Oh baby, that’s a lot of babies

Let me make a formal announcement now that there should be NO concern about populating the next generation of Americans. Since December, Amanda and I have had friends deliver FOUR babies, including two TODAY.

Our good friends Danny (focuspoint drummer) and his wife Tiffany had their baby girl named Torrun TODAY (scheduled C-Section). I bet that Torrun popped out with two tattoos, one of them a skull. She weighed seven pounds, four ounces.

Our friends Gwen and Ben also gave birth to their son Elliott TODAY.

Our friends Daisha (matron of honor) and Stu gave birth to their son Trec on Saturday, Jan. 30. Daisha is basically repopulating the world with carbon copies of Stu, I swear. Trec weighed eight pounds, two ounces.

Our friends Jenny (a bridesmaid) and Nick delivered their son Henry on Amanda’s birthday, Dec. 5, while we were visiting Indiana. You think babysitting is good birth control? I had the pleasure of being in the room when Jenny was having minute-long contractions every ten minutes. Jenny was a total pro at labor, but that experience was a real wake-up call. These swimmers are staying in locker room for a while after seeing that business.

Henry was born two and a half months early and just two pounds, nine ounces. He’s been a fighter and now weighs five pounds! Nick is keeping up a really amazing blog at http://babyboyhenry.blogspot.com to keep everyone up to date on Henry's development.

Can you believe that amount of baby-making? Note that 75 percent of the babies mentioned here were born in Indiana. I don’t know what’s in the water, but Amanda is drinking bottled water the next time we visit that nursery of a state.

Congratulations, everyone!

Restaurant review: The Crumpet Shop

Whenever we are around Pike Place Market, Amanda pulls on my coat and begs, “Can we PLEASE go to The Crumpet Shop now?” She’s seen enough fish throwing and fresh flowers in past visits. All she wants is to take a gigantic bite out of a Nutella and ricotta loaded crumpet.

The Crumpet Shop, located on 1^st and Pike (Directly across the street from Showgirls. See, now you know where it is!), is set up like any other coffee shop in Seattle. It has several small, worn tables, employee-produced décor, an artist display and self-busing stations next to the untidy stacks of weekly newspapers.

The difference is in the menu: Crumpets with green eggs, crumpets with pesto, crumpets with ham and cheese. Crumpets, crumpets, crumpets.

But first, what are crumpets? Before Amanda took me to The Crumpet Shop the first time, I only knew the English ate them with tea. I thought they were crackers.

No, crumpets are fluffy, small loaves of bread. Not as heavy as scones, but not as light as English muffins. They are bland but serve as an excellent, edible plate like a pizza crust. They are heavenly.

The next time you are around the market, try and swing by The Crumpet Shop before they sell out for the day (get there before 2 p.m.). If you didn’t have enough reason to go, let the photos entice you.

Mmm...

Sunday, bloody busy Sunday

Weekend, why must you love me and leave me so fast?! Today I had a super fun, busy day. It went like this:

Gym, breakfast, church, lunch, paint cupboard doors, sand office door, paint office door, help Amanda with yard work, eat popcorn, do homework, watch "How I Met Your Mother, sleep.

I love productive days like this.

Highlight of the day: We saw our first flower bloom on one of our huge trees that I cannot identify.

Foto Friday: Winter commute

Out before the sun rises, in after the sun sets. Not my favorite!

This photo shows what the commute looks inside and outside most mornings.

And I thought I was disappointed with the iPad...