Author: Jessica Pellegrini

We have known for a while now that we would need to replace our SUV. As a family of 5 with 3 members needing car seats for the next several years, we figured a mini van was our only choice. We considered a lot of different options from old VW Vanagons (definitely the coolest option in my opinion) to Toyota Siennas. In the end we settled on a used Honda Odyssey. The Odyssey has been the #1 selling mini van for a long time running now and I believe that they have also been the highest rated in safety. After looking at all of our options it really did seem like a no brainer. Once we decided that we were definitely interested in a Honda it didn’t take long to find one that we liked. We looked at lots on line but in the end we only went to 2 different dealerships before we found the right one. It was the right price and had all of my must have items so we said yes on the spot. They detailed it the next day and picked Michael and the girls from our house after work on Friday night (I was at work) to take them to the dealership to pick it up.

As much as I hate to admit it, it truly is the nicest car I have ever owned. So far the girls seem to approve, Ava especially loves to ride in the new van. I am personally enjoying the automatic sliding doors more than I ever expected and the spaciousness for both the driver and passengers. I didn’t really love the idea at first, the feeling of morphing into the typical soccer mom frightens me. The more I thought about it the more comfortable I became with the idea. Soccer moms aren’t so bad; I like soccer. The truth is I think I like mini vans too.

We have been doing our best to enjoy these last few moments of summer. The girls and I have taken as many impromptu park outing as possible. We spent a day at the beach last week and visited the Olympic sculpture park in downtown Seattle a few weeks back. We’ve been to the petting zoo, the splash pad, had friends over to play a few times and rode bikes in our cul de sac. We have been getting to know many of our neighbors better in the past few weeks as well. We had the family next door to us over for a BBQ this past weekend and then joined them for dinner at their house earlier this week. They are a great family and are close friends with many of the other families on our street. I feel very fortunate to have several great neighbors and look forward to getting to know everyone better. Our next event is a Seahawks game day party with the whole block in a few weeks, and another weeknight dinner, probably next week, with just our next door friends. We’ve even confirmed a camping trip next year to Lake Chelan with a few families. Our new neighborhood really is the prefect place for us with so many great people near by tons of kid friendly things to in the area.

We will have some exciting baby news to share soon. I have my first ultrasound scheduled for Monday, September 15th. They will be checking for a number of different things at the appointment but the most exciting is the sex of the baby. We will of course spread the news as quickly as possible. I was able to hear the heart beat at my mid wife appointment this week and have been feeling a lot more movement at night. This is the point for me when things start to become a little more real because you can finally feel the baby. I’m really looking forward to getting to see him or her at our ultrasound, finding out the sex and deciding on a name. Although this pregnancy is proving to be much more difficult than the first two, I’m doing my best to stay positive and enjoy the little things. After all, this is the last time I will get the pleasure of being pregnant.

We’re hoping to get out and do something fun this weekend since we will all have Sunday and Monday off together for the holiday weekend. We haven’t made any plans but talked about a possible trip to Whidbey and going out for pizza (my current craving). I’m sure the weather will dictate how much fun we have, we’ll see.

Happy (early) Birthday, Baby Girl! We just said goodbye to the last of Elise’s party guests. It was a great 1st birthday party. We put together a little summer BBQ, complete with Hamburgers, brats, snacks, fresh summer fruit, cold drinks and of course birthday cake. We decorated the house with streamers and balloons and got 2 cakes, one for Elise and one for everyone else. Ava ended up diving right into Elise’s cake as well and even helped feed cake to her. It was a really cute moment.

It’s been hot all day so we stayed mostly inside to keep cool. Michael made lunch to order and we enjoyed cake immediately after. Elise was adorable while we sang Happy Birthday to her, she just sat quietly in her chair looking around at everyone with a half surprised look on her face. I know that we will have tons of pics to post later. It’s no surprise that she seemed to thoroughly enjoy the cake. She actually ate more than I would have expected. She went about it in a much more subdued way than Ava did. Elise chose to sit and eat her cake slowly, enjoying as much as she could. Much like the way her Dad eats. It still managed to get all over her face, arms, hair and torso but it was another memorable moment and totally worth it.

Both of the girls had a great time seeing all of our family. Elise was loving Uncle Jim and stayed right by his side most afternoon. Ava kept busy dragging various adults all around the house and yard. Playing with bubbles, eating cookies, and being a complete ham. She was in her element all day long. Thank you, Aunt Brenda for indulging her so much.

It was our first official party in the new house and I’m so glad that it was Elise’s 1st birthday party. It was a day that I won’t forget. What an awesome way to “break in” the house. We been keeping busy with various house projects and today it was nice to enjoy all of our work. I found myself getting chocked up a few times throughout the day, just thinking about her growing up so fast makes me sad. I want to keep her way forever. It’s true what you hear being said over and over again. They really do grow up fast. I have to constantly, stop, and remind myself to savor the moment because it won’t come again.

Elise is One. She is talking. Minor words like mama, dada, and bye bye. Waving. Signing. She is standing up without assistance, a lot. She seems to have mastered stairs. Both going up and down. When she wants something; she is faster and more determined than you can probably imagine. It takes 5 hands to change her diaper, and another hand to apply the continuous diaper cream. She refuses to keep anything on her feet. She thinks Bella is the funniest member of our family. She is finally sleeping through the night! She is tough as nails and is barely phased by falling down stairs or rolling off beds. She is bothered by almost nothing. She is a great baby. We are so very lucky she is ours. Happy Birthday Elise. We love you so much.

Thank you, also to everyone that came over to celebrate with us. We love having you all over and look forward to the next party.

Yesterday wasn’t exactly what I would call a good Father’s Day for Michael but I think that he would spin it more positively. He did not get to sleep in, or get breakfast in bed. He was not taken out to a nice brunch or even given a card. Instead he got up with the girls and I, too early for a Sunday, got dressed and headed to Costco. We bought steaks for dinner and ate hotdogs for lunch. He came home and spent the next 4 hours (maybe more) doing yard work in drizzly weather.

The night picked up a bit for us all and we had a great dinner and watched the Spurs crush the Heat in the Final basketball game of the season. The game was a great way to end the day but even that was a little bitter sweet for Michael because he hates this time of year when sports are in a lull until the end of the baseball season.

I felt bad all day that he wasn’t celebrated properly on this one day. He is always doing so much for our family and rarely takes time out to do something just for himself.

When I met Michael almost 7 years ago, I could never have imagined the man and the father that he would become. He has surpassed all of my expectations and has been the most patient and selfless partner. He works hard for all of our futures and is always there to offer love and support. I am incredibly blessed to have him by my side, and the girls and I, are so lucky and proud that he is “ours.” Happy father’s Day Michael. We love you so much.

To all of the Dads in my life (especially my own) thank you for your love and support. I am thankful for you today and every day.

Yesterday we got a babysitter for the girls and Michael used a vacation day so the two of us could spend an afternoon with the Mariners at Safeco Field.

It was a 12:40 game against the Tampa Rays. We asked the sitter to come over a little early and we headed to an outdoor beer garden for a drink before the game. It was an absolutely picture perfect day. The skies were clear, blue and a delightful sunny 70ish degrees. We had been planning to catch the game for several weeks now regardless of weather but this just made things that much sweeter. I will admit that I am sitting here writing this the next day with an actual sunburn. I can’t remember the last time the NW sun got me that good.

We started the game off hanging out over the bullpen in the sun for the first inning. Then we headed up to our seats in the 300 level for a bit in the shade. Our actual seats were one of the only areas of the park that was filled with fans so we didn’t stay there long. We got hungry and decided to grab some garlic fires and experience the bleechers for the first time. This is likely the reason for my sunburn; we spent a few innings in the now hot sun and then finished the game off in handicap seating in left field. It was fun to hop around the stadium a bit since neither of us had been to a Mariners game in several years and this was our first game together at Safeco.

The Mariners got defeated 2-0 but we stayed to watch the whole thing and enjoyed every minute of it. It was an awesome way to break up our week and to take a little break from everything involved with the new house and move. I’d like to think that we’ll get the chance to see another game this summer but who knows. If not this year then definitely next year when the girls will be old enough to go too.

We are already busy packing up the house and preparing for the move. After a great breakfast at home and some quality family time on Mother’s Day we went out and bought out first batch of moving supplies. It feels like we are ahead of the game and much more organized (at this point) than last time, and that feels good. I am actually enjoying going through all of our things and purging and organizing.

Elise turned 10 months yesterday as well. She is doing great. Getting more teeth, mostly sleeping through the night, talking, attempting to walk and exploring so many new things everyday. She continues to be a very sweet and happy baby and loves to be held more than any other baby I have ever met.

Ava has been doing great as well. She loves the weather that we’ve been having and insists on being outside at all times. She seems to know that something is going on around the house and so far does not enjoy having her things boxed up but doesn’t mind helping with things like linens and household goods. Hopefully she is this helpful with unpacking.

We’ve jumped right back into our regular routine since Grandma and Grandpa left. Ava has continued to ask about them on almost a daily basis, she even goes so far as to look for them in the house. I assume from this and the fact that I know my mom spoils her and loves to take her out on new adventures, that they had a great, memorable time. It felt amazing to get away for a few days, just Michael and I. We needed a little recharging and some fun, carefree nights out.

HUGE thank you to my Mom and Tom for all of your help.

Just days after Grandma and Grandpa left, and days before her nine month mark, little Elise decided that she was ready to officially start crawling. It’s been a fun adjustment for all of us since. It’s back to baby gates on the stairs, which often upsets Ava. Pack n Plays set up in the living room, which often upsets Elise and through it all poor Bella has been shuffled off to the side to make more room for baby. We’ve had a recent increase in talks about sharing toys, and playing nicely together. Thankfully, Elise doesn’t appear to be as daring as Ava was at this age. It is a quality that I love so much in Ava, but I’m not sure that two daring, over energetic, little girls would have the same affect. Instead, Elise is like a little zen buddha. People comment, time and time again, at how happy and mellow she is. She’s easily the happiest one in the family. Her personalty is coming out more every day and it’s a lot of fun getting to know her better.

I have been working a lot more this week and last because it’s Seattle Restaurant Week and Michael is back in school for his final stretch. I’m not sure how, but we have managed to find time for some really great day adventures. This past Sunday, we all loaded up in the car to get out and enjoy the beautiful day. Initially we were in search of a spot to visit the ducks. Michael had an idea to visit one of his favorite childhood spots but unfortunately it is now a soccer complex. After a few failed attempts at finding a good place to stop we stumbled upon a botanical gardens in the Tukwila area. What a great random find. It was a perfect place to get out for a walk and explore some small ponds, flowers, bridges and waterfalls. Ava loved every minute of it but kept searching for ducks the whole time. She can not get enough of ducks lately. We don’t even feed them, because it’s illegal everywhere. She just loves to talk to them and toss pebbles in the water.

After the botanical gardens we decided to head to the beach since we were already so close to Lake Washington. We drove to Gene Coulon Park and hit the sand. Ava literally took off running as soon as we unbuckled her seat. I had to chase after her just to stop her from running right into the lake. Ultimately it was a great decision to stop here. The weather was absolutely perfect and we all had a great time playing in the sand and walking on the docks. After more than enough time in the sun we headed home and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

The amazing weather stuck around another day, so on Monday morning I called up a girlfriend and arranged a little adventure for the day. We packed up the Durango, two baby girls, one toddler and two Moms and headed to the annual Tulip Festival. It was a bit more driving than I had expected but we all had a great time walking along the flower fields, picnicking, meeting farm animals, and kite watching. It was a great spring afternoon and I’m so glad that we got out and enjoyed it because the rest of this week has been nothing but rain. Ugh, it is not easy keeping a nature obsessed toddler happy during consecutive days of rain.

Still not sure what we are going to do this weekend for Easter. I think we will most likely hold out to see what the weather does and decide what we feel like on the spot.

Here are some updated pictures of everyone. Sorry for the delay in posting them.

Elise at 9 months

Ava playing in the front yard

Crawling around Gene Coulon Park

It’s been over 2 months since I last sat down to write a post. It’s getting harder and harder to step away from the girls for even just a few moments these days. I swear no matter where Ava is playing in the house she can always hear me walk upstairs making me unavailable to her (due to a baby gate a the bottom of the stairs) and immediately she needs me for something. To say that she is going through a mommy phase feels like a colossal understatement. There is never a dull moment in the house and for the most part that makes life tons of fun but occasionally it feels overwhelming as well. When you live with a toddler you quickly get used to never having a moment alone. We do our best to stay busy with new activities but still maintain a routine so that we all have a little downtime. Some days I feel like I’m just “winging” it but I doubt I’m the only Mom that’s ever felt that way. I do the best I can and try my hardest not to judge myself against all the other moms out there who always appear to have things figured out a little bit better than I do. Our girls are healthy and mostly happy so we have the important things covered.

We have been making a point of going out and exploring something new every week. Some of our recent daytime adventures include two different indoor swimming pools, a bilingual play group, toddler story and music time, trampolining, park hoping and more. It’s a good way for us to get out of the house during the day and they are all fun ways for Ava to interact with other kids. At this point Elise is usually just an observer in the activities but it won’t be long before she’s jumping in the mix.

Ava is getting better and better everyday at expressing herself. She continues to add new words to her vocabulary everyday and loves to talk non stop. As we learn to communicate better with each other I can see her meltdowns becoming less frequent. Her current obsession is crayola wonder makers, paints and crayons. We’ll call this her artistic period. The new wonder makers by Crayola are the best. They only write on special paper and do not mark up the house or furniture. I have to give it to crayola they are a great way for toddlers to start drawing. Our biggest battle these days is getting her to put the art supplies away for the night so these are perfect. I literally just put her to bed with a marker in each hand which was a small victory since she usually insists on carrying 6 or 7 around at once.

Elise is doing so great and getting so big. She is already wearing clothes that Ava wore at 12 months. She is still not technically crawling but she can get around pretty well just by wiggling around like a fish out of water. She is about to get her first tooth as well. We’ve had about a weeks worth of rough nights because she is teething, hopefully the tooth is about to poke through so she starts feeling better. She continues to be an extremely happy baby. It is not uncommon for people to comment on her demeanor when we’re out. I’m constantly hearing “she’s such a sweet baby” or something of the sort. She is so easy going and thank goodness for it because I often have to abandon her to run off after Ava.

The two girls are becoming better friends with each day as well. Ava loves to make Elise laugh, (which isn’t hard) the two of them are starting to play together more than ever before and I have even caught Ava trying to teach Elise something new a few times now. It’s a proud moment for me to stand back and watch the two of them together. Life is good.

Today is Elise’s half birthday. We took our standard, numbered, monthly photo to mark the occasion. She is changing everyday. She is an extremely happy, healthy and big baby girl (she has almost outgrown 9 month clothes already). She’s sitting up and rolling around, eating lots of new foods, working on her first tooth, and in a new state of awe with her hands, feet and voice. She loves to jump in her doorway bouncer, and hiding under soft blankets more than anything these days(this can be both cute and scary). She is more and more interested in her big sister, with each new activity. The two of them are finally starting to do little activities together and both are showing more interest in each other every day. Ava is quick to sooth Elise with kind words when she cries and runs to her side to make sure everything is ok.

The two of them are keeping Michael and I on our toes, but like I always say, we are doing our best to enjoy every moment. The late night tantrums and bedtime showdowns are probably the worst but that’s mostly because no one in the house has had a nice, uninterrupted sleep in a long time.

I have been recovering the last two days from having a wisdom tooth pulled (just one). I had my first, and only other, tooth pulled a few moths after Ava was born. I don’t know if it’s coincidence that now a few months after Elise arrives, I have another tooth pulled. It has not been fun, and hurts more than I remember the last time. Thankfully, Laurel has been here the last two days while Michael is at work not only taking care of me but more importantly taking over with the girls. Between her and Michael, I have been well taken care of. As I sit here writing this, Michael is tending to a tired, fussy Elise and folding laundry. He never folds laundry (it’s funny to watch) and its sweet that he is always trying to help me out.

This Saturday night, Michael and I are going to the Amazon Holiday Party. They are bringing in a popular pop group, Vampire Weekend, for the event. Neither of us are actually fans of the group but I do not doubt that it will be a fun night. I don’t even know what to expect with the rest of the event but based on the summer picnic, I’m sure that it will be full of fun surprises.

On, Sunday the Seahawks host the 49ers here in Seattle. The whole city has had a cool, spirited vibe about it the past few weeks. I am not a huge football fan by any means but I am really enjoying this. That may actually make me a bandwagon fan. Either way, I will be watching as much of the game as I can before I have to go into to work that night. I volunteered to pick up a shift that night since we are expecting to be busy with all of the fans after the game. I’m lucky enough to get most Sundays off but I’m looking forward to this.

The site has been down so this was not posted on the date written:

We got back from Colorado this afternoon and are now happily resting at home. It was an awesome mountain Christmas and everyone is thoroughly exhausted. We all had a lot of fun in the snow and Michael and I were able to get a bit of time alone while Grandma and Grandpa took care of the girls. Ava had tons of fun playing with Cole, and has a new love for cars and trains. The two of them did really well together in a small play space shared with 9 other adults. It was a packed house for the week but it was great to get the chance to see everyone together.

My brother and his wife, Melanie, got to meet Elise for the first time which was a really sweet moment. She allowed anyone to hold her all week and was loving all of the attention. They also hadn’t seen Ava since just before her first birthday so it was a totally different experience than their last visit. The week went by entirely too fast and before we knew it we were packing up our stuff to go. It was a memorable christmas and I thank my Mom and Tom for all of the hard work that went into making everyone’s trip special.

We had to get up with the sun this morning at 4:45am, it’s not easy to get everyone up and going at that hour. It was a pretty quiet drive from Grandma’s house to the airport but both girls stayed awake for most of the trip. Thankfully it was a relatively easy flight home, that is until landing and then Ava insisted that she wanted “more” and kept yelling and signing for “more plane” and “more fly”. It was cute and funny for about a minute and a half and everyone around us was laughing. It quickly turned into embarrassing and uncomfortable when she began kicking her feet and screaming. Elise was thankfully clam and happy for the whole ordeal. All was good again as soon as we started walking through the airport and by the time we were pulling out of the arrival area with Uncle Brad both girls were sound asleep.

Our plan for today is to do as little unpacking as possible and spend as much time as we can relaxing on the couch and then off to bed as early as the girls allow. Tomorrow is going to be a full day. We are both working in the Pampas Room at El Gaucho for NYE and our amazingly wonderful friend, Laurel, will be ringing in the new year with our two lovelies. I hope that they will all be asleep by the new year because Laurel is just arriving home from her own Christmas vacation and is literally coming straight to the house for a sleepover.

We’ve been in the Christmas spirit here lately. I have been teaching Ava all about Santa, preparing her for snow, pointing out all the christmas tree lots and lights on the neighbors houses. There is so much to show and teach her, she is loving every minute of it. We have gone to the mall near our house about 3-4 times now to say “hi” to Santa. My hope is that this will help ease her into actually sitting on his lap. She doesn’t like most all unfamiliar men so I know that getting her to smile for a picture will be a challenge. So far she doesn’t seem to enjoy seeing him while we are there but as soon as we walk away she’s happily repeating his name. I am hoping to get a picture taken tomorrow or Thursday. I know that Elise will enjoy the experience but I’m almost as confident that Ava will not.

On Sunday we had Dana, Brad, Kallan and Anna over for a little Christmas celebration. They came over at 2:00 to spend the afternoon with us. Michael made a nice spread of dip, assorted cheeses, salami, veggies and crackers. We had red wine and hot cocoa to go with it. It was a fun few hours of sitting around the table, catching up and opening gifts together.

We attempted another Christmas skype session tonight, this time with Rita. Ava was not as cooperative as she was this weekend but it was still fun. Out of all of the gifts her favorite was a set of jingle bells that Rita decorated one of the packages with. All she wanted to do was walk circles in the living room ringing the bells. Elise sat happily in the center of all the action smiling and observing. It’s so great to be able to have those moments with family that is so far away.

Just a few more days of work for us both and one more assignment for Michael and we will all be on vacation. I am definitely looking forward to it.

It seems like even the normal, average days around here have become uncontrollably crazy. Life with two small children is like living in an institute for people with bi-polar disorder. To be fair its not really life with two small children that feels this way; Elise is usually easy as long as you’re holding her in a standing position. It’s life with a two year old that tips the scales to don’t even look at me or I’ll cry, crazy.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re having a lot of fun, or at least attempting to have fun. It’s just that one minute is complete joy and the next minute anything is possible and I mean anything! The positive side of this is that every time we have an incident big or small, Ava seems to walk away having learned something. I haven’t been around many toddlers so I don’t know what normal is but the speed at which she absorbs new information is incredible. I love seeing the joy on her face when she figures something out for the first time. The flip side of that is the intense frustration she experiences split seconds later. I witnessed a perfect example of this exact phenomenon this morning.

I walked in on Ava playing in her room after breakfast. She was talking to herself, so I stood quietly in the door way. After a bunch of non sense she started congratulating herself on building a tower, “nice job”, “good girl”, “awesome”, “you got it”. She continued to build and two blocks later she couldn’t get a block to stay put at the top (it was upside down). I could instantly see the panic on her face and the heavy breathing started first then she punctured my ear drums with a scream, gave me a look as if I had sabotaged her just by observing and began to cry. The kind of crying that caused her fits of choking. All of this from one upside down block. I could do nothing to console her. It was a site to see, I promise. And all of this before 9:30, for us that’s a big morning. Happy Monday!