little black journal

It was a busy weekend at Chez Schnell, with visitors and sight-seeing and birthday festivities!  The good times started rolling on Thursday morning, when Shane’s mom and sister arrived from Minnesota.  We all convened at Columbia City Bakery for coffee and croissants – Jules took an instant liking to her Aunt Tiff.

After letting our guests get settled, we headed to West Seattle to grab lunch and play on the sand at Alki Beach.  Summer is definitely going out with a bang here, with lots of sun and perfect temps.

We celebrated my mother-in-law’s birthday that evening at Tutta Bella – Jules is a big fan of their Happy Hour meatball special, and I have a weakness for their five-dollar glass of bubbly.

We capped off the day with ice cream at Full Tilt – I don’t know if it’s the horizontal stripes or the fact that I can’t resist sharing my dessert with her, but Juliette is looking a little rounder around the middle these days!

This was Tiff’s first time in Seattle, so we spent Friday afternoon downtown, showing her the sights.  We started with coffee on the 40th floor of the Columbia Tower.

And then strolled through Pike Place Market, stopping for lunch at Steelhead Diner.

We spent the rest of the day at home, eating and drinking and doting on the baby.  It was such a joy to watch Juliette soak up all that grandma and auntie love.

Saturday morning we drove up to Jefferson Park to while away the morning on the playground - Jules wasn’t so sure about this slide a couple of months ago, but now?  Total hit.  She’s getting adventurous, that girl.

Grandma’s pretty wild, herself!

We drove out to Woodinville on Saturday afternoon to do some winetasting at Novelty Hill and Columbia Winery.  I wasn’t so sure that bringing a baby to a winery was kosher, but we gave it a go and actually ended up a seeing a few other kids out for an afternoon tasting.  We found a shady spot in the grass at both places to stretch out and sip our whites.

And while we tasted the menu, Juliette tasted the menu.  Seriously, this girl’s favorite food is paper these days.

We had dinner that night at Big Chickie, our neighborhood’s newest hot spot.  The chicken was perfectly done and the outdoor seating area was hoppin’ – we’ll be hitting this place as often as we can while the evenings are still warm!

Sunday was a big day – a pretty special little someone was born a year ago!  The birthday festivities started with bedhead and blueberry pancakes.

And then presents!  Books and clothes, a soccer ball and a big bag of Legos – she tore into the wrapping and gift bags like a pro, stopping only momentarily to crawl into one of the boxes and eat the tissue paper.

Grandma gave Jules her first baby doll – we’ve never seen her play with a doll before, but she was immediately taken with it.

She pulled the baby Violet right out of the box and went to give her a kiss.

Or…eat her face.  Mommas – keep your newborns away from this one.

She’ll be stylin’ in her new peacoat this fall!

We loaded up the car on Sunday afternoon with cupcakes and beach balls for Miss Juliette’s big bash at Seward Park.  Clearly, she was pretty jazzed about being the center of attention.

She had a blast cruising around the lake with Gryffin.

And then…cake!  She didn’t quite know what to do when we first set that mound of frosting in front of her.

But once that first taste of sugar hit her lips, she wasn’t shy about digging in.  Enjoy it, kiddo – you’re getting a double-dose of broccoli for dinner every night this week.

We felt so lucky to have our Minnesota family and our Seattle family present to celebrate the day.

How old are you, Jules?

And with that, my baby was one.  ONE.  I’m feeling all kinds of crazy about it – melancholy but thankful, nostalgic for what’s gone but also a little bit relieved that the newborn days are behind us.  Proud of the girl she’s becoming and excited for what lies ahead.  How quickly she’s changing (that’s a whole other blog post…).  Happy, happy birthday, stinkpot.