Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thankful

Thanksgiving marked the first day off I've had since the last week of October.  Yikes.

Once the state championships start, I'm typically at events Fridays and Saturdays and then back into the office on Sunday to help with the program for whatever the next week's tournament is.  It's an exhausting but enjoyable cycle.

On top of that, I decided to coach the 5th grade basketball team at University Child Development School (UCDS).  This is my ninth year coaching at the school.  I started when Darin was a resident teacher there back in 2003-04.  It really is something I look forward to every year.  Typically, we are a little stronger academically than we are athletically.  My dad has dubbed our team "The Fighting Nerds".  Last year, we were 0-8, so you can imagine that they were beating down my door to have me back to coach another season.

And, on top of THAT, I'm growing a moustache right now in recognition of "Movember".  Intense.

I realize that no one is really interested in MY activities, and that the main plot line of this story is Dylan.  I'm just trying to provide an explanation for the shortage of updates.

All of my free time between events has been spent watching our little man grow.  Every day is a new adventure and I'm constantly amazed by the noticeable changes in his appearance and personality.  I'm sure most parents think this, but I really believe that Darin and I have been blessed with the perfect baby.

A lot has happened the last month, so I'm going to do my best to provide a rundown of the highlights...

The Soroptomist Auction
An annual event to benefit the Marysville Soroptomists, of which Darin's mom is a proud, card-carrying member.  It typically falls around Halloween, so we take the opportunity to dress up.  This year, Darin was a bumblebee, Brie was an Eskimo, I was Steve Prefontaine, and Dylan was a penguin.  Can you figure out the theme?  Dylan lasted about 10 minutes in his penguin costume.  The fleece was a little much.  He already has a decent amount of insulation...if you know what I mean.  He's chubby.


The highlight of the event was Darin's dad winning a wheelbarrow full of beer.  And, he got to keep the wheelbarrow too!  Naturally, I seized the opportunity with a picture of Dylan...


Walla Walla
After the State Cross Country meet in Pasco, we went over to Walla Walla for our first visit with the Great Grandparents Gunter and my Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Roc.  It was a quick trip, but we still managed to squeeze in a few of our favorite Walla Walla activities:  adult beverage at the Green, morning walk to Rooks Park, lunch at Graze with THE John Blair, and Dylan got a personal tour of Whitman College, his future alma mater.  Just kidding...there's no way we'll be able to afford tuition there in 2030.


Return to the Hardwood
While the world has been deprived of the first month of NBA basketball, the Knapp family has been getting its fix.  Darin returned to the court in early November to play in the Puget Sound Basketball League with a few of my co-workers.  Dylan and I have created a two-man cheerleading squad on the sidelines.  I've been doing the bulk of the cheering though, considering Dylan's slept through every game so far.  It's great to see Darin back on the court.


Dylan Being Dylan
We've had a lot of milestones with Dylan the last month.  Not surprisingly, subtle accomplishments have been lauded as heroic feats...rolling over, clasping his hands, smiling, chatting, tracking, sleeping more than four hours straight.  Did I mention this kid likes to eat?  Goodness.  Here's a great picture of Dylan next to a baby picture of Darin so you can see what he's aspiring to.  "Michelin Baby" seems to be the most appropriate description.


Thanksgiving
The culminating event of this busy stretch was the Thanksgiving holiday.  Brie flew in from S.F. and my folks brought my Grandma Lin up from Camas to join us.  My grandma told me that she didn't think she'd ever see Seattle again, so I was happy for her to make the trip.  As you can tell by all of these pictures, there's a lot to be thankful for right now.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Playing Catch-Up


As seems to be the pattern, I'm way behind on updates.  One thing I have learned in the last couple of months though, is that having a baby is a great excuse for a lot of things...being late to an event, wanting to leave early,  wanting to go to bed before 9p, or even wanting to skip something completely.  So, we'll blame my falling behind on blog entries on Dylan.  Seems fair, right?

I'll start a few weeks back when my Aunt Debbie came to town for a visit from Montana.  She is an incredibly talented and creative quilter/seamstress/craftperson.  We've been using a little blanket she made us with a Dr. Seuss pattern for Dylan's tummy time.  She brought Dylan a beautiful new blanket she'd been working on that converts to a little sleep sack.  Love it!


During her visit, we took a trip over to Ballard to have brunch with Elliot and Sarah at Portage Bay (one of our favorites) and a walk around the Ballard Locks.  We've taken Dylan to several restaurants, and each time I expect him to have a breakdown.  Thankfully, we've been lucky so far and he's been a champ everywhere we've taken him.  I keep hearing that this good fortune is inevitably going to come to an end.  Can't wait.




The following weekend we made a trip down to Camas so that Dylan could meet all of our family and friends down there.  As part of the trip, I was asked to speak to the Sports Management class at Camas HS about my job with the WIAA.  I only had two people fall asleep during my presentation, so I considered it a success.  While I was giving my presentation, my mom was schlepping Dylan up and down the halls of CHS introducing him to anyone that would make eye contact with her.  "This is my grandson!"  Her enthusiasm for being a grandma and her love for Dylan are adorable.


My mom brought out a very special gift...Whitman College baby clothes that Elliot and I had worn.


The rest of the trip itinerary was full of introductions that coincided with meals.  He had a lunch date with his Great GREAT Aunt Cay, dinner with his Great Grandma Lin, lunch with our friends Jen and Ryan, and lunch with our friend Melinda before we headed home on Sunday.  Among all of those social engagements, he managed to have some quality bonding time with his grandma and grandpa.

Here are some images from our trip...



(http://animoto.com/play/hI0D05SvdxdQV0lX7jUXkA)



Monday, October 10, 2011

Magic in the Methow




About four hours northeast of Seattle sits the Methow Valley.  When the road isn't closed due to snow, the best way to get there is by taking the North Cascades Highway.  If you have never driven that road, I would highly recommend it.  The views are spectacular, even by Pacific Northwest standards.

A few weekends back, we packed Dylan into the car for his first road trip to Twisp, one of the Methow's many endearing towns.  Twisp is home to Darin's Grandpa Dave, Grandma Barb, Uncle Neal, Uncle Gordy, Aunt Adrian and their daughter Kathleen, and her cousin Dani and her husband Ray and son Marcel.  Her Aunt Chere is also a short drive away in Wenatchee, and was happy to make the trip into town to meet Dylan.  From an efficiency standpoint, we managed to knock out nearly the entire Reynaud (or 'Reno' if you're in Twisp) side of the family in one visit.  Yay for us.

The tranquility of the Methow Valley is tough to describe if you've never been there.  Surrounded by sprawling hills, an assortment of wildlife, and the soothing sounds of the river, it's tough to be stressed about much of anything while you're there.

We had a perfect visit that included a tour of Dani's Montessori school, a Liberty Bell HS soccer game to cheer on Kathleen, some baked goods at Cinnamon Twisp, watching UW football trounce Utah, hot tubbing under the stars, a morning walk in the hills of Twisp, a few poems from Grandpa Dave, and several hours of laughing and chatting with the entire Reno clan.  The magic of the Methow was not lost on Dylan.  Here's a slideshow of our visit.  The song is "Come On Down" by Luc & The Lovingtons (Darin's cousin Luc's band).


Up next, Dylan's first trip to Camas.  Can't wait to see his face when he gets his first whiff of the mill.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Partyin', Partyin' YEAH!

Dylan officially turned one month old on September 17.  It seems like it's been one big birth celebration as we continue to take him out and about to meet friends and family.  A couple weekends back we took him out to the Mason's house for his first West Seattle party.  The usual suspects were in attendance (Zorins, Sterns, Reynauds) and we were also joined by Camille and Daffy, the Dowdens, Uncle Elliot, and my mom who was in town getting her Dylan fix for the weekend.


As usual, the food was mediocre, the wine was corked, the conversation was vapid, and the sunset over the Sound was underwhelming.  Dylan still managed to have a good time and is looking forward to many future gatherings with that special group of people.


Later that week, Dylan got to meet Sally and David (Papa).  Papa was an obstetrician, and has handled thousands of babies during his lifetime.  Dylan was instantly at ease in his hands, although I think he might have just been hypnotized by the vibrant colors and pattern of Papa's trademark Facconable shirt.



The party kept rolling that weekend when we headed over to Hood Canal for Zac and Jess' wedding at Alderbrook Resort.  We took the ferry over to Bremerton and stopped off at Mary and Jim's for a quick visit before heading to the wedding.  This was Dylan's first big social event, and we were interested to see how he would handle himself.  To say he exceeded expectations would be an understatement.  He slept through the ceremony, the cocktail hour, dinner, the beginning of the dance party, and the entire ride home.  There was a nurse practitioner sitting at our table was amazed by his performance.  The beauty of the whole thing was that it allowed us to enjoy a beautiful wedding at a stunning location.  Congratulations to the Liens!




We're looking forward to our trip to Twisp next weekend where Dylan will meet his great grandparents and the rest of the Reynauds.  He's mostly looking forward to stripping down and running wild in the Methow with his cousin Marcel.

I'll leave you with one last photo of Dylan and his new friend Jack the jackal (thanks Shannon!).