Many changes; the latest update

It's been a while since my last update and there is quite a bit to share. It's hard to discuss everything so, I'll pick a few for now.

Spring 2006 European Vacation

Seven months ago Doug took a three-month leave from work and took all of us to Europe for an unforgettable five-week vacation. It was a wonderful bonding experience for the three of us as we traveled by plane, train, bus, bike and rental car from Germany to France, Austria, Belgium and Holland. The food was great and I gained about five pounds eating chocolate and cheese! But, all the different food, wine and beer was part of the cultural education.

The trip highlights included: WWII sites; Mozart music in Salzburg and Vienna; Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Bertesgarden, the D-Day beaches in Normandy, the Peace Museum and the Dutch Occupation Museum in Amsterdam. Castles along the Loire Valley, Joan of Arc's adventures and the great tapestry depicting the Battle of 1066. Crepes, gallettes, cidre and medieval homes of Britannia. Belgium chocolate and art galleries. Finally the amazing art galleries in Holland with painting by Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Carravaggio.

We were constantly on the go, but we were able to spend a few days; on a farm in France, time with locals in an Austrian mountain village where it snowed and in the cities visiting museums and churches. It was a great experience and once in a while I wish I could go to the museum to sit and gaze at the artwork or to sit at a street cafe sipping cappuccinos. We'll have to go back.

Finnegan starts school:

Finnegan is almost two years old and we can't believe it. He is learning so much and is such a joy to be around.

Many months ago, Doug and I decided to that it was time to put Finnegan into some kind of school because he is such a social child. So we looked as a few daycare centers and one highly recommended by our neighbors.

The different places we visited ranged from glorified babysitting with terrible food to a curriculum driven pre-school with organic food. We were really thankful for the recommendations because we settled on the Northwest Child Development Center in the Queen Anne neighborhood about two miles from our house.

After three weeks, we know that we made the correct decision because Finnegan is thriving. He loves going to school three days a week where he eats several tasty organic meals and snacks each day and joins in activities that develop his communication, motor and cognitive skills. He has developed so much in just nine days.

At home he now helps us set the table by ferrying plates, napkins, silverware and condiments to their proper places. He can prepare cookie batter and form the dough into balls and place them on cookie sheets and yesterday he prepared the batter for a very tasty french toast breakfast. Meal preparation is so much fun because he loves to help.

Each day we hear him expand his vocabulary. His vocalizations are now becoming conversations. With the combination of sign language and is new word usage, he commuicates very well with us.

Last year Doug and I had many discussions about daycare and we just weren't sure we wanted to do it. Doug was very comfortable with keeping Finnegan at home because that's what he grew up with, but we noticed how happy Finn was when surrounded by other children. When we were on vacation he had so much fun socializing with children in France, Austria and Holland that we knew it was time he had a more structured environment that would stimulate his mind.

The things that I like most about the NWCDC is that they started out as a school for children with disabilities and eventually opened it's doors to include all children. It's a great environment because the children learn and play with others who have varying physical and development abilities. One of Finnegan's classmates, Nora, has Down's Syndrome, but there are speech therapists and physical therapists on staff who assist her every day.

It's amazing to see how patient the teachers and therapists are with all the children and to witness the kids eating, cleaning up after meals, washing hands, and playing together. They are learning manners for sitting at the breakfast table and for playing together and to be self-sufficient little helpers at home.

It's a wonderful place that is the only one of it's kind in the Northwest region and we are so thankful that Finnegan has the opportunity to attend such a unique school.

Photography Studio:

Last year, my friend Rachele Valadez and I spent a month taking Santa photos at a nearby shopping center while hatching a plan to start our own photography studio. In February we put in a proposal for a space at the Wallingford Center and were rejected! We couldn't believe it and our defeat only served to steel our determination to find a new location. Our luck improved when Rachele found the newly developed Mill Creek Town Center about 18 miles away from my house and hers. After a few months of negotiating we signed the lease on a 1400 square foot store corner store.

It took many months to work out all the details and we became very frustrated with the build-out process, but on August 15th we gained access to the space and began
working to get everything done. Rachele saved us so much money by getting all of her friends to help us with painting, carpeting and millwork at cost. Then we tiled the lobby and bathroom ourselves. Visitors always ask us about the floors and want to hire our contractors, we tell them we charge $10,000, just in case anyone takes us up on the offer.

During the second week of September we called in family members (my mom, Rachele's mom and my sister Barbara) to help us with the final push to finish the studio for our opening day on Sept. 16th. It was a lot of work, but we have a beautiful gallery photography studio and we have been busy. It's so nice to go to work everyday because it's a real job instead of a hobby that takes over my house. Working with a partner is nice too because I have someone to rely on and Rachele does too.

House remodeling:

If you've seen our house you know that it's a 1922 Bungalow craftsman-style home. For two years we've been enjoying our home with Finnegan and as we settled
in we realized that we missed having a home theater. So, two days before we left for Europe, Doug decided it was time to convert the garage into a movie theater/play room.
It was a mad dash to get everything packed and moved into storage while preparing for our trip, but we made it.

Six months later we now have a home theatre with a drop down seven foot wide screen with surround sound and a wonderful play space complete with storage cabinets and a space for displaying Doug's Star Wars memorabilia.

The best part of the remodel is that Doug designed a bay window that was installed above the garage on the main floor. It's a beautiful window seat that looks our onto
the front yard and the new window totally changed the feel of the upstairs. Each time I walk into the front door, I take a deep breath and feel the warmth and security of
hearth and home sweep over me like a hug from an old friend. Doug's changes to the house were so well designed and we are enjoying the new spaces very much.

Growing family; new baby on the way:

Yes, it's true. We are going to welcome a new baby boy into our family this February. We were so happy when we discovered that we were going to have another baby. We had always hoped for another child, but thought that it might not happen. To our surprise in June, I started feeling really tired and not quite myself. Then one day, it dawned on me that I might be pregnant. It didn't seem possible considering all the treatment that I had to go through to have Finnegan, but I took the test anyway and it was positive! What a great surprise!

I am currently at 19 weeks and two days with four months to go. Since our lives don't seem to be slowing down much, it's nice to know that we have another great event to look forward to in February.