Welcome to Sarah Kathryn!

We welcome Sarah Kathryn, who was born December 7th at 1:34 AM after a quick delivery.  The labor was so short that the nurse didn't get there until Sarah's head was already out and the doctor didn't arrive until she was already born.  It was a little chaotic there at the end.

Sarah was happy to spend some time cuddling her Daddy not long after she was born, but she protested being examined and weighed.

Auntie Kathryn, who had to run to get the nurses, got to hold Sarah before going home.

Sarah warmed up next to mama before her first bath.

Here is our beautiful, little Christmas present...  

who might be practicing to be a Grinch!

Park Day

Max took Lotty and Paul to the park a few weeks ago.  We had a sunny, if cold, morning and we took advantage of it.  These pictures are from 10-Nov.

Lotty can do the slide all by herself.

The wobbly bridge is pretty fun...

but you have to pay attention to what you are doing!

Excuse Me

Excuse Me from Paul Brown on Vimeo.

Baton Rouge and other news

Our big news, that some of you already know, is that we are expecting.  Baby is due at the end of November or the beginning of December and so far everything is going pretty well. 


Our other big news, that is far less joyous, is that Paul was involved in a bicycle-car accident, as the bicyclist.  A car going the opposite direction turned left in front of him and and he couldn't stop.  The bad news is a separated shoulder—basically the ligaments holding down the collar bone to the top of the shoulder blade (the AC joint) have been ripped apart.  The good news is that all other injuries were minor and that a full recovery is likely.  This may be in part because his helmet is now cracked, so it did it's job.  The bike wasn't too badly damaged.


We also took a trip to Baton Rouge, LA to see Elizabeth's cousin Jennifer and her family.  Jennifer and Ted have a daughter, Marianna, who is a little older than Lotty, and they got along very well together.  Here are some pictures from that trip.

Lotty & Marianna outside playing "baseball" together.

Marianna shares a blueberry with Lotty.

All of us at Houmas House, a Mississippi plantation house.

Ted is the Sandbox Supervisor at a local park.

Lotty riding her cousin Marianna's horse.

Lotty eats a peach.

Lotty had loads of fun playing with Marianna's dog Quincy, who put up
with the attention quite well.

Been a while

It has been a long time since we have posted anything.  Apologies.  It has been a busy spring for us.  However, we did find time to get away in March and to have an Easter Egg hunt for Lotty.

The trip in March was to Whidbey Island, to a rental house near Useless Bay.  Lotty had a good time walking around.  Like a true Northwesterner, Lotty didn't seem to mind that it was in the mid 40s with a 15-20 mph wind; the beach was still fun.  We didn't stay long.

Lotty took to the Easter egg hunt really well.  She got some help from her Mama, but really enjoyed herself.  She also spent a little time with Grandpa Derksen.  Lotty has been enjoying "picking weeds."  This mostly involves playing in the dirt, but she has fun and gets outside.  She really enjoys being outside, especially when it is sunny out.

Over the last few months, Lotty has changed from a baby into a little girl.  In fact, yesterday she helped Paul wash the Mazda.  She helps unload the dishwasher and can help set the table.  She is starting to say her alphabet.

Sunny Day at the Park

We had a sunny and relatively warm day here in Seattle.  Lotty, Max and Paul went down to the park in the morning.  The swing was not a big hit, but the slide sure was.  Lotty kept talking about going upstairs, so they climbed around on the wooden play structure and got to the slide.  Paul and Lotty went down a few times together before Paul got tired of dragging his camera bag around and ended up just picking Lotty up and setting her at the top of the slide.  It didn't take long before Lotty decided that she could go down by herself.  She also tried crawling up the slide, though not successfully.

Lotty tries crawling up the slide.  Check out the reflection in the metal.

Lotty goes down the slide by herself before playing in the sand.

Lotty spreads sand on her legs.  When she scoots along, she leaves a "slug trail."

Playing with the grass is fun.  Maybe just a little too fun.

"What could be on my hands?"  Maybe mud and grass!  After a tough morning of play, it is good to just take some time to think about it all.

How 'Bout That

Lotty has been talking more and more.  She has expanded to multi-word phrases like "how about that," "happy Dadda" and "cool man," as well as many multiple syllable words.  We have been working on "delicious" which often comes out "licious."  She has also started walking on her own and is very good at it.  She seemed to wait until she could do it well before taking off on her own.  You can see examples of both walking and talking (not to mention drooling) in the video below.

Time to take the alligators for a walk

Lotty has been working on her walking and now uses her alligator push toy very effectively, as you can see from the video.  She has also started saying "Hi, guys," proving that she is an American.  This is just one of several two word phrases that she is using.  She is also very aware of the camera and likes to be on both sides of the lens.  While she hasn't taken any videos yet, she has taken several pictures.