I know he's teething, but...

Luke is suffering through the coming out party for two new teeth (the two on either side of the top front ones... my dentist friend Matt would be disgusted that I'm describing them that way)... And gauging the amount of whining and gnawing, this round of teething seems worse than the previous two rounds.

So, as we speak I'm engaged in the Olympic semi-final men's hockey game (USA is KILLING Finland 6-0 so far), and Luke is "monking around" as we call it. Or in other words, he's exploring and contentedly entertaining himself, and I glance over now and again to make sure he's safe.

Moments ago I glanced over and noticed him gnawing on the window sill. See destruction:

Yup, it's down to the wood.

So, two problems:

1. Our security deposit is at risk*

2. I sure hope this isn't lead paint**

*...for this and other reasons. Keith keeps saying "it's only a rental" and I keep adding up the list of things we need to try to fix before June 30...ugh.

**The building is only 2 years old, so I'm assuming I don't really have to worry about lead paint, but still, eating paint probably isn't the most nutritious food for an infant... or anyone.

The boy loves windows

We've known since Luke was a wee baby that he loves to be outside.

And when he can't be outside, he loves windows.

So of course, now that he can climb up on the window ledge, he loves to press his face up against the windows, checking out what's going on outside... and inevitably licking, drooling and leaving tiny finger prints all over the windows as well.

Yes, he's standing on a baseboard radiator in this shot, but luckily it has been a warm winter so I always make sure the heat isn't on when he's exploring!

Little boy

I'm not sure when it happened, but today when Luke woke up he seemed like a little boy rather than a baby.

Maybe it's because he's getting bigger, stronger and more agile. He can pick up his bottle and feed it to himself. He can climb up on the window ledge and get back down without falling. He has four teeth with two more coming in (and is still chewing on everything in sight; that hasn't changed). His voice is changing a little. He's trying to stand up on his own and puts his arms up for balance, which is really cute.

And he sees the humor in...well...almost everything. Sometimes when we're walking down the street he just starts giggling.

Here's a taste:

Go USA

Saturday we attended 1000 meter short track speed skating and saw Apolo Ohno win bronze (that's him in the funny suit). Luke enjoyed his second Olympic event (lucky kid), especially the part where we wrapped him up in the American flag.

New trick

I was standing at the sink one foot away when Luke very quietly climbed up on the open door of the dish washer.

Seriously, I didn't hear a peep.

Morning in our house

I shot this video yesterday morning before we went to the hockey game.

Keith had the day off and--after a rare late night out with his friend Jung--was attempting to sleep in.

Aided my Mommy (who had been up with Luke since 5:45 am), Luke tried to wake Daddy up by petting, prodding, poking and finally, puking on him :-)

Our beautiful (temporary) city

We feel lucky to have the opportunity to spend one year with this gorgeous city as our backdrop. It's hard to believe that we only have four and a half months left here!

Taste of the Olympics

Yesterday we went to an Olympic hockey game -- USA vs. Norway.

It was just a preliminary round, but still very exciting from our FANTASTIC seats, 3 rows from the glass!

In fact, our seats were so good that they were in the NBC section and the owner of the Dallas Cowboys was seated across the aisle from us! Thanks to Keith's med school friend Jung for scoring the tickets!

Luke enjoyed all of the sights and sounds and then was so tired that he somehow napped for a bit, even through the cheering and deafeningly loud scoring horn!

We had a great day watching the game and walking around downtown Vancouver taking in all of the action.

And tomorrow we're headed to the gold medal round of 1000 meter men's short track speed skating, where we'll hopefully see Salt Lake resident Apolo Anton Ohno win yet another gold!

The symbol... from behind chain link

Unfortunately the Olympic cauldron / flame is situated behind a chain link fence, so this was the best family shot we could manage. But hey, this is probably the closest we'll ever get to Wayne Gretzky (incase you missed it, he lit the flame 12 hours before we visited).

Vancouver 2010

Olympic Spirit is in full effect around here!

We watched the Opening Ceremony with my cousin Rick, Suzanne, Griffin, Colin & Aaron, and Suzanne's family at her parent's house here in Vancouver. And we were honored to see (and hold!) the torch that Suzanne's Dad, Pierre, carried during the torch relay on Thursday.

The ceremony was very entertaining and it was fun watching it with Canadians, who provided lots of local commentary.

And today we braved the crowds--and the Vancouver rain--to check out the Olympic activities downtown.

There was a palpable excitement in town, especially in The Bay, the Canadian store that sells all of the Olympic apparel and gear. We felt it was necessary to pick up a few items, including a pair of the iconic red Vancouver 2010 red mittens, and some USA team stuff.

We're looking forward to two weeks of festivities and events to watch! Some day we'll be able to tell Luke that he spent his first year in an Olympic city.

Have a tissue... or the whole box

We just spent a few days in a hotel, where Luke was thrilled to have new terrain to explore and destruct.

He also just got over a runny nose, so perhaps that's why he thought he needed to remove every tissue from its box!

Divide and conquer

Last night Keith got home from work a little early, which was a treat. He got to play with Luke while I made dinner. That was also a big treat because Luke's new favorite thing to do is pull himself up on my leg and squak to be picked up. This often happens while I'm doing something non-baby-friendly, like using a knife or working on a hot stove, etc. And the other day while doing this he even pulled my pants down!

So since Keith was home and entertaining Luke, I took advantage of the situation.

First, I sent them out on some errands so I could have a few quiet moments. It was nice outside so I positioned this as a fun father-son walk.

Then I had Keith feed Luke dinner, which was positioned as a bonding activity.

Then, I suggested that it would be fun for them to pick out Luke's PJs together, and put them on (I don't look forward to changing him these days, since he wriggles around so much)... oh, and might as well change his diaper while they're at it.

After all of that was done, we noticed an unpleasant smell coming from Luke's diaper. "WHAT?!" Keith exclaimed, "I JUST changed him!"

"Yup," I replied. "So, do you want to finish making dinner or change him again?" I asked, offering him a choice of tasks. I do this sometimes -- when I have more than one less-than-spectacular thing that needs doing, I'll offer him a choice. He usually says he wants neither so I just assign one to him :-)

Anyway, so Keith looks at the boiling water on the stove and says "I'll pick dinner."

"Ok," I said "so finish cooking this and this, then wash that pan in the sink and empty the dishwasher."

"WHAT?" He says "I thought I'd just man the boiling water"

Um, no.

So he opted for diaper duty, and as he walked out of the kitchen with Luke he mumbled "I always lose."

And as the finale, he actually volunteered to put Luke down to bed. And I must admit, it was very smooth... much smoother than when I do it.

I wish Keith could get home early every night!