Already a Music Critic

We (well, mostly me) just spent a good hour-and-a-half playing music at Liz's tummy to see what kind of music Spit is in to.  He definitely responded.  Liz says that he's never kicked/squirmed/gyrated anywhere near that long before.  The results:

Music Spit Loved. This stuff definitely made him dance.

Beatles - Well, at least "ob-la-di, ob-la-da."  Didn't get much of a reaction out of "Come Together."

Aretha Franklin - He LOVED "Chain of Fools."  The kid has soul.

Blitzen Trapper - We may have a hippie on our hands. Or a hipster.

Blues Traveler - He really appreciates a good John Popper harmonica solo.

Keb Mo - When I put on "Every Morning", his movements got slower and more rhythmic   The kid really does have soul.

Junior Boys - Pretty sure he started locking and/or popping.

Jose Gonzales - Good to know the kid can recognize quality guitar.

Jimmy Eat World - Really got into "The Authority Song."  But who doesn't?

MoTabs - He actually didn't move at all.  Which obviously shows that he is reverent and quite spiritually receptive.

Music Spit Liked. Evoked foot tapping and/or head bobbing.

Lumineers

Barenaked Ladies

50 Cent

Bee Gees

Bill Withers

Bishop Allen

Blondie

Britney Spears - Maybe should have put this in the "loved" category, but we couldn't bring ourselves to admit that our kid could really like "Toxic."

Louis Armstrong

Jesus Jones - Would have gone in the "loved" category if it hadn't taken him so long to warm up to "Right Here, Right Now."

Maybe. The jury's still out.

Jurassic 5 - He was pretty in to it up until the moment where I accidentally introduced my son to his first cuss word.  Again, he is clearly quite spiritually receptive.  And I may have to cull the old playlist in preparation for parenthood.

South San Gabriel - To be honest, I got practically no reaction out of "I Feel To Young To Die."  But I refuse to give up on one of the greatest songs ever written that easily.

The Losers. The stuff he disdainfully ignored.

Dixie Chicks - Absolutely no reaction.  My proudest moment as a father so far.

The New Pornographers - Absolutely no reaction.  My most disappointing moment as a father so far.  Tried both "All for Swinging You Around" and "Graceland."  We'll try "The Laws Have Changed" next time.  That'll get him.

Beck - Still haven't tried "Loser" or "E-Pro," though.

Blink 182

Bobby McFerrin - Maybe this song doesn't really do anything for someone who has never been anything but unworried and happy.

Right Said Fred - He is my son, so it would be totally reasonable if he thought these guys were singing about him.  Glad he doesn't realize it yet, though.

Justin Timberlake - It seemed like he might get in to "Pusher Love Girl" until the chorus kicked in.  Can't say he's wrong.

John Lennon - To be fair, I didn't appreciate "Imagine" either until I was in high school.

Muse - Surprisingly, neither "Uprising" nor "Supermassive Black Hole" elicited a thing.  Maybe I should try "Starlight"?

I could have kept doing this all night, but both mom and baby finally got tired.

Portland Getaway

To celebrate Valentine's Day/our "when we met" anniversary/babymoon Cory and I took a much needed break from work and the desert and went to Portland.  We seriously considered going to Morocco... but in the end decided to put the money toward student loans instead (feel free to give us a virtual pat on the back).  

Our weekend in Portland was really really wonderful.  Ah the rain! the city! quirky people and good restaurants!

Friday night we stayed with Andrea and Ryan and their family in White Salmon, WA.  Saturday morning I found Cory and Blake watching Phineas and Ferb, a usual morning tradition for these two.  I can never tell which one looks forward to this more.  

Later Cory and I headed into Portland and went to the Saturday market.  I LOVE farmer's markets.  All the fresh produce, flowers, and random crafts.  I even got some fresh kimchi. :)

Once we had filled our eyes and our bellies with the splendor of the market, we went to old downtown Portland and went on the underground tour.

We learned about the tunnels in old Portland and their varied uses for flood control, transportation and maybe even a little shanghaiing.  We walked around Portland's Chinatown, which used to be Japantown.  Portland has a beautiful park by the river to commemorate the Japanese internment during WWII.  Learning about this part of Portland's past reminded me of this book I read a couple months ago (and would highly recommend if you're looking for a good read).  

St. Patrick day 5-Kers making their way through town - ah Portland!

the famous Voodoo donuts - did you know they cater and perform weddings?

Saturday night we went to a Live Wire radio show.  It was so fun.  One of Cory's favorite pod-casts is NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! comedy news radio show (he's a news junkie with a good sense of humor so it fits).  Live Wire is pretty similar to Wait Wait and much to Cory's delight, Luke Burbank who frequently guest stars on Wait Wait was the last-minute guest host at the Live Wire show.  

We stayed just down the street at the McMenamins Kennedy School hotel.  This place also has some awesome Portland flare.  Since it was St. Patrick's day weekend they had none other than... bagpipers in the lobby.

Breakfast found us at Pine State Biscuits, also just down the street.  We had been looking forward to this.  Watch to find out why.

Intermingled with all the stuff we saw, we also had a lot of time to just walk around town and talk with each other.  It felt like an awesome date that lasted for 3 days.  

I am very much head-over-heels in love with this sweet man, and thank my lucky starts every day that we found each other 2 years ago.  Life has never been better.

Waterfalls on the drive home...

more bump

at 30 weeks