Nursery & the Big Bump!

By popular demand... at last here are pics of the big bump & the nursery!

With just two days 'til due date Brett & I are getting very excited to meet our little girl (so strange to have no idea when she is going to make her debut... tonight?! next week?? we'll see!) This last week it has all become more "real". I am now off work, which has been absolutely wonderful... left behind the long work days to get a bunch of prep done around the home front (including a little R&R and fun lunch dates with some of the closest ladies in my life which has been a real treat!)

Hope this note finds you well - and apologies it has been so long since our last post!

Just three months ago...

And now!

Saturday at the house before heading out for Kristin & Marcus' Engagement Party/Send off for their Hawaii wedding
Here's a pic Brett sneaked while I was getting ready - look at that big bump!

The Nursery... when we bought the house...

And before we started prepping for baby...NOW!

Such a spoiled little girl - this is only 1/3 of her closet... so many adorable little outfits all gifted by family & friends

Fun treasures on the shelves from Brett's childhood...

Baby S.'s view into our backyard

The Conch Republic

Saturday we arrived in Key West the southernmost tip of the U.S. While I had been here before on a quick cruise stop with my family several years ago, this was Brett's first visit.

For those of you that have been you know what a cool vibe this city has.Their motto of "One Human Family" rings true as you see no separation of low and high brow - across this gorgeous 4x2 mile island mixed between watercolor pastille homes, turquoise water and palm trees you will see expensive art galleries, Caribbean villas, literary festivals...

mixed in with t-shirt shops with sayings on their merch I'm embarrassed to repeat, clothing optional bars, and drag shows galore. This provided for a confusing experience when we adventured to a highly recommended Mexican spot from our travel guide book. The entrance was down an alley with out indoor seating (the 40 degree weather didn't make that appealing) but the owner assured us they are working with another establishment to use their indoor facilities so grab a seat there. Needless to say we enjoyed amazing Mexican inside a Country Bar that half way through dinner started showing a topless bull riding competition. I kid you not. Watching the folks our parents and grandparents age make this realizing as we did was entertaining to say the least.

More pics of Key West...

Sunset Time on one of the piers of our resort:

Looking back at the resort:
The town's infamous hypocondriac got in the last word on his headstone found in the famous Key West Cemetary:

Ernest Hemingway's home... saw a wedding taking place there when we were exploring

Babymoon!

Babymoon (n.) – A vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that accompany a newborn baby.

When planning our “babymoon” we thought about several factors:

1. A fun spot for a young couple like us that may not be on the list of family vacations in years to come.

2. Somewhere we haven’t been together.

3. Good food (meal time is always a highlight in a pregnant woman’s day)

4. Somewhere we could speak the language and has “safe” healthcare, just in case

5. Nice hot weather.

Our first couple days in gorgeous South Beach Miami proved to hit all our “musts”, except maybe the language barrier, but hey, as we all know, Brett is 1/16^th Mexican and was Spanish Speaking Student of the Year his senior year of high school so the Spanglish found in South Florida has proved no problems.

We enjoyed a plush direct flight down to Miami and a nice relaxing day scoping out the Art Deco architecture, relaxing on the beach, great food and taking in the trendy, flamboyant vibe of South Beach.

We woke up on Day 3 to rainy day and 50 degree weather. This is 25 degrees below average for January in South Florida and the locals are in shock. Brett and I threw on our REI raincoats and took to the streets like the proud Seattlites we are where a little chill and wet weather never hold anyone inside in the winter.

After an amazing breakfast off of A1A on Ocean Avenue we hopped in the convertible (dang) and headed out for the stretch of drive on the Overseas Highway down the keys.

Despite the rain and chill in the air the drive was still breathtaking, and the frosty beverages (virgin for me of course) that welcomed us at the Casa Marina Resort were still just as refreshing!

This evening we enjoyed some local Cuban cuisine at a famous neighborhood spot then capped off the evening hovering in the hotel bar that overlooks the Mayors Ball going on at our resort.

This time together has been such a luxury after the busy last couple months at work and around the house. It is such a treat to get this alone time together to relax just the 2 ½ of us before the family starts growing (and not just my belly).

6 more days – and sunshine in the forecast – more blog posts to come!!

2009 Schlameus Family Holiday Letter

“It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” – Floyd "Papa" Schlameus

The memories of those we have lost continue to stay strong and have acted as daily reminders of the importance and value of each and every one of our family members and friends.

We were so blessed to spend time with each of our immediate family members this year (always a challenge with my family spanning 5 states from Hawaii to New York!). This year my family voted for time together in the heat versus the usual chilly holiday travel, which resulted in some great trips including a 4th of July weekend in North Lake Tahoe, California with the Parks crew (Ali's Mom's side of the family), a summer trip to Denver to visit the Warren Family and Labor Day in Long Island.

While we had the opportunity visit Brett’s maternal grandparents down in Arizona for Mariners Spring Training and also enjoyed a summer in Seattle with them, we are spoiled with Brett’s immediate family and my sister and brother-in-law so close, resulting in more gatherings than we can count. It is such a blessing to be able to spend all “important” days together, the hard ones and the fun ones, but even more fun are the impromptu gatherings and random family traditions, such as the annual Griswold “Christmas Vacation” viewing (costumes required).

We are beyond excited for the MOST overwhelming news in our family… the three 2010 additions!! After three years, Brooke catching 2 bouquets in a row, and an immense amount of support from his family and ours, Jake popped THE question to Brooke this October! For anyone that knows Jake, or has ever seen these two together, you would agree that they are the perfect match and we feel extremely lucky to gain this brother-in-law and new addition to the family. I could go on and on, but then I suppose I should save the good stuff for my speech next August.

Just after going to print on the Christmas cards, we received the green light to share the news that we are getting another niece or nephew this June!!! My brother, Brian, and his wife, Anna, have done an incredible job with our niece Bridget. Any of you that have met that little blonde charmer know that the world will be a better place with more of anything that resembles her cuteness running around!

…and for any of you that have browsed our blog in the past couple months, you know our biggest and most exciting piece of news! We are going to be parents of a little girl come April! Despite 19 books we have been gifted/lent, the 3 websites I’m subscribed to, an 8 week prep course we have signed up for, and endless advice from friends and family (thank you!), I think the only thing we seem to have absorbed in this overwhelming preparation to become parents is that our kid is now the size of a spaghetti squash!?! Even more so, we have learned that no matter what stage you are in the parent cycle, you feel an immediate, unconditional, and overpowering love for that little squash, even before you’ve even met.

After that exciting news, it sounds less important to fill you in on the laundry list of the places we’ve been blessed to travel this year (check out our blog if you are really curious) or to go into deep detail about work, work, work (Brett is still enjoying his patent preparation and prosecution practice at Lee & Hayes and I am loving sitting within shouting distance of my sister-in-law Brooke as now both of us are working on the Movies team at Amazon.com). So there you have the quick and dirty details.

Thank you for your love and friendship you have show each of us and our family.

And finally, cheers to the exciting known and unknown blessings to come in 2010, and here’s to a happy and healthy new year!

Biggest Blog Post Yet

Hi all - Brett here for my first blog post. Since Ali does all the heavy lifting for our blog, I thought I would help out in sharing some exciting news. Save the date - we’re officially joining the baby club! Ali is due April 21 and we couldn’t be more thrilled (and overwhelmed!) to become parents.

Following a close call where Ali ditched a home pregnancy test and snuck out of the store after seeing a few friends a couple aisles over, we received the good news while hosting a barbeque for some out-of-town guests (the Bennett’s, aka Biggles). While manning the BBQ, Ali glanced over and gave me a quick shake of the head. I was a little bummed because I then knew that the THIRD test was also negative. However, after everyone had left, I had to take a look myself just to be sure. One solid pink line and a second much lighter pink line right next to the first. I asked Ali where she had placed the instructions and after handing them to me, I read out loud, “one pink line indicates a negative and two pink lines indicate a positive, please note that one line may be lighter than the other.” I was ecstatic and convinced, but even after experiencing all the common symptoms, Ali was still unable to acknowledge that we were going to become parents. In fact, I don’t think she was convinced until the ultrasound last week!

We are so blessed to have such great family and friends who were also so happy to hear our news. The reactions we received were priceless – from tears to jumping up and down in our living room – it has been very special to share something that will have such a profound impact on our lives. Even our little Lucy reacted well to the news, or maybe she just wanted the treat in my hand that I felt obliged to give her for wearing a ridiculous t-shirt (see pic below). Considering Lucy has taken every opportunity to snuggle in close to Ali, I’m starting to wonder if she really does know!

Over the past couple years I have spent a lot of time thinking about when would be the right time to have children. Since we were first dating almost eight years prior to our little one's debut, I knew that Ali and I wanted kids in the future, but I wasn’t certain when in the future that would be. However, I can now say without a doubt that we are both ready and are eager to begin this new adventure together. I feel so proud to be adding to the Schlameus family.

I apologize for not contacting everyone directly but we look forward to celebrating with you all over the next six months and beyond. Thank you all for the love and support you have shown towards our family. And most of all, thank you, Ali, for being a wonderful wife and friend. I know that you will undoubtedly be a fun, adoring, and caring mother to our baby son/daughter.


Photo #1: This is what Lucy wore to greet my family to share the news last week

Photo #2: Baby Schlameus' first phoot (don't worry,that's an arm, not a nose)

Good Weekend Back in Seattle!

Great weekend filled with puppy sitting little Colie while Brad & Kimmy were off in Boston for a long weekend, Lucy's annual vet appointment (healthy as can be and has gained a pound of muscle since her visit early this year), a matinee to see the Informant with Grammy & Grampy, and a special highlight to share breakfast at the Freise's home with Brett's good friends & their kiddos.

Of course the little ones were the stars of the show... here's one of Greg with his daughter Ella & Jeremy & Julie's daughter Eva. Greg was the fun one throwing the girls up in the air and building block towers they got to kick down. Loved watched the girls play hide and seek... neither could wait to be found but instead called out "I'm here, I'm here!!" the second the "seeker" finished counting!

Quinn, Greg & Emily's youngest, was the best cuddler and SO much fun to holdHenry "Hank", is Judson & Emily's son and ALL smilesThe two were born just days apart!

Labor Day in Long Island

Here are a couple pics from our Labor Day Weekend in Long Island visiting my dad, Brenna & Zeus! Was fun to be there in the summer versus the usual winter visits and playing tourist on the island.

Started at the beach just a few miles from my dad's house in St. James. Water was crystal clear and Zeus enjoyed a dip!

Made a trip to Bethpage Restored Village and saw old farm life, buildings, and the way the people lived in New England in the 1800s. The start of our big roadtrip around the island

Montauk Lighthouse - it was so windy!

The wine region
And evenings spent with a Board Game show down - Team Brenna & Brett made a comback and won the tournament :(

Zeus w/ his new toy from sister Lucy

The last day we spent checking out Brooklyn - was our first time after so many trips to Manhattan & Long Island had never made it to Brooklyn?! Here's us on the bridge!