Yay, Silas is here!

I am happy to say Bethany and I are parents now! After a long and arduous labor (~21 hours) and a cessarian section, Silas was daylighted.

I won't go into the whole story here and now, just document the wonderful outcome. Bethany and Silas did great work during the whole process and both are healthy and happy now. I'm proud as hell of both of them.

Ann and Lori, midwives at the Midwife Center, as well as Diana and Kara, were awesome and helped us immensely during the labor at the Center. Ann came with us to Allegheny General Hospital and was a blessing in all she helped with there. The staff at AGH was great as well. All in all, the birth wasn't ideal nor what we planned for, but we are not disappointed with the way it turned out. Silas is beautiful to us and the process was beautiful, despite how protracted and painful it was. We're happy that Silas and Bethany are healthy and ready to go home.

Thanks to all of our lovely families and friends for support. We're happy to add to the family and circle of friends.

-e

Waters broke

Bethany's water broke at 4AM this morning. We went for a walk and had breakfast at Ritters. More later.

Flat

Oh rats, a flat in a brand new tube. It was a small nail this time. That's not so bad in that it's easy to see what the offending object is and where. Also, I noticed it on my way out of work yesterday, but decided that it was holding air well enough to ride on it anyway. It did fine, but I kind of pushed it, riding around the Point and up the Eliza Furnace Trail instead of by the shortest route. Luckily, it held, as I didn't have my patch kit and pump, as I thought I did.

Pittsburgh Midwife Center

We're getting ready! We had our last pre-term midwife appointment today at the Midwife Center in Pittsburgh. Everyone there is great, and we're really looking forward to one of the midwives "catching" our baby very soon.


It looks like Gene's Last Chance will be my refuge during the ordeal. (Just joking) It's the closest bar, more or less, to the Midwife Center.

Bamboo is Hard

Holy crap! This is the result of my test of using a 16-gauge pneumatic nailer to face nail the stranded bamboo flooring for our bedroom. I suppose I'll break out the full face protection and put away my pathetically inadequate safety glasses when I go to start nailing with the new flooring nailer. I haven't tried that yet, as it wasn't shipped with the nipple to connect to the air hose. More as this story develops...

Bethany took the cool morning to add a coat to the trim for the bathroom. Don't forget that it goes best with Guthrie's supervision.

Ride up into the Hill District

I didn't have much time to ride this weekend. I was able to sneak an hour ride in before breakfast today, though. I rode up into the Hill District to explore and then down into Oakland before picking up bagels for breakfast.

I realize it's a generalization, but I really don't think many people in my neighborhood have ever been up in the Hill District. There are some amazing houses and a lot of them are well taken care of and obviously appreciated. Sometimes, it seems like locals feel that it's all a war zone and falling down. It's not really like that. Sure, there are bombed out parts, as there are in any city, but there is much more. Lots of people living normal, relatively happy lives in completely different circles than those of other neighborhoods.

I found a wonderful park in the Upper Hill District where the water tower is. Google Maps is telling me that it is Herron Hill Park. However, there was another name, a person's name, on a sign at the entrance. I wonder which is the one that people who live nearby use. In any case, the views from the walking trail around the reservoir are amazing. You can bet I'll check back in and see how things change with the seasons. Enjoy some of the views.

Bloomfield Bridge and the new Children's Hospital.

Looking West toward downtown Pittsburgh and beyond.

Looking northeast over Bloomfield and West Penn Hospital. Our house is in that mess somewhere.

Final shot of Pittsburgh's downtown.

First Cucumber

Yay, the garden has finally produced something besides weeds! Bethany found our first cucumber. And look what else is brewing...

Misty Morning, Lunching, and Glider Chair

This was the view as I pulled my bike in to the office parking lot. A few minutes before, the light was much better, as the sun was beaming onto the lower levels of the buildings, painting them in a golden light. I'm not disappointed that I spent my time enjoying that instead of looking through my bag for my camera, though.

Long lunches are almost obligatory some Fridays. Today was one of them. Bethany, Becky, Tim, Maya, Ryder, and I met up at the Church Brew Works for a leisurely lunch. After that, Bethany, Tim, and I picked up the new glider chair for Bethany from Babyland. It's the nicest I have ever seen, and one of the very few that don't completely defy our sense of aesthetic. It's made by Monte.

Back in Running Shoes

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/2-1-2-mile-easy-training-run

After hurting my knee at our company picnic on 12 July, I had to take some time away from running to let it heal. I missed out on the Pittsburgh Triathlon because of the injury. Nonetheless, I ran an easy 2.5 miles today with Guthrie, and it felt good. The shin pain I'd been having is also gone! I guess it pays to let things heal from time to time. :)

It was a modest 10 minutes/mile average, but that included getting stopped by lights and picking up after Guthrie. I'm not displeased with the pace, as it's been so long - 22 days! My last run was in Portland, OR (business trip), on 9 July. Here is a view from the Bloomfield Bridge out over the neighborhood and West Penn Hospital.

Pho on you

At Maya's suggestion, she, Ryder, Bethany, and I had a great dinner at Pho Minh on Penn Ave in Garfield. I can't believe we've been here 3 1/2 year and hadn't made it there until tonight. That's downright criminal!

Tram's Kitchen is down the street and is also tasty. There's no need to compare. They're both gems in this city.

Here is a link to a Post Gazette article that talks about both.