It’s amazing what just a few nights out on your own without the little one or a nice dinner in while she is asleep can do to make you feel some sense of normalcy again. After a hectic fall with getting our bearings straight being new parents, changes in work for the both of us, and lots of travel, we have finally been able to have a few nights to recharge as a couple and team again. It’s uber important for us for sure and something we hope to continue to do as Reese gets older…and hopefully becomes easier as we have more options for babysitters and work transitions start to smooth out.
We have been lucky enough to have one date night the past three weeks…tis the season! We spent another night for our second of our five-play package at the Seattle Rep for the first one. We had tickets to the sold out show of In the Heights, written and directed by the same guy who did Hamilton. We really dug the Latin beat to the songs and I had a strong urge to go salsa dancing right after seeing it. No hosted event for 20s/30s this time so we picked up burgers from Lil’ Woody’s beforehand and had a drink in the Rotunda Bar pre-show and one waiting for us at intermission. It was a great night out thanks to our friends Nikki and Alex.
Date night at the theater 
Highly enjoyable
Our second night came for Monday Night Football, courtesy of my friend Marika. It was a bit stressful getting to the game and trading Reese off in vehicles but we made it to our seats just after kick-off. I think Reese had a tough night (didn’t want to drink for Marika and is in a very clingy mood as of late) but Bryan and I still enjoyed ourselves at the game and the Seahawks came out victorious against the Vikings, which should secure our spot in the playoffs. We grabbed a quick dinner at the Halal Guys after the game before picking up the little girl and relieving Marika of babysitting duties.
Our view…high up but loud, covered and pretty fun! 
Post game walk to get dinner through magically-lit Occidental Park
And the last, and quite possibly best, night out for us was this past Saturday for my company’s annual Christmas Party. These are always a ton of fun with great food and an open bar and the opportunity to get dressed up for once and we took full advantage of it this year. Plus, I was finally able to talk my company in to having the party at the FareStart-catered Pacific Tower and because the price point was far below what it has been in the past we also were able to get a photo booth and an Improv group to entertain us. Our company marveled at the stunning 270 degree views of the city all lit up and FareStart’s catered food was delicious as usual. I had to actually give a few words about FareStart in front of the whole company, and was notified of this just moments before having to do this. The planning committee received a lot of positive feedback about the venue and the event so I feel relieved and happy about the success of the night. There were still plenty of people on the dance floor when we left. A big thanks to Polly for letting us have a fantastic night out to enjoy this event.
Polly’s babysitting adventures included jazz music and lots of dancing with Reese 
Meanwhile we danced as well, but a little more relaxed
After a night out drinking, Sunday was a sobering day and one spent mostly watching football and soothing baby girl during her times of teething. However, my wonderful husband stepped up to the plate to watch her for a few hours to allow me to get away for girls night. I had a blast and was very relaxed this time around for girls night as we made homemade pizzas, drank wine and then did our now-annual chocolate dipping extravaganza. I came home with a bag of goodies and my stomach full of sugar.
And our pre-baby selves haven’t solely been revealed outside the house but there have been a few nights at home that have felt a bit normal. After Bryan’s first day on the new job we put baby girl down for the night before cooking up a surf and turf dinner for us along with a bottle of wine and actually spent a few hours talking at the table together. We both thoroughly enjoyed that night. I was also able to get into the kitchen for a bit to do something I like to do…host. We were hosts for our PEPS group this past week so on Wednesday night I put together a BBQ spread for the group of super slow roasted pulled pork (the 8 lb roast took 20 hours to cook in the oven), cornbread muffins, salad with homemade buttermilk herb dressing, baked beans and banana pudding for dessert. The food was a hit and I think the parents appreciated the home cooking and although I was pretty tired after pulling it off, it felt so good to do!
There have been many other things we have participated in (successfully or not) with baby in the past few weeks. We went on a walk around Green Lake and to get coffee with Philipp and Sara, we got brunch at Portage Bay Cafe with Billy, Valerie and Ainsley, we enjoyed Philipp’s birthday party and Polly and Ryuhei’s housewarming party, we enjoyed Lori’s visit immensely and got to play tourists in our own town for a few days visiting the Market, walking around Seward Park, doing a wine tasting in Woodinville, taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island and doing some shopping and getting a Bavarian dinner at Tizley’s in Poulsbo, and visiting the Starbucks Roastery.
At the winery 
At the roastery 
On the ferry
It’s been a very full past couple of weeks and it will be good to slow down a bit for the holidays and get in some good family time with Reese.
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 