Constuction has commenced!

Exciting times at casa de totten!  Tony Tots is growing like a weed right now - at least, we think so, can't really see him but Treva says so and I'm with her on everything!  I'm done with travel for the summer, which is pretty nice....would hate to have to rush to an airport in some podunk American city, beg and barter my way to an airline ticket, break multiple speeding laws on the way to Queen Anne....all to ensure I didn't miss the contractions and swear words firmly directed at me preceding the Miracle.  So, check that one off.   It was a bit of a hard sell though - had to cancel a trip at the last minute...came to realize nobody really cared if I went anyway.  So....that was both fortunate and telling at the same time, right? 

Anyway, the point of the post is that construction has begun.  For the uninitiated, we decided to finish out the attic solely so it can be a "safe place" for Olive to seek refuge.  She hates it up there as is....she sees dead people up there.  It's taken doggy years off her life, the sheer jitters she gets when she even sniffs at the door that leads up to that wasteland.  Okay, sorry, got a bit distracted - we're putting a Master Bedroom, Bath, Walk-in Closet, and Office / Nursery / Living Space / Display Section for My Ridiculously Cool Baseball Card and Camas-Washougal Little League Trophy Collections.  Original ETA for the project was five years.  Apparently, we're impatient people.  There's an entire back story to the project and permit approval process that I actually cannot tell without a cocktail in my hand because I get so darned wound up...so let's save that for another day.

The point is, our house is a hot mess right now - no roof, tarps everywhere, a driveway full of shingles and plywood, more lumber in our backyard than Noah used on the Ark.  It's crazy.  Really, the only physical change to how the house looks on the outside can be noticed only from directly across the street.  Conveniently where our good friends Deepa and Erich live....fun little fact about this past Saturday, AKA the "day the roof came off of 418":  they had a birthday party for their beautiful babies with a lot of our closest friends.  What a hideous eyesore!  So sorry folks...and no, we're not trying to turn Queen Anne into the next Tent City.

So, what to do when you're three weeks away from Tiny Tots, you don't have power / lighting to the light fixtures in the Dining and Living Rooms, and your house is missing an entire floor??  You throw a dinner party for the best DP crew in King County - see pictures below.  Tacos are ALWAYS good, forget the ambiance.  The table is actually ours - the lumber....well, i guess I paid for that too. 

dwt.

Wishin' and a Hopin'....

Obviously, the first priority is a happy and healthy Tiny Tots - goes without saying.  Well, I guess it doesn't since I just had to type that to reiterate.  But anyway, if I had my preferences of course, there are many things I'd wish Tiny Tots could experience in addition to eternal health and happiness.  For starters, I hope that Tiny Tots...

• Loves his Portland Trailblazer basketball team
• Never picks a favorite color
• Gets Grandpa Totten's eyes
• Doesn't get his old man's nose
• Is blessed enough to have the chance to travel for work, but doesn't have to travel for work
• Has a job at all, come to think of it....
• Understands that he shall, and has a passion to educate others to, stay right except to pass
• Chooses to learn a romance language
• Gets Treva's smile, and skin...and her freckles.  Her lips too!  Oh, hope he gets her little feet instead of these circus stompers of mine as well
• Appreciates every single day and greets it with unbridled enthusiasm
• Is at least a little less superstitious than I am
• Wants to be Shortstop but is perfectly happy in Right Field
• Takes no crap from nobody
• Loves to read.  And be outdoors.  And play ping pong.  In no particular order.
• Is a good sleeper - even when he's 31
• Gets excited at buffets
• Thinks Grandma's houses are the coolest places in the world.  And wants to stay there for long, extended periods of time
• Doesn't light too many things on fire
• Never even thinks about dating a Verhasselt
• Is able to entertain himself - but not with invisible friends.  Because that is weird
• Knows a good joke when he hears it, and a bad joke before he tells it
• Does NOT want to go to the University of Washington.  That would be so awkward.....
• Can grow a decent set of facial hair for crying out loud
• Will live long enough to see an English Premier team win Champions League....circa 2091.
• Loves himself some tacos and gummy bears. Not necessarily together, but even then, that would be perfectly acceptable in my household

I don't think it's unrealistic that Tiny Tots stumbles into a couple of these items along the way.  Of course, the first thing to take care of is that whole healthy and happiness thing - and mom being happy and healthy too.  But if there's any extra cycles out there after accomplishing those high-priority items, the kid deserves the right to be gainfully employed and have reasonably sized feet, am I right?!

dwt.

Look at this lady...

I know, I'm biased - but how beautiful is she?!

Can you really ever be "prepared"?

The only thing Mrs. Totten doesn't know when it comes to Tiny Tots arriving is that this blog will be up and running when he shows...everything else, she's got covered.

• Baby Room, Check. You all should see the nursery - well, you all probably will see the nursery soon enough - but it's amazing! We're blessed with such beautifully generous friends and family, stocking our entire extra bedroom with bounties of baby goodness! From toys to clothes to diapers to some funky intertube thing that apparently helps with...something....it's all there! Throw in Treva's outstanding "search-and-purchase" skillset put to good use on Amazon.com, and this child shall never be naked!
• Dietary Requirements, Check. She's read at least five books on child eating and nursing strategies and while I'm pretty sure the majority of them basically just contradict each other, she's at least got a plan in place and I'm darn sure she's going to figure it out her own way anyhow. Plus, her own eating has taken some analysis cycles as well these days and I, for one, couldn't be more pleased that's she has taken such a fancy for macaroni & cheese and pickles, two of my favorite food group pillars!
• Child Safety Controls, Check. We have a car seat. And now, we're meeting some certified expert who can tell us if we've latched that thing in the most secure and risk adverse position possible. This guy works in Ballard, so he can't be all bad - but, he's busier than most accountants in April, which leads me to believe he may want to consider doing this full-time. And there's only four people in the phone book who do this kind of thing. After Treva gives birth and we land this whole "sleep depravation is our new thing" thing down, there's a dollar to be made and babies to be saved here.
• Husband Requirements, Check. I'm not a complicated individual, and I am good at taking direction....for the most part. And Treva? She's good at giving direction. That's part of why we work. She has managed to give me guidance on my responsibilities to the point that she's tricked me into thinking it's "coaching" rather than "mandates." That's pretty good. I know I shouldn't continue traveling - got it. I know where to park the car at the hospital - going to nail that one. I know that starting construction on our house remodal a month before delivery may be a wee bit too short a timeframe to ensure she's comfortable - that's my bad. The point is, I'm directionally correct with most of the coaching she's provided and I hope she can tell I'm a quick learner.

I'm not sure you can ever be truly prepared for the birth of your first child, but it sure is fantastic to have such an organized and thorough wife to help get us on the right track, and fast! Beyond being the soon-to-be best mom....EVER....she's so energized and excited for that little monster to arrive, the preparation just comes naturally. Plus, our friends are such good people, how helpful they've all been and how much sharing and guidance they've each provided. Even the guys, some of which are more lost than me, names not to be disclosed but you know who you are. I hope Tiny Tots has every bit of his mother's organization skills and we can only pray he'll get a little bit of luck with having as good of friends as his folks have together. That's not too much to ask, is it?

dwt.

The First Post!

Let's do this! 36-week mark today and I'm traveling for work. What better thing to do than create a blog for when Tiny Tots arrives?!

So, before we get officially off the ground, three things to remind you about this site:

1. This website will be where all the happenings of Tiny Tots and the impact he has on our life will be kept.
2. We thank you, our good friends and family, for reading it and sharing your thoughts and comments, and obviously sharing in our ups and downs (mostly ups, obviously) as we start this new and exciting venture in our lives.
3. The posts contained within these walls are not always censored and/or do not necessarily reflect the opinions of every member of Team Totten. For any disciplinary action requested due to content that you found to be "displeasurable," please contact the Chairman of the Board, trevatotten@hotmail.com.

I'm not a writer so I cannot guarantee spelling, grammar, or proper sentence structure with this site. I also make a lot of words up and have identified that having what the people refer to as "a filter" is an area of improvement for myself. Sometimes, I post things without proper context - I'll try not to do that here...as much. The good news is, Tiny Tots is at the center of this little project and he's going to be amazing. So, with him as this story's protagonist, there is bound to be more fun to be had than spelling errors, so just stay with us a while and we'll see where it takes us.

Thanks for coming - be safe, the interweb is a very dangerous place....

dwt.