have him sleep and nap with me the first couple of months.) Hooray for fun baby things that just happen to be design-savvy!

Baby Shower, Belly Progress, & A Beautiful Afternoon for a Paddle...

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. Luckily, I have many great days, but it's been a while since I've had one of the best. I woke up yesterday with the sun shining in our window, glistening on Lake Union, and warming everything up to over 70 degrees! It was HEAVEN!!!

In the morning, my friend, Gretchen, threw me a marvelous Baby Shower. Actually, I guess it was really for Sawyer, but WOW did we all have a great time!

I am blessed to have many amazing friends, but between being prego and busy, I don't get to spend as much time with them as I'd like. The shower was a wonderful time I got to catch up with some of them which was fabulous and such a treat. We had great food, fun games, and LOTS of chattering going on. And of course they showered me (& Sawyer) with super cute baby stuff!

After the Baby Shower, Jacob and I decided to make the most of the wonderful weather, so we headed over to one of our favorite places - the Agua Verde Paddle Club. We decided since it's about time for the monthly pictures of my belly it was a good time to do it while in my swimming suit (had to wear it just in case we caught the wrong angle of one of the bigger boats' wake!) So, here it is:

We've only got about 8 weeks left to go until Sawyer will be here! (Unless he decides to come early, or stay in a little longer for a Father's Day entry into the world!)

I have to admit, getting into our K2 Kayak was a bit more difficult with 20 extra lbs. on my body. I told Jacob it feels kind of like strapping a heavy bowling ball to your front side.

Every time I am out on the water, I fall in love with Seattle all over again. If you can handle the rainy season and gray through the winter - the rest of the year, especially summer, couldn't be more perfect!

I think Jacob was super glad to be outside. He's been working so hard both in his day job and doing a big freelance project that he's barely had the chance. It was good for us to feel the sunshine on our shoulders!

Some of the views from our K2:

Oh, it's our neighborhood! Queen Anne and South Lake Union - and there's the Space Needle!

Gas Works Park was plumb full of sun-bathers, kite-flyers, and frisbee-throwers. We even paddled right by a dog who took a little swim after his tennis ball!

And my favorite: the beauty of white sails on blue water. So majestic! EVERYTHING about today was my favorite part! We fell into bed soooo happy and the best kind of exhausted to be. We hope you all had an equally amazing Saturday that you might consider one of the best days of your lives!

Tigers, Tapirs, & Bears...Oh My!!!

A Tiger...

A Tapir...

And a Bear...

Those are just a few of the things we saw when we went to the Woodland Park Zoo earlier this week. It just so happens that this week is Spring Break for my nanny boy, Sam. His sisters are off in exotic locales with extended family, so we decided to make a plan for our own exotic week of fun here at home. We started off Monday by brainstorming fun ideas and turning them into a calender of "Sam's Spring Break". We spent the morning making and coloring the calender as well as some other artwork, and were happy we all had something to look forward to each day. In the afternoon, we baked some yummy cookies we could pack in our lunches for our fun outings. Tuesday, we went to the Zoo. I don't know if any of you are fans of Peter, Paul, & Mary, or remember the song ("Goin' to the Zoo")- but Kaitlyn & Sam have it in book-form and here is the chorus to the song (which of course Sam sang all the way to the Zoo as well as the preceding day):

Chorus:
We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo How about you, you, you? You can come too, too, too We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

The exciting thing was, it was Kaitlyn's first trip to the Zoo. Before our visit, she thought it was only a silly song or funny pictures in her book. Was she in for some fun when we actually went to the Zoo and saw all the animals in her book!

As Sam was looking for White Wolves, a friendly little squirrel ran over and peeked over his shoulder. I whispered "Sam, hold still!" He didn't even know why I was snapping a photo - but was quite pleased when I then said "turn around!" and he was eye-to-eye with this little guy.

I'm sure he thought we had some food to share with him - but we decided to follow Zoo rules: NO FEEDING THE ANIMALS!

It was a little chilly and slightly sprinkled on us, but we had a BLAST! I always want to visit the Zoo on nice, sunny days - but it seems that overcast, cool days are when the animals come out (and most people stay home!) There were no crowds and we enjoyed our picnic as well. Of course my favorite is inside the steamy Rainforest exhibit: the colorful little poison dart frogs. (I couldn't get a photo because my camera got all steamed up - but here is one courtesy of National Geographic - aren't they just so fun to look at?)

Yesterday, we went to playgroup and swimming lessons, and today our outing was to The Center for Wooden Boats. This fun little museum is located right by Lake Union Park and within walking distance of our home. I've never been, and neither had Sam. So we decided to go check it out.

It just so happened that this week they were having "Tugboat Story time." The neat-o thing about it, was that story time was actually on a real Tugboat!

We climbed aboard the more than 100-year-old vessel and listened to stories about ships and the sea. Then, we were allowed to explore the Tugboat! I could barely make it through some of the narrow galleys between my pregnant belly and holding Kaitlyn on one hip, but it was sure fun to explore! One of the many things I absolutely love about living in Seattle (and lucky us, so so close to Lake Union) is the water and water activities. There is something so calming and beautiful about looking out our living room window and seeing the sparkling water below with all the sailboats adorned with their huge, white sails catching the wind.

Kaitlyn has thoroughly been enjoying having her big brother home this week. She loves being outside and going on our little adventures, as well. I must admit I have been enjoying every minute of it even though I get pretty tired out by the end of the day. I am relishing these last few weeks I get to spend with these kids before I turn in my nanny badge for a "real mommy" one.

I love this cute little star carved into the seat of this refreshing little boat.

The water was nice and calm. Reflections are fun to look at, ponder, and sometimes break.

We thought it was pretty neat to see this huge hunk of wood that someone is carving into a real wooden boat. There was a whole area that had very old boats/canoes used by the Native Americans. Sam also really liked the Totem Pole nearby.

It sure has been a fun week. This is part of why I love my job. Spending days exploring with eager little minds is such a joy. Tomorrow we get to finish off our week with another story time (it is mine and Kaitlyn's Friday ritual to go to Barnes & Noble story time and then play with the Thomas & Friends train station they have all set up), and in the afternoon some time to swing like monkeys at the park. I'll end this little synopsis of our week by quoting Sam as we headed home from our outing today:

Sam: I just love the Center For Wooden Boats
Tysha: Why is that?
Sam: Well, because there are so many boats - and they're all made of wood!
Tysha: (smiling to herself) That is true! I'm so glad you liked it!