One year ago today we arrived in Bellevue after nearly 3 years in San Diego. First and foremost, we couldn’t have done that move without the help of Jessica’s Mom, Amy. Jess was in the early stages of her pregnancy with Elise at that time and we had just hosted a big party to celebrate Ava’s 1st birthday and Thanksgiving. That party turned out to be the last fun thing we did in San Diego, because the following week was nothing but cleaning out our house and loading everything into a moving pod. I remember we had the steepest driveway ever at that house and the pod couldn’t be left on the street so we had no choice but to keep it in the driveway. The downward angle ended up working in our favor when loading things into the pod, but then you had to walk out uphill. Good times.
One thing I’ll never forget about that move was the first day of driving. Jess and I have done some crazy trips before, most notably riding my motorcycle from Seattle to Reno in one day (16 hours), but this one was right up there. Jessica and Amy drove the Durango, which contained Ava, both dogs, plus everything else that could possibly fit inside, and they towed a small trailer rented from U–Haul, (tip: never rent from U–Haul) because we couldn’t fit everything into the pod. I was following them in our Accord, which was completely packed with stuff. There was literally no space anywhere in that car besides the driver’s seat. We pulled out from our house in La Mesa at 7:30am and didn’t stop until we reached Eugene OR, which is 1,000 miles north, at approximately 1:00am. Going through the pass at the Siskiyou Mountains that night was the worst storm I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s darker than night out there, you’re on a winding mountain highway, and the rain is coming down so hard that you can’t hear the stereo and your wiper blades can’t keep up even though they’re on their highest setting. In hindsight we shouldn’t have done it but we were determined to get to Eugene that night and we did.
Everyone was so relieved when we arrived at Dana and Brad’s house the following night. That was a special type of exhaustion. Amy had to be up at the crack of dawn the following morning for a flight back to Florida, but luckily Brad was also flying out early that morning and Dana was already planning on driving to the airport. That morning our little caravan pulled up to our new house and we were met by our friend Kim, who is a real estate agent and helped us get the house. We had only seen pictures at this point and had our fingers crossed as we walked in for the first time. We had already signed a year lease and I was starting work as a contractor at Amazon in a couple days so there was no going back.
We’ve already made some good memories at this house, including just last weekend with Ava’s birthday party, but hopefully it won’t be too much longer until we make one final move, into a house we own. As much as we hate the thought of moving again, we love the idea of buying something that we can stay in long–term. Once we get through the new year we’re going to sit down with Aunt Carol and get down to business. I think its safe to say that we’re staying in this area and I love the idea of the girls growing up near family.
After all the excitement we had last weekend celebrating Ava’s second birthday, the plan for today was to have a nice relaxing day at home with just the four of us. Last night we received the photos Leon took at Ava’s birthday party and we’re thrilled with how they turned out. Not only did he get tons of great shots of Ava, but he also got a lot of photos of the other little kids that were there. If you’d like to download the Hancock, Kipper, Klinger, LaFleur, or Lester family photos, go to: pellegrinipage.com/downloads
We went on a mini–hike this morning on a trail near our house. It’s been pretty ideal weather here considering the time of year, so we wanted to get out and enjoy it before gorging ourselves for the remainder of the day. We didn’t do a turkey this year but did make a ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and veggies, followed by pumpkin pie with extra whip cream. We’re in a bit of a food coma now but its been a great day. I’ll be working tomorrow, and its a bit of an ‘all hands on deck’ sort of day considering all of the holiday shopping, but it’s also Friday, which is inherently good.
Nana got Elise some Thanksgiving pajamas and Jess was able to get a great picture of her in them. The rest of the photos were taken by Leon at Ava’s party.
It was a whirlwind of a weekend for all of us as we celebrated Ava’s birthday. We hosted a rainbow themed party at our house for 30 of our friends and family. It was a huge success and Ava had a great time. She truly seemed to know what was going on and ran around the house talking with everyone. I was a little afraid that she would be overwhelmed with all of the people in our house but she was a little social butterfly with most of the guests. Hands down, my favorite part of the whole day was singing Happy Birthday to her. I have never seen her look so sweet and happy. It is a moment of the party that I will never forget. I will willingly admit that I went a little overboard with all of the custom decorations and rainbow themed party flair, but I do not regret any of it. I think that everyone that joined us for the afternoon enjoyed themselves, and I know that Ava had a blast, and that’s all that we were hoping for.
Today is her actual birthday so I wanted to do a little something different for the day. I didn’t really have any specific activity in mind so after we said good-bye to Nana at the airport we headed into Seattle.
We started off with lunch at The Fisherman, a total tourist attraction but perfect for kids. Ava did unusually well at lunch, keeping happy eating both Grandma and Grandpa’s oyster crackers. They gave us free tickets to the carousel in the arcade next door so I took her on her first carousel ride. She did not like sitting on the moving horse but was thrilled to be held while spinning around so we just stood in the aisle between horses. After that we couldn’t resist the urge to ride the Seattle Great Wheel. I wasn’t sure if she’d like it but we figured it was worth a try. I’m so glad that we went. She loved it and kept saying “I’m in the sky” and smiling. After the Great Wheel we weren’t quite ready to head home so we took a walk through the market and ate some fresh roasted cashews and doughnuts. It was a fun impromptu afternoon.
It’s hard to believe that I have only been a parent for two years. I can easily say that becoming a mother is the most wonderfully, amazing thing that has ever happened to me. Ava is such an awesome kid. She is so funny, independent, smart, loving, energetic, adventurous and so much more. She continues to amaze me everyday with the little person that she is becoming.
Happy Birthday, Ava!
Two years ago today Jessica and I became parents, and our lives were forever changed for the better. In one sense it’s hard to believe that it’s already been two years, but when I look back and think of all that has happened in that time. As the story goes, Ava was born on “Black Friday” in 2011. Leading up to her birth I was working about 80 hours per week between my two jobs. I was working days at Scrollmotion and bartending at night at the Tractor Room. Thanksgiving was going to be my first day off in over a month, and since Jessica was so close to delivery we decided to have a very low key meal at our home in Pacific Beach.
Shortly after Thanksgiving dinner Jessica went into labor. We knew not to go to the hospital right away, so we watched a UFC event, then went on a walk around the neighborhood with Bruno and Bella. We arrived at the hospital in the wee hours of the morning and began the roller coaster ride that was Ava’s birth. The hospital was pushing Jessica to have a C-section but we didn’t want that and held out as long as possible. As they were preparing the room for surgery, the doctor decided to give Jessica one chance to have a natural birth. After only a few minutes of pushing our sweet baby girl was born. I had never cried tears of joy before that moment, and I’ll never forget how special it was. Since then we’ve come a long way, including another baby, two moves, a job change, and me getting back into school to finish my degree. To say we’ve been keeping busy would be a major under statement, but that’s the way we like it.
This past Saturday we celebrated Ava’s birthday at our house in Bellevue with about 30 friends and family members. It was the biggest party we’ve ever thrown, and it was a huge success! Jessica did an amazing job decorating for the party, and I rekindled Gigi and Aunt Norma’s ravioli recipe, which was a hit. Although putting on a party of this magnitude was a ton of work, seeing Ava’s face when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her made it all well worth it. It was a look of pure joy and happiness, followed by a barrage of cake making its way all over Ava, her tray, and the surrounding walls and floor. My explanation can’t do it justice so keep an eye out for the photos to come.
Both of our girls were great all day and I think Ava had a blast opening presents and going down the slide we got her. She literally went down that thing at least 100 times throughout the day. Elise was so well behaved and content to be passed around by family members and close friends. My good friend Leon took tons of photos, which I’ll be getting later this week, and will be posting ASAP. I’m going to save the photos that we already have for Jessica’s post tonight, but I couldn’t resist recapping the wonderful day we all had.
Ava, you and your sister are the best thing that has ever happened to your Mom and I. You’ve brought a sense of joy and purpose to our lives that we never even knew existed. I thank my lucky stars everyday for having such an amazing family. Although you probably won’t remember your second birthday, please know that it was a very special day that was attended by so many people we love. Thank you for making me such a proud Papa; I love you with all my heart.
We got to spend last weekend and the first half of this week with Grandpa Rick. Everyone had a really nice time hanging out. We ate some good meals, watched some movies and football games, and most importantly, Rick got a lot of quality time in with the girls. As usual his visit flew by and before you knew it he was on his way back home. I’m just glad they were able to do some fun stuff like go to the zoo and get studio photos taken while he was here.
We were paid a visit by Kristy, Mark, Trinity, and Madi on Sunday while Rick was here. Jess and I both really enjoyed meeting Mark and Trinity. As soon as Rick found out Mark was a hunter they struck up conversation and hit it off. Madi wanted nothing more than to hold Elise the entire time, and she did such a great job. She’s a natural with babies and will surely make an excellent mom someday. Ava absolutely loved playing with the girls, and the rest of us hung out and enjoyed watching the Seahawks walk all over the Falcons.
We’re getting really excited for Ava’s birthday party next weekend. There are quite a few guests coming, many of whom haven’t seen each other in a long time. I started cooking today so that I wouldn’t be frantic at the last minute. Today I’m making beef and turkey chili, a marinara sauce for the ravioli, and the filling for the ravioli, which consists of veal, pork, turkey, chantrelle mushrooms, sweet onion, garlic, and spinach. Tomorrow I’m making the pasta from scratch and filling the ravioli. I’ve never made pasta before so I’m a little nervous but I’m sure I’ll be fine as long as I follow my Aunt Norma’s recipe. Since there will most likely be some vegetarian guests at the party, I’m intentionally making the pasta sauce without meat. We will have cheese ravioli available for anyone who doesn’t eat meat. There will also be lots of snacks and sides available, plus a rainbow birthday cake baked by Mom. It’s going to be a great day.
Elise turned 4 months old this week. Even though I see her everyday its easy to tell that she is growing fast. She’s so alert now and she’s developing quite the sense of humor. She enjoys being played with and is pretty easy to get laughing. Her vision is much better; she can make eye contact with you from across the room now. I don’t know what we did to get so lucky but we have two amazing little girls to be thankful for every single day. I’m actually writing this post with 1 hand because Jess is gone at work and Elise doesn’t feel like not being held. Happy to oblige.
We recently received the photos Leon took on their last visit, so combine those with the photos from Rick’s visit, and you’ve got a lot to share. Enjoy.
Tonight Rick is arriving for a visit until Wednesday. We’re excited to have him out, and we have no agenda other than to hang out and relax. I’m glad he’s going to get some quality time with the girls, and I have a week off school starting today, so the timing is perfect.
School has been going well lately and I’m starting to learn some pretty cool stuff. It’s been requiring more time than ever, so I’ve been having a babysitter come over once a week just to get some un-interrupted study time. We’ve all been so busy lately and then suddenly you realize its November and Ava’s birthday is only two weeks away. Last year at this time we were getting ready to host Thanksgiving and then move back to Seattle a week later. Can’t believe how quickly this year has passed, but I’m glad because it means I’ve only got 8 more months of school.
Jessica just got approval to take Christmas Eve off so we’re buying plane tickets to go to Colorado that morning. We’re going to hang out at Amy and Tom’s place until the 30th; probably do some snowboarding and enjoy a white Christmas in the mountains. There’s a chance that I’ll be able to take an unofficial vacation the week between Christmas and New Years, which is what they did last year, but worst case scenario I’ve got just enough vacation saved up. Either way we can’t wait to get out there. Joel and Melanie are coming so I’m looking forward our annual night on the town.
I’m sure we’ll have some new pics and updates after Rick’s visit. We’re getting together with Butch and Carol on Tuesday so that should be fun. We’ve also got some pictures of Elise from Leon coming soon. I’m excited that he’ll be taking pictures at Ava’s birthday party. Speaking of the birthday party, I’m going to start cooking next weekend. This will be my first attempt at homemade ravioli; I’ve got to do my Aunt Norma and Gigi proud.
To say that we’ve been busy would be an understatement. Every weekend for the past several weeks has been filled with some kind of special activity, and the weekdays are flying by with both Michael and I working. My schedule seems to be hit or miss with full weeks off at a time but I don’t mind it at all. We found a night nanny that I think will prove to be a perfect fit as needed. She has only come over to the house twice now but it seems to be working out great for Michael and the girls when I am at work. It just makes me feel good to know that everyone is happy and taken care of when I’m away and Michael has time to get work done.
I have finally finished my alphabet project for Elise. You can see a picture of the final piece below hanging above Elise’s crib. The final motivation to finish was an at home photo shoot of her with one of our good friends. I really wanted to make sure that it was complete just in case we had it pictured in the background. I never expected it to take this long to complete but I am so thankful to everyone that helped with a letter. I love the final product and I know that Elise will too. I can already say that she loves to lay in bed and stare at it.
We were able to celebrate the Halloween season more this year than ever before. We started out with a visit to Remlinger Farm with some family members at the beginning of the month. Then, my Friend, Laurel and I took the girls out to Two Brothers Pumpkin Patch to run around the pumpkin field and purchase our pumpkins. It was a week day outing and we had the entire place to ourselves. They even had an honor pay system so there wasn’t even any employees. It was kind of cool to just poke around the place, I’m not sure if I have ever actually been out in a pumpkin field before. The weekend before Halloween we got the girls dressed up in costumes and headed to the Woodland Park Zoo for Pumpkin Bash. Ava was a giraffe and Elise a kitten. They were both adorable. Ava’s 2T giraffe costume was hilariously small on her. So much so that we couldn’t button most of the snaps and it was about 2 inches too short on her. She did not care one bit and paraded around the zoo making people laugh. We let her take the lead and just followed her around, we didn’t manage to see very many animals but we had a great time.
On the afternoon of Halloween we visited Michael at work for the first time. Amazon allows all family to come in and visit and everyone has candy or treats to hand out. It was cool to finally see where Michael spends all of his time away from us. We didn’t see too many other trick or treaters because we came a little earlier than most families but we didn’t let that stop us from enjoying ourselves. Ava was content to walk around the offices and she loved running around out on the roof top of the building. She was not a big fan of trick or treating itself. I made her a new costume since the giraffe was so small, she went dressed up as a fortune teller complete with her own set of tarot cards. The idea was that since she likes to carry things around, especially paper, that she could hand out fortunes to everyone. She, however, was not up for the fun. She was much too intimidated by all the new people and didn’t enjoy visiting each office. Instead we made laps around the floor and stopped by different offices for quick intros and hellos before rushing off to avoid a meltdown. All in all it was a fun afternoon and I’m sure that as they get older both Ava and Elise will look forward to trick or treating at Daddy’s work.
Halloween night at home was our only disappointment for the season. I bought 3 large bags of candy in anticipation of all the little visitors we would likely have that night. We did not have one single trick or treater. NOT ONE SINGLE KID. I was crushed. For two years in a row now I have looked forward to having dozens of cute little visitors come take candy from us and for two years in a row now I have been let down. Ugh. We have so many young neighbors that I was sure this year would be different. I guess no one goes door to door anymore. I’m still baffled. I will definitely have to plan on a different event for the night of next year.
Friday night, Elise and I met up with a big group of family members to help celebrate Auntie Carol’s birthday. She opted for a bowling party this year so we all met up at Tech City Bowl in Kirkland. Michael had a ton of homework to get done so he and Ava stayed home. As always, it was nice to see everyone. It was a bit different for me than usual since I didn’t have Ava to run after. Elise spent most of the time asleep in her car seat so I was actually able to have some nice conversation with everyone. My bowling game was a complete embarrassment, I didn’t even break 100. It’s to be expected honestly, I have always been an awful bowler. I remember getting so frustrated at my Dad as a kid when he would try to help me throw the ball straight.
Last night we had a couple friends and their 4 month old son over for dinner. I had not met their little guy yet and they had never seen Elise so it was nice to get to reconnect with them. It’s so much easier to have people over to the house as apposed to going out. Aside from having to do the dishes its a perfect, family friendly night. We were lucky enough to have some pics taken of Elise as well. We will make sure to post some once we get them back. She has been changing so much. She has started laughing a lot more often and loves when I tickle her face with the ends of my hair. It’s adorable and melts a little bit of your heart each time you hear it. I have been trying to capture a voice recording of it and I swear she can tell when I click the record button and stops making any sound. I love the sound of baby giggles and the first few months of giggles have a softer, sweeter sound than the more developed sound that follows.
We are getting ready for Ava’s 2nd birthday. Since her birthday falls at the end of November it is likely that many years we will celebrate both her birthday and Thanksgiving on the same day. This year Thanksgiving is pretty late so we have the opportunity to celebrate the weekend before. It’s nice to have a little something to look forward to before we get into full blown holiday mode.
Today, today we are relaxing at home as a family. It’s our favorite Sunday pastime.
It’s been another really busy week around here. Elise just turned 3 months and is growing fast. She smiles a lot now and is showing more and more personality all the time. She enjoys sitting upright and has quickly taken to the Bumbo chair (see below). Ava continues to surprise me with new vocabulary and knowledge. Her new favorite thing to say is “Lets do it!” and says it when you ask her just about any question. Jessica has been working 3-4 nights a week and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult not having her around. School is actually challenging now that I’m in my final year, and Elise simply doesn’t like giving me any time to get my assignments done. She’s generally fine as long as you’re holding her, but writing papers and computer programs while holding a baby is basically impossible, so I end up working in 3-5 minute stretches.
Luckily Ava is surprisingly self sufficient for being so young. She’s very aware of Elise and understands that she’s supposed to be quiet when the baby is sleeping. We’re still working on the actual application of that rule however. In other news, this is the busiest time of year at work so things have been crazy lately. I’ll be traveling to Southern California at the end of the month to help conduct a simulation of a new version of software I’m working on. I was very excited to see that there’s a new Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school opening one block from my office. I spoke to the owner and found out they’re hoping to open in the next month; just waiting on permits from the city. I’m definitely going to check it out. Hopefully I’ll have a situation like San Diego where I can go to a couple classes a week on my lunch break.
Last weekend I got a chance to meet Adam Carolla at the BevMo in Bellevue. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time and regularly listen to his podcast at work. It was just a quick photo but he was cool and I ended up making some friends in the line. Ava’s second birthday is only about a month away and we’re looking forward to having everyone out for a visit. That’s about it for now. Here’s a few recent pics.
Elise in her Bumbo
Elise at 3 months
Ava watching the flying pumpkins at Remlinger Farms
Its been a crazy last few weeks. We have all been keeping very busy with various activities. I started back to work two weeks ago and had 4 shifts back to back. It was a big adjustment for us all. I think Michael now has a better understanding of what life can be like trapped in a house with two small children. It was rough on us all but we survived and have had the past week at home together. It seems like we are all still trying to get back into our normal routine since everyone was sick. Ava’s sleep habits have improved the past few nights but we have been having frequent late night episodes with her. She either wants to get up and play or she just wakes up and cries. Either way it’s tough on everyone because we all have bedrooms so close to each other. Since she is normally such an awesome sleeper even a few nights with interrupted sleep feels like a lot.
We have been embracing fall by collecting leaves in the front yard, visiting the pumpkin patch and farm, making plans for Halloween and taking every opportunity we can to enjoy the beautiful fall colors of the Northwest. I have to admit I have already been finding myself preparing for the up coming holiday season. One thing at a time though. First we have Halloween to enjoy; both girls already have their costumes and Michael and I have decided that we are going to pass on costumes for ourselves this year. I figure we will have plenty of opportunities to dress up with the girls in the years to come.
This past Saturday we spent the morning with some family at Remlinger Farm. It’s about 30 minutes away from us out in Carnation, WA. They have a fall harvest all October long. Its a celebration with hundreds of pumpkins, scarecrow, fall foods and lots of fun rides and activities for all ages. The highlights of the day were the Flying Pumpkins ride and the mini train. Ava loved both. She rode the pumpkins with both Michael and I separately and both times she rode with a huge smile plastered across her face yelling “weee”, “so cool” and laughing. I thoroughly enjoyed riding with her. Her least favorite attraction was the mini pony. We tried to get her to go for a pony ride but she wanted no part in it. She also had a strange aversion to the hay maze. It was a fun trip for everyone. I’m sure we will visit again in the future. We may even try to check out another pumpkin patch this season since we never bought one at the farm.
Today, Elise turned 3 months old. We had a great day to mark the occasion. Both of the girls, myself and my friend Laurel went the the Woodland Park Zoo. It was pretty busy because it’s Columbus Day but that just made it more fun for Ava. More kids running around meant more excitement for her which was the whole point so I was happy. We walked around almost all of the zoo and stopped a few times to feed some animals and run off some energy. The zoo is having a pumpkin bash coming up the weekend of the 26th. We are entertaining the idea of checking that out and giving the girls another opportunity to dress up in their costumes.
I’m about to start another busy week of work for Seattle Restaurant Week. I’m sure it will be incredibly hectic and I’m totally looking forward to it. It’s so much easier to tackle that kind of craziness after juggling two kids. Work feels more like social time to me now than anything. Although it’s not always easy to leave Michael and the girls at home I am glad to be working again. I did cry a few tears when leaving the first week. I always feel like I am going to miss out on something hugely important while I’m gone. Or I feel like I need to be home to help make everyones’ night easier and therefore better. I’m sure all working parents feel like this to some extent. Ava did take her first steps while I was at work so my fears aren’t completely irrational.
Here are a few recent pictures of Ava and Elise. We will post more this week as well.
Today I’m excited to announce that our Family Recipes website/webapp is now live! It’s been a fun project that I’ve been obsessing over for the last few weeks. I must say that I have a very loving and understanding wife because she’s had to deal with me working on this constantly lately. I’m very appreciative of that because this has been a really cool project.
During the course of developing this project I’ve been thinking a lot about family, food, and the connection between the two. It’s brought a lot of good memories and stories to mind. Hopefully these recipes will re-kindle some nice memories for everyone that visits this site, as well as present some great new dishes for everyone to try.
The part of this app that I’m most proud of is the search functionality. For every recipe that I’ve added, I’ve created an extensive list of keywords associated with the dish. Everything from the list of ingredients, the title, and the person that submitted or created it is included. This means that you can search for names, titles, and ingredients. Want to know every dish on the site that contains garlic? Just search for garlic. Want to see every dish associated with Jessica? Type in Jessica and hit enter. The results are paginated by course type, just like they are on the home page.
I wanted the interface to be really clean, simple, colorful, and easy to use. Although I’m not a designer by trade, I work with several great designers and hear them talk about design all the time. One of the most popular new trends in graphic design is something called ‘flat design.’ What this means is that there is no concept of depth or dimension in the design. No shadows, no bubble or button textures, just flat clean shapes and colors. This style can be found most notably in the new iOS 7. Although my interest in iOS has been waning, I’m still a fan of flat design and wanted to incorporate it into this project.
This project also gave me an opportunity to get some experience with a web development framework called Backbone.js. I’m going to be starting a new project with Backbone at work next week so I’m glad to have some experience before it begins. I’m going to continue to work on the site in terms of features and coding, and I’ll always be adding new recipes to it. All recipe submissions are welcome so keep them coming. Also, if you see something on the site for a recipe that you submitted that you’d like to change, just let me know. Adding a photo, changing a description, updating an ingredients list, anything like that is no problem. Just email me and I’ll take care of it.
Hope everyone likes it and gets some use out of it. Any feedback or update requests are welcome. Be sure to check back regularly because new recipes will continue to be added. Enjoy!
