Archive for 2009
Northwest Trek
A few weeks back, I snuck out of the house on a Saturday for a photostroll with the Seattle Flickr Meetup group at Northwest Trek south of Puyallup. It was freezing (literally) but a really fun time. I can’t wait to go back in warmer weather, and with the boys when they get bigger. (=
Yesterday, in the Lyon House
Except there were two. And they don’t have British accents….yet. Thank goodness for baby crack, oops I mean, teething tablets.
eta: Adam informs me that Stewie, in fact, does not have a British accent. Whatevs. Teething still sucks.
Instrumental
I now own 7 plastic video game guitars and two plastic video game drum sets. And I’m not ashamed to admit it.
Snapshot, 4:31 PM
Will is finally happy in the new exersaucer. Up until today, his legs have not been long enough to touch the bottom, nor is he round enough to fill up the seat. Although neither of those things has changed, another mom clued me into draping his arms over the front. It worked very well, and he sits, longing to grab the toys around him, but not yet coordinated to do so.
Andy is on my lap, facing his brother. I still can’t tell if they’re aware of each other or not. While they can be coerced into smiling at us, they’ve yet to smile at each other. I’m sure that day isn’t too far. But I still have them look at each other a lot to try and encourage it. Andy is happy on my lap and totally not happy when I try to put him on his tummy. Apparently he’s not in the mood for that type of exertion.
We had a fun time at our PEPS meeting today, although I looked like an idiot, complaining about their crappy naps of late, while they both slept through most of the 2.5 hours. Yeah, the carseat is often a nap enducer, but put those kids in the crib and it’s 45 minute tops. Apparently it’s some sort of developmental thing, dropping their blissful 2 hour naps down to much shorter ones in this 3-6 month period. Just becuase it’s normal, doesn’t make it any more fun to deal with.
Freestyle Frisbee Stars
A couple weeks ago, the planets aligned in my favor… it was sunny outside, I had the day off from work and the babies weren’t being too demanding, so I actually got outside to take some photos. I eventually ended up at the Kirkland Waterfront Park and took a bunch of photos of three guys busting out their freestyle frisbee moves.
Later, I got a comment on one of the three photos I posted on Flickr notifying me that these guys are apparently pretty well known within the freestyle frisbee community. My brush with greatness! 😉
Adam’s Top Concerts of 2008, Part 2
Without further ado…
Best Concert of 2008: Nine Inch Nails
If you saw this tour, you know what I’m talking about. There simply has never been a concert like this. Trent and company have broken ground on some seriously cool concert technology. Multiple interactive, moving, stage-covering screens, real-time rendered video effects, amazing lights and visuals… add fantastic music, sound and musicians, and you have… well, the best show of 2008. It was so good that I drove to Portland (with my mom (= ) to see it a second time (her second time too). The Seattle show was also William and Andrew’s first (in utero) concert.
It was even more special because Trent revealed that the band lineup was changing; Josh Freese (drums) and Alessandro Cortini (keyboards, etc.) both moved on from the band at the end of the year, and the next live incarnation will be more stripped down (understandably so) with a much less tech-heavy stage show.
We witnessed a concert spectacle that may not be equaled anytime soon. I’m disappointed that there will be no official DVD release, but I’m really excited to see what will come out of the hundreds of gigs of raw video footage and soundboard audio that they released.
Boobie Prize: Crystal Castles
Not once, but TWICE I missed them, tickets in hand. I was itching to see them, as their self-titled debut album was one of my Monster Albums of 2008.
The first time, they were opening for Nine Inch Nails at Key Arena in Seattle. Someone had the bright idea to have a giant parade that started at the Seattle Center at the same time, and it took us over an hour to get from the U District to Key Arena. That was an infuriating traffic jam. (The NIN show made up for it though, which is saying something.)
The second time, Crystal Castles was headlining a show at a smaller club. However, the universe once again conspired against me and two crazy boys popped out of Bekki four days before the concert. The night of the concert was the day we brought them home. Needless to say, I wasn’t ditching Bekki, no matter how much I wanted to see the show.
Snapshot, 1:33 AM — It’s Snowing Again
The boys are winding down in their bouncy seats after their middle of the night feeding. We’re listening to Genesis quietly (through the PS3 media server connected to my desktop). I fed them a little later than usual, but only by a bit. Anytime between 12:15 and 1AM is normal.
They’re being pretty vocal right now, cooing and such. I’m just watching for yawns, the cue to swaddle them and put them back in their crib. I haven’t really had any issues getting them back to sleep after the late night feeding for the last week or so. We’ll see if it keeps up. (=
The sprinkles that started earlier turned into sleet, and now it’s snowing. Again. It’s pretty light right now, but appears to be sticking. We’ll see if it’s still here in the morning or not. I still find it a bit novel, living where it snows occasionally.
I’m off to swaddle them then read and snack for a bit before going to bed.
A Handful of Twin Photos
Four new photos are up, coincidentally all containing Will. (=
Adam’s Top Concerts of 2008, Part 1
I know it’s kind of late to be posting 2008 wrap-ups, but we just started this blog, so deal with it!
I probably only went to a dozen or so shows last year, but there were some serious doozies in there.
Honorable Mentions: Buckethead, Telefon Tel Aviv
I saw Buckethead at the Moore on New Years Eve, and it was a great show as far as solo Buckethead shows go. He was “on” and played a good variety of songs, including some from his then-latest release, Albino Slug.
Telefon Tel Aviv opened for Mathew Dear’s Big Hands (which I only made it through half of the set before leaving), but TTA was awesome. They primarily played tunes from their (at the time) forthcoming album Immolate Yourself. This was compounded after the fact when Charles Cooper, one half of the band, was found dead last week. I’m glad I was able to see them.
#3: Dethklok
Yes, a cartoon band was my number 3 concert of 2008. Brendon Small ripped it up live, he’s a heck of a guitarist (and voice actor). The sound was great, the touring band was tight and it all added up to a great show. I hung out next to the lighting guy, and he pretty much an extra band member for both Dethklok and especially the opener, Chimera. This guy wasn’t triggering lights, he was playing the light board. Too cool.
#2: Does It Offend You, Yeah?
I can’t describe how great this show was. I spent the latter half of the year obsessed with their debut album, “You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into“. Live, they were fantastic. The songs were pretty faithful to the album versions, which is impressive considering the electronic lean of their sound, but these guys can play. The energy level was nuts, and I just about lost it during “Weird Science” (not a Thomas Dolby cover). I hope these UK guys come back soon, even if I have to see them at a larger venue than the tiny Chop Suey.
Stay tuned for part 2…
Snapshot, 7:34 am
Andy is wide awake, talking to himself. Or maybe to his brother, who is still fast asleep next to him. Or perhaps he’s trying to make contact with the mysterious creatures that dance in a circle hanging over him. Either way, he’s happy. I released him from the confines of the Miracle Blanket, so his little arms are dangerously close to going through the slats in the crib. He lost a sock at some point in the night; it’s tangled up in the blanket somewhere. His coos sound like hoots sometimes, so much so that I think he might be part owl.
They both have slid down the mattress. We elevated one end with a couple phone books in a desperate
attempt to help them breathe. Which has now turned the crib into a baby slide. And because of the crib experiment, I have yet to replace the bumpers, leading to the aforementioned limb escape problem.
Now Andy coughs, but luckily he doesn’t seem bothered by it. The froggy humidifier we bought has helped their poor little noses a lot. We still skipped out on PEPS (the mom/baby group we attend once a week) yesterday. I can’t imagine they are still contagious, but I know we new mothers are particularly protective and I would hate to make any one upset with me.
It sneaks closer and closer to breakfast time. Bottles must be made and heated. The couch must be arranged for two hungry little babes.