Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

A few weekends ago Elliot and I got to go on a really fun Girls' Trip! We went to Seattle to visit Erik's sister, Krista, a.k.a. Auntie Krista. It was Elliot's first time ever on a plane, and she loved it! It was perfect because the trip from where we live in the Tri-Cities to Seattle is something like 38 minutes, so she didn't have time to get bored.

Here she is on the Link light rail. She is still proudly sporting her wings from the flight attendant. Unfortunately, the light rail ride from the airport took much longer than the actual flight, and she DID get a little antsy on there. But it was totally worth it when we got to our stop and she got to take the longest escalators ever from the train level to the ground level.

Once we arrived, we had some time to ourselves because Auntie Krista was still at work. She lives in Madison Park, which is a super cute area of Seattle with lots of fun parks, cafes, coffee shops, and stores in walking distance. So Elliot and I went exploring and grabbed a bite to eat.

Elliot's favorite thing right now is dinosaurs. She can tell you the names of all of them. Sometimes, she even has to help Mommy when she is sounding them out while reading out loud. (They are hard! How would you say "pachycephalosaurus"?? If you said "pack-ee-sef-a-la-sore-us" then you must have a dinosaur-obsessed five-year-old next to you.) So, Auntie took us to the Pacific Science Center, where they have a really cool dinosaur display. SHE LOVED IT.

Here she is on the monorail, heading to Seattle Center.

And here we are in front of the Pacific Science Center.

You guys, this place is seriously cool. Totally worth it. If you are ever in Seattle with your kiddos, do it!

The aforementioned pachycephalosaurus.

They also have a really neat butterfly exhibit. Before we went in the staff gave us instructions for how to behave while inside, including not touching the butterflies, and especially their wings. Elliot pondered this for a while and said we should definitely never bring her brother there because he would grab the butterflies' wings and ruin them. (#ElliotTruthBombs)

They also have these really cool water features in the courtyard.

Auntie's boyfriend, Scott, joined us for the outing. Elliot likes him a lot and thinks Auntie should keep him.

We made multiple trips to the park just down the street from Krista's apartment. Ells loved the idea of just walking over to the park whenever we felt like it. She asked if we could move to Seattle, and I think this park was the main reason.

We also hung out a little on the beach. Krista lives right on Lake Washington, another reason Elliot thinks Seattle is SO COOL. We had such amazing weather while we were there. I tried to explain to her that it is not usually sunny, but that didn't seem to register.

Eventually, we had to go home. I know from this picture she looks excited, but it was actually quite the opposite. She cried when Krista dropped us off at the airport. It was such a fun trip. Since I went back to work full time, we don't get very many Girls' Days anymore. It was so nice to get to spend an entire weekend with her. Especially since Liam has come along, we really don't get all that much one-on-one time together. I miss that. She is turning five in a few days, and I can't wrap my mind around it. She is a child. Not a baby. I am so proud of her and who she is becoming, and so grateful she is healthy and growing, but, man, it is hard to let go of her babyhood.

With that in mind, I am going to end this post with a PSA. As I just mentioned, my best girlfriend is turning five. Similar to what Tina Fey wrote in her excellent book, Bossypants, around the time it became weird for me to simply reach into her nostrils and pull out her boogers, it also started to feel a little wrong to continue to plaster intimate details of her life on the internet. Perhaps that is why it has been six months since the last time I blogged! There is a line that every parent has to find for him/herself, and apparently mine is the booger line. I was okay with it before because she always felt like an extension of myself. But now she is very clearly her own person. I always knew this blog had an expiration date, and I think that date is when my youngest child can no longer pass the booger test. So, I will continue to include Elliot in future posts, but it will be with far less detail. Hopefully nothing too embarrassing.

But watch out Liam, honey, because you are still fair game.

Liam Lumberjack

Well, sigh, it happened.  Last week, our littlest turned one.  Somehow.  I am not sure, because it felt like he just got here yesterday.  And also like he has always been here. Time, you fickle minx, I don't get you at all.  But at any rate, it happened.  And though I am acting sad about the whole thing, it was actually a very happy occasion. So, obviously, we partied.

When I found out I was pregnant with Liam and due in December, I immediately wondered how we were going to do his birthday so close to Christmas.  Would anyone come?  How do you decorate?  And furthermore, how in the dickens do you pull off an indoor party?  Elliot was born in June, so her parties are always easy peasy.  Throw it all outside and hope for no wind.

We are Christmas people and we decorate early around here.  I decided to go with a theme that wasn't necessarily Christmas related, but that wouldn't clash with what we had up for the season.  So we went with lumberjack.  It turned out to be super easy because plaid, especially buffalo plaid, is so hot this season!

"Black frosting?" you may be saying to yourself.  And you would be correct.  This disaster brought to you by a food coloring experiment gone wrong.  Liam didn't seem to mind.

We had a hot cocoa bar, which was a lot of fun.  Not pictured: additional toppings such as whipped cream, sprinkles, and mini chocolate chips!

I also set up a trail mix bar in lieu of goody bags.

We asked people to bring letters for Liam to open when he turns 18.

And this is how you pull off the indoor party.  We had to temporarily remove our TV to fit enough tables.  But it worked out nicely.  The party was at lunch time so it was important everyone had a place to sit down to eat.

Menu:

Chili, with all the fixins

Corn Bread

Fruit Salad

Brocolli Salad

Meat & Cheese tray

Rolls

Chips

Dips

And of course, birthday cake!

A rare opportunity to get a family photo that is not a selfie!  Big Sis did well.  We thought she might get a little jealous of all the attention, which honestly, did flare up a little, but mostly she was excited to show him the birthday ropes.

Cake time!

He didn't seem to like it at all.

The aftermath.

It was a great day!  Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate.  Liam really felt the love!  (And so did his parents.)

Happy Birthday, my sweet Baby Bear.  We love you so, so much!  

I think I'm FALLing for you

It's the coziest time of year again!  You know, the time for sitting around the fireplace, drinking hot beverages, wearing sweaters, eating pumpkin everything.  Or, if you are Liam, eating everything, pumpkin or not.

I love this time of year.  And this year has been especially nice for two reasons: 1) Liam has joined the family, and I must say, he is a great addition; and 2) Erik has been on day shift.  (Soon to be back to night shift in a couple weeks. Waaaah, waaaaah. Someone was on maternity leave and Erik was able to move to day shift for the entire summer and most of the fall.  I hate him working the night shift.  But enough dwelling on the unpleasant.  It's fall!)

Now for an update on the kiddos:

Elliot started Pre-K in September and is LOVING it.  She comes home with all kinds of facts about what she has learned.  Her favorite was learning all about bats.  "Mom, did you know bats see things with their ears?"  They celebrated her "un-birthday" today, which is what they do for kids whose birthdays are in the summer.  She was quite excited about it.  Last night I asked her what she wanted to wear for her un-birthday and, as if she had already been thinking hard about it, immediately responded "probably my Zootopia shirt and my Halloween skirt."  She loves art and takes her work very seriously.  I love peeking into her bedroom and seeing her hunched over her little desk, working hard on a project.

 

Liam is getting big.  Like tall.  And chunky.  He has the baby fat that Elliot never quite achieved.  At his 10 month appointment he clocked in at 99.7th% for height and like 87th% for weight.  He is our strapping young lad.  He is not quite walking yet, but that could change any hour.  He has a little cart thing that he uses, walker style, to zoom around the house.  He is currently working on popping out his two front teeth to join the bottom two, so he is unusually grumpy right now.  Hoping he hurries up and gets those on out so he can go back to being chill.  This kiddo loves eating, playing with big sis, and terrorizing the dogs, whom he likes to call "go go go".  He is also quite fond of me. #motherboy

 



 

 

So far this fall has been quite enjoyable.  We went to Bill's Berry Farm to play and get a pumpkin from the patch.

It has been unusually rainy this year.  Much to girlfriend's delight.

 

 

And Halloween!  I can't believe how much I love Halloween with kids.  I was never super into it before, but with kids it is just so much fun.  Elliot decided early on she was going to dress up as a bat this year.  Liam didn't get a vote because he is a baby.  But also, he loves everything I do, so I am sure he very much enjoyed being Jack Jack from the Incredibles.  #motherboy

I mean, honestly.  How cute are these?? #imadethem #humblebrag

 

Happy Fall, y'all!