children's museum

I had heard great things about the museum in Factoria. We had a free day a coupon for free admission and Isaac being free until age 1.... we decided hey why not, let's go. Turns out our super curious and tactile little Isaac was in heaven and although he is on the younger side there is tons for him to explore for years to come. Not to mention he loves staring at other kids. Isaac is sporting all yellow. He had to wear his husky shirt because they were playing that day and then he wet through so the extra pants were also yellow!We had about four of the same conversations with other moms at the museum. "How old is he? 10 months! Wow he is so big, I can't believe is already walking!"

baby's first pumpkin

Its been fun going to the pumpkin patches this year because we live so close and there are so many options. This year was extra special thanks to baby i. We went to Fall City Farms which definitely is my favorite so far but this year is the last year they are having pumpkins.

 

What a difference a year makes. This is the caption of one years time when I was pregnant and Ali was pretending to be with a fake pumpkin bump. Now Micah is one month old! Also last year I roasted a pumpkin for chocolate pumpkin muffins. Now we are gluten free and the pumpkin was roasted for baby food!

bathroom re-do

Before:

After:

 Haha i've noticed I take really crummy before pictures and really nice after ones to make it more dramatic!

This bathroom was the paint color I hated the most in the entire house when we bought it and it has been the last room in the entire house to be painted. Mainly because we always planned on remodeling it and I never could really commit to a color. Well we haven't really had the funds to completely remodel it and had leftover paint from the hallway so we put Isaac to bed at 8pm and started painting. What a difference paint makes. The below picture is the inspiration for the finished product. We are going to buy an ikea vanity and paint it this color blue and then do the blue/grey beadboard with white trim. Not sure when we will get to it but I can't wait! 

new kick

I've always wanted a juicer and thought...I will probably never use it or if so only for brief periods of time. They are a pain to clean and a pain to store and not cheap. My friend Emily said "why don't you just borrow ours and see if you like it" I thought what do we have to lose. Wrong...I'm hooked and now I want one. Peter and I were at the Walla Walla Farmer's market with Peter's parents and they were selling fresh juice. We bought one and I have never forgot the taste, amazing! Beets, apple, ginger, and carrots. It's only been a week but I look forward every morning to my daily concoction. But I'm a creature of habit so who knows this one could stick. Isaac hates the noise of the juicer but is also drawn to it and wants to be near it so I hold him and juice while he squeals. I've always battled keeping my iron levels up and never enjoyed taking iron supplements because they make me nauseous. Turns out beets are really high in iron. Isaac's iron levels now are a little low so I thought maybe I'd start giving him a couple sips of beet juice daily. I found the same juicer as my friend's used on amazon for $30 so we will see if I take the leap!

paper quilt

My friend Emily purchased a silhouette machine. It's basically a printer with a knife. I have reaped the benefits. She printed me out these cutouts onto paper and all I had to do was fold them into boxes and hang them. The project is called a "paper quilt" and she purchased the patterns online from A little hut. The projects are endless when you have a silhouette.  You can make stencils, stickers, shapes, etc. Because you can print on various materials like vinyl and contact paper. I love technology!

nine months

One week before Isaac turns 10 months, phew I made it. These photo shoots get harder and harder. Every time I take pictures of Isaac in his chair I think why don't I do this when Peter is home so he can help me get Isaac to smile. At this point Isaac is so fascinated with the camera that he can't hold his smile long enough. As you can see from the pictures Isaac is bringing the whole balancing on the rocking chair to the next level. 

9 months I don't even know where to begin, there have been so many changes. Isaac brings babyproofing to a whole new level. He has broken two light bulbs by shaking the lamps. He has eaten many inedible things and has a new bump or scrape on his head about everyday. He is "all boy" and that is just part of the process! The biggest change is we started having him "cry it out" at night and it has worked wonders. We put him to sleep awake in his crib around 6:45 and most nights will sleep until 3:30 or 4:00. He wakes up hungry, nurses and then goes back to sleep until anywhere between 6-7. I cherish his nighttime cuddles instead of have anxiety about "when will you be up again...45 minutes?" Boy have our lives transformed. First and foremost I am getting great long stretches of sleep for the first time in 9 months and Peter and I have our evenings to ourselves! Isaac got his 7th tooth, he likes to turn the pages when we read his bedtime books, he started saying "hi" and started playing peek a boo. He also stands by himself and will take one or two steps on an occasion and then realize crawling is way faster. I feel like my sweet baby Isaac isn't a baby anymore. He never was much of a baby always wanting to be bigger and do more. But now he feels like a toddler. In my parent/baby class I asked when are they considered toddlers. She said "when they are doing what Isaac is doing...toddling." We also started a co-op Toddler Group here in Woodinville and eating snack at a table and chair, sitting at circle, and doing crafts sure makes him seem even bigger. Currently he thinks I am very funny and loves to laugh at me.  I will cherish these moments as I know it won't last long.

fall leaves

When I describe this craft I say Isaac and I did it together. Well he helped me by trying to rip the leaves and eat the tiny clothes pins that attach the leaves to the string. Isaac has inspired me to decorate for the seasons because I want him to grow up being excited about the changing seasons and lets face it, Fall is the best. I got the leaves from the dollar store and can't believe how real they look. Overall this is barely a craft but I think it is just the beginning of more things to come hanging in our windows.

paper hydrangeas

My friend Emily saw this project on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to do. What I liked about it:

1. It's cheap
2. It's super easy (by easy I mean no fail)
3. It's cute

The 3 requirements for me to do a craft. I am a perfectionist with very little skill or patience when it comes to crafts. It's a bad combination. Our husbands watched the babies (well kinda) while we crafted away. When Emily had to nurse her daughter Juniper she made her husband step in and take over the flower making process. He could even do it! The paper we used were brown paper bags and I got sticks out of our yard. Here is the link to the craft tutorial. Overall a success!!
Click here to learn how to do it  Don't judge hers look way better :)

boxes are so fun

We recently got a big package....(thanks Carmen!) that came in a big box. Isaac was entertained for hours. Isaac uses it to walk around the house...who needs a walker! We have had it for about a month and it has been colored and remains a major staple in the living room.

cute song

I came across this video on a blog and fell in love with it. Thought I would share if anyone has any little ones and gets sick of singing the same songs over and over like me :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Npu_ly3ZM

mirror over mantle

 When we moved in I thought ugh...that mirror has to go. Then Peter told me that the mirror is glued on so strongly that if he tried to take it off most likely chunks of the dry wall would come off with it and that is more trouble than it is worth. So Peter spent many late night hours working in the garage "perfecting" this frame that he glued over the mirror. He is such a perfectionist and I often get frustrated asking...."is it done yet" and he says "not yet". I really am grateful because everything he does turns out so well done and beautiful. Like the saying goes "if it ain't done right it ain't worth doing"

Before:

After:

 

red lentil soup with lemon

This soup is to die for. We first had it when Peter's sister Elsa made it for us after we had Isaac. The combination of flavors are genius and it is so satisfying. Isaac even liked it! It is from one of my favorite websites: 101 cookbooks

2 cups / 14 oz / 400 g split red lentils, picked over and rinsed well
1 tablespoon turmeric
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
fine grain sea salt
1 large onion / ~ 2 cups, diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of three lemons, or to taste
1 large bunch of spinach leaves, chopped
plenty of cooked (warm) brown rice, to serve
plenty of plain Greek yogurt, to serve

Put the lentils in a pot with 7 cups / 1.6 l water, the turmeric, 1 tablespoon of the butter, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart - twenty minutes or so. Puree with a hand blender. Add more water until the soup is the consistency you like, then taste and add more salt if needed. Keep the soup warm/hot.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the onion. In a skillet over low heat cook the onion in 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter along with the cumin and mustard seeds, stirring occasionally. When the onions have softened, roughly 10 or 15 minutes, add the cilantro and cook for a few seconds before removing from the heat. Add the onion mixture to the soup, then add the juice of the lemons, one lemon at a time - until the soup has a nice bit of tang. Also, add more salt to taste at this point if needed.
Just before serving, add the last of the butter to the skillet, when hot add the spinach and a good pinch of salt. Stir well, and cook just long enough for the spinach to collapse.
Serve by placing a scoop of rice in each bowl, then soup, spinach, and a dollop of yogurt.
Serves 6.
 

i did it!

It has been a life long dream of mine to be a runner. You would think why in the world did it take you this long? Because you have to push through the pain to get to the "fun" part and I was never able to do that. Well in all things that I do making it social makes it way more fun....and well lets face it I actually do it and somebody is there to push me. My friend Emily who I met at Evergreen Parent Baby class and I downloaded a free app "Couch to 5k" picked a 5k three months ahead and followed the exercise programs with our little babies in tow (the strollers). We completed the program and ran the Iron Girl at Greenlake yesterday. It was so fun to see the husbands and the babies cheering us on along the way and at the finish line. I ran 3.2 miles and even though that is drops in a bucket to most I couldn't be more proud of myself. Peter has always dreamed of the day the two of us could run together and it has finally arrived, he couldn't be more proud also! Of course we can't stop there. We are downloading the bridge to 10k app and Emily, Karl, baby Juniper, Peter, baby Isaac, and I plan on running the Greenlake Gobble 5k all together on November 18th. 

eight months

baby i turned 8 months on August 19th so I'm playing a little catch up.This month Isaac has been busy exploring every inch of our house. Opening up cupboards, trying to play in the toilets, eating every single piece of lint off the floor, pulling things of shelves. He goes and goes without stopping so he keeps me constantly busy all day long. This month was a big dose of separation anxiety which paired nicely with Peter's family reunion where everyone he didn't know wanted to hold him. It lasted a couple weeks and now he prefers Peter right now! Which works out great at bedtime and in the middle of the night.....finally!!! New fun things are he loves to clap and imitate us when we clap. He grooves along to music by bouncing up and down, he still is enamored with dogs and we have decided to get one before his 1st birthday, he loves to "scream" not speak "ya ya ya ya" when he is really happy. We had a crazy busy August and he held on for dear life napping in the car or wherever he could. We are looking forward to Fall and setting into our routine. Most importantly establishing Isaac's daily nap schedule with a consistent bedtime and night routine of a bath and a book. We have already started this for about 2 weeks now and he sleeps like a champ! We will see what next month brings but for now I never thought I would say this "I'm so glad he isn't walking yet"