little black journal

We donned our swimsuits and dipped our toes in Lake Washington for the last time a couple of weeks ago – it was a scant too chilly to really enjoy a swim, but we felt like we needed to properly memorialize the end of summer with bare shoulders and watermelon slices.  It’s been such a fun, active, gloriously warm three months, as we’ve played and picnicked through nearly every park in a 10-mile radius of us.

So of course, September 21st left me feeling a little nostalgic and wallow-y – Juliette might never wear her green-striped swimsuit again, or her trusty pink and white sunhat.  She won’t ever sit on the shore of Lake Washington and flap her arms in the same way as the water laps over those chubby baby thighs I love so much.  Dinners on the back patio are on an indefinite hiatus.  But we’re not ready to hole up and call it quits on the great outdoors just yet.  We pulled out our sweatshirts and hit the Madison Park playground last week to take their swings for a test drive.

We’ve gone a little crazy with the slo-mo setting on our iPhones’ cameras – case in point:

Seward Park still welcomes us with open arms, though we traded in our spot on the beach last weekend for this lovely expanse of lawn up on the inner loop.

Indulge me in one more slo-mo…

And hey, the sun still shines at Jefferson Park!

Plus, there’s the excitement of post-season baseball to keep our spirits high – on Wednesday we watched our Giants beat the Pirates in the wild card playoff!  Juliette was mildly alarmed as Shane and I whooped and jumped over Crawford’s grand slam, but when we asked her for high-fives, she happily obliged.

Then there was Saturday’s six-hour hum-dinger of a game against the Nationals – Juliette napped through the first couple of innings and was in bed by the time the fifteenth rolled around, but she chilled with Shane and I for quite a bit of it.  Can you say Sweep those Nats, baby?

After yesterday’s MLB marathon, we tried to spend as much time outdoors today as possible – we passed part of the afternoon at Mt. Baker park, tossing leaves in the air and going down the slide a dozen times over.  Summer in Seattle can’t be beat, but these golden October days sure are beautiful.  And ahhhh…it was warm today – we eventually pulled off Juliette’s jacket and shoes and let her play barefoot in the grass before taking her on a jog around Seward Park.

So happy Fall, Jules!  It’s gonna be a good one.

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.

Shane is not one for moderation.  When he orders a pizza, he wants to eat the whole thing in one sitting.  When he decided several years ago that he wanted to take up running, he thought registering for a marathon would be a good place to start.  And when Jack asked him and Jason a couple of months ago to take part in a 100-MILE bike ride near Deception Pass, Shane jumped at the challenge.

I’ll admit, I’ve been slightly less than supportive about the whole thing.  All the bike gear purchases, the Saturday mornings spent pounding out the training miles while Jules and I were left to fend for ourselves, the post-ride aching back and muscle spasms that left him laid up.  I didn’t expect his race would be so tough on me!  And so all of us, die-hard bikers and hard-core mamas, decided to turn race weekend into a special little getaway at an incredible rental house in Bellingham.  We rolled up to the house on Friday afternoon – as we walked through the lush front yard, complete with a waterfall, I knew we were in for something good.

And then…BAM!  We stepped through the front door and were greeted with a panoramic view of the water – the deck was insane.

The kiddos were eager to explore the house, which meant pulling all the books off the coffee table and then pounding out a few tunes on the piano.

We had our own little happy hour out on the patio with white wine and fresh oysters.  Once the kids were in bed, we popped open another couple of bottles to enjoy with Jack’s famous spaghetti and meatballs.

As we watched the sun set over the bay, I realized I can’t imagine ever living anywhere other than the Pacific Northwest.

We watched the stars come out and then turned in early on Friday, as the guys had to get an early start the next day.  Correction: some of us turned in early.  As Shane was laying out his race clothes before bed, he realized he’d left his bike shorts at home!  He and Jack made a 10:30 pm dash to Walmart in desperate hopes of finding a replacement; Walmart didn’t come through, but Jack did – he got in touch with a friend that was joining them the next day and asked him to bring a spare pair.  Crisis averted!

The bikers headed out at 6 am on Saturday and the rest of us spent a leisurely morning at the house.  After naptime, Juliette and I joined La Verne and Nico on a trip into town to check out the Bellingham farmer’s market.  We grabbed lunch from a food stand there and then swung by Fairhaven on the way back, treating the babies to a taste of our strawberry rhubarb ice cream.

Nico has just started walking and is so adorably proud of himself with each step he takes.

When the guys returned that afternoon, they were a little sweaty and a little stiff, but also giddy over their impressive pace – turns out they had finished in first place!  (Shane – this is where I apologize for not being more supportive and tell you that I’m really, really proud of you…).

The kids ate their dinner out on the deck while we all put our feet up.

And then Juliette ran shirtless for the evening, after painting her tank top with spaghetti sauce…

Gosh, these boys are sweet to Jules – especially Gryffin, who is so quick to snuggle her and to make sure she always has an assortment of toys at her fingertips.

Leave it to Jack to bike 100 miles and then cook dinner for all of us.

Again, we dined on the patio and watched the sun set and chatted until the guys could hardly keep their eyes open.

We were all up bright and early on Sunday.  Catching the misty pink light of dawn was decent consolation for not being able to sleep in.

The childless dinnertime chats were pretty great, but I also loved the mornings as we all roamed around the house, drinking coffee while the kids played and read books in their PJs.  Felt so much like we’re one big family.

And breakfast mimosas made the mornings that much better!

I didn’t get to do quite as much quiet porch-lounging as I’d hoped, but I didn’t mind – Juliette was a lot of fun to hang with this weekend.

It felt good to have our goofy, smiling little girl back after the tough time she’d had in California!

The Rusts rolled out for a family hike around 11 and we headed out around noon, not wanting to leave a minute earlier than the required checkout time.  Thanks, gentlemen, for putting in all those miles on your bikes so that I could eat oysters and ice cream.  I suppose I actually made out pretty well in this whole deal.

On Friday morning we picked up our rental car and drove like banshees to Turlock, knowing that Juliette’s back seat nap would only last so long.  I was so, so excited to reconnect with Amanda and baby Sadie, who was only 4 weeks old when I saw her in April of last year.  Amanda and I picked up right where we left off, as we always do, but my goodness, where was that newborn I had cradled in my arms 16 months ago?!

Sadie is the sweetest, kindest toddler I’ve ever met.  She took an immediate liking to Juliette, lavishing her with hugs…

And “helping” to rinse her hair during bathtime.

We spent much of the weekend just hanging out at Amanda and Josh’s – Juliette was thrilled to roam so freely and play with such a variety of toys after five days in a hotel room with a water bottle and a single Hot Wheels car.  But there were a few people on our must-see list, so we scheduled a park date with Steve on Saturday morning…

And then grabbed lunch with Marco and Lisa in the afternoon.

Amanda invited a few of our friends over for dinner on Saturday night.  Shane picked up a heaping load of tacos from his favorite taco truck and we all hung out in the backyard while a tornado of children swirled around us.  I snapped this photo just as C (up front) was giving orders that Shane would play the part of Ursula in their game of The Little Mermaid.  Shane is amazing with kids, but she really had him stumped on this one!

Hams!

These two got along so splendidly…

This was my first time meeting chill baby Kate, who snoozed so peacefully in the midst of all the mayhem.

Hey ladies!

Sunday morning came all too fast and it was time for us to pack up our things and head home.  It’s always hard for me to say good-bye to Amanda, but this farewell felt especially tough, and I know how much we’ll miss watching each other’s daughters grow.

We made it to the airport in record time while Juliette snoozed in the car.  Check-in went smoothly, we boarded on time, and we were Seattle-bound!  Jules was a little squirmy at first, but eventually fell asleep in my arms.  Praise Jesus.

I know, worst family photo ever, but it tells an important story:  traveling with a baby is exhausting!  We look so much worse for the wear after our “time off” than we did before it.

Home sweet home was sweeter than ever – Juliette slept for 13 hours on Sunday night in the comfort of her crib and napped for a solid four hours on Monday.  I’m still trying to kick my dang cold and am happy to have my favorite tea and my coziest blanket at my fingertips.  Am I glad we made the trip?  Absolutely.  But I believe our frequent flyer days are behind us – it might be awhile before we have the energy for another vacation!

Wowwweeeee, what a trip.  The cold and flu fairies really threw us for a loop, but we pressed on and had a great, though exhausting, week in California.

Juliette awoke in a decent mood on Tuesday, so after saying good-bye to Shane we headed over to Mission Street to pick up a Blue Bottle latte and eat breakfast at this cool little plaza, next to a giant, “friendly” monster head.

By 9:00, Jules was fading fast, so we jetted back to the room for naptime.  She woke up feverish and a little cranky, but perked up as I let her romp around the king-sized bed – all those pillows!  And that soft down comforter!  I think she really felt like she was getting the shaft in her little Pack N Play.

Fever be damned, we set out together to grab lunch at Jane on Larkin and then trek through Japantown and up Filmore to Alta Plaza Park.  It was a slog, pushing that stroller up San Francisco’s hilly streets, but man, talk about a playground with a view!  Juliette and I played for awhile and then found ourselves a sunny spot on the grass to sit back and enjoy the lookout.

We took our time winding our way back to the hotel, stopping to window-shop and pick up an iced coffee.  The only up-side to Juliette’s cold-induced lethargy was her willingness to contentedly hang out in the stroller as we walked circles around the city.  She’s usually a bit antsy if she’s buckled in for more than 20 minutes, but last week she quietly chilled out as we logged mile after mile.

And man, I really loved showing San Francisco to her – all the colors and smells, the ornate fire escapes and the canyon-like streets between skyscrapers, the urban buzz that you can’t quite find in Seattle.  I hope she grows up to love the city as much as her dad and I do.

We met up with Shane in the evening to grab a few tacos for dinner and then Jules was ready to call it a night.  Shane had a pretty packed schedule, with sessions all day and then parties “networking events” at night,  but I appreciated him always being around to help with bedtime, to give Jules her bath and read her a bedtime story.  Or the San Francisco Chronicle.  Whatever works.

We got a slow start on Wednesday morning, as Juliette hadn’t slept all that well and still hadn’t kicked that dang fever.  But we eventually made it out the door, in need of fresh air and breakfast (and coffee, for the love of God, coffee!), and found ourselves at Red Door Coffee.  We found a great little table, my latte was perfect, and Jules quietly sat on my lap like an angel baby as she ate her yogurt.  Things were looking up.  Until the manager came over and very politely asked us to leave, as the coffee shop was a 21 and over venue, 24 hours a day.  We quickly packed up our things and walked out, feeling embarrassed and frustrated and a little bit homesick for our beloved Columbia City Bakery.  Thankfully, we found solace in the waterfall and a sunny bench at Yerba Buena Gardens.

Our Park du Jour was Washington Square Park, about a mile north of the hotel.  We ate lunch on the grass there while watching some dogs run around and listening to a couple of guys in construction vests and hard hats play a saxophone and guitar.

We packed up our things after lunch and walked further north to Fisherman’s Wharf.   I really wanted Juliette to see the sea lions, as this was one of my favorite San Francisco sights as a kid.  She was not impressed.

But the carousel!  Now we’re talkin’.  We stood here for awhile and just watched the horses go ’round.  Anything for that girl.

From Pier 39, we took a long walk along the waterfront, as I wanted to go back to the Ferry Building to pick up a vase from Heath Ceramics that I had my eye on.

Again, Jules proved herself to be the perfect walking companion.

So again, I treated us to ice cream!  Jules, hold the cone while I take a picture.  Or…just go ahead and stick the whole thing in your mouth.

We ate dinner that night in the Mission at Pizzeria Delfina – this place has become an SF staple for us.

As we tucked Juliette in that night, I started to feel a little tickle in my throat.  Uh-oh.  By 9:00 I was feeling feverish and achy.  Double uh-oh.  I had a horribly restless night as I struggled to cool down, then warm up, then cool down, praying in the midst of all my tossing and turning that God would please, please, please have mercy on me and make this a quick little bug.  Shane headed out at 6 am to pick up some cold medication and I quickly dosed myself up – we had tickets for a 12:45 Giants game and I was bound and determined not to miss it.  We all headed out for breakfast together once the meds kicked in and then Juliette and I went back to the hotel to grab a nap.  Thankfully, her fever had finally broken once she woke up, and the rash that was appearing on her belly confirmed what the nurse I’d talked to on Tuesday suspected – she’d caught a case of roseola, characterized by several days of fever followed by a non-itchy rash.  My own spirits and symptoms were lifted by Juliette’s upswing and the three of us set out for AT&T park for baby’s first Giants game!

Juliette was amused by the game for the first three innings, sitting quietly on our laps and staring wide-eyed at the people and the ball field and the cotton candy vendors.  She clapped when everyone else clapped and was only minorly alarmed when Shane threw her in the air after Gregor Blanco’s home run.  We’re going to make a baseball fan out of this kid!

Shane had brilliantly bought us club level tickets, so when the game lost its charm, we headed inside for lunch.  Innings 4-7 were spent bouncing back and forth from our seats to the club level, as Jules became increasingly antsy.   Finally he strapped her into the Ergo – one loop around the park was all it took for this girl to be OUT.

She snoozed through the end of the game, but we were thrilled just to have made it to the ninth inning.  And to see a win!  There’s nothing like being swept out onto AT&T plaza in a sea of happy fans in orange and black.

We made it back to the room around 5:00 and called it a day.  Juliette and I were both completely beat – my cold was rearing its ugly head and Juliette was just plain worn out after four days of short naps and restless nights.  We did our best to keep her content until her normal bedtime, but ultimately tucked her in at 6:30.

We said farewell to our room at the Grand Hyatt on Friday morning – we were certainly going to miss this view.  But the close quarters?  Not so much…

I still curse the germs that got us sick, but we were leaving San Francisco with some incredible memories.  Even in the midst of the fevers and the tiredness and the cafe eviction, Juliette and I still had a blast together – as we were sitting along the waterfront on Monday, sharing our ice cream, I was struck by how much I enjoy hanging out with my daughter as she makes the transition from helpless babe to fun-loving companion.  And oh, how I love showing her the world, even when it’s tiring and inconvenient and upsets our schedule.  She won’t remember this trip, but I will, and I’ll tell her how she lit up when I handed her that ice cream cone, how happy she was to sit in the grass overlooking the city, how she clapped with the crowd when Petit struck out batter after batter.  I forgive you, baby, for the nights you woke up at 2:00 and wouldn’t settle until 4:00, popping up over and over while your dad and I tried (and failed) to ignore you from two feet away.  It was all worth it.  I think.

Next stop, Turlock!

There are really only a few things I miss about our pre-kid days – Saturday morning sleep-ins top that list, but travel is a close second.  If we were braver, more easy-going parents we would just jet-set with baby in tow, but the thought of the packing and the plane ride and the early bedtime-imposed curfew has deterred us from venturing any farther than Portland…until now!  On Sunday we boarded a plane bound for San Francisco – Shane had registered for a work-related conference and Jules and I decided to test our travel mojo and tag along.

We left our house at 8 am sharp, proud of ourselves for packing lightly enough that we were able to wrangle everything onto lightrail without much fuss.  We had timed our flight during Juliette’s morning naptime, hoping she would fall asleep during takeoff and snooze for most of the trip, but pssshhhh.  How could she sleep when she had Mom and Dad at her beck and call, ready and willing to pump her full of snacks and read her every one of the three books we had packed 15 times over?  She knew she had us over a barrel and wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want to.  But it was fine – we settled for a 20-minute doze and let it go at that, as she was generally pretty happy (and quiet!).

We took a cab to the hotel from the airport and have never been so relieved to hear those four magic words:  “Your room is ready”.  After six hours of being strapped in her stroller and held in our laps, Juliette was on the verge of going bonkers – we walked in the door and set her loose.  She flew around the room like a tornado, tipping over the garbage can, throwing the bedside magazines on the floor, testing out the swivel of the desk chair, and then pausing just for a moment to take in the view from the 24th floor.

After a pretty impressive struggle, she finally crashed for a two-hour nap and woke up ready to take on the town.  The three of us walked through the evening bustle of Chinatown and landed at Tacolicious in North Beach for dinner.  Shane loved the chorizo tacos and I went a little nuts over the churros and chocolate.  Jules might have overdone it on the made-to-order guacamole.

We took our time walking back to the hotel, enjoying the warm glow of the city as the sun set on SF.

We stayed out until 7:45 (!) and then headed back for bathtime, books, and bed.  We’ve still been squeezing Juliette into her blue plastic tub at home, thinking she needed the stability, but it turns out she’s ready to bathe like a big kid!

By 8:15 the baby was asleep and we were officially in for the night.  Thank goodness for a view, at least…

Shane and I climbed under the covers and plugged our headphones into the laptop to watch an episode of West Wing – it was kind of nice, actually, turning in so early.  I guess sleep trumps cocktails these days.

Jules and I walked with Shane over the Moscone Center on Monday morning and said goodbye to him as he headed into his all-day conference.  My stomach flipped just a little as he walked away – baby and I were on our own in a city I really don’t know all that well.  What would we do with ourselves?  Coffee and pastries seemed like a good place to start, so we grabbed a latte, an almond croissant and some yogurt and sat on the patio at La Boulange.

We walked around for awhile and then went back to our room for a mid-morning nap – Juliette had come down with a fever in the middle of the night (this girl’s colds have the WORST timing!) and she desperately needed some rest.  Oh, my poor baby…

She seemed to be on the upswing when she woke up and we were both a little stir-crazy, so I buckled her into her stroller and we set out for Sue Bierman playground, near the waterfront.  I did my best to sanitize both Jules and the swing she sat in and we spent awhile taking part in her favorite pastime.

When she (okay, I) tired of the swings, we staked out a spot on the grass to eat blueberries and watch some kids play soccer.

The Ferry Building was right across the street from the park, so we walked over there to browse the shops offering artisan cheeses and hand-crafted ceramics.  I bought some ice cream at Humphrey Slocombe and the two of us sat on a bench facing the water to watch the ferries go by.  My cayenne cantaloupe sorbet was perfection, paired with a scoop of horchata which Jules was more than happy to help me finish off.

We both took a short afternoon snooze back at the hotel and then met up with Shane for an early dinner during a break between his sessions.  Juliette and I popped into a couple of stores on our way back to the hotel, and then it was time once again to start the bath-books-bed routine.  Shane made it back in time to tuck her in, and I tucked myself in shortly thereafter.  Juliette’s fever had bummed me out a bit, and I was still cursing the slammed hallway door that woke her from her afternoon nap, but hey, we were rolling with the punches.  San Francisco had come through in a clutch with swing sets, ice cream, and sunshine!

We’ve made it an annual tradition to get out of town with our community group for a weekend every summer.  We’ve done camping trips galore, we’ve rented a floating house on the Willamette River, we’ve spent a weekend hanging out on the porch of a beautiful house on Vashon Island.  This year Adrienne scored us a booking at a huge house in Stevens Pass, big enough for 13 adults and 6 kiddos.  We were thrilled to be keeping tradition alive, even with all these babies in the mix.  Thrilled, and…a little bit anxious.  We were having dinner with Jack and La Verne a week before the trip, and there was a moment when one of us asked, “do you think next weekend is going to be a total disaster?”  We were all silent as we pictured the worst.  What if the walls of the house were really thin and one of the babies didn’t sleep well (meaning none of us would sleep well)?  What if the place wasn’t as big as it looked in the photos, and we spent much of the weekend just looking for a spot to sit down while mayhem swirled around us?  What if Juliette was sick or cranky or just a general buzzkill?

But we hopped in the car on Friday afternoon and hoped for the best.  And the minute we stepped in the front door and looked out the huge windows over the porch to the mountains and the river and the fire pit below, we were so glad we’d made the trip.

And then there was the sweet sight of Jules playing on the floor with her best little buddies – we pushed some of the furniture together to create a little kiddie corral where these three could happily crawl and play and pass their slobbery toys back and forth.  La Verne termed it the “village daycare”.

The house’s porch was incredible – we ate most of our meals out there.  This girl loves her some outdoor dining, chowing down on her scrambled eggs and zucchini/pear puree for dinner on Friday.

And then breakfasting with Nico al fresco on Saturday morning.

During naptime, I sat back in one of the porch’s lounge chairs with my sunglasses and a book and took in the view.  Shane, ever the introvert, found a quiet spot to relax on a rock down in the river.

I removed myself from said chair for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon to check out a little swimming hole down the road.  Jason played mountain goat / dare devil and scaled a nearby rock wall before taking a giant leap.

I was happy to hang out on a blanket in the sun, occasionally dipping my toes in the icy water.

We headed back to the house for afternoon naptime – the grown-ups played a rousing game of Uno while the kiddos slept.

As is always the case when we get together with this gang, we ate and we ate well.  The look on Juliette’s face after chowing down on Nicole’s homemade spaghetti sauce says it all…I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!

And s’mores for dessert for the older kids (sorry, Jules!  blueberries for you!).

Those mallows left Gryffin and Isaiah with some energy to burn.  Shane was quick to volunteer as playmate.

Juliette cheered from the sidelines.

And was pretty dang stoked when she got in on the action.  We’re buying this girl her own soccer ball!

We snapped a few group pics before putting the little ones to bed.

And then the kids were tucked in, the wine was brought out, and it was time really kick back.

Adrienne got a raging inferno going in the firepit and we circled up to talk and laugh and roast marshmallows.  Every year brings a new s’more creation – this year, mallows were topped with potato chips, “hand crumbled to activate the saturated fats” a la Jack.

Jon disappeared for a few minutes and I assumed he’d headed inside to check on the kids – turns out he was setting up his camera and tripod to snap a photo of the group.  Guy’s got serious skills:

We ate our breakfast sandwiches on the porch Sunday morning, and then it was time to pack up and hit the road.  The house, the view, Juliette’s mood, and the time with friends had wildly exceeded my expectations.  And those s’mores!  Oh, those s’mores…

It’s been a grand few days – loads of sun, burgers hot off the grill (a couple of times!), and lots of quality time with my mom, who left today after a week-long visit.

Jules was pretty stoked to have Grandma join us on our Thursday bakery date.  I was thrilled to see her quickly warm up to my mom – partly because it was so sweet to see them light up each other’s faces, but also because I appreciated the help lugging around my increasingly heavy little girl.

On Friday we got our coffee fix at Cafe Vita…

And spent an hour laying in the sun at Lakewood Park, watching the clouds float by and popping over to the swings when Jules got antsy.

Shane, Jules, and I spent Friday evening at Safeco Field for my company picnic.  We took part in the pre-game funk of hot dogs and beer…and then left half-way through the first inning, as Jules started to show the first signs of a meltdown.  This is our life now, I suppose – baby’s sleep trumps all.  Still, it was a beautiful evening at the ballpark!

Saturday afternoon we set out for Seward Park to dip our toes in the water (that belly!)…

And meet up with my cousin Kelsey, who’s visiting from Maryland.  We picnicked on the grass and then took a long walk up through the woods.  80 degrees, beautiful blue water, views of downtown and Mount Rainier, dappled sunlight in cool, shady forests?  Kelsey and her boyfriend quickly fell in love with the PNW.

We dined al fresco at home last night – turns out Juliette is a big fan of outdoor eating (probably because she can throw her food on the floor without mama making a fuss).

We capped off the day with one last go on the swings at the neighborhood playground.

Breakfast at Geraldines has become something of a weekend tradition for us – we grabbed a (big) bite there this morning before my mom caught her train down to Oregon.

I’m always a little down when my mom leaves, but Juliette doesn’t have a lot of patience for my moping around, so after saying our good-byes we were off to Luther Burbank for a park pick-me-up.  Jules was really into playing in the water this time around – we had so much fun splish-splashing in the lake, sitting in the sand and feeling the miniature waves lap at our toes.

Chilling out under a tree eating strawberries with dad was pretty great, too.

Shane and Jack powered through a 42-mile bike ride to Red Hook Brewery this afternoon and then La Verne and I met them there with the babies.  We toasted to a perfect weekend with beer and burgers – happy, happy SUNday, folks!

It was a quintessential summer weekend – afternoons spent laying on a picnic blanket and dipping our toes in Lake Washington, dinners hot off the grill, watermelon and sparklers and swings, oh my…

Shane and I both wrapped up our work weeks on Wednesday evening, so we kicked off our long holiday weekend on Thursday.  Jules and I met up with La Verne and Nico for our standing bakery date in the morning and then headed right back out after morning nap for pizza with papa.  The three of us swung by Lakewood Park on our way home for a little playground action – the swings are still a sure-fire baby-pleaser.

We spent the evening at Jack and La Verne’s, celebrating Nance’s birthday with brats and beer and chocolate cake.  The look on the babies’ faces says it all – who are these nutty people?!

Nico and Jules are becoming fast friends.

Ok, so maybe Nico’s a little nutty, too (in the best possible way, of course)…

We partied hard until…wait for it…7:30!  A new record with the babe!  Followed by the fastest ride home/bath/bedtime story ever, so that we could get Miss Charming tucked in before she turned into a howling, rotten pumpkin.

On Friday afternoon we drove over to Bellevue to check out Meydenbauer Beach Park, a pristine stretch of lawn right on the lake.  I was worried it would be packed because of the holiday, but we had no trouble staking our claim on a perfect patch of shady grass.

Goofball.

We spent the evening at Chez Rust, eating more brats and drinking more beer and lighting the fireworks that Jason had picked up outside city limits.

It was all fun and games when we were just dealing with smoke bombs and sparklers, but once the bigger guns came out, the boys became a little skittish.

Juliette remained pretty chill through it all, not really caring too much one way or the other.  Oh, how this kid has mellowed with age!

Saturday brought more sunshine and more time to hang with the gang.  We convened at Seward Park around lunchtime for tacos and storytime.

Gryffin and Isaiah hopped in and out of the lake all afternoon while Jules “waded” a bit, not sure what to make of the chilly water.

Jason could not be any sweeter to Juliette.  And it’s taken nine months, but she’s finally coming around.

C’mon babies, throw me a bone here!

Jason and Nancy gave us their old baby backpack and we decided to take it for a spin on Sunday at Tiger Mountain.  It was borderline hot that day, and it felt good to hang out in the shade of the woods (with a sweaty baby strapped to your back, huh, Shane?).

We stopped at a bench for a picnic lunch and then headed back once we realized we’d hit the end of the trail.

Jules decided at this point that she was done being in the backpack, so Shane carried her the mile back to the car, stopping every couple of minutes to let her touch ferns and pine needles and mossy tree trunks.  I hope she loves green as much as I do.

We made it!

Oh…summer.  So so so sooooo good.

It’s been an unpredictable few days, weather-wise – warm and sunny one minute, gray and rainy the next.  We should have learned by now that Seattle’s skies always open up and pour on you the minute you think summer has finally, officially arrived…  But we’re making the most of the sunbreaks, hopping from park to park with picnic lunches and floppy hats in tow.  Volunteer Park, Greenlake, Jefferson Park, Seward Park, and Alki Beach in the past four days – whew!

The three of us spent yesterday afternoon at Jefferson Park, celebrating the first birthday of Juliette’s buddy W.  The fountains were on at the spray park and Jules got a kick out of swiping her hand through the water.  I’m looking forward to bringing Miss Muffet (that silly hat!) up here in her swimsuit once temps really warm up.

Shane had a bike fitting appointment this afternoon, so Juliette and I set out for Alki Beach for a long walk and a mama-daughter picnic lunch.  We spread out a blanket on the grass and ate watermelon together and watched dogs and ferry boats and fluffy white clouds pass us by.

I know, she can’t walk or talk and she tends to poop the minute we leave the house, but gosh, this girl and I have a lot of fun together.

I see a string of 75 degrees+ days in the forecast – I’m working on our next tour de parks itinerary now!