Moving into Silverman

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Mike moved into his office in Silverman Hall yesterday afternoon so Christopher and I went over to check out his new home at Northwestern.

The building is really beautiful with many geeky, sleek touches (ie. tiling in the hallways set to look like mitochondria and chromosomes).

The Jewett Lab is empty and almost ready for its first team of questioning minds to move in and start messing around with fermentors, centrifuges and pipettes. Fun times!

Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike will arrive later today in the midst of our second significant snowfall. (Not *too* significant - accumulation should only be 1-2 inches.) We're looking forward to their company for our first Christmas in Evanston!

More pics

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Hi all!

I've just posted a new set of pictures that are between 2-4 weeks old. Since these were taken, Christopher has had one bottom tooth cut through and we can see the second one ready to pop out any day now...

We're staying warm and looking forward to celebrating Christmas with our little one. There's still a bit more holiday crafting to do, a smidgen of baking and lots of hyggelifying*.

Christopher has his 4 month appointment coming up next Monday (we're currently taking bets for his height/weight) and Mike will move into his new office that afternoon. It's a big day! Look for more photos from us in about a week...

*My own bastardized form of hygge, a Danish word that is something akin to "cozy" or "cosy". :)

Saturday morning in Evanston

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

By 7:30am this morning there was a new load of groceries in the fridge, laundry was in the dryer, we had all cleaned up and were enjoying Cup #1 of our morning vice (coffee, black tea, breastmilk...)...

A content baby + good wintery lighting in the front room = playtime with the camera.

I think we'll head out and get a Christmas tree today. It's feeling very holiday-ish with temps in the 20s and a cool gray cast to the world outside. (Feels like Denmark, actually.)

Other signs that December is here:
- Christopher's bathtime songs have migrated towards Christmas carols (that's all Mike's doing as he's the Bath Man)
- the Starbucks holiday cup is everywhere
- every morning I start humming the jingle as I peek out the window looking for my very own Lexus with a big red bow... so far, no dice.

As always, click on the image to see more pics from this morning's fun with the camera.

Thankful...

for the people we love.
Wishing you all a day of positivity, gratitude and joy.
(And a juicy turkey with all the fixings!)

Photos taken October 17th on the edge of Northwestern University's campus by professional wildlife photographer Jerry Goldner.

California vacation!

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

We're back from a stay in Northern California where we introduced the baby to extended family and friends and enjoyed celebrations of Halloween, his baptism and Grandma Jewett's birthday!

Christopher proved to be an excellent traveler, befriending his neighbors on the plane and sleeping like a champ during both flights. He's become so much more interactive, talking to anyone/anything who will listen (including inanimate objects) and watching the world around him with a more mature interest.

He's grabbing for objects on occasion and seems quite surprised when they end up in his tight little fists. And everything is tasted and subjected to lots of slobber.

Click on the photo to the right to see more pics from our trip. (In this photo: godparents Liz, Vince and Molly inside Stanford Memorial Church post-baptism.)

Man Cold

This is just funny. There's nothing else to say about it except... watch and giggle.

Fall and Flickr

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

We've been taking lots of walks each day to soak up the walkable weather and drink in the colors of fall. Evanston is so pretty with lots of oranges and golds gracing the leaves of its trees right now.

Click on the photo to the right and you will be taken to Flickr, a site where we have posted several new photo sets. Admittedly, most photos focus on Christopher as he's our major project for now (and the next 17 years). Enjoy and have a wonderful Halloween weekend!

Cheeky baby.

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Yesterday Christopher visited his doctor to commemorate two months of life! The doc commented that he hadn't been missing any meals as he's jumped from the 50th percentile in height and weight to the 75th. As you can see, he carries most of his weight in his cheeks!

The weather has turned cooler in the last week or two making for some gorgeous leaves. I hope to get out and snap a few photos of the colors before we get too much rain and they're all knocked off the trees.

We've been enjoying lots of Nickel Creek and Alison Kraus around the house. It's the perfect soundtrack to making pumpkin waffles, beef stew and roasted squash. Mmm.

Settling into Evanston

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Finding our new favorite cafe (Fraiche on Noyes Street!), ironing out the best way to get to the grocery store, filling in the gaps in the apartment, getting Illinois title and registration for the car (ugh)...

All very necessary, yet not jaw-droppingly exciting activities that go along with a move to a new place. We're loving our new town and are still learning what our routine is in our new surroundings. (Or maybe we should throw the word "routine" out the window since we now have a TWO month old!?!?)

Christopher is growing by leaps and bounds, by rolls and dimples, and by coos and giggles. We're so lucky he's here with us.

In this photo: Mike and Christopher along Lake Michigan on Evanston's Clark Street Beachfront Park.

Meet the (Grand)parents - Part Deux

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Mike's parents came out to Evanston after Labor Day to help us move into our new apartment. They helped us unpack, do a bunch of handyman-type things around the place and, of course, hold Christopher.

We were very appreciative of the help they were able to give us and enjoyed their company as they got to know their first grandson.

Now the three of us are back to life on our own... and we're doing just fine! Mike and I are figuring out the art of parental tag-teaming. It's challenging and wonderful!

Cambridge to Evanston

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Just over a week ago we took Christopher on his first road trip moving from Cambridge to Evanston. We took 3 days to drive across Massachusetts, upstate NY, visit Niagara Falls, cut through Canada (he's an international traveller now!), down through Michigan, a teeny portion of Indiana, and into Illinois. Whew!

This photo set includes pics from the Maid of the Mist tourboat at Niagara Falls and our kicking baby happily trying out a variety of hotel beds in Albany, NY, Niagara Falls, and Lansing, Michigan.

The Jewetts met us in Evanston under the guise of helping us move into our new apartment, but we know full well that they just wanted to hang with Christopher. Can't say we blame them!

Meet the (grand)parents - Part One

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Christopher met his Grandpa Mike and Grandma Mary during our last two weeks in Cambridge.

Mike and I were so grateful for their help with laundry, dinners (we didn't cook ONCE for two weeks!), baby-rocking and company. They got to snuggle Christopher and we had the joy of watching them fawn over their first grandchild!

First Sponge Bath

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Maybe we have a water baby on our hands? Christopher thoroughly enjoyed a sponge bath earlier this week and patiently let us keep the stench of sour milk at bay.

He changes so much each day. At just 12 days old, he's a completely different little being than he was just yesterday.

Click on the photo to see the complete set.

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Originally uploaded by megbeltran

We intend to share photos through Flickr and thought we'd try to link through the blog. Clicking on the photo below should take you to a set of photos on flickr.com.

More to come once we figure this out (among other things...)!

Introducing Christopher Burke

Christopher was born on August 17th at 6:47pm.
He weighed 8lbs, 2.5ounces and was 21" long.

Summer doings

Despite the unseasonably WET summer Boston has been experiencing, we've managed to catch a few good streaks on a few key dates.

The Berkshires in Western Massachusetts

Two weekends ago we went out to Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra located in the Berkshires. We saw two concerts, the first of which was an evening devoted to the movie music of John Williams (conducted by Williams, himself!) and narrated by Frank Langella. We heard suites from Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Far and Away, ET... and many of the suites were accompanied by video montages which were projected onto screens as we sat under the stars and enjoyed a picnic dinner. The second concert was lead by the BSO's resident conductor, James Levine (Jimmy Levine!!!) and the program was Mozart's final three symphonies which highlighted the BSO's true strengths. It was a fabulous weekend.

Earlier this week we saw a Red Sox game at the historic Fenway Park. That was such fun. It's such a teeny ballpark! And the Sox fans made the evening - they're a dedicated bunch.

Go Sox!

In other summer doings - we've been getting our ducks in a row for the big changes which could happen at any time now... a new baby followed by a new home and new jobs/roles for all of us!

37.5 weeks along...

A zippy little tune.

Before going any further, turn up your computer speakers and listen to this:
"We Are Bioengineers" (click to open and listen)

We found that ditty last night through a link on the blog Beard Revue. Mike's advisor, George Church, made the "revue" last year.
Beard Revue

Within the review of Dr. Church's facial hair, the writer of the blog cited a podcast created by WNYC Radiolab entitled (So-Called) Life. It's a long - one hour - but very, very interesting and an excellent primer for understanding how the fields of pioneering biological research and engineering are partnering in the relatively new field of Bioengineering.
(So-Called Life)

That crazy little beast: the ribosome.

ALSO! Mike's work is cited in Newsweek (July 13th edition). Search the word ribosome and you'll jump to the portion of the writing that addresses Mike's work within the Church Lab.
Newsweek, July 13th

Fun stuff!

Fireworks over the Charles

Image from: thebostonguide.planeteye.com

Last night we went down to the banks of the Charles River along with a few of our closest friends (like 750,000 of them) to watch the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.

It was, indeed, spectacular. I don't think I've ever seen fireworks like that before. We were practically sitting beneath them and could feel each boom shake our innards and the ground we were sitting on. It was thrilling!

This is one of Boston's big events. Mike went to watch the show last year with friends while I was singing in Virginia and I'm so glad that I was able to see it this year before we move. The city of Evanston presents a fireworks show over the lake on the 4th, but somehow I don't think it will compare with what Boston can do!

In tribute

Most people are not aware of the Jackson 5's reunion in December of 1994. In the suburban town of Burlingame, California, they took their place on the annual talent (?) show stage and thrilled the masses shaking their Afros and their booties, singing "I Want You Back".

The group's band had apparently changed from their Motown days as we can spot Chris Florio and Jason Roberts at the bottom of the image...


(l-r Julia, Heidi, Megan, Catherine, Amber)

We made those Afros, people. I distinctly remember Catherine crowning herself Tito, but I can't remember the others...

Gone so long

Since we last saw each other dear blog readers, Mike and I have been to California, France, Italy, California - Part Deux - Evanston, IL... and are now hunkered down* for the summer in Cambridge.

Here we are in front of Chambord, a gorgeous chateau in the Loire Valley in late May. I'm sporting a croissant-fed (as opposed to corn-fed?!) baby bump.


Recently created: Chocolate Chip Cookies with odds and ends from the cupboard. This means I used whole wheat pastry flour, toasted oatmeal flakes, wheat bran, wheat germ, a little flaxseed and the rest of the usual suspects. They're crunchy but chewy and freaking delicious. I now deign this the summer of adventurous cooking. (Translation: We're moving in September, so I might as well use up the random bits that are lining the pantry shelves.)

Must see: Julie & Julia. (<-- Click that link for the movie site and watch the trailer!) I read this book (based on the author's blog) in the spring and loved it. I'm so excited that it's going to be a movie now! And with Meryl Streep playing Julia Child - does it get any better than that?! Opening August 7th. I'm there.

*"Hunkered down" is actually accurate since it feels like early spring with more than a week of continuous gray skies and rain and temps in the low 60s... or it feels like Copenhagen in June...

Library of Congress - Photochrom Print

I found a collection of "Photochrom Travel Views" that are being posted on the Library of Congress' website. You can see a set of the prints on Flickr. The images show Europe and the Middle East as they appeared around 1890-1900 starting with images from Scandinavia.

The images can be downloaded as high-res TIFF files (25 MB in size!). I'm thinking that a cluster of 3 or 4 framed prints would look really nice on the wall.


I love this one because the Stork Fountain appears in the lower left corner! This location was a mere 30 seconds from our first apartment (those who visited us might remember this square by Cafe Norden).

Also of note - this time period (1890-1900) is when that first apartment was constructed. Gives a bit of perspective on that tiny, winding staircase and the heavy cast-iron stove!

Flashback

We never posted about our quickie trip to NYC in February.

Our long-weekend excursion offered the opportunity to re-connect with beloved friends Darin and Nanna from Copenhagen (and meet their baby, Sebastian!). We enjoyed brunch, walks in Central Park, and met their hosts and good friends who welcomed us into their lovely home on the Upper West Side.



Mike and I also took the opportunity to see a couple parts of the city that we'd missed over previous visits: the MoMA (amazing!), Ground Zero (mixed emotions for that one), and we really dug into the area around Union Square.

March has brought less travel outside of Boston (with the exception of maple sugaring!) and busier work weeks which have generously extended themselves into the weekends.

That said, we have enjoyed Boston's Restaurant Week and have taken advantage of the gourmet prix fixe menus littering the city's finest establishments. We've played the role of gastronomic tourist right here in our own city! Both Harvest and Rialto were delicious experiences last week. (Last month we also treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at the chic Craigie on Main - formerly Craigie Street Bistro - it was definitely memorable.) We hope Chicago has Restaurant Week...!

I'm singing in BLO's Rusalka right now and Mike is prepping for a busy first two weeks in April which will include visits to Virginia and Tennessee. Oh yeah - we'll swing through California later in the month, too.

Wouldn't want to stay still for too long...

March = Maples and Mud

I recently read that March means mud and the beginning of sugaring season: when maple sap starts to flow freely. With that description, a big stack of pancakes can't be far behind...

Catching sap from maple trees

Today was a gorgeous early spring day in the low 50s so we hit the road with friends Liz and Tom and drove out to Western Massachusetts on Hwy 2 (a particularly beautiful drive in the fall!) to Shelburne.

We landed at Davenport Maple Farm around 11am and, as we'd anticipated, saw groups of hungry patrons standing in the sun waiting for their names to be called for breakfast. So, we put our names in at the family-owned and community-run restaurant and then headed around to the sugar shack where maple sap was busy boiling away. We learned a bit about the process and perused some of the junk - errr, kitsch for sale.

Before long our name was called and inside we went for Finnish pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and good old plain pancakes with delicious Grade A maple syrup! Yum.

Pancaked, syruped and happy.

Our day trip was super touristy and yet very New England - something that we've wanted to do since moving to Cambridge. Now we can check it off the list! Since we won't be running the Boston Marathon in April, I think the next task is to attend a RedSox game...

It's melting!

Fingers are crossed that this past Monday's snowfall was the last of the season. With temperatures expected in the 60s tomorrow... how can Mother Nature possibly be so cruel as to smack us with more snow at this point? It's MARCH, for crying out loud!

The best part is that the snow pack is melting. Wider walking paths on the sidewalks, less build up of brown/black snow...

Just like the Wicked Witch... it's melting!

In the mornings there are a few brave birdies singing in the trees, and this today I didn't even wear a hat to work! Take that Winter! Spring is just around the corner. (It HAS to be!)

There's even evidence of spring in our home: a small vase of daffodils is sitting on our kitchen table -- sweetly brought over this afternoon by a girlfriend who dropped by for a cup of tea and some yarn-fun.

Tee hee! Love the Wittmer metronome!!
If only I could let go of the fact that they skip several beats over the metronome...

Here's another one that reminds me of watching the Muppet Show with Dad as a little girl.
The Swedish Chef makes Chocolate Mousse!

"Putting science back in its rightful place"

How can we answer president Obama's call to put science back in its rightful place? Here is a short post by Steve Quake, a professor at Stanford, that landed in the New York Times. A great article about the challenge of academia.

http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/guest-column-letting-scientists-off-the-leash/

The comments are also worth a read.

February fake-out

It's over 45 degrees today and it's wonderful. We went for a long morning walk down by the Charles, stopping for a refresher at Peet's in Harvard Square before making our way home. We spent most of the walk exclaiming about the melting snow and how we didn't really need our wool coats! Wow! This is what gets us excited these days. And this IS a fake-out because it'll be back in the 20s tomorrow.

Other than that, we've been enjoying our friends and plugging along with work. When it's wintertime, the company of others seems to ease the doldrums of the season. We spent last weekend in NYC with friends from Copenhagen and toured the MOMA, the MetMuseum, and lower Manhattan. A weekend that left us feeling refreshed and refilled.

We've also had a few dinner parties - winter stews, raclette and fondues! Yum.

I've added a new link to the blog list over on the right. Copenhagen Cycle Chic. I visit it when I'm missing Denmark. Which happens more frequently than people know...

Nary a flake has fallen.

And yet, most of the region's school districts have already announced that tomorrow will be a Snow Day.
We're supposed to get 6-9 inches of heavy snow tomorrow beginning in the wee, small hours of the morning. At 1pm it turns to "mix" and then rain. Translated, that means sleet and slush.
Sadly, Mike's ribosomes and my promo schedule have not announced a snow day. So, we're hauling out the heavy-duty boots and ski gloves from earlier this month (as well as umbrellas!) and will brave it!

Chalk it up to adventure and leave lots of time for delayed trains... what else can you do???

If you're just checking in...

we might be frozen solid.

Please check the temp in the sidebar to confirm.

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2009! We have a feeling that this year is going to be a good one and hope that you all are geared up for a great year, too!

We spent the holidays in California and completed a SoCal-NorCal tour in just 8 days. We attended "school" under our nieces' instruction in Garden Grove and celebrated Christmas mayhem with them. Then, we hopped up to Burlingame for a huge Open House that drew more than 60 people and followed that with a few days of relaxation and lots of visiting.

Here are a few photos of us with two of our favorite people (sorry for the blurriness... you get the idea, though!).