Winter Getaway '09: Leavenworth

The necessary ingredients for a fabulous trip to Leavenworth:

Candy

Gnomes

(Root)beer and Bratwurst

Nutcrackers and Scared Penguins

A Visit to the Hat Shoppe

(on second thought...maybe not)

Games with friends

More Games with Friends

Wildlife Sightings

Brian's Top Ten Albums of 2008

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

A moving work of lo-fi introspection. Vernon's layered falsetto, recorded in a wintery cabin in Wisconsin, still gives me shivers.

The Dodos - Visiter

Deep, driving polyrhythms undergird emphatic mandolin and guitar amidst percussive tambourine and a flurry of other instruments on this amazing, slightly off-kilter LP that just might highjack your nervous system. The Dodos take everything immediately lovable about Animal Collective and multiply it.

Damien Jurado - Caught in the Trees

I have always loved Damien Jurado for his ability to evoke the pathos of weary souls and forgotten stories, plunging us into the lives of misfits and anti-heroes who only get noticed if their mugshot makes the news. That's his bread and butter, and there's plenty of it on Caught in the Trees. But it's also his most versatile album to date, showing that his experiments away from straight forward folk have paid off.

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

A really solid indie rock album. Plus, I'm a sucker for Scottish vocals.

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes most popular song "White Winter Hymnal"--I was following the, I was following the, I...--annoyed me enough that I gave up on them early despite an otherwise promisingly original sound.  Hearing a second song months later was all it took for this Seattle band to win me back.  Describing their own music (accurately, methinks), they say they play "baroque harmonic pop jams."

Sigur Rós - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

While not as strong as most of their soaring, ethereal back catalog Sigur Ros' latest album is an encouraging departure that signals nothing's going stale yet. The opening track, Gobbledigook, is an unexpectedly joyous romp that melds Steve Reich, Animal Collective, and Dave Matthews. Mmmmm.

Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a Sound

Portland keeps pumping out great music.  And, as a whole album, this debut from the duo known as Blind Pilot was the best of the bunch last year.  Packed full of simple indie-folk-pop songs that get better the more you listen. 

Juana Molina - Un Día

This Argentine ex-soap star's hushed vocals over gentle tribal rhythms and strange aural juxtapositions will either have you dancing in a trance or hallucinating vaguely sinister claymation music videos.

Jacaszek - Treny

Chained to his laptop, Polish composer Michal Jacaszek sits in a cavernous dungeon with a partial symphony of ghosts and a forgotten angel singing lonely lamentations. Dark and beautiful. And dark.

Max Richter - 24 Post Cards in Full Color

What sounds like a terrible idea for a concept album--to create neo-classical cellular ringtones--turns out to be, in Max Richter's able hands, a beautiful collection of wordless short stories, or story fragments.  With most of the songs lasting only a minute or so, it is amazing he is able to conjure such vividness of place, evoke such poignancy of emotion, and intimate the reality of an imagined narrative. This is the audio cure for melancholy novelists with writer's block.

Who has a better handlebar mustache?

Vote in the poll and discuss the finer points of pogonology in the comments.

Wondertime

Today, I had my regular check-up for baby #2. As usual, I had a long wait in the waiting room, then another long wait in the exam room. It was perfect! I went through withdrawals when my regular doctor's appointments stopped after Magnolia was born. I did not miss the regular weigh-ins that showed my weight skyrocketing, but I did miss the few quiet moments to read magazines.

I discovered one of my favorites during one of these respites: Wondertime. It is a breath of fresh air compared to the other offered magazines: Fly-fishing and Parenting: What Moms Want (does that slogan bug anyone else?). Wondertime's slogan is "celebrate you child's love of learning"-- much more my style.

A little over a year ago, while we were doing one of the non-stress tests waiting for Magnolia to make her grand entrance, Brian read one of my favorite articles aloud to me: Confessions of a Mommy Blogger. If you are a parent and blog about your kids, it is a must read. It made us think and laugh -- a great combination.

Brian got me a subscription after Magnolia was born. We continue to enjoy every issue. The December issue was one of our favorites: ideas for how to cut back during the holidays and create interesting traditions. The most recent issue had a design for creating the coolest play room, complete with rock-climbing into the sky light. Brian wants one. For himself.

A year subscription is only $13, but they have a great website if your family is trying to cut back.

By the way, Baby #2 has a healthy heartbeat, is moving regularly, but is measuring a little big. I'm fine, except, for the first time, the doctor is concerned about my weight gain, which made it really hard to come home to Nana's homemade monster cookies...maybe I'll just have half.

When a Speed Bump is a Road Block

I'm kind of an anal blogger. Posts have to be in order. Sometimes I even back date posts so things are chronological. This little OCD streak, combined with life busyness, however causes lulls in our blogging activity. But today Magnolia's road block has helped me overcome mine, if only this once.

It was a beautiful day in Bellingham -- sunny and not freeze-your-nose-off-make-you-catch-your-breath cold -- so we headed to our favorite park.

Halfway into our visit to the park, Magnolia was no longer content in her stroller. In the past she has been reluctant to walk outdoors, so I didn't have much hope that we would get very far once I took her out.

After some coaxing from Mama and Papa, Magnolia unglued her feet from the pavement to take a few cautious steps. Then, without warning, she took off walking the fastest she's ever walked (possibly due to the slight decline)! Until...

The speed bump!

Our independent girl did not want help, but couldn't gear herself up to make it over the bump. She tried walking along it to find a way around, but no luck. In the end, she settled for playing with the pebbles on her side of the yellow line.

One Year Celebration

Yesterday we celebrated our first year of parenting and Magnolia's first year of life! It was a dream day for Magnolia: lots of people, balloons, new books and toys, and yummy food. We even managed to fit in a nap in between our friend open-house party and our family gathering.

Balloons!

Talkin' finance with Jace

"Grandma! Look what I got!"

Otis: "Hey Judy, are you sure it wouldn't help if I licked it?"

Our favorite present -- the one with the red bow!

"Mm, delightful! What year did you say these sprinkles were? 2008 must have been an excellent sugar crop."

"So that's what these things taste like! You've been holding out on me!"

In her birthday suit after her de-icing bath

Magnolia Grace Turns 1!

Happy "Birthday" Muncher!

Thanks for making our first year of parenting as easy as it could be!

Mama and Papa love you very much!

More posts from the celebration to come after we get some rest...

Recent Maggie Antics

Our friends Ryan and Candice came over recently for poker night and brought their newborn, Lucy. Brian got to practice holding two cute girls. Magnolia was very interested in baby Lucy and even reached to pick her up. (Notice Brian's nice handlebar mustache.)

We brought up our baby papisan for lil' Lucy during her visit.

It has become one of Maggie's favorite lounge spots.

I decided to let Magnolia start practicing eating her yogurt with a spoon. She found the whole thing quite amusing. To my amazement, no yogurt ended up on the floor!

Like most kids, Magnolia has always been curious about the phone. Often I let her "talk" on the phone when it is someone that she knows on the other line. After listening intently for a few seconds, her curiosity about the buttons usually terminates the conversation.

"Rush residence!......hello??...nobody there again!"

"Can you hold for a moment? Thank you. DAAAD! Phone call on line one!"

Brian's Top Ten Films of 2008

What were your favorites?  Here are mine, so far.

I'm not sure this is my favorite of 2008 but, of the films I've seen, it is without a doubt the best.  Set in communist Romania circa 1987, the film follows a woman who has agreed to help her college roommate get an illegal abortion.  I am not recommending it for every one, but 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is almost perfect.

The Visitor is the film on this list I can recommend unreservedly.  After the death of his wife, Walter Vale returns to his long neglected apartment and is surprised to find a couple of immigrants living there. Goodwill and positive relationships are hard to portray in films without becoming cheesy or overly sentimental, but director Tom McCarthy has proven himself a master.  If you haven't already, check out his first film The Station Agent.

BIG, bleak and brilliant.  If you're not already familiar with Charlie Kaufman's films (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovitch, Adaptation etc.) don't make this one your introduction.  If you already have a taste for his previous work prepare your mind for the usual contortions and existential quagmires. Except this time it's not so light!

Having met all kinds of interesting people in her adventures as a casting director, Jennifer Venditti told herself that one day she was going to make a film about one of them.  This is that documentary.  Billy is a small-town misfit who is simultaneously awkward, sincere, courageous, and funny.  And even though Venditti and her crew spent only a few days with Billy and his kin we are granted a very vulnerable, intimate, sometimes uncomfortable look at the lives of an extraordinary young man and his loved ones.  

The best superhero movie you'll ever see.  Because it's more than a superhero movie.

Simple storytelling, understated performances, pregnant pauses in a Southern landscape, and an achingly gorgeous score. Reminiscent of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and Terrence Malick, Shotgun Stories tells the story of feuding half-brothers, born of a father who led two very different lives.

Yes, the visuals are beautiful (almost to the point of being tiring) but the little girl steals the show. This is The Princess Bride and Pan's Labyrinth (which, if you haven't seen, is a not-for-children fairytale) thrown in a post-modern blender.

Breathtaking  and inspiring.  Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the two towers was deemed the artistic crime of the century and this film captures the determination and exhilaration behind the realization of one man's dream.  I wholeheartedly recommend this very entertaining movie even as I wish it explored more thoroughly the relational complexities between Petit and his friend-collaborators.

A bizarre comedy-thriller that balances, ever so precariously, dark and light. 

Honorable Mentions:

Films I suspect might displace some of my top 10: