Life of Armstrong

Fourth of July at the Armstrong's 2009

2009-07-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time at the annual Fourth of July festivities at the Armstrong's. Emily couldn't jump in the lake too many times, and Harlen enjoyed being passed around by tons of family and friends. I've updated our Flickr site with the pictures (and some from yesterday just because I think my boy is just too dang cute!).

Happy Fourth of July to you All!

Phoebe

Fun Times with Paul and Liz Lim

2009-06-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

Phoebe, Harlen and I spent Sunday hanging out with my college buddy Paul Lim, his wife Liz, and their expected-in-October son who doesn't yet have a name. We started the day by attending church at St. James Cathedral in Seattle. We emerged to some protesters, who scared Harlen to tears. Not cool...

After lunch at the Pike Place Brewery - Yum! - we toured the Seattle Center, checked out the original Starbucks, purchased our last names written in Chinese Characters, and enjoyed some Gluten-Free goodies. Paul even mustered up the courage to ask a stranger to take our picture!!!

Liz chowed down a candied apple, Paul and I shared some "bark" and Harlen grubbed on some solids. Hmm...lots of eating today. If you know me, you know nothing goes better with eating than a trip to a REALLY high place. So we visited the Space Needle. I managed to keep my food down...

We returned to Chateaux Armstrong for some home-made burgers, chips and some Wii. I greatly enjoyed humbling Paul at his favorite tank game, but he simply destroyed me at duck hunt and tennis. So, I took him to the airport. :) Great times. Miss you guys already. Looking forward to keeping in touch and catching up when we visit St. Meinrad in August.

This weekend was easily Harlen's busiest. In addition to his first visit to St. James, Pike Place, and the Space Needle, we went to Portland on Saturday for a wedding. So, after about 600 miles of wear on his car seat, Harlen is sound asleep. So much for being well rested after the weekend! Well worth the exhaustion! We wish the Lim's save travels back to Pittsburgh!

Harlen's First Words

2009-04-17T00:16:00.001-07:00

April 13th absolutely ruled in the Armstrong house. Harlen spoke his first words at the age of 5 months and 6 days. "Ma Ma." Looks like all the extra training hours mom put in really helped win our little bet - actually, we did not have a bet, rather I am simply jealous. :)

You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxjC-dVPrDU, and more of Harlen's video updates at www.youtube.com/lifeofarmstrong. You can also keep up to date on our lives by adding me on twitter (stevar). Hope everyone has a great, warm weekend!!!

Harlen Hits YouTube

2009-03-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

We recently finished creating a channel on YouTube dedicated to the LifeOfArmstrong. You can check it out at www.youtube.com/lifeofarmstrong. Right now, it is all Harlen, all the time. In the future, we'll get a bit more creative by including some of the other family members and adventures into the videos! Here's to a good week!!!

Charlebois Family Addition

2009-01-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Gregory and Sunny Charlebois, who recently welcomed a baby boy into their world, Henri Wolf. Normally, I'd post his picture on our blog, but all he wears is Steelers clothes...and there is no way I am putting the black and gold up on lifeofarmstrong!!! You'll have to go over to his facebook page (yes, he is already on facebook) to see the latest pictures.

many updates

2009-01-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

Well, Harlen is now 10 weeks old and sleeping in my arms as I peck away at the keyboard. So here's a quick update.

PUPPP is GONE!
Harlen is 13 lbs & 24 inches long
I'm doing much better health-wise
We had a ton of snow in December
Had to take a quick road trip to Lopez Island for a funeral (a very beloved and very long time family friend)
Pepper (older cat) is doing fine but he's old and going through health issues
Emily (dog) is great and loves exploring Harlen's things when we leave her home alone - namely the diaper pail
Salty (younger cat) has found new territory to call mostly his own in the basement

All is well & hope you enjoy the pics!

Phoebe

PUPPP sucks ass

2008-12-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

I'm not normally so vulgar, but it's absolutely true. PUPPP sucks ass and it's the absolute worst thing that a pregnant woman or new mother can go through. Well I'm sure other pregnant women and new mothers have had their fair share of worse things, but it's the worst that I've been through so far and that counts struggling with anemia, 3 tears and stitches and various infections and other troubles not worth mentioning all within the first 3 weeks of having a newborn.

So, what is PUPPP? Check out this site: http://dermatology.about.com/cs/pregnancy/a/puppp.htm
I'm sure there are other sites that have information out there, but this is the first I found that accurately describes what I've been experiencing although it's a bit more severe in the itching department. They describe it as "very itchy" and I would describe it as "I want to peel my skin off I itch so fucking much". Also, like they say, there's no real reason why one gets it and no real cure. The first dermatologist I went to took a blood test and when it came back negative for things he thought it may be he said there was nothing wrong with me. What a hack! Obviously I needed a second opinion. I went to see a Naturopathic Dermatologist and it took her about 5 minutes to look up PUPPP in her medical books and show me the pictures. It looked like me! The only thing is that I experienced it a bit differently than pregnant women (because mine showed up postpartum). My rash is primarily on my calves, thighs and arms and barely any on my abdomen. For all you poor pregnant and postpartum women out there that have experienced this and have had to endure the discomfort get yourselves to a Naturopathic Dermatologist and do everything they say for "treatment". I'm starting to get some relief and it's only been about a day. She has me rubbing on calendula oil, taking buffered vitamin C, maxiflav and cod liver oil. Seek treatment and don't stop until you get relief!

Peace and Love to you All!

wanna see a pic of my pain? :) (click below)
Phoebe%27s%20leg.jpg Yes, that's my right calf...my ankle is nice fleshy creamy skin and the rest is all rashy and irritated. Gross...huh? I just had to share...

2008-12-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Today Harlen is 4 weeks old. Enjoy these pics we've taken since his birth.

Harlen has been such a joy to have with us and he's definitely a ton of work. He's challenged us in so many new ways. We're starting to figure out what his different cries mean and better understand his schedule. He doesn't wake too often during the night, but when he does we'll be up for at least an hour for a feeding, numerous diaper changes and soothing back to sleep.

Harlen James Armstrong Born!!!

2008-11-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

We are elated to announce that our son, Harlen James Armstrong, arrived on Thursday, November 6 at 11:28a. He weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds and is 21 inches long.

The brisk labor started at 2:00a and ended at the Eastside Birthing Center. Phoebe achieved the natural birth she desired for our son!!! An absolutely amazing accomplishment...no medications or interventions. Words cannot even explain the pain she endured and the courage she displayed. I am forever grateful. After a scare with mom, an ambulance ride to Overlake, and careful care (still no medications), we made it home around 9.30p.

I've posted the first batch of photos to our flickr account. You can see them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27899448@N07/sets/72157608742800267/

I'm becoming a parent?!

2008-10-13T22:46:00.000-07:00

Becoming a parent is an odd experience. I've come to learn that parenting it's not about what you know, or who you know, or how many books and you can read on birth, parenting, or being able to accurately decipher all the random advise I receive as either wise or crappy.

Rather, becoming a parent is - at least I think right now - about completely changing your mindset on life. It is a constant evolution that never really ends, and I might have just taken one huge step forward.

Last week, I ran into a colleague at Microsoft, Paul Sanford. We've been working together for two football seasons - yes, this is how I measure time - so I KNOW he is a Green Bay Packer fan. Gleefully unaware of the fact our third-string QB was starting the game on Sunday, our banter quickly escalated to a friendly wager. "How about $20 bucks?!" he says. I shoot back - get this - "Nah, how about we bet onsies?!"

Guess I've taken my first step toward fatherhood. Well, Paul, I hope your son enjoys his new Green Bay Packers Infant Creeper, which should arrive in 3-5 business days.

I'm a Loser Baby

2008-10-02T15:38:00.001-07:00

Kim Colley says I am a looser for not updating the blog more often. She is right. While I slack, enjoy the preview of 24: Redemption. :)

Family in Houston, Be Safe!

2008-09-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

For all our family and friends in Houston, please be careful. We will pray for your safety as Ike approaches. Hopefully you've long left home before reading this post and story. Give us a call if you need anything! 425-679-6974

Baby Shower

2008-08-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks for everyone who made it to the baby shower. Check out photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27899448@N07/sets/72157606797435173/

Congratulations to the Mapps!

2008-08-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Robb and Shannon Mapp, who recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their world on Monday, August 4th at 5:50 a.m. Shannon delivered Beatrice Delta Mapp at 5:50 a.m. She weighed 8lbs, 8oz and is 21 inches long. According to the Mapps, she is already reading at a 5th grade level, accepted an internship with Microsoft, and rejected a scholarship offer from Harvard in favor of following her father's footsteps at Washington State University (we share this history...Go Cougs!).

Catching Up With Old Friends

2008-07-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

I've fallen out of touch with a lot of my college buddies from my time at Saint Meinrad, so I was glad to use the news of expecting a son to give Stephen and Libby Baker and Patrick and Amy Guyette a call. Pat is working on the new Colts stadium. Talk about an awesome job (I am an NFL freak). As a Microsoft employee, I also took guilty pleasure listening to his inside story about how the recent leak took out some mainframes! :) Here are some pictures from my most recent trip to Indiana, where we all attended the Wedding of Stephen and Libby Baker. Check them out here, including this picture, probably the best picture I've ever taken.

Finally Making Progress

2008-07-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

We are happy to report progress on this Web site for once! :) Hopefully the momentum will continue. We added some photos here and to our facebook site via flickr. We plan to keep these updated frequently, especially since it is automated! Check out the pictures from Phoebe's 24th (smirk) birthday and let us know what you think! The Silverlight photos will receive the occasional update, so all the SL fans need not fret.

We are now preparing for the all-gender baby shower, a.k.a. BaByQ. You should have received an invitation. If not, check your junk mail folder or give us a shout and we'll correct that problem. Registering for a baby is a...well, we'll call it an adventure and leave that story for another time. Also, we are going to start adding links to our friends blogs / pages / etc. on this site, so please send those along via comments.

Update on baby Armstrong

2008-06-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, We had our 5 month ultrasound recently. Since we didn't want to do any testing on the baby they did a very thorough ultrasound during which they measured things like the baby's bones, organs, heartbeat, etc. Everything turned out looking great. The baby is about 1 pound and will really start putting on weight in the last trimester. Before this ultrasound we told the technician that we didn't want to find out the sex of the baby because we prefer to be surprised when it's born. Well, the baby had other ideas... During the ultrasound both Steven and I thought we saw "something" and after the technician left the room we turned to each other and said "Do you think you saw somehting too?". If you know us you know we couldn't leave it at that. When the doctor arrived to do the second part of the ultrasound we asked her if she could verify what we thought we saw. She did and we're having a BOY! The funny part is when the doctor went to look for that little "something" he had his hand over it. Boys will be boys I guess. Anyway, we're extremely excited to have a little boy. We'll keep you posted on baby progress.

~Phoebe

ps. Here's a pic of me doing a little cooking for my b-day party.

Surprise! We Are Pregnant!!!

2008-04-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

Actually, Phoebe is pregnant...and we are so excited to share the news with you! Until I can get the blog up and running, this oddly-formatted, quasi-notice must suffice. We are expecting in early November. No, we don't plan to know the sex of the baby before birth. Yes, we will post TONS of updates on Life of Armstrong as we progress through these exciting times!