Claudia has a new cousin

First off, we have exciting news! We have a new niece. Glen's brother Adrian and our sister-in-law Jo are now proud parents of Alannah Banks, born on April 26th. She is adorable and we can't wait to meet her next autumn when we visit Australia. This is Claudia's fourth cousin, but the only one close in age. She has three other cousins (Joseph, Eloise, and Tyrone) but they are 15-23 year older than her.

We had a great time last weekend. Grandma & Grandpa babysat while Glen & I went to the Crohn's & Colitis benefit concert at the Showbox. Sweet Water opened for Flight to Mars and both bands rocked! It's an annual tradition for us to attend this concert. Before the concert we met up with friends at the new Seattle Hard Rock Cafe, which was great too. The next day Glen was able to go golfing and I meant to do errands, but instead I just bummed around and relaxed. That's something you take for granted before children, so I sure appreciated it! While we were doing this, Grandpa & Grandma took Claudia to a NWPT party (my mom's work) and she had fun playing with all the toys and other children. She especially liked playing with Malia, who is due to become a big sister soon. On Sunday, Claudia went on her first hike. We tried to do the Four Ice Caves, but when we got there, slushy snow was still on the ground, so we did Lake 22 instead. We didn't make it to the lake, but we were able to go several miles up the trail and see lots of waterfalls. Hopefully in about a month when all the snow is gone, we can go back! The mountains in Washington are so beautiful. We are so lucky to live near the mountains, ocean, and a vibrant city.

Speaking of the Crohn's and Colitis benefit reminded me to post an update on my health. I had a flare of my ulcerative colitis this summer and had to go on prednisone (in addition to my other medications) to control it. It never got too bad, but it's dangerous to be on prednisone long term so I started Remicade infusions. I'm proud to say I'm off prednisone now, but I'm still doing Remicade infusions every 8 weeks. The only side effect I have is easy bruising, so sadly I've had to stop playing contact sports because the risk of being injured is too high. It is a bit strange to be on this medication because I have to go to the hospital for 5 hours to get it and they mark my IV bag "chemotherapy" and put on a protective jacket to administer it, although the nurses joke about the jacket being silly and unnecessary. Also, the medication is about $40,000 a year (paid by insurance), so it makes me nervous to be on such a costly medication in a country where health coverage is always temporary. But, it's seems to be working for me and I'm healthy, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Look at those smiles ready to head out on the hike.


It's hard to make out in this photo, but there were several small streams to cross and lots of steps because there was 1500 feet of elevation change in 3 miles.


This is on the way down when Claudia got pooped out, but Glen was still doing well.


Claudia & Malia playing together at the kids party.


Here are some photos from Claudia's birthday party a couple weeks ago. The theme was fairies. Notice the pink "fairy dust" on top of the cake.

Claudia's birthday cake -- thanks Auntie Gina & Grandma.


Eating her cake.


Kisses from Auntie Neely.