Ernie Gets a Big Boy Bed

Ernie John has been been hard at work growing into a larger baby, and due to the stress associated with that he asked to be pampered a bit in the tub today.

A good reminder of the curious turn that my life has taken is the giant Soulard Oktoberfest plastic beer steins that we now use to give Ernie a bath.

Today was bittersweet because Ernie has officially outgrown his bassinet and this little afternoon nap would be the last time he will ever sleep in it. It's been nice because it's easy to check on him when he's so close to the bed, and it's easy to pick him up because you don't have to lean over too much.

I hope the poor little guy isn't too unhappy with his bed changing.

Ernie's new bed is in the same spot but it sits on the floor, so that his chubby little body doesn't tip it over. I like this look: "why the heck did you put me on the floor? What did I do wrong?"

Very Jolly

Today we met up with Lydia's friend from work Elizabeth and her husband Eric. They are really interesting people, like to travel, and I feel like I would like to be them when I get older.

I was surprised to find that our meeting place was a Ballard brewery that I had never even heard of. We made camp at the Jolly Roger Taproom of Maritime Pacific Brewing. It was kind of an odd place but had a fun nautical theme with a giant map painted on the floor.

We took Ernie for a stroll on the trail that wraps around Green Lake.

Art and Sushi

I feel like a lot happened today. Ernie is such a bundle of entertainment I feel like many more of our days are spent at home, so today was especially fun.

We didn't have a whole lot of time to experience it but we did a quick run through of the Bellevue Arts Museum Arts Fair. Beating the insides out of a fish with a flute was good foreshadowing for our dinner later.

"Katie Kim

Newport High School

Salmon Satisfaction

Acrylic

Throughout the day, I dream about satisfaction. I imagine smacking and hitting all the stress and worries out till I'm satisfied. Perhaps I'll do so using my flute: an instrument I love, yet feel a strong desire to break due to the years of pain it's brought me. I also would love to satisfy my constant hunger. During school, my mind often wanders to my next meal. Maybe it'll be soup, rice, or maybe it'll be salmon: a food I've been craving for the past month. My painting is the moment all of these desires are satisfied. My daydreams put into reality."

We popped into the nearby mall for a boba but it was packed. We haven't really been going to the Happy Lemon in Bellevue Square Mall much because it always seems to be too crowded to bother.

One of my other favorite displays was a person that made art out of computer keyboard keys.

Zoe was preparing to move to Seattle, and took her obligatory "goodbye arch" photos.

I don't have any siblings, and so I don't have any nieces or nephews. I think I'll forever not really understand our relatives' compulsion to move here to be closer to Ernie. Several people have mentioned moving here for him. Nobody's been moving here for ol Johnny I can tell you that.

Our much anticipated fancy dinner for tonight was Sushi by Scratch Restaurants. It's hard to get a reservation here, and we had to speak to someone through an intercom before they would even open the door. We had a welcome drink in a classy little waiting area before we were escorted to our table.

The lighting in this place was very moody and blue.

There were little plates with our names on them waiting for us at our seats that were arranged in a horseshoe around the kitchen. I love it when restaurants do this, especially in a place with so many wild ingredients and methods, because it's so fun to watch these artisans work their craft.

They had some expensive drink flights but we opted to just do a couple a la carte.

Things started off exciting, with a chef hand grinding some wasabi. Wasabi and horseradish both are the hottest right after being ground, so this promised to be a flavorful evening.

There was a big menu on the wall with little hints of each course. There were so many courses with so many ingredients and long explanations that I quickly lost track of the script and gave up trying to follow along.

I ordered a sake that displayed some serious surface tension. Thank you, now I get to stick my nose in here while attempting to sip this without spilling anything.

The blowtorch is always fun to see put to use, but it does kind of feel like cheating at a sushi joint.

An example of one of the hardcore sushi explanations we got all night.

A notable event was when they held a giant bone and used the torch to melt the marrow out of it onto some sushi.

There was an uni folded seaweed taco type situation.

Lydia did some milk pumping while we took a little stroll around Belltown to help digest the 500 pieces of sushi we just consumed.

The little prince was taking a lap nap when we returned home. Today was our first experience booking a baby sitter. She was nice and everything went smoothly. Maybe I can have a small semblance of a social life after all.