Breathtaking acts of bravery

Well, I think you'll all be pleased to know that we survived our first dinner out with Grady and had a wonderful time. Grady was tired and a little fussy, but he didn't have any major tantrums and we all managed just fine. Matt and I cut ourselves off before getting into the intricacies of Grady's bowel movements, but I have a feeling we are not quite as interesting company as we used to be. But maybe I am giving our pre-child company more credit than it deserves.

Yesterday I took Grady downtown to voodoo donuts, stumptown coffee, and to visit my coworkers at NCVLI. The trip to NCVLI was brief, but it was strange to be back. It made me realize how soon maternity leave will be over. Only 5 more weeks! I can't believe how fast this time has gone. Here is Grady in his visiting the office outfit.



And I have to thank Alyssa again for the socks. They really make every outfit come together!

The weather in Portland has been absolutely amazing the past few days - oddly cloudless, sunny, hot weather for May. To enjoy the weather today, Grady and I risked our lives to go over the Sellwood bridge. Now, for those of you not from Portland, I will try to explain how daring this was. Do you remember a few years ago that bridge in Minnesota that collapsed? Well, it had a safety rating of 50 out of 100. The Sellwood bridge? Any guesses? 2. Yes, it has a safety rating of 2. I try to avoid driving over it, and when I do, I have taken to driving over it with my windows open in case I need to dive into the Willamette below. The dangers of driving over the bridge are surpassed only by walking over it. The pedestrian passage is about the width of one woman and a baby, but there are also bikers coming in all directions, forcing the pedestrians to jam themselves against the edge - which I discovered today is very rough and uncomfortable! Anyway, enough complaining. The reason we decided to go on the bridge, risking life and limb, was to see this view:



Here is my attempt to get Grady in the picture, which gave me vertigo and required me to immediately return back the way we came, avoiding Grady's first trip into Portland's Southwest for a bit longer.



Grady continues to eat well. So well, in fact, that I think we may need to avoid horizontal stripes for a while.



Matt thinks Grady looks like a gym teacher in this outfit. No comment from the mom on this one.

We don't have any big plans for the weekend. My guess is Matt is saving all the exciting things to do for my birthday weekend, fast approaching! If the weather stays nice, we may attempt to go to the rose test gardens in Washington Park. The roses are just starting to bloom here. If we do go, pictures will follow.