splash fountain!

i owed winnie one, like big time (i had a less than stellar mom moment... let's not dwell there) so i took her to the splash fountain in the pearl district. she LOVED the splash fountain and best of yet there was another little girl there that she could play with. she was so happy to have a friend and delighted to essentially take a bath outside with no limit to the level of splashing she could do.  

{{ portland had blue skies, i feel like i need to prove that sometimes we have skies that aren't gray }}

 

{{ following her friend wherever she went }}

we ended the afternoon with ice cream, because both of us could always use more ice cream in our lives... and now i'm pretty sure we're even :)

and it rained and rained, but we went outside anyway

the last few days the weather here in portland has just been terrible.  gloomy, cloudy skies with heavy rain.  these are the days when i'm grateful for rain slickers and boots-- because we've been playing outside despite the yucky weather. 

i suppose i'm the only mama nuts enough to let her play in the mud and slosh about in the puddles because she was the ONLY kid at the park. c'mon portland-ers don't your kids have rain gear!?  winnie kept wandering around the park looking for a friend, it broke my heart a little.  sometimes it's hard moving when you haven't really met any kids your age, and you had lots of playmates back home...

 {{ looking for a friend to color with in the rain... }}

 

at the end of the afternoon, all muddy and DIRTY, winnie got a warm bubble bath.  she gave me bubble high fives and giggled and seemed to say "thanks mom for a fun afternoon!" even though she doesn't say sentences yet.

mother's day weekend review

this mothers day was so sweet and dear, maybe it's because we were able to finally announce that we're expecting baby number two this november (that means i'm 13 weeks along if you're counting, like me...) but also because husband got me a first aid kit.  i know what you're thinking, so romantic! and i couldn't agree more with you.  these last few weeks, i've been talking non stop about all the adventures we'll get to have as a family of 4 and how we'll need a solid first aid kit with all the right sized bandages for skinned knees and playtime scrapes and bruises.  when i opened it i cried, i was so happy.

also this weekend we hit up the park.  husband made me pancetta for dinner, it's pasta with bacon, garlic, and parmesean and it was so yummy i had three bowls full (oink, oink)! drew ate his first elephant ear, how the man got to be 26 and has never eaten one is entirely beyond me.  we also went to the portland saturday market, which was so crafty and fun.

most importantly, however, i got to eat a five guys burger!  did i tell you i'm getting really fed up with the portland food scene? me and this pregnancy are tired of all the weird food combinations and surprise ingredients.  the other day i wanted french fries and drew when to the closest burger join to pick me up some, but the fries were cook with white truffle oil- i mean gag me! worst of all was the ketchup, which was a specialty mixture and not heinz.  i was so disappointed! this weekend we drove one town over just to get a normal burger and normal fries.  i was so happy :)

 {{ oh hello there, handsome! nothing could be sexier than this man, except for...}}

{{ this hamburger! }}

{{ winnie played hold the turkey sandwich for an hour instead of eating it }}

 and we took some maternity photos, as well as it's mother's day and i want at least one photo with my girl!  love her some much!!!

coming november 2013

and we are so excited!

oh hello, it's been a while

It’s been a while guys.  We’ve had a busy and a hard week this week, I can’t complain though…. It’s been full of the park and the sweet cheeks of my loves.  Winnie had her first experience eating pasta with a red sauce on it.  You’d never know that we gave her a fork by the amount of “fun” she rubbed on her face.

Also this week, I made breakfast for a homeless man who slept in the parking lot below our living room window.  I saw him breakfasting on a half eaten bag of potato chips and thought, golly I should make him breakfast.  So I did.  The gratitude in his eyes when he saw that I had come to show him a kindness will stay with me always. 

And here are some photos from our week!

{ she likes it when i make the animal sounds extra loud and crazy! }

{{ I taught winnie how to blow her first dandelion.  it's created kinda a flower obsession for her  }}

{{ it's hard to tell in this photo, but Win has two skinned knees.  i think most childhood summers should be spent with skinned knees }}

{{ i made an apple crisp.  it was delicious! }}

 and this is what the kitchen floor looks like these days.... a mess just means fun happened there, right?!

happy friday! and a happy mothers day weekend to all you mamas out there!

lunch date + saturday

i love dating my husband, but it seems as though the deeper we get into parenthood the harder it's been for us to get out and have regular dates-- sans toddler.  we often forget to plan ahead and get babysitting and so it's normal for us to snuggle on the couch and watch netflix on a friday/saturday night.  don't get me wrong i love a good movie and popcorn, but a movie doesn't always rejuvenate our marriage relationship. 

this saturday though the stars aligned and winnie was able to go play at her cousins for 2.5 hours and drew and i had a proper date.  IT. WAS. WONDERFUL. we talked future and plans and raising babies and held hands the whole time.  i love this man i married, and i love getting to date him for the rest of forever.

 we went to panera for lunch because i've been craving their mozzarella and tomato panini since wednesday...

after lunch and doing some window shopping, we headed to the bookstore and i plopped down right in front of the dessert books... after a  few minutes i convinced husband to satisfy my sweet tooth with some fresh fruit and yogurt, i mean i just had to have something for dessert after looking at all those pictures!

later after we picked winnie up, we spent the rest of the afternoon taking naps and having a picnic at the park.  winnie insisted on eating a few sticks and showing us every pinecone and rock.  she's in the phase where dirt is more interesting than the playground (ha!)  we also popped into the rose garden and found a rose in bloom.  and it was kinda the best day ever!

the international rose test garden

the weather here in portland sure has been swell the last few days.  balmy and in the 70's.  win and i have spent most of our afternoons out at the park.  since we're still new to the area, we've sampled quite a few parks and finally found the best park in town--clean bathrooms, an awesome playground, and an ice cream truck near by :)  it also is right next to the international rose test garden.  none of the roses are in bloom right now with is kinda a bummer, but the garden is lovely all the same.  there was even a harpist in the garden playing music, which was extra lovely!

here are a few snaps from the afternoon.  i set the camera on autotimer, but had terrible aim for the first photo, hence you only get to see half my face... oops! and since the roses aren't in bloom i took a few snaps of the lilies which were in bloom.  oh, and win wore her sun hat because sunny weather calls for an awesome summer hat. 

{ this is the view i got for most of the afternoon.  she sure is moving quick these days }

i had better aim with this one.  happy friday!