Picnic Sunday

Sunday was a very busy but fun day for us as we had multiple picnics to attend. The first was the annual picnic for the UW Postdoc Association. We had some organizational role in it as I'm one of the co-chairs and Catherine heads up the Parents Group. My Dad was also in town and helped to watch Will. Well, watch him sleep. Once again we go out and Will decides it's a good time for a nap. He missed seeing some interesting entertainment.



After that picnic we left to go to another picnic with some other families from our Centering Pregnancy Group at Swedish Ballard Hospital. It was great to see everybody, meet their kids and trade experiences. It was a wonderful day by the lake and Mt. Rainier looked fantastic.



Will got a chance to relax and enjoy the day in his personal PeaPod tent. We're hoping that he continues to enjoy his time in it so we can take him outdoors in it for Ultimate games, etc.



When the PeaPod wasn't to his liking, Will always had his Grandpa there to hold him.



Or he could hangout with his "Centering Mates"



In the end, it was a very long day and getting home to relax after a shower was a welcome relief for all of us. We all slept very well, and most of us slept in the next morning. Except for Grandpa. He got up early in the morning to go into the mountains for a hike before heading the rest of the way home to Kennewick. We're so glad that he could spend what time he could visiting us though.

Trip over to the Olympic Penisula

Last Friday we took a trip over to the Olympic Peninsula. While there we saw Will's great aunt and second cousin. Initially we were going to go north to Edmonds to take the ferry over, but online they said there was going to be at least a 2 hour wait. Given that Will pretty much sleeps while in a moving car, and sitting around would be a dicier situation, we decided to drive south around Puget Sound to get there. Glad we did. Will was out except for the 10 minutes or so we were stuck in traffic near Tacoma.






We got a good game of Ticket to Ride in while visiting. Catherine ended up winning, and perhaps Will was the lucky charm. He helped her out for at least a little part of the game...





After lunch we went on Will's first hike. It was a 4.5 mile hike in the vicinity of Port Ludlow. From the trail description we thought it would be a little more covered in the woods, but in reality it was a glorified lumber road. At least it wasn't very rocky and the views were fantastic. Will did very well through the hike. He spent the entire time in the Moby Wrap with Catherine.

After relaxing from the hike, we headed back to Seattle and this time we took the ferry across the Sound, so Will got his first boat trip. With the sunny, clear weather there were some fantastic views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier. I decided to try to get Will out of the car seat and try him in the Baby Bjorn. He ended up not liking that so much, although the wind on the deck may have had something to do with that. We got some video anyway...

Strongman Will

Will appears to have some standard positions he likes when he is awake: fist to cheek, stretch with legs up, etc. One position that we think (or at least like to think) we can coach him to is the strongman flexing position. It's probably just that he gets there eventually, but we can still feel good about it. Enjoy.

Out and about... and sleeping through it.

Here are a few pictures from last weekend. We got out and about taking Will to Shakespeare in the Park on Saturday and the Sounders game on Sunday. He pretty much slept though both of them, but let's not let that be an indication of the quality of the play (for both events). He pretty much sleeps though anything we take him to. He slept through Michael's Ultimate match on Tuesday as well. This leads everybody to comment on how we have such a well behaved baby. If they only knew what he was like at home... :)

Strong right foot

Will may only be 3 weeks old, but he's picking up some impressive talents. The one that we are less thrilled about is his "fire hose" while being changed. Now, we realized that this would happen from time to time with him peeing after we took his old diaper off and before we could get a new one on. The thought was that it's only pee, and we could handle cleaning the wall or changing table off. We didn't expect the range he would get though. Multiple times he's "fire hosed" clear over his head and hit the bookshelf that at least 3 feet away from the source. We've had to put up a towel to protect the books.

The other talent is his strong right foot. Catherine argues that he's had it all along as that's what he was kicking her with the 6 months prior to his arrival, but it's definitely noticeable now. Check it out.

Soccer Sunday

A bit slow in getting this up, but last Sunday was a very soccer oriented day in the Konopka household. First was the World Cup final where we were all decked out in orange cheering for the the Netherlands.

Unfortunately we didn't get the result we wanted as Spain won in extra time. At least Will got to meet his nanny-mate for when Catherine goes make to work in a few months. Truth be told, both of them slept through pretty much the whole match.

Later in the day Will attended his first Sounders soccer game. Once again we didn't get the result we wanted as Seattle gave up a late goal and only got a draw. Well, Will didn't see that either as he slept through that as well. It doesn't cease to amaze me that in a quiet home he'll refuse to sleep, but take him to a public place with lots of noise and he's out like a log.

Trip to Ballard Seafoodfest

The temperature has cooled a little, but we still have the fans going around the house. We are all doing well. Will started the day watching the Third Place Match of the World Cup with me. Well, "watching" is a relative term. Most of it he spent napping on my lap.

Will seem to enjoy his nap. He took a very good stretch after waking up.

A bit later in the day we walked to the Ballard Seafoodfest. Not only was there fresh Alder-smoked salmon, but lots of crafts, other art, and food vendors. Lots of kids activities too, but all still a bit too big for Will. Catherine and I enjoyed a salmon dinner while Will spent most of the time content and asleep. We didn't really see much that looked interesting craftwise, but when we went in the gourmet food store Savour we did find a chocolate bar with bacon from Vosges and a nice inexpensive bottle of white wine. It was nice to get out of the house and walk around.

I think we are all tuckered out. Hopefully this means a good night of sleep so we are well rested to cheer on Netherlands in the World Cup Final on Sunday.

Surviving the heat

Seattle has set record high temperatures the past three days (Wed - 90, Thu - 95, today - 93). I've had A/C at work, but Catherine and Will have been trying to stay cool at home. Fans have been going as much as possible, and a good amount of the day has been spent hanging out in the cooler basement. It's going to start cooling off this weekend, which I think all three of us are looking forward to.

Catherine's Mom left on Thursday morning, so we are on our own now. Things have been going well, just that reality has set in about the limited number of things we can accomplish in a day.

Will had his 2 week appointment yesterday and weighed in at 8 lbs, 9.5 oz. That's fantastic... more than a pound gain since last week. He's such a good eater and becoming more aware everyday. He's hair is lightening as well. More and more changes coming...

Will's Christening

On Saturday Will had his Christening in a small ceremony with his Grandpa, Grandma, Nana, our friend Lara and us. Father Crispin presided.

On the way home we saw an odd sight: Zombies waiting for the bus. I imagine that they were heading to the Fremont Zombie Walk to help set a world record... at least I hope so.

At home we celebrated with Chicago-Style Pizza and a very large bottle of wine. Yum.

Friday recap: Dirty Diapers and Grandpa visits

Will provides quite the diaper changing experience.

Grandpa meets Will for the first time.

Nana visits Will for the first time

Hopefully travel problems isn't a trend when the grandparents come to visit (if you remember Grandma Konopka was stuck in a long traffic jam on the trip over from Kennewick). Michael went to pick up Catherine's Mom, Carol, from the Seattle airport on Thursday evening. She was there; her bags weren't. Delta forgot to transfer her luggage to Alaska Airlines in Minneapolis, so they were coming on a later flight. We headed home so that Nana could see her newest grandson.

There was no way that Nana would check the wonderful quilt she made for Will with the airline, so we got to see it. It's absolutely beautiful. This picture barely does it justice.

We are very excited to have family visit. Later today Will's Grandpa (Michael's Dad) will be visiting. Yet another loving family member to hold Will.

A few videos from Nana's visit so far.

Today is a very good day.

I even got a shot (not my favorite thing in the world) and today has to rate as a very good day. Why exactly?

1) Will had several wet diapers over night and a couple of good stools. I never thought I would be so excited about poop. The reason for our excitement was that we were beginning to get worried about him. Pretty soon after we got home, he wasn't feeding well and had not had a wet diaper. To us he seemed to be getting dehydrated, so we took him to the doctor on Tuesday who recommended supplementing for the time being with a little formula. Between that and a drop in with the lactation consultant on Wednesday he started feeding more and looking better. Hence the excitment over the diapers.

2) Today Will had his 5 day doctors appointment and things are looking good. He's back up to 7 lbs 7 oz (gained 6 oz in 2 days). Overall he is healthy and we are both happy about that.

3) Catherine's Mom (and Will's Nana) is on her way to Seattle. She will be arriving in the early evening and we all can't wait to see her.

Here are a few videos from the last couple of days. The first is of Will asleep in the swing. It's nice when we have a content baby.

I think it's best to say that Will is an impatient eater. He likes to eat quickly and he seems quite prone to the hiccups. Here is a good example.

Looking back at the last day in the hospital...

Things have been quite busy as we've adapted to living at home with William. Here are a few more picture though from our last day at the hospital

Belly time with Dad:


Catherine multitaking


DJ W.A.K. (OK really the hearing test, but with his "Seattle grunge" hat and the earphone, he looks ready for the music scene)


Catherine's cousin Erin and her girls visiting us in the hospital.