Matchmaker matchmaker

A little more than two years ago, Abby played matchmaker and set up two of our friends, Tim and Jessica. I'm happy to report that Abby's matchmaking was successful and on Sunday, Sept. 5, Tim and Jessica said their vows and rode off into the sunset together. Way to go, Honey, way to go.


Looking back at how it all started, I had my reservations and really didn't want to be too involved in Abby's ploy. I mean, Tim lived in Bellevue and Jessica lived in Bellingham - there was the whole distance thing to contend with. Tim had said repeatedly that he didn't want to date someone that didn't live in the same city. Some how, though, Abby got him to come around to the idea after months of pestering him about this girl he had to meet. She was finally able to get both Tim and Jess in the same place when we had a 4th of July party in 2008.

As another one of my best friends, Peter, recalls it, when Tim first saw Jess at the party, he said, "Who is that girl, she's hot?!" Aren't you glad you came to Bellingham for the party, Tim?

Here we are at the Bellingham waterfront waiting for the fireworks show to start. Tim, don't sit too close to Jess... be sure to leave a little space... don't act like you're interested. You could have parked a semi between those two.


After a very successful first day/meeting, Abby kept the ball rolling and scheduled an impromptu putt-putt golf exhibition the next day.



We/they ended up spending the whole day together. By the end of the day, Tim was changing his original plans for the weekend. He had only intended to spend one night in town. Now he was planning to spend another night just so he could spend another day with her. Come Sunday morning, Tim was hitting me up for clean clothes because he hadn't brought enough for multiple nights. Hahaha. And poor Peter, who had carpooled with Tim to Bellingham, was at the mercy of Tim's changing schedule.

The best part of the weekend was when it came time to say goodbye: Tim walked her out to her car (at our house) and spent quite a bit of time out there saying goodbye. When he returned, we asked, "Did you get her number?" His response, "Well... errr... uhhh... no." For the love, do we have to do everything for you, Tim? Apparently, he didn't want to send the wrong signal to Jess and seem too pushy or something. Who knows what was going through his head. So, Abby had to take action again to ensure that this relationship got off the ground. Abby worked her magic...

Guess who came to visit the very next weekend? Yup, Tim was back in Bellingham seeing Jess again. This time, though, they didn't need us chaperoning. Tim did need a place to stay. We kindly offered him a key to our house and a room and bed to sleep in on weekends. He came to Bellingham quite often, but we didn't see him very often. : )

In 2009, we traveled to the Cayman Islands together.


It has been an amazing experience to be a part of their relationship and watch them grow together. We are so happy for them and pray that God will continue to bless them in their marriage.

Snuzzling with the grandparents

Grandma and Grandpa T came for a visit on Saturday. They just can't get enough of their first granddaughter/grandchild. Kyah even smiled for them while they were here and Grandpa got it on camera. What a shining moment.



It was nice having them here for many reasons - one of them being I got a break from diaper patrol. Grandma did a number of things around the house that I haven't had time to get to like sweep and mop the floors. And Grandpa helped me assemble my trailer for the Subaru, which took most of the day.

Grandma snuzzling with Kyah.


Abby and Grandma couldn't resist putting this hat on Kyah and taking her outside to enjoy the sunshine.


Worn out from a day full of snuzzling.

Many people have asked how Abby and I are doing. Seeing as how this is our first baby and we don't have another reference point, I think things are going quite well. It was a little rough at first because of the csection; Abby was extremely limited in what she could do. I was running around providing for both of my ladies... I didn't mind it during the day, but I will say it was pretty difficult at night. Now that Abby is moving around more and can help with a few more things, it seems to be getting easier. It also helps that Kyah has been eating and sleeping like a champ. Nine times out of 10, she goes right to sleep for a three-hour nap following feedings. That makes sleeping at night pretty easy. If I had to guess, I'd say we're amassing anywhere from six to eight hours of sleep a night. Mind you, that's amassing and not consecutive. I think we've been in bed for 11 hours the last couple nights. : ) All in all, we're truly enjoying being parents. God has blessed us immensely.

We sure made some memories together

It's sad but it's true; I sold my truck. It took me a few years to warm up to the idea of selling it, but I finally got there and sealed the deal two weeks ago. I sure loved that truck.



I know, it's just a truck... It was much more than just a truck to me, though. It was my first vehicle; it was my independence. I poured a lot of sweat and blood into it.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned in high school, and I learned many of them with the truck by my side. It's hard to recall all of them, but some of the great memories that come immediately to mind (and in no particular order) include:

- Day trips to the coast with my girlfriend and future wife. I proposed to her on one of those day trips - the rest is history.

- Night trips to the the Auburn drive-in movie theater with Abby.

- Sanding it down and getting it repainted.

- Skipping school on Abby's 18th birthday and taking her for a ride to Seattle via the ferry system.

- Driving with the sunroof and sliding rear windows open.

- Driving with Abby next to me on the bench seat.

- Our claim to fame: My truck and I were extras in the movie Ten Things I Hate About You.

- Driving away from our wedding and reception in the truck!

It wasn't the newest or the nicest vehicle out there, but I sure thought it was great. Together, we made a lot of memories. I'll miss you, my truck. May you go on to make more memories for others. Thank you!

Daddy's girl

Initially, there was some debate about who Kyah looked more like, me or Abby. It was clear to us who she looked more like when we opened my baby album. There are a lot of similarities between me and her when I was her age.

(I'm on the left and Kyah is on the right.)

Granted, I am a few weeks older in my photo than she is in her's, but I think it's still pretty clear that we look a lot a like. Would you agree?

Oh, and my hair was slightly tinted red when I was born. It turned blonde pretty quickly. Hers seems to be more red though. We'll see what color it ends up as.

Milk coma

This is what it looks like to be in a "milk coma."

I have to say that Kyah is a feeding and sleeping champion.

Videos - Sleeping and awake

I thought you might enjoy a change of pace from the pictures, so I've uploaded two short videos of Kyah.

Here she's awake...


And here she's making the cutest sleeping noise ever.


Instead of going back to sleep while Abby was feeding this morning at 4 a.m., I decided I'd stay up and post these videos. Enjoy.

The feeding is all done, and I've got both Abby and Kyah put down. It's my turn to shut my eyes! Nighty-night ya'll. (It's 5 a.m.)

More photos - I couldn't resist

Here are a few more photos of Kyah; she's just so cute that I couldn't resist sharing them. Thanks for indulging me.

One side note: We want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who has e-mailed, texted, called and/or visited us while we've been in the hospital. We really appreciate all the love and support we've received. As our neighbor Jenn said, "It takes a village." It's true.

She loves to pull one hand out of her wrap and put it either above her head or in her mouth. She's got her thumb in her mouth in this shot.




Meet the Terps.


This is our last night in the hospital and then we're headed home tomorrow morning.Yah!