All smiles

Just a couple of pictures of Greta and her dad:)
Greta had just woke up from her nap and had sweet bed head and lots of smiles...I couldn't resist.
Greta has been fighting off a sick the last week so we have kept her pretty close to home. Let's hope she kicks it for good soon!
We have canceled our Halloween plans for tomorrow to keep her from spreading the love to others, so stay tuned for Lame Walter Halloween at Home! We will try and make it a party... but mostly it will be just the three of us way too dressed up, eating chili, and candy leftovers. Pictures to come!

Getting our Date on!

We have a lovely arrangement with some of the people in our community group to have a sort of baby co-op! We each babysit each others kids the equivalence of about once every 4-5 weeks and then have the other 4 weeks for Friday night dates with our hunnies!
Lately due to colds, and the house taking over our free time we have been doing without the dates. But yesterday we got our date on!
I wore heels (because that makes it a date and not just an every other day.) And Kent wore what I layed out for him;)We saw a movie (the ultimate mom/dad luxury as it's 2 hours of sitting with our undivided attention not on a certain squiggly small person.) We saw Where The Wild Things Are which was so very good and not a children's movie but a movie about remembering what it was to be a child. And then scooted off to the new Purple in downtown Bellevue where we glimpsed into the lives of single people who lived rumpus lives and ate dinner at 9:30. Meg and Ryan joined us for our late dinner and it was all in all a raging success and a very fun "pretend".
I think we really would have fooled people too only we did stop to take a picture in front of the restaurant (Clue #1 that we don't go out enough) and then goofed it up with my flinging my head into Kent's elbow as part of our spontaneous "non-pose" (I always have to have a picture that isn't posed) and screaming things like Ow! and what happened?
However, I think our shenanigans came off to bystanders more as wine induced frivolity and less like 2 parents still reeling from the absence of a baby on the hip and a diaper bag on the arm.
We did snatch a picture by the elevators though. Timer on a trash can.It's posed, but I like it. It reminds me of us three years ago when every silly thing deserved a picture and every day was a date...and really, let's be honest with Kent it still is. But on Fridays I get to wear heels!

Glad Tidings!

All kinds of good news!
Yesterday Greta had another ultrasound which a lot of things depended on and to make a long story short (as all medical stories should be made) her left kidney although still distended didn't get any worse, and our Dr. even ventured to say looked a little bit better!
Which means surgery is put on a shelf for now and we will continue to get ultrasounds every 3 months for however long it takes to either a) grow out of it (3-4 years) or b) get worse and they go in to fix it.
As much as I have not been known to enjoy this waiting game I find this wonderful news! If things are going to mend themselves, well that's different and I can do that kind of waiting with a smile.
So these glad tidings bring another. Since Greta will not be going under any knives this fall we can continue in our plans to go visit Kent's family in VA!
Kent will be taking his paternity leave in November which gives him a full month off of work to play with Greta and I. (I could kiss Microsoft!)
It has been much too long since we have seen his family last and we plan to swim in the company of friends-and-relations for a good 2 weeks of it. We will kiss the heads of babies newly born of friends, and shove our faces with BBQ. If there ever was a time I pine for VA it is during the fall. There is something so nastalgic in the air there. The excitement of starting a new year of school, falling in love, getting that boy to marry me...it's all thanks to good old fashioned Virginia.

My final and long awaited good news is that of a new addition to our small family...don't get so excited....Greta's first tooth!
It's just a pearly stub of a thing now, but thank goodness! Maybe she will feel the wastefulness of having such a fine tooth and start to eat with it.
I think this picture sums up her attitude toward eating perfectly.
But seriously, we cant have it all!

Enter The Will...

"Greta is going through stuff."
I find myself saying that more and more lately to shield her from the reproach of others. It could be teeth, growing pains, or who knows, but she is exhibiting her will a whole lot more lately.
One of her latest and greatest is her decision to not wear hats. No hats, no ma'am! But what she has yet to learn I think is that she got that willfulness from somewhere and I like the hats.
*The Hall Family Willfulness or better known as"The Will" is no garden variety stubborness. It is simultaneously both a magical force and scientific fact. It travels within the family circle and when used wisely it bears discipline, steadfastness, and standing ovations as it's principle fruits. Improperly used and it results in friends, family, and spouses with grey hair and brains turned to mush.
Not only hats but food! We are throwing the tastiest of meals her way (and I mean throw quite literally as the only time she opens her mouth it to howl at the idea, giving us a small chance to toss in some food) with a hope she will start to like grown up mealtime, but so far it's no meals no ma'am! Why she would prefer bottles to exotic fruits, yogurts, and liquid thanksgiving dinner is truly beyond me.
Ladies and gentleman this IS the main event. Barley vs. The Parents. Place your bets!

Home Sweet Home

Where on earth have the Walters been anyway?
Didn't you hear the "Yipeeee" heard round the world? We moved!
A couple weeks ago we closed on our house, got our keys, and flagrantly drank champagne off the trunk of our car...we are mortgage holders!
Since that day it has been non-stop work as we haven't worked since we labored abroad as teens. Only difference being, this time no one caught malaria.
We have been pulling up carpet, painting, installing wood floor, drywall, trim, lights, outlets, heaters, and waging an epic battle against the funk-nasty that has prevailed in this house for a year.
I tell you it has turned my already small patience with the animal kingdom into full fledged disgust.
It will be years before I can look at a dog without secretly in my heart growling, and more openly narrowing my eyes at it.
Because it is this animal that is the source of all my sweat and woe. PEEEEEE! Everywhere! Every corner in the house! Resulting in various and unending disinfecting precedures and extreme measures not limited to the removal of drywall and insulation. Odious beast!
Although these measures have curbed the nasty to make our house habitable, it is in no way gone. Much like the fight against terror it is a slow battle and demands patience, fortitude, and fresh approaches.
However, we are very happy here and affectionately call it "Our Mess". And when we have things a little more under control we will dazzle you with the before and afters.
Greta has been a brick through all of this. Spending a good amount of time in her play pen and passed around family and devoted friends like an orphan, her patience has been tried.
Which brings us to the Thanks portion of our program.

Here are our heartfelt thank yous to everyone who has worked on the house as part of the Walter Relocation Program.
Dad- (Although you don't read my blog due to it being on the internets), you have worked harder than anyone and we would still be living in our apartment if it wasn't for your help making our home habitable and safe!
Mom- Letting Greta stay with you and sparing her the worst of the move. (She says hi!)
Meg and Ryan- For taking such good care of our Barley and doing the things no one likes to do (painting ceilings, packing, and shuttling our un-packable junk in your car)
Wes and Leslie- Being at the tip of the spear for the initial house confrontation, painting, and for Wes's use of brute strength and lifting face.
Robbie and Roxanne- Bringing lattes for everyone and helping us paint.
James and Rebecca- Coming to a second Walter relocation after experiencing the hell of the first.
Marcel, Mike, Jeremy, Kirk, Marcus- Orchestrating and carrying out a superb job packing and unloading the truck.
Carson and Taryn- Coming over to welcome us and help to make our house feel more like a home.
Jeff and Paula- For putting up trim with us even after moving day when there was no pizza!

Now that we are back! Stay tuned, all kinds of happenings coming your way!
*If you are not on this list and would like to be, just remind me of your service and I will probably feel so bad that you will make it to the top!

Only got the good stuff

We took some pictures outside over the weekend. I love how these three show some of Greta's unique personality traits.
Like her curiosity. She can sit and pore over a book, her fingers, or a leaf for an extended period of time, while remarking in a very small voice "ta.ta.ta.ta" and assessing her findings in a whisper. (She fits right in with the family as we are most of the time studying our books, phones, and little findings.)
Second, her silliness. She likes to drum her lips with her fingers and make burbly sounds. And she will do it to anyone else who gets close enough.
And lastly, her happy nature! She is quick to smile, laugh, and be amazed!
Of all the traits she could have landed with, Kent and I are glad she got those! We sat up laughing last night as we named all of our faults and what it would look like to have a child only inherit our flaws. The poor victim would be an overly sensitive toast glutton, scared of people, sky, land, and sea. Simultaneously idle and freakishly charged. Spends the day rubbing out his/her eyes and not doing the laundry. Spends the night as an insomniac mathematician factoring prime numbers (not knowing what a prime number is), and hoping it was something like prime rib.
It really makes a couple feel blessed:)

Dr's Notes

It's time to spill the beans...well, the kidney beans to be exact (narf!)
We discovered ages ago when Greta's home address was 123 Womb Street, that one of her kidneys was larger than the other, however with everything else about her vitals normal it wasn't a huge concern, just something to keep our eyes on.
We have had numerous ultrasounds since her home address changed to the greater Redmond area (USA). And we have met with numerous tests, procedures, and Dr's since then. Some very interesting and others most unpleasant. All which have made it known to us that she has a Ureteropelvic Junction, or the partial blockage of her left kidney.
Our Dr gave us the word picture of a 'kinked hose', and I think that explains it nicely (ureter being the 'hose' leading out of the kidney).
So now that it has a name and we are certain of her condition we get to share it with you! We were hesitant to share too much before we had all the facts. But here's how it is:
As of her latest study she has two fully functioning kidneys, so this should dispel all rumors that may fly using the words "kidney failure", "transplant list", or "great calamity". It's wonderful news that her kidneys are still healthy, and shows us that she is in no present danger of imploding or such nonsense.
Both kidney's take in what they ought, it's only the left that doesn't get rid of fluid as it should which has caused that kidney to swell (hydronephrosis). This could lead to serious problems if left unwatched/unknown but thanks to early discovery and watchful eyes she is in a very blessed position.
We have two options, one is to operate, the other is to watch for a little longer to see if it corrects on its own (as some children's do). However, operation seems more and more likely as her kidney has continued to swell over time.
We have had one Dr. who sees her likely going into operation and another who is gathering a few more images in a few weeks time to be sure.
So it's all up in the air and just the right time for your helpful prayers. We have known all of this for some time and feel no great shock or worry over the matter, except for the occasional motherly regret that my sweet little baby has to endure such discomforts. However, when they do occur they are brief and soon forgotten because she really is still the happiest little Barley, who doesn't know or care a fig about some bum kidney-tube.
She's blissfully ignorant of the whole deal and has been enjoying the duty of keeping me on my toes lately. I told Kent the other day that I feel more like a wrangler than a mother as most of my daily duties involve herding Greta out of places and keeping her from grazing on our electrical chords. (Today I turned around and she was gone like a flash! I found her stuffing her face greedily with the chord to our lamp, as she knows she is forbidden to, and was getting all the fun out of it in a frenzy of about 5 seconds.)
So, now that we have filled you in we will be keeping you posted on all her kidney's goings on. Thanks for caring!
(And sorry there was no pictures this post, I tried to find a jolly picture of a kidney to put up...it doesn't exist.)