Getting Out

(note: before you start reading I wanted to say thanks for putting up with all the changes I've made to the blog. I'm trying to update and I promise it will be consistent soon.)


It's 97 degrees outside right now, and in our third floor apartment it feels like it's twice that. Welcome to July! If we didn't have any motivation to get out of the house before we sure do now! As a stay-at-home parent actually not staying at home is a big deal. Staying inside all day with a toddler will drive you crazy, but we all have days where we just want to stay in our pjs and watch movies. I'm quite a type-A, neurotic person and I put a lot of pressure on myself to be "productive" and live up to my unrealistic expectations. I've had times where I just didn't want to interact with anyone. I just wanted to stay home, read, listen to music and take it easy. I used to feel like that was selfish. But our children don't call the shots or make the decisions. We do. It's such a balancing act, isn't it? I've been thinking about this a lot the past couple days as our schedule gets more and more packed with playdates, park time, and more and more Seeley-centric activities. Today we went to the pool (our place has an amazing pool. We're spoiled) and played with her best buddy, then later they came over for some playtime. Seeley had so much fun and as hot as it is today I didn't think twice about it. But I do need to remind myself that when I want to rest, I should rest. Tommorow we have another playdate at a waterpark with a new friend, but the schedule for Thursday is nothing, nothing and nothing!
As a parent, whether stay-at-home or otherwise, it's also important to balance getting out as adults with what Seeley can handle. We took a walk downtown on Saturday and decided to try eating at a restuarant. Both risky moves! We can't stop doing the things we love but we also get tired of walking around the place with Seeley over and over. But this time we gave it a go and things worked out great! I guess that shows that sometimes you just have to throw yourself out there and see what happens :)

Northwest Adventures! (Part 3)

 The last stop on our weekend trip was in Seattle to see Wes' brother Eric and his girlfriend Jill. We love seeing them and we love Seattle and our Seattle friends, yet we don't get up there nearly enough! Lucky for us it was warm and sunny and not raining during our stop, so we got to enjoy the town a little bit. Eric and Jill took us to a great little restaurant down by Lake Washington and if Seeley hadn't turned into a crankosaur we would have loved to walk around town! On the subject of the little one, I was joking with Wes about how completely different traveling is with a baby. I've compiled a little list of differences:
1) The Stuff- holy moly. How can something so small require so much stuff? We don't even have all the "required" baby gear yet I feel like everytime we go somewhere we need a U-haul. We need the stroller, the chest carrier, diapers, wipes, emergency change of clothes for the car, one hundered million toys, frozen teether things, burp cloths, blankets, coats, hats. Am I forgetting something? I'm always forgetting something. Gone are the days of throwing some clothes in a bag before you leave. Now we have checklists and little loads of tiny baby laundry. So.much.stuff.
2) To Stop or Not To Stop?-Technically I suppose it's wrong and dangerous and irresponsible to take the baby out of the carseat while we're still driving, but we do it during long trips. I kind of feel like this is secretely common (or are we just irresponsible jerks?) I mean, the baby needs to be nursed every hour and a half (ish). We're supposed to pull over every hour and a half? Then there are diaper changes. Changing a diaper in a moving car is epically awful and will most likely result in a pee-covered parent and a confused baby, but sometimes you just want to stay on the road!
3)One Parent in Back or Both in Front?- Until recently I sat in the back seat with Seeley during road trips. I would nurse her and end up just staying back there. But during this last trip I realized that this might be creating a problem. Seeing me back there in her turf, Seeley wanted out of the carseat more than usual. I think she was thinking, "what are you doing back here and why aren't you holding me?!" So this time I hopped back in front after nursing her and guess what? She cried for a bit then fell back asleep! Whoo hoo!
Anyway, here are the last of our weekend pics. Enjoy and have a great, sunny weekend!

Lake Washington on a sunny day. We'll take one of those boats!

Lovely Seattle.

Seeley's uncle Eric and Aunt Jill!

Hello family checking out Seeley in the background! You are now on my blog.

Seeley fah-reaking out over her awesome new puppet (thanks Eric and Jill!)

p.s. babies love puppets. It's hilarious.

Northwest Adventures (Part 2)

Our weekend trip to Bellingham had too much stuff to put in one post, so I'm continuing it today! On Friday we were able to hang out at Ari's awesome house, eat some fantastic food, and walk to the beach (the stuff vacations are made of, no?) Saturday we got down to business and went to graduation! It was so special watching Ari get her much earned Anthropology degree and I loved seeing her mom and kid (more like grown men all of the sudden) brothers.
I didn't know how planning so much stuff in one weekend would go with the little one, especially a late night graduation party, but I've found that as long as they have stuff to play with and people to meet and you high tail it out of there once the fuss starts, things tend to work out:) Make sure to check out Friday's post about our quick little northwest stop in Seattle!

My godmother's graduating? Let's party!

Two Portland cuties up north!

Awesome shoes? Check. Even awesome-er dress? Check.

Gotta love our mamas!

Who replaced Ari's little brothers with these men?

She did it!

Happy lovebirds

I started the party a little early (I'm on vacation!)

Weekend Pics: Northwest Adventure!

My best friend Ari graduated with honors from Western Washington University this weekend. She's been there for all the major accomplishments of my life and she is the most supportive person I know; so packing up the family and heading north to Bellingham, Washington was a no brainer! I took a ton of pictures, so I'll continue to post pictures on Wednesday and Friday. I have to start with pictures of the awesome house of Ari, her boyfriend Cameron and their adorable dog Sargent. I kind of wanted to stay there forever.

I've been kind of sluggish lately, and seeing my best friend and being so happy for her and all her accomplishments has recharged my batteries. Enjoy some of my favorite weekend pics!



I love a big kitchen!



My favorite part of the house (with my new favorite dog). Beautiful, wooden double doors leading from the dining room to the deck.

Beautiful deck, beautiful ladies.

To appreciate the bathroom you must know that this entire room is the shower. Yep.

I always eat yummy food when Ari's around!

Goat cheese salad. I could eat this all day, every day.

The cherry on top; they live steps away from the beach!

bea-u-ti-ful!

Bffs!

best friends...

eventually:)

Weekend Pics!

My dear friend Lindsay and her boyfriend Sam came down from Seattle this weekend and it was so fun to see them. We had lunch at Bridgeport Brewery in the Hawthorne neighborhood and had some yummy beer. Lindsay also got to meet Seeley for the first time! So special.

Yay! Together again :)

Sam and Wes discussing dude things.

Mac and Cheese baked with chips? Yes, please.

Hey there short stack!

The trio

Big girl standing on those chubby legs!

Too cute. So chubby.