Aunti V is here!!!

Our dear friend Violetta came down from Pasadena to see the bebe. Little did she know we had lots of other plans for her while she was here! We were still trying to adjust to life with Rowan and needed V there for moral support, in addition to many other not so fun chores. Thank you, Auntie V!!!

Rowan is now on Flickr!

Hey Everyone! Now you can see more pictures of Rowan on my flickr page. Just click on the link that is in the top left corner and you can get your fix anytime you want.

Season's Greetings!

We can shoot video with our little point & shoot camera, but it's lacking a few key features. Like the ability to zoom while filming. Or a delay - as you'll notice in this clip. But it works, and it enabled us to send this special message from all of us!




And we know you can't see much of Rowan in any of today's posts... so: eat your heart out.

Look what Santa left under the tree

Christmas in San Diego

While no one is dreaming of a white Christmas in San Diego, we thought we should take advantage of the incredible backdrop while we're here. So we loaded up the family and went to Balboa Park to take some shots on Christmas Eve.

Fountain at the Plaza de Panama.

In the cactus garden.

Florida Canyon Mesa.

He's got his daddy's crooked smile!

I guess our families will be gathering at our respective houses to eat a lot of food, perhaps watch The Grinch, and catch up on what's been happening. Hi family! And hello friends who are tuning in! We hope to provide a few more updates throughout the day, including some shots of our tiny tree and other Holiday-related stuff. So, check back again soon!

Rolling Over: 3 1/2 weeks

First try




...still trying...




Success!

Nanie's Visit

Here are some choice photos from Nanie's visit this past weekend.

Rowan with Nanie

His umbilical cord finally fell off, so we treated him to his first bath at home. He was great!

How can you resist? YOU CAN'T!

Three Weeks Old!

Somebody's got cold hands!

Photo Update

I could write anything here. You people couldn't care less, as long as we keep up the multi-media barrage.









We are waiting for him to realize that the hand that took his pacifier out, in fact, belongs to him. Of course, this raises a classical conundrum: to allow the baby to continue knocking his pacifier out, upsetting the peace of the household; or teaching a baby how to manipulate objects in three dimensional space, possibly upsetting the peace of the universe...

Two Weeks Old

Rowan hasn't been in the mood for photo shoots lately as we are re-negotiating his contract. His demands include a velour onesie, a blinged out binky, and amnesty from all future time-outs. I have to give the little guy credit for driving such a hard bargain, but no dice. Actually, he hasn't been so happy because of a blocked tear duct. This is actually quite common, and it already appears to be subsiding so he should be back under the spotlight soon. For now, here he is at two weeks.

"Yes, my evil plan is working perfectly. Now GO! Back to the salt mines! I need salt for my beef stew!"

Steve is NOT the new Bob

After we announced the birth of our little one, so many people wrote back to tell us how much they liked the name, ask where we came up with it, etc. Obviously, we like it, too! Looking at the little guy, Rowan just seemed right. So, here is a little bit of information on names. Daddy is a scientist, so get ready for some technical stuff.

OK. Looking at the US census data, Rowan is a rare name with only about 0.03% of all male babies born per year (2003-2006) bearing this name. Compare to Jacob (#1 boy's name for 2006, 1.13% of all male babies), Michael (#2 for 2006, 1.03%), John (still hanging strong at #20 for 2006, 0.69%).

FYI, the standard Bob (Robert) has been declining in popularity since 1992, dropping from #17 to #47. However, Steve (Steven) has likewise experienced a decline since 1992, dropping even more precipitously from #29 to #90. If we extend the comparison to the last 50 years, the same trends hold up. So I am sorry, Pie Girl: Steve is not the new Bob.

Anyways, there are various websites one can visit in search of baby names. A typical Google search for "baby names" turns up over 2 million pages. Good luck sifting through all those data. Many of you know, we chose not to know the sex of the baby ahead of time, so this made the task of choosing a name doubly difficult. We did have about 9 months to pare down the list, and in the days leading up to birth, we had come up with a short list.

This is our linen cabinet. We painted the doors with a "blackboard paint" and wrote the names on with chalk. Fun!

Looking at the lists we had worked up, you might notice that "Rowan" was not to be found. In fact, we came across the name at one of the various baby name websites, just a few days before Pie Girl went to the hospital. We didn't immediately add it to the list at the time, but we both remarked that we liked the name. It means "little red head" or "little red one." We still don't know if he is going to have red hair of any persuasion, but after sitting with him in the hospital and trying names on him, "Rowan" came shooting out of the recesses of our brains. It was an instant fit - and both mommy and daddy agreed. It was a done deal. You can find some interesting data on the name here from other people named Rowan, including how often it's misspelled, how often they were bullied because of the name, their overall satisfaction with their name, etc. And I am sure you can find much more than that if you care to. Thanks, Google! I leave you with more photos of our Little Red One.

In the car seat (more like "being swallowed by the car seat")

Big Red One with Little Red One.

One Week Old

...With the Boppy (and Dad's hands) for scale.

He's working on those neck muscles. He should be able to hold his own ponderous noggin up in about 2 weeks, then the head-butting begins (Kris knows all about this). After perfecting head-butting dad (preferably in the face) we'll start working on a 2" stack of balsa wood. Then we'll slowly work our way up through pine, oak, concrete, bricks, and finally steel. Remember everyone: raising a crime-fighting superhero begins with the raising of a super baby. Right now, his only super skill is "pooping" but we're working on that.

I know you've all been waiting for some live footage:




8 days old!

The Bebe Has Landed!

Only 20 more years until we get that plate!

It is November and I am just now getting around to adding a post about our trip to Nova Scotia, which was in June. Yes, I know it has been a while, but now that I am "on bed rest" I have some time to do things like update a blog. Prior to this I was basically working six days a week and didn't have a lot of free time. Better late than never. Since pictures speak a thousand words, I am going to let them do most of the talking here. So, check out the rest of my set on flickr.



The Chanterelle was just as beautiful and amazing as we all remembered. Earlene is a dream come true and after a crazy week leading up to this trip we all enjoyed ourselves even more. We spent a lot of time doing nothing- just lounging about and taking it easy. We spent the first day or two sleeping, hiking, eating, and just being. Momma, Commander, Mike, Eva, and their friend Arlene, were all there to relax with us. We celebrated the fact that we had all made it back up to the same serene spot with a lobster dinner down by the water. You had to go down a secret path that was marked by a stick to get there, but we eventually found it. After dinner we went back up to the inn for dessert and to greet Kelly and Betsy, who had just arrived! They enjoyed their mushroom soup, etc. While they were eating Kurt and I disappeared to change into our wedding garb! We came down to surprise everyone in more ways than one. We added our wedding favors to the dining room table and waiting for Kelly, Betsy, Mike, and Arlene to discover the message that we attached: Thank you for joining us. Love, Kurt, Beth, and Baby Williamson.

Kelly, I have a feeling you are not going to like this picture of yourself, but your face is awesome. And no more complaining- at least the blog is updated!
(Note from Dirt Doc: Yeah, be careful what you wish for!)

We went kayaking the next day. Unfortunately, Angelo was not able to take us, but he did stop by the inn to say hello. Instead we had Matt, a slightly younger version of Angelo, himself. We had a great time and Kelly took pictures (as I didn't want to take my new camera out on the water); did she already send them to me? If I find them I will post them :)

After another wonderfully delicious dinner and lots more relaxing we all turned in for the night, dreaming about breakfast. The ladies took home lots of recipes hoping to recreate Earlene's magic. As for me, Pie Girl, I like to leave that to the master.

As hard as it was to leave the Chanterelle, we know we will be back. I just hope it doesn't take another 5 years!

Updated Baby Bump

I realize that many of you that don't see me every day are curious about the baby bump. Here is the most recent picture taken this past weekend (on my b-day!).

It has been described as somewhere between "enormous" and "you could still hide that with a big sweatshirt". You can decide for yourself.

Did we forget to mention that we formed a Rock Band???

Check it out!

Things Seem to be Improving

The sun rising behind the smoke.

Later in the day, still smoky.

The last few days, I have woken up and looked out the front door to see an ominous wall of smoke on the eastern horizon, obscuring the sunrise. Today, I opened the door and thought that it was the worst day ever in terms of the smoke! Until I realized that what I was seeing was actually fog. The wind has shifted to bring cooler, more humid air from the Pacific. For those of us living in coastal areas, including San Diego, this is good news. The westward migration of the fires has been stemmed and the largest of the fires in our area (Witch Creek Fire) is estimated at 40% contained with full containment estimated by Tuesday. There is a down side here, and that is that people living to the east of the fires are now threatened. Many evacuated areas are in the process of being repopulated, but evacuations of other areas continue... so there's still a long way to go. We are still safe and have had no problems related to the fires or evacuations, but there remains a warning to beware of poor air quality and limit exposure. Hopefully we will get some stronger sea breezes in to help clear out the smoke and pollution.

Map of the Damage

You can find a Google-based interactive map of the areas impacted by the fires here. We're about where 94 and I-5 intersect. The winds appear to be subsiding and all hopes are that the fire crews can get things under control.

Fires, Day 2

We are still OK. These fires are very serious, though. San Diego's Mayor, Jerry Sanders, had described the fires as among the worst in the history of the state of California. In his own words, that's saying something. One of the problems contributing to the fires is the wind. One of the seasonal aspect of living in this region is a hot desert wind known as the Santa Ana. Santa Ana winds can be very strong and blow east to west. The winds have been fueling the fires and blowing ash and embers westward to touch off more fires. The big problem here is that the more populated coastal areas lie to the west of the fires, including San Diego. Everyone is hoping that the tide will turn to a sea wind by the end of today or early tomorrow, and help stop the fire's westward migration. We can only wait and see.

The lab facility where I work remains closed, and emergency officials are asking that people stay off the freeways and off cell phone networks so that emergency traffic and communications can easily get through. Like I said, we are doing fine - but hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated and many of them have already lost their homes. One positive thing in this whole situation has been the way people have responded. My understanding is that there has been very minimal loss of life because of the evacuees' calm and orderly responses to evac orders, and the support of volunteers and emergency officials, including the Marine Corps and National Guard.

I am sure you can find more detailed information from any news site, but just wanted to let you know what's happening from our perspective.

SD County Fires

Hi everyone,

we have been hearing from concerned family and friends asking about the fires in southern California. You've probably been hearing the most about the fires at Malibu, which is west of LA (about 2 h north of us). But there are also some fires very close-by, in Ramona. The areas west of there (Rancho Santa Fe) and other places are being evacuated. We live in the city, so the fire risk is low but we are getting a LOT of smoke and ash. My work building, which is close to the evacuated areas, has been closed today. We (Pie Girl, Harry and I) are safe at home and doing fine. Harry is glad we have off from work today!

It's sort of like a snow day, except instead of running outside to play, you shut up all the windows and stay inside. We'll let you know if the situation changes, but for now there is no reason to worry. Thanks for thinking of us!

Smoke 72°F Feels Like 72°F Updated Oct 22 09:00 p.m. PT Watch the San Diego Forecast UV Index: 0 Low Wind: CALM Humidity: 16% Pressure: 30.13 in. Dew Point: 23°F Visibility: 6.0 miles

The Empire Will Rise Again

We went in for a diagnostic ultrasound this week. Everything is going well, the baby is growing
normally and the pregnancy is proceeding as it should. There's one small problem, though. It looks like we'll be having a baby Emperor Palpatine.

Our baby...

...The Emperor

You want this, don't you? Your Jedi pacifier.




Take it, and suck on it for a while, and your journey to the dark side, by which I mean "nap-time," will be complete.

Who is the baby daddy?

We never said Kurt was the baby daddy. For all we know I could be carrying Johnny Depp's Love Child.

Deafness, Africa, Empathy, and Technology

I heard a very interesting piece this morning on NPR's weekend edition. It was about a deaf man, Josh Swiller, and his experiences with being deaf in a world of hearing people. To be more specific, the conversation focused on his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa and how his deafness shaped that time. I was thinking of Dad's experiences with Chris Congleton, and Uncle Pete's activity in the deaf community... thought you might be interested in checking it out.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14369713

Josh also made some intriguing observations about deafness, introspection, and empathy. He said that he felt being alone with one's own thoughts and feelings can serve as a wellspring of compassion. I wonder, then, if there is any correlation between the pervasive technology that bombards us with sound and external information, and our disengagement from each other - our collective unrest in what seems, on the surface, to be a time of plenty...

http://www.cracked.com/index.php?name=News&sid=2370

Just some stuff I'm thinking about.

Truck Dismount

I've been playing these goofy little free games - Stair Dismount and Tuck Dismount. They're independent games available for free at http://jet.ro/dismount/. Basically, you get a straw man that you get to beat up - the more damage, the higher your score. Push him down the stairs, crash him off a truck, have fun and get out your aggression!

Stair Dismount

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig: Part II

Okay, we know we are behind with these posts, so enough with the comments already. You try actually keeping a blog up to date. Only possible if you don't do anything (in which case what are you posting?). Anyway, I think we left off with Mother's Day Tea/Piano Recital. The following day was Monday and I am thinking that was the day we went to Iron Hill Brewery for lunch with Mom, Nanie, Aunt Sherry, and Kelley. We really put the Arnold Palmers away and were happy to find out that the gift card that we almost threw away because we thought it had less than $5 on it actually had close to $100, and more than covered our lunch. Thanks again to whoever gave that to us!

Did Arnold Palmer really invent these concoctions?

Alright, at this point I am having a hard time remembering what happened, chronologically anyway. I want to say that the following day we met my dear friend Joan for lunch, but I might have the days mixed up. Is this why you are supposed to update your blog within a month or two of actually doing the things you are writing about? Oh, well. Anyway, we went to one of our favorite Newark eateries, Homegrown Cafe, to meet Joan. She was unable to attend the Mother's Day Tea, so we brought her party favor and surprised her with the big news. I was sure Joan had already figured this out because she somehow always knows what is going on inside of my head even before I do. Somehow this time around, we were able to surprise her. That metal plate in my head must be blocking my signals. We had a nice visit, but of course it went by too quickly.

Dirt Doc, Pie Girl, and the one and only Joaniecakes!!!
(Is Kurt shrinking?)

We stopped by Cameras, etc. on Main Street to hopefully purchase the camera that I have been lusting after for months and months. We wanted to wait and purchase it from Camera's, etc. so we could support Dain and one of our favorite small businesses in Delaware, and take advantage of tax free shopping. Well, Dain wasn't there (he was driving to Key West- the complete opposite direction from Nova Scotia, I might add) and they didn't have the camera I wanted. But I ended up with a Nikon which was very similar, and I think I like even better. Just then the heavens opened up and it started pouring down rain. Serious rain with thunder and lightning. We were beyond excited by this and just sat in the car and enjoyed it for a while.

Next we were off to visit with Candice and Jim. They live in the cutest cottage I've ever seen, and I was excited to take Aunt Edna, I mean Mom, there for the first time. Candice was also unable to make it to the Mother's Day Tea, so we had to deliver her party favor to her as well.

Pie Girl and her forever fairy friend Candice

After spending as much time as we could spare in the fairy cottage we had to depart so we could make it to Momma and Commander's house (I think) for dinner. It wasn't Thursday, but we figured we could make an exception just this once. After dinner, Dirt Doc was meeting some friends and Pie Girl had a very special engagement...The Miss America Party!!! Yes, we held it in June this year (we had it on tape) and she knew the perfect sash to wear...

I just couldn't pass up this opportunity!
(The sash says "Miss'd her Period")

Mary actually made me a special sash that was very sweet- it just said "Missed" on it, but then I surprised all of them by changing into the one that I made. Jeff joined us this year, which was awesome- I mean, what a man! And he will probably kill me for posting this, but I think it needs to be done...

Come on, Ladies. How can you resist a man that is this secure in his masculinity?

I won't post the others because to be honest with you, the Miss America Face isn't all that flattering. And I don't want anyone to get made at me for making them public domain or ruining their chances of running for office.

The following day involved meeting up with Dad for lunch, visiting our old stomping ground of Landenberg, and dinner with Jason and Danielle. Have I mentioned how many of our meals were scheduled so we could dine with different people at each of them? And that reminds me....we ate dinner with Kris, Sami, and Logan at the Deer Park one night, too. But now I have no idea when that was. Maybe Monday? Anyway, it was a busy day before we headed off to bed only to wake up at some ungodly hour to get to the airport in time to catch a 6 am flight to Halifax, Nova Scotia. And to hear all about that portion of the trip check back in about 3 months. Just kidding, I think I can manage to get that post up in 6-8 weeks - or your money back!

There's no "A" in Yogurt. But there is one in Yogart.

Last weekend, we went to the mall - an activity that always elicits a giggle from Pie Girl because, seriously, the mall? Anyway, we were there for two reasons: to see Stardust (very good, by the way) and to try some frozen confections from a vendor she had told me about - a vendor I was skeptical even existed. The name of the place was purportedly "Humphrey Yogart," and they sold frozen yogurt (er, yogart). I couldn't believe the name. It has to be the worst pun EVER. Plus it sounds like something you'd see in Sam & Max. You know, sandwiched between a Stuckey's and some sort of mega-grocery store that advertises free mealworms with every purchase. But I assure you, it's true: Humphrey Yogart does exist (and is apparently a west-coast chain). We brought along the camera for documentation only to find that the batteries were missing. Dammit, who put them in the charger? And what sort of a silly place is that for batteries? Thankfully their concoctions are about as delicious as their punny name is awful, so I'm sure we'll be back soon. And when we return, I will try to get a photo and post it up here soon, preferably Photoshopped to include Sam & Max.

Museum of Man

Last weekend we went to the San Diego Museum of Man. We haven't taken advantage of all the great museums here in Balboa Park since we moved here, and I felt like it was about time we did some exploring. Since we knew the Museum of Natural History would be swarming with people lined up to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, and I had heard lots of good things about the Museum of Man, we decided to give it a try.

We spent most of our time between the human evolution exhibit "Footsteps Through Time" and the Copper Age special exhibit. I thought they did a great job on the primate/hominid evolution part. It started off trying to get the concept of evolutionary time across by using beads to represent the span of 1 year. Think about how much change you've experienced in one year. Now think about 1,000 years - several strings of beads. Now think about 1 million years - a veritable wall of beads. Veritable. And if that didn't get the point across, another exhibit panel showed a cartoon of selection for and evolution of drug resistant bacteria. Again, time is the critical factor in evolution. Due to the short generation times for bacteria, we are able to observe the selection and establishment of new traits in bacterial populations within our own lifetimes. I thought they got the point across pretty clearly that, given enough time (and life on earth has had millions of years), the evolution of life as we know it could have happened without resorting to supernatural explanations.

I learned that the way Neandertals are generally depicted is incorrect: they were not stupid brutes. They had strong bodies and were well adapted to colder climates, but they also lived in societies that cared for the sick and the elderly, and buried their dead. It looks like we still don't know just why they performed burials - whether it was a sign of their spirituality or if they simply wanted to keep scavengers away from the bodies. At some point, the Neandertals were "replaced" by the Cro Magnon people. I don't know if the circumstances under which the "replacement" occurred has been satisfactorily resolved - if the Cro Magnon destroyed the Neandertals, outbred them, or if some other reason is at work. The museum did not go into any details on this curious facet of our evolution, but I did learn something perhaps equally mind-blowing. Contemporary humans are a single species - regardless of our color, nation of origin, customs, and beliefs, any human male can mate with any human female to produce viable offspring. This is the definition of a species. But at one point, there were five different hominid species simultaneously coexisting on planet earth.



http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/gctext/Inquiries/Inquiries_by_Unit/
Unit_5_files/image017.jpg

What if Homo sapiens sapiens wasn't the only species to make it to the present day? What if another species of intelligent humanoids was walking the earth today, with us? I don't know if this could have ever happened though, considering how we treat members of our own species, let alone creatures that are clearly not human. OK, I'll put the soap box away. But the mind-blowing part is that at one point during our evolution, we weren't alone.

At the end of the hominid evolution exhibit was a great set of exhibits on contemporary human life and the future. I think that an important part of being a scientist is interaction with and education of the public. This set of exhibits made me proud. I learned about cell structure, how DNA codes for all the information that makes us who we are, karyotyping, cell division, and reproduction. I thought these topics were clearly explained without dumbing it down or oversimplifying. Then there were exhibits on stem cell research, cyborgs, brain disorders, nanotechnology, and cloning. It turns out that lots of animals have been cloned besides Dolly the sheep, the first of which was a frog, in 1952! In addition to explaining each of these concepts in general, these exhibits included questions about the ethical considerations involved in their application. Like, do you want a bunch of nanomachines running rampant in your bloodstream? Or is this simply a Communist plot designed to pollute our precious bodily fluids?

I haven't even talked about the Copper Age exhibit, but this post is long enough. I hope you take the time to check out the links included in this post - good stuff.

How to dress like a San Diegan

San Diego has no dress code. As one giant beach town, it's lassiez faire when it comes to fashion, and I've seen a lot of crazy stuff. But just as the jeans-and-T-shirt combo has become the de facto dress code of the masses, SD has its own twist on the default outfit. First of all, you must have flip-flops. Must. Have. If you're a true San Diegan, they'll be Rainbows - those tan leather jobbies that V refers to as "quintessential California flip flops." Indeed they are, as they're made in San Clemente and every surfer owns a pair. Reefs are also extremely popular, but the brand doesn't matter, as long as you've got the flops. If you want to dress it up a bit, you could go for the Chacos or Tevas, but I should warn you: settle down. This is no black tie affair.

Dudes: Some sort of generous cut shorts will do, topped off with a surf shirt. This looks like a polo style or possibly a button up dealie, but there's a certain cut to it and everyone knows it's a surf shirt.

Chicks: You have more leeway. Some sort of sundress would be classy, but more often you see low-rise capri pants or those too-short denim skirts, and a tank top.

Everyone: Tattoos. I think it's mandatory. On the one hand, there's so much skin on display, it's easy to show off your ink. On the other hand, exposure to sun is the surest way to kill your tattoo...

Maybe it doesn't sound so different from any college town in summer, maybe it's just in how people here carry it off. Maybe it's just the flops. But there is a certain San Diego-ness to people's wardrobes out here.

Day of Harry

Who is everyone's favorite chocolately brown rabbit? Why, Harry of course! Here are some moments from Harry's busy life in these past few months.



FOOD! Harry is very particular about where his bowl is.





Harry is a banana FIEND. Do not get between him and a banana - if you value your digits.


Sacked out.


In your face.



What do you do when your ears itch and you don't have hands?


Bad Hare Day.


Leg Stretch.


Sometimes Harry plays outside.


One of Harry's favorite spots



Harry turning into a meatloaf.


Who made this mess? Not me.



Harry is our little baby. Until we get a human one.


After a long hard day, Harry likes to crash out with the Hi-Fi. Mmm... Bass...


Who has the banana? Someone is holding out on me.


Hope you enjoyed my post!