Wandering in Seattle

Today my dad, brother and I traveled the thirty plus minutes to downtown Seattle! We really didn't want to be away from Lakewood too long, because the main attraction of our time in Washington is, of course, Georgie Eloise Hitzeroth, but we tried to time it so that we would only be gone for four or five hours. We had two main goals in mind: seeing the Seattle Space Needle up close and in person, and experiencing the original Starbucks in Pike Place Market. I always get excited for any tourist adventure, especially when it happens in such a big and famous city, so here is me waiting in the car and excited for the hours to come:

About thirty minutes into our drive, the downtown Seattle skyline came into view! Its such a pretty city, don't you think?

Once we got off the freeway, we discovered that driving in downtown Seattle is probably just as difficult as that in downtown NY or LA. Oh well, there was plenty to look at! Mostly just shops and cafes and nice looking apartment buildings that I could imagine myself living in. Because of the traffic and slightly confusing streets, I think it took us another thirty minutes to actually get to the Needle. We had all previously determined that while we did want to see the Space Needle up close, we weren't all THAT thrilled about it so we wouldn't spend the money to ride the elevator or even pay for parking! Dad stayed in the car while Hunter and I hopped out for two minutes to take the shots we wanted and look around a bit. I think if I ever get to come back to Seattle again I would be interested in hanging out there a little longer, the attractions around the skyscraper look kind of intriguing and I wouldn't mind taking a ride up the elevator...or even eating a meal in the high-altitude restaurant if I were a millionaire (I'm assuming you need big money?).


Pike Place Market is only about a ten-minute crawl from the Space Needle. We quickly found some very reasonably priced parking and then happily set about on our adventure! I LOVED the view of Pugent Sound, quite lovely, so here is a picture as we were on our way to the market area. Once again, the pic doesn't exactly do the Sound justice.

Pike Place Market is a very enjoyable place to be. It seems to be made up of about a half-mile of shops, both permanent shops and kiosks, and TONS of food places. Every 20 seconds as we would walk down the street, another new wonderful aroma would drift to our noses, inviting us to waffle cones, cinnamon buns, clam chowder, fresh fruit, coffee, even flowers!! I loved seeing this flower spot, so beautiful. Couldn't resist taking a picture. Doesn't it remind you of the kind of place that Joe would have bought his flowers for Kathleen in You've Got Mail? Ugh, I'm such a girl.

One thing about Pike Place Market: it is a tourist trap and consequently VERY busy and crowded. It was lunch time when we arrived, and at first glance it looked like the only type of place to get food would be a place where we would pick up our order and have to stand or walk in the street to eat it, but I was very thankful to find a place called something like "Sound View Cafe" in order to have a satisfying sit-down meal. And the restaurant did have a wonderful view of Pugent Sound, we even got window seats! Almost immediately, Hunter stuck his head as far as he could out of the window and just looked and looked at everthing there was to see.

While I was waiting for my food, I imagined what it would be like to have a roof-top garden like this

or this.

One of the many pleasant views inside the restaurant:

My dad and I split an order of crab cakes that came with roasted vegetables, seasoned potatoes, and yummy yummy bread.

Hunter enjoyed his turkey and swiss cheese sandwich:

On our walk to Starbucks we discovered that there was more to see of Pike Place Market than just the main street, the post alley shops turned out to be very quaint and European-esque! I have to come back to this city with Holly...

Next pic is of the first Starbucks EVER!! I love how they haven't changed anything about it, they haven't made it more like its other retail stores or more modern or anything! Even the trademark symbol, when seen anywhere in this store, is slightly different than the current one. The mermaid is chubbier, among other things. :) Inside the store there is only room to stand in line and order your drink, look at merchandise you might want to buy, and then there is an official standing area with a counter at which you can sip your drink. No normal chairs or couches, though, and I liked that. I love that they've kept it the same way that its been for 36 years. Hardwood floors, counters, shelves, gold trimming, coffee beans displayed behind glass, it was beautiful and coffee-ish, somehow even more coffee-ish than modern Starbucks are. And the people working there were really friendly, when we walked in one of the cashiers was singing back every order that he heard coming from his customers, and later I saw him posing for a picture with some girls. I loved my experience in the original Starbucks. I got a Cinnamon Dolce Latte, by the way.

Inside the first Starbucks!

Not sure of the significance of the flags on this map, because I KNOW there are more cities with Starbucks than might be indicated by the flags on it, but I took this picture because, incidentally, this is the same world map that Heather selected for Georgie's nursery. Thought Heather would be pleased to know that Georgie's map was also considered worthy of Starbucks.


Drinks!!
Proof about it being the first Starbucks store:

On our way back to the car, I realized that not only could I not resist taking a picture of the flowers, but I shouldn't leave without buying a bouquet! I found a lovely bouquet of sweet peas, and they are now happily sitting in a vase on the kitchen table!

The three of us left Seattle feeling very satisfied with our time there, knowing that yes, we would like to visit it again for a much longer period of time, but for the time being we wanted to get back to the treasure of Lakewood: Georgie.

Uncle Spencer & Aunt Melody

This past weekend the Hitzeroth home was graced with the presence of the newlyweds, Spencer and Melody (aka, Aunt and Uncle Hitzeroth)! And these are authentic newlyweds, having just tied the knot on June 8th, 2007, and visiting us on their way home from their honeymoon! They arrived in Lakewood on Friday evening in time for a lasagna dinner. After food, the evening was spent watching Man Vs. Wild and letting aunt and unlce get to know their niece!

The next morning we all slept in and were then treated to Matt's delicious chocolate chip-pancakes. The rest of the morning was spent mostly relaxing and doing necessary chores until it was time for lunch, at which point we made the fifteen minute drive to the Steilacoom beach town and ate lunch at the local pub and deli!! Heather and Matt have been talking about this favorite spot of theirs from the moment I touched down in Seattle, so it was quite fantastic to finally be able to experience it myself. Awesome food, fantastic ambience, gorgeous view as you look from your table out onto the Pugent Sound. Too bad I didn't get a picture of the view, but anyways, here's Matt and Heather on Heather's first official outing since Georgie's birth! (Accordingly, it was Georgie's first official outing also, but she spent the whole time sleeping in her carseat behind a makeshift curtain.)


We dropped Heather and Georgie off at home after making a quick shopping trip at Trader Joes for the night's featured dinner, then Matt took Melody, Spencer and me on a "recon" trip in the Ft. Lewis base. Basically we went exploring in the vast wilderness-like training area of the base so that Matt could figure out where exactly he was taking his platoon the following week for their training trip.
On the way home from the base Matt decided to treat us all to a coffee from a local shop called Forza. He has decided that, during my time here, we should hop around to several of the gazillions of coffee shops around here and rate them according to our taste. The ambience of Forza was great, the location not so great, but Matt decided that his drink was better than Starbucks times 2. I had to honestly say that my drink was better than Starbucks DIVIDED by two, but after about 20 minutes of sipping at the drink, I realized that my original disappointment could probably be blamed on my fried tastebuds. After my tastebuds recovered a bit from their initial shock, I appreciated my drink a lot more.
For dinner that night Matt grilled a tri-tip, pineapple, bananas (grilled bananas are really yummy, I discovered), I made mashed-potatoes and for dessert we had homemade tiramisu. The feast left us all imitating Georgie in her full-belly grunts.
After a full-round of Oh Hayley, a card game that is a family favorite (and affectionately renamed to make the title pg-rated), we all hit the sack in anticipation of the next morning's church service.
Oh yeah, Georgie had her first sink bath that night!


It was great to go to church the next morning. I especially loved being able to see all the loving people who have been so welcoming of Matt and Heather since their arrival here four months ago, not to mention their bible study's incredible kindness in supplying us with meals every other day since Georgie's birth! Its been such a blessing for us!
It was so funny, as we were walking to our car, one of the people that had been introduced to both Melody and me was saying his goodbyes, and remembering that I would be remaining in the area until the middle of July, he looked at me and said, "Well, Harmony, I'm sure I'll see you here again!" We light-heartedly corrected him, but the rest of the day we kept cracking up at the thought of the blend of the names "Melody" and "Hayley" into "Harmony." Harmony was my nickname the rest of the day.
On our way home from church we decided to try out a local burger place that Matt had heard was pretty good, comparable to In-N-Out. We picked up our lunch and brought it home...wasn't quite In-N-Out worthy, but it was pretty good. And I always love trying out different local places. We all spent a majority of the afternoon playing more Oh Hayley and laughing our socks off because of our slap-happyness. A couple from the church brought us dinner that night, oh man, one of the best meals I've had since I've been here. Homemade chicken enchiladas, mexican rice, caeser salad, fresh-picked strawberries, and cookies for dessert! Why am I forgetting what we did the rest of the evening?? Hmmm, I guess the meal was just overpowering.

The next day, sadly, Matt had to go back to work. The rest of us didn't really do much, but one big accomplishment was that we all took a walk around a nearby lake! Even Heather came, pushing Georgie in her stroller! (So many firsts in this young baby's two weeks of life, and this day added another one: First walk in a stroller!)






After trying to walk in a group for about 50 meters, Melody and I split off from Heather, Georgie and Spencer and had some great conversations as we walked amidst the pretty view (sorry, typical Hayley, I didn't get a picture of the lake). I loved being able to get to know Melody better during this weekend, and the conversations I had with her were so much more than icing on the cake. I feel like I want to say that I'm so happy she's in the family, though when I think about it, I don't think that I'm really related to Spencer and Melody...anyways, I think they'll always FEEL like family to me because both the Hitzeroths and the Hays are big on family time, so I'm sure times when Heather's side of the family are with Matt and Heather will often coincide with times when Matt's side of the family are with them. I certainly hope so!
After the lake, we drove a bit to a place where Heather was sure that we would see a fabulous view of Mt Rainier, because Spencer and Melody had yet to see the sight. Heather opted to stay in the car with the baby, so Spencer, Melody and me climbed a small hill and sure enough, there was a majestic view of the mountain that practically took our breath away. And below is my last attempt at a picture for you taken with my camera (that's not a promise, just a frustrated hasty comment because once again I'm disappointed that my camera didn't pick up the mountain well). The mountain is in the right side of the picture. Can you stinkin' tell?


That evening we had a summer feast. It was a huge, collaberative effort in the kitchen, the preparation of the meal was quite as enjoyable as enjoying the fruits of our labor! We had BLTs on wheat bread, fruit salad made with fruit selected by Spencer's fantastic judgement, tater tots and french fries. I've committed the meal to memory to next year's initiating summer party (if you don't know what I'm talking about, look at the archives on my blog). And at nine o'clock in the evening, Spencer, Melody and me crowded into the kitchen to make churros!!!! Heather had found and bought a churro box-mix from a store in Missouri (there's the thing to be thankful for from Missouri, Heather). I think making them will always be a special memory in my mind. There were quite a few mistakes made in the beginning by all of us, allowing for a lot of laughing, especially when we realized that I had accidently put enough mix together to make SEVENTEEN whole stinkin' servings of churros! Yeah right that we would actually eat all of those at ten pm! As the churros came out of the oil and the cinnamon-sugar was soaking in, we all realized that the effort was QUITE worth while. Churro making is fun and tasty!
Spencer had to leave mid-way through using up the churro batter in order to pick up my family from the airport, and even though Matt and Heather wisely went to bed directly following Spencer's departure, Melody and I decided to stay up and finish making the rest of the churros, thinking that we could save them for snacks in the following days (by the way, the next day the churros were soggy and unenjoyable. No worries, though, Melody and I had a great time making them together!) It was a wonderful time to finish/continue our conversations from the lake, and we also started new ones. I'm just so thankful for Melody and the way God never ceases to place people in your life to encourage you in your walk with Him. Melody and I discovered that we're similar in many areas, particularly our sin-struggles, so she was a big encouragement to me. I'm just so happy about Spencer and Melody. As individuals they're both some of the sweetest, most humble and servant-hearted people I know, so can you imagine the team they make together as husband and wife? I'm so excited to watch and observe them in their years together as man and wife, I believe that God is going to accomplish much through them!

It was sad to say goodbye to them the next morning, but I'm so grateful for the refreshing and fun-filled weekend with the happy couple. :)

Daddy/Daughter Time

After a full day at work, the first thing Matt likes to do each evening is hold his baby girl on his chest as she sleeps. It's so cute, it doesn't matter if she's been a bit fussy all afternoon or scrambly in my arms, the minute she gets in her daddy's arms she relaxes her head and naps. They both take a break from the world. Then after dinner the threesome family becomes all mushy gushy on the couch as mommy and daddy enjoy their daughter! Well, I guess I get pretty mushy gushy too. When I get a chance to snuggle her, its the best. As I was settling down with her on the couch tonight, I sighed, "THIS, is the ultimate." Everyone agreed.

And I couldn't help but show off her adorable baby-uggs. I believe they're from her Grandma Linda! They fit her perfectly!

Mount Rainier

Ok, now that we're all tracking, time for a real post.

No picture I've seen has done Mount Rainier justice. Ok, granted my camera is kind of sucky with long distance shots, but even the pictures that Heather takes with her awesome camera just don't match up to the natural beauty I've seen on the clear days we've had lately. So while this picture is mostly of the landscape surrounding the army hospital, in the distant faded background is the majestic Mount Rainier.

Its such a shock whenever I see it because most of the days here feature pretty cloudy skies, so it takes me by surprise when I walk out of a building, casually glance up and see this huge Everest-looking mountain where before there was only haze. It makes me do a double take. The mountain gives off an even more impressive air than other famous mountains, I think, because there are seriously close to zero mountain ranges surrounding it. When you look in its direction, everything is flat around it and leading up to it, and then all of the sudden, WHOOM! Huge landmass.

Also, in real life, you can see so much more of the detail of the mountain than the pictures let you see. You see ridges and steep cliffs and snow build-up and even the glaciers that climb up the entire side of the mountain. After the initial shock-and-awe, I usually get a slightly wistful urge to buy climbing gear and crampons and go climb the mountain and make like an Everest expedition. Although usually if I get the urge to go that far then I go all the way and dream about actually climbing Everest.

I read a book last winter that my sister couldn't stop talking about, called The Kid Who Climbed Everest, by Bear Grylls, who was 23 when he summitted the monster. The book totally gave me wanderlust. Or mountain climbing-lust. So whenever I see Mount Rainier, my mind wanders to images I have seen or read about men climbing through ice falls or inching over crevasses. I wonder if Heaven will have exciting adventures like this? I wonder why God gave us such a longing for adventure and exploration....how exactly are we supposed to use it for His glory?

Georgie had a little visit to the doctor today so that what's left of her umbilical cord could be checked out. Its looking ok, giving us a little trouble because its not drying out quite like or as quickly as it should, but the doctor wasn't too concerned. Other than that, all's well and happy!

Guys, I just looked at the above photo again and am totally ashamed that this is the photo I present to you. Trust me, the mountain is worthy of the grandeur of my words about it!! Google it or something.

Strange Phenomenon

Like toys that come to life when their child leaves the room...
Like a baby that makes sure she only does mom's favorite cute thing when the camera isn't on her...
Like all those unknown Big Foots that come out of hiding behind the trees at the end of Harry and the Hendersons....
...are all my friends (and Heather's) who read my blog and don't comment!!! Ok ok, I know a couple of those analogies were really bad, but I think you get the feeling. I KNOW some of you who read the blog, I hear about you, but somehow the proof of you reading blogs appears on Heather's blog or not at all! Are you afraid you're spying on me? Um, welcome to the blogworld. I'm on the internet, guys.

:):):)

I'd love to hear from you!

Not much to report here, other than Georgie's first rocket poop, executed without a diaper. Left the nursery a disaster area with caution tape, but her butt surprisingly clean.

Warm & Cozy

Oh, to have the life of our little papoose bear! She's got the most comfy-est snuggliest life I've ever seen. And it makes the lives of all those around her that much snugglier because she loves to share her snuggles with others. An ideal nap for her is laying on her side with her head snuggled on someone's shoulder, her body tight and pressed up against a warm chest.

This pic was taken right after feeding time, I was just flabbergasted with her cuteness in tucking her bottom lip under her upper gums so tightly. I tried to take the lip out from under that gum with my finger--she did not relent easily! After smacking her lips a few times she purposefully put her lip back in its most wonderful position, underneath the gum. Such a funny preference.
Warm and cozy in a baby towel after a quick bath.
Love that profile!
Here she is in her ducky bath robe--given to her by her Aunt Alicia.

Matt as a Husband and Father

I've been realizing lately that this is kind of my first time to watch Matt in his mode as a husband. I've known him for so long as my sister's boyfriend and then fiance, and then for the first month after they were married my family got to spend some time with them as a couple, but they were still deep in the honeymoon phase, so does that count? Its so great to observe him be and delight in being my sister's husband. He's so encouraging to her, so comforting, so servant-like, so loving.

And as Georgie's dad, he's her perfect dad. He loves her so much and you could see him fall in the love with her in the moments after her birth. He calls her his new best friend. And he calls her shot-put head, little papoose bear, etc. AND, Heather has not changed one single diaper yet, but guess what? I've only changed two so far! (And Georgie's had many more than just two dirty diapers since birth, believe me.) Matt does so much work to care for his little girl, talking to her through all his activities, laughing when she gets him messy, and telling us that he loves everything about her.

Happy Father's Day, Matt.

first full day at home

After breakfast this morning we were all sitting on the couch, Heather cuddling adorable Georgie. Smithers seemed to feel some competition in the air, so she climbed on Matt and got all comfy snuggled on him, mustered up her most flirtiest cutest motor you've ever heard, and looked at Heather and me with the happiest eyes you've ever seen in a cat.
Sorry Smithers, Georgie won the adorable-ness award. Kind of by a long shot. It doesn't mean you're not adorable, though.
'Twas a big day for Georgie. During one of her alert times, Mom and Dad read to her from a picture book about a "Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, And The Big Hungry Bear." I think she enjoyed the sound of her mommy and daddy's voices more than anything.
Then the family took a nap while I made a quick errand.
During Georgie's first full day at home, Matt made sure to get in some piano playing time with his daughter. Oh man guys, several times today Matt was at the piano with both hands free, and when that happens, *MAGIC*. He's so talented. And he chooses to play all the songs that I would have chosen and asked him to play anyway. Its such soothing background melody to accompany any activity throughout the day.
We ended the day by trying to watch The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I think Matt was the only one who made it through without falling asleep. I love the movie to death but my body told me to watch it later.

Homecoming

The whole family came home today! It was so cute to see Matt walk in the door carrying a car seat with such a precious package inside, sleeping soundly as always. As soon as I picked Georgie up Matt tried to bring Smithers, the family cat, over to meet her, but Smithy didn't seem to register that a new human had been brought home. She actually didn't seem to notice anything at that point. The day that Georgie was born I brought home the first little cap she ever wore, even before her first bath, and showed it to Smith to let her sniff it and get used to the smell. I don't think that the effort has paid off yet.

Here she is in her nursery with me:
As Heather was feeding Georgie, Matt was busy putting things together, and among the items to put together was the breast pump. When he was done putting it together, he matter of factly plugged it in and muttered a "I wonder how this thing works," as he put it up to his chest, Heather and I stuttering over our warnings against such action. Of course when he turns it on he takes a leap and utters an "Ow-OUCH!"
Here she is in her swing for the first time. We so enjoyed watching her as we all sat and ate our dinner.
Resting with her daddy here. At this point Smithers decided to make a cautious visit, but once she realized that there was something living sitting on Matt's chest, she promptly left him.

Kind of a funny story for Hunter (of course the rest of you can read it too): Smithers had just finished cuddling with me on the couch. She jumped off the couch and trotted over to the baby swing, sat up on her hind legs and tried to lean on the front of the swing with her front paws. Of course, the swing starts swinging backwards, so Smithy "brightly" takes her front paws off the swing, only to have the swing come crashing back into her face. She escaped with a huff, got all fluffy, gave it one more disgusted look, then scrambled farther away.

We're all so excited for the days ahead. I so enjoy the periods of time when we all just sit together on the couch, one of us holding her and the rest of us looking on and just observing everything about her. Another thing to look forward to is trying on all her cute outfits and digging in to all the adorable blankets given to her at her showers. Fun times.

I find myself desperately crying out to God to save this little one. Please Lord, snatch her up in Your saving arms, let her come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and what was accomplished by the shedding of His blood. Thank you so much for giving her such loving parents who will be faithful to teach her Your truth, that she is a sinner desperate and helpless were it not for Christ's sacrifice and substitution.

Georgie's Second Day

Resting while Momma gazes at her:



In a new sweet outfit:
Pooped Dad:
She felt just like heavy floppy bread dough during this picture, out like a light!!
One of her few awake moments today:


Day two and everybody continues to be looking great! Georgie had some bloodwork done today and a jaundice test, and both results are fabulous. Quite a healthy baby. The doctors are still saying that as far as it looks right now, both momma and baby can come home tomorrow, but they won't make any promises.

I'm tired. Think about it. I'M tired. Imagine how Heather and Matt feel. Its been quite a chore for them and for the nurses trying to teach Georgie how to feed, but I think she's getting the hang of it. That's the most exhausting part for Heather, by far, but other than that everything about her only puts smiles on our faces and gives us happy hearts! We're so excited for her homecoming tomorrow!

Thank You, Lord, for this precious baby!