little black journal

I’ve always looked forward to my mom and dad’s visits to Seattle, but I’ve longed for quality time with them even more in the years since I’ve had Juliette.  It’s a good feeling, watching people love your kid, and grandparents are especially good at doting, at hugging and playing and bearing witness to the fact that you have the sweetest, smartest, most amazing child on earth.

Thankfully, grandparents are also good at keeping their cool when that sweet kid turns into the whiniest, clingiest, most tantrum-prone of toddlers.  Jules was on a definite mood swing rampage this past weekend!  Way to keep it real, kiddo.  So maddeningly real.

But hey, let’s dwell on the highlights:

We had a good time running along the blossom-lined sidewalks of Lake Washington Boulevard on Friday morning.

\

On Saturday we all hopped on Lightrail to take advantage of the recently-expanded tracks and catch a ride to Capitol Hill.

We spent awhile at Cal Anderson – Jules hit the playground while my mom and I sipped our tea and coffee from Caffe Vita.

When Juliette was feeling stubborn and disagreeable, we found that the only tear-free way to move her along was for Grandma or Grandpa to challenge her to race.  On your marks, get set, GO!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at home, sidewalk-chalking, kicking the soccer ball around, and cracking open cold drinks on the back porch.

Sunday was another beautiful day, so we ventured to Kubota Gardens for a green-and-pink fix.

My mom and dad hit the road back to Oregon on Sunday afternoon.  As we said our good-byes, I felt that overwhelming urge to plead Juliette’s case, as she’d had another doozy of a morning.  I wanted to shout, “She’s usually not like this, I promise!  She’s such a sweet, funny, affectionate little girl!  She loves you so much but is just having a hard time showing it!”.  I bit my tongue, though.  I mean, they’re her grandparents.  They know the drill.

Spring has sprung and we’re making our way through our annual tour du blossoms, hitting our list of must-sees before the trees shed their pink and white fluff.  I skipped out of work a little early on a particularly sunny day a couple of weeks ago and picked up Jules for an afternoon stroll through the arboretum.

The tulip trees had already dropped a lot of their petals, but the pink and brown forest floor was lovely.

To infinity and BEYOND!

The UW cherry blossoms are also high on our list of March destinations, and since our last visit there was cut short by the rain, we headed back out on a clear-ish Saturday morning to get one more peek.  I was hoping we could perch Jules in a tree and get her to sweetly smile for some glamour shots, but she had other ideas, wildly running loops and loops and loops around the lawn.  I guess that works, too.

Finally!  She sits!  (By the way, Shane’s already dubbed her a future Husky.)

Juliette’s been working on her wink – kinda sorta almost there?

Shane was laid up with a doozy of a flu last weekend, so we put our park tour on pause.  The three of us ventured out of the house for church on Easter Sunday and then came home for a low-key egg hunt.  Low-key until Juliette wolfed down her stash of chocolate bunnies, that is…

By early afternoon Shane’s strength was waning, so Jules and I left him on the couch and headed out for our c-group Easter meal.  There was another egg hunt for the kids (more treats!  yay.), ham and rolls and salads and lemon tarts for the grown-ups, and merriment for all.

I’ll admit, with Shane out of commission and me left to do quite a bit of solo parenting, I found myself having a hard time fully dwelling in the goodness of the Easter message.  Yes, God is Risen, but MY PARTNER IS DOWN and my kid is driving me crazy!  Looking at this photo, it’s hard for me to remember what she did to upset me…

So we’ll temporarily sweep those terrible two moments under the rug and revel in the bright spots of Spring.  There are many.

March in Seattle.  Often gray, often rainy, but dappled with sunshine and color and the promise of brighter days to come.  The weather today was wild – gray then gorgeous then pouring down rain.  We made those sunshiny moments count, swinging by the UW Quad before church this morning to check in on the cherry blossoms, which seem to be just a few days from peaking.

We were there for about 15 minutes when the skies opened up and we had to dart to the car to take refuge.  First, though, one quick toss!

As we were leaving church, we got a text from Jack and La Verne, asking if we’d be up for a romp through the arboretum since the skies had cleared again.  We headed that way and strolled down the blossom-line paths, warily eyeing the gray clouds rolling in while the kids reveled in being outside.

Sure enough, 20 minutes into our walk we felt the first sprinkles and made it back to the car in the nick of time, buckling our seat belts as big fat raindrops pelted our windshield.

Spring, you’re such a tease.

I love a good winter walk through the Mercer Slough…

And did I mention those reddish-browns?

This month has felt long.  Heavy at times, often stressful, full of days that were so short on daylight as darkness seemingly stretched on and on and on.

But I look back at my photos and see there were also a few weekend gems in there, days when the sun came out and we braved the cold for a breath of fresh air.  We took a sunset walk at Lincoln Park a couple of weeks ago and were reminded that winter does have its charm, in the form of snow-capped mountains and soft, pink light.

Jules and N found wintertime joy as they frolicked in the snow at Hyak on MLK Jr. Day.  I had to work and missed the fun, but these photos from La Verne were too good not to share!

And thank goodness for last Sunday’s SUNday.  Shane, Jules, and I hopped in the car before lunchtime and jetted toward Seahurst Park to grab some rays and do some beach-combing.  I texted the gang to see if they also needed some Vitamin D.  They did.

Shane’s friend Steve visited us this weekend and we went back to Lincoln Park this morning to brag a little on Seattle’s beauty – Jules and I spent most of yesterday cooped up inside while the guys skied and were clearly in need of some physical activity.

While Shane and Steve waxed on about the ethics of football and the theology of Star Wars, Jules and I threw rocks and looked for shells.

I’m ready to flip that calendar page, but I suppose it turns out January didn’t totally suck.

Hellllloooooooo 2016!  We ended 2015 with a bang, with snow and champagne and fireworks.

Since Juliette’s daycare was open on New Years Eve but Shane and I both had the day off, we dropped the kiddo at school and reveled in our freedom by heading to the mountains with Jason and Nance for a day of cross-country skiing.

It was cold out there, but clear and absolutely gorgeous.

And once I found my stride and really got going, the numbness in my fingers and toes waned.  I can see why Shane has fallen in love with this sport – it’s hard work, but also invigorating and kind of soothing.

We made it as far as this serene lookout over Keechelus Lake…

Which seemed like a perfect place to pause and toast with a little tipple from Shane’s flask.

Once we’d caught our breath, we headed back toward the car, making good time on the return leg – I was kind of getting the hang of this skiing thing!

Made it!

We warmed ourselves with lunch at Kukai ramen in Bellevue on the way home and then squeezed in a quick couch doze before heading out to pick up Juliette and then hit the beach.  Brian and Nicole were bonfire-ing over at Alki and that seemed like a perfect place to watch the sun go down on 2015.

The Rust clan came over for dinner and we partied hard until about 8:00.  That champagne I mentioned earlier?  We cracked open the bottle at 7:30.  And those fireworks?  I vaguely remember hearing them around midnight, as I rolled over in bed and sleepily muttered “it’s tooooo loud!”  We’re wild, I know.

Speaking of wild, though, there are hundreds of crazies that jump into the freezing cold Puget Sound from Alki beach every New Years morning!  Shane, Jules, and I decided to head over there Friday morning to watch the show.

And to cheer on Jason and his sister.  I suspect these two might have a slight adrenaline addiction.

Gosh, they’re fun, though!

Brian and Nicole were also there, but we’d missed seeing them take the group plunge.  I joked that I really wanted a group pic, which apparently was all the incentive they needed to jump right back in!

Nuts, I tell you.

We went back to Jason and Nancy’s with the Polar Bears for hot coffee and treats – we’ve been brunching at their house on New Years day for a few years running now.  But this was the first time baby E joined the mix!  Juliette was very excited by the prospect of holding a real, live baby doll.

We passed the rest of the day at home, mellowing out after a couple of busy days.  Shane and I spent the evening talking about the year to come, planning vacations and making goals, building anticipation and excitement about what 2016 may hold.

Like…more snow days!  We loaded the sled and our snow gear into the car yesterday morning and set out for Hyak.  It was another gorgeous day in the mountains, but also super-duper cold.  Jules tolerated the biting wind for about five minutes…

And then didn’t want to do anything but nuzzle into Daddy’s chest.

We tried to shake it off, but this picture says it all…

Shane and I each had a couple of fun runs on the sled, and Jules was a good sport, but it wasn’t long before we packed it up and called it a day.  We’ll give the snow another go on a 30-degree-plus kind of day.

This kid was done.

But man, she sure perked up once we were all tucked into the car with hot cider and snacks!  A blanket, a banana, and a warm drink, and she was exclaiming, “that was fun, mama!”

Cheers to 2016.  It’s going to be good.

It’s been a jolly month, packed with all of our favorite traditions.  We’ve spent lots of time with the gang, eating and drinking and shopping/sledding (more on that later),  and the house feels extra-cozy, lit by the sparkle of our Christmas tree.

Gosh, I love a good tree.  And ten years of trekking out to Mountain Creek Tree Farm has made us experts in the art of tree-choosing.  I wanted to bring Juliette fully on board with the excitement of the tree hunt and spent the whole drive out to North Bend pumping her up. “We’re going to find the perfect Christmas tree!!!  This will be so fun!  Christ-mas tree!  Christ-mas tree!  Christ-mas tree!”  I was bound and determined, she would love it.

But after wandering among the pines for 45 seconds, I could see she was unimpressed.  She looked up at me and whined, “Where’s my Christmas treat, mamaaaaa?”

Thank goodness for that rogue Halloween lollipop I found buried at the bottom of my purse!

Once sugared up, Juliette was ready to get in on the game of choosing a tree.  The whole concept of appropriate sizing was lost on her, though…

Finally, we spotted it!  A perfect Fraser Fir.  Tall but not too tall, full but not too full – a few hacks and it was ours!

A tree that good deserves an apple cider cheers.

Juliette helped me trim the tree that night – I gave her a little felted penguin as this year’s ornament and she proudly hung it up.  Then took it down.  She’s been carrying it around with her ever since, sleeping with it in her crib every night.  Next year I’ll give her something a little less cuddly.

One of the most cherished things on my December calendar is my annual weekend getaway with Nance and La Verne.  We had such a great time at Cedarbrook Lodge last year that we decided to book a room there again for a night of eating/lounging/livin’ la vida kid-free.  But first, shopping!  We spent the afternoon at the Auburn Supermall, starting with a leisurely perusal through J Crew and Loft and Old Navy, and ending with a mad tear through Gap and Banana Republic for a few last purchases before heading to the hotel for check-in.

We did good.

We spent the evening soaking in the hot tub and then stuffing ourselves at the hotel restaurant.  I woke up on Sunday morning relaxed, refreshed, and a little surprised to see that I’d slept until 9 am!  That hasn’t happened in…27 months!

It’s hard for me to put into words how much these ladies mean to me.  Seriously, it’s hard – when La Verne started to express her gratitude for our friendship over breakfast, I got all choked up and misty-eyed.  Suffice to say, I love them like sisters.

As we lingered over our morning coffee, I wondered how Shane and Jules were faring.  Answer:  GREAT.  He and Jason had taken the kids up to the mountains for some snow-packed adventures, and Juliette was lovin’ that freshy-freshy-pow-pow.

The whole weekend had gone off without a hitch – so well, in fact, that we’re already talking about next year!  Up to the ante to two nights away, maybe?

Finally, FONDUE.  December just wouldn’t feel right without gathering the whole gang together around pots of melted cheese.  First, though, some appetite-building at the Seward Park Pre-Fondue 5K.  Nailed it.

And a quick run up to the mountains for some sledding and snow-gazing.  Shane has become quite the snow-bird this month and has taken an intense interest in mountains and cross-country skiing (I think it’s the new all-wheel drive car).  Jules and I wanted in on the fun, so we tossed our new sled and all our warmest clothes into the trunk and headed east!  We ended up at the Hyak Snow Park, impressed by their monster sledding hill.

Juliette had a blast, tearing down the hill with Shane.  I decided to give it a go – Juliette nestled into my lap and we were off!

And it was super fun, until the sled started to tip a bit and I had to put my boot out to level us – the ensuing snow-spray was pretty unpleasant.  I’m afraid Juliette’s laughter quickly turned to tears.

So we took a snack break in a snow bank while Shane headed out for a short run on his skis.

(Meet Subaru Shane!)

We cajoled Juliette into one last run down the hill and left on a high note.

We warmed ourselves that evening at Jack and La Verne’s house, feasting on cheese-dipped bread and veggies, then chocolate-dipped marshmallows and fruit.  The White Elephant gift exchange is a critical part of the evening program, and people really stepped up their game this year.

Baby A was surprised to find that the amber liquid in that cute little bottle tasted nothing like apple juice (kidding, it’s not open!).

“What…is this?” was muttered throughout the evening.

There was much, much cheering when Jason opened the one remaining gift to find…a goldfish!

Christmas came early this year, huh, Gryff?

We wrapped up the night with our active rendition of the The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Everyone had a different part to mime, and wow, by my fifth round of playing the swan-a-swimming, I was out of breath!

Things wound down after that as people rushed their little ones home to bed.  Ok, clearly, these big kids are not winding down.  I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here – are they trying pull that poor boy’s limbs off?

Jules and Nico snuck in one last duet before we said our good-byes.

We capped off our merry weekend with our annual “family dinner” with the Rusts and the Chens on Sunday evening.  Jack popped open the best bottle of champagne I’ve ever tasted, Nance whipped up her special soup and homemade biscuits, we exchanged gifts and kicked back, savoring all the joy in that house.

Happy holidays, friends.

I think I say this every October (and then again on our first warm, sunny day in May), but Seattle has never looked more beautiful.  I’ve been obsessively toting my camera around (you think?!), wanting to capture every Fall color and texture and hazy glow.

Shane and I were so taken with Ravenna Park when we jogged there a couple of weeks ago that we went back on Saturday for a more leisurely stroll, to wind our way up and down the wooded paths and over the bridges, stopping in open fields of grass for a quick game of tag.

Jules dug around for the biggest leaf she could find and proudly waved her autumn flag.

This. Tree.

And, as icing on our golden cake, a zipline!  Juliette’s new playground favorite.

This season suits her, don’t you think?

On Sunday we set out for our weekly family run, this time at Carkeek Park just north of Ballard.  And once again, Shane’s trail-scouting skills proved absolutely superb.

Mid-loop, we stopped for a breather at the beach – after swooning over all that green and gold, I forgot how much I love blue and gray, too.

We hit the trail for the final leg of our run, not entirely sure where we were going, but…ka-pow!

It was so pretty there that we let Juliette hop back out of the stroller to soak it all in.

Three cheers for Fall!

These colors, this cool, crisp weather – October is killin’ it.  So we’re more than happy to oblige Juliette’s persistent requests for “outside time?  outside time?  outside time?!”.

Last weekend we romped through the Carpinito pumpkin patch with the gang – Juliette went nuts when she saw the mounds of orange and white, momentarily putting down the beloved Percy train she’d borrowed from Nico to grab a pumpkin from the bin.

But ultimately, Percy won.

This was one of those days when I relished her blossoming independence, when it felt so good to sit back and watch her run free.

Juliette is into all things insect these days and could hardly contain herself when she found a little ladybug crawling on this pumpkin.  Simple pleasures…

These boys have become like big brothers to Juliette, contentedly playing magna-tiles together one minute, snatching toys out of each other’s hands the next.  I love watching them grow up together.

Two seconds after I took this photo, the wheelbarrow tipped over.  Whoops.

We finally settled on a long-stemmed beast of a squash, strapped it in the stroller, and called it a wrap, chuckling a little as we reminisced about our less-than-ideal visit to Carpinito two years ago.  We’ve come a long way!

We’re on a family running streak and spent that afternoon zipping down the trails at Ravenna Park – how have we missed visiting this gem in the past ten years?!

Jules and I met up with our pals at Volunteer Park on Friday morning for a go at the playground and a “splash” in the leaf-strewn wading pool.

Turns out dried leaves are a fairly decent substitute for water!

And Juliette’s hair is the perfect Fall camouflage.

Buddies!

I know, Jules – these colors make me feel all warm and huggy, too.

One final embrace for the road…

Ok, I’ll stop now.

Who am I kidding?  More orange and gold magic coming your way – we hit the parks hard this past weekend.  Stay tuned.

Shane’s mom left yesterday after a week-long visit – it was a full few days, packed with parks and sight-seeing and plenty of at-home Lego-building and choo-choo time.  We’re missing her today – Juliette’s first words when we came downstairs this morning were, “Where Grandma go?!”  I know, kiddo, it was awfully fun having her around…

Last Sunday was a beautiful Fall day, so we rented a boat at UW and paddled around Lake Washington.  It was a little windy out there, and the water was a little rougher than we anticipated, but after some frantic rowing on Shane’s part, we made our way to the calm, sheltered waters of the arboretum.

Juliette couldn’t resist leaning over to run her fingers through the water, but Grandma kept a firm hold on her life jacket to make sure the rest of her stayed dry.

This photo captures our crossing back to the dock so well – Juliette and I snapping pictures while the wind whipped our hair, Shane grimacing with each stroke of the paddle as he struggled to keep us on course.

Whew!  Made it!

Shane went to work on Monday while the rest of us headed to the zoo for some animal-gazing.

We lucked out and saw most of the animals up-close, from giraffes to hippos to these magnificent tigers.

And penguins!!!

Juliette loved the flamingos and did her best to mimic their one-legged stance.

We said good-bye to our furry and feathered friends around noon and headed home for naptime – Juliette snoozed the afternoon away but woke up ready to get back at it, so we caught the last of the day’s rays at Jefferson Park.

Juliette went to daycare on Tuesday while Shane and his mom did some sight-seeing, and then stayed home with Grandma on Wednesday for some bonding time (which didn’t go quite as planned, stubborn Jules!).  Thursday was Grandma-Mama-Jules day, and the three of us spent the morning at the mall and the afternoon at Luther Burbank Park.

Shane biked over after work to meet up with us and have his own go at the playground.

The four of us were together on Friday and decided to spend the cool, gray morning indoors at the Museum of Flight.  This kid looks ready to fly, doesn’t she?

We headed to Kubota Gardens in the afternoon and wandered down the tree-lined pathways, soaking in all the greens and reds and oranges.

Tuckered out.  Finally.

We said good-bye to Pat yesterday morning, with lots of hugs and a few tears.  Thanks for making the trek out here, Grandma!  Thanks for riding along with us so patiently on the roller-coaster that is toddler-hood.  For loving Juliette so fiercely.  Come back soon.