More than two thirds through the year and that just flew by! Some items on my list are doing great or are at least in progress and others, well…

1. Run a 10k in an 8:30 pace.
   • Running is still not a major priority of mine but Bryan and I have gotten a few more runs in together, non of really have been outstanding. Reese is pretty good in the jogging stroller and so maybe this is something I will still be able to complete by years end.
2. Break 140 watts in my 45-minute cycle class.
   • Haven’t been cycling lately, trying to do more strength activities instead.
3. Read 10 books.
   • I’ve still only read one but would like to start reading right before bed…that way I might be able to successfully read two pages before falling asleep.
4. Learn to play a song on the guitar.
   • Yikes!
5. Make 6 girls events happen.
   • Between my mom’s PEPS happy hours that I am the one coordinating and actual Girls Nights, I have actually set up five now. We’ve had three successful PEPS happy hours and then we had another Girls Night where we went to go see Tiny Beautiful Things at the Seattle Rep before getting happy hour at the Citizen Cafe beer garden outside.
6. Be able to do 5 pull ups/chin ups (if not at once, at least in the same day).
   • I can definitely do one now and have been experimenting with different methods to help me learn to do more in my Wednesday lifting class. I can do five in a row no problem with the assistance of a resistance band.
7. Visit or spend time with Chad.
   • Chad came to visit us and we spent some time together at the cottage. Would still like to visit him in Cinci but not sure when we can do that.
8. Do 10 hikes.
   • We’ve done four hikes now; one in Arizona, one in Colorado and two big ones in Washington.
9. Go on a vacation just the three of us (at least a total of 5 nights throughout the year).
10. Visit 5 new restaurants to try.
    • There have been six we have tried: Cantina Lena, Red Cow, Nue, Junebaby, Due Italiana, and Central Smoke.
11. Baby proof and de-clutter the house.
    • We’ve certainly made progress but still have some work to go. Outlets are all sealed away and I ordered cabinet locks to secure the bathroom and kitchen cabinets.
12. Go to a concert.
    • We have tickets for the Fitz and the Tantrums concert coming up in a few weeks.
13. Re-learn our lindy hop dance.
14. Get in one self-care day/night per month.
    • I’ve done pretty good on this with a few massages and a few mani-pedis (all thanks to Groupon).
15. Get in one date day/night per month.
    • I’d say we have done okay with this too. We have attended all of our Seattle Rep plays, have had a few dinners out just the two of us, and got some time just the two of us for both Claire and Amy’s weddings. We have a sitter lined up for our upcoming anniversary for whatever we decide to do that night.
16. Limit social media and cell phone usage to 30 minutes every night after 5 pm.
    • Most days I have done well with this. There have only been a handful of days where I have spent too much time on my phone.
17. Become more involved with our church beyond attendance
18. Get Reese a passport
19. Eat dinner at the table at least once a week.
    • It fluctuates week by week on how we do with this. I think we could be a little more persistent with this and help baby girl with eating real foods in her high chair along with us.

Chelsea

Although Bryan has turned another year older this past week, he can still round down to 30. I’m sure he is happy with that, but regardless, both of us have matured quite a bit in this past year. 34 is going to be a good year for Bryan, I can just tell, and we wanted to kick off the year as best we could. Bryan’s wish was to go on a hike and then get dinner and drinks with friends. So we did!

After having to unfortunately work a full day on Saturday, we were ready to let loose on Sunday. We wrangled up a group of nine adults and two babies to head to Mt. Rainier for a long day’s hike. We carpooled down to Rainier with Andrew and got on the road a little after 8 am. Thanks to a wait to get our entrance pass to the National Park, we didn’t get to Sunrise Visitor Center until about 10:30 am and the last of our crew didn’t arrive until 11 am. We finally got on the trail at 11:30 am with our goal being Third Burroughs on the Burroughs Mountain Trail, one we’ve done twice before, love, but have never gone all of the way to Third Burroughs. The hiking crew included: the three of us, Anne, Phillip and Rosalie, Deana and Ed, and Marion.

After Reese slept the whole way down, she was alert for most of the hike up. Alert but happy and riding on her daddy’s back. The temperature was absolutely perfect for hiking and we had mostly sunny skies with some cloud breaks. Our group was not fast but fortunately it was not the Millers, like we thought it might, that were holding anyone up. Bryan was kicking booty, carrying Reese and leading most of the way. We stopped for a nursing session on First Burroughs and stopped at Second Burroughs for a short photo session before deciding as a group that we DID want to attempt to summit Third Burroughs. Our entire group headed for Third, but half the group stopped short at the few snow crossings. At the top of Third Burroughs, Bryan, Reese, Andrew, Ed, Deana and myself broke out our lunch and a flask of birthday whiskey to take in the views before heading back down. The remaining crew was not far ahead of us and with the boys nearly running down the snow fields, we caught back up with them very quickly!

Now we had the long slog back to the car, much of which was downhill, and we certainly had a better pace on our way down. Reese did exceptionally, needing to nurse only twice, taking two naps, eating a good amount of pb&j, and seeming to really enjoy herself on the trail. This was a night and day difference to her first hike with us at Oyster Dome. We didn’t make it back to the car until nearly 5 pm, after almost 10 miles of hiking and over 2,500 feet of gain. We felt good but now we needed to high tail it back to Seattle because the rest of our friends were meeting us for dinner which we were now going to be way late for.

We made it to Central Smoke around 7 pm to meet up with Tim, Jason, Holly, David and Tina, the Tung family and Sarah and Lottie, who were already holding down our table on the patio. We ordered the Sunday night special platter for two with a combo of their brisket, pulled pork and ribs, plus coleslaw and greens and two cocktails for $35. A really reasonable price, although we have had better BBQ in Seattle. The service was also subpar. The restaurant cut the cake I made for Bryan and our friends seemed to enjoy the cake. I didn’t get a snap of the cake but it was beautiful (in my humble opinion). I can only say that because I am not a baker and certainly not a cake decorator and it looked alright and tasted very good! We will be making this cake again. Reese helped make the majority of the cake and she even approved of each component of the chocolate cake with raspberry jam, chocolate mascarpone filling and a chocolate ganache glaze.

We didn’t get Reese home until 9 pm and she had gone completely Tasmanian Devil on us at the restaurant. She was so dirty from the hike and everything else she got into at the restaurant that she still needed a bath. Bryan and I felt very accomplished after some nice hot showers ourselves after a great day with friends.

After a long Sunday and a day at work Bryan opted for a fairly casual, but no less delicious, dinner out at Due Italiana in Capitol Hill. They had come to FareStart a few months back with delicious homemade pasta. After looking them up, they serve delicious and large bowls of pasta for just over $10, glasses of house wine and beer for $6/$5, and they even offer fresh pastas that are “healthy” meaning lower carb and higher protein, which I think Bryan and I would both say were no less delicious. Birthday boy got the mushroom and truffle oil campanelle with sausage and burrata and I got the smoked salmon and caper cream sauce campanelle. We split the grilled eggplant salad and although Reese went Tasmanian Devil on us again, we all left full and happy with our meal and will be back for sure.

I really hope Bryan enjoyed his birthday this year because last year his birthday was overshadowed with baby girls baby shower. Bryan is so loved by friends and family and we were happy that many could help us celebrate his birthday this year!

Chelsea

To relive some of my favorite memories as a child through my daughter is quite the experience. I’ve told Bryan before that the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. That probably sounds absolutely absurd to most but it’s not the holiday itself I enjoy the most, it’s everything wrapped up with it. I love summer and growing up I loved spending nights with my whole family at a place that is solely special to us. I loved the food, activity, relationships, laughs, jokes, games, fireworks, and tranquility that was my cottage during this summer holiday. The spirit and fun of the holiday is also something that I still enjoy to this day. I would pick my 4th of July burger, eaten on the cottage deck, overlooking our lake, with my family sitting at the picnic table, over a fancy Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve dinner any day. This is why it is my favorite holiday.

We were lucky enough to spend a beautiful five nights at my family’s cottage and one night with just my parents back in East Lansing. We arrived on the 3rd and all travel went smoothly, all weather was perfection, and we all survived with merely a few scratches and mosquito bites and maybe a few extra LBs. Reese did fantastic again on both flights and pretty great for all car rides. We tried to split up the travel as best we could and that did help. In East Lansing, we enjoyed my now-favorite Middle Eastern take-out of Zeytoon’s, played in the grass, and stretched our legs before heading up to the cottage to be greeted by my grandparents. Like usual, my family was the first to arrive. My aunt and uncle from Indiana and my brother from Cincinatti were next, arriving on the 4th and my aunt and uncle from Lansing arrived on the 5th. Then we really had a full house! Plus three dogs. I love it when we have the whole fam damily together.

Activities at the cottage were nothing short of varied. Since my grandpa sold the speed boat a few years ago, my mom decided to rent a speed boat for three/four days. It was a very nice boat with a sound system that Chad enjoyed and enough power for my mom, Bryan and I to water ski behind. We did a lot of laps around the lake, just enjoying cruising around in it, and Reese loved it! Occasionally she would yell out or do her head-bopping dance to the tunes Chad was playing. One day the boys went to play frisbee golf and got soaked in a quick (and the only) downpour. One morning we actually woke up early to go play tennis. We went for a few short runs around the lake and a family walk around the lake. We played some cards, had some fires, and watched some movies and the US women’s soccer team win the World Cup. Reese tried to spend as much time as humanly possible in water. She would go from the small kiddie pool on the deck to the lake and back, multiple times a day. She generally didn’t take her swimsuit or swim diaper off and when she did that didn’t stop her from still swimming. One time when she was nudey butt in the kiddie pool she decided to send out some floaties, which was pretty hilarious.

And we ate well on this trip. Like I described earlier, we had grilled burgers on the deck with Grandma’s famous potato salad and bean salad. We had mom’s amazing boil with more shrimp than I’ve eaten in a long, long time. We made foil dinners in the campfire. We celebrated Reese’s 10-month birthday with Terry and Dad’s crisp and airy waffles. We enjoyed trying Jennette and Terry’s favorite cherry brats. We had loads of snacks to tide us over and Grandma’s vodka tonics or old fashioneds every day. Carrot cake, magic bars, and sugar cookies rounded out the eats and even one night out to Mr. Pibb’s for some amazing Michigan ice cream cones.

Reese LOVED the cottage! We really think she thought we moved there and wasn’t keen upon leaving. She was a happy kiddo the entire time but also having some bouts of separation anxiety when I would leave her side. Besides the pool and the lake, the boat, the fire pit and the dogs, she loved sitting in her camp chair that used to be mine (this surprised me that she liked sitting in it), she also loved walking around the grass, deck and up and down the stairs to the lake. This girl is still not stable on her own two feet but wants to be on them as much as possible. We all took turns holding her hands while she walked around exploring and going up and down any stairs she could find.

When we returned for a day and night to East Lansing, she continued her exploration by foot. She enjoyed visiting a nearby park and swinging twice in one day and she got to meet my friend Nisa one more time when she stopped by for a visit. We spent most of the day relaxing outside because the weather was perfect and we enjoyed grilling steaks and veggies outside, after enjoying Nisa’s egg rolls as a very good pre-dinner snack.

It was a wonderful trip and I can’t wait for the next time we make it back to the cottage. Reese will be that much more playful and that much more excited to go back I’m sure.

Chelsea

Double digits. Wow, that happened fast. Ten months is actually a landmark number for me for some reason. I remember going to the library story time when Reese was really little and there were many 10-month old babies there that were moving and funny and playful and I just remember eagerly waiting when Reese would be that interactive. Well, she is that interactive and then some. This month is more about her personality developing and less about her new physical skills, although there are still a few of those as well.

• She has recently learned to shake her head…and does it often!
• Sometimes she seems really interested in eating solids and eats a bunch, only to playfully spit it out minutes later and thinks that is funny. Although that helped her bond with the dogs at the cottage.
• She loves drinking water out of her sippy cup, or a regular cup, or through a straw.
• She has gotten very agile on the stairs.
• She no longer sits during baths or diaper changes or putting on her clothes so that’s been fun.
• She now gets upset if you remove a toy or take her away from something she is playing with. I guess you would call that a tantrum.
• She loves going up and down slides at the playground. Loves it!
• Sometimes if you just laugh at her she thinks she is being funny and laughs back. This can then go on forever.
• I think she is a little uneasy around animals at the moment. She has been reprimanded by Oliver, the cat at Lottie’s house, a few times and has learned her lesson. I think the dogs at the cottage helped her relax a bit more around animals.
• Toilets are of the latest interest.
• She loves playing with balls. She has actually gotten pretty good at accurately throwing a ball to you.
• Another favorite is turning the TV on or stopping the show you are watching. TV remotes are better than phones!
• She enjoys to FaceTime and is finally understanding what is going on during FaceTime.
• We are starting to have to say “no” on some items. A sweet “no” is more like a “yes” to her though.
• She’s still sleeping pretty well in her own crib. Going down for the night can sometimes be a marathon session but is other times speedy. However, after vacation we may need to readjust her to her own crib again.
• As of the past week or two she does not want to wear a hat.
• She may have been the smallest baby ever to be in a bouncy house.
• Lately, the stroller > a carrier (she head butts you in the carrier)
• She’s tried fried gnocchi, olives, marinara, meatballs, Korean beef, smoothies, and waffles this past month. Her favorite foods are still cheerios, any version of potatoes, rice, and anything cold. And bread.
• She’s a swimmer, that’s for sure…

Chelsea