Summer Adventures

We LOVE summer in Seattle. The weather is so beautiful and we get to be outside all the time. Especially before these babies come, I was determined to pack in the fun this summer with our little family of three.

Going back to the 4th of July... We started off with lunch with a new family from our ward. The lunch was great and we found a new babysitter! They have a 19 year old son who loves playing with kids. He let Will follow him around and played catch with him (with way more energy and enthusiasm than I do). We have had him babysit a few times since then. Will often asks me, "Where Train go?" or "What Train doing?" or tells me, "I see Train!!!" Any guesses what the real name of "Train" is? Thomas! Ha ha ha. I guess he has watched a bit too much Thomas the Train. It makes me laugh every time.

Next we had dinner and fireworks with two other families from our ward. Sadly, they have both moved since then, but we had a great time with them that night. In true Seattle fashion, it started raining while we were doing fireworks. Good thing I keep several umbrellas in my car.

We were totally lame and didn't buy any fireworks. We thought Will would be scared (because he doesn't like many loud noises like the vacuum or the sound of landscapers), and we figured we would put him to bed well before dark anyway. It turned out that he loved them!! He kept asking for more.

During the summer here, it gets late REALLY late (I think because of how far north we are...?). We have plenty of time to go to parks and on walks after Daniel gets home from work. We spent lots of nice days outside with lots of friends.

Another fun outing was the Bite of Seattle. It is a big food festival at the Seattle Center. We love food and we love Seattle, so it is perfect for us.

Another place we visited was Jetty Island. It is a beach off the coast of Everett that requires a two minute ferry ride to get to. Will and I had been there several times, but never with Daniel. I was determined we would make it there as a family. Will loves getting to ride the boat and he likes playing in the sand. He does not really like the water or being cold or sandy. So we didn't stay very long that day. Still, we did it.

In August, Daniel and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary! We started the day by going to the zoo with Will. We take photo booth pictures each year, and I remembered seeing one there. Sadly, it was the kind that only gave you one picture - not what I wanted. Will had fun playing there, and then we made it home in time for nap time. Later, we had "Train" (Thomas) babysit and we went out to dinner and a movie. Going out to dinner and a movie were some of the things I missed most when I was nursing Will and couldn't be away from him for very long. I am trying to prepare myself for that this time around by doing a lot of that now. It was a great anniversary. We did end up getting our photo booth pictures later. It will certainly be fun to try to squeeze all five(!) of us into the picture next year. We barely fit with just the three of us. Here are the last 3 years, so you can see cute Will.

2012

2013 

2014

Summer Visitors

We love summer. We especially love the visitors that we get during the summer!

First, we had a visit from three of our favorite girls. Really, they were here to visit family, but they are nice enough to make time for us too. We have been able to see them several times since leaving Utah because we live so close to their family. Lucky us! We went to the Children's Museum and had lots of fun. Then we had a girls night to the Cheesecake Factory (without kids - awesome!). It was wonderful. I ordered the Bistro Shrimp Pasta. I loved it so much that I tried to look up a copycat recipe the next day. In my research, I found out that it is the WORST thing for you on the entire Cheesecake Factory Menu (at over 3,100 calories). With that being said, I still plan on ordering it again next time. I'm eating for 3, right?

Next came Baby Jack! Okay, he doesn't actually count as a visitor, but he did arrive this summer! Will absolutely loves babies, and this baby is no exception. We have loved cuddling him. It definitely makes me more excited to hold our babies soon.

Finally, Jessica and Dawson came to visit! Jessica and I taught 1st Grade together in Utah, and I miss her. We got to spend a whole week playing with her and her toddler, Dawson (who is a little younger than Will). We took them to our favorite parks, Pike Place Market, the Children's Museum (of course!), Jetty Island, the Zoo, and the mall. Jessica and I also got to go out by ourselves a couple times - I introduced her to Trader Joe's and Chinese Foot Reflexology.

This is was Daniel's seat during all of our car rides - he was a trooper! 

Each time I tried to get a picture of the boys together, they ran in opposite directions. 

We tried out our new double stroller we bought for the twins. 

We finally came across the famous Seattle gum wall. It was sure gross. 

Dawson loved getting wet. Will did not. 

We had such a fun summer! Thanks to everyone that visited us!

Will These Days (and Pregnancy Updates)

Will is still a crazy man, but he is definitely getting more entertaining by the day.

It is especially funny to hear his pretend play with his toys and animals. Here are some of the phrases we hear:
"Need say sorry."
"Oh no. Oh gosh!"
"Make mommy so sad."
"Don't listen - have to go home."
"Have big troubles. Need go time out."
I promise that these are not the only types of things we say to him (we have plenty of fun and happy times), but a version of these things are heard on a daily basis. Two year olds are fun!

Will had his first trip to the dentist. After he ran into the chair edge on our last day of moving, I noticed one of his front teeth starting to turn grey. Booooo! So I thought we better take him in. Everything looks good, but we will have to wait and see on that poor dying tooth.

He has recently developed an obsession with being buried. He likes to bury himself in blankets and animals when he sleeps. He likes me to pile pillows around him while he watches TV. He loves to build forts.

He loves to help me cook. Ever since I have stopped feeling sick, we have been doing a lot of eating (especially treats). He has developed a sweet tooth right along with me. And today, I found this...

A (thankfully almost empty) Nutella jar found its way into his hands...

He was pleased with himself.

These babies are getting bigger and bigger. At my last ultrasound, they were both measuring big and were estimated to be 3.5 pounds each. That is like having one full term baby in there! I guess that explains why I feel all of the same symptoms as the last week or two of Will's pregnancy. I'm hoping these next 9 weeks fly by.

(24 weeks)

(26 weeks)

(28 weeks - huge!)

One of my major obsessions this pregnancy has been a delicious sub sandwich shop called Red Rock Subs. I discovered it thanks to Yelp reviews. They are conveniently on our way home from the Children's Museum and the hospital (two places we frequent quite regularly these days). They are famous for their "Pot Roast Sub" but everything else is amazing there too. If you live anywhere near Everett, you need to go! There have been a few weeks where I have been there twice a week. And perhaps that is what we should have for dinner tonight...

Mother's Day and Father's Day

I realize that those holidays were months ago, but I came across the pictures of Daniel and Will from Father's Day weekend and couldn't just skip them!

For Mother's Day weekend, we had a fun Saturday full of things I wanted to do. I wanted to go to Bellevue to look at a new diaper bag. Since we were so close to the temple, we decided to make a trip to visit the temple grounds with Will. He LOVES to point out temples anywhere he sees one. He had a great time running around and exploring.

Then, we went to the mall and I looked at the Vera Bradley diaper bag (which I have since purchased and love!) and got some lunch. Then, after a good nap for Will, we went out for Mexican food for dinner.

It was a fun outing and Will actually behaved very nicely. Temple adventure, shopping, and eating out twice = a perfect day!

For Father's Day weekend, we went to the Children's museum with Daniel. Will and I go almost weekly, but Daniel is usually at work when we go. It was so fun to go with him this time. They also had a great building project going on. Will and Daniel made a fun fire truck (with real wood and nails and everything!).

On Father's Day, we had a good steak dinner (which I made Daniel cook) and  some yummy dessert from Coldstone. It was a great weekend.