I hope this only happens one time in my life (and hers).

On Saturday Joe and I were at the gas station near our house.   Joe was pumping gas (like a good husband) and I was cleaning out the trash from his car (like a good wife).  Through the window, Joe grabbed my attention towards a young girl on the sidewalk walking towards the very busy street.  Instinctively I jumped out of the car and ran to her.  She was probably 2 and we couldn't discern if she was a girl or boy.  (Turns out she is a girl, so I'll stick with that as I talk about her.)  I ran to her and cut her off from heading into the street before picking her up.  I guess I thought that before reaching to grab her, I would give the adult person who was carefully watching her the chance to  scream at me for approaching their baby, but no one screamed.

I picked her up and asked her if she was ok, but she didn't make a peep.  Didn't hesitate for me to pick her up, had no reaction to me carrying her over to Joe's car, and just held tightly to my arm while we called 911.

She was a beautiful kid - masked by dirt.  She had no shoes, and while it seems she had a decent diaper on - her clothes had clearly not been washed in some time.  Her nails were disgusting and she had bruises on her face.  Her green eyes and curly hair made her stunning. In one hand she held a pink bouncy ball, in the other another bouncy ball and a colored pencil.

The street she was about to walk into had cars going about 40 miles per hour.  This easily could've been a worse day for her.

I held her until the police came - still not a peep.  She had no fear and just continued to hold her bouncy balls and my arm.  

We stood with the police for several minutes while they dispatched for a carseat, when I first saw the 10 year old boy with her skin color running around.  He was clearly looking for her but didn't spot us right away.  The police wanted to let him look for a few more minutes.  It had probably been about 15 minutes since we picked her up when the boy came around again.  We motioned at him and he came over and grabbed the girl from me. 

He was clearly relieved to have found her - but less than cooperative with the police.  Wouldn't tell them where he lived, didn't know his birthday, said his mom didn't have a phone number and was unsure of who was supposed to be watching his sister.  He paced back and forth ignoring most questions that were asked of him, and I could see in his eyes that he was getting ready to run.  

It wasn't until the police told him that he needed to get into the car with his sister and they were going to drive to his house that he really panicked.  He did not want to get into that car.  It felt weird to me…I just feel like that as a 10 year old, I felt like police were there to help me - this was clearly not his understanding.

Rather than get into the car, he offered to go get his mom.  The police let him go but he had to leave his sister with us.  I held her once again - not really wanting to let her go home at all.

The mom shows up a few minutes later.  She wasn't what I was expecting, but wasn't who I wanted to send this girl home with either.  She said she was in the bathroom … we now had the girl for 20 minutes, and God only knows how long she was gone before I picked her up.  The woman showed a severe lack of appropriate fear that her 2 year old daughter had traveled alone down a busy street to the gas station.

I didn't think there was much Joe and I could offer at this point - and it would have killed me to watch the police let her take the girl back home as they drove away - so we left.  But I won't forget that girl.  

The next day, we saw the brother wandering down the street, and the following day I saw the mom at the grocery store.  My eyes are always peeled for that little girl.  I hope I am wrong - and that the incident was indeed a terrible accident - but I don't believe that yet.

I lack faith that there will be appropriate follow-up to ensure that these two kids live in a safe environment, and now I just pray that someone higher will protect them.

It was quite an experience, one that I wish we didn't have to have.  But I am thankful that Joe saw her and we could love her for even 30 minutes.

Lauren's Birthday, Steve Martin & Daycare

First and foremost, happy birthday to my sister!!!  Hoping she has a wonderful day!

Last night Joe and I went to Steve Martin's concert.  It was our second time seeing him, and even though he uses the same jokes, it's just hilarious!  If you ever get a chance to go see him, you definitely should.  And it's great bluegrass music!

The concert was at a Casino.  I found it really weird that you had to walk through the casino in order to get to the outdoor amphitheater, but they didn't card anyone.  Other than the fact that seemingly anyone could sit down at a machine (maybe they check at the cashier?) it's funny how all casinos look just about the same.  And how they all remind me of Grandma!  

Joe and I resisted the temptation to risk a few dollars on slots after the show...but it was tempting!

Anyways, happy that it is Friday!  I had quite a fortunate work week; however.  We released a new version of one of our applications, and so to celebrate we spent Wednesday at the beach!  I'm hoping I never get used to this kind of treatment, because it feels so nice when you're not expecting it!  It turned out to be a beautiful day and the CEO even took a dip in the freezing cold water!  Feeling quite blessed here.

Today we are touring our second day care.  This is perhaps the biggest (most overwhelming) pill to swallow in terms of the financial change we're about to endure!  Thinking that maybe flying the kid back to the midwest from 9-5 each day might actually be cheaper!  Especially with all the free flights we'd rack up...not a bad thought.  :)

We'll be in touch!

Good Genes

We're hoping our little guy takes his looks from us.

Week 24: Dr.'s Appointment

We had our monthly check up with Dr. Slack today and everything seems to be right on track!

Our little man's heartbeat is 154 bpm and in the 10 seconds that the Doppler was on my stomach he moved three times (which confirms that not all the movement I've been feeling in there is gas!)  Just kidding (I mean, I do have plenty of gas) but we feel the little guy moving all the time!  Turns out he loves to move during Yoga, Massage and at any point that I am laying down.  I love to feel him move - it brings me  a lot of joy.  I felt like until I felt him move regularly I felt a lot more anxiety than joy surrounding being pregnant, but when he lets you know he's in there and doing fine, I just feel happy.

We don't have anything to complain about, but I will tell you some of the challenges (as if challenges don't = complaints).  My sleep apnea machine is out of commission at this point, since whenever I put it on I swallow all of the air.  You can figure out the rest (refer to previous paragraph).  This has left me without good sleep for about 3 weeks now and I'm EXHAUSTED.  Needless to say that when I'm not sleeping well, Joe's not sleeping well - so he's exhausted, too.  And I'll beat you to the punch that "this is preparing us for having a baby" - even if that's true - I'd prefer to get some sleep now.  So I'm going to the sleep doctor at the end of the month.

The only "symptom" that comes even close to the discomfort of exhaustion is the heart burn.  I think I sleep half the night with acid in my mouth - it's pretty disgusting.  Loving that I just discovered TUMs, and doctor says I can take some other stuff before I go to bed, which should help.  He also suggests buying a wedge to sleep on, or propping the top of our bed up on wood blocks...neither of which sounds too comfy...or safe.

But, really, things are going quite easily, and we realize we are very blessed.

Life outside of my stomach is pretty normal.  We have a fully furnished and spacious dining area now and it is awesome!  We got to hang out with Erin & Eli this weekend (who turns 1 next month - crazy!).  We are still waiting on the arrival of summer here in Seattle and hoping that it doesn't forget to come this year.  (I even bought a new swimsuit - not one chance to wear it yet.)  And we're going to see Steve Martin play banjo on Thursday!  We saw him perform last year as well - he's amazing!

We hope you all are doing well!

Love,

Robyn

Fourth of July

I'll probably never have another Fourth of July where I'm not reminiscing of decorated bicycles, unlimited freeze-pops, lemonade, hotdogs and an American birthday cake - followed by a good dunk in the pool for relief from the 100% humidity...but having to spend this Fourth of July away, we found a pretty good runner up.  We were fortunate enough to have a friend invite us to his parent's house on Bainbridge Island for a BBQ.  While we really had no idea what the day had in store for us, it was 75 degrees and sunny and Mount Rainier had never looked so beautiful to me.

We took the Ferry to Bainbridge Island with our friend Derek and found that they have an annual HUGE Fourth of July parade/festival!  Having gone there only for the BBQ this day's worth of events took us, and my feet, by surprise - but it was really neat.  Talk about a small town.  It's amazing how it's only separated from downtown Seattle by a 30 minute ferry ride...but if you didn't know, you'd think you had landed in another country.  The truth is, we might never be rich enough to afford a house on Bainbridge Island, but pretending for the day was enough.  

 Our friends Nick, Andrew and Derek.

Really, I did miss the 15+ annual parade at the Roth's, but in the middle of the summer, Seattle isn't a bad place to be!

Zombies

Fremont is a neighborhood just north of our neighborhood and refers to itself as the center of the universe.  It's pretty artsy fartsy and is home to the Fremont Troll, the Annual Solstice Parade and my favorite Sunday market.  

And every year around the 4th of July they set their hopes on claiming their spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of zombies walking around at one time.  London and Denver, Colorado are the biggest competitors and this year Fremont claimed victory for Seattle with over 4,500 zombies!

Joe and I aren't fun or cool enough to actually dress like zombies, but I have no problem putting my zoom lens on and taking pictures.  We even paid $5 to get in!  And here is one event where people LOVE to have their picture taken.

Here were some of my favorites...though by the end of the day I felt quite creeped out and dirty.

Week 21

Well, over the halfway mark, living it up in week 21, about to move onto week 22.  We celebrated Joe's first Father's Day and, as every father should, Joe now has his first grill!  I feel kind of bad about the gift because I definitely benefit from it as much (if not more) than Joe does, but I like to think he finds joy in doing the grilling!  I definitely enjoy eating!  Here's a shot from our new patio by the way!

So week 21 has my belly popping!  Here's your first sneak peak at what the little guy is doing to my figure!  We're happy that he's growing...and nervous about how much more he'll grow in the next 4+ months!  With the growth has come movement!  He's moving a lot nowadays, though he certainly takes days off.  It seems like one week he's in the Olympics doing his gymnastic's floor routine and the next he's in a sleeping marathon.  It does bring a little anxiety when he's in the non-moving phase, but everyone tells me not to worry, so I'm doing my best.

We also made great strides this weekend - and dents in our wallet - to start getting ready.  We picked out and ordered a crib and a car seat!  If you've never been to Baby's R Us, I recommend avoiding it.  It can't be healthy for pregnant women to go there.  If you don't leave having spent all of your savings, you will definitely leave with high blood pressure.  We are very grateful for the gifts that our friends and family have given us that enabled our trip to more or less avoid both of the above health concerns.  Seriously though, thank you all so much.

Everything is going well here outside of these new developments.  I'm getting settled into being more regular at work and was rewarded at my 30 day mark with health insurance and my first of the offered bi-weekly massages.  Yes, being offered bi-weekly massages at work is ridiculous...but I'll take it and it was amazing!  My body actually doesn't feel terrible these days (other than my feet) but goodness did this massage feel amazing.  And Joe is a lucky man because I can pass a massage off to him instead!  We'll have to find a good balance, though one massage a month for each of us isn't anything to complain about!

We hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!  

Love,

Robyn