my weekend in pictures.

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{Daphne does this new thing where she leans on arm while she eats. It’s adorable.}

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{We had two birthday parties on Saturday and Eloise loves the cake! Happy birthday Eli and Lily!}

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{Grammie and Eloise planted little pots for Eloise’s playhouse.}

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{Gah, it’s so cute! I plan on painting it at some point but for now, Eloise colors on it with chalk!}

Grammie came into town on Saturday to spend the week, so needless to say, everyone is pretty excited! We have had terrible smoky days from nearby wildfires (to the north and south) which has made being outdoors a no-no. Such a bummer and a terrible way to spend the end of summer.

Also, I have been terrible with taking pictures as of late which means my weekend posts are pretty anemic. Working on that!

How was your weekend?

M

my weekend in pictures.

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{Eloise turned FOUR on Friday and asked if we could go to the Zoo to celebrate.}

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{We headed to the Northwest Loop exhibits which we haven’t been to in years and the girls loved the inside bear exhibit.}

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{Eloise seems so big all of the sudden.}

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{And Daphne. Gah. Such a sweet little one.}

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{And that’s the face of a little girl who stole half of mama’s lunch!}

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{The kids were all really excited for the carousel horse that was outside of the merry-go-round.}

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{And then Daphne went on her first carousel ride with Amanda and her kids! She is such a brave little girl.}

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{Eloise doesn’t really like the merry-go-round but she doesn’t mind watching it from the outside. So we waved every time everyone else spun by!}

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{But she did like the horse that didn’t move round and round!}

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{I mentioned some big things happening with The Petite Flag Shop a few weeks ago (or last week?) and it came to fruition on this weekend. June & January, a kids clothing brand I have been a fan of since day one – see Eloise’s first picture in a J&J hat!, held a sample sale in Seattle on Saturday and offered a “swag bag” for VIP ticket holders that was filled with goodies from small and large shops. I was incredibly excited to be included in the swag bag line-up and created a special, custom flag for the J&J team. It was a zillion hours of hard work – 50 mini flags! – but it was SUPER exciting to see something I made and worked so hard on be included in something like this!}

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{After her birthday dinner, Eloise and I snuck over to Molly Moon’s while Aaron hung with Daphne at the U Village playground to get some celebratory birthday ice cream cones.}

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{My friend Cat and I hit up the June and January sample sale early Saturday morning! Eek, it was so crazy that my flag was included in that canvas bag and that 50 shoppers got a mini flag from the Shop!}

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{And since we were already downtown, we hit up Pike Place Market for coffee, donuts, and fresh flowers, of course!}

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{And then we hit the birthday party circuit, starting with one party in the morning and one in the afternoon. Daphne LOVED playing outside and is particularly fond of the cars, bikes, and scooters. She also insists on wearing this straw fedora any time we go outside. Daph, those cheeks!}

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{And then this morning we hosted Eloise’s popsicle birthday party! We had a house full of friends this morning and there is really nothing better. Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate Eloise with us this weekend! Our friend Jess took pictures of the party and as soon as I get a chance, I will share them in a birthday party post.}

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{It was just too nice (but not too hot!) to hang out inside after nap time this afternoon, so we loaded the girls into the wagon and headed down to Greenlake. Eloise got this soccer goal and a soccer ball as a gift and was excited to bring it to the park. And just before I snapped this picture, Eloise made her first goal! Hence the clapping.}

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{Eloise also insisted on bringing her new purse. One of her friends has a matching one and Eloise was really excited to bring her essentials on our walk, which included a folding hairbrush and sunglasses.}

{After dinner we headed around the block on a bike ride. The girls have been asking to take their bikes out for the past few days.}

We had such a great weekend celebrating Eloise’s FOURTH birthday (along with her friends too!) and spending time with close friends. I am in total disbelief though that we are nearing the middle of August and summer will be over in just a few short weeks.

How was your weekend?

M

eloise {four years}

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Eloise_Four Years

{lion: jellycat via Nordstrom // dress: June and January }

{four years} Four. It seems like this is such a big birthday! Maybe because it’s one year until five and then kindergarten? Eloise is SUCH an amazing kid and it feels like I’ve known her much longer than these past four years (and at the same time it blows my mind that she’s already four)!

Eloise is such a compassionate and thoughtful little girl. She is worried about babies or children that she sees or hears crying, wants to help give cuddles and comfort, and is always wanting to make cards or write notes for her friends and family. She is such a helper (just like her Papa) and wants to be included in everything. She is still a bit reserved at first and wants to observe in new situations, but has really branched out and started playing with new friends she meets and interacts with other adults too. She is a lover of all things creative (paint, crayons, clay, glue) and still LOVES books!

Summertime is different than the school year because she is home with me and Daphne during the mornings, but our daily structure is still the same. She is up just before 8 AM, eats breakfast, and then gets ready (unless we stay in jammies if we stay home which she loves). Eloise can brush her teeth by herself (with assistance at the very end, of course), brush her hair, and get dressed completely on her own. She generally wants to pick out what she wears both during the day and for bedtime, but prefers to match with Daphne. Lunch is around noon-ish, and then quiet, independent play time between 2 PM and 4 PM. Eloise does really well playing by herself in her room either reading or playing with toys. We have a lot of the kids toys in storage boxes under the stairs and rotate them out from time-to-time with toys upstairs, but lately we have been offering a box of toys to Eloise to play with during this time. It is awesome because she is seeing toys she doesn’t see all the time and it is easy to pick-up and put away! Dinner happens around 6 PM with the entire family and then we generally head outside for a walk around the block. Eloise LOVES to see neighbors and gets sad if no one is out at the time we are. There are lots of kids and families that we know close to us so we often see a few friends while we are out. Bedtime happens just before 8 PM (or 7:30 PM on school nights) and generally goes pretty smoothly. Eloise gets into jammies, brushes her teeth and hair, and gets two stories before being tucked in. She frequently asks one of us to stay with her but she will read quietly to herself and then turn out off her lamp before falling asleep.

Since our school here doesn’t get out until the end of June, Eloise doesn’t head back to school until after Labor Day. She will be starting Pre-K at a local preschool near her old school, and for now, we are planning on just one more year of preschool before sending her off to Kindergarten; however, given her late summer birthday, we are still considering whether we should delay her start and have her do one more round of Pre-K since she will be SO young when starting school. We won’t have to make the decision until this winter and will have at least a few conversations with her teachers before making any final decisions. But for now, she is really excited to be going to school again in a few weeks!

Eloise loves the game Don’t Break the Ice but thinks it’s called Break the Ice. (It’s a game where you hammer out “ice cubes” and try not to have the penguin fall!) She renamed the penguin Phillipa (originally Philip) and squeals whenever the cube she is hammering falls thru. And then when the penguin finally falls in, she will give the person who is playing with her a hug! I am not sure why, but she does this every single time.

Even though we live in a huge city, our community feels small. We know almost every single one of our neighbors and are close to quite a few. Our mailman Teddy has such a sweet relationship with our kids and stops to chat with the kids. He even left Eloise a birthday present in the mailbox this morning. The garbage truck drivers all stop and waive at the kids if we are out on the street or looking thru the window. We know the local children’s librarian, Erica, who teaches us silly songs and recommends books for the girls. We frequently see our “family friends” made up of parents and kids that Eloise has known since she was born; these adults are familiar to her and are almost like aunties and uncles with the trust and communication lines that have been formed over the years. And watching Eloise interact with these adults in our community, and ask to see them, warms my heart.

Birthday Interview. {I am hoping to do this interview every year to see how the answers change!}

What is your name? Eloise.
How old are you? Four!
What is your favorite thing to do? Watch shows.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Hmm. A ghost! Actually a doctor.
What is your favorite food? Hmm. Desserts.
Who do you like to spend your time with? Daniel Tiger’s family. Oliver (a friend); I haven’t seen him in a long time!
What do you do really well? Color. I am good at breaking things. (hahaha)
What makes you laugh? Jokes.
What is the best time of day? When I get to jump in puddles in the rain time.
What are you afraid of? Rainstorms. Scary movies (any movie with any scary part).
Who is your best friend? Mama.
What do you like to do with your family? Go to the park.
What do you love to learn about? Painting.
Where do you like to go? To the Space Needle.
What is your favorite book? Tigee the Adventure Tiger. 
If you had one wish, what would it be? Going to Candyland.

And the newest rendition of Things Eloise Says:

Eloise: “Mama, can we go on a walk?” Me: “No.” Eloise: “Papa, can we go on a walk?” Aaron: “Didn’t you just ask Mama and she said no? What makes you think I’m going to give you a different answer?” Eloise: “Sometimes I get lucky!”

Me: “Did you have any dreams last night kiddo?” Eloise: “No. I just had plain sleep.”

Eloise, looking at an old photo of herself: “Are those my old overalls? Aww, that blisters my heart!”

“That just really blows my mind!”

I said something in a conversation about the earth going around the sun. Eloise: “The earth goes around the sun? I have a song for that! The earth goes around the sun tra la la! The earth goes around the sun.” (This is a song that she sang at her school for birthday celebrations.)

“Where does your echo live Mama?”
Eloise: “Are there hydrangeas in that bouquet Mama?” Me: “Nope.” Eloise: “Why?” Me: “Hydrangeas don’t really do well in vases kiddo. They just wilt.” Eloise: “Oh, well maybe they just like to be with their families!”

Eloise heads to her wellness check-up next week, so I will update if her stats are vastly different!

{weight} 39ish pounds (my guess); height: 40 inches

{hair} (reddish) brown.

{teeth} 20 teeth plus four molars.

{eyes} dark brown.

{clothes}  4T, some 5 or 4 to 6 (which is a kid’s XS).

{feeding} during the day, three meals, (sometimes a) morning snack, & (sometimes an) afternoon snack. cup of milk with every meal.

{likes} singing, dancing, taking walks around the blocks, talking to the neighbors, Teddy the mailman, school and her friends, Daphne, coloring, yelling, Duplos, digging in the dirt, splashing, counting, any person outside on the sidewalk, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, coloring, buckles, jumping, watching out the front window (dogs, kids, trucks), books, mama & papa’s cell phone, FaceTime (but she always wants to hold the phone), bath time, shoes, mama’s (diaper) bag, putting things inside a bag or box, helping with anything & everything, when Papa comes home from work.

{dislikes} not being included, having something taken away from her, not eating when someone else is, being hungry, TimeOut.

{nicknames} Bug, Love Bug, Baby Bug, E, Kiddo. She recently has decided she doesn’t prefer being called anything but Eloise so E-Lo and Wheezy are no longer. At least for now!

{See her grow up: birth story // one year // two years // three years}

Happy Birthday Bug!

M

my weekend in pictures.

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{This girl LOVES sunglasses. And she wears them, mostly. Eloise, on the other hand, likes the idea of them but rarely actually wears them.}

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{Aaron and the girls headed to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and picked up some amazing produce including these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and some peaches. I headed up to Bothell for a baby shower for one of my dearest friends and got in some good mama time with mama friends.}

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{We had family dinner with the Sadliers on Saturday and Daphne wanted all of the corn. This is before dinner, mind you.}

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{And Amanda was so sweet to make a cheesecake (it was AMAZING!) for celebrating all of the August birthdays, including Eloise of course, with the blueberries we picked last week.}

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{Eloise’s new playhouse came this week and we spent most of this morning and early afternoon putting it together. The box says “4 simple steps.” Guys, that was so, so wrong. It was like 2 steps: (1) take out of box, and (2) assemble. And by “assemble” I mean 26 steps. Geesh.}

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{Taking a lunch break and enjoying as many meals as we can out on the back deck!}

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{Eloise and her finished playhouse! We plan on moving it to the back of the yard but need to figure out a floor for it so it isn’t in the dirt. So for now, its under the deck which keeps in mostly in the shade. We let Eloise decorate it with chalk this afternoon and I have big plans to paint it at some point. Flower pots and other decorations will probably go in in the coming weeks!}

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{After being outside nearly the entire day, neither of us were up for cooking dinner and we didn’t get meal planning and grocery ordering done early enough today for pick-up at a reasonable hour. So, we headed to U Village to grocery shop and have dinner! I NEVER get a cart with both girls but since Aaron was with me too we got this car shopping cart and the girls were in heaven, especially Daphne. She was dancing around and steering the wheel and having the best time EVER!}

It was such a FUN weekend, but the heat is returning. I am a true Seattleite and LOVED the grey and cooler weather we had earlier this week. And even a little rain. Gah, I can’t wait for fall. (Don’t hate me!)

We got lots of things done outside today, including installing the new drip watering system for our backyard flower beds (woot! woot!) and are gearing up for a HOT week! Eloise starts art camp tomorrow morning and is SO excited for that and her birthday on Friday! Every morning she has been waking up and asking if she’s four. It’s the sweetest.

How was your weekend?

M

daphne {month seventeen}

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Daphne_Month Seventeen

{alligator: Jelly Cat // top and bloomers: Peek Kids (old)}

{month seventeen} Gah, seventeen months?! It seems like we have been so close to an year and a half for so long, but not quite there yet. Thank goodness. Aaron and I agree that this age is the BEST because there is so much verbal development and understanding happening. Plus, Daphne is just a sweet baby!

Daphne is pretty in tune with what is going on around her and has started socially laughing. If she hears (or sees someone) laughing, she will join in which can be really hilarious sometimes. And, like a true younger sibling, she always wants to be involved in whatever anyone else is, especially if it is Eloise. She wants to be part of the gang and do everything the big kids are doing too.

She is still nodding and shaking her head quite a bit to communicate but seems to understand so much more. Along with signing, Daphne can really communicate quite well these days!

Along with the communication piece, Daphne also understands simple commands. Like, if you ask her if she’s hungry for breakfast in the morning, she will take out her paci and lovie, stick them in her crib, and head up the stairs. Or, if you ask her to go put her shoes on, she will walk to the entryway, grab her shoes out of her basket, and sit down on the floor waiting for someone to help her. She understands “no, thank you” and will stop what she’s doing almost immediately when she hears it. And the list goes on and on. It really is amazing how much she understands!

Daphne is slightly obsessed with shoes (and all accessories really) and likes to put them on and take them off. And since we take off our shoes and leave them in the entryway, she will occasionally wander into the entryway, grab a pair of shoes (or just one to start), and find the shoe’s owner so she can put it on his or her foot. So you’ve been warned if you come over to visit that Daphne will chase you around to match you with your shoes!

Daphne has been SO much more vocal these days, and with words we can understand. She says CHEESE! if we say it to get her to smile for a photo, UH OH! if she drops something or if something breaks, UP!* when she wants to be held or carried, SISSY for Eloise, DOGGIE (or Good Girl) for dog, and DUCKIE for duck or her lovie (which is a duck). Also, Daphne is not only more vocal but also very LOUD when she wants something. She frequently yells to make sure someone can hear her!

*Until just the last few days, Daphne would say MUP for me (Mama) to pick her up and BUP for Aaron (Papa or Baba as she says now) to pick her up!

Daphne wants to be a big kid so badly and she insists on climbing up on the bathroom stool at bedtime and brush her teeth and hair. Obviously, we help her with brushing her teeth, but we do give her a chance to hold the brush herself and she mimics the best she can. She also really likes brushing her hair which is getting pretty long these days! We aren’t quite thru the mullet phase but close.

I have been fostering independent playing with Daphne in the same way I did with Eloise, and so far, so good! Daphne plays well on her own and also with Eloise. She loves to play with her babies, feeding them and cuddling them. And she also really likes cars and trucks (or trains). She gets down on the ground and pushes them all around.

Daphne still prefers her pacifier over her thumb, but is still a thumb sucker. We would much rather her suck on a pacifier but don’t want her to have it all day, every day which she would if we let her. So generally speaking, she gets a paci at sleeping time or if we are in her room. She sleeps with her duck lovie for every nap and bedtime, but Albert the Alligator (from the picture above) has become a fan favorite recently. She will bring him upstairs with her in the morning so he can be part of the day, and now if we leave the house, Albert comes too. And as you saw in our Bend pictures, Albert joined us while we were out every single day. Aaron and I have a feeling Albert has become a fifth family member.

Music is still Daphne’s FAVORITE thing! We will frequently turn on a Spotify station on the XBox (which will show on the TV) and Daphne gets SO excited to listen to the music. She dances around, swaying side to side, and spinning around. Any time she hears music she gets excited and a big smile on her face, so hopefully there will be lots of music in her future!

{weight} 28 pounds is my guess.
{hair} blackish brown.
{teeth} four bottom teeth, top four teeth, four molars, canines still cutting.
{eyes} dark grey/brown.
{clothes} 12 to 18 months, 2T.
{diapers} size 5 {from the honest company}.
{feeding} 2 to 4 oz sippy cups of milk at breakfast, lunchtime, and at dinner, and water throughout the day.

{likes} Albert the Alligator, an old remote that she holds up to her ear like a phone, watching and chasing the Roomba, picking her nose, eating, bath time with Eloise, watching big kids or babies,  chewing on anything, sitting in her highchair, banging on her tray, staring at her quilt (from Amanda), rattles, nursing, riding in the car (usually), her big sister Eloise, Sadie, singing, lights, paci, being bounced, being tickled, talking, her Lovie.
{dislikes} having a hat on in the car seat, seeing some type of food on a plate that she doesn’t have on her tray, having gas, lying down flat, being hungry or tired, having her face or nose wiped off, sunscreen put on her face.

{nicknames} Daph, Daph Daph, Daphers, Bug, Snorty, Baby D, Daphne Doo, Daph-a-doo, Love, Lovebug.

And here is Eloise’s seventeen month update.

Happy seventeen months Daphne!

M

a trip to bend + my weekend in pictures.

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We headed to Bend, OR for our summer family trip on Wednesday (& returned just yesterday) so I thought I would share some snaps from the trip as well as the remainder of our weekend. If you recall, I had a girls’ weekend down in Bend two years ago (what!?) and I fell in love. So it was a no-brainer for me when I started planning our summer vacation a few months ago. And it was pretty easy to get Aaron on board since Bend is famous for many, many breweries!

It is about a 6 hour drive from Seattle with Portland at almost a perfect half-way point, so we left just after breakfast and stopped in Portland for lunch, and then obviously reversed it on the way home. The girls did AMAZING in the car and played quietly and napped, and we also breezed thru the usual traffic jam locales (like JBLM and Tacoma) mostly without issue. And even made a pit-stop at the Portland IKEA to pick-up a HUGE umbrella and had to tie the box to the top of the car… it was slightly terrifying but we made it safe & sound!

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{Stopped in Portland and had biscuits for lunch. It was so yummy!}

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{After a few hours in the car, we needed to get some wiggles out, so we pulled over at the Mount Washington viewpoint. It was incredibly beautiful! All of those stick-looking trees are leftover from a fire that came thru the area about 15 years ago.}

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{Attempting a selfie with Daphne, but she was WAY too distracted by Eloise and Aaron. Also, her alligator, Albert, went EVERYWHERE in Bend with us.}

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{See?}

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{Oh, these little sisters!}

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{Hola! Our Airbnb house was in such a good location as we could walk to good restaurants and the market, as well as a great playground on the river. And if it wouldn’t have been SO HOT we probably would have walked downtown as well. It was our first time having the girls sleep together in the same room and overall it went pretty well! The first night we could hear them giggling well past bedtime and it melted my heart. We aren’t quite ready to bunk them together at home yet (which is the longer term plan) but it is nice to know we can sleep them together when we travel.}

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{We headed downtown bright and early the first morning (it is the CUTEST) and found these sculptures. Someone knitted hats for those birds and we just couldn’t resist stopping and taking a picture. And while we were there we met Sally who is running for Mayor of Bend in the first mayoral election in city history! We chatted with her a bit and may end up on her website campaign photos. It was so random, but Go Sally!}

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{We loved all of the art in town, and the quirkiness of the locals, like those knitted socks! Also, it was SO HOT (in the low 90s but no A/C in most places, much like Seattle) and the shady space right next to that water fall was about 10 degrees cooler.}

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{The Deschutes River that runs right thru Bend.}

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{Watching the ducks, geese, and occasional river rafter.}

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{Aaron and I really made a point to disconnect during our trip and Aaron discovered a few huge puzzles at the rental house. We managed to finish one and about a quarter during our trip!}

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{While waiting for dinner at Jackson’s Corner the second night (a can’t miss!) we introduced Eloise to the Etch-A-Sketch. She wanted to draw on in and write her name, which I told her was really difficult (to write letters). And she immediately wrote out an E and an L. It was crazy!}

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{And Eloise and I snuck away to the little frozen yogurt shop down the street for an after-dinner treat while Aaron hung with Daphne at the house.}

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{The girls LOVE my hat!}

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{We headed to Columbia playground one morning which features an awesome pirate ship! And here is Aaron walking the plank, albeit backwards.}

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{And the girls took a turn on the plank.}

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{The playground sat just a few steps up from the river. There was even this awesome tube slide that took you down from the playground to this riverbank.}

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{Did I mention Bend was beautiful?}

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{Slides are Daphne’s jam. She lives for them. And food.}

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{And that afternoon we ventured out into the heat to Harmon playground which was right down the street and boasted a tugboat! And that’s the river right behind the fence. It was so pretty.}

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{She was watching Aaron over on the swings and yelling “Papa!”}

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{Driving over the Columbia River, leaving Portland and entering Washington!}

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{We were home (barely) and unpacked the car before we headed to Winnie’s birthday party! These five kiddos are so cute together. Happy Birthday Winnie girl!}

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{After sleeping in (a bit) we were out in the yard this morning tearing up the soaking hoses in our flower beds while the girls ran around the yard and played with the water table and tumbled in the grass. And then we laid down new hose for a new watering system which is going to be so much better!}

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{If there is a slide, Daphne will find it. Thanks to friends for letting us borrow a slide for our very own backyard!}

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{Aaron and Eloise shucking corn for dinner tonight. And Daphne eating. Typical.}

We had a really, really great time in Bend (despite the staggering heat and at least it was dry!) with the girls and I LOVED spending time just the four of us. Bend is such a great little town and has great food and shops. It is so clean and jaw-droppingly beautiful and everyone is SO nice! I wish it were about 2 hours closer as it would be an awesome place to have a vacation home (although I’ve been checking house listings already!). If you are interested, here are some great places we went (thanks to Karly for some recs):

Spork Restaurant

Nancy P’s Cafe

Wild Rose Northern Thai Eats

REI Co-op in the Old Mill District (no sales tax!)

Jackson’s Corner

And we stayed in the River West neighborhood which is just over the river from downtown. It was perfect for us as we could walk to a few things, but be away from the traffic of downtown (as it gets really busy during the day). We were out bright and early to shop, play, and walk around, then in for the afternoon for nap time, and back out for dinner. We did also cook a little bit at the house (a breakfast and a dinner) since we had a full kitchen. When you have kids it sometimes doesn’t feel worth the hassle and expense of dining out so we tried to find a good balance!

We are headed into a mostly normal week and it is blowing my mind that it will be August in just a few short days! This summer is just flying by.

How was your weekend?

M

friday I’m in love {july}

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FridayImInLove_July18

Hello Friday! And the last Friday of July already. How is this happening? Welp, here are my favs for this month!

{one} The Great British Baking Show.

Since we are on the summer TV hiatus and we’ve caught up on our usual shows, Aaron and I have started watching binging The Great British Baking Show after hearing a lot of hype about it. We generally like cooking shows and it has not disappointed! We love hearing all of the British vernacular (but put on subtitles so you don’t miss anything) and the hosts are AMAZING! There is so much camaraderie between the bakers which is a contrast to American cooking shows where there is always drama, drama, drama.

{two} Beautycounter Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist.

Going into this summer (but really starting last fall with our trip to Mexico) I have been on a mission to find a great mineral (physical) sunscreen. I am slightly neurotic about the sun and our skin (shocking, I know) but I actually really dislike sunscreen. It generally feels awful on your skin (unless you use chemical sunscreen which I won’t use because I don’t think it is as effective), it leaves a white-cast on everything (clothes, car seats, strollers), and you have to apply and re-apply SO often!

But, we are going to be out in the sun so sunscreen is non-negotiable. And the bonus is that the girls are so used to be slathered in sunscreen before we head out for the day/morning that neither of them mind it. And Eloise even reminds me to put sunscreen on her! Plus, they both wear hats which helps tremendously.

Okay, all of this to say that I ordered the new Beautycounter Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist and it is pretty close to love. It isn’t an aerosol so it isn’t just blowing all over the place (and not really covering well) and it isn’t greasy at all. If anything my complaint is that it is a bit drying. But, I am liking it and I love that I can use it on all four of us without worrying!

{three} Missha Mild Sun Milk.

And completely related, I finally found a sunscreen for my face that I actually like (well, LOVE) as well. I have super sensitive skin that tends to break out (in hives) with fragrance and other random things so I have to test everything. But, like regular sunscreen, most facial sunscreens are either super chemically or super greasy. I have been using Missha Essence Mild Sun Milk and it is AMAZING! I will probably never, ever use an American facial sunscreen again (especially since the US FDA is decades behind Asian and European sunscreen technologies)!

{four} Hi-Chews.

When I was on my girls weekend in Boise a few weeks ago my friend Beth introduced us to Hi-Chews candies and I am hooked! They were made by a Japanese fellow who liked chewy fruit candies but didn’t like the way they stuck to his teeth (I am looking at you Starbursts) so he invented Hi-Chews which taste great and don’t stick!

{five} Azaria diaper bag.

As you may remember, I have gone back and forth on diaper bags basically since I was pregnant with Eloise. I have used the Skip Hop Chelsea diaper bag, a Madewell tote and a Nordstrom tote with ToteSavvy insert, and many other iterations of a bag to carry all of the things. But once Daphne was born, I knew that once she started getting mobile I would need something super practical, especially for this summer since many of my days are spent on the playground, splash pad, or Zoo. So, I finally broke down and ordered a backpack diaper bag. This is only a big deal because I sort of loathe backpacks. Even as a kid I preferred a shoulder tote bag (even in law school!). But, practicality won out this time and I have been SO happy with my Azaria La Mere bag. Many of the other backpack diaper bags are similar (ahem, the Fawn bag) but I love my Azaria for the super wipeable inside and outside, inside pockets, extra large outside pockets (which can hold a Hydroflask!), the key ring, and the not insanely high price tag. I also love the Petite La Mere bag which I may get once Daphne is a little older and I don’t have to carry all of the things anymore.

What are you loving this month?

M

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