Family photos always bring me tremendous joy. This most recent photo shoot is one of the most special ones to date. With all that’s happening in the world right now I am exceptionally grateful we have these recent family photos that captured our first big family trip to The Lodge. A huge thanks, as always to Kim Hildebrand, for the beautiful photos, and for my mother in-law for arranging this.
So much love and gratitude from our family to yours.
Before our worlds were turned upside down Alex’s family came out to The Lodge for a visit. Now with the state of things we feel extremely fortunate this visit was able to happen. Alex’s parents, his sister and her husband and their two kids, Nico and Marco, came for their first big family trip together. It’s only been three weeks since they left but it feels like it was so much longer than that.
Alex and I had been looking forward to this for months. This is what we had been picturing when we were imagining our life at The Lodge. It’s special enough when the grandparents come or our kids’ uncles, or our friends, but to have our nephews here was an absolute dream. It is really hard to be so far away from them and we just hope that “the cousins” can spend as much time together as possible.
Our time together was really special. We went into things without much of a game plan and wanted to just spend time together. And that we did!
Alex and I got to sneak away one nap time for a ski date!
Donna also hired our family photographer to come do a photo shoot one morning. I’ll share those pictures in a separate post.
Being surrounded by our extended family at The Lodge is something we will continue to look back on with fond memories. We’re so grateful for this time together, and for Alina and Alberto to travel with their two little ones to come and see us. We can’t wait for the next visit together!
Here we are at the beginning of our third week in quarantine out here at The Lodge. In particular, my mood remains one of tremendous gratitude. I’m focusing my energy on finding joy and savoring the family time.
It’s overwhelming reading the news right now; however, I am finding it so heartwarming hearing stories of communities coming together to support one another during this time. I do hope this will be our finest hour.
Back to The Lodge… the kids and I had a fun week together while Alex continued to work remotely. We’ve been so fortunate to enjoy abundant sunshine all week, which ended up melting away all the snow on our property.
It feels like we’re getting into a really good routine and I have to imagine that is helping everyone know what to expect on some level. We still talk about what day it is and what we’re going to do and I’m trying to come up with something fun for the kids to look forward to.
A few things have been incorporated into our routine that have been helpful. My favorite has been my “mama move” time, which I’ve dubbed “stroller snack” to the kids. They now enjoy their morning snack in the stroller {happy to let them eat all the crackers they want!} while I can walk the dog and get a little exercise. I enjoyed two runs in this week pushing the two kids in the stroller and managing the dog, then another one on my own this weekend.
We love to visit the chickens, turkeys and horses on our street and Ben comes up with a new question about the horses every day. I know virtually nothing about horses, so we’re doing a lot of looking things up… Side note, we watched a video last week about how to milk a cow, per Ben’s inquiry on how the milk comes from the cow to his glass. A three-year old’s curiosity is so precious.
This week we’ve been sticking very close to home. As the pandemic rattles the world more and more each day I’ve been less comfortable going out.
I have not subscribed to the “homeschooling” phenomenon sweeping the country. I have two toddlers at very different developmental stages, one of whom is used to no structure or instruction. We’re under enough stress right now and I’m not interested in adding to it.
What I am subscribed to is providing a fun, nurturing environment for my two children where they can run, play and explore. They can imagine, discover and create, all on their own with a little support and a lot of engagement from me.
The weather has been amazing out here for our whole stay, so we’ve basically been outside. The forecast isn’t quite as great for this week, so we may employ a few more creative ideas.
Ben’s school began putting together remote learning last week. They’ll send a “morning meeting” and “movement” video, along with some extended learning suggestions and some coloring sheets. This week Ben gets to join a “Zoom” video conference with his teacher and a couple of his classmates. It has been extremely heartwarming to see these videos and still be able to connect to Ben’s school.
Alex has been working remotely, which has been a mixed bag for him. It’s very difficult to work from home when you have two young children, and especially when your kids aren’t used to you working from home. We made a few adjustments, and surely more will come, to make sure Alex can focus on work during the day. Now he’s downstairs in the bunk room where he’s a little farther removed than he was up in the loft.
Since he’s been working all day, Alex has missed out on a lot of our adventures. One morning last week Alex woke up and headed for the mountain pass to do a little skiing. The resorts have been closed for a while, so he brought his skins and skinned up, skied down and came home. This weekend he took some time to himself to start cleaning up the yard and began a big burn pile.
Shortly after California shut down I decided it was probably wise to venture out to the grocery store and do a big two-week stock up. I managed to find just about everything I had hoped, with the exception of flour. The store I went to was completely out. Overall, the selection was rather limited for many items, but I was able to find something suitable.
Alex is venturing back to our house for a day or so to take care of the lawn, make sure Henry is doing okay {we’ve made care arrangements for him} and collect some nice-to-have items. At this point it seems as though we’ll be here for quiiiite a while.
Our little spitfire is acting more and more like a little girl every day. She’s really starting to look the part too with her long curly hair. Occasionally she’ll even let me put it up in a little pointy pigtail.
Hannah’s 20-Month Stats:
Over the last month since I did Hannah’s 19-month update our lives and the world have been turned upside down due to the pandemic. Both Hannah and Ben are thriving as we have moved indefinitely out to our mountain house.
Hannah has had a tremendous vocabulary and speech leap this last month. While it’s still tricky to understand her out of context her pronunciation is improving, as is her vocabulary. We’re guessing her vocabulary {spoken words} is somewhere around 30-40 words.
She has started babbling out full sentences {we have little or no idea what she’s talking about!} and she’ll just be sitting there looking at you or something else as though she’s having a conversation. She sure has a lot to say – we just don’t know what it is yet! Occasionally we are able to pick out a few words in there and make a guess as to what she’s talking about.
I hope I never ever forget how stinking cute and animated she is when she responds to a question with a resounding “yeah!” We have several videos of it that I need to make sure to tuck away for the future. She’s also recently started saying “that” which is helpful to know what she wants, and she also uses it to ask what something is or what a sound was.
Recently Hannah has become quite attached to her new puppy stuffie. Needless to say, she’s been saying “puppy” a ton as she cuddles him.
Now that we have nothing to do, per the pandemic, I’m thinking about potty training Hannah. She seems pretty ready, actually. During diaper changes she likes to wipe herself and she says “hi vulva” as she’s wiping. It’s hard not to laugh!
For a while Hannah has been hopping up onto the step stool that lives in front of the toilet {for Ben to use}, pushing up the toilet seat and lifting up her shirt. Lately she’s started pushing down her pants and trying to take off her diaper. She’s always first in line to flush after anyone uses the toilet.
Gosh this girl has a personalty with a capital “P”! She is SO fun. She’s still a pistol and probably always will be, but she’s a complete and total blast to be around. Her little cackle is the cutest thing and we adore watching her little run. She’s still so unbelievably loud and boisterous and loves to be the center of attention.
In addition to being a spitfire she’s also cuddly, extremely affectionate, really good at sharing and quite helpful. She loves to dance and have a good time and is quick to give hugs to those she’s close to. Hannah is at a very rational time in her life right now – most of the time she is really easy to reason with.
Hannah wants to do everything by herself and with attitude. She is quick to push my hand away if I offer assistance on just about anything. That said, there are some times where she’ll stop and reach her hand out for mine if it’s something she’s not quite sure about. She is really getting comfortable and confident at going up and down the stairs.
Somehow, despite her limited vocabulary, she has grasped the word “me” in a very grammatically correct way. Oftentimes I’ll ask “who wants a snack?” or something like that and she’ll be the first to respond “me!” Or she’ll be pointing at the shoes by the door and when she gets to hers say “me!”
Jumping and climbing are big favorites of Hannah’s lately. She loves to jump on the trampoline… the bed… the couch… anywhere she can get a bit of a bounce. She has so much pizzazz when she jumps, too. This girl gets style points for pretty much everything.
Hannah is quite the problem solver. She loves to play with stacking rings or little stacking boxes or cups and is surprisingly patient, even when it’s not working out. She has been really into climbing lately and it’s been fun to watch her test her limits and figure things out.
Mealtimes are routinely quite rough, particularly at dinner. Hannah’s appetite really ebbs and flows throughout the day and she’s not really into eating dinner, nor is she into waiting for anyone else to finish their meal. If it was up to Hannah she’d live off of smoothies, yogurt pouches, cornichons, pistachios, pasta, cheese and fruit. Really not the worst diet but it’s hard to balance that out with another toddler and two adults.
Hannah is not into meat or bread and when provided a “dipper” {i.e. syrup or ketchup} she’ll choose the dip over the item to be dipped. Additionally, when served toast with peanut butter, she’ll lick off the peanut butter and leave the toast behind.
Regardless of what it is, Hannah wants to be included. This girl is going to have major FOMO {fear of missing out} when she’s older – I can already tell. If Ben is putting on his pajamas, Hannah’s got to get hers too. If someone tells a joke, Hannah cackles at it at just the right time. She’s always in on everything and really doesn’t want to miss out.
Hannah loves to help out around the house. One of her favorite jobs is feeding Jackson. She also loves to sweep the floor and will put away toys without being asked {crossing my fingers this one sticks for a good long time!}.
This sweet girl is truly getting more fun by the day. Often times the highlight of the day for me is just standing back and watching her play and run around, especially when it’s with her brother. We are really rounding the corner on age two…
We are safe, healthy and in good spirits. In case you missed our last post, our family is holed up in the mountains indefinitely while we self-quarantine amidst the pandemic.
As we get further and further into this wild situation I feel more and more grateful for the blessings we do have right now. We have each other and we have nature. We have our health and our home is well-stocked to allow us to hunker down for a good long time. I continue to be inspired by the generosity and compassion I am seeing around our region and the country. It warms my heart to see people coming together to support each other.
We’re at the beginning of week 2 of our quarantine and are finding joy and adventure each day.
The kids are adjusting to this new normal really well. I have been very honest with Ben about what is going on and I feel that because it’s so black and white that he really is grasping things.
During the week I have been trying to keep to a relatively consistent routine where we get ready to go after breakfast and then head out for an outdoor adventure.
We’ve had a lot of picnics and car snacks and did a little baking. The kids love to help out in the kitchen and we had fun making banana bread together. It was far from a smooth experience but the end result was good.
We stocked up at Costco and Safeway and have about a week’s worth of fresh produce and a few days worth of frozen veggies. Our pantry and freezer remain very well-stocked, though yogurt pouches for the kids and sparkling water for the adults are being rationed to one per day per person!
One day last week we did an art walk at Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort. They put together a map of all of the art located on their property {our walk was restricted to the outdoors} and we treated it like a little scavenger hunt. Ben was super into it! “Sleeping Lady” is a part of the mountain range and, as you may guess, is said to look like a sleeping lady. Ben had the hardest time grasping there’s not an actual lady up there sleeping!
We ventured to Lake Wenatchee State Park twice last week – once for a sunny hike, the other time to play in the snow and have a snowy picnic.
Early afternoons are Hannah’s nap time and Ben’s quiet time. I like to spend some time reading with Ben, practicing letters, doing a puzzle or playing a quiet game together and then he enjoys watching a show for a bit while Hannah naps. Occasionally I can catch a few minutes to myself here, too!
Lots of reading is happening during the day for both kids. I just love children’s books and love reading with my littles so we’re working it in as often as possible.
Late afternoons are perfect for playing in the yard. Sometimes we take a nature walk through the forest, other times we visit the horses across the street, and some days we just play. The kids are loving their swing set, their mini trampoline, their t-ball set and their gardening tools. They both love throwing the ball for Jackson, over and over and over again…
So far the weather has been perfection. Our first week was sunny and warm and left us dreaming of summer. The kids were running around without coats – one day Ben refused to put shoes on in the grass and I couldn’t argue too much.
The snow in our yard was nearly gone, then we had the most beautiful day of snow at the end of the week. We were dreading it but once it arrived it turned everything from brown to white again and we felt so cozy inside with the fire roaring all day, watching the snow.
Alex is loving working from home. It’s so sweet that Ben can run up and jump in Alex’s lap, even while he’s on a video call, and just give him a hug. Ben has been surprisingly respectful of Alex and his space while he’s working. We’re loving having Alex around more during the week.
This last weekend we had a blast together as a family. Ben and I headed to Stevens Pass to ski – luckily we got there the day before their operations ceased. I had SO much fun skiing with my little buddy! He did awesome. It was our first time on the chair lift together.
I’m training for a couple half marathons {though one just got canceled, unfortunately} and a 30k this summer/fall and managed to sneak away for a long run on Sunday while Alex took the kids on a bike ride/playground trip. It seems as though that may be our last trip to the playground for a few weeks, now, given the state of things.
We are truly making the most of this time together and honestly are enjoying it, though I wish the circumstances were dramatically different. I feel tremendous gratitude that amidst this crisis we still have nature and we still have each other. I can rest easy knowing that.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 10 days you know that the Seattle area is the epicenter of the US Coronavirus outbreak. Seattle is home for us, so we’ve been taking things a day at a time over here, careful to heed recommendations by our local health experts and avoid crowds to help stop the spread.
To that end, the day after Alex’s employer required folks to work from home, Alex and I decided it’s time we head east and hole up at The Lodge indefinitely. Since moving to the mountains on Saturday, Ben’s school is asking all those who can stay home to please do so.
To me, last week it felt like a veil of uncertainty was hanging over the Seattle area. No one knew what was going to happen next or how the events would unravel. It seems like the only thing that’s certain is that Covid-19 is here to stay for a while and it’s spreading like wildfire.
We are working to do our part and avoid crowds and gatherings and just keep to ourselves so we can help stop the spread. We’ve been washing our hands so much they’re cracked and bleeding.
At this point, my biggest concern is the spread of the virus. We’re at a lower risk of complications if we do contract the virus, but I sure don’t want to contribute to its spread.
We are well-stocked here and so very grateful for our pantry and storage space. We have plenty of food and supplies to last us quite a while.
I’ve already started compiling a master list of ideas of things we can do at our home, both inside and outside, as well as local outings I can take the kids to do. We have nature as our playground out here and there’s an abundance of easy hiking trails I am eager to take the kids to. We’ll bring binoculars {just ordered the kids a new nature kit!} and our field guide and Ben’s camera and go on our own little expedition and birding adventures, we’ll do the “Art Walk” at The Sleeping Lady and watch the season change right before our very eyes. {PLEASE send further ideas if you have them!!}
So, for the foreseeable future, we’ll be living in the mountains. I feel so grateful that we have this escape and we’re able to isolate ourselves. I’m positive we’re going to go a bit bonkers; however, I really do want to relish in this opportunity to spend time together as a family.
Sure, Alex will be working remotely during the day, which presents its own set of challenges, but we’ll see so much more of him this way. The unstructured time will be hard for Ben, but I get to spend all day for the next several weeks making memories with both of my children.
Our hearts are with the world, though, as we navigate these difficult times and learn more about the virus. We’re committed to doing our part to help stop the spread. Stay safe out there!
This milestone almost snuck by without me realizing it was approaching! My goodness gracious, though, 3-1/2 is one of my new favorite ages. So far my favorites seem to be the “half years” for some reason. Ben has been acting like such a kid lately.
Ben’s stats:
Ben continues to be just the absolute sweetest. He is so affectionate and quick to give hugs and cuddles and “I love yous.” He forms bonds with adults really quickly and adores his little sister. Lately Ben has been playing with his stuffed animals quite a bit and it is so endearing to watch him care for his stuffies. He absolutely loves them.
During the last quarter we’ve seen a major interest develop in learning the letters of the alphabet and how to write his name and other letters. Alex and I felt strongly that he’d become curious about letters in his own time, so we never pushed it. One day I decided to sit down and have him start practicing tracing the letters of his name and that turned into a daily activity.
Now Ben can write his name all on his own, as well as several other letters of the alphabet. He’s slowly learning to identify the letters, as well as their sounds. He is very, very interested in learning what letters different words start with and is beginning to put together the very basics of phonemic awareness, the first step to learning to read!
One of Ben’s favorite activities right now, in addition to writing his name, is drawing. Art is something he is really into right now. He loves to draw, color and paint. He has begun to draw people and I didn’t realize how special and sweet that would be but it melts my heart every time he draws pictures of our family.
Making valentines for his friends at school and some family members was such a special activity for him. He put so much love and attention into each and every card and it melted my heart watching him pass out the valentines to his classmates at his Valentine’s Day party.
Another big milestone as of very recently is that Ben is no longer wearing pull-ups to bed! He’s been working on this for a good long while and after asking over and over again to be done with pull-ups he showed us he was ready.
This last quarter Ben has been very into wearing his pajamas. I certainly can’t blame him – I’d love to just be in my PJs too. The first thing he does when he gets home from an outing is to put on his jammies and get himself cozy.
We’re halfway through the school year now and Ben is absolutely thriving in his Montessori program. He adores his teacher and has formed some really sweet friendships with his classmates. When I pick him up from school he is all smiles and addresses everyone by name as he bids them farewell {even the au pairs!}.
Most days Ben rides his scooter to and from school. This kid has some impressive moves on his scooter and he turns heads as we cruise through the downtown section of our neighborhood. It’s rare for someone not to comment on how fast he is or how good he looks on his scooter. I really trust him on his scooter too – for whatever reason when he’s on his scooter or his bike he is a terrific listener.
At the park these days Ben rarely plays on the equipment. He’s busy pushing trucks around in the sand, kicking his soccer ball or riding his scooter or bike around the basketball court. If we’re at a different park with better climbing apparatus he’ll be into that, too.
In addition to his scooter, Ben got really into skiing and ice skating this winter. He went through his first season of ski school and absolutely loved it. We’re hoping for a few more ski days for him this winter so we can do longer chair lift laps to really solidify his new skills.
We went ice skating together several times in the early days of winter. I think that was one of the biggest highlights of Ben’s winter. He caught onto it really quickly and had a blast.
Lately Ben has been really into learning about how his body works. We have an interactive “about the body” book at both houses that he requests to read regularly. He really has a good grasp on how his body functions. It’s been really fun reading longer, more informational books with him lately. I just love when he’s able to recall something he learned about from a book in a real-life situation.
Puzzles continue to be a favorite activity for Ben, although in writing this I realized we haven’t done them as much recently. At school, his teachers shared with me that they have puzzles for each continent and that he whizzed right through Europe like it was no big deal. Spacial awareness seems to be a strong suit for Mr. Ben.
It’s been a good long while since Ben has been a regular napper. Sure, he’ll fall asleep in the car, but at home he has quiet time instead. Our calm, relaxing afternoon time while Hannah is napping continues to evolve. I like to have him practice writing his name and do some reading together at a minimum. Sometimes we’ll play a game, but a lot of times he just wants to relax and watch a show. He is surprisingly able to self-regulate very well with the iPad {or TV} and at most watches a half hour at a time. He is really into shows on PBS Kids and some favorites include Pinkalicious, Xavier Riddle and Daniel Tiger, though he’s trying out new shows quite a bit.
We’ve done quite a lot of baking together over the last quarter, especially with Christmas cookie season in the mix. I have especially enjoyed baking banana bread with him. It’s such a simple recipe and he can do so much on his own – before I know it he’ll be reading the recipe and doing it without my help. I just saw a local cooking class for four-year olds and can hardly wait to check it out this summer!
My next update will be when we have a FOUR-year old at the beginning of summer. I can hardly believe it. Each milestone and age just keeps getting better and better and more and more fun. This boy is turning into quite the kid.
Kiddos in Seattle typically get the week of Presidents Day off of school. I think it’s sort of nice for those families who opt to take a vacation to get a break from the clouds; however, this year we stayed local.
We split the week up a bit and spent the long weekend out at The Lodge with some friends. Ben’s friend Ali, from school, and her family, who live a block from us, came and joined us for some skiing, Valentine’s Day fun and a whole lot of playtime.
The weekend was really smooth and Alex and I even got in a day of skiing {in powder nonetheless!}.
I stayed up at The Lodge until Tuesday to enjoy the fresh mountain air and then packed up the kids and headed back to Seattle. The weather was sunny in both places, I just thought it would be especially fun to be in the city. It’s the shoulder season now in Leavenworth so all the snow is melting at our house. The snow that is there is not good enough snow for sledding or doing much and there’s massive muddy puddles everywhere. Nonetheless, we still enjoyed our time and got in some bike rides and playtime out on the deck. Ben even pulled out his baseball gear.
Every day while in Seattle included SUN and a trip to the park. It was glorious. Those days felt like a preview of what’s to come this spring and summer. The grass is green here and there are daffodils and crocus in bloom – cherry blossoms are starting to emerge, too. The kids had their lightweight fleece jackets on and we took a break from wearing boots. I even packed up our chalk and sand toys to bring up to the park, too.
In addition to our park days we had some big outings around Seattle. We visited the Pacific Science Center one morning and checked out the dinosaurs, the butterfly exhibit and watched a preschool planetarium show.
After the science museum we grabbed Shake Shack for lunch and met Alex at The Spheres.It had been quite a while since we’d been down to his office to meet him for lunch and it was so nice to see him mid-day.
We were all exhausted from the busy Wednesday that we opted to have a low-key day at our neighborhood park on Thursday. We made two trips up there and it was nice enough that afternoon that we even stopped for ice cream.
Friday was our busiest day and our day filled with the most hiccups. I’m not quite sure how we did all that we did, but we managed!
Our day started down at Seward Park with a {short!} scooter ride/run/stroller ride, followed by a stop at the playground. We headed over to the community center to go to open swim, only to find out upon our arrival that they had *just* sold out of tickets.
Ben was devastated. He asks to go swimming just about every day. He quickly came up with the idea to go to a different pool. While the kids played in the toddler gym I scouted around on my phone for an alternate pool. Mission accomplished! I found a pool, got Hannah back into her car seat {victory and a half!} and we scurried over the bridge to Mercer Island. Despite being a 25 minute drive from where we were, this pool ended up only being about 6 minutes out of our way, actually.
The kids LOVED this pool. The original pool we were at was so much more ideal for toddlers, as the one we ended up swimming at had a minimum depth of 3 feet and it was FRIGID, so neither kid could be independent. Thankfully the pool had life jackets and lily pads. There was a water aerobics class going on at the same time and the kids were hysterically dancing on the lily pad to the upbeat music. It was a riot.
By this point it was nearly 1:00 and we needed a lunch spot. Alas! My favorite lunch restaurant was just around the corner so there we went. My lunch was amazing. Ben was so excited to eat chips {a very special treat} that he dropped them on the ground. And then on top of the chips he dropped his steamed milk. And on top of that he dropped the contents of my wallet. Oye. Back in the car we went.
Ben transferred from the car to my bed but Hannah did not stay asleep. Minutes after we arrived home my calendar alert went off reminding me of Jackson’s grooming appointment. Oye. I pulled out the stroller, not wanting to deal with getting Hannah in the car again, woke Ben up and buckled the kids in and literally ran the 10 blocks with both kids and the dog to get to the appointment. No we were not on time. We stopped at a little sandbox park on our way back and then I pushed both kids up four consecutive blocks of massive hills. Whew.
My oh my what a week it was. It was filled with an abundance of memories and some definite challenges. It was completely exhausting and most days I didn’t even get a 5-minute break while they were napping, let alone some time in the morning before they awoke for the day {at least one kid was up before 6 each day}. While I do appreciate the stability school provides for Ben I really, really love our days together when it’s the three of us out and about having fun on our own.
The lack of consistency and structure reared itself and we had some off-the-wall behaviors as the week carried on. It started to make me really nervous for summer, but by the end of the week I was really excited for the lack of structure we’ll have this summer. Certainly some boundaries and expectations and a bit of a routine will need to be put in place this summer, but sometimes the best days are the ones where you are able to be spontaneous and fly by the seat of your pants.
Over the last month Hannah seemed to do a lot of growing up. A lot of things leveled out for her and, dare I say it, she might have mellowed out a little bit, too. There has been a lot more independence, an increase in comfort in being away from me and a whole lot of playing with her big brother. Needless to say, 18 months was really fun and now we have a 19-month old!
Hannah has definitely had a leap in communication and vocabulary. It’s tough because her comprehension is phenomenal and she has a way of getting across what she wants even though she has a very limited clear vocabulary. She is exceptionally clear when she says “yeah” or “uh uh” and shakes her head for “no.” She can follow relatively complicated instructions and understands absolutely everything we say.
The vocabulary she’s picking up is really just random words here and there that she’s repeating or she’ll say on her own. I think she has between 10-15 clear words that she’s saying. She’s started saying “caw” when she hears the crows cawing outside and she said “Ali,” which of course is my name, but this was directed towards Ben’s friend Ali. It sounds more like “A-yi” most of the time.
One theme that has been consistent with Hannah for her life thus far is that she really knows what she wants. Over the last month she’s started pushing me away a lot and pulling at my arm to get me to move or stand up. She’s extremely expressive and dang, sometimes this girl just wants me to get out of her way!
This last month Hannah started her first gymnastics class. I’m positive she’s part monkey, so naturally, she loved it. Her favorite is the Tumbl Trak, which is basically like a very long trampoline. She’s warming up to the other equipment and loves anything where she can jump or swing from.
Hannah’s independence has really started to come out more recently. Especially when we’re at the mountain house she’s confident in going to pick out a truck to push around when I’m on the other side of the room and she’ll entertain herself for quite a while.
Hannah has always really excelled in fine motor skills. She really grasps stacking and shape sorting and seems to really just figure things out like that quite easily. She loves to buckle and velcro and mess around with little things.
For quite a while Hannah has loved to read books and that continues to hold true. She’ll go sit down in front of her bookshelf and pick a book for me to read to her. Usually she throws it at my face, sometimes it misses and lands in my lap, but rest assured I always get a book to the face during story time. Gentle is not a word I generally use to describe Hannah.
The weather finally turned in Seattle and we’ve been enjoying more time out at the park lately. Hannah has tremendous confidence and her skills are developing to allow her to be more independent. She loves climbing, playing in the sand box, going down the slide and pushing the random toys that are left at the park.
Since Hannah just wants to do what her brother is doing she so desperately wants to ride his scooter and his bike. It is the sweetest thing to see her grab Ben’s scooter when we arrive at the park and beg for a turn. Her time will soon come!
Ben has been really into art lately and it’s rubbing off on his little sister. She has been loving coloring. We have some dot markers that she is particularly drawn to. It was really special making Valentines with her – she was so into it and I could tell she was focused and had a plan with each picture she colored.
Hannah has been love, love, loving trying on shoes and clothes lately. She particularly likes the colors red and pink and was so excited to pick out a new pair of sunglasses. She also couldn’t wait to try on her new swimsuit – I’m just a little nervous it’s not going to fit for much longer! I love to play with her hair and put it up in a little pony tail or put a bow in it; however, Hannah only likes to leave it in for about a minute before she pulls it out.
We have had such a fun month with Hannah. She is a riot and has such a fun, boisterous personality. She just keeps getting more and more fun..
Ben is 19 months old – I just LOVE reading these. They bring back so many memories and it’s so fun to see how similar Ben was at the age Hannah is.
A year ago today I began my career as a stay-at-home mom.
I knew it was going to be hard. I wasn’t sure what the challenges would look like or how I’d weather the change. What I did know was that I was ready. While it ended up happening much faster than we could have ever planned for, the timing was such that it worked out just fine anyway.
Before I became a career mom I loved my professional career – it was really hard to leave it. And still, I am so confident in my decision to stay home with my littles and honestly hardly think about the time when I was a working mom. A lot of things were significantly easier then – mostly because we had consistent childcare and I could get a break during the day.
Since staying home, though, I feel so grateful to be the one out on the field every day making the decisions, fighting the battles, kissing the bumps and bruises, breaking up the fights, pushing the 75+ pound stroller up the giant hills in our neighborhood, preparing all of the food and just being there with and for my children. I had always dreamed of being “just” a mom and it turns out to be a pretty good fit.
I began my new career just days after we moved into The Lodge and the timing of the transition was seamless. I honestly can’t imagine running two houses and the hectic schedule we have, managing an au pair, parenting two toddlers, while also working.
The adjustment took me a few months. I got into a groove in early spring last year, and of course there are ebbs and flows with the schedule day-to-day but overall, we have a really nice routine. I have a list of some favorite activities the kids love {swimming, going to the zoo, the children’s museum} for no school days and another list of fun, random outings to check out.
Some weeks are super smooth. Both kids are occasionally in great moods at the same time and equally cooperative. I can recall some of our best weeks and some of the highlights that left a lasting imprint. A lot of them are really recently.
Last summer was probably one of the best summers I’ve ever had, definitely since having kids, but it was also extremely difficult. Ben as a fresh three-year old was not a walk in the park. I had a massive adjustment period to age three and it took a solid six weeks for me to get my bearings and figure out what I was dealing with.
In addition to Ben turning three, Hannah turned into a toddler and threw us all for a loop. She went from being the easiest baby ever to being the wildest, loudest toddler on the face of the earth, all in the span of what felt like a day. One day I had this blissful 2-1/2 year old and my perfect, calm baby and the next I had a threenager and a freaking monkey. Holy, holy buckets.
I’m extremely fortunate to have a tremendous support system. It seems like all of my closest friends have toddlers the same age as Ben and many of them now have their second child. I have a few different groups of “mom friends” here in Seattle, as well as my girlfriends from back in Minnesota. We support each other frequently through texting, video chats and playground meet-ups. When we’re lucky we can sneak away after bedtime for a glass of wine.
Now that I’m a year in I’m pretty unfazed by things like two toddlers both throwing a fit at the same time {in public or at home} or carrying two toddlers {thankfully usually the littlest is on my back} and a coffee, or going on a big excursion. Things happen and I deal with them and then the day goes on.
One of the biggest challenges, though, is that I get very little time to myself. I have found creative ways to make time here and there, like taking Hannah for runs in the jogging stroller, hiring a babysitter once or twice a month or going out in the evening with a girlfriend after the kids are in bed. I also love to wake up early and have my coffee in peace and get ready alone as a way to ease into my day.
Spending all day just about every day with two toddlers certainly has its ups and downs. I’m paid every day in cuddles, laughter, big hugs and kisses and pure abundant love from my littles. It’s worth more to me than any fancy salary or incentives and I am so loving my job.
