This week was another week without Bryan at home 😦 and another week of making preparations to bring home baby #2. I spent the majority of the week at home, going into the office only one day, and was fortunately able to tick a few things off of my To-Do list despite a busy week with work. The days were busy and the nights were spent with Reese at the park or trying to find fun things to do. We were fortunate with nice fall weather and only a few partial days of rain that allowed us to get out and around town.
The major difference with this week of Bryan gone and the last is that he was also gone the entire weekend. Instead of pancakes and walks the three of us and watching the Seahawks with my partner we had to make due without him, which is certainly less fun. Saturday was truly a busy day with glorious fall weather so Reese and I set out for the long walk to Montlake to enjoy the big blue slide she is such a fan of these days. After quite some time at the park we headed home for lunch and nap before setting out again on another adventure.
It was opening day of three new light rail stations, each that I was involved with in one way or another, starting ten years earlier when I first moved to Seattle. Polly’s company was also in charge of setting up the Opening Day party in the University District so Reese and I bussed to the University District to meet up with our friend Deana to try to hit up a few of the $3 food specials and say “Hi” to Polly. Reese is all about the bus so she did not need to be talked into this. We met up at Xi’an first as I’ve been wanting to try their spicy beef hand pulled noodles and we got that and their spicy broccoli salad. The entire thing, for $6 was incredibly filling and a large portion, which was a good thing because by this point many restaurants had either sold out of their items or the line was incredibly long. We also were able to snag a table to eat outside. It was good to be able to catch up with Deana one on one and we then walked towards the main part of the festival where we got some delicious ice cream from Sweet Alchemy and listened to some of the live music at the outdoor stage. We finally found Polly, who was still busy with working the event, but Reese was so excited to say “Hi” to her. We decided to all ride the train back, Reese and I getting off at the Capitol Hill station and then catching the bus the rest of the way home. It was a fun and eventful but exhausting day out and about.
Sunday was way, way more low key and spent primarily around our house. Reese was into all of her toys and literally played with each and every one of them while I played with her and also caught a good majority of the Seahawks game with a great win over the 49ers. It was also a misty dreary morning so we weren’t keen on leaving for some time anyways. We did finally set out by car for Jefferson Park in the late afternoon to hit up a new park for awhile before getting chicken sandwiches and fries fast food on our way back home, what has become a tradition of sorts while Bryan is away for work.
The week has been mostly the usual. Reese is learning about spiders at school and seems to be getting more and more comfortable with her new friends and teachers. We went to a park everyday but Tuesday as we had plans to drop off food for Luis and Carina’s Meal Train. Carina is also flying solo rather often these days with Luis having to travel 1-3 days a week so she asked if we wanted to stay for dinner, which I gladly accepted. Reese got to play with Eliana and we picked up tamales from Frelard Tamales to go with the salad, rice, and beans I made. To say that Carina has a hectic life right now is no exaggeration, she does not have an easy baby on her hands. I got to hold baby Lucas for about an hour which was not necessarily an easy task. It was definitely a glimpse into what may lay ahead for me. The good news is that Reese is becoming a bit more independent on certain tasks (i.e. getting dressed, getting snacks out of the kitchen, brushing her teeth, going potty, etc.) and still seems to have a timid curiosity with babies (much like that with dogs) which is probably a good thing.
And to close out the week Reese and I are heading out to a new park tonight and then getting dinner from Duke’s. Being my birthday month, I got a flood of emails at the beginning of this week with free deals (meals, softserve, etc.) so I figured I might as well use one while we are on our own so dinner tonight is on the house! Bryan gets back late tonight and we are both so ready. While he was away I did get a good deal done around the house. I got a good haul of adorable newborn clothes from a neighbor and washed and put those away. I finally got some sheet sets for the new daybed in the nursery and washed and put those away. I washed Reese’s car seat and our diaper bag to get that ready for the hospital and general use here soon. I got cold weather gear out, cleaned out and organized the freezer and cleaned out the car.
Very much looking forward to the fall weekend ahead with Bryan home and then birthday plans just the two of us next week!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 