Brian and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting our first child in June 2009! It’s no secret that we’ve been ready to start our family for quite a while now, but with all the excitement of the last year (wedding, honeymoon, two moves) we had to put the baby project on hold for a bit. We couldn’t be happier or more excited about the upcoming addition to our little family, though for now we’re looking forward to enjoying the last months of “normal” before our lives are changed forever.

Last week the three of us went on a walk to the overlook in our neighborhood so we could watch the sunset. It was pretty but so cold! When we got home I heard on NPR that it was 45 degrees outside, but the tricky thing about Seattle is that it feels much, much colder because of the dampness. I had on a sweater, shearling boots, a scarf, and my winter coat, but I could have used another layer of clothing, a hat, and some gloves. And because our house is not insulated (ridiculous, I know, and NO, we would not have rented it had we known that in advance), I left my outdoor ensemble on when we got home!

Dramatic sky and twinkling marina.

Slightly less dramatic sky with the Olympic mountain range in the background.

I know this is a really crappy shot, but I haven’t shared too many pictures of our house since we moved (mostly because it is a disaster) and figured this one would do for now. This is what our living room looks like these days. The room is a strange shape with poorly-placed doorways, so we have no idea how to arrange it. For those who are interested, Cooper was laying at my feet staring me down because he wanted his dinner. He was 30 minutes early, I think the fact that it gets dark so early really throws him off.

This post is a bit overdue, but lately I’m finding that time just gets away from me. A combination of not feeling well, spending so much time working/commuting, and the weather. All the rumors you’ve heard that the weather here in Seattle just isn’t so great are true. People keep telling me it’s worth it to suffer through fall, winter, and spring just to experience the Seattle summers, but my opinion is that they are all insane. Why suffer for nine months of the year when you could just live somewhere else?

Anyway, last weekend we made a family trip across town to visit the Warren G. Magnusen dog park, which includes a dog beach, and it made Cooper’s day. I just love to make his day, it’s one of my favorite things to do! It was strange to be at a dog beach in cold weather, since we are used to going only in the summer. We didn’t have our wellies on, so couldn’t walk into the water at all, something we always did at the dog beach in Annapolis. But there were so many dogs there and Cooper was much more interested in running around with them than playing fetch with us, so we didn’t really need to do much beside stand around anyway. After he swam and splashed and chased for about an hour we explored the rest of the off-leash area, which includes several large play areas and a wide fenced dirt walking path that’s about a mile long. It was really fun to be able to walk with Cooper off-leash and not worry about his safety. Photos from our excursion are below for your viewing pleasure. A side note about the photos – I know I keep saying I will start taking real photos and putting them on the blog, but with my lack of time quick iPhone shots are all I can manage lately!

We took a little detour walking from the car to the dog area so we could check out the views.

My gorgeous boy.

It was really misty for some reason even in the middle the of the day.

More mist.

Strange graffiti on an abandoned building in the park.

The dog beach. That’s Brian on the right.

We did get Cooper to pay attention to us very briefly!

Sky views on the way back to the car. It was only 2pm at this point, but doesn’t it look much later? That’s Seattle for you.

Water views and a weird sculpture.

A parking lot! Actually, this shot it supposed to be of Mt. Rainier (that light grayish lump on the horizon) but the iPhone is so wide-angle that it ended up not quite turning out.

I’ve been a bit under the weather recently, which is why I haven’t updated the blog as much. I have taken a few photos, though, which I thought you might like to see!

The view out our living room window; I think this is a cherry tree. This photo is about four days old and the tree now has less than half the leaves you see in the photo.

Brian and Cooper headed down the super-steep stairs that lead to our local dog park.

The dog park was a pit of mud. I am so, so glad that I bought some rubber boots for the wet Seattle winter!

Not a great shot, but I know some of you are craving Cooper pics. This is at the dog park, and he’s got a small football (made of tennis ball material) in his mouth. Brian and I were splattered with mud from head to toe just from sitting on the sidelines as the dogs raced around through the mud pit.

Wet moss and leaves on the way home from the park. The metal edges on the stairs seem like a bad idea for a place as consistently wet as Seattle!

The result of the dog park excursion: a tired puppy who fell asleep with his head on his papa’s shoulder. Yes, Brian realized his luck and was extremely grateful!