Juliette and I had a solid week off from work and school after our Christmas trip to Portland, and it was glorious. We turned the bustle-dial waaaaay down and stayed close to home, some days venturing only as far as the neighborhood coffee shop, where we sipped our steamer and latte with the utmost leisure.
A friend offered us last-minute tickets to the Seattle Children’s Theatre production of The Velveteen Rabbit, and we said YES, thankful for our wide-open calendar.
We loved, loved, loved the show, which was poignant and creative and beautifully acted. Juliette is at such a fun age right now, up for anything and thrilled with (most) new experiences.
Afterward, we met up with Shane for pizza at Mioposto, toasting to him for a big certification test he’d passed that morning.
We spent a rainy Saturday curled up in the cushy seats at AMC for a Mary Poppins matinee. Again, loved it! Our little patron of the arts…
Post-movie, we stretched our legs with a spin on Juliette’s Christmas scooter.
And then we settled in every evening with Juliette’s new stash of games – this girl is something of a Jenga master!
Shane was eager by December 26th to clear the Christmas stuff out of the house and get a fresh start to the year, so I memorialized our beloved tree with a few Mama-Jules pics (and then convinced him to leave it up till January!).
New Year’s Eve was crisp and clear, so Juliette and I got out for ride/run at Alki and then warmed ourselves at a coffee shop we’ve been meaning to check out.
…and later that afternoon, Shane and I warmed ourselves at a neighborhood pub we’ve been wanting to check out. Give me all the twinkle-lit spaces!
The gang convened at our house on the evening of NYE for a family sleepover. Jack brought a bottle of Veuve and we raised our glasses early while the kids were still up, wanting to let them in on the festivities (I meant to pour them each a glass of sparkling apple juice but was so excited about the Veuve that I forgot to get their drinks; they gorged themselves on cookies and M&Ms instead).
They watched the ball drop (East Coast time) on Jason’s phone and very enthusiastically blew their horns.
Finally, around 9:30, the littles were tucked into their sleeping bags. Although…they don’t look so sleepy, do they?
N and J had quite the time settling down, though Juliette sweetly offered to hold Nico’s hand “to help him get to sleep”. Next time I checked the monitor, they were both on the floor. By 11:00 they were both in her bed. Finally, at 11:30, all was still.
Meanwhile, the adults seemed to grow louder as the night went on, our game of Bowl of Nouns becoming more and more raucous with each round.
At one point, Jack was literally curled up on the floor, clutching his stomach and laughing over my attempt at charade-ing “potluck”.
We toasted one more time as the clock struck midnight, thrilled by the dawn of a new year, but also thrilled that we’d all managed to stay up that late!
We got a slow start on New Years Day, sleepily convening at the table for cinnamon rolls and bacon…
and then all jetted to Alki Beach to watch the gents take their annual Polar Bear Plunge.
As per usual, Shane was the first one out of the water, while Jason stayed behind to frolic.
Juliette thinks they’re all nuts.
We spent the afternoon under a pile of blankets, drinking tea and watching Star Wars (which in hindsight, might be a tad scary for Juliette).
Hard as it was to remove ourselves from the couch, I was determined to celebrate the dawn of a new year with a sunset stroll, so we made our way to Lincoln Park to scooter and skip rocks.
Welcome, 2019. I’ve got high hopes for you.
