And welcome! This will be the first Loveoirs post of the last year of Earth’s existence, or the first Loveoirs post in Earth’s glorious new dawning, or it will be just another New Year’s Loveoirs post, like all the rest, but better. In any case we’d love to see the planet undergo a geomagnetic reversal because it just sounds cool. Happy New Year!

If you remember our post from last year, it was marked by super elation because Miles was born and super stress because we had moved across the U.S., started new jobs, started preschool, and didn’t sleep much. This year was much more stable for us. Can we get an amen? How about a word up?

We’re not sure when sleep sanity finally returned to our household, but 2011 was much better in this regard. We had at least twenty or so nights of no wakeups, that is, nights when both boys slept through the whole night. Of course, those were interspersed with 345 nights of illness, bad dreams, accidents, and crying for the hell of it (Harry and Kathleen, not the boys), but we appreciated the sleep nights immensely and look forward to maybe forty or so this year.

In April we moved from our paper walled Queen Anne ice box to a lovely rental house near Green Lake. It has one story (thank goodness, no more children tumbling down the stairs). We have a backyard with trees, great light, and lots of room for flowers, vegetables, and little bulldozers. During the warmer months, the boys practically lived in the backyard. We enjoy having friends over, walking and jogging around the lake, going for coffee at Zoka, and donuts at Mighty-O. Our neighbors have been very welcoming. In short, it feels like a place we could stay for a long time and this has been the biggest and most positive change for us.

Harry worked from home the whole year. That was amazing and hard and amazing and great and hard for all of us, for all of the reasons you might expect. He started work later in the day, ended earlier, and spent flexible time with the family. Knowing now that this works for us, it would be hard to go back to a full time job with a commute and all of the little extra bits that come with working for someone else. Of course, there were many times we wished we had the security of a full-time job and its benefits, but working a flexible job, having the family together, and being free to call the shots have made it worth every penny we might have given up.

Kathleen journeyed from pure survival mode to moments of thriving in her roles this year.  She has regained most of her sense of taste and some of her sense of smell, which has helped dramatically with increased desire to pursue some of her passions, like cooking and gardening.  And with a toddler in diapers, it’s not the worst thing in the world to not be able to smell well.  She has felt luxuriously spoiled with our recently acquired gym membership at the YMCA that has childcare the boys love and allows her to exercise during the day however she’d like.  Swimming has been incredibly cathartic and totally worth dealing with the colorful experiences of a gym locker room.  Kathleen remains torn about whether or not she’ll return to a typical speech-pathology role somewhere, but is thankful daily for a degree that has helped her tremendously with parenting.

Charlie turned four this year and started his second year of preschool, this time at the Seattle Children’s Theater. He’s loved it so far and it really plays to some of his strengths. He’s riding a bike now and has gone around Green Lake a few times (~3 miles or ~4.8 km). He loves and despises his brother depending on the day and the activity, but they’re really great pals.

Miles started walking and talking this year and has become quite rambunctious. In the fall the boys invented a game of dropping themselves over the back of the couch onto little play furniture and sometimes just onto the floor. Miles enjoys this as much as Charlie. He tries out new words and phrases just about every day. He follows his brother around like a puppy sometimes. He’s totally charming and he knows it. And given his current size, we’re pretty sure our food budget is going to eclipse our college savings in ten years.

So, 2011 was great for us. We’re happy, getting healthier, getting wiser, and getting more sleep. We hope the start of the new year finds you well. As is our tradition, we’ve included some of our favorites below. Enjoy!

Favorite Books

Kathleen: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese was the most heart-wrenching, gory and beautiful story I’ve read in a long time. I almost stopped reading after the twins’ birth story, had to take a several day break, and returned to start at a different chapter before going back to it, but I’m glad I regained my composure and read every word. Half way through I didn’t want to do anything but read. And the ending. I loved the ending.

I’m also very pleased to be a new owner of a Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook. As I grow in my knowledge of cooking and baking, I’m longing for the scientific understanding of why certain things work and others don’t. I am also thrilled to have 2,000 recipes that have been tested so thoroughly! With this book in hand and a new skillet, I had the confidence to try pan-searing scallops that were served with browned lemon butter and butternut squash ravioli. Yum.

Harry: The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe, Book 1 – The Phenomenon of Life, by Christopher Alexander. In it, Alexander identifies and measures the properties that create life in the built world, from leaves to art to buildings to neighborhoods and beyond. I’m grateful to have these new eyes as I experience the world now. I’ve read the first two volumes and I hope to read the other two this year.

Charlie: The Three Snow Bears. My Father’s Dragon. “I like reading new books that I haven’t read before.”

Miles: My First Word Lift-the-Flap Board Book and Goodnight, Seattle were requested quite frequently.

Favorite Music

Kathleen: I have really enjoyed Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Iron and Wine, and The Autumn Film this year. Not just new stuff, but the albums that I keep returning to because they speak to my soul. I have also loved the precious few minutes that I’ve had to play piano all by myself. Granted, I’m half-watching the boys to make sure the dissonant, non-piano noises I’m hearing aren’t resulting in either of their serious harm, but it’s happening. Sometimes I even get through an entire song.

Harry: You can listen to my favorites below. This past year the themes were nostalgia, introspection, and the reinvented 1980s, except for the last song in the list, in which one group traveled to the year 2025 and returned with its dystopian hip hop. My favorite was “Beth/Rest” by Bon Iver.

Charlie: “Crocodile Dock. Huey Lewis & the News. U2. The fireflies song. And 5-4-3-2-1 Blast Off.”

Miles: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He sings this a lot.

Favorite Movies/Shows

Kathleen: My only steps into a theater were for a viewing of 50/50 with Angie. I absolutely loved it. I laughed so hard that I cried, cried so hard that I was snotty and doing the ugly cry. I looked hideous at the movie’s end, but it was worth it. Had I been at home without reservation, I would’ve blown through an entire box of tissues. At home I enjoyed The Trip, Kings of Pastry, Outsourced, The Secret of Kells, Exit Through the Gift Shop and Pressure Cooker. Next year I will certainly tell you how I loved The King’s Speech and other grand movies that came out because they will finally be on Netflix streaming!

Harry:The Secret of Kells, Pressure Cooker, The Trip, Lenny, Exit Through the Gift Shop, At Close Range, Sling Blade, Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind, Who Is Harry Nilsson?, Mesrine: Part I and Part II, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (the Swedish versions of those; I haven’t seen the David Fincher version). Yes, I still loves me some movies.

I loved watching season 1 of The Cosby Show. I will also admit to watching every episode of every season of thirtysomething. Both shows make so much sense now as a married parent of two.

Charlie: Kipper, Caillou, Busytown Mysteries, Pingu, Cars, Charlie Brown.

Miles: When he thinks he has a chance at watching a show (which is extremely rare), he requests “Elmo” (referring to anything from Sesame Street) or Thomas the Tank Engine.

Favorite Games

Kathleen: The games that make my heart melt usually don’t involve me. They’re the games resulting in the best giggles I’ve ever heard. Recently, Miles and Charlie spent at least ten minutes running around the house laughing like crazy while they took turns dragging a sheet and pulling on it. At Thanksgiving all those under ten laughed hysterically at Harry’s silliness. The games I love to instigate are based on whatever’s going on at the moment that can be made fun. Sometimes it’s when one of the boys makes a weird noise and we all keep trying to make it. Other times it’s me dancing in the kitchen with a colander on my head while I feed them a meal.

Harry: Being silly with Charlie and Miles. Whatever we’re doing, there’s always an alternate, ridiculous way of doing it that makes them laugh. They’re also big fans of my “going down the elevator behind the kitchen counter” sight gag (thanks, Mike Myers). I also enjoyed Glitch, Real Racing, and Machinarium.

Charlie: Heroica. Chutes and Ladders. Busytown.

Miles: Climbing on the couch. Basketball.

Moments of Beauty and Inspiration

Kathleen: There is too much to share here, so I’m going to pick the first five that come to mind. Fasten your seat belt, I’m about to bullet:

1) Harry and I choosing to fix up this rental has provided unexpected fun for our marriage, often while we’re covered in paint or dirt. Being in a free-standing home for the first time since our immaculate and basically brand new Colorado home led to some unexpected shock and grief for me because this place was far from clean and pristine. I was inspired by Harry’s encouragement and our subsequent devotion to make our shelter a place of beauty, however we could. If the carpet has to be stained and teal, let the walls be clean. If the grass has to stay put and be moss-filled, let the weeds be pulled and eventually replaced with vegetables and flowers and mulch. Bit by bit, it becomes more lovely and life-giving. It was hard at first to think about pouring so much time and energy into a rental, but it makes sense why it’s been such a gift to us to do so. It is our home.

2) Charlie learning to ride his bike without pedals made me tear up because I know what a huge mental feat it was for him (much more so than the physical challenge). He had taken a few falls, was scared and wanted to give up. When Harry and I told him how many times we fell and that we still sometimes fall, and let him know that he had to decide to tell his body that it was worth a few bumps and bruises, he decided to go for it and the look on his face was amazing.

3) Miles learned to walk this year. And talk. And run. And throw balls. And build train tracks. The joy Miles expresses with any new experience is so contagious I always end up smiling with him.

4) A very tall, lanky, tattered homeless man wearing a feathered hat walked to the front of our church sanctuary during a morning service with a big bunch of flowers and a toilet plunger in hand. The flowers looked like he picked them out of people’s gardens on his way in: loose, mismatching, and hand-picked. Everyone was standing and singing, Harry and I were in the balcony and could see him walk up to the front stage and lay everything down, retrieving the plunger from the midst of the flowers and putting it in his back pocket. He then sat awkwardly and raised his arms to worship, seemingly singing a different song because his mouth wasn’t moving to the same rhythms. A very well-kept older woman left her pew unnoticed but returned to the stage with a large pitcher of water. She leaned in towards the man, I assume to ask him permission, and put the flowers in the water. I completely lost it, overwhelmed by the love of that moment.

5) So many simple things from nature: sprouting seeds, pulled weeds, turtles on the logs at Green Lake, flavor grenade pluots and other divine stone fruit, changing leaves, harbor seals, sea stars, waves…

Harry: I have loved watching our boys grow into playmates. It’s taken them a long time and only recently did they start playing really well together, but for the most part they enjoy each other’s company. They giggle a lot together. They hug goodnight. It’s amazing watching two beings who came from my DNA ask to embrace each other without prompting.

I’m fascinated by Charlie’s paintings: the subjects he chooses, how he depicts them, his use of color and size, the whole bit.

Miles has a fantastic smile and sense of humor. If you need cheering up in 2012, we rent him out at $26/hour, up from $19 last year. Still a great bargain!

I’m inspired by Kathleen’s love of cooking and her blossoming as a chef. I’ve reached the point where I prefer her food to just about anything, save the hoity-toity places we go on special occasions. And even with some of those places, I prefer her meals. I tag along just so we can say hoity-toity once in a while.

Charlie: “I remember you [Papa] blowing the biggest bubble. And we went to the beach. I remember moving into our new house. It has more space than our old house.”

Miles: “This doesn’t count as beautiful, per se, but I was moved by the zeal of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, regardless of their tactics or effectiveness.” [Miles is a realist.]

Best Surprise

Kathleen: We enjoyed a pretty incredible year, including moving back to our favorite neighborhood (close to our first home). It was also filled with lots of high-quality family time, my brother getting a job based out of a Seattle that led to many great experiences together and the beginning of us really knowing each other as friends, loads of fun play dates, evenings with dear friends and bellyaching laughter, a few lovely getaways and the amazing day-to-day pleasure of having Harry work from home. But my heart jumped the highest when my dear friend Kristine, our Siberia teammate and first Seattle friend, called to let us know that her family’s return to Seattle was finally happening. And it beat fastest when two dear friends went into labor early, one with twins. Thankfully, all the teeny-tiny babies are thriving.

Harry: I really enjoyed having Dave, Kathleen’s brother, stay with us for a couple weeks after his duties on his ship were finished. I think all of us had a great time. We shared lots of great talk, drinks, and meals, including a dream night at Canlis for Dave, Kathleen, and me on my birthday.

Charlie: “I remember trying to cheer up girls at the gym that we went to today. I really like the little bug that I got for Christmas. One of my favorite things about Uncle Dave visiting is that I was sleeping and then I woke up and I saw Uncle Dave sleeping there right in front of my eyes!”

Miles: “Hi.”

Favorite Websites

Kathleen: All of last year’s sites still remain favorites, but I add Ashley Rodriguez’s Not Without Salt to the mix. This is now my go-to blog for very unhealthy but delicious desserts or anything chocolate related. (Try her chocolate chip cookie recipe. I dare you.) I can’t wait to make more of her recipes since those I’ve made have all been incredible. I also really love Ashley’s photography and writing. If you haven’t figured it out by now, if I’m not on email or Facebook, I pretty much spend my online time reading food blogs or watching food related shows.

Harry: I read the misnamed Hacker News on a daily basis. Glitch is filled with good, creative quirk. Netflix for shows.

Charlie: PBS Kids.

Miles: Arts & Letters Daily.

Favorite or Funniest Thing Miles Says

Kathleen: It’s pretty hilarious that any time we talk about the Seattle Children’s Theatre (which is very frequent because it’s where Charlie attends preschool), Miles says “monorail!” This sometimes refers to the monorail, but usually refers to the Space Needle, which remains strongly mislabeled despite months of proper modeling. He also says monorail to anybody who talks to him on the phone. I think he’s figured out how cute it is and is getting a lot of mileage from it. I also love that he used to say “dakuum” all the time (for vacuum, which referred to anything with a motor and wheels). He wanted us to make Tinkertoy vacuums and he’d drive them, fly them or vacuum with them. Lastly, I love that he answers yes with a strong, quick “heh” and yells “ai ai ai” when he’s mad about something.

Harry: What’s not to like? His word for yes is “huh” with a big nod of the head. He tries hard to say basketball because he received a small hoop for Christmas. His best friend is a little stuffed animal called Tiger and he often says, “Tiger, where ARE you?” in a kind of sing-song voice. When he’s giving you something he says “he go” (Here you go), also in a high-pitched, sing-song voice. His typical greeting to someone new is to say “monowaya” (monorail). But I have no idea why he chooses that as a greeting over, say, “coffee” or “backyard” or “hi” or something less arbitrary.

Charlie: “Here are some of his faces that I think are funny [Charlie now shows us some of his funny faces]. My favorite face to make Miles laugh is this.”

Miles: “Monorail.”

Favorite Toy

Kathleen: Our camera’s new lens is quickly becoming a favorite! I also probably love my new immersion blender/mini food processor more than one should love an appliance.

Harry: I bought an iPad for my business. In its spare time iPad likes to double as a music recording studio, a game machine, a movie theater, a magazine and book container, and several other nouns.

Charlie: “The marble track. The magnetic block cars. The orange tool box.”

Miles: Train tracks. Tinkertoys. Marble tracks. Basketball hoop.

Plans for 2012

Kathleen: I have a huge stack of books waiting for me at the downtown library, mostly about education, learning and child development. Reading these will be my primary focus during my free time for the next few months as we contemplate what Charlie will do for kindergarten. I have signed up for an indoor sprint triathlon in April and plan on doing an outdoor one in late summer. This means I will be exercising much more regularly than I do now or I will be immobile in early April. I plan on becoming a better gardener, cook, baker and photographer. With lots of help I will grow in grace, patience and my ability to savor the moment instead of worry about the future or pursue perfection. And I will take at least one really big risk that scares me silly and makes me rely on my faith. I am really hoping to not move homes this year. Or the next, for that matter.

Harry: This year I plan to grow the business with a couple products of my own. For learning, I’m still completely engrossed in non-fiction and this is unlikely to change this year. There’s so much to know! Sitting on my table right now are Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, Guns, Germs, and Steel, Philosophical Investigations, Unix Power Tools, The Unix Programming Environment, Concrete Mathematics, and The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. If I get through them all by next year, it will be a miracle. Finally, I plan to ride in the Seattle to Portland bike race in July. Wish me luck!

Charlie: “It does make me really excited if we would go to the Pacific Science Center and I could use the digger. And we could go and see those crazy bugs that we have now that run around on the track.”

Miles: “raf.” [Giraffe]

That’s a Wrap

Finally, here are some of our favorite pictures from 2011.

Love,
Miles, Charlie, Kathleen, and Harry

After a hiatus last year we are excited to bring the annual Loveoirs update back. 2010 has been the most eventful year of our lives. At the end of December last year we drove from Boulder to Seattle with Kathleen six months’ pregnant and Charlie buckled into his car seat for hours on end, and arrived on a snowy New Year’s Eve. We found our current rental shortly thereafter, Harry started a new job, and we unpacked our stuff all within that first month. In March we managed to sell our house in Colorado long distance via fax, prayer, and heavy drinking. In April Mr. Miles William Love joined our family. In early fall, Charlie started preschool and Harry left his job to start a new business.

1,300 mile road trip and move. Two jobs. One new child. One new business. One house sold. We’ve hosted family four times. 27 mental breakdowns. The only things missing were death and divorce. And we apologize to you for that. We really tried to pack as much stress into this year as possible.

We continue to struggle with sleep deprivation. Not only that but we continue to struggle with sleep deprivation.  (Miles sleeps best in the early evening, while we’re still awake.  Then from about 10pm until 6am he’s up every 2-3 hours.  This, in spite of many attempts at crying it out and learning how to fall asleep unaided.  It’s been incredibly challenging.)

But if you want to know the truth about our lives (using only adjectives), we are incredibly thankful, happy, satisfied, tired, petulant at times, glad, and wonderful. 2010 was a full year.

Favorite Books

Harry: Light Boxes. Everything else was non-fiction. Of those I can recommend The Inmates Are Running the Asylum for the techies in your family.

Kathleen:  Good to the Grain.  Every recipe I’ve tasted or made has been breathtakingly delicious.  Sadly, I think the only fiction book I read all year was The Help.  I highly recommend Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child for all people regularly interacting with children.  As Charlie’s behavior has grown more and more challenging (warning: parents of toddlers, 3 is a much harder age than 2!), this book has provided tremendous guidance in helping me refrain from discounting his feelings or desires.  I fall short often but do see overall growth in this area of my life as a mom.  I imagine that it will be a book I reference for reminders my entire life.

Charlie (interviewed and dictated by mom while he holds the pilot of his Tinkertoy airplane): “Um…uh…mmm…Clifford books.” Any other books?  “I’ve really enjoyed music books.” Alright, what kind of music books?  “Um…record player music books.” (We don’t have a record player.)  Any others?  “Well, I have a new friend and his name is Airplane Driver.  And I fly my airplane.  And it’s right over down there.  And the red seat is where I sit and drive it.  And the lever makes it turn and turn.  And the red one makes it go super fast.”

Miles:  Believe it or not, Miles chooses books and has done so for many months now!  Initially he did it with just eye gaze, but now he grabs the one he wants when provided with a few choices.  His go-to books include Good Night, Gorilla, Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Blankie and all books with pictures of babies in them.

Favorite Music

Harry: This year it’s been a mix of Electronica/Chillwave and Alt/Country/Folk, whatever those mean. And a little bit o’ Pop/Dance. I fell in love with Pomplamoose for about 10 minutes in March when someone posted a link to their cover of Telephone. Really loved that and their version of Single Ladies, which was sung in our house as “All the Little Babies” after Miles was born. And of course, The Autumn Film, who played a live show at Sam and Angie’s house a few weeks ago! But here’s a mix of stuff. Apologies if you’ve heard these already. Just skip around. There are 19 songs: you’re bound to like something.

Kathleen: Hands down, The Autumn Film.  Their music sinks to the depths of my soul.  I could use a little break from U2 and Huey Lewis, thanks to Charlie requesting them one hundred times a day.

Charlie:  “Beautiful Day!”  Any others “Um, Huey Lewis.”  Others? “Um, the, um, the radio in the car.”

Miles:  He definitely lights up when we sing Old MacDonald.

Favorite Movies

Harry: Food, Inc., Nerdcore Rising, Three Days of the Condor, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, More Than a Game, Julie & Julia, Lonesome Dove, It Might Get Loud. Also, I just want to remember this year as the one in which we started streaming Hollywood movies to our phones. When Netflix released their movie player app for iPhone over the summer, I sat with my mouth wide open for an hour watching Jaws. On a phone! In real time! And it looks and sounds great! I’m happy I get to live in this age and not, you know, when color TV was invented or something like that. Although I’m sure they sat with their mouths open, too.

The last movie I saw this year was Tron and I don’t recommend it. Very disappointing given the originality of the first one. Some of the music was okay, but I expected so much more. And it just hit me, the music reminds me of Jan Hammer’s score for the first season of Miami Vice, with a little more studio processing, but not as inventive material. So yeah, disappointed, but that’s probably why I like some of the music.

Kathleen:  I don’t think I went to any movies this year, but I do recall watching a a few on Netflix in bits and pieces.  I smiled the whole way through Babies.  The most haunting and memorable was Sicko.  We made the enormous mistake of watching it while researching our own health insurance prior to Harry resigning.  We were an inch short of moving to Europe.  And I almost cried when I saw that French moms get six weeks of in-home help with their babies.  The government-paid nanny will do laundry, meals, baby care, whatever!  And don’t even talk to me about Sweden.

Charlie: “Kipper and Caillou.”  Any others?  “No. I have here some important things for me to spend some time in my airplane.  So, I gotta go.  See you later.”

Miles: Groundhog Day.

Favorite Games

Harry: I like making up games with the boys. On my phone I’ve enjoyed Angry Birds and Osmos.

Kathleen:  I was totally obsessed with the Canlis menu scavenger hunt.  The best restaurant marketing tool ever.  I absolutely loved the game.  It took me back to the season of Harry & I dating and all the scavenger hunts he sent me on.  We almost found the menus a few times. Those times were hard to swallow ( <– pun ), but I’d really love to take part in something like that again.

Charlie: “Cariboo.”

Miles:  Bonking Mama with his head while in the Moby.  Coughing at Papa.  Making crazy noises at Charlie.

Big Challenges or Most Difficult Aspect of this Season of Life

Harry: Lack of sleep. Almost no exercise. Feeling like I have no time for myself and feeling guilty when I do take time. Kathleen and I try to help each other with these, but really, we’re just parents of small children and it’s part of [Elton John voice] the CIRCLE of Life! [end Elton John voice].

Kathleen:  Oh, sleep, how I miss thee.  If you read my August post, you’ll know how bad it got.  I’m doing much better, but there were really bad days for far too many weeks.  I also got in the awful habit of rewarding myself for exceptionally bad nights with treats and we live two blocks away from one of the nation’s best bakeries.  So, I never lost the extra weight I gained in pregnancy.  Plus, I almost always choose sleep over exercise if I’m given the choice.  Icing on the cake: I haven’t had much of a sense of smell or taste since May.  For a long time I could only taste super sweet and bitter.  Fruit, chocolate and coffee were all the more appealing.  It’s been a vicious cycle.  Here’s to better rest and health in 2011!

Charlie: Answering for Charlie, we would have to say: moving and having a baby brother.

Miles: Sleep. Getting mistaken for Mr. Stay Puft.  Getting five teeth at once.

Name Something You’re Particularly Proud Of

Harry: Kathleen and I celebrated 10 years of marriage in June. I think we took naps to mark the occasion. And I make a pretty good dad.

Kathleen:  Asking for and accepting help during our really hard months with Miles.  Learning to voice my needs instead of expecting others to anticipate them.  Surviving intense sleep deprivation and a 3 1/2 year old without hurting anyone.

Charlie: Charlie’s doing really great at preschool and he loves it. We don’t know if he’s proud of that, but we’re proud of him.

Miles: Miles has a great smile, a great laugh, and he likes to be silly. Despite driving us insane at night, we love him so.

Best Surprise

Harry: Miles’ personality. Charlie bonding with his brother.

Kathleen:  This year included an abundance of lovely surprises, so here’s the top ten that come to my poorly functioning mind in chronological order:

1. Being able to rent on Queen Anne, just blocks from Angie.
2. Savoring Chocolate Covered Chocolate at Canlis while listening to stories and letters of encouragement about mothering two young children from dear friends weeks prior to Miles’ arrival.
3. Arriving at the hospital to discover that I was much farther along in labor than I had anticipated and being able to complete it without intervention.
4. Receiving incredible gifts of time, food, play, presents for Charlie, meal delivery service for weeks, a (drooled over!) standing mixer and even a beautiful sculpture to celebrate and help us through Miles’ early months.
5. Charlie thriving in preschool.
6. Harry being able to pursue his own business again.
7. Charlie enjoying babysitters, even if we bribe him with mac n’ cheese from a box.
8. My brother David’s visit with us during the Seattle snow storm.
9. Connecting with old friends and making new friends in more meaningful, deeper ways.
10. Watching Charlie learn to ride a bike on Christmas morning.

Favorite Part of Being Back in Seattle

Harry: Friends! Water! The color green! Coffee! Macrina! The farmers markets! Getting to spend Thanksgiving on the beach in Oregon with friends.

Kathleen:  Knowing it’s home.

Favorite Foods and Most Frequented Recipes

Harry: Kathleen makes really great red lentil soup, enchiladas, pizza, and pancakes. Thankfully, not all in the same meal.

Also, It puts the Roly-Poly in the basket or else It gets the hose.

And we just discovered Le Reve Bakery and I’m pretty sure the Twice Baked Chocolate Croissants should be illegal. Also, thank God for red beans and rice and beignets from Where Ya At Matt?

Kathleen:  The Collins Family Farm stone fruit (purchased at our local farmer’s market) was consistently the best fruit I’ve ever had.  It was also one of the few healthy things I could really taste this summer, so it was an incredible treat.  I would pay $10 for one of their peaches in the middle of winter.  Anything from Good to the Grain has made me very happy this year.  Fran’s Chocolates, Le Reve and Bakery Nouveau twice baked croissants, Macrina chocolate orange coffee cake…oh my.  I’m telling you, friends, Seattle has amazing food.  And it’s not all sweet.  I also had a delicious happy hour meal at Emmer & Rye with my brother, along with many other mouth watering meals.

My most frequented recipes are mostly from inpraiseofleftovers and include quick pizza dough (upon which I usually throw sauteed spinach, onions, sundried tomatoes, cheese and maybe some kalamatas or roasted red peppers), roasted vegetables, fritatas, Asian noodle salad, birthday barley salad, and red lentil soup.

Charlie: “Mac and cheese.”

Miles: Bananas and pears make him say, “mmmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!”

Favorite Websites

Harry: TeuxDeux (my to-do list), Dribbble, and Command Capsule!

Kathleen: NYTimes, inpraiseofleftovers, orangette, 101cookbooks, epicurious, facebook, twitter and flickr.

Charlie: Starfall, Netflix (for Kipper and Caillou), and Curious George games on PBSKids.org.

Miles: The Economist.

Least Favorite Activity You Must Do Daily

Harry: Wake up.

Kathleen:  Ha!  I just read Harry’s answer.  So sad but true.  We are just ridiculously tired.

Charlie: “Being in a bad mood with you guys.”

Miles:  Sleep would be a good guess.  Or getting changed.

Favorite or Funniest Thing Charlie Says

Harry: “… bands and a minion stein.” (translated, “… bands with a million styles,” a lyric from “The Heart of Rock and Roll”; Charlie has his own language when it comes to rock music. My second favorite part of Charlie’s version of that song is when Huey shouts out “Detroit!” Charlie has replaced that with “Detract!”

Kathleen:  I love how time has been referenced this year.  We had months of, “When I was a little boy I used to… (fill in with something Harry and I do now).”  Quantity has also been fun: “I had to use so much toilet paper because I made hundreds of tinkle!”  There were lots of really funny comments about #2 during potty training, too.

Miles:  “Bleh!” (Charlie says this to try to make Miles laugh)

Favorite Toy

Harry: iPhone 4. I don’t care. (Search for it, but be warned.) Seriously, though, I love my iPhone.

Kathleen:  Miles’ chub.  I love to squeeze it.  And he’s definitely my favorite source of play these days.  Too much cuteness.

Charlie: “Windup things.” He also loves blocks, wooden trains, riding his bike, puzzles (he’s a master), and Miles.

Miles: Whatever you’re playing with looks good.

Plans for 2011

Harry: Fewer life changing events would be nice, unless they involve large deposits of cash. I am looking forward to releasing version 2 of Jetrecord and having just one person sign up for monthly payments. That will be a great day.

Kathleen:  I plan to get more than 3 consecutive hours of sleep whenever possible.  I really look forward to celebrating Charlie’s 4th birthday in February and Miles 1st in April.  I hope to return to some form of SLP-related work this year, but I’m not sure of exactly what I want to pursue.  I hope we get to visit Colorado and Florida this year.  We look forward to several visits to the Oregon coast, one for just our family and another for Thanksgiving.  Our day to day life will be lots of playing, cooking, cleaning, walking, diaper changing, teaching, disciplining, laughing, and deep-breathing.

That’s a wrap! See you next year!

See the fullscreen slideshow on Flickr!

Love,
Kathleen, Harry, Charlie and Miles

Stats: 75%ile across the board…8.75kg (19+lbs), 27.5 inches tall.

First foods have been less than exciting so far. The only one he’s taken to has been carrots, but only with the first presentation. The next day, no thank you. Though he would really like to to gnaw on an entire carrot stick or whole banana, or please, please, please a finger.

His first true babbles have been adorable. He opens and closes his jaw, sometimes making noise, sometimes not. When he vocalizes we’re getting lots of “ma ma ma”s and goos and gaas. Raspberries have also been bountiful. He can bath himself in his spit after just a few minutes of these.

We love you to pieces, Miles!

He continues to charm us like crazy, giving smiles left and right. Last night he fell asleep swaddled in my arms, sucking on a pacifier while I rubbed his face. That’s all it took! I hope it continues because it was the sweetest moment ever and beats rocking and bouncing by a longshot.

He’s currently sleeping after a round of vaccinations. Poor baby. It was horrible. When a baby hardly ever cries, hearing him cry like that is horrendous. Charlie stayed calm and cool, thankfully. He was mostly interested in Miles’ band-aid characters.

Ten Highlights from Ten Years:
1) Sitting together on a log next to Lake Baikal while the sunset. Ya tibya lublu.
2) Who Wants to be a 21-year Old?
3) Being serenaded. Finding clues and unscrambling them. Becoming engaged.
4) Walking down the aisle with your tearful, loving gaze watching me.
5) Packing up our moving truck and driving to Seattle. The beginning of thoughtfully creating our own family traditions, dynamics and boundaries.
6) Paris. Aaaah, Paris.
7) Meeting Charlie and bringing him home, hugging and crying once we got inside our house.
8) Taking risks together, learning how to communicate in conflict, pursuing joy and play, and growing in trust of each other and the Lord.
9) Watching you play with Charlie. You are an astounding, amazing papa. Loving, playful, faithful.
10) Meeting Miles and enjoying his sweetness so deeply, knowing now how quickly it all does pass.

I love you, Harry.

When Miles is well fed and rested we have the most beautiful conversations. His smiles and giggles are so awesome.

He has continued to sleep horribly, but last night we got a (nearly) 3-hour stretch, so I’m hopeful that this may continue and he will improve sooner than later. Harry was with Miles and Charlie from 4-6am (at different times) so I feel better tonight than I have in a long time, but I’m still off to bed…