Sebastian's Quiver

After over a month of back and forth and waiting and edge of your seat anticipation, we have FINALLY sold our house in Decatur, Georgia.  I’ll certainly miss it – I was there for over 7 years – and selling it in a down housing market certainly sucks, but overall I’m glad to be rid of it.  It was on the market for 8 months even though the Decatur market wasn’t that bad.  Problem was the house is a two bedroom, and apparently in the current market, they are a lot harder to sell.  But now we are free and clear of it and we don’t have two house payments.  I don’t know if I’m going to know how to live in Portland and not pinch pennies.

One of the most exciting things is that we can now start looking at houses here in Portland.  True, our lease isn’t up until April, but we already paid last months rent, and first month’s mortgage is free, so if we buy a house in February, the month of March is totally free for us.  We’ll probably start looking in earnest in December, if we can last that long.

Taking a hit on the house in Decatur certainly sucks big time, but the housing market in Portland, which has been totally ridiculous for the past several years, is finally coming back down to earth.  Any money that we didn’t make on the house in Decatur should be made up by the housing drop here. (That is what we call the silver-lining-analysis.)

For your patience with the blog, I’m throwing in some extra photos for your enjoyment.  I dug deep into the photo archive to come up with some special photos that have yet to see the light of day.  These are photos from Sebastian’s six month birthday.  I was supposed to have a separate, exclusive post for these, but that never happened, so I’m tacking them onto the end of this post.  Here, in all their glory, are the photos of Sebastian’s first meal of solid food (rice cereal).  You’ll see that he wasn’t too enamored with the flavor, which he has since come to enjoy (those photos will be posted at a later date).

Sorry there hasn’t been any post lately.  I was in London on business for a week and hadn’t gotten around to posting anything.

A quick update, then.  Sebastian is as cute as ever.  We started him on solid (though mushy) foods a couple of weeks ago.  So far his favorites seem to be rice cereal and fresh peaches (cooked into a peachy mushy sauce).  He still isn’t crawling (forward), but he’s going backwards as fast as ever.  He’s still a horrible sleeper, though he seems to be getting slightly better.  He’s still teething, though he still doesn’t have any teeth.  We’re still reading War and Peace and we’re up to Chapter 10.  He loves dancing; it cracks him up.

If anyone is interested, I took some photos while I was in London.  They are here.

Without further ado, here are more Sebastian photos (the full set is on the photo blog):

Well, I’m in London.  On business.  Without Juliann and Sebastian.

One thing we did to keep in contact with the eight hour time difference is to use Skype.  it allows you to do pretty high quality video chat on the computer for free.  It also allows calls to phones for super cheap, even internationally.  We used the video chat so Sebastian could watch me stick my tongue out at him.  It’s one of his favorite games.  He also learned (sort of) to wave back when you wave to him.

One other things that came out of the trip is my tumble blog.  What, you ask, is a tumble log?  It’s kind of a quick hit blog.  A link here, a photo there, a short blurb of something somewhere else.  Nothing elaborate.  It’s somewhere between blogging like this and microblogging like Twitter.  So, if you have time, take a look at the tumble blog at http://shawnb.tumblr.com.  Lots of London photos and stuff up there right now.  Get it while it’s hot!

Just a quick update while Sebastian is sitting and flailing about on the floor.  We have made it to page 50 of War and Peace and we are on Chapter 6.  Not bad!  Only 1400+ pages to go.  I’m looking at finishing it up sometime when Sebastian is in junior high school.

I know what you’re thinking: “Man, I can’t believe Shawn and Juliann haven’t gone on a hike in, like, forEVER!”  Well, rest assured that we went on a hike last weekend to the Columbia River Gorge.  We wanted someplace pretty close that was only 3 miles or so, so we chose the Latourell Falls, only 18 miles outside Portland, which means that it was about a 30 minute drive from house to parking lot.  It was a beautiful, sunny day here in Portland, so we expected a lot of people, but it really wasn’t too bad.  There were people milling about the parking area taking in the site of the lower falls, but there weren’t too many hikers on the trail that we saw (we actually only saw one couple with their dog, and that was because they were hiking the trail in reverse direction).  This was the first hike with the Ergo Carrier, and I started off with it for the uphill portion of the hike.  While adding 20 pounds or so to my hiking weight was a bit of a change at first, it really wasn’t that bad.  The weight was distributed well on my back along my hips, so it wasn’t much of a problem hiking with him.

So, without further ado, here are a few photos from our hike.  Check out the photoblog for more photos.

Weird tree at a weird angle:

The upper falls:

Sebastian and I at the upper falls:

Weird tree #2:

My apologies.  It’s been almost a month since I last posted, and I know all you loyal readers out there are just clamoring for more photos and info on Sebastian.  Well, here you go.

One of the main reasons I’ve been lax is that we had family come to visit!  Yay!  My elder sister Staci, her husband Mike and their daughter Christie stopped by first.  It was fantastic to have them stay with us (better house guests than they will be hard to find).  Sebastian had a ball playing with them (especially Zombie Mike – see photoblog) and we had a ball showing them a bit of Portland (Powell’s Books, Japanese Garden, NW 23rd shopping and Yuki Sushi – YUM!).  It was great having Christie around, and her help roasting coffee and picking raspberries and getting the photos of the duckling will always be appreciated.

The weekend after that my parents came for a visit!  Yay!  Sebastian loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa.  The stayed for the weekend after a couple of nights in Las Vegas, and we showed them a bit of Portland, too – both rose gardens, some bridges (sorry Mom), and Fife (thanks Dad).  As much of the time was spent with them playing with Sebastian.

As far as Sebastian goes, he’ll be 6 months old on July 25.  Half a year, can you believe it?!  He’s getting very close to crawling; he gets on his hands and knees, but he’s not too sure what to do from there and usually starts crying.  His current favorite pasttime (besides not sleeping at night) is playing the piano.  I sit in front of the piano with him on my lap and he just goes to town on it.  He’s currently in his free jazz/experimental phase, so the music isn’t really for everyone.  There are currently plans in the works to record some of it and post it here so you all can listen to his musical prowess.  Sebastian is also very close to eating solid foods.  All the experts say six months is a good time to start introducing him to solid foods, so we are starting to plan his first foray into solids foods.  What will be first?  Bananas?  Avocados?  You’ll have to wait and see.  I’ll try to remember to get some photos of his first food eating experience, and if I do, I’ll post them here.

On a more adult note, Juliann and I are both doing well.  We are a bit tired due to Sebastian’s horrible sleep patterns (or, more accurately, non-sleep patterns).  My new job is going well – you can see the iPhone application that I helped develop, and you can download it, too.  Juliann is getting ready to take her massage therapist licensing exam.

OK, that’s probably enough.  You just came here to check out the newest photos, so here they are.  As usual, you can check out the photoblog: Family Photos, Sebastian Photos and Japanese Garden Photos.

Perfect shot:

It’s Grandma!  And the blanket that Great-Great-Grandma made!

Oooooooo, a new toy:

Staring contest.  High Noon.  In front of Kitty’s Saloon:

Drool!

Gazing off into the distance:

At the Japanese Garden:

Sebastian delivering the Baby Death Grip to his Uncle Mike:

And of course, one last one of my wonderful wife:

It’s video time!  Not much to report here in Portland.  No fancy trips to the mountains or the coast or the Gorge.  Sebastian is growing like a weed.  He’s heavier every day and his legs keep getting chubbier and chubbier.  He’s also teething a bit.  And grabbing at anything and everything.  I started reading Sebastian some Shakespearean sonnets and some Beowulf (translated – I’ll leave the Old English version to my elder sister). He’s also starting to scootch himself backwards when you put him on the floor.  He’s not quite ready to crawl, but he’s getting pretty darn close.

No photos today, but here is a short video of Sebastian that we took with my camera.  Juliann was the camera person.

Sebastian Laughing His Ass Off

Well, I hope you liked that interlude.  If that video didn’t work for you, well, what can I say – buy a Mac.

I apologize for the lack of updates for the past week or so.  I was out in San Francisco at Apple’s WWDC on business (I’ve been working on an iPhone application, so it actually was quite relevant).  So I’m now catching up on some photos that should have been posted this past weekend.  Some are of Sebastian, and some are of flora in our backyard.  Sorry, no wild trips deep in the back country this week, unless you count wading through masses of unhygenic, unkempt nerds with little self-respect a wild trip.

So, without further ado, here are the latest photos taken of Sebastian (all of which, I might add, were taken by Juliann except for the bath shot). As usual, check out the photoblog to see all the photos of Sebastian and the nature photos.

As you can see, Sebastian enjoys reading his book while sitting on the couch.

He also likes to take baths.  See how clean we keep him!

Watch Misha try and hog the spotlight (and the focus).

Flowers in our backyard.  Notice the primary colors of the flowers.

More flowers.  This time, secondary colors.

A double rainbow (look closely) seen from our back porch.  You might have to click on the photo to get the full size version to see the second rainbow.

I haven’t given any reading updates lately, plus it’s been about a week since I posted photos of the Great Outdoors, so I figured that I would do both.

Sebastian and I have been reading the classic Goodnight Moon most nights at bedtime.  He loves looking at the drawings and the more read it, the more he pays attention to it.  We’ve also been reading Lord Byron’s The Prisoner of Chillon, which we just finished this evening.  It’s quite good; I recommend it to everyone.  Several weeks ago we also started reading War and Peace.  Yes, that War and Peace.  We got through Chapter 1, but we haven’t yet started Chapter 2.

Juliann, Sebastian and I loaded the car up on Sunday and headed out to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden.  This week’s trip was quite a bit closer than the previous few – it was a 15 minute drive to the park in Southeast Portland (we live in Northeast).  I expected it to be nice, but it was even nicer than I had expected.  It was different levels (all stroller/wheelchair accessible) with very nice bridges and waterfalls and great landscaping.  I heartily recommend it to anyone willing to pay $3 to spend an hour or so walking around some really beautiful rhododendrons and azaleas and other nice flowers and trees.  Sebastian stayed awake for the entire excursion and he enjoyed the brightly colored flowers and the wildlife and the ponds and waterfalls.

This past Thursday, one of my oldest and dearest friends just happened to be in Portland on business so we got together and hung out a bit.  I’m glad he got a chance to meet Sebastian (and vice versa).  We got a chance to eat some Thai food, drink some fancy beers (some too wheaty, some too stout) and talk about fatherhood and recommendation engines and Shanie and her sheets.  A grand time was had by all.

So here are some photos of various things.  As usual, please visit the photoblog to catch up on all the photos, the below which are just a sampling.

I know what you’re thinking.  “ANOTHER hike?!?!  All these people do is hike hike hike.”  Well, that’s pretty close to true.

Juliann, Sebastian and I took off to Multnomah Falls, the biggest, touristy falls in the Gorge by a huge margin.  The reason why we chose to do this hike was twofold:  1) The guide books said that the hike behind Multnomah Falls was one of the best waterfall hikes in the Gorge, and 2) it was cold and rainy and we knew few, if any, tourists would be clogging up Multnomah Falls.

We were right.  Few people were there.  Halfway up the very steep, mile long ascent to the top of Multnomah Falls (where the real hike begins) it really began to rain pretty hard.  Luckily, it let up and we got the top, though it was a tough uphill (1 mile with 800+ feet of ascent – that’s a lot).  Up behind the Falls it turned from a plain old uphill slog to a beautiful, verdant wonderland of cascading falls, rocky overhangs, and tall, old trees.  Juliann carried Sebastian most of the way in the sling, though I took him for about a mile in the middle and the last half mile out of the total 6+ miles.  We desperately need an Ergocarrier.

I’d like to point out how wonderful Sebastian was on the hike.  There was a short time when he was getting a little cranky, but that didn’t last long at all.  He slept for the beginning of the hike, but he was awake for most of it.  He was looking around at all the trees and water and falls.  When he was awake he never stopped gazing at everything around him.  We (i.e., Juliann) did a great job of keeping him dry when it was raining, but when he did get drizzled on, he didn’t mind it at all.  The only thing that he didn’t like was when his view of the scenery was blocked by the raincoat.

I’m not sure what else I can say about how beautiful this hike was.  I think it was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever been on.  Oh yeah, did I mention that this was about a 30 minute drive from our house?

I posted about 45 photos on the photoblog with additional comments for most of the photos, but here is a taste of some of the better shots:

Multnomah Falls – this is what everyone comes to see.

Faerie Falls – this is one of the falls that is way back on the hike.

I know this looks tilted, but it’s really not.

The end of the hike!  We made it!