{My Instagram #bestnine2019}
Happy New Year (& new decade)! Before we get into 2020, let’s take a look back at 2019.
{Side note: I usually post this on New Year’s Day, but we Aaron is working on migrating the blog (it’s 1100 posts!) over the next day or so.}
January. Daphne turned 22 months! We had dinner with friends and celebrated another friend’s birthday. We brunched at Super Bueno (so kid friendly!). And the girls visited the dentist (with perfect teeth). I officially enrolled Eloise in Kindergarten. We had dinner with neighbors – such amazing pasta – and enjoyed an escape room date night with friends. We had dinner with friends and I was in a great habit of regularly attending Pure Barre twice per week. Eloise and I attended her school friend’s birthday party at Seattle Recreative where she made a robot and rocket ship out of found things, and then we picked up Aaron and Daphne and headed to the first family dinner of the year. We had a few play dates with new school friends and PEPS friends to help get us thru the long, holiday weekend. And we toured Wedgwood Elementary School as an option for Eloise entering Kindergarten. On Friday, January 25th, right before dinnertime, I noticed that Daphne’s elbow was really hot to the touch, red, and swollen. Spoiler alert, this started her adventure with arthritis, and a re-cap can be found here of the early appointments.
February. I flew out to San Diego, solo, while Aaron held down the fort for another day with the girls. I got to hang out with three of my best girlfriends and we kicked off a wedding weekend with manis & pedis, dinner & drinks, and lots of catching up! Aaron joined me on Friday evening, just in time for the rehearsal dinner. The wedding was SO much fun and it was our very first time away from both of the girls overnight. Aaron flew out on Sunday afternoon and picked up the girls to get everyone settled for the week to come. My later evening flight got delayed because of snow. And Snowpolcalypse 2019 officially kicked off. Daphne had her first day of preschool. And we celebrated Eloise’s half-birthday! We celebrated my 34th birthday, and Aaron and I went on our (one day early, always) birthday/Valentine’s Day date at Serafina. We headed out to Whidbey Island for the beginning of mid-winter break with friends for a long weekend and had so much fun! Eloise had a music performance at school, and she celebrated her half-birthday with her classmates. And Mimi and Paga came into town for a visit. The girls barely attended school this month due to the snow, and each morning we woke up to texts or emails about whether school was in or not.
March. Daphne turned TWO! We celebrated with a small party at the house. I attended the annual PEPS Luncheon down at Seattle Center. Daphne had her two year wellness check-up and we had family dinner. We made it thru daylight saving time. Daphne began to see the rheumatologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. I headed out for a mamas-only weekend with my PEPS girlfriends out to Whidbey Island, and Aaron stayed home with the girls. Eloise had a school field trip to the Zoo. The girls got haircuts (it was Daphne’s first!) and we had a family movie night. Eloise had a play date with a school friend and attended a birthday party, and we brunched with friends and visited the UW Quad to marvel at the cherry blossoms.
April. Daphne and I started a Music Together class which she loved as much as the first one! Eloise went to a friend’s birthday party at Seattle Play Date, celebrated her 100th day of school, and we had dinner with friends. We had to say good-bye to our Sadie girl. For spring break, we headed out to Seabrook and all fell in love the the cutest little beach town ever! We celebrated Austin’s birthday! We hosted our monthly PEPS meeting/playdate and I took my 250th Pure Barre class. Eloise started (intensive) swim lessons, going 4 days per week for 6 weeks. The girls and I dyed Easter eggs, and we went to two Easter egg hunts (the first one was a bust, but the second was SO fun with friends)! Then Grammie came into town for a visit while Aaron flew to Charlotte for the long weekend for a family wedding. Grammie, and the girls and I had all sorts of adventures, including heading up to the Tulip Festival.
May. We had dinner with neighbors. Eloise went to her first drop-off birthday party at Frog Legs Culinary School; she made cupcakes and decorated this giant dog house (gingerbread house) and had the best time. I joined the graduation committee for Eloise’s school and was put in charge of coordinating food for the graduation party. I started up with BBG workouts again, three times per week. Eloise had a movie night at school which gave Aaron and I some one-on-one time with Daph. We had to get our refrigerator fixed, and we had a tween neighbor start as a “mother’s helper” once per week until summer started. Daphne started OT. And Eloise attended (another) friend’s birthday party, complete with a bouncy house, and we had family dinner. We celebrated Aaron’s birthday! And we got the refrigerator fixed again, for real this time.
June. Daphne had school photos and old neighbor friends came over for a visit. Daphne stuck a sticker up her nose so we headed to the doctor’s office for an extraction and then got ice cream instead of napping. Eloise had her last day of Pre-K and got a surprise trip for a milkshake with her school friends! I ran around town like a crazy person picking up all of the food for Eloise’s Party plus teacher’s gifts and we all headed to the Laurelhurst Community Center for the big event. Eloise had one last school play date with friends to kick-off summer, and we said good-bye to one family who was moving away. We had dinner with brand-new friends and everyone hit it off! We had family dinner, Daphne had her last day of preschool, and we packed up the car for Boise. We saw lots of friends & family, my mom and I celebrated Jen and Baby Everson, and we had a big BBQ with my girlfriends and their families. And everyone got a haircut before we headed out of town. Eloise stayed with Mimi and Paga for Grammie Camp in Boise while the three of us headed home to Seattle. Potty training officially kicked off for Daphne!
July. We had a fun summer play date with friends at the Zoo. Mimi, Paga, and Eloise got into town after a fun-filled week together. We celebrated the Fourth of July with our annual neighborhood parade and hosted a small BBQ with neighbors and friends. The girls and I both saw the dentist – all is well – we had a play date with PEPS friends, and Daphne saw the ophthalmologist (in relation to her arthritis). Aaron and I (finally) refinished the front door, and stained and sealed the entryway bench. Eloise went to Pedalheads Camp to learn to ride her new pedal bike, and learned in just three mornings! We had family dinner and hosted a BBQ for a local city council candidate. I started the BBG Sweat Challenge (3 BBG classes and 2 cardio workouts each week for a month) and Eloise started twice-a-week swim lessons (to regain forgotten skills). We had two fun birthday parties, and a Kindergarten play date! Eloise went to garden camp at her old preschool and we had play dates with lots of friends, including a family s’mores night. Yum!
August. Aaron and I celebrated our NINTH wedding anniversary with a date night and the best sushi we’ve ever had at Wataru (just down the street and I highly recommend it)! We had drinks with neighbor friends and had a splash pad play date with friends. Daph had her quarterly check-up with the rheumatologist (only a physical exam since there was no indication she needed an ultrasound, MRI, or bloodwork) and then an appointment with her OT. We had weekly family play dates with the Sadliers and hit up Madison Beach Park a few times and picked blueberries. Eloise had her annual wellness check-up and started back into twice per week swim lessons. The girls and I headed over to KidQuest Children’s Museum to meet one of my childhood girlfriends and her two boys who were in town. Eloise turned FIVE and we celebrated with a party at the house with some of our dear friends. We celebrated two more birthdays that day, and rounded out the weekend with two more birthday parties and a special birthday dinner for Eloise at Din Thai Fung and Molly Moon’s (family tradition). We had dinner at Super Bueno, and Eloise hatched the Sea-Monkeys she got for her birthday. Eloise advanced to the next swim level so we took her out to an ice cream date. Grammie came into town for the week and we took her to Carkeek Park! We celebrated a house warming with friends, and then headed out to the coast to spend the rest of Labor Day weekend at Seabrook!
September. Daphne turned two and a half. We had such a fun time out at the beach and in the little town, and were all sad to leave. Eloise, Aaron, and I had a Kindergarten conference and got to meet her teacher. Daphne started pre-school and when we asked her about her school friends, she said “Not Cooper” since her friend Cooper from last year wasn’t there. We had a PEPS play date and bought a new maple tree to replace one that we had lost over the summer. We headed to the Ballard Farmer’s Market with friends, and I brunched with a friend. Eloise started Kindergarten! We celebrated the (Chinese and Vietnamese) Moon Festival with neighbors. I started up with 6 AM Pure Barre Empower classes (the cardio ones) on Tuesday mornings. I had coffee dates with girlfriends and made my annual trip to IKEA. We had an enormous amount of mulch delivered to the house, and a family day (rather than just dinner), and Aaron, Amanda, and I refinished their kitchen table. We met our favorite Seattle City Council candidate and supported his campaign; he didn’t end up winning the seat in November, but YAY for local politics! Eloise had Picture Day at school and I painted all of the trim in the kitchen (which kicked-off my project of repainting all of the trim in the entire house). I packed my bags and headed south to Texas for a long weekend to see my friend Meg and her family, and Aaron and the girls spent the weekend together. While I stayed in San Antonio, I ventured out to Waco (for Magnolia, obviously) and Austin during my short trip!
October. I started working on making the girls’ Halloween costumes and Daphne had her (final) OT appointment. Daph and I got our flu shots. I continued painting the house trim and touching up the kitchen cabinets. Eloise raised money for and ran in her school’s Move-A-Thon. Aaron and I had our monthly date night with friends. The girls got their hair cut into little bobs – so adorable! – and we headed to a friend’s birthday party. We had dinner with friends, and Uncle Ben and Aunt Sarah (which we try to do monthly). Suddenly we lost hot water in the kitchen, so we had a plumber out to fix that. Eloise started weekly swim lessons on Wednesday afternoons. Daphne and I had a coffee and walk around Greenlake date with a friend. And we packed up and headed out to Whidbey Island for a long weekend away with friends. The following weekend, our friends Emily and Russ stayed with us, visiting from San Diego. We explored all over the city since neither of them had ever been here! We got all dressed up for our annual family Christmas card photos, Daphne and I celebrated a friend’s birthday party, and Aaron went solo at Uncle Ben’s annual Halloween costume party (dressed as a Hong Kong protester). We had a bagel brunch with neighbors, and celebrated little Sawyer’s first birthday party. We carved pumpkins, and celebrated Halloween with our neighborhood parade and trick-or-treating with friends!
November. Daphne saw the rheumatologist for her quarterly check-up and was officially released from care! Eloise had a Harvest Festival at school. We all (mostly) survived the Daylight Saving Time switch though Daph was having a major sleep regression. Aaron and I voted (YAY Democracy!) and Daphne decided to stop wearing diapers at nighttime! We enjoyed dinner with friends (where all of the kids actually played so well together and the adults actually got to chat!) and we lavished in a long weekend. Our back passenger car window got broken into at my 6 AM barre class (nothing was taken, but Daphne’s car seat was covered in glass) so we had a repair service fix the window and bought a new booster seat (this Graco one with a five-point harness still) for Eloise, giving Daphne Eloise’s old convertible car seat. The girls and I headed up to Eloise’s school’s book fair and enjoyed a pizza dinner afterwards. Aaron flew to Indiana to visit family and pay his respects at his late grandmother’s memorial service. The girls and I headed to November family dinner, hosted a PEPS play date, and to dinner at a neighbors’ house. Eloise and I dropped a pie off for Staff and Teacher Appreciation at her school. My parents came into town. Eloise, Aaron, and I attended her school conference where she gave a short presentation to us and shared some of her school work and learned skills, and we prepared for Thanksgiving by setting the table and (food) shopping. Aaron took care of brining and roasting the turkey (and gravy), my mom and the girls made pumpkin pies, and I made the side dishes, and we had the loveliest Thanksgiving dinner. We spent that last Saturday morning seeing Santa at the downtown Nordstorm with friends.
December. Daphne turned two and three quarters, and I finished up trim painting project. I mailed all of our Christmas cards. Eloise had her first school field trip to see Cordoroy at the Seattle Children’s Museum, and a Winter Bazaar school where the girls and I shopped for small hand-made goods (by the older students) and snacked on holiday goodies. Aaron discovered on Saturday morning that the boiler unit for our hot water tank had stopped working, and we had no hot water and heat (since we use radiant heat). Thank goodness for our neighbors who lent us heaters for the house, and showers and baths for the week! Aaron golfed with his brother, and we enjoyed a kid-free date night noshing on chili and Christmas cookies with friends. We hosted our Jingle & Mingle hot chocolate party, and the kids decorated Christmas cookies and played together. We went to WildLights at the Zoo. Aaron and I got a (rare) weekday morning date – coffee, breakfast, and errands! – while the girls were in school. We shopped for a local family to help show the girls that Christmas is also about giving to others. We made chocolate chip cookies to share with friends at a Christmas party, and brunched with friends. Winter Break for the girls started. Eloise and I headed to see a matinee showing of The Nutcraker. We bundled up to see the Christmas ships pass by Gas Works Park with friends, and celebrated Christmas Eve with a tour of local Christmas lights and had tamales for dinner. Christmas morning we opened stockings and presents with the girls, and headed to Uncle Ben’s for Christmas brunch. After a Christmas dinner at home, we tucked the girls into beds and finished packing our bags. We flew to Boise to celebrate the holidays with my family. My parents hosted the family for a Christmas brunch. My best (high school) girlfriends and I got together with all of our families. And we are flying home to start the New Year with a (hopefully quiet) long weekend.
It’s been quite. a. year. There were many challenging parts of 2019, but we also enjoyed the love and support from our friends and family. Thanks for being part of our year! I loved looking back on the memories.
Happy New Year’s friends!
M
And see our previous years’ highlights: 2018 // 2017 // 2016 // 2015 // 2014 // 2013 // 2012 // 2011
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